<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" version="2.0"><channel><atom:link rel="hub" href="http://tumblr.superfeedr.com/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"/><description>Little Green Dot [ourlittlegreendot.com] is an eco-friendly directory and blog for Singapore. This tumblr’s where we drop inspiration photos, ideas, and quick tips and tricks to help us live a greener, more natural lifestyle!</description><title>Little Green Tumblr</title><generator>Tumblr (3.0; @ourlittlegreendot)</generator><link>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/</link><item><title>A Brand New Look!  </title><description>&lt;p&gt;Hi everyone! I have a bit of news: Little Green Dot is moving. I&amp;#8217;ve loved Tumblr, especially the social aspect of it and being able to connect with so many of you! But, with the new direction that we&amp;#8217;re taking, it was time to move into a new platform. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You can now find us here: (&lt;a href="http://www.ourlittlegreendot.com"&gt;www.ourlittlegreendot.com&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;But&lt;/strong&gt;, fellow Tumblr&amp;#8217;s, do keep this page on your list - I&amp;#8217;ll be using it as a place to keep inspiration photos, ideas, and quick tips and tricks for helping us all to live that greener, more natural lifestyle we all seek! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#8217;s been such a great ride and I&amp;#8217;m so excited for the new phase of Little Green Dot - we have workshops, lot of DIY&amp;#8217;s coming and even our own shop in the works! So, if you&amp;#8217;d like to - please sign up at our new website to keep up to date on all of the fun :) &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Thanks Tumblr! &lt;strong&gt;But&lt;/strong&gt;, this is not good-bye! :)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;see you at the &lt;a href="http://ourlittlegreendot.com/" target="_blank"&gt;new site&lt;/a&gt;!!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;p.s. - if you are in Singapore - head over to the new page right now! We have an incredible give-away being announced on Monday, March 25th!! &lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/19888570402</link><guid>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/19888570402</guid><pubDate>Sun, 25 Mar 2012 20:02:00 +0800</pubDate></item><item><title>It's in the bag!</title><description>&lt;p&gt;Have you heard of &lt;a href="http://www.etsy.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Etsy&lt;/a&gt;? It&amp;#8217;s a market place for handmade goods from all around the world&amp;#8230;a way to find handcrafted, original work.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Whether it&amp;#8217;s handmade, fairtrade or made with eco-friendly materials - it&amp;#8217;s all good and definitely something to get behind!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;For me, I love a great clutch bag! Let&amp;#8217;s check out what some of our creative artists and designers are making right &lt;strong&gt;here in Singapore&lt;/strong&gt;: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m12uvs6Wjy1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;1. &lt;a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/90750013/tribal-vintage-clutch" target="_blank"&gt;Vintage clutch, with tribal embroidery from Hilltribes of South East Asia&lt;/a&gt; $57&lt;br/&gt;2. &lt;a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/85086824/big-clutch?ref=sr_gallery_8&amp;amp;sref=&amp;amp;ga_locationQuery=singapore&amp;amp;ga_search_type=handmade&amp;amp;ga_facet=handmade%2Fbags_and_purses%2Fclutch&amp;amp;ga_search_query=" target="_blank"&gt;Leather clutch, made to order&lt;/a&gt; $164&lt;br/&gt;3. &lt;a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/65302798/fabric-button-clutch-vintage-tulip" target="_blank"&gt;Vintage fabric clutch bag&lt;/a&gt; $44&lt;a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/65302798/fabric-button-clutch-vintage-tulip" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;4. &lt;a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/90750013/tribal-vintage-clutch" target="_blank"&gt;Hand cut felt clutch bag&lt;/a&gt; $53&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;support handmade! :)&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/19753028865</link><guid>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/19753028865</guid><pubDate>Fri, 23 Mar 2012 07:00:05 +0800</pubDate><category>eco-friendly</category><category>etsy</category><category>fashion</category></item><item><title>What Does Our Future Look Like?</title><description>&lt;p&gt;I don&amp;#8217;t know about you, but I like to hear both sides of an argument. If you have about half an hour - these TED talks offer just that! We are presented with two very opposing views on the future, and after watching them, I wonder: where do you stand? &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Peter Diamandis: Abundance is our future&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;object height="374" width="526"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf"&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;param name="wmode" value="transparent"&gt;&lt;param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff"&gt;&lt;param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talk/stream/2012/Blank/PeterDiamandis_2012-320k.mp4&amp;amp;su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/PeterDiamandis_2012-embed.jpg&amp;amp;vw=512&amp;amp;vh=288&amp;amp;ap=0&amp;amp;ti=1375&amp;amp;lang=&amp;amp;introDuration=15330&amp;amp;adDuration=4000&amp;amp;postAdDuration=830&amp;amp;adKeys=talk=peter_diamandis_abundance_is_our_future;year=2012;theme=bold_predictions_stern_warnings;event=TED2012;tag=invention;tag=sustainability;tag=technology;&amp;amp;preAdTag=tconf.ted/embed;tile=1;sz=512x288;"&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Paul Gilding: The Earth is full&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;object height="374" width="526"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf"&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;param name="wmode" value="transparent"&gt;&lt;param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff"&gt;&lt;param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talk/stream/2012/Blank/PaulGilding_2012-320k.mp4&amp;amp;su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/PaulGilding_2012-embed.jpg&amp;amp;vw=512&amp;amp;vh=288&amp;amp;ap=0&amp;amp;ti=1374&amp;amp;lang=&amp;amp;introDuration=15330&amp;amp;adDuration=4000&amp;amp;postAdDuration=830&amp;amp;adKeys=talk=paul_gilding_the_earth_is_full;year=2012;theme=bold_predictions_stern_warnings;event=TED2012;tag=science;tag=sustainability;tag=technology;&amp;amp;preAdTag=tconf.ted/embed;tile=1;sz=512x288;"&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/19648108424</link><guid>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/19648108424</guid><pubDate>Wed, 21 Mar 2012 07:00:05 +0800</pubDate><category>TED</category><category>videos</category><category>sustainability</category></item><item><title>Green Living Workshop Photos!</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0yxva0Rjd1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I was so excited on the day, that I forgot to take lots of pictures! I did manage to snap a photo of some of the all-natural cleaning products that our students made! They look great!!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0yxmf9D2y1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It was so fun to share all of the tips that we&amp;#8217;ve picked up along the way and to see people interested in learning to make their own things! No longer do we need to settle for products that harm our health and planet! We can make it ourselves!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We&amp;#8217;re planning the next workshop again soon, so if you are in Singapore and interested in attending - drop us a message on our &lt;em&gt;very&lt;/em&gt; new &lt;a href="https://www.facebook.com/greenlivingtoday" target="_blank"&gt;GreenLivingToday&lt;/a&gt; facebook page! Or just check in, we&amp;#8217;ll be posting updates on future workshops there. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;And if you happened to of been at the workshop - &lt;strong&gt;please&lt;/strong&gt; share your photos with us on our &lt;a href="https://www.facebook.com/greenlivingtoday" target="_blank"&gt;facebook page&lt;/a&gt; too!!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Hope to see you at the next one! :)&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/19390884243</link><guid>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/19390884243</guid><pubDate>Fri, 16 Mar 2012 16:37:00 +0800</pubDate><category>eco-frienldy</category><category>Natural</category><category>workshop</category></item><item><title>DIY inspiration! </title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0ydnlom0v1qlefrh.jpg" width="500"/&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The new digital magazine Sweet Paul is up! This guy has a direct line to my crafting heart! It&amp;#8217;s full of recipes, DIY&amp;#8217;s - I love it!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.sweetpaulmag-digital.com/sweetpaulmag/spring2012#pg1" target="_blank"&gt;Check it out here! &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/19373560845</link><guid>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/19373560845</guid><pubDate>Fri, 16 Mar 2012 09:05:00 +0800</pubDate><category>DIY</category><category>Crafting</category><category>recipes</category></item><item><title>Green Clean Machine</title><description>&lt;p&gt;Hello! I thought I&amp;#8217;d show you what I&amp;#8217;ve been up to:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0tnkjKF581qlefrh.jpg" width="500"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#8217;m preparing for my Green Living Workshop! My fridge is full of lemons and almost every one of them has the rind cut off. It looks like a mad person lives here. I have bottles of vinegar steeping in cupboards and months worth of jars saved up for the DIY part of the workshop.  &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#8217;s been a blast putting together these recipes, plus my house smells of lemon and peppermint&amp;#8230; a bit of a hint as to what we&amp;#8217;ll be making in the workshop! :)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Why make our own cleaning products? Because it is a simple solution. The facts is that household cleaners are one of the major causes of indoor pollution. Did you know that indoor air can be up to 10 times worse than outdoor air! Many of the toxic chemicals found in household products do not biodegrade easily - which means that they linger in our homes long after they&amp;#8217;ve been sprayed and used and accumulate in our bodies. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Studies have shown that housewives have a 55% greater risk of developing cancer compared to women who work outside of the home.  The conclusion is that it&amp;#8217;s the daily exposure to household cleaners that are routinely filled with carcinogens.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Not only that but expectant mothers who used a lot of household cleaning products during pregnancy, and shortly after birth, increased the risk of their child developing asthma.  &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;And all this, because we are trying to keep a clean and healthy home! It&amp;#8217;s maddening! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#8217;ve been preparing for this workshop for a while now and I take it very seriously. If you do a search on the internet for &amp;#8220;green cleaning recipe&amp;#8221;, there&amp;#8217;s a lot of misinformation repackaged a million different ways!  If we are to be successful in cleaning with natural ingredients and making our own cleaning products - it&amp;#8217;s about knowing why these ingredients work, how they work and how they don&amp;#8217;t. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Once you learn the base recipe - customizing your own natural scents, packaging it as gifts and getting your kids involved (baking soda and vinegar!) is really such great fun! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If you&amp;#8217;d like to join in - go ahead and &lt;a href="http://ourlittlegreendot.com/post/18575025349/join-our-workshop" target="_blank"&gt;sign up&lt;/a&gt; because we&amp;#8217;re planning to hold another session soon. This way too, I can find out from you what time suits you best! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;To everyone who is joining in on Thursday - I look forward to meeting you! See you there :)&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/19257711334</link><guid>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/19257711334</guid><pubDate>Wed, 14 Mar 2012 07:00:00 +0800</pubDate><category>green cleaning</category><category>eco-friendly</category><category>recipe</category><category>diy</category></item><item><title>My Dream Home</title><description>&lt;p&gt;When I imagine my dream home, I imagine a space that inspires creativity, that reflects our idea of living a natural lifestyle. Something simple, a little weathered and worn and alive with greenery. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A bit like living in a tree house - a clean, open space. Lots of reclaimed wood and green plants.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0kn0rXyRv1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A library full of sci-fi books&amp;#8230;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0kn6z4qG61qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;When we watch tv together, it&amp;#8217;s definitely like this&amp;#8230;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0kmahduF21qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The kitchen, bright - clean and uncluttered&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0kncomnPf1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A pantry, where &lt;em&gt;everything&lt;/em&gt; lives in mason jars.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0kknwEJzC1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;My vertical garden is full of herbs that I use for all around the house&amp;#8230;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0legySHm51qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Forts in the living room, made up of old sheets. We say it&amp;#8217;s for the kids, but secretly we like it too&amp;#8230; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0kki4VScg1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The girls room, a space where the whole family likes to hang out&amp;#8230;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0kpp0BMbg1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Walls painted with chalkboard paint -  to draw and scribble&amp;#8230; Actually, did you know that you can turn any paint (any color) into chalkboard paint with &lt;a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/271574/custom-color-chalkboard-paint" target="_blank"&gt;this recipe&lt;/a&gt;?!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0kjdzPcWq1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;And when I type away on my computer, I&amp;#8217;ll be here, sitting in my rooftop garden&amp;#8230;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0kojk9qY41qlefrh.jpg"/&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#8217;s good to have something to work towards&amp;#8230;&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/18968671326</link><guid>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/18968671326</guid><pubDate>Fri, 09 Mar 2012 07:00:00 +0800</pubDate></item><item><title>10 Repurposing Ideas That Make Life Easier!</title><description>&lt;p&gt;Need a creative dessert? Turn a muffin tin upside down to create a cookie &lt;br/&gt;ice-cream cup!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0g9kfy6IA1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Stop clothes from sliding off - put rubber bands at the end of your hangers &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0g9l3R6MF1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Use extra lens cases as a travel pill box!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0g9les4rY1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Make perfectly round pancakes! Make fun shapes! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0g9lqSZ7h1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;a&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Bread tag wire labels!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0g9m4N4NE1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Use a colander as an ice bucket, the ice lasts longer, as water drips away!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0g9n6D0lv1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Is your little one bored with their old shoes - glue coins on the bottom, they&amp;#8217;ll &lt;br/&gt;become a favorite again! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0g9nndncT1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Use old foil to scour away tough stains!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0g9nzttS21qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Use old container lids as a paint drip catcher!&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0g9oanf5Z1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Used disposable shower caps are perfect for storing your shoes away in your luggage.&lt;br/&gt; Great for hotels!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0g9on1ljE1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;image credit: &lt;a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Apartment Therapy&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/family" target="_blank"&gt;Ohdeedoh&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.realsimple.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Real Simple&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/18867823496</link><guid>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/18867823496</guid><pubDate>Wed, 07 Mar 2012 07:00:00 +0800</pubDate><category>eco-friendly</category><category>repurposing</category><category>tips</category></item><item><title>Join our workshop!</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m08jg3o8aI1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#8217;m so excited to announce this!  &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#8217;ve partnered up with Del behind &lt;a href="http://Behind%20The%20Brand%20-%20Four%20Cow%20Farm" target="_blank"&gt;Four Cow Farm&lt;/a&gt; - I&amp;#8217;ve talked to you about her before (&lt;a href="http://ourlittlegreendot.com/post/13280078452/5-tips-for-choosing-safe-skincare-products" target="_blank"&gt;read her 5 tips for choosing healthy skincare!&lt;/a&gt;), she has a lovely line of all natural skin care for babies and children - she&amp;#8217;s incredibly knowledgeable and I know that I&amp;#8217;ve learned a lot from her! For this workshop, we&amp;#8217;ll be looking at the ingredients found in common household cleaners and the negative impact they are having on our health and on our planet. Then we&amp;#8217;ll go right into some great solutions for detoxifying your home!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This workshop is hands on - We&amp;#8217;ll be teaching you how to create your very own &lt;strong&gt;natural&lt;/strong&gt; and &lt;strong&gt;effective&lt;/strong&gt; cleaners! You&amp;#8217;ll get to make my favorite All-Purpose Cleaner &lt;em&gt;and&lt;/em&gt; take it home with you! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here&amp;#8217;s how I describe the workshop on the flyer: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The average household uses over 60 different chemical products! This toxic mix that we bring into our homes hurts our health, our families and our planet - there is a better way! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Learn how to identify toxic ingredients in household cleaning products and how to find safer alternatives!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Join us on this fun 1 hour workshop - create your very own products and come home with recipes, ideas and solutions to detoxify your home! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Sounds good?! Sadly, we have limited space, so if you&amp;#8217;re interested, make sure to sign up now to guarantee your spot. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;email me at: militza@ourlittlegreendot.com&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;When:&lt;/strong&gt; March 15th, Thursday, 10am&lt;br/&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Where:&lt;/strong&gt; Smitten Cafe at 60, Robertson Quay&lt;br/&gt;#01-11 The Quayside&lt;br/&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Cost:&lt;/strong&gt; $15 - this includes &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;- Refreshments&lt;br/&gt;- Guide to Your Non-Toxic Home&lt;br/&gt;- Your take-home product &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I so look forward to meeting you - I do hope that you can make it! If you&amp;#8217;re interested, do let me know and if we can&amp;#8217;t fit you all - not a problem - we&amp;#8217;ll do it again!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We hope to make these workshops a regular event, with people like yourself who want to make a difference! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;See you there!  :)&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/18575025349</link><guid>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/18575025349</guid><pubDate>Fri, 02 Mar 2012 07:45:00 +0800</pubDate><category>workshop</category></item><item><title>February Favorites </title><description>&lt;p&gt;This month is short and sweet - I didn&amp;#8217;t buy a lot of new things, but what little I did buy - I&amp;#8217;m loving! I also have one tip that really stood out this month and it&amp;#8217;s an important one to consider. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m035qa1zXY1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;1.  &lt;strong&gt;This is pure vitamin e oil.&lt;/strong&gt; You may be familiar with vitamin-e, it&amp;#8217;s found in many skin care products for it&amp;#8217;s healing properties. I figured, instead of buying the cream, I&amp;#8217;ll go straight to the source! I apply this on every night along with my &lt;a href="http://ourlittlegreendot.com/post/16806104385/favorites-of-the-month-january" target="_blank"&gt;organic rose hip oil&lt;/a&gt; and I have to say my skin is loving all the extra attention!  &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The oil is thick and sticky (that&amp;#8217;s why I only apply it at night) and you really just want to dab it on. I focus on areas prone to wrinkles, around my eyes and on my forehead where I get spots from sun damage. Vitamin-e is a powerful antioxidant, it protects cells from free radical damage, which cause pre-mature aging.  It aids in cell regeneration promoting healing and it promotes collagen production maintaining skin&amp;#8217;s elasticity.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Give your oil treatment an added boost by also eating foods rich in vitamin-e: Make a spinach salad sprinkled with sunflower seeds!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Where I bought it: Guardian ($38)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;2. &lt;strong&gt;My glass jar.&lt;/strong&gt; This is about setting yourself up for success. I know that buying detergent in concentrate form is better for our environment: it requires less bottles which equals less plastic, less energy and less waste.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I bought this jar just for that reason. It&amp;#8217;s makes it easy for me to make better choices. Instead of buying a container of one-use dish soap, I buy concentrate (I&amp;#8217;m currently using &lt;a href="http://store.idocare.com.sg/product/dishwashing-liquid" target="_blank"&gt;IdoCare&lt;/a&gt;) and make up my solution as I need. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It has an industrial pharmaceutical look to it, and I like that aesthetic. I enjoy looking at it, I enjoy using it&amp;#8230; and when you find something that you &lt;em&gt;like &lt;/em&gt;to use, you are more likely to actually use it.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If I find a funky recycling bin or urban kitchen composter - I&amp;#8217;ll be all over it! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Where I bought it: The Salad Shop, 25 Haji Lane ($35)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;3. &lt;strong&gt;Baking Soda - natural deodorant!&lt;/strong&gt; Recently my mother had surgery to remove a cyst growth from her underarm and all of the research seems to be pointing to deodorant as a contributing factor! She has since stopped wearing deodorant full stop - and I&amp;#8217;m starting to listen&amp;#8230;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#8217;ve been wearing Rexona Antipersperant Deodorant for years now. To be honest, until just right now, I didn&amp;#8217;t notice that it was an antiperspirant, which plugs, blocks and contricts my pores to stop me from sweating. The fact that I don&amp;#8217;t sweat is probably the reason why I&amp;#8217;ve always like it, that and the fact that it&amp;#8217;s pretty cheap.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#8217;ve come to realize though that I always wear it - even at night after a shower. There are lot of claims that inhibiting your body&amp;#8217;s natural function by using chemicals, is being linked to cancer. Especially since the chemical being used - Aliminum, Triclosan, Formaldehyde and Parabens - are known toxins. Like most things - there is a lot of dispute. Some claim antiperspirants and deodorants are safe, but sometimes it&amp;#8217;s hard to know exactly where these &amp;#8220;experts&amp;#8221; are coming from and if enough research is this area has really been done. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#8217;m of the opinion - why risk it. I think giving our body a break is a good thing and staying away from harmful toxins is definitely a great thing.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Tip:&lt;/strong&gt; Look to natural deodorants (it&amp;#8217;s not easy - many &amp;#8220;natural&amp;#8221; deodorants are not as wholesome as they like to appear!) Have a look &lt;a href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/best-natural-deodorants-47062903" target="_blank"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;. Try to wear less product. Do you wear deodorant at night? Give baking soda a try - dust it on after you shower and who know&amp;#8217;s you might find that it does the trick. You might even wear it in the daytime too! My mother swears by it! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Where to buy it: Any supermarket, in the baking section&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;Let me know if you came across any great products or tips this month too! I love to hear from you!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.facebook.com/LittleGreenDot" target="_blank"&gt;Little Green Dot Facebook Page&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;e-mail me: militza@ourlittlegreendot.com&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/18459148020</link><guid>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/18459148020</guid><pubDate>Wed, 29 Feb 2012 07:03:00 +0800</pubDate><category>beauty</category><category>Natural Skin Care</category><category>eco-friendly</category></item><item><title>DIY - All Natural Cocoa Lip Scrub</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzuoyrcsgM1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;With all the treatments that we buy for our skin, we often neglect our lips, but they need extra love too! The skin on your lips is extremely thin and lacks oil glands, making them prone to dryness: that’s why they chap so easily&amp;#8230;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#8217;ve got just the thing for you! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Lip scrubs are a beautiful treatment. They leave your lips soft, with a pretty, natural glow that you won&amp;#8217;t want to cover up with lipstick. But, if you do wear lipstick, it will go on better than ever! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You can buy these scrubs at the store, but they&amp;#8217;re not cheap and are often full of preservatives and unwanted chemicals! Let&amp;#8217;s make our own! And, let&amp;#8217;s use natural and nourishing ingredients that will rival any store-bought scrub! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Here&amp;#8217;s what you&amp;#8217;re using:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Coconut oil - &lt;/strong&gt;a rich oil that nourishes the skin unlike vaseline or petroleum-based lip balms which can only coat your lips. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Honey&lt;/strong&gt; - a humectant, which means it will help the lips to retain moisture. It also contains vitamins, minerals, and amino acids which nourish the skin. &lt;em&gt;And&lt;/em&gt; it&amp;#8217;s naturally anti-viral and anti-fungal (which is why it&amp;#8217;s also great for acne and wound healing too).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Brown sugar - &lt;/strong&gt; acts as your gentle (yummy) exfoliator &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Flavors&lt;/strong&gt; are up to you but if you use pure raw cacao powder or vanilla, you&amp;#8217;re packing your scrub with antioxidants. Coffee helps to invigorate red blood cells, giving a lovely pink glow! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Let&amp;#8217;s get started!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;1 Tbls unrefined organic coconut oil (I bought mine &lt;a href="https://www.facebook.com/organicmarket" target="_blank"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1 Tbls raw honey (manuka if you have it)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;2 Tsp brown sugar&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;flavors *optional* (vanilla, chocolate powder, coffee powder&amp;#8230;)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;container - any small jar with a lid&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzugqlS5Z01qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;Blend your coconut oil and honey until smooth and creamy. (the coconut oil should be soft but solid to start - so if it&amp;#8217;s melted, knock it in the fridge for 15 minutes before you blend)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Once you have your creamy base - mix in your sugar and flavors, if you choose.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Pack it in your jar and store it in the fridge - lasts for up to 2 weeks!&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;To use: simply scoop out a bit and scrub. I&amp;#8217;d say to rinse it off, but who are we kidding, I lick it off!&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;&lt;p&gt;You could sell this stuff, it&amp;#8217;s so great! Better yet, make a jar for a well deserving friend:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzugrhQHFf1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzugsvSy561qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I made my scrub with cocoa powder and vanilla essence and I used an old vitamin jar to store it in. Does the trick!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Enjoy! &lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/18152383410</link><guid>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/18152383410</guid><pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2012 07:04:00 +0800</pubDate><category>DIY</category><category>beauty</category><category>natural</category><category>natural skin care</category><category>handmade</category></item><item><title>Linen, a Natural Beauty</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe frameborder="0" height="225" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/16474921?title=0&amp;amp;byline=0&amp;amp;portrait=0" width="400"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://vimeo.com/16474921"&gt;BE LINEN MOVIE&lt;/a&gt; from &lt;a href="http://vimeo.com/benoitmillot"&gt;Benoit MILLOT&lt;/a&gt; on &lt;a href="http://vimeo.com"&gt;Vimeo&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If you have 15 minutes over your lunch break, this video is absolutely worth watching. It’s a beautifully-shot film which tells the story of linen; from the farmers who harvest the flax crop to the weavers who handle the fibers&amp;#8230; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;When we look to sustainable fabric, natural linen is a beautiful choice. True&lt;span&gt; linen is made from flax, a crop that requires very little fertilizer or pesticides.&lt;/span&gt;The production of linen fabric itself uses 5 to 20 times less water and energy than the production of cotton or other synthetic fabrics.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;While only the very best fibers are used by the linen indusry, every part of the flax plant has value, elimating nearly any waste. The leftover linseeds, oil, straw and fibers are used in everything from food consumption to soap and paper. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;my favorite quote from the film is:&lt;br/&gt; &lt;br/&gt;“Now, when consumer interest is refocusing on ethics, responsibility and intelligence - linen is interesting because as embodies lots of these values.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#8217;m truly loving linen&amp;#8230;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzp5o5g0MR1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzp5onVOwA1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzp3jlycsj1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzp4onz9Rm1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzp3it8x681qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzp57alJIz1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzp4uoqMqk1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;images via: &lt;a href="http://foglinenwork.com/" target="_blank"&gt;foglinenwork&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.roughlinen.com/" target="_blank"&gt;roughlinen&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/72127488/dish-towel-linen-citron" target="_blank"&gt;smallbatchproduction&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://onesydneyroad.com/" target="_blank"&gt;onesydneyroad&lt;/a&gt;, jcrew&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/18033917916</link><guid>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/18033917916</guid><pubDate>Wed, 22 Feb 2012 07:04:00 +0800</pubDate><category>eco-friendly</category><category>fabric</category><category>linen</category></item><item><title>Nature Inspires</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz2s40jilU1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#8217;m not sure about you, but, when it comes to spending times outdoors - it&amp;#8217;s not something that comes entirely natural to me. I don&amp;#8217;t particularly love the heat and I&amp;#8217;m definitely not friends with &lt;em&gt;all&lt;/em&gt; the insects flying about. But here&amp;#8217;s what I know&amp;#8230; when I do spend time in nature, I &lt;strong&gt;love&lt;/strong&gt; the way that I feel. I wish it was easier to say &amp;#8220;just do more of what you love!&amp;#8221; We all know what&amp;#8217;s good for us, but it doesn&amp;#8217;t always mean that we act upon it.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Spending time in nature is important. It grounds us and connects us with that which we are inherently part of. It reminds us of what it is that we are protecting.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here&amp;#8217;s what I&amp;#8217;ve found. If I set myself up for a happy day in nature - on those days when I take out my bike, pack my favorite blanket, pack a yummy lunch and bring along some essentials - I always end up having a great time. I come back feeling restored and part of something beautiful. Suddenly all those little things that we do - the recycling and sorting, reading labels and researching - don&amp;#8217;t feel tedious, they just feel absolutely natural. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;For your next excursion, here are some fun tips I&amp;#8217;ve come across:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/picnic-recipes-44062008" target="_blank"&gt;6 healthy picnic food ideas&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://sculptedlight.blogspot.com/2011/07/homemade-mosquito-repellent.html" target="_blank"&gt;Make your own natural mosquito repellant!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;Have a happy weekend! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Militza&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://bippityboppityboo.tumblr.com/" target="_blank"&gt;bike image source&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/17732360809</link><guid>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/17732360809</guid><pubDate>Fri, 17 Feb 2012 07:04:05 +0800</pubDate><category>lifestyle</category><category>recipe</category></item><item><title>Protein Bar reviews with Ciaran</title><description>&lt;p&gt;My husband Ciaran and I have started drinking green shakes for breakfast - incredibly healthy, but not terribly filling&amp;#8230;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;By mid morning - he had been getting hungry and feeling a bit low on energy. So, I picked up 5 different protein bars - each boasting organic ingredients, wholesome ingredients and/or raw ingredients. This is about finding something to feed those cravings better than a cup of coffee and bag of chips!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;So, let&amp;#8217;s find out from Ciaran how they performed&amp;#8230;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img align="left" src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzdxe5nNyp1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;18 Rabbits - Haute Diggity Date&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;This is pretty good - crunchy and coconutty. Sweet, but not too sweet - it goes down well with a cup of tea. If I had a complaint, I would say that it&amp;#8217;s a bit too chewy - my jaw felt like it had had a good workout by the time I finished it. But would I eat one again?&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Most definitely!&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class="clear"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img align="left" src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzdxey4ILm1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;Trek - Peanut and Oat&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;So hungry this morning - time to break out the energy bars! Ok, this one is dense. It&amp;#8217;s like a bar of gold bullion, only made out of dates. Sweet again - sweeter than the 18 Rabbits bar, but no added sugar so I guess it&amp;#8217;s just the fruit. This bar is coldpressed together, so it doesn&amp;#8217;t have the same chewiness, but that&amp;#8217;s no bad thing.&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class="clear"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img align="left" src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzdxfiNO0W1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;Kind Fruit + Nut - Almonds and Apricots&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Hmm, I actually said over the weekend that I had no interest in yoghurt bars, but this is actually pretty good. Big chunks of almond inside, so it has a good crunch without being overly chewy. It feels lighter than the other bars, but packs in 210 calories, so should keep me going.&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class="clear"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img align="left" src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzdxg4k6dq1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;Ma Baker - Giant Bar Raspberry&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Ok, this is pretty big. It&amp;#8217;s double the weight of the other bars and I don&amp;#8217;t reckon I can eat it in one sitting. So might be a good option for people who like to snack on things over the course of the day. It&amp;#8217;s sweet and crumbly, but the raspberry flavour doesn&amp;#8217;t really cut through. Update: I was only able to eat a quarter of it.&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class="clear"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img align="left" src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzdxgrwnYY1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;Clif Bar - Cool Mint &amp;amp; Chocolate&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;I love the feel of this bar, even from inside the packaging. Feels chunky and crunchy. And the bar itself doesn&amp;#8217;t disappoint - it&amp;#8217;s rich, dark and minty. In fact, I might go as far as to say that this is my favourite - a good crunch, not sweet and solid but not too chewy. Yes, we have a winner!&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class="clear"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;I picked them up at Cold Storage and Brown Food Paradise. They each cost around 2 - 3 dollars&amp;#8230; maybe not an everyday food, but not a bad idea to have a few handy&amp;#8230;just in case you have one of those days!&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/17625963300</link><guid>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/17625963300</guid><pubDate>Wed, 15 Feb 2012 07:04:00 +0800</pubDate><category>food</category><category>organic food</category><category>organic</category><category>lifestyle</category><category>singapore</category></item><item><title>Last Minute Gift Idea - Dark Chili Chocolate Bar!</title><description>&lt;p&gt;Tomorrow is Valentine&amp;#8217;s Day and you might find yourself in need of a last minute gift. You don&amp;#8217;t really have time to &lt;a href="http://ourlittlegreendot.com/post/17339288614/lucky-in-love" target="_blank"&gt;make something&lt;/a&gt;, but you feel that you &lt;em&gt;should&lt;/em&gt; make an effort. You&amp;#8217;re right, but please don&amp;#8217;t go and buy a box of chocolately substance or a bouquet of pesticide coated flowers&amp;#8230;it screams last minute gift and it doesn&amp;#8217;t fall in line with your eco-friendly efforts! Here&amp;#8217;s an idea for something much sweeter to give!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.swisschocolate.ch/index.cfm/Zone/Pub/Page/product?cateId=163&amp;amp;sCateId=185" target="_blank"&gt;Chocolat Stella&lt;/a&gt; do an Organic Dark Chocolate Chili that is amazing! Pure rich dark chocolate, perfectly sweetened and with a pop of chili that makes this chocolate bar special enough to stand on it&amp;#8217;s own! No box of waxy, chocolate-like shapes can match this, I promise! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz9y5tJpVd1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Fun fact:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Dark chocolate is a superfood! It&amp;#8217;s rich in &lt;span&gt;polyphenols, &lt;/span&gt;an antioxidant which &lt;span&gt;protect against heart disease! Eat 1 or 2 squares everyday for a healthy heart!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Chili &lt;span&gt;stimulates endorphin production, which eases tension and gives a feeling of pleasure!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;***&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;Pick one up at Cold Storage, Jason&amp;#8217;s Marketplace or at an organic health food shop. If you happen to walk past a pretty plant, take a small snippet and you&amp;#8217;ll have yourself a perfectly sweet gift! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;Happy Valentine&amp;#8217;s Day! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/17520020861</link><guid>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/17520020861</guid><pubDate>Mon, 13 Feb 2012 08:00:22 +0800</pubDate><category>Gift idea</category><category>valentine's day</category><category>Organic food</category></item><item><title>Lucky in Love!</title><description>&lt;p class="p1"&gt;Here’s a sweet DIY that I put together - a fortune cookie recipe for you to tell your loved one - &amp;#8220;I&amp;#8217;m so fortunate to have you, because&amp;#8230;&amp;#8221;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="p1"&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz481drVmD1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="p1"&gt;&lt;span class="s1"&gt;Dare I ask, what plans do you have for Valentines? If you’re anything like me&amp;#8230; home with the family, in bed by 10pm. Not terribly romantic, but still, that doesn’t mean that we can’t make an ordinary Tuesday a little more special! Sure, we’re buying into a commercial idea, but so what, it’s fun and it’s important to celebrate each other! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="p2"&gt;For me, there is no better way to say I love you than by making something yourself. And, &lt;em&gt;because&lt;/em&gt; you are making it, you can choose great ingredients and materials: eco-friendly, organic, natural and wholesome. Now, that’s romantic! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="p1"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span class="s1"&gt;So let&amp;#8217;s do it!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The cookie ingredients (makes 4): &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;1 egg white (&lt;a href="http://www.freedom-range.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Freedom Range Eggs&lt;/a&gt; from Singapore&amp;#8217;s own cage free chicken farm! $2.90 for 6 eggs)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1/4 cup of flour&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;3 Tablespoons of butter&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;3 Tablespoons of raw &lt;strong&gt;unrefined&lt;/strong&gt; sugar (Unrefined sugar contains minerals and nutrients that are stripped from refined white sugar. &lt;a href="http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/myth-or-fact-brown-sugar-is-better-than-white-sugar.html" target="_blank"&gt;Did you know&lt;/a&gt;: brown sugar is often just white refined sugar that has been coated in brown molasses!)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Pinch of salt&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Dash of pure vanilla extract &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz46doqovX1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In a bowl, mix together your egg white, sugar, vanilla, butter and blend well. Then mix in the flour and salt - blend it all up. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Take a tablespoon of batter and plop in on your cookie sheet (mine is silicone and it&amp;#8217;s fantastic) or parchment paper. Then, with the back of your spoon spread out the mixture to form a thin, even circle.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Knock it in the oven - and watch it carefully. It&amp;#8217;s about 8 minutes, but what you want is for the edges to brown up, the center will remain a pale cream color. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz42u7LFMi1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;While you&amp;#8217;re waiting get your work station ready - the next step is all about speed and efficiency. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz42utPELy1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Work fast! Take your cookies out of the oven, place your fortune in the center&amp;#8230;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz42v9sxWT1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Quick! Fold over your cookie in half then use the edge of a bowl to get the fortune cookie shape&amp;#8230;ouch, it&amp;#8217;s hot! This part hurts a bit, I won&amp;#8217;t lie :) &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz42vkhcLT1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Place your folded cookie in a muffin pan to hold the shape as it cools&amp;#8230;So why the big rush? You only have about 30 seconds to work before the cookie cools and cracks at the bend. If it did cool down, don&amp;#8217;t fold it, put it back in oven for a few seconds to warm up again.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz42w0yaQi1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We&amp;#8217;re going to serve our fortune cookie a-la-mode. I chose Julie&amp;#8217;s Organic Ice-cream because it&amp;#8217;s yummy and made with quality ingredients. No junk. This tub was on sale for only $8.95!! Always look in the organic section for a good deal.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz42wnGL091qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Now&amp;#8230;comes the fun part. Surprise your loved one with their little treat and watch as they break open their fortune cookie&amp;#8230;it&amp;#8217;s sure to bring a big smile to their face!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz47ii5ZTv1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Tip&lt;/strong&gt;: It&amp;#8217;s best to start with one cookie at a time. Have all of your fortune strips written out before hand and have an organized and clean working station. You have to work fast! The recipe is for 4 cookies, so adjust it as you need.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Idea:&lt;/strong&gt; You can make some cookies and package them for friends. Write a sweet little message about why they are important to you. Everyone can use a little reminder here and there! Spread the joy! &lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/17339288614</link><guid>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/17339288614</guid><pubDate>Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:04:00 +0800</pubDate><category>DIY</category><category>recipes</category><category>Valentine's Day</category><category>organic food</category><category>handmade</category><category>crafting</category><category>baking</category></item><item><title>Singapore Milk! </title><description>&lt;p&gt;If you drink milk, it has probably travelled some 3,000 miles to reach your table. Looking at where your food is coming from and buying as close to home as you can is one of the best things that you can do for our planet. It&amp;#8217;s not always easy, with our limited options - but it looks like our dairy farmers are stepping up! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyvfulcpVR1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;1. Vishnu Fresh Milk: This is a great milk - a bit creamy but still light. It is full fat, so if you&amp;#8217;re worried about your waistline, just don&amp;#8217;t drink as much!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;2. Nubian Goat&amp;#8217;s Milk: This taste exactly as you would expect goat&amp;#8217;s milk to taste -gamey. I personally don&amp;#8217;t love the taste, but I&amp;#8217;m open to try some recipes with goat&amp;#8217;s milk - homeade cheese maybe&amp;#8230; What I really love is the bottle! I definitely will be using it in a re-purposing craft!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If you have any great recipes using goat&amp;#8217;s milk, please share! I&amp;#8217;d love to support our farmers more :)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I bought these both at my local Fairprice in Tampines. Look out for it in a supermarket near you! &lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/17192056444</link><guid>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/17192056444</guid><pubDate>Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:26:00 +0800</pubDate><category>food</category><category>eco-friendly</category></item><item><title>Zhai Organic Bamboo Dress Giveaway Winner! </title><description>&lt;p&gt;And the winner is&amp;#8230;..&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz032kerSK1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Congratulations Jess! Your name was chosen by random, but your answer to the giveaway question &amp;#8220;What is a benefit of bamboo fabric&amp;#8221; was brilliant! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Jess said &amp;#8220;Comfortable - Bamboo fabric absorbs water 3-4 times better than cotton, keeping skin comfortable, rather than sticky, in hot weather like Singapore&amp;#8221;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Well done! Getting out there, researching products and making informed decisions - is what it&amp;#8217;s all about! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;For all of you who didn&amp;#8217;t win, thanks for taking the time to enter the contest - I have another one planned,  so keep a look out for that! &lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/17187093542</link><guid>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/17187093542</guid><pubDate>Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:09:12 +0800</pubDate><category>beauty</category><category>giveaway</category><category>bamboo fabric</category></item><item><title>Love the Weekends!</title><description>&lt;p&gt;How was your weekend? Here&amp;#8217;s a peek into what we got up to! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Meabh helped me to unpack the groceries! &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyvdqy1XlW1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Thanks? :)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyve2k06XL1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I did come away with great find from the supermarket: local aeroponic romaine lettuce! Modern Urban Farming! I&amp;#8217;ll be doing a Locavore Caesar Salad recipe soon, so look out for that!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;We made homemade crepes using &lt;a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/crepes-recipe/index.html" target="_blank"&gt;this recipe&lt;/a&gt;. Amazing! For the filling, we mixed: natural yogurt, fresh blueberries (mashed up by my eager 4 year old) and honey to sweeten.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyveudluho1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyve9x4Nhb1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Blueberries are fantastic - they have one of the highest antioxidant capacity of all fresh fruit (which is important against cancer and aging related effects) and help to boost up the immune system, which is especially good for our little ones!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Or you could try some local fruit - how about &lt;a href="http://www.natures-glory.com/sub_freshorganics_details.asp?ProductSID=3772&amp;amp;CatSID=81" target="_blank"&gt;local bananas&lt;/a&gt; with the yogurt and honey or look out for Malaysian passionfruit in the supermarket - make a compote with that! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;We made homemade play-doh! &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyvf98FuOE1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This little monkey only wanted to eat it! Since I had made it with all food ingredients, I wasn&amp;#8217;t too worried! :)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyvfbksUfN1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;We played in our neighborhood park&amp;#8230;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyvih5HUYx1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyvhcjrv1i1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I swear, little ones are fueled by sunshine! They definitely belong outdoors, running barefoot on the grass! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I myself am feeling completely refueled and ready for the week ahead! Hope you had a great weekend too! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;ANNOUNCEMENT:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If you haven&amp;#8217;t yet entered our contest for a chance to win a fab 100% Organic Bamboo Dress - you still might have time! Is it 6pm yet? If not, hurry to our Facebook page and enter. The giveaway closes Feb 6th at 6pm on the dot! Good luck! &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.facebook.com/LittleGreenDot?sk=app_121121694568521" target="_blank"&gt;Enter here&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If you did miss it - don&amp;#8217;t worry, we&amp;#8217;ll be running lots more giveaways in the near future! &lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/17010618637</link><guid>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/17010618637</guid><pubDate>Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:29:00 +0800</pubDate><category>lifestyle</category></item><item><title>Mekhala Living</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;p class="p1"&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lynjd636re1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="p1"&gt;When it comes to beauty, many companies will tell you that the secret to achieving it, is in their bottle - so when a company comes around with an honest and refreshing view - I take note!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p class="p1"&gt;Beauty comes from the inside and out - to achieve it, you must nourish both. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p class="p1"&gt;This is what I really like about  &lt;a href="http://www.mekhalaliving.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Mekhala Living&lt;/a&gt; - their focus is on total body wellness. It&amp;#8217;s about finding pure ingredients - super foods - that when eaten and used in their body products, will provide benefits to our &lt;strong&gt;health&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;#8230;which is, as we all know, where true beauty lies. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="p1"&gt;They offer simple foods that you can incorporate into your everyday eating, getting antioxidants and nutrients into your system and working for you. You&amp;#8217;ll find a variety of organic rice, teas and honey.  Jang, the creator of Mekhala Living, also takes some of these ingredients and uses her background in naturopathy, to create her own healing blends for their line of body products. It&amp;#8217;s a complete package - and I think that&amp;#8217;s great! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="p1"&gt;Here are my thought on some that I have tried: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="p1"&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lynjzvROcT1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="p1"&gt;This lotion made my &lt;a href="http://ourlittlegreendot.com/post/16806104385/favorites-of-the-month-january" target="_blank"&gt;Favorites For January&lt;/a&gt;! Lightweight, lovely scent, pure natural ingredients - it&amp;#8217;s exactly what I was looking for! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="p1"&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lynk3y3UTu1qlefrh.jpg"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="p1"&gt;This shampoo has the most unique scent - completely all-natural, it&amp;#8217;s made with antioxidant rich black rice! Jang talked with me a little about the process of making this shampoo - she chose to use fermented rice (think SKII) not only for it&amp;#8217;s benefits but to act as a natural preservative! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="p1"&gt;I only had a small sample sachet to try, so I can&amp;#8217;t talk about the long term effects - but, I used it for 2 days straight and what I can say is that during that week my hair behaved very well and it doesn&amp;#8217;t always! Actually, it hardly ever does&amp;#8230;so I&amp;#8217;m excited about trying this one out more!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="p1"&gt;If you happen to be at the  &lt;a href="http://thepantrycookeryschool.com/wp/farmers-market/" target="_blank"&gt;Loewen&amp;#8217;s Farmer&amp;#8217;s Market&lt;/a&gt;, look out for their booth and make sure to stop and chat with them  - or if you go to their website, have a look at their &lt;a href="http://www.mekhalaliving.com/shop/select/organic-energy-rice-1kg" target="_blank"&gt;Organic Energy Rice&lt;/a&gt; - I&amp;#8217;m making a porridge with it for my baby! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="p1"&gt;ANNOUNCEMENT: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="p1"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Mekhala Living are offering a 15% on your first purchase until march 31!! The code is &amp;#8220;MEKHDOT&amp;#8221; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="p1"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="p1"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/16941780684</link><guid>http://ourlittlegreendot.tumblr.com/post/16941780684</guid><pubDate>Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:05:00 +0800</pubDate><category>beauty</category></item></channel></rss>
