Homemade Toothpaste!
Inspired by Lindsay Edmonds at Passionate Homemaking, I decided to make my very own toothpaste. What are the benefits of making your own toothpaste, you may ask? Oh, my friends, they are virtually endless: saving money, avoiding yucky/toxic ingredients in name-brand toothpastes, telling corporate America I won’t be duped into buying their marketing nonsense, etc. etc. etc.
Joshua’s former-favorite Crest toothpaste has the following ingredients:
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Sodium Fluoride, Sorbitol, Water, Hydrated Silica, Flavor, Disodium Pyrophosphate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Saccharin, Sodium Hydroxide, Carbomer, Xanthan Gum, Cellulose Gum, Polyethylene, Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide, Blue 1 Aluminum Lake, Yellow 10 Aluminum Lake.
Our new homemade minty toothpaste has the following ingredients:
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2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, 3 Tablespoons Baking Soda, 1 Tablespoon Salt, 2 teaspoons Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Castile Soap.
Just place a mixing bowl over warm water, stir ingredients together, and put in a resealable container. Coconut oil is solid at room temperature, so the warm water melts it to make mixing easier. Brush daily!
Bad Omens From The Sky
My day is hurting me, Sally said to her brother Ned, who looked with compassionate eyes on his sister’s plight. Why don’t you throw some rocks in the pond for catharsis, said Ned in thoughtful kindness. So she picked up the biggest she could find and lobbed it into the water.
Martha’s Life
“Martha Stewart ain’t turning her own damn lampshades! Her lampshades may get turned, but she’s not doing it,” says Mr. Blankenship this fine summer evening when I read him Martha’s August 2010 calendar. I love the detail yet complete absurdity of her monthly calendars. I mean, I’m not saying I don’t have a calendar that looks suspiciously like the block-style one I toted on the front of my middle school binder, only now with auspicious events like Craft Time and Meal Planning listed, because I do, but that’s not the point. Somewhere deep down I think we all aspire to be the person Martha portrays herself to be, relaxed yet in control. But really, the moment she starts writing “Rotate lampshades to avoid uneven fading” as an event on August 24, I realize what type of person gets herself thrown in jail for lying about insider trading.
Falsehoods aside, Martha Stewart Living feeds the OCD housewife in me, and I love it. Daydreaming about throwing fabulous candlelit dinners for 10-20 guests and serving homegrown vegetables alongside grassfed beef on tables draped in linen lovingly stitched by me… I mean, how else would I spend a Saturday afternoon? Thank you, Martha, for bringing housewifery back.
Want To Purchase Some Crafty Things?
Mr. Blankenship and I are proud to announce the official launch of Kingdom Boutique, our very own collection of modern American craft.
How To Afford Organic
Organic products often cost more than “traditional” ones.* So how can a family do right for the environment and their bodies without going broke? Well, here’s how we Blankenships do it.
Bee Spears Sings “Okie from Muskogee”
Ladies and gentlemen, this is my cousin. He is this awesome in real life.
Toys Should Grow One’s Imagination
I have a theory that is supported by many parents I know, and it is this: Children would rather play with cardboard boxes and pots and pans than with the latest highly-marketed, batteries-not-included, Toys-R-Us contraption. My husband reminisces about the time he made an army rifle out of a broom, duct-tape, and a flashlight whilst trudging back and forth in a trench he dug in his parents’ back yard. And the new GI Joe heroes he created by taking apart old GI Joe figurines and reassembling their body parts. Children like and NEED to use their imaginations. So why not cultivate your child’s budding creativity with something like this felt book? You could purchase it, or even better, make your own.
Food Revolution Thoughts
Joshua and I watched Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution the other night, and it is really impacting me. Paying attention to proper nutrition and changing my food habits has made such a huge difference in my health (I have been infection free for a year!). But I certainly wasn’t passionate about this until I became sick. So I want to ask: what does “living a healthy life” mean to you? And more specifically, what do you want to know about [your] health, food, nutrition, etc.?
Heirloom Seeds
When you plant heirloom seeds in your garden this year, you’re protecting America’s biodiversity and culinary heritage. Seventh Generation’s blog shares what heirloom varieties mean to us and where to find them.
