September Plant Update

September has become one of my favorite months since moving to the beach. Local’s Summer, changing of the season, back to school, and slower living, are part of why I love it. I also really love my plant observations during this month.

We went to some new beaches, new parks, got to forrest bathe and hang out in the back yard.

Higbees Beach, Cape May, NJ

We brought these plants all the way from Brooklyn and September is their time to shine.

I’m not sure what these little flowers are but they are pretty neat!

The bees are still doing the good work this month.

Our raspberries were briefly infested with these little bugs.

Our morning glories are happy.

Exploring some local parks.

Clematis at night.

More night blooms.

What month of the year is your favorite for plant observations?

Zero Waste vs. Low Impact Movement

I use the terms Zero Waste, Low/No Waste, and Low Impact Movement a lot these days.

In 2017 I started my zero waste journey. Zero Waste is the goal, mindful practice is the action. When I use the term Zero Waste, that is my ultimate goal, but Less Waste would be a more  accurate description of my evolving lifestyle.

I wanted to take some time and explain these terms. I have done some research on them, but these definitions are mostly what I understand them as and how I use them.

Zero Waste
According to the Zero Waste International Alliance the definition of zero waste goes like this:

“Zero Waste is a goal that is ethical, economical, efficient and visionary, to guide people in changing their lifestyles and practices to emulate sustainable natural cycles, where all discarded materials are designed to become resources for others to use.
Zero Waste means designing and managing products and processes to systematically avoid and eliminate the volume and toxicity of waste and materials, conserve and recover all resources, and not burn or bury them.
Implementing Zero Waste will eliminate all discharges to land, water or air that are a threat to planetary, human, animal or plant health.”

This definition is geared towards big business as well as every day life. The idea is to create systems so that all aspects of industry that are circular, both in production and product, and do not end in landfills or the ocean. For individuals this means changing day to day life before the corporations come around. Living a Zero Waste lifestyle does not mean that one will not generate a single piece of trash, which is of course, impossible, but it means to strive to create as little trash as possible, to seek alternatives avenues that might not generate waste. Zero Wasters consider all sorts of waste when trying to reduce; plastic, water, food, fuel, and all sorts of more traditional trash.

In short, being Zero Waste means trying to live up to the impossible task of generating zero waste of any kind by making mindful decisions in everyday life.

Low/No/Less Waste
This is a more gentle term, a less harsh way to state the above lifestyle but follows the same principles. Whatever they call themselves, one of the tenants that most Low Wasters follow a Low Waste Inverted Pyramid. Remembering to Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rot, can help to keep Low Waste.

In more recent times, as we see that recycling is not a sustainable solution, recycle and rot would be in the opposite spots on the inverted pyramid.

Low Impact Movement
This term was recently created by a Zero Waste Youtuber Sustainably Vegan. She felt that the term Zero Waste was confining bc it is technically unachievable, zero wasters had become judgmental and that it only explored a small portion of all the ways to reduce ones impact on the environment and global community. By creating the Low Impact Movement, she created a lifestyle movement to incorporate low impact mindfulness in all aspects of daily life from reducing your trash, going no plastic, ditching disposables, reducing your carbon footprint, vaganism, activism, etc…. The Low Impact Movement also emphesizes social action and activism. Their motto is “We strive for a LOW environmental impact through a HIGH social impact.”.

TL:DR
Zero Waste - Controversial term used for and by companies and individuals who are trying to reduce waste in all aspects of production and life.
Low/No/Less Waste - Similar to Zero Waste but less rigid and more practical.
Low Impact Movement - A more inclusive, all incompassing term for reducing ones environmental impact.
Zero/Low/No/Less Waster - Someone who practices a Zero/Low/No/Less Waste lifestyle.
Low Impacter - Someone who takes part in the Low Waste Movement.

I hope these definitions are helpful! Please let me know any questions or comments you might have in the comments!

Something Nice: Rainbow Mug Collection

Every once in a while you have to start a new collection!

Drinking my coffee out of this one this morning.

Mad Cat Market

Since I have renewed my love of thrifting, I wanted to have an avenue to pass on some of my favorite finds. A great thing about thifting is that I find a lot of amazing peices of clothing, homewares, and unique items, but the downside is that I can't keep them all. So, welcome to the official launch of Mad Cat Market, an online shop to share my thrifting finds with everyone!

I view thrifting as a way of saving items that might otherwise end up in a landfill.  Things I love to "save" are made of natural materials, are vintage, hand made, or unique. My favorite clothes to thrift are made from cotton, linen, silk, tencel, or other natural fibers. Sometimes I have to pick up a synthetic fiber bc the item is so awesome! For homewares I like porcelain, wood, stoneware, embroidery, wicker, etc... 

One of my goals is to pass along these saved treasures at a reasonable rate. I want these items to be loved as much as I might love them if I could keep them all. I'm using an existing Big Cartel shop and keeping it at the lowest plan, which dictates that my collections are kept pretty small but means I can pass the savings on to the buyers! Each is hand picked and curated and I hope that the shoppers like them!

I also invite everyone to visit the Mad Cat Market instagram. I plan on posting sneak peaks, sales, and inspiration there!

The current collection is a mix of Summer and Fall transition pieces in a range of sizes and styles. 

I'd love to hear what people like or want to see or see more of! I'd love this space to also become a place where people can let me know what items them might be seeking and a conversation about thrifting and sustainable shopping. This is a new experience for me, so I'm thankful for people bearing with me while I work out the kinks and the mission of this shop! Thanks for checking out the new shop!!

Off Season: gARTen, Asbury Park

On the main street (but not Main Street) of our town, tucked in a lot, beyond a fence, besides an ice cream shop, it the gARTen. Truth be told, I don't know too much about it but I think it's an amazing thing to have in one's town!! I'm not sure who is behind this amazing open air junk art gallery display but I salute them! 

This garden isn't open all the time, I don't know the hours, but that almost makes it more magical. You'll be walking along and see that it's open and pop in as an unexpected treat! The garden is always different, pieces added, pieces missing, and constantly in a state of entropy. At night, it's illuminated by blacklight!

I love that someone (or several someone) is creating these objects and I love that they are made from trash that might otherwise end up in the landfill or even worse in the ocean and on the beach, just a few blocks away. 

The other day my husband mentioned that he read that this art project was in danger so we decided to head over and check it out. Hopefully it won't be for the last time. 

This art project reminds me a lot of my childhood and early education. Being homeschooled and then going to an alternative education school, we were always making the most of the supplies we had and making things out of "junk".  

We are so lucky to have a an art space like this in our town. These unique spaces should thrive in young cities like ours. We should work to preserve them!

Do you have a unique place like this in your town or city?

August Plant Update

August was summer's bounty and did not disappoint. So many flowers, fruits, storms, veggies, and sun!! We've gotten to go to the beach, parks, and explore our own backyard. 

Summer storms.

Butterfly bush.

On our butterfly trek we saw thee delicate flowers. Anyone know what they are?

No filter!! Bright bright orange!

All the sun flowers. 

Found one!

Huge mushroom!!

The mushrooms near us have been bananas! We have seen so many huge mushrooms making huge fairy rings. Have you had a lot of mushrooms where you live?

What were your plant observations this month?

Something Nice

When friends park their house in your driveway. 

What's something nice your feeling this week?

In Search of Milkweed

We are already thinking about and planning our next year's garden. One big focus we have is attracting more pollinators! We are starting to gather seeds from friends, buying them off the internet, and seeking them out around where we live. 

We recently set out to find some milkweed near us. It was too early for us to gather seeds, but we had fun spotting the plant! We plan to go back later in the Summer or early Fall to see if we can view more butterflies!

Monarch caterpillar!

Snail on snail!

Cicada!

What are some of your favorite pollinator attractors? Is anyone else planning their 2019 garden?

Recently Thrifted

Since returning to thrifting, I've tried to not buy too much, not buy things I wouldn't need and use. But the problem with thrifting is that you find so much good stuff! It's really hard to limit myself when I see things that I want to "save". Here are a few recent finds:

I'm not sure what I will use this wooden tray for, but I couldn't leave it behind. 

Thrifting is great for feeding my love for vintage, collections, and vintage collections! I have a deep love for sheets and bedding from the 60s and 70s. I'n not sure what it is about the cool feel and classic patterns (usually floral) of these that make them irresistible. 

Lastly, I found an amazing hand knit, square, neck sweater in a confetti of colors. I have been really excited to find hand made items over the last few months. There's something amazing about finding a hand made item and giving it new life. I can't wait to wear this in cooler weather and already have an idea that this might be the color inspiration for my Fall 2018 capsule wardrobe. 

Knowing that items like vintage sheets, once loved hand made pieces, or interesting homewares, will one day be gone, replaced by cookie cutter, cheaply made, unmindfully or inhumanely mass produced, pre-garbage (kipple, if you will), makes thrifting seem like it an important part of the low impact movement and my low waste lifestyle.   

I've even been toying with the idea of a pop up shop, or online store or something fun to share my thrift finds with the world. Do any reader have online shops? Would anyone be interested in purchasing curated second hand items? Comment below!

July Plant Update

We've been having such a mild Summer, but in July we've seen some very hot days so far. The plants liked it and it was a great month for plant observations. Flowers were prominent but the real stars of July were all the critters!

Our local garden center is a favorite spot to visit for Summer blooms. 

I love clematis! So pretty!

Squirrel butt!

Can anyone tell me what kind of caterpillar this is?

This bee is doing all the good work in our garden!

June bug. 

Tomato horn worm. 

Police station bunny. 

Serious tenant #watchercat. 

Our morning glories are finally blooming!

Love these day lilies that were here before we moved in. 

Our garden, mid July. I will be posting a garden tour, soon! See it in late July in my last post. 

What does every else July plants look like?

Whitesbog Revisited

This is our third year going to the Whitesbog Blueberry Festival and it's one of our favorite June events!! This year was much cooler and cloudy than previous years. It was really nice to do some exploring, eating and observing when it wasn't a million degrees. 

We also saw this amazing dog!! How cute and tough is he?

I love to visit and revisit the places we love around NJ. It's so great to see an area in all different weather. Where are your favorite places to visit in your state?

June Plant Update

A little late but here are my plant observations for June!

Lots of flowers!! Veggie garden is started! Replated roses! Farmers markets! What do June plants look like where you live?

These little light green plants popped up in our blueberry bushes all in a clump? What are they?

This weird fungus also appeared! Can anyone help us identify it? 

It was a great month for plants! Love living this plant life!

May In Review

May went by in a blur. I took an unexpected hiatus from the blog, saw so many friends and family, made new friends, found watchercats, worked on the house, took long walks, explored places new and old, worked hard, but had tome to rest, too. June started off in a new place and with a celebration. What will happen next?

Beach Walk | No 1 | Video!

Who else has a morning walk routine? I hope you all enjoy seeing one of my beach walks. If so, please subscribe to my channel. comment, or give a thumbs up! 

Where is your favorite place to walk?

Tattoo Story: Anchor

It might be an unofficial goal for 2018 (and every year) but I would love to get more tattoos this year. Actually, I think about my next tattoos constantly. Does everyone feel like this?

In honor of my future tattoos, I thought I would take a look back at my current tattoos. I hope I can remember in what order I got them! 

Getting your first tattoo is so odd bc you have no idea what to expect!! It did not go as I was thinking but one thing was for sure, I loved it! This tattoo was not at all how I expected it to come out. I had had ideas of what it would look like, but it working with another person on art is always a surprise! My artist was Ryoko and she was working at Brooklyn Tattoo at the time. 

I always get asked if I intend to put color on my tattoos, but I do not! I love my thin black and grey line work. I hope that all my tattoos are semmetrical, so this tattoo is on my left forearm, and  I have another one of the opposite arm. 

What is the story behind your tattoos? 

Shelfie 007

What, you don't have a shelf full of droids?

April in Review

April was all about flowering trees, the weather getting warmer, the anticipation of Spring and Summer. But let's face it, April was all about cats. 

I got to meet a magical space lady, 'Lil Bub! 

We saw so many #watchercats!

We hung out at home with all our cats, which is always a priority for us. 

Work out of the house was busy this month and not too much sewing got done. I'm far behind in many projects, but it felt like a very productive month. 

So many plans were completed in April! May is shaping up to be a whirl wind, so let's get going!

Youtube | What I Ate | No. 2 (Video!!)

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April Plant Update

Finally!! Flowers in my plant update!! This update is all about flowers, in fact. From the beginning of the month, with snow covered buds, to the end of the month when many trees and flowers are in full bloom, here are some pretty plant observations. 

Can anyone tell me what these flowers are?

This crocus was hanging on for dear life. 

Finally the magnolias are blooming. 

Same tree...

...different day. 

This apartment/tree set up always reminds me of Nola. 

Yessssss. 

What's blooming in your neck of the woods?

The Thrifting Bug

When I was younger thrifting was one of my favorite activities. I never stopped thrifting but I did slow down quite a bit. But recently, I've caught the bug again. 

Now that I only buy second hand clothes, I find myself stopping by the local thrift shops quite often. I also keep an eye out for rummage sales, yard sales, etc... I still try not to buy too much, but sometimes I find treasures I can't resist. 

I try to have a mental list of what items I'm looking for; I love to get shoes, clothing with great fabrics, lovely homewares, vintage toys, and more. But I try to only buy what I need and will use. What do you look for when thrifting?