So if you don’t know by now I am a little obsessed with all things Penguin.  It started as my sorority mascot, but then as I watched the little guys on TV and in films I loved their quirky personalities.  Then I saw them in person in Australia and the love deepened all that much more, especially after I got to touch a poor little guy after being rescued on the beach, with wounds from an encounter with a shark (don’t worry he made it).

But this Penguin by Soda Stream USA is not being posted for my obsession, but for that of a friend.  My friend Warren loves sparkling water.  And this little guy turns regular water into sparkling water pronto!  He can also make sodas.

The great thing is he does all this without batteries or electricity.  So my friend Warren could even take it on his sailboat.  You can add flavors or juices and you can control the level of fizz.  So on a hot day you could add a twist of lemon or lime without any cutting.

And the reusable glass bottles save you from buying plastic bottle after plastic bottle.  I tend to drink more water if there is a splash of flavor or some fizz, don’t you?

Available at many places like William Sonoma, Amazon.com and etc.  And no, Warren, this isn’t your wedding gift from me, but you should register for it.

So my L.A. friend is tasked with a sustainable Christmas.  You know recycle, reuse, repurpose.

I have lots of books I have read that I could pass on, or jewelry from Grandma (all those clip earrings I don’t wear).  I have made spiced nuts in the past or cookies.  I have given presents of cleaning and organizing closets.  Unfortunately sometimes, especially when you are moving around a lot for school or just starting out, you don’t have a lot of things or time.  But don’t worry you can still find some cool sustainable finds:

Decking the Halls

Recycled Paper Garland- what a neat and colorful Christmas decoration.  My family always had particular garlands that we used around greenery and this one would look great with all the colorful nutcrackers I hang on my garland.  Available on Etsy, here.

I love making beaded jewelry for people at Christmas.  One of my favorite necklaces is made from paper beads that my stepsisters made.  Paper Beads is a great blog for learning to make paper beads, and then using the paper beads for different uses.  Below are Paper Bead Ornaments you can make with instructions on the Paper Beads Blog, such a neat creative site, definitely check it out! If you aren’t up for making them yourself, you can already buy ready made ones at another great Etsy site here- upcycling paper and reusing it, very sustainable, while supporting small artists.

Upcycled Gifts

Beer has always been a treasured thing.  But perhaps not all those empty beer bottles.  Luckily now many of them are recycled, but here is another cool use- drinking glasses.  Unlike the above beads, I suggest not trying to make this at home, but check out this Etsy Shop with many different beer bottles to choose from.

Need a more flowery find?  I absolutely love the jewelry made from old spoons.  The details that went into old silver spoons are just incredible.  This ring is beautiful and a bargain.  I don’t know why I am even posting this, now it will be sold in no time.  Luckily this artist has lots of neat spoons to continue making really neat things.

Recycle that Wrap

My brother in law wraps his Christmas presents in Newspaper, my brother wraps his in Trader Joe bags.  Both are great ways to save paper, and then that paper is of the type that is normally recyclable too.  I save my ribbon all year long to use again at Christmas.  Another great embellishment is to stamp them with a cool Christmas stamp.  Since we don’t get daily papers I steal them from recycling downstairs where they stack them in big piles.

Plan the Party

Here in Virginia there is a lot of wine to love, and how better to show off the benefits of staying sustainable than practicing what you preach.  Keep your party hopping with local wine, and keep it fresh with beautiful, unique bottle stoppers;  I like this one made from recycled materials.  Find it here.

Dress up your sweet treats with these vintage reusable cupcake toppers!  You could also use them as reusable toothpicks.  Just make sure you have a small basket for them to be discarded in, so you can wash them and reuse.

If you live out in the country you can even buy a Christmas tree with the roots and plant it afterwards.  My friend Suz’s family did that one year.

So even if you feel the need to buy gifts try to buy local, buy recycled goods or buy things that you can turn into something neat.  I turn to Etsy because I like their artists, but a quick search and you can find other places with recycled goods.  But don’t forget your own merits.  You don’t have to be a jeweler or baker, give someone some hours of your computer skills, or teach them a skill you have they might enjoy.  Giving someone your time and company is always the best gift.

I am rather partial to the scent of lavender.  For me it is calming and soothing.  I have often stated that my quality of life would be better if my whole world smelled of lavender, and since recently I have needed a few extra ways to relax I decided to take a couple steps towards making that happen.

If I had time I would jet off to Nemacolin Woodlands Spa for a Lavender Kur- consisting of a nice lavender body scrub, bath and massage with lavender lotion application, but alas no time for that.

So in the interim I am using the Lavender Bath and Shower gel and the Lavender Lotion sold by Crabtree and Evelyn.  The lotion doesn’t leave you greasy and only has a light scent so it isn’t over powering.  I also like their bath and shower gels because it doesn’t over dry your skin.  The most important thing to me though is they don’t mix the lavender scent with vanilla, because while it is nice to cook with, I really don’t like the two smells mixed.

I then  extended the foray into a life of lavender by purchasing for myself some laundry detergent and sachets from Sweet Grass Farm, which I really like.  The great thing about the laundry detergent is that it is a more natural detergent than your store brands so it is great for sensitive skin.  Also it is low sudsing so it can be used in high efficiency and front load washers.  And they leave your clothes lightly scented, and the environment better off.  You only need about 1/8 of a cup for a load, so at that rate it is just a tiny bit more pricey than your normal store detergent.  I buy normal detergent for Hubby, and do his separately, and since so many of my clothes are dry cleaned it really lasts me a long time.  The sachets can be used for multiple rounds of drying or they can be stashed in a drawer or closet.  I have one in the drawer of my pajamas that has really made everything smell lovely.

When I was at Landsdowne Resort they had lavender eye pillows for guests and I really liked the scent as I was falling asleep, so I bought a couple lavender diffusers for the bedrooms, so my guests can enjoy that same soothing scent to fall asleep.  The diffuser is $29.95 so it is a little less than those at Pottery Barn and other stores, and the refill fragrances are only $11.95, so you can reuse them easily.  I am big on having a nice smelling house, I think it is part of having an inviting environment where people feel welcome.  So I like to have diffusers because there isn’t the hazard of lighting a candle in another room and forgetting to blow it out.

If I really wanted to go all out I think Sweet Grass Farm’s Lavender dusting oil and cleaning spray could really fulfill the wish, but I don’t think overwhelming Hubby with Lavender all at once in that big of a quantity would be good for the overall cause.  But it is a consideration for the future.  Sweet Grass farm also has some other really nice clean not over the top scents if you aren’t as partial to lavender.  And the scents aren’t overwelmingly powdery or floral so they don’t overwhelm your senses it is justa  subtle, fresh scent in the background.