Summer Weddings

Showers. Showers. Showers. Weddings. Weddings. Weddings.

Sound familiar? There are so many gifts to buy. I'm sure most of us know at least one person getting married this summer. I do, including my brother-in-law so I'm excited about what all the wonderful products Celadon Road offers.

All summer, make any gift order and receive 10% off. (Email me to order!)

Here are a few options that would make great gifts:




Medio Bamboo Cutting Board
Classy Carving. With a standard-sized cutting surface and durable end-grain orientation, this medium bamboo cutting board is the answer for day-to-day prep jobs, carving and slicing tasks and for serving an appetizer arrangement. 
 

Recycled Glass Carafe - polished finish
A Perfect Table Accessory. Spice up your dining experience with a splash of sustainable style poured from this recycled glass carafe. A mixture of old world craftsmanship and classically modern design, this piece will be a welcome addition to family dinners and friendly gatherings for years to come. 
Small Fluted Bamboo Bowl w/ Spoon
When Just a Touch is Enough. Small Fluted Bamboo Bowl with Spoon. The smallest serving bowl in our collection, this charming bamboo piece is the perfect centerpiece for small salads, delicacies, sauces and dips – adding a uniquely delectable touch to your smallest of culinary creations!


Recycled Glass Double Vase - polished finish
Wide Mouth Angled Vase. Made using recycled wine bottles, this vase has a unique wide-mouthed angled cut at the top that lets your fresh flowers hang beautifully. The double vase can be grouped as a threesome to hold tall flowers and branches, placed individually on tabletops or clustered as an interior accent. Their flat-bottom surface provides stability. Due to the recycled and handcrafted nature, products will vary slightly in size, appearance and color. Possible colors: green, clear or brown.

More De-cluttering: The Kitchen

De-cluttering eliminates 40% of work needed to clean the average home.

This caught my eye. How about you? Less work is always something I love to hear about. I started on the kitchen this week. We have been in this house for about 8 months now so I can tell what we have used and what we haven't. I have filled the entire kitchen table so far with things to be recycled or headed to the yard sale pile. I kept a few things that I don't really need for sentimental reasons, but for the most part I'm trying to only keep the necessities. 

Questions I have to ask myself:

1. Do I use this?

2. Do I have more then one of this item and don't need to?

3. Is this worth the cabinet space?

4. Do I want to keep washing this?

I'm excited to get some more things cleaned out. July is our goal to have gone through the entire house. It really is helping feel less cluttered. Now hopefully the dishes won't pile up quite so high. 

Happy De-cluttering!

July Hostess Incentives

 

Summer Grilling - Celadon Road's Green Tip of the Month

Green Tip of the Month
Backyard BBQs


 If your version of a good barbeque consists of a smoking charcoal grill, picnic tables strewn with plastic wrap, paper plates and cups, and trash cans overflowing, this list is for you. 

Whether you're grilling pork ribs, or breaking out the veggie burgers, we've put together some barbeque tips that will help you green your grill time.

 

Top Green Barbecue Tips

1. Make a Plan.  Tally up the guest list before going to the grocery store so you don’t overbuy or leave leftovers that will go to waste. Send email invitations rather than paper.  If it is potluck, be specific so you won't end up with five varieties of pasta salad that nobody eats.
2. Greener Serving.  Not using disposables is one the greenest things you can do. Instead, opt for bamboo servingware or utensils, reusable plates, cups, and traditional cutlery, or reusable plastic options. If you cannot part with the idea of disposables, look for unbleached recycled-paper or compostable products.
3. Consider the Meat.  Consider serving a little less meat and bulking up on fruits and vegetable dishes. Not only is this healthier, it is the biggest way to decrease the environmental impact of your BBQ. It takes 1,916 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef, and cattle produce enormous amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas that's almost 20 times more harmful than carbon dioxide. For the meat you do serve, choose organic and grass-fed selections. Organic and grass fed meat is leaner than traditional meat, and requires a little bit of extra love in order to maintain its moisture when grilling. To address this issue: marinate your meat before grilling, and continue to baste it while over the grill; for hamburgers, add in caramelized onions and other moisturizing ingredients; cook the meat at a lower temperature or simply cook the meat for less time.
4. Choose Local and Seasonal Produce.  Local produce typically means fewer chemicals were used to grow and preserve foods, and since it doesn't have to travel long distances, less energy is consumed in transporting them.
5. Beverages.  Instead of filing your coolers with ice and 50 cans of your favorite beverages, choose bulk sizes of drinks, or make your own. Sun tea and fresh lemonade are easy to make and better than store-bought varieties. In addition to cutting down on your carbon footprint local, seasonal, small-batch brews are delicious.
6. Choose Your Grill Carefully.  From a carbon usage standpoint, gas grills are best because natural gas and propane burn cleaner and leave behind less waste than charcoal grills. Charcoal may give your burgers that old-time taste, but the matter from burning the briquettes contains carbon monoxide and other VOCs. If you do use coal, choose all-natural lump varieties, which eliminate the additives contained in briquettes.
7. Get your Grill On Grilling with the hood of the barbecue down not only helps maintain energy efficiency, but also ensures the heat will be distributed more evenly throughout the grill.
8. Clean Up! Put all your leftovers in reusable containers, recyclables in your bin, compostables in your compost.
9. Maintain Your Grill.  Instead of chemical based cleaners, use natural alternatives like Celadon Road’s Degreaser or All Room Cleanser.

Now your guests will leave happy, full from your delicious healthy food, and hopefully they all walk or bike home to save gas!

 

This is only one of the great tips included in the monthly Celadon Road Purely Speaking newsletter. This one is from June. Email me to join my mailing list to get July's newsletter!

Sunblock Review

One of the first days we were at the pool, my son Josh got sunblock in his eye. We rinsed and rinsed but his poor little eye burned for a while.

We also were in need of new sunblock so while I was looking through the vast choices, I found this one. I'm torn. It's called "Pure and Simple" and is supposed to be a natural way to fight sunburn. In that, it works. Maybe a little too well. It's also waterproof....and apparently soap proof as well. Even after a bath and 24 hours later, the sunblock residue can still be seen on my little guy. But at least we are red hot from the sun!

Stay hydrated

 

We are on vacation this week. One thing we could easily go through while away from home are bottles of water. Thankfully we remembered our water bottles and are able to take a big jug of water with us to refill them. Where possible, think about reusing your plastic jugs/bottles instead of just recycling them. For instance, we reuse our milk jugs to fill with water to take to the pool. This makes refills easy at hand and we always have enough water to keep hydrated in the hot summer sun. Even if you don't have a good water bottle or would just prefer to use a cup, save those plastic restaurant cups to take along too!