Seriously Cute Fluff

Just a shameless plug for my friend Laura, who makes diapers too cute for words and lots of other great green stuff for her shop, MamaMade on Etsy. This particular diaper is a Very Baby, which is my favorite newborn fitted.

Kitchen Gadgets I'm Loving #2: Misto Oil Mister

These have been around for forever, but I can't imagine not having one...actually, I have two. Traditional cooking sprays contain propellants--usually propane or isobutane. There is risk of food contamination, not to mention the waste created by the cans themselves and their manufacturing process.

I keep one Misto for olive oil. That one is for spraying pans for cooking or directly on food (eg vegetables prior to roasting). The other holds vegetable oil for greasing baking pans.

Would a Misto (or two!) make your life easier and greener?

Kitchen Gadgets I'm Loving #1: Microwave Popcorn Popper

Ok, so buying new things is not necessarily eco-friendly. I especially try to avoid buying things that have a single purpose. The example that strikes me is a gadget I once saw designed to cook stuffed jalenpeno peppers on the grill. Really? How often do you do that that you need a separate thingamajig? But I digress. Every once in a while, I stumble across something that not only makes life easier but also replaces something less healthy or less earth-friendly.

My family loves popcorn. What's not to love? It's a yummy, quick, whole grain snack. Unfortunately, we were totally dependent on the microwavable, pop-in-bag variety, which is loaded with it's fair share of problems:

-It's wasteful: Each plastic-lined paper bag comes wrapped in a plastic bag, and those are stacked in a cardboard box.

-It's not healthy: Microwave popcorn is loaded with artificial additives and hydrogenated oils.

-It's toxic: That plastic lining that touches your snack? BPA. Ugh.

Enter the Microwave Popper from Sur la Table.

This clever gadget contains no plastic parts. The popper itself is glass; the lid is silicone with metal mesh. You chose your favorite variety of corn and pour the kernels into the popper...No Oil Required. If you like the flavor of butter, you can add a pat to the lid, and it will melt over the corn as it pops. Yum.

It's just as easy as popping in a bag, and the result is so much better. And at the cost of a few boxes of popcorn, it's a bargain.

I Miss You.

Way more than you miss me. Really. While hackers, babies, and life have gotten in the way of my blogging, I've honestly fallen off the wagon a bit when it comes to lifestyle. Something about this blog held me accountable. How could I make suggestions I don't live by? I miss blogging, this is true, but even more, I miss SNM. Her. Me. I usually don't make much in the way of resolutions. I simply like to view January 1 as a fresh start. A realignment of sorts. Time to stop putting off, brushing off, slacking off. Time to remind myself who I want to be and take steps to become that person. So, I'm back. I'm not going to resolve to post with any certain schedule or number of posts, but I will post. Because I enjoy it. And what it makes me :)