Mi vida loca, lately . . .






1. Teaching him how to drink jasmine nectar. // 2. Designing my first PowerPoint in like, 8 years, for my “how to be a TA” class. // 3. A quick lunch on the go with my two very most favorite guys. // 4. A bedroom makeover for his upcoming FOURTH birthday. (!!!) // 5. Beachside skate park.

~~~

Hello hello! Hi guys! Somehow another week is already gone, and to tell you the truth, I’d actually planned not to post at all this week. Busy busy in this crazy life. But, now I’ve gone and changed my mind and decided to squeeze one weird little mash-up blog in here. Because it’s raining and raining is for writing and also because, well why not?

A few bits of business I wanted to run by all of you:

~~~

Next weekend Jeremy and I will be heading off to Expo West, the ginormous annual Natural Products Expo down in Anaheim. I’m so excited! And of course, I’ll share all my highlights and my favorite new discoveries with you guys. Lots of companies take advantage of Expo West as the moment to unveil their new products, so there should be tons of fun stuff to share.

But I had another idea as well. I was chatting recently with a friend, about food and parenting and natural living. And we started talking about “greenwashing” – when companies use eco-friendly-sounding language/packaging/branding to try and sell their faux eco-friendly products. So basically, a greenwashed product looks like it should be eco-friendly, but it’s actually still a big ol’ pile of crap.

Nowhere is this more prevalent than in the food industry. And so I started thinking, what if I kept an eye out for examples of greenwashing at Expo West? And then showcased them on the blog? Would that be something you would be interested in?

Or would it be too negative/mean? I might feel bad for calling out products by name . . . but then again, I’m also really really opposed to greenwashing! So I’d love your input on this.

Thoughts?

~~~

Our second item of business: Earlier in this week I got an email from a reader, who wrote:

Hi Sayward! I just have a quick question that maybe you could address on your blog: Do you know/read/follow any vegan blogs like your own? I’ve tried looking up vegan lifestyle blogs but all I find is recipe or news blogs, which are fine, but I want to read about personal day to day life that happens to be vegan. And look at pretty pictures. I find your blog so inspirational, yet attainable. You keep it real and I think all your readers really appreciate that.
xoxo
(name redacted)

So the thing is, I’ve actually had the same problem as this person. I find lots of pretty recipe blogs and lots of interesting news/”info” blogs, and lots and lots of gorgeous lifestyle blogs that are *not* vegan . . .

But I haven’t found many blogs that strike a real balance, and that have pretty pictures, and that also keep things down to earth and authentic. So, I put the question to you guys! Please share your favorite veg-friendly lifestyle blogs!

~~~

Spring.


And now, a Friday post just wouldn’t be complete without at least a little bit of gratitude-y goodness. Let’s do this Le Love List thang!

Have I mentioned that grad school is hard? Harder than I imagined? The hardest thing I’ve done in a very long time? Well it is, and the reason that fact belongs on this list is because hard = challenge, which leads to growth. Right now I’m really stretching. I am so sore. And it feels good. // Sitting down last night with a good friend who’s also an amazing artist, and brainstorming ideas for a new header for this site. Big changes are coming . . . // Working with Jeremy, late into these nights, to give Waits a major bedroom makeover. We make such a great team. // Pulling up the carpet in Waits’s room and finding hardwood floors underneath. Busted, beat-up, painted hardwood floors, but hardwood floors nonetheless! Which means . . . someday soon my WHOLE house will be rid of that awful carpet, and I will be enjoying fabulous painted wood floors. I can’t waaaaaait!!! // Getting back out in the garden. We’ve been working the yard and I’m so excited for another growing season. We’re doing lots of herbs in pots, leafy greens in wooden wine boxes, and tons of flowers in the ground. Plus a few other secret projects of course . . . // Waits’s new little hand-me-down wooden house! So sweet! // When I curl myself into Jeremy’s arms, the way that we fit together is so precisely right, so jigsaw puzzle-perfect, that I just can’t help but believe that Aristophanes had it right. And we really are two halves of an ancient whole, cut loose from one another so long ago. It has to be. There’s just no other way to explain that feeling . . . (if you don’t feel like reading the Aristophanes story from Plato’s Symposium, there’s a really lovely video here, featuring a song from the movie Hedwig and the Angry Inch, which tells the tale. It’s a beautiful story either way, and worth knowing.)

Alright, now it’s your turn! I hope you’ll leave your own little Love List in the comments below. I’d love to hear what’s making you smile these days!

~~~

Grad school really is sucking my life away, and I’ve had to cut back on blogging big time. But! I’m actually managing to stay pretty active on social media, especially Instagram, where I share food tips and recipes, mini product reviews, and of course lots of pretty pics from our normal (and sometimes not-so-normal) day to day adventures. I’m also finally really getting into Twitter, where I share the random weirdness that happens inside my head, and of course there’s always Facebook, where I talk about health, nutrition, and current events-y type stuff.

If you want to keep in touch, I’d love to see you in any of those places!

♥