♥ What's in My Closet; Elephant Necklace by Artisan Gerard ♥

I am excited to share with you this adorable Baby Elephant pendant Necklace by 

Artisan Gerard

First, let me say that Artisan Gerard is a lovely etsy shop out of Grand Forks U.S., selling some amazing hand-made items. My favourite wonderful are all the beautiful pendant necklaces, including hearts, travel- and photography-related, mustaches, and many more! You can also find cute clutches, crochet items, hair pieces, and a few other items in the shop. 

Artisan Gerard is a super friendly shop and a wonderful shopping experience. So wonderful in fact that she has offered a Coupon Code to ReLove Plan.et's readers! 

What I am fortunate enough to get in the mail is this adorable Baby Elephant stainless steel charm. The charm is super sturdy, laser cut to perfection with beautiful detail, and extremely well made. It has a semi mirror finish that catches light beautiful and gets some lovely attention. What's even more special about these charms is that they are wire brushed so every charm has a different charm--so no two are ever the same! 

The Elephant is super adorable, the smiling eye melts my heart! It also feel lovely to wear, it feels light and sits perfectly. I have been wearing it all week. :) The necklace came in a cute little keepsake bag and was beautifully packaged--with minimal packaging I might add which gets the eco high-five! 

So what are you waiting for? Go check out the Etsy shop, like the Facebook page and take advantage of this exclusive Coupon Code to our readers! 

Coupon code:

AlterEcoBlog for 15% off

Websites:

www.ArtisanGerard.etsy.com

www.Facebook.com/ArtisanGerard

If you found this article to be helpful, please consider a small donation or visit the shop. Thank you for your love and support.

☺ Motivational Mondays! ☺

Tralalalalala…oh what? I'm singing?! On a MONDAY?! But Mondays…. ROCK!!!! Start your week off right, get Pumped! :)   

☺ Start Holiday Shopping! It may seem early, but if you're like me then everything gets left 'til the last minute and then you're scrambling for the perfect gifts. I like to shop online as well so keep in mind the time it takes to make and ship things, which is why you should start Holiday Shopping now!

☺ Buy HandMade &/or Local! We've lost the meaning of Christmas! You know it, I know it, we all know it. It's not supposed to be about materialism, it's about thoughtfulness and love and sharing and happiness and family and friends and togetherness, and all lovely things. Try opting out of presents this year and instead focus on time spent together. Or if you are gift-exchanging this year then choose Local and/or Handmade rather than big corporations and cheap, well, crap. Choose something thoughtful and with meaning, but the love back into gifts! 

☺ Spend Time with Friends & Family! I know, we all live such busy hectic lives, but it's important to make quality time with those we love. Family and friends are important so make time for them, always.  

☺ If You're not Happy, Change something! People will make all sorts of excuses as to why they are "stuck" with the lives that they have, but you're not! Put on your big boy/girl pants and change you life!          

☺ Stop Apologizing… for everything! People apologize entirely too much for being, well, human. Yes, some things perhaps you should apologize for, but only if you understand if and why you should be apologizing. I'm not talking about just a polite "sorry," I'm talking about the things that you really don't or shouldn't be apologizing for. For instance, whatever you do, don't apologize for being You! Try paying more attention to just how much you catch yourself apologizing and stop! 

☺ The Great Meaning of Life! …is to ENJOY it! There is no big secret, no happiness to chase after, or made-up purpose to find. The purpose is to BE Happy and to Enjoy your life! What other reason is there? If you're not enjoying your life, start doing so! Now!   

☺ Smile Smile Smile… Yes, smile all the time, but today I am giving that extra reminder to smile at Strangers! Smile at everyone! Catch your reflection in the mirror? Smile! See someone pass you on the street? Smile! Smile Smile Smile until your cheeks hurt--in a good way. ;) 

Have a wonderful blissful week! 

If you found this article to be helpful, please consider a small donation or visit the shop. Thank you for your love and support.

Ⓥ Vegan Kitchen: Black Bean Dip! Ⓥ

This recipe is a variation of one out of "La Dolce Vegan" Cookbook--which if you don't own already you Should! 

This is super easy to make, takes about 15 minutes, is high in protein and iron and packed-full of fantastic flavour! 

Black Bean Dip

1 19oz can Black Beans, drained and rinsed. 

1 cup Vegetable Stock

1 tsp Garlic Powder (or two minced Garlic Cloves) 

1 1/2 Tbsp Chili Powder

2 tsp ground Mustard

1 tsp ground Cumin

1/4 tsp Salt 

Add all the ingredients in a small or medium pot and simmer, uncovered, over medium-high heat for 15 minutes. Mash with a potato masher. 

There! I said it was easy! If you want it a bit thinner then add a little more water. 

It's great for dipping, in wraps or burritos, or my new favourite; as nachos! 

For the Nachos, I used these Pinto Bean chips, topped them with the black bean mixture, topped with Daiya cheddar cheese and melted it in the over for a few minutes. So delicious!

If you found this article to be helpful, please consider a small donation or visit the shop. Thank you for your love and support.

☆ The Anatomy of a Genetically Modified Turkey ☆

I'm going to get right to the point today, because I wanted to share this infographic if you don't already know this information.

The majority of fowl are now genetically modified due to consumer demand, needing to produce more mass on their bodies and more quickly to meet that consumer demand. Really, there is nothing natural about them anymore, and the lives they live are not lives at all but a continuous painful existence. 

This infographic takes a look at the anatomy of a genetically modified bird. 

Read the details for yourself — and consider skipping the turkey altogether, or at least choosing an organic option--although these standards can be loose so unless it's a local farm you trust you might not be getting much better as far as the cruelty goes but you wouldn't be eating something genetically modified. 

Infographic courtesy ethicalocean.com

If you found this article to be helpful, please consider a small donation or visit the shop. Thank you for your love and support.

♥ Enstasy Designs ♥

Somehow I have not yet shared my new Jewelry line here at ReLove Plan.et. So, today, you guessed it; time to share the new line! 

Enstasy Designs

Enstasy: "to stand inside the self"

Enstasy Designs is not just a jewelry line, it is another source of inspiration. Each item is made with a particular idea behind it and that idea is poured into each item as I make them, with love and attention and positive energy so that may be passed on to you and enhance your life. Each item is a form of inspiration to help add positivity, love, motivation, courage, or whatever it is you may be seeking. 

I love having things close by that act as reminders to stay positive or to smile, or to simply open my eyes, or return to the present moment. I felt inspired as I always play with necklaces that are around my neck. So every time your fingers touch your inspirational item, or see it in a mirror or reflection, they serve as a positive reminder. 


Enstasy Designs is also made from 90% recycled and Vintage materials, keeping it eco-friendly! 

It's in the beginning works and I still have tons of ideas and pretty things to make. For now, here is a little peak and please visit the Etsy Shop and have a gander. And if you favourite the shop I'll love you forever... and if you buy something I'll love you even more than that. ;) 

If you found this article to be helpful, please consider a small donation or visit the shop. Thank you for your love and support.

☺ Time Enjoyed is Not Wasted ☺

Society teaches us to be so busy busy, go go go! If you are not doing something than you are wasting time. But this is not true. So stop a moment and Be Still. 

What do you want to do? 

Playing, going for a walk, resting, sitting in silence and in stillness watching the water ripple or the leaves of a tree flutter in the wind is not time wasted. If you are enjoying yourself, if you are Happy, then you are not wasting time, you are living to the fullest, living freely, and that is what is truly important. 

We are taught and convinced early on in life to spend every minute of every day being "productive" and if we are not doing something "productive" then we are wasting our precious time and therefor our lives. Work, do school sports, homework, do chores, eat quickly, do this do that. And we go on into life continuing this horrible busy mentality. Yet time is a concept created by humans, and such a concept is only truly valuable to us if it is to our benefit, not our destruction. Most people spend so much of their "time" trying to make sure they're not wasting it that their lives flash by without fulfillment or happiness or joy, and they don't even realize this until it's too late or ever at all. And what is the point of such a life? If you are miserable, being a super productive but workaholic worn-out machine for the sake of what society teaches us, then what is the point? The point of life is to be happy and, well, enjoy it. Wearing yourself out by never resting and only doing things you see as "beneficial" or "productive" is not really living at all.

I'm not saying sit around and do nothing and never work, however balance is everything. At the very bottom line, if you are not Enjoying yourself then don't bother doing it. And there are lots of tricks, tips, and resources on how to achieve this, whether it's changing your situation, job, or attitude, but depending on your personal situation that is another topic altogether. 

Running around wearing yourself out is not enjoyment or fulfillment or happiness. It's like running around trying to find and catch Happiness when Happiness is something you Are and feel and it is felt when you stop chasing something that you just Are. 

To be restful and still is time well spent, enjoying time as opposed to wasting this time. What is actually wasting "time" and your life is running around without rest or happiness, doing things you don't want to do, and existing without fulfillment. Remember that most people are actually wasting away in that busy lifestyle as opposed to gaining anything from it.

So appreciate the beauty in those moments of stillness. Appreciate the time spent with a smile on your face and lightness in your heart. Feel the breeze in your hair, the grass beneath your skin, the sunshine on your face. Lay a while in peace, without the noise of busy society. Enjoy doing nothing at all. Time spent well is not wasted at all, it is these moments that we should truly place value upon and when we are actually living instead of being a mindless busy distracted drone. 

Time enjoyed, time doing "nothing" but having a smile on your face is valuable beyond the lure of a blind society. Enjoy time well wasted. Do not feel guilty for time spent resting. Rest is not idleness. Rest is precious and beautiful and is time well spent. 

Spend more time "wasting time."

If you found this article to be helpful, please consider a small donation or visit the shop. Thank you for your love and support.

♥ Wednesday Favorites: Vegan Cuts Holiday Shopping Guide ♥

I opened up my inbox today and found the amazing

Vegan Cuts Holiday Shopping Guide

There are so many wonderful items in this guide, food, clothing, accessories, even recipes in there! Problem is of course that I now want everything in there. 

They do however have Coupon Codes for most of the shops featured in this guide which, to me, is pretty darn exciting. 

Anyway, I thought today I would share with you some of my favourites and share the guide with you so you too can oogle over all the Vegan Awesomeness! ;)

Indigenous Button Wristwarmers by Ecolissa

100% Organic Cotton Vegan Shirt by Compassion Co.

Vandanna Rose Shoes by Colorful Grass

Flesh is for Zombies Tee by Sick on Sin

...but as a Hoodie

This is really just me narrowing it down. There were so many vegan food goodies that I loved on this guide as well as a number of other non-food items. And the recipes look absolutely amazing! 

Comment below:

What's your favourite on the Vegan Cuts Holiday Shopping Guide? Anything on your own wish list you think should have been on their guide?

If you found this article to be helpful, please consider a small donation or visit the shop. Thank you for your love and support.

☺ Motivational Mondays! ☺

Are you beaming with excitement for Monday? And the rest of the week? No???? Why not?? Okay, here are some reasons to be excited for the week and to make your week exciting!   

  

☺ You can Smile! Every single day! Go ahead, you know you want to!… Do I repeat this one too many times? Maybe… SMILE SMILE SMILE SMILE!!!! Until you feel absolute bliss!!

☺ Try Something New! Make it your mission this week to try something new this week, or every single day for that matter! Try a new food or recipe. Go some place you've never been before. Try that activity you've been wanting to but keep putting off or making excuses not to do.   

☺ Go Play in the SNOW! We have snow here in Nelson now and it totally excites me! Everything is so pretty and white, a beautiful winter wonderland! Go play out in it, throw snowballs, go sledding, make snow-angels, go for a walk. And if it's not snowing where you live than embrace that it's not as well and do all the things that you can't do when there's snow on the ground! ;) 

☺ It's Okay to Be Human… Too often we feel bad for being, well, Human. It's okay, not it's fantastic to be Human. You are allowed to be emotional, you are allowed to have ups and downs, you are okay to be who you are and feel the way that you feel. Stop feeling guilty, embarrassed, ashamed, or any other feeling of negation. The ups and downs, the experiences, the emotions, they all help us to grow and become better people and enrich our lives.    

☺ Change your Thoughts! It's all perception, it's all in your head, it's all in your attitude. Change your thoughts to positive, happy ones and you will come out with more positive and beautiful circumstances.  

☺ Initiate changes in your life… If it's time for something to change, than change it. Allowing yourself to be stuck in the same continuous circle gets yourself or those around you no where. Break the cycle and take a leap of faith. Change is good, we just need to get over feeling so resistant to it.       

☺ Accept Compliments… I think we often feel that we are not worthy of compliments, which is why we tend to feel embarrassed or uncomfortable when someone does compliment us. We don't place enough value on ourselves and therefor feel uncertain of how to feel when someone says something nice. Accept compliments and know that you are worthy of such compliments. Which brings me to today's last tip...

☺ You are Wonderful! Seriously, you are the most amazing person on the planet! Know that your worth is beyond words. You are beautiful, wise, amazing, wonderful, brilliant, fun, loving, courageous, fantastic, and all other brilliant things under the sun. Don't ever talk down on yourself. Ever ever! 

Have a wonderful week!!! Much love lovelies! Make this week Legendary! 

If you found this article to be helpful, please consider a small donation or visit the shop. Thank you for your love and support.