GREEN TIP OF THE WEEK (GTW)

Green Tip of the Week:  AIR DRY YOUR LAUNDRY
After studying abroad in Italy, I fell in love with the idea of air drying laundry.  My roommates and I had to do so for six months because in Europe, there are no drying machines!!!  You can only imagine living with 4 other girls who wore three outfits a day, how much laundry was hanging in and around out apartment.  Ever since I have become accustomed to air drying most of my clothes.  And...ITS TOTALLY GREEN!

via

Here are some benefits for YOUR clothes when you air dry...
*When you use a clothes dryer, all that tumbling rubs and wears away the fibers of your clothes.  All that lint that you pull out of your lint trap at the end of every load is actually part of the clothes you just dried.  If you want that favorite outfit to last forever the first step to keeping your clothes like new is to not tumble dry but to hang dry.

*Wool sweaters and other natural fibers also last much longer when they are air dried.  After washing, you can re-shape your wool fabrics and set them on a laundry drying rack to air dry so they retain their original beauty.
*Heat of a dryer RUINS elastic.

 

*When you air dry your whites in the sun they are naturally disinfected and whitened.  The sun provides UV light, and UV can be used to disinfect water and damp laundry. UV light reacts with oxygen dissolved in the water to produce reactive forms of oxygen that kill the microorganisms. 
*UV from the sun also interferes with the reproduction cycle of bacteria by damaging their DNA.  By air drying our clothing in the sun we can help to stop bacteria with no harsh chemicals.   
*Also a mental health benefit of slowing down and practicing the relaxing act of hanging each article of clothes with loving care on your drying rack or clothesline.   I LOVE doing laundry and hanging clothes.  It relaxes me and takes my mind off whatever it is I am doing for that short 10 minutes.
Facts source
*Air drying clothes not only SAVES energy but also keeps your apartment/home cool.  Drying machines give off tons of heat thus creating more energy for your air conditioning to fight that heat.  

Happy laundry!

LIVE WELL.  LIVE PURE.

sami

Bahama Mama's

Myself and four of my closest friends are DYING for these next nine days to pass FAST because...WE ARE HEADIN TO BAHAMAS!!!!!!!!!!  Wednesday, June 29th can't come soon enough.  I am SO excited to bring my besties to my favorite place on Earth, my own slice of heaven-Treasure Cay, Bahamas in the Abacos.  Here is a peek of what they are about to experience...

The Bahama Mama's!!!!

Suntan like these bathing beauties

Hopefully not a lot of rain, but hey its an island so its pretty much guaranteed  

Eat fresh fish, lobster, and crab claws...fabulous dinners

Friendly ocean creatures

Maybe go lobster fishing....

Disconnect ourselves from the world

Pal trees...lots and lots of palm trees

Late night grilled cheese

My Bahamian seester that sadly won't be there with us 

Hang out on this boat...

...maybe do a lil fishing

Dance with my favorite German Christoph, hes a cutie :)

Meet my best friend-Carl-who is young at heart and terribly immature 

Go to Nippers on Guana Cay

Watch the Sunset at Grabbers on the beach...

Further my boat driving skills on this boat

Hang with this guy, Robin-my top 3 peeps

Sunset at Grabbers on Guana

Ride home back to Treasure Cay-can be a bit rough at times

See this Chicago gal-Rachel-now a Dallas Texan but Midwest at heart

Sleep on the most comfortable couch in the world...

Feel the Treasure Cay love...

don't think a caption is necessary for this one

Spend time on our deck sunning

eat fresh lobster...

Spend LOTS of time at night into the wee hours of the morning at this one and only bar-Tipsy Seagull

9 DAYS AND COUNTING.  

jealous?

LIVE WELL.  LIVE PURE.

sami

Flowers!!!

This past weekend I was commissioned to do floral arrangements for a Bar and Bat Mitzvah luncheon.  I happily accepted!  My client had pre-ordered the flowers so I worked with what I was given.  The blue and white hydrangeas turned out so beautiful and gave the room a lovely warm but summery feeling.   

The hundreds of hydrangeas pre-arranged

 Gorgeous, just gorgeous

just a handful of vases

on a roll...

Just a few of the finished product.  Simple and elegant!

LIVE WELL.  LIVE PURE.

sami

Great Divide at House of Blues

The boys of Great Divide ripped it up at the house of Blues on Saturday.  They were nice enough to get me photography and all access pass to photograph their show.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Buy their CD now on iTunes!  Great Summer tunes!

LIVE WELL.  LIVE PURE.

sami