Coffee grounds really do make hydrangeas turn blue.
My hydrangea from Aldi, which used to be just a little stick, had pink flowers initially.
But putting coffee grounds around the base of the plant has definitely changed the color of the blooms. Yay!
(Yes, I drink coffee now. I’m surprised too!)
No-Ad makes a mineral sunscreen now
They sent me a sample bottle to try and I’d say this works as well as the Thinksport that has been our favorite, but it doesn’t smell as good (Thinksport has a great fruity scent!).
Also, while I think pretty much any mineral sunscreen is an improvement over chemical sunscreen, the No-Ad variety doesn’t rate as well on the EWG Skin Deep site as Thinksport does.
The No-Ad stuff is definitely cheaper than Thinksport, though, and it IS free of fragrance, parabens, alcohol, BPA, propylene glycol, retinyl palmitate, BHT, and dyes.
I am almost done with bed-painting.
I’ve been sharing the paint life on Instagram stories (it IS about as exciting as watching paint dry!).
Of course I will share before and after pictures here on the blog once I get the beds all put back together.
Even when I am done with the beds, I will have barely scratched the surface of my summer painting projects. Oy.
Hopefully I’ve gotten the painting ball rolling, though, and I’ll just keep on going now that I’ve started.
Sonia’s lamp and alarm clock are both from Amazon.
I got a question about those yesterday. The links in yesterday’s post should be working (I try to always link to things you guys might have questions about.)
I also added them to my Amazon list of favorite things
We’ve had the twin bell alarm clock since 2014, so I can confirm that it’s a good clock.
And Joshua’s had the black version of the Tomons desk lamp for years.We liked it so much, Sonia decided she’d like to have one in white.
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And now I’m off to finish up a few odds and ends with the beds before I put them back in the girls’ rooms. Have a lovely Thursday, friends!
WilliamB
Friday 28th of June 2019
My hydrangea has both pink and blue/purple flowers. It's beautiful but also very strange since the one is caused by alkaline soil and the other by acid soil.
Jenny
Thursday 27th of June 2019
You have inspired me to paint something I have been wanting to paint for about 30 years! Got it primed now! I just use clear spray-on cheap sunscreen on sale with my CVS, Walgreen's, or grocery coupons. Luckily it works great for us, smells fantastic, etc. but I understand some are more sensitive.
Jennifer
Thursday 27th of June 2019
One of my children is allergic to sunscreens, mineral and otherwise. She has an reaction to the combination of sun with the sunscreen. It's been tough because she can't enjoy field day at school or things like that but we manage pretty well. As a family, we now plan all of our activities early in the morning and late in the evenings to avoid using sunscreen. We also always book rooms with an indoor pools and use long sleeve rash guards and hats. It's not ideal but some people can't use sunscreen at all and it is possible to avoid it, just not ideal.
I'm jealous of your beautiful hydrangeas. I spent a lot of money on several hydrangeas and they all died except for two. One of those seems to be thriving and the other is just ok. They seemed to improve when we cut a few large trees that were nearby so my fingers are crossed they will get better.
Annie
Thursday 27th of June 2019
So glad to hear No-Ad makes a mineral version. I am sensitive to a lot of fragrances and prefer my sunscreen with none added, plus their brand is usually much cheaper than other brands. Paying a lot for sunscreen can cause some people to underapply to save money and so they risk damage. BTW, saw Thinksport at my local CVS in NYC. Don't remember the exact price but it was reasonable, just didn't care for the scent though, so no purchase. Badger Balm has some good ones, including lip balms, and their customer service is great!
Jennifer G
Thursday 27th of June 2019
Consumer Report rates sunscreens in their July 2019 issue. There are NO mineral sunscreens that rate at even the Very Good level for actual SPF or variation from SPF. The whole article was very thoughtful reading.
Isabelle
Saturday 29th of June 2019
Makes me feel less guilty about still using the regular (a.k.a chemical...) one on myself and the kids. My husband has converted to mineral but I find them hard to apply and staying white on skin.