5 Decoration ideas using Autumn Leaves

Greetings lazy green people!! How is Autumn treating you so far?

Despite living in an area known for its summer beach surf spots, I have to admit that Autumn is by far my favorite time of year. I love the fresh chill in the air, the open fires, hot chocolates and the stunning warm colours of autumnal leaves. My house is surrounded by woodland and I have been trying to get out there as much as possible and make the most of any daylight I can get!

I have been trying, and mostly failing, to make some pretty decorations to bring nature into my house; but as we all know, I’m really not that arty! So instead, I thought I’d share 5 of my favorite ideas for homemade Autumn leaf decorations. Hopefully you will be more successful than me!

Continue reading 5 Decoration ideas using Autumn Leaves

Lazy Vegan Recipe: Coconut and Almond Zombie Halloween Ghouls

It’s Halloween week!! I’m extra excited this year, as October 31st will also be the day my dearest and closest cousin gets married. It’s because of this upcoming event (along with it’s Medieval Halloween themed dress code) that I have been a bit behind with posting any festive blogs.

But last night I got a burst of Halloween excitement and realised my Meat Free Monday recipe couldn’t miss out on a bit of trick or treat naughtiness. As always, I left it until late in the evening to do, and made it up on he spot with whatever I had to hand; so it’s testament to a quick and easy lazy recipe 🙂 I’m guessing it’s pretty easy to freestyle too, depending on what ingredients, and time, you have to spare.

Warming: these are pretty messy and VERY naughty!
Continue reading Lazy Vegan Recipe: Coconut and Almond Zombie Halloween Ghouls

Your Green Life: The Double Life of Mrs M.

This weeks Your Green Life interview is with a lady whose writing has kept with me captivated for several months now; with her fascinating, honest and often humorous blog The Double Life of Mrs M.  I was intrigued by Megs description of her blog as a space “...devoted to nurturing my other personae, the ones that barely got a look-in during the working week.” something which I think we all strive to find in some way or another. 

But this is exactly what you get with The Double Life of Mrs M; a multifaceted blog which covers (but is never limited to) food, gardening, traditional crafts and sustainable living. The fact that this last subject is interwoven among many other aspects of Megs personality, struck me as a very real and honest approach to green living, and I wanted to know more about this wonderful Mrs M… Continue reading Your Green Life: The Double Life of Mrs M.

Lazy(ish) Vegan Recipe: Pumpkin and Spicy Cashew Cheese Calzone

Happy Meat Free Monday lazy green people!

Apologies that this weeks recipe is so late, I wanted to cook it for my own dinner tonight and test out just how easy it was! At first sight it might seem a bit of a faff – as there is quite a bit of prep – but once you get that bit done, these delicious parcels take only 10 minutes to cook! (Plus you’ll likely have left over cashew cheese and dough left for an even lazier dinner next time!)

So without further ado…here is my seasonal Pumpkin and Spicy Cashew Cheese Calzone recipe; a perfect warming treat after an evening of carving Halloween lanterns!! Continue reading Lazy(ish) Vegan Recipe: Pumpkin and Spicy Cashew Cheese Calzone

Your Green Life: The Green Gables

For many of us, sustainability is something we try to incorporate into our home lives; by switching to more environmentally friendly products or walking instead of driving. But I am eternally inspired by people who bring their ethics to the business world too, and show other how you can be successful AND eco! 

One such business is the wonderful Green Gables, a stationery and gift company that not only produces and sells green products, they operate green too! Here the founder shares her ideas for green living, and why everyone has  a responsibility to muck in! Continue reading Your Green Life: The Green Gables

The Eco-Song Game

In my opinion, sustainability shouldn’t always be doom and gloom. Yes, some scary stuff is predicted to happen if we don’t shape up and take more care of the planet, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun every now and then!

trudileafThat’s why I thought I would introduce a fabulous game for you to while away a few minutes (or hours…) and impress your friends with your eco-pun skills! It was originally the masterpiece of my friend Remfrey, and it has now evolved into my favourite game for any long journey, dinner party or study procrastination!

Ok, so it may not actively help your day to day life be more eco-friendly…but it will get your creative juices flowing. Continue reading The Eco-Song Game

A Question of Ethics: Dairy Farming

Milk: the “nutritious” white stuff that played a huge part of my childhood memories; from drinking vats of banana Nesquik, to turning it multi-coloured in my Lucky Charms cereal. We were advised to drink it daily, and were outraged when Margaret Thatcher “took it away from us” in the 80s.

According to This is Dairy Farming, British dairy farmers produce around 11 billion litres of milk annually; of which 5 billion litres is sold for drinking, and 6 billion litres is used for dairy products such as cheese and butter. We really do love the stuff!

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It’s been in my life for nearly 30 years and a key part of our nation’s diet; so – as a vegan – what’s my beef (pardon the pun) with milk now? Well, it wasn’t until I actually knew where milk came from, and how it’s made, that my taste for dairy soured altogether. I used to love creamy yogurts, and sprinkled cheese on almost everything. Now, not only do I avoid the stuff, I disagree with the ethics of the whole industry entirely.

I personally found my discoveries of the dairy industry rather emotional – so much so that I became vegan as soon as I found out. But in order to really explore the ethics, I want to let the facts speak for themselves; and allow others to share their thoughts and experiences of dairy farming. So here goes… Continue reading A Question of Ethics: Dairy Farming

Observations from a Blackout

Last night our street experienced an unexpected power cut. Well, when I say unexpected, I mean unexpected to me. I would have been a little less clueless about the 6pm-11pm “electricity maintenance” had I actually read the letter posted weeks ago!

But after digging out the letter, and accepting my evening of darkness, I decided to make the most of it and ran myself a candlelit bubble bath. As I lay back, with a glass of spiced rum, a slice of Frangipane (well…I wasn’t cooking dinner anytime soon) and listened to the Velvet Underground, I started to reflect on things taken for granted. Continue reading Observations from a Blackout