Quasilaur’s Blog

My hair is brittle.

Why? I have a few ideas. I live in the Pacific Northwest, and like many of these northern dwellers, I’m deficient in Vitamin D - I’ve started supplementing, and even got a sunburn last week, so hopefully I’ll start life towards the solstice a little less deficient than last year. Additionally, I’ve been diving, in the cold waters of Puget Sound, which means that along with ravaging my hair with salt water, I’ve been wearing a hood to keep the heat in, and have a nice thick wetsuit to birth my head through before every dive. This, as you can imagine, tortures my hair.

And then there was my ill-thought out decision to try flat-ironing my hair a few months ago. So this, plus chemical processing, has left my hair in a less than enviable position. Pantene wasn’t quite helping, and frankly, I’ve been wanting to get back to my “less chemicals is better” trend I fell into when working at Whole Foods.

This enters my trial of Aubrey shampoo, which claims to be 100% natural, and sure enough, the label doesn’t seem to cite anything chemically funny. The shampoo feels astringent, but the conditioner feels super-moisturizing, so much so that I’ve had to decrease the amount I thought I’d need for my hair. I’m a few weeks in, and I’m liking the smell as well as the texture of my hair. I also feel a little better about the suds washing down the drain.

I’m not sure how long I’ll love it, but I’m definitely a fan now. Who knew? I’d been passing up this stuff for years!

Yesterday, Jon and I returned from Washington, DC back to Seattle, WA. He had been there most of the week without me for business. I joined late last week, just in time to experience high humidity and temperatures exceeding 100 F. To say I was uncomfortable would be an understatement. I will also swear up and down that it was never that horrible in Chicago, though that might be a lie. At least in Chicago, I said, there are tall buildings and a lake offering a cool breeze.

I returned to Seattle by way of Phoenix, AZ. Although I did not actually step out in the Phoenix heat, I can tell you it had to be damn hot, as that we sat on the plane with no air conditioning for at least 30 min waiting to taxi onto the runway. The tin-can became like an oven, and thankfully they turned on the fans. Seattle greeted Jon and I with a midday breeze, cloudless sky, and a comfortable temp in the mid-70’s. This is a standard, summer day in Seattle. The night was so cool that I when I got up this morning I had to shut the windows for awhile because the breeze was too cool for my tastes.

My day-off had me hiking to the local co-op, Madison Market to get our weekly groceries. The total cost came in at just under $55. Our meal plan is as follows:

(Note: Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home = M@H, Moosewood Cookbook = MC)
Tonight - carrot and celery pasta (local, farmer’s market) with meat (local beef) sauce (homemade, canned tomatos) and garlic bread (homemade bread, farmer’s market garlic, co-op butter)
Tuesday - M@H, Ginger Tofu (local) and Greens (local kale) over Coconut Basmati Rice
Wednesday - MC, Potato Leek Soup (local)
Thurday - M@H, Avocado Corn (local, frozen) Salad over lettuce with tomato (local heirloom), olive and egg (local)

I would estimate that over 90% of the purchased materials were organic. Very little cans or packaging for ingredients, and my own bags and legs toted these items home.

It’s taken me about 5 years to transition to the food/shopping style I have acquired. Just a year ago it was hard for us to conceive of shopping at Madison Market - mostly because the selection is so limited compared to giants like Whole Foods Market. However, they do specialize in local stuff, and by being a co-op member, I feel like we have more of a direct line to their practices. Today’s shopping was mostly what was available and in-season. I almost feel like I’ve won something - even if I can’t put my finger on it.

I’m further fueled to decrease food-miles and over-consumption of resources by reading Barbara Kingsolver’s newest book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. It details her family’s journey from living in the resource-draining state of Arizona to the lush agricultural land of Virginia, raising their food and learning to live in harmony with the seasons. I’m enjoying her narrative style, and the composition of the book, which includes seasonal recipes and annotations for further information on sustainability issues.

And with all that, my tummy’s rumbling for lunch.

A couple of weeks after I swore off purchasing toner, and a week after I ran out of my trusty Aveda toner, my skin broke out. Was it the cause of no-toning? I highly doubt this, and instead attribute it to a hormonal flux. However, my skin felt greasy and unhappy, and going for the emotional need vs. physical need, I bought Earth Science Clarifying Herbal Astringent. I chose this toner after looking at a whole host of options, with price being a concern, and recognition of ingredients being the other. Drug store options were right out (aside from the standard Witch Hazel, which is available not in the cosmetic section, but in first aid.) I ended up going into PCC (a local food coop) and looking at the familiar bottles of “natural” potions. I wanted to avoid alcohol in my toner/astringent, so that put some of the more natural of the natural right out. I remembered liking Earth Science in the past, and I found it included vinegar, which a previous commenter had recommended. I was sold with these ingredients:

Purified Water, Witch Hazel Extract, Glycerin (vegetable), Apple Cider Vinegar, Sage Extract, Rosemary Extract, Horsetail Extract, Cucumber Extract, Sea Kelp Extract, Peppermint Extract, Panthenol, Sulfur, Camphor, Sodium PCA, Zinc Sulfate. Sorbic Acid, Grapefruit Seed Extract, Allantoin, Hyaluronic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Fragrance, Cellulose Gum, Annatto Extract.

I find the toner to be refreshing - which is just NICE sometimes. Also, it doesn’t seem to have done my skin any harm, which is also a plus.

In my brief Google searches, I haven’t found where Earth Sciences (or it’s parent, Earth Essentials, Inc) come from, other than perhaps California. Perhaps it is in the same category as Kiss My Face — relatively harmless face and body care, small company, American based, etc. I’ll continue to look.

I try to blog weekly, but last week my project turned out to be a tad too ambitious. I had planned to continue to lay out the horrible truths of how we’ve all been tricked into consuming more of the same thing despite ourselves. It turns out that the horrible truths I was going to shed light on are far too numerous for one blog post.

I have become increasingly aware as to how much we DON’T know about the products we purchase. Hopefully, this would have become apparent last year with the e. coli spinach, or at least this year with the melamine infused cat food from China. The problem is far greater than our food supply. Try doing your normal shopping and ONLY buying products stating “Made in the USA” — food included? Then, see how many of your commonly purchased items come from China and consider what your dollars might be going into, such as prison labor (political prisoners, even!), sweatshop conditions and toxic waste in the Chinese countryside. The whole task gets even more difficult when you’re looking at items that have more than one major ingredient. This is what makes supplements and body care so hard to digest into the two words, “good” and “bad.” It’s not just about the end product, where it’s made or how far it’s shipped. Nor is it as simple as the labels, vegan, biodegradable, not tested on animals, organic and natural.
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Deliberate Consumption is my new favorite thing. So much my new favorite thing, that it really is the only topic I want to write about on this blog these days.

What I mean when I say “deliberate consumption” is that my intention for myself is to make deliberate, careful choices about what I consume. From just what I see in print advertising and total real-estate of shopping institutions, I would say that my demographic (nearly 30, femme, white, middle class woman) is probably the most sought after for dollars. I may be overgeneralizing, and certainly have no facts to back this up, just my own observation, which being a nearly 30, femme, white , middle class woman may be scewed towards what I notice and take interest in. I’m trying desperately to overcome the idea that I “need” something, and figure out where these desires come from, and what the product I’m desiring really does for me.
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Gwen Stefani’s company, Harajuku Lovers, has some pretty funky bags available at Macy’s. While checking in to Macy’s yesterday to get some cosmetics, I was struck by the gratuitously cute bags, but what really struck me was the LeSportsac bags. Holy crap! Supercute Tokidoki bags overwhelp the cute of Harajuku Lovers. The price is a bit higher, but then again, this is better design and more durable (at least, more durable looking.) I bought a shoulder bag for going around Japan in a month. I was so impressed with the designs on the LeSportsac bags, that I purchased a another designer bag for the spring designed by French designer Fafi.
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Continuing in the theme of sustainable foods and enjoing oneself, I bring to you this post!

Jon and I have been scaling back on our meat-eating. I think it was accidental, we didn’t consciously say, “let’s be vegetarians!” or anything. In fact, previous times when I’ve tried to turn ourselves over to a more veggie-centric menu, it’s been met with failure. I think that going to the farmers markets and focusing on what we can get locally and seasonally has influenced our habits. That, and some adventurous cooking.
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This is another Femme post. I hate to be stereotypically anything, but I do love my chocolate, shoes, handbags and skin care products. My husband and I frequently discuss our slow creeping moves towards more sustainable living through our food and food-shopping choices. This has gotten me thinking more about the other products I consume daily and how they impact our world.

Everything is a trade-off. The vegan who chooses to not wear leather and to eat a primarily soy, wheat and corn based diet inevitably supports the use of petrochemicals through the making of plastics (can’t use plastics made from caseine!) used in packaging, clothing and shoes and through the use of petrochemicals as fertilizers for all those non-animal foods. The aim is to really make the best, most informed decisions with the least amount damage total.
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My job, and my marriage, has afforded me many luxuries. Now that I’m making at least twice as what I made in retail, I’m even more keenly aware of the disparities between my lifestyle and those lifestyles of the rest of the US - and even the rest of the world. I look at the tag of my new handbag and I wonder who was the Chinese person/s who stitched it. Where do they sleep? What do they eat? What do they love? What makes them laugh? What kind of handbag do they carry? I can’t think about it too hard, or even feel too guilty. I’ve only come to that conclusion because all of us in America can sit back and say we feel bad for those worse off than us, but none of us, in honesty, would be reluctant to give up an eighth of the freedoms and luxuries we have. The luxury of being able to find food at midnight in most places in America, and to be able to purchase that luxury, is unbelievable.
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Every once and awhile I’ll get a hankerin’ for some veggie jucie. Everyone is aware of V8, and it’s the easiest to find of vegetable juices. However, V8 is a megabrand, and though they have an organic version, it’s only USDA organic, and is not certified by an outside, independent group. I’ve previously tried Kagome True Vegetable Garden, which is yummy, but lacks the pizazz that I’m after. It is smooth and very drinkable, and even refreshing. It’s hard to find, however, and unless your natural grocery store (or convential store in the natural aisle) carries it, you’re SOL.

That brings me to Knudson’s Organic Very Veggie. Knudsons is found everywhere, and this one is independently certified organic. It’s chunky, which I’m less than thrilled about, but it’s bursting with flavor, reminding me what real vegetables taste like. It’s got a bit of spice to it that V8 in it’s plain incarnation lacks. Knudsons is still not going to be the easiest to find to quench the veggie juice thirst, but it’s a nice alternative.

Yum.

Speaking of other savory drinks, the Bloody Mary’s at Moxie in Queen Anne are the most worthy I’ve had in Seattle.

And as for sushi, my new favorite place is Rain in Wallingford. Yum yum yum!