Hi Lovelies,
Welcome back! And welcome if You are new here xo
Hope summer is treating You right? Let’s dive into all-in-one post where I talk what I do, use, try and buy?
MUSINGS
perfect (free) day
So I was taking a cup of tea to my garden (which is six raised planters for veg and a few pots of flowers) and it got me thinking. What if our perfect day cost us nothing? What makes us happy is different things to different people, but spending a sunny day in my back garden pottering around my plants is enough to make me content. Add a short trip to the beach or walking Milo in the local woods and I am definitely a happy bunny. I can take the tea with me, no need to pay inflated prices in the cafes. Your happy day list will be different, but here some ideas for a free-but-happy day:
Play with the dog/ cat/ pet
Visit local body of water or greenery
Read a book. We all know we have yet-unread books on the shelves
Go for a walk but choose a new route in Your neighbourhood
Find Your local family resource centre and ask for free activities for town’s people. You will be surprised
Visit a library. Signing up for their card gives You so much more than access to books. Online resources are vast, yet people rarely know about them. From free online magazines and newspapers, to online courses, there’s something for everyone.
Clean Your house. You will be glad You did. Clean space does wonders for clear mind, I guarantee You will feel so much better at the end of it.
Have a clear out. Make three piles, keep, donate, recycle. Full Konmari method would be too much for one day, but walk around the house with a fresh eye and get rid of everything You haven’t touched in a year (ok, two years). I am by no means a minimalist, but I am a firm believer in only keeping things we enjoy and use. Boots that are too tight but You still hold onto because You paid money for them? Sell them or donate them. Ugly vase that You got as a present from a relative eons ago? It has to go. Your house should only have things that bring joy to You.
Think what brought You joy as a child and go do that! Playing with bubbles? Balloons? Riding a bike? Painting something? Go on, feel like a child again, You will feel joy returning to You.
*list to be continued
rethinking what safe sun is and the lies we are told
This is a good article on how to protect skin from within, what nutrients will help You shield sun damage. Also see here and here for more food for though. Obviously I would never advocate going into hot midday sun, especially in hot climates. But. Here’s but. Morning and evening sun is actually healing, especially the golden hour. We are told a lot of lies and half truths on mainstream media and I think it is time we started asking questions. It’s time we started looking into “conventional” sunscreens ingredients. Horrifying. Don’t take my word for it, look up what ingredients in sunscreens are causing cancers. Scan the bottles with Yuca or other apps before buying it. Switch to natural sunscreens and sunblocks with zinc oxide to be on the safe side. But also ask yourself how hot is where You live and do You really need “two fingers worth” of sunscreen on Your face every two hours? That’s what we are told to do. Let’s face it, most countries aren’t hot enough for majority of the year. Maybe it is time we wore hats and loose linen or cotton clothing or started using umbrellas to shield ourselves from the sun the same way Asians do. Just saying.
DUTCH HEALTH STORE BEST SELLERS
Randomly I came across Dutch Health Store best sellers page, which I haven’t seen before, and it was interesting to see it is almost all exclusively Living Libations products! Skincare, all 16 best sellers – Living Libations. Body, just three out of 16 aren’t Living Libations. Similar story with hair care. Wow.
the art of the tea tray
So I watched this video on Youtube and it got me thinking. I have tea a couple of times a day. In fact, I could drink tea all day if I had my way. It fits right into Slow Life I am aspiring to. So why I always take my cup, a snack and ALWAYS take it to my computer to continue working?! Why I can’t make it into a few minutes of mindfulness and me time? Why don’t I?
So the Art Of Tea Tray is born. Expect some posts on IG and a post on my favourite teas and other healing drinks soon. Expect quite a few by Wunder Workshop (especially Purity Nettle Tea and Golden Spirit Tea – Tulsi Mind Tonic), Anima Mundi (especially Calm & Breathe) and my long time favourites like Yogi (especially Breathe).
Sunshine pops
And the sunshine pops! 
Couldn’t be easier either – blend a 400ml can of mango with 200ml can of coconut milk with some sweetener of your choice (I used honey), pour into moulds and freeze for a couple of hrs. These are definitely a hit in our house 
When you think of it, they are GF, DF and could easily be veganized if you choose sweetener other than honey.
All things seaweed
I am still slightly obsessed with researching the benefits of seaweed and all the ways we can use it. I am (still) not a big fan of how it tastes, but I can certainly put it on my face – hello, famous Mermaid Mask by Leahlani Skincare! I also bought seaweed powder from one of the food markets that I seldomly add to my bath.
MAKING IT INTO TOP 45 ORGANIC BEAUTY INFLUENCERS LIST?
One day I received an email that I made into Top 45 Organic Beauty influencers list. I had no idea bout it, but it is flattering to be on the same list as Lina Hanson, Kristen Arnett, Tahira Herold and my blogger friends Andrea Lee from Organic Beauty Lover and Laura Bruj. Thank You FeedSpot! I need to peruse everyone else’s blogs, as I am not familiar with all of them.
See matching IG post here
THINGS
This month I am obsessed with NOT buying new things and DIYing what I can. For example, I ran out of Magnesium oil, which is crucial for me – for rest and good night’s sleep. But instead of rushing to buy a new one, I made my own. See this post on what else I am DIYing in this post below. All cheap, easy to make, no preservatives and most importantly, made from the ingredients You already own.
Now for the THINGS I bought:
Manuka honey
I love manuka honey for many different reasons, You can eat it, put it in the tea, also mask with it an so much more. I bought 500g jar of it, but only a part will be used for masking Not too sure how to calculate the costs of the part to be used for masking. Oh, by the way, I have a post on 12 different ways You can mask with manuka honey – find it in DIY post linked above.
Pst, here is a good blog to find a lot of helpful info on honey’s healing abilities and uses. It’s way more than “sugar”
https://keepingbee.org/category/bee-products/honey-facts/
EMPTIES
A bottle of KTC rose water
*list to be updated as the month goes on
WISHLIST
Blue persian salt
I mentioned it in last month’s Musings & Things post. I linked an article about 12 types of salt and since I have tried quite a few, I can’t stop thinking about Blue Persian salt. The fact that I can’t find it anywhere online makes me want it even more.
Oshadhi Blue Camomile Hydrolate
I love blue camomile products, balms and pure essential oil is what I used so far. Very healing for my skin, I can see the difference in my dermatitis straight away! Never knew blue floral water exists, but now that I know, I want to try it too.
Anima Mundi Blue Butterfly Pea Powder
This powder has numerous health benefits (always welcome in my book) but also can be used to make magic with homemade lemonade – it reacts with ph from lemon juice and turns lemonade bright pink – pretty cool trick for garden parties, no?
Blue spirulina
This month’s wish list is very blue, isn’t it? I am familiar with green spirulina, which I have used time and time again over the years. Time to try the blue version, which is so much more difficult to find and more expensive too. I want it organic, obviously.
Check out my favourite online shops:
The Dutch Health Store
Live In The Light code GREENLIFEINDUBLIN15 saves You 15%
Living Libations This link gives You 10% off, no code needed
Pure Anada
Fushi Wellbeing GreenLifeInDublin gets You 15% off
iHerb code CDI1500 saves $£€ for the first timers
So that’s it for today, thank You for reading! I really appreciate You taking Your time of the day visiting my little corner of the internet.
Sending LOVE & LIGHT!
Renata.
