DIY- Vintage Baby Cot- Photo report

As I already mentioned few posts ago, we've been busy with some DIY projects on green carpet. My personal favorite lately was my baby's cot.
In terms of anti-consumerism and boycotting low quality short usage products and choosing vintage instead- it's as green as can baby cot be- it's mine. Literally. I slept in it when I was a baby, my two brothers slept in it and now- my little princess will! (And I am sure- all our future children as well)
It all started with my husband cleaning it from previous paint and then I used linseed varnish and baby paint with  Zero VOC. Great guys in the store mixed all three colors I needed from one tin of paint so we don't waste more than we need!
I wanted this cot to be natural so I left some parts without a paint, just linseed varnish, which is also healthy option for little one to teeth on the upper parts of the bet as I remember my brother to do :)
I wanted this cot to be spring colorful so I chose my three favorites for my little princess- purple, spring green, yellow- all very light.
I wanted this cot to be fun for her, so I painted some butterfly, bee, snail, caterpillar silhouettes on the natural wood parts.
We took off one side of this conventional cot to turn it to a co-sleeper since I consider it as one of the basic 'pillars' of natural parenting- being close to your offspring also during the

Now it's already in our room, it seems so big comparing to our Roba co-sleeper that will go to our city apartment.. Coco and buckwheat mattress is already in place, organic cotton mattress cover and bed sheet as well, Oko-tex approved wool filled blanket is already within a cotton flannel cover made by me. We have a 'second hand' canopy thanks to our dear friend. I also hanged a linen bag of lavender and a bag of meadow sweet on her bed for calm and relaxing sleep.
Umf, now I kind of feel she's really growing and it moves me, makes me happy with a little hint of sadness- I already miss her being this tiny little baby. But I love her. And I love that she loves my DIY Vintage Cot!!!!

But here's the most important- PICTURES:

A project done with pure and unconditional love...

Home SPA- photo report and recipes

There is one very special tradition on green carpet- me and one of my very best friends are going to our country sauna and turning it to a fantastic SPA. We did this actually long before the term "SPA" became so popular- starting from our teenage years it was our health, beauty and friendship quality time.

All the best products were taken into the washing room of our sauna and home made scrubs, masks and other substances were created beforehand. 

So when she visited us back in Latvia it was our No1 on the list. Here's a little photo report and recipes how we did it!

Even though most of Latvians would take beer when going to sauna, we usually choose either water or hot homegrown mint tea that fits perfectly in our health and beauty day. 

Prepare: 

• our sauna is heated by wood fire, so it takes about 1,5h to get it hot
• prepare all fresh scrubs and masks
• put all the soaps, shampoos, honey, masks and other stuff in the huge basket
• take the basket and large batch of towels and/or robes to the sauna
• make the mint tea and leave the baby with someone you trust for couple of hours!

Enjoy:

• Warm up your body and sweat out all the toxins in sauna couple of 'sessions' and let yourself to cool in between them. In warmer weathers we would jump into the pond nearby, but during winter we just enjoy the cold air or jump in the snow if attending sauna as regular practice. However, during our SPAs we enjoy milder experiences. 
• Wash all the dirt off! This time we enjoyed Organic Rose shampoo by Urtekram and hand made coconut soap my parents brought from Zanzibar. 

• Scrub it! Our all times favorite is a coffee scrub, this time we mixed it with smashed cranberries- mmmm, delightful. Future notice- it's better to use blender for berries rather than just smashing them...
• Mmmmmmask time! Apply masks to face, hair, body and get back into the sauna for another 15min to let them feed your winter-starved skin. 
• Wash everything off gently, rinse the hair with a dash of apple cider vinegar in water, dry and apply Absolute Organic face cream and Weleda Rosemary Hair Lotion. 
• Drink tea, chat, relax and enjoy yourselves throughout these couple of hours!  

Recipes:

• Scrub: take your morning coffee ground and mix it with smashed cranberries. Scrub gently your face and body, harder other 'problematic' areas. Advice- cellulite hates coffee and antioxidants in cranberries!

• Hair mask: mix olive oil, honey and egg yolk in about equal parts. Advice- dry your hair a little bit with towel before applying the mask. Too much water on the hair retains all the good stuff from getting in. 

• Face and body mask: mix equal parts of fresh or sour cream and honey and add a half a part  of bee pollen. Bee pollen is especially precious for our bodies both inside and on us. Pollen is full of live energy, so be careful to apply it on the evening, you might have hard time to fall asleep. Advice- leave it for a while in a warm place and stir again to have a smooth paste. We added also few extra vitamins and a drop of green tea extract. 

A note on Bee Pollen:

• They are a source of bio-active agents, antioxidants
• They are full of vitamins B (B1, B2, B6, PP), vitamins C, E, A, Carotene, a bit of D. 
• They contain various ferments
• They are a source of amino acids 
• Depending on collection time and area they contain various minerals- K, P, Si, Na, Ca, Mg, S, Cl, etc. 
• They have both energizing and nerve balancing properties. 
• They both heal and prevent illnesses, also help to recover faster after being sick. 
• They also work as one of the best anti-aging substances. 
• They will help in cases of both physical and mental loads.  
• They activate leukocytes in blood and have powerful regenerating properties.   
• They are perfect for detoxifying your body. 
• They improve general health condition, sleep quality and energy levels. 

I consider Bee Pollen one of the super-super foods in our world, so be kind to bees and use with gratitude and care what they give to us!

Home SPA is one of those precious, indulging moments I share with my friend and I hope some day will share with my daughter as well. If you have an opportunity to do something like this- be adventurous and creative, especially now in early Spring, when our skin and body is so tired and starving for vitamins!

Spring meditation

As Winter for me starts with the first snow, the Waiting-For-Spring Season starts right on my birthday!

Here on green carpet you can already feel the changes in the air despite the snowy roofs and ground.. birds know and they're chirping and whistling it out loud... and the way air smells.. 

And I feel.. I feel I need some invigorating, vivid energy in me.. it's dreaming somewhere in me, so I'm going in there to look for it, to awaken it... 

I close my eyes sitting on my yoga mat after few Sun Salutations and Pranayama exercises, straighten my body, calm my breath.. I open the door within me and it takes me to my Sanctuary, my beautiful secret garden.. It has all four seasons within it to feel, it has eternal fire, water, air, earth in it's center.. I thank them for balance in my life..
Sun is shining bright and warm and then I sit on that white birch bench in the Spring garden.. See how the drop of water from the melting snow of birch branches is falling on a spot of dark, rich ground.. See within the ground, how it travels soaking through the soil that smells so bittersweet.. Be the drop of water yourself, feel yourself both traveling and receiving the moistening gift.. It carries all the warmth and energy of sun to a little seed deep in the ground.. Be the tiny seed that awaits to be awakened, feel how the little drop brings you back from your long winter sleep with an explosion of energy that shoots through every cell of your body... It's time to grow, to reach for the sunlight and pure air up there.. Reach up with your whole body.. See how green burgeon begins to sprout up, it grows brighter in color and stronger in stem.. Be the little sprout and feel the vivid juice traveling through your body, enjoy and explore the urge to grow multiplying your energy.. Grow through the soil and see the bright and warm sun, let the rays caress your new green leaves... Breathe in the pure and refreshing air that smells so crystal clear and invigorating.. Look how the tiny plant forms a white bud and opens it in the sunshine releasing beauty of nature and sweet smell that resembles true happiness.. Harvest the energy from your surroundings, collect the Spring energy and be that little flower- bloom and enjoy it!
I look at the little flower and bow in Namaste in gratitude for the lesson of insistent and vivid reaching towards your fulfillment and opportunity to bloom and bring happiness to myself and everyone around me..
I take a long breath leaving my Sanctuary energized for the day to come, joyful to be where I am and to do what I plan.. I'm full of Spring sensations and even here, in my room, the smells and freshness of the coming Season are present and surrounds me and my sleeping baby...
The new day has begun..

I hope you will find your own Sanctuary and enjoy at least few slow living moments that we all need to be content in our lives!

Composting

Ah, forgot to mention in my "life so far"  post on our new recycling and composting practices..
In our city apartment we now collect paper, glass and also few plastic rubbish as 'normal people'.. but since most of our rubbish apart from diapers consists of kitchen waste- some food remains, lots of peels, tea etc. And I just hate it that there's no composting opportunities like we had in London (we used to take our compost to wildlife Phoenix garden where it was welcomed). In countryside it's so simple.
So I came up with a plan! During cold months we now collect the kitchen waste in the Moltex diaper bags since they are bio-degradable. When it's full we put it out on a balcony to freeze and then I take it with me to the countryside where I can put it in our compost.

During the warm spring-summer-early autumn we will take one box of my mom's little worm compost farm and keep it on our balcony to have immediate composting spot for ourselves. My friend loved this idea so much that she already asked me to have one box for her too! I'll keep you updated on how we're doing when the warm weather finally comes!

Life so far... and review- Yantra mat!

I apologize for leaving you all for so long, it's been happy and sad times on green carpet in the countryside.. And busy times as well... As they say- thief takes only as much as he can carry, but fire takes it all.. that's for one of our family businesses- our loved guest house that was beautiful and full of fond memories.. But we're all fine and buried ourselves in other things like my little one that takes lot's of time and attention now and gives plenty of happiness to everyone :)

The month before a birthday is usually the one we feel 'blue', tired, empty, exhausted... But now it has passed, it's a night before my birth 26 years ago, when my mom was happily eating ice cream in a cafe with friends.. but  what she didn't  know that I was there in her bump, busy to prepare to greet this world next day, already full of energy.. That's how I feel tonight! So I'm returning to my beloved blog world as well!!!

To get through cold and tiring February I've tried to re-start my yoga practice. I signed up to yoga class for mom's with babies. Ehh, the idea is beautiful, but the teacher is very.. hmm.. unqualified would be understatement.. disappointing.. Well, since I know what to do and how to do it, I'll just use rest of the classes as a place to have time for yoga with my little one by my side. But it was as a good kick for me to do it more at home again, feel fantastic again!

My new best buy- Yantra Mat! MMMMMMMmmmmmmmmm! Soooo goood! It truly is.. I do feel more relaxed, and I especially love it for my feet during this cold time when walking barefoot outside for more natural acupressure is impossible. It takes away the heavy feeling in feet and legs after the long day. I also like to lay down on it while watching TV in the evening.. and roll it as a pillow for my neck.. mmm, lovely! The very green people would resist since it has plastic spikes, but I think if you take care of it properly it will last 'forever'. And I share it with my mom and every one who visits us and wants to try, so it's greener, like- 'yantra-mat-pooling', hehe.. It's easy to take care of it, take it with you when going somewhere and great for people who have less time to relax otherwise or no time to go to massages!

About the rest of the life- I've been busy also with some DIY stuff like painting the my old vintage bed for my baby with no-VOC paint, knitting some quick warming items while we had the freezing -25C, squeezing vitamin juices, sewing new bed sheets for the little one and cooking more spicy jellos for my fans :) I'll probably share all of it in coming posts!

Ahh, I've also been shopping. To be greener on the items I needed- I was online shopping and had my friends delivering!

Yesterday I enjoyed my birthday party, which was incredibly nice thanks to all my dear relatives and friends. Their presence and lovely words made me so happy! And this year I've been particularly happy for every single gift I received, no useless staff or clutter at all, only wonderful experiences, new DIY and hobby items, knowledge increasing books (one on raw food!!!!- not going raw yet, but will be welcomed and wonderful addition to our diet), 'wearable things' that I adore and even lovely pieces for my princess.. Ahhh, what a lovely, lovely year this is to be! Thank you, thank you, thank you my dearest, I love you all and I am thankful for you being in my world!

I wish happy, green and DIY (my) birthday to everyone!!!

Winter delights II- Home made Ice Cream

Hmmm... isn't that a little funny that in summer we make hot apple crumbles, berry puddings, but in winter- ice creams? Well, I think it's not really important. What is really important here on green carpet is that we treat ourselves with something good. And that is- home made from scratch, only natural ingredients, delightful tastes, fun of making and that long "Mmmmmmm" while eating later with family and friends. Yes, I'm really talking about Ice Cream.
And a green bonus point- if you're an Ice Cream lover like me, home made from scratch is another step up against boosting consumerism of unnatural products.
Our customers in the guest house order Pavlova once in a while. That is also always my birthday cake. And what's usually the 'problem' with it? It takes many, many egg whites and leaves yolks unused. So we dived in the sea of Ice Cream recipes and picked our favorites that all have the Custard base (Fatty Milk-Cream-Sugar-Egg Yolk-Vanilla Bean).

Various recipes require various amounts of eggs, milk, cream, sugar, so we use this Custard base and modify it to every recipe afterwards by adding extra ingredients. It's much easier to do so if you have about 50 egg yolks and you want to make some 6 or more different Ice Creams.

After few evenings of making Ice Cream, our favorites so far in no particular order are:

Pure Vanilla Ice Cream
Rich Chocolate Ice Cream with Whole Cherries
Green Tea Ice Cream
Vanilla Ice Cream with Wild Strawberries
Masala Chai Ice Cream
Black Currant Ice Cream
Dark Bread Ice Cream with Roasted Hazelnuts
Vanilla Ice Cream with Cherries
Lavender Ice Cream
Vanilla Ice Cream Ice Cream with Nuts and Raisins
Saffron Vanilla Ice Cream
Cow-berry Ice Cream (recipe in Autumn Delights post)

I thought it would be too long to post all the recipes here since it's quite easy to make Ice Cream according to your own tastes, but if you want to know specifics, let me know!

Nothing compares to home made Ice Cream and it is really easy to make! And you do not have to own an Ice Cream making machine to do that, just a regular freezer!
Warning: it's delicious in all its forms, so be prepared to eat lots of it!

Crafts for men I - knitted neck warmer

Time to go public with some crafts again! I made this very cosy neck warmer for my brother as a Christmas gift accompanied with some home made chocolate bars, truffles and my super specialty this year- chilly jello = shopping free holidays.
But back to the crafts:

The real color is on the picture above. 

This kind of neck warmer is good for everyone but especially great for kids and those who like to play actively in the snow since it fits snugly and doesn't become loose during activities like regular scarf.