ECO BED LINENS

Viva-terra, and not only is it environmentally friendly, it’s beautiful. A cooperative of 50 artisans in northwest India hand-prints the cotton by carving patterns into wood blocks, dipping them in natural color and then pressing them onto the fabric. Their website has a great video on the process. It's art for the bedroom, and I think so much more personal than choosing bedding from a big box store. I love it paired with that bed, remember this?

ECO STYLE: ALL BUNDLED UP

It is so cold out lately. I want to just bundle up in this coat!

Eco Style: All Bundled Up by erika129 featuring gucci sunglasses

LINEN CHAIR MAKEOVER

Last year I found this chair at a local thrift shop. I could tell it had classic lines and it could turn into something special. I remembered a chair that I saw in a New York showroom, and after doing a little digging I found the image below. I used this chair as my inspiration.

This was my inspiration chair

Before

The original condition of the chair wasn't bad- excuse the bad phone snapshot, I almost always forget to take a before photo- its springs and joints were all okay. I lightly sanded the wooden parts and painted those first with a primer, then once coat of white latex paint was all I needed to update the wood.

Now the hard part- - re-upholstery. I didn't remove the original fabric because I didn't want to have to deal with the insulation-like padding that can be put into old chairs. Instead, I carefully measured and cut each piece and started on the back of the chair.

Using a combination of strategic folding and staples I secured the back piece, then the two side pieces. I used nail heads to secure the fabric wherever it met the wood. Then I secured the front of the chair the same way, stapling along the roll that is at the back of the chair I was able to hide all staples. Finally I tucked the fabric for the seat in and stapled it underneath the chair. (The piece of wood along the front of the seat unscrewed so I removed it until the fabric was stapled around the bottom).

After

Breakdown of supplies: I used linen to reupholster the body of the chair $2.14 a yard, I also used a staple gun, some nickel nail heads, and leftover paint from another home project.

QUINOA STUFFED PORTOBELLOS

A few years ago, while waiting patiently for John to grind his natural peanut butter at the grocery store, out of my boredom, I discovered something called “Quinoa” in the bulk food section. I had never heard of it, and wasn’t even sure how you would prepare it. I researched it a bit and found that Quinoa grains were actually seeds from a goosefoot plant, and they contain amino acids like lysine. They also contain more protein than any other grain, and they have good quantities of calcium, iron, and phosphorus. I also discovered that it is pronounced “Kin Wa,” like a fool, I had been calling it “Key-Noah” – go figure. Once I had "discovered" this miracle food I figured it would be fitting to make a meal with it, and see if they hype was worth the taste. This is what I chose to make: Quinoa Stuffed Portobellos. I love this meal now, and it have become a comfort food for both of us.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup(s) quinoa, rinsed
• 1 1/4 pound(s) brussels sprouts
• 4 teaspoon(s) extra virgin olive oil
• 4 large portobello mushroom caps
• 1 teaspoon(s) fresh thyme leaves
• 2/3 cup(s) frozen corn
• 3 ounce(s) feta cheese, crumbled (3/4 cup)
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) ground cumin

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. In 2-quart saucepan, combine quinoa and 3/4 cup water. Heat to boiling on high; reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
2. Meanwhile, trim and halve sprouts. In an 18-inch by 12-inch jelly-roll pan, toss sprouts, 2 teaspoons oil, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and freshly ground black pepper to evenly coat. Roast 10 minutes.
3. While sprouts cook, brush mushrooms with remaining 2 teaspoons oil and sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Finely chop thyme and add to medium bowl along with corn, feta, cumin, and cooked quinoa.
4. When sprouts have roasted 10 minutes, push to one side of pan and arrange mushrooms, gill side up, on other side. Divide quinoa mixture among mushrooms; roast 10 minutes or until mushrooms are tender.

SEPHORA NATURAL MAKEUP

Today my mascara gave up on me. Its really my fault for trying to drag it out this long- but fortunately it inspired me to share some eco-friendly beauty products. Whenever I get low on a beauty/makeup product I go online and do a bit of digging. When I discovered Sephora had a line of makeup that was natural I was pretty stoked- because I already use a lot of their products. I love Sephora because they have such great quality makeup and they aren’t unreasonably priced. Just look for the green “Naturally Sephora” label. Click the images to see prices and ingredients.