Totally Affordable Custom Clothing.

Awhile back I was contacted by eShakti inquiring if I would like to review an article of clothing from them. "OF COURSE" I said after checking out their website. I was impressed with the designs. Very cool stuff. But what REALLY hooked me was the fact that they will customize any piece of clothing for only 15.00 Totally an awesome thing.

I know so many women, myself included, that are just not a specific size. Long arms? Not a problem? Big butt? Hey, that's Okay ! Short torso?
Pear shaped? How about finding the perfect dress but you want it sleevless but it has long sleeves? Well eShakti will just send you one without sleeves. See some pants you love but the legs are too short? Send your leg measurements. Customize it Baby!

I chose a beautiful cotton tunic with embroidery. You know the hippy in me. I received it promptly. And I tell you, it is such a beautiful color.
A dusty rose with gorgeous roses on one side. I have worn it a few times now and had three women ask me where I bought it.
The cotton has a silky feel to it, and the overall stitching is very sturdy. I have hand washed it, hung it to dry, and ironed it without any problems.

They also sent a really chic natural jute flower pin for my jean jacket. Made from jute, burlap and seed beads. I love the natural color and feel of this unique piece.




eShakti has quite a bit to choose from slacks, blouses, tunics, dresses (in different categories), skirts, and accessories. Any clothing article can be customized. They also have items in different colors that you can choose from. Sizes range from 0-26W. But anything can be customized according to your measurements. shipping in just 3 days. They also have a no-questions-asked refund policy.



So if you want something to fit just right, just for you. Check them out, customization has never been so affordable.
(I received a tunic and pin from eShakti for review purposes)

An Arm and a Leg vs. Peace of Mind. Catfish, Shrimp and Bleeding Hearts.

Back sometime in the 80's a friend of mine was laying on his bed, underneath a skylight watching TV. Some high winds blew in, not unusual in Virginia Beach, and toppled a tree in the next yard.
The whole tree fell on my friends house and a huge branch came right through the skylight and speared the bed right next to him.
Aside from needing a clean pair of pants and a good stiff drink, my friend was fine. Nerves were rattled for a few days, but he was fine.

To this day, I have a huge fear of high winds when I am near trees. So when we built this house we were going to build it further back on the property. What is now our house started out as a garage. It was going to be a nice big garage. One room.
But sometimes the best laid plans change.
What we started building as a garage became over time our house. We keep adding onto it and it ended up on one side right under a couple of trees that started to lean...and lean...and lean.
Until I found myself a nervous wreck everytime the winds would blow.
So this is what happened around here this past week...
He took the first one down little by little using the bucket truck.


TIMBER !! This one he pulled down using cable and the truck as a pulley.


Right where he wanted it to land..YAY !!

Tree Service for 2 Trees- 450.00
Trees Down in Yard- lots of clean up work
No More Frazzled Nerves- Priceless

________________________________

A Few Pics...

Bleeding Hearts


Lunaria or Honesty or Silver Dollar Plant...This is why it's called silver dollar Plant.....when dried...

Tarragon...I like to plant herbs in cinder blocks at the ends of my garden beds...

Broccoli in the greenhouse....
An apple tree I am growing from an apple I ate last year...
__________________

I made some catfish and shrimp the other night.
My new breading mix;
Crushed potato chips
Panko bread crumbs
Bayou Blend Seasoning or Seafood seasoning
egg
1/2 c. water
1 lb. fish fillets, I use catfish
1/2 lb. shrimp, peeled and butterflied.

2 cups peanut oil.

Heat oil in wok or frying pan.

I just eyeball how much. About half and half on the chips and bread crumbs.
About a tsp. of seasoning. Mix together.

Put egg and water in large bowl and stir. Put fish fillets in egg mixture and coat letting excess drip off.
Roll in crumb mixture.

Place in hot oil and fry until golden about 3-4 minutes per side.
Do same with shrimp, but fry about 1-2 minutes.

Drain well.

Ultimate Blog Party !! Giveaway

Loads of Prizes. Loads of FUN !!
This is a great way to meet other bloggers and a chance to win some cool prizes.
I love cool prizes. I love prizes that might not be cool, like socks. Remember getting socks for Christmas or your birthday? It was a real bummer. But I'd love to win some now, cause I'm old.
And old women sometimes have cold feet.
ANYWAY....

Click on that colorful BANNER above and head over to 5 minutes for Mom to leave a comment with your prize picks if you do not blog, or to grab a button and post it on your blog along with prize picks. There are loads of prizes, some for US, some for Canada and the US and a list for international prizes too. All the rules are there. And the Grand Prize is.... A Toshiba Satellite L505D-ES5025
Laptop. BUT WAIT...THERE'S MORE !!!

I'm giving away a little something too.
Leave a comment on this post about my blog and you
will win a 15.00 gift certificate to use towards jewelry in my
Etsy shop. US and Canada only.
Make sure you leave your email in your comment,
or in your blog profile.
Thats all you need to do to win the gift certificate to my Etsy shop.
But Make sure to click the banner when your finished here cause it all ends on the 16th.






I am liking the following prizes to win myself, 34 the” Lemon and Sage Body Butter, from Bliss
70- the Kroger card from A Proverbs Wife
75-GC for Camping Gear from Stomper Mom

Lemon and Thyme Cleans Up. Giveaway of 7th Generation

Whimsey Creations is the winner of this Giveaway.



7th Generation Disinfecting Products.

I have not cleaned my home with store bought cleaners in over 10 years. I can't. Larry has breathing issues with any kind of chemical cleaners. Also most laundry soaps, stain removers, perfume, lotion, exhaust fumes etc. He painted cars and motorcycles years back and now he suffers from all those fumes he breathed. He's even had to leave the line at the grocery store because someone took a bath in their cologne and he could not breath or stop coughing.

So I have been making my own. I buy vinegar by the gallon, large boxes of baking soda, borax, castile soap, orange oil...etc. to make my own cleaners and bath products.
When I was contacted about reviewing products from 7th Generation, I was apprehensive and I had to ask Larry if he would be willing to be a guinea pig for the cause. I really wanted to try this stuff. And I figured if it did not send him into the yard with coughing fits, it was a winner.

The box arrived and WOW, what nice items they sent. A full size bottle of Disinfecting Bathroom Cleaner, Disinfecting Multi-Surface Cleaner, cannister of Disinfecting Wipes, two huge rolls of Unbleached Recycled Paper Towels, the book ' The Conscious Kitchen' and a Recycled Plastic Tote to carry cleaning products in.

The Disinfecting Bathroom Cleaner - I decided to tackle the sink first in the bathroom. I figured I could shut the door if it started to bother Larry and I could flood the sink if need be with enough water to quickly get rid of the smell.
No need to worry, I sprayed down the sink with the foamy cleanser, let it sit for a couple of minutes....no yelling or coughing...okay...in the clear. I started wiping and rinsed. The sink sparkled. The smell is of thyme and lemon. Not overpowering at all. So next I did the shower stall and no problems. I keep a squeegee in there and it was cleaned and sparkling in no time. I went to the studio to check on my delicate manly husband.
"Is that smell bothering you"? I asked.
"What smell"? he replied.
YAY !!!

I slipped the container of wipes into the glove compartment in the truck. The next day we went to the big city and did some shopping. I got in the truck while Larry took the cart back, and I wiped my hands with one of the wipes, I have a small bottle of some hand sanitizer in my purse, but I really like the way these wipes smell so I used one wipe instead. Larry got in the truck and said " smells like you've been cooking something in here " hahaha. No coughing, choking or cussin'....just getting hungry from the yummy smell. This stuff is a winner.

The Disinfecting Multi-Surface Cleaner- I used this in the kitchen after dinner to wipe down the stove, the fridge and the counters. Love it. Smells the same as the bathroom cleanser but not thick and foamy. Cleans great. And I am not afraid to use it in the kitchen.

Disinfecting Wipes- Good and saturated so they go a long way in wiping up after raw meat, bathroom seats, doggie accidents, sickrooms, toys,public washrooms, doorknobs etc. These are great to keep in the car for trips.

The disinfectants contain thymol, a component of the herb thyme, and can be used on hard surfaces including counter tops, plastic cutting boards, highchair trays as well as children’s toys. Best of all, they kill over 99.99 percent of germs naturally and are effective against the Influenza A Virus, including H1N1 along with a host of other germies.

Unbleached Recycled Paper Towels - I like unbleached. Bleaching is a chemical process that is not good for us or the environment. And there is no need for it other than cosmetic. We use unbleached flour, coffee filters, cheesecloth ,wax paper and other products so why not paper towels? I like these. They are very thick. And I like brown. They hold up quite well.

The Conscious Kitchen by ALEXANDRA ZISSU - This is one great book. Full of tips for the kitchen and other areas of your life, like take-out food containers where you want to go more green and be safer. Did you know that in order to decaf coffee the beans may have been soaked in solvents? There are chapters in detail plus little tips in the margins of the book that are quickies to read.
This is one of the best written informative books on how to keep your family in the know about what you are putting into your body, what to do if you cannot find organic items to buy, the safest fish to buy, the low down on plastics,plus so much more... along with some recipes sprinkled in.

Handy Recycled Carrier - I love this thing. Handle in the middle with room to store rags, cleaners, brushes and rubber gloves.

This has been one of my favorite experiences with store bought cleaning items ever. I will buy these wipes and the paper towels. I recommend the cleaning sprays if you buy cleaning products.

WIN SOME: The Generous people over at 7th Generation through MyBlogSpark are providing one of my lucky readers a box of products just like I received. You are going to love this stuff.

MANDATORY ENTRY: Please do this one first before any of the Extra Entries.
Answer this question: What is the best thing you’ve done for the environment this year?

Extra Entries: PLEASE DO THE MANDATORY ENTRY ABOVE FIRST.

• Tell me something you like to make that saves you money or relaxes you - 2 entries
• Go to the 7th Generation site and tell me something you learned while there. It is a very interesting place - 2 entries
  

• Follow my blog over on the sidebar through Google...PUBLICLY. - 2 entries

• Stick my little "shortcut" button of the pigs, on your sidebar- 3 entries

• Tweet about this giveaway...daily tweet = 2 extras each day, leave me the link to your tweets

• Blog about this here giveaway with a link back to this post - 5 entries

• Produce a one minute youtube video talking about this giveaway, my blog and the environment, leave me the link - 15 entries

Giveaway open to US residents. 18+ Ends Midnight April 15th. Please make sure I can easily reach you with an email addy.
MyBlogSpark will mail the winner their package.
I received a package with these products from 7th Generation through MyBlogSpark for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Winner for Tricky Trainers

We have a winner ! Number 28 Ms. Magpie.
Winner has been contacted.
Thank you all who entered. Please come back again to read my blog and enter more giveaways.

Random Number Generator

Random Number Generator
This page simply picks a random number, within a range you specify.
For example, to pick a number between 1 and 100, set the Lowest Number to be 1, and the Highest Number to be 100.
Then click on Pick a Number to pick the number. That's it. Have fun!

If you found this useful, consider visiting the main Violet Cottage website. Thanks for visiting!

The randomly picked number is: 28

Lowest Number 1
Highest Number 28

What's that Smell? Get Serious. Giveaway.

Get Serious Odor, Stain and Pheromone Extractor for Dogs and Cats.

Little Ricky Pickles has a dirty little secret. He gets called "Mister Pee Pee Pants" sometimes. If he were human, he would be called a "bed-wetter".
Because he would not be walking around at night peeing on things. He would be in the bed peeing on things. But he's not human, so our fan stand got branded and Larry's boots got an endorsement also.

Larrys' boots got the Heeve Ho... they were old and he can stand to get a new pair anyway. The floor fan got wiped down, but Ricky Pickles gets it confused with a tree I suppose. Maybe because Larry made the base out of a scrap piece of OSB that was outside for awhile. Perhaps Ricky thinks he IS peeing outside when he cocks his short little leg and waters it.

Seems no amount of "RICKY NO NO" works. This is said in a loud stern voice. But it's not when he is in the act. He does the act at night, when he can sniff at his leisure, walk around it in circles, take his time, savor the moment. Everyone's asleep, it's his tree. Private tree. He marks it and it works. No one else has dared to challenge his essence. He OWNS that tree.

So I was so happy when my sample of Get Serious arrived for me to try. Get Serious removes odor, stains and pheromones, the nifty stuff that stays around when your pet "marks".
A virtual "calling card". This is what makes them come back again and again to the same spot.

We needed this to stop because we use the fan to circulate warm air from our wood stove. Larry screwed it to a wood base because these three Jack Russells are nuts when they play and we did not want it to fall over on them.
I cleaned the stand and the base really well, let it dry then applied the Get Serious straight from the bottle with a damp cloth. Working into the wood with a squishing motion. Then wiping dry.
We all went to bed. Got up and YAY ! No midnight "tree" tagging. I still was not ready to call it a success though. Ricky Pickles has had other nights when he did nothing but dream puppy dreams, waiting till the morning to go outside and pee. I put some Get Serious in a spray bottle and each night for a week sprayed, scrubbed and blotted. And each morning woke up to a dry fan.

Moving on to the carpet. We have wall to wall carpet in our living room/Larry's studio. It is a beige color and it has some spots. Pee spots. Because no matter how diligent you are, when you have pups and they pee, it stains. We have a carpet steamer and we have tried to steam the stains out to no avail. It looks good when its wet, but then it dries and lo and behold...it's a stain.

I applied the Get Serious full strength to the stains,I microwaved it for 30 seconds first, stepped on the rag to mush it in, and scrubbed a bit. I then took a dry rag and stepped on it to blot. YAY ! When it dried, the stains were gone. Whooo Hooo. Enzyme cleaners can cause mold and mildew to form under carpets and padding. Get Serious has no enzymes and virtually "lifts" the stain out.
This product does the job of 2 of those other cleaners and you only have to use half as much (no need to saturate like those enzyme based cleaners). It has also saved people money on many occasions by not having to replace their carpets after really bad pet accidents
Maybe we won't have to replace the carpet this coming year.

Now Get Serious states on their site that they have not tested it in steam machines, but they have customers who have good results. So I am doing the whole carpet this weekend. Now that it is warm enough to open windows and have the fans running. They even had one customer use it with success on her husbands pants, on a beet stain.
I also treated an oil stain on Larry's parka before washing and it lifted that out...wow. Larry is so sensitive to cleaners and I had to give away some laundry stain remover because he could not handle the chemicals in it.
.
I am proud to report that Ricky Pickles is doing so much better. He no longer has accidents on the carpet. And the fan/tree has been totally dry since the applications of Get Serious.

Win Some ! :

The generous folks over at Get Serious have offered a sample pack to one of my readers.

MANDATORY ENTRY: Please do this one first before any of the Extra Entries.

• Go to the Get Serious Website and come back to tell something you found interesting.

Extra Entries: PLEASE DO THE MANDATORY ENTRY ABOVE FIRST.

• Tell about a tip or trick you used to get rid of a stain or a funny story about your pet and a stain. (or a funny one about your husband/wife/partner/friend and a stain) 2 entries

• Follow my blog over on the sidebar through Google...PUBLICLY. - 2 entries

• Stick my little button of the pigs on your sidebar- 3 entries

• Tweet about this giveaway...daily tweet = 2 extras each day, leave me the link to your tweets

• Blog about this here giveaway with a link back to this post - 5 entries

• Produce a one minute youtube video talking about this giveaway, my blog and Get Serious, leave me the link - 15 entries

Giveaway open to US residents. 18+ Ends Midnight April 19th.
Get Serious will mail the winner their package.
(I received a bottle of Get Serious for Dogs and one for Cats for review purposes. All opinions are mine. I liked this product, so I wrote about it.)