Photo Friday | Cajun Pregnancy Milestones

I have two apps on my phone where I keep track of baby's development each week, but the fruit size comparisons are not typically the best. Sometimes I'm not even familiar with the fruit (and yes, I have Googled a few), and sometimes, the fruits are contradictory - as in, one app will say a tomato at 17 weeks and another will say a tomato at 19 weeks.

The general fruit list inspired me to brainstorm a much more entertaining list of pregnancy milestones - one that is all Cajun!

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Photo Friday | Cooking Oil Recycling for Homes and Businesses in South Louisiana

Used cooking oil is a hot topic when it comes to properly disposal and recycling. When poured down the drain, used cooking oil solidifies into thick layers, constricting water flow inside drainpipes, similar to the way blood flows in arteries. Over time, clogged sewers result in unsanitary conditions, odors and damage to sewer pipes. Used cooking oil also poses a threat to the environment when dumped in drains.

Photo: EarthaMag

HOMES

To dispose of cooking oil at home, pour the oil into an empty milk carton or another old, unrecyclable takeout container and toss it in the trash. When the pan is cool, wipe it with a paper towel to remove any excess grease.

Have a compost pile? Old grease should not go in it! As a rule of thumb, fats and animal proteins should stay out of your home compost pile because most home piles do not get hot enough to break these materials down, leaving the pile susceptible to rotting.

Earth911 shares some tips on cooking oil recycling at home.

The City of Lafayette's Household Chemical Waste collection does not accept used cooking oil.

East Baton Rouge Parish and West Baton Rouge Parish accept cooking oil at their Household Hazardous Waste Collection days. which are open to parish residents only.

BUSINESSES

Photo courtesy Southern Oil Solutions

Southern Oil Solutions is a Lafayette-based company that works with area restaurants, grocery stores restaurants, baseball fields, food trucks, hotels, cafeterias, mom and pop eateries, and of course festivals. In addition, they collect grease for proper disposal. Southern Oil Solutions works with businesses in and around Lafayette and travels north to Alexandria, east to Henderson, south to Morgan City, Abbeville, Gueydan, and west to Jennings, and everywhere in between.

I spoke with Brian, the owner of Southern Oil Solutions, who explained a bit more about their services. "We recycle the oil for the manufacturing of biodiesel, which is being used as an additive in #2 diesel. The biodiesel has better emissions and is a lubricant for the engine. Biodiesel burns cleaner, so there's less black smoke billowing out of diesel trucks, and its a renewable resource, so its a no brainer. We also clean grease traps and dispose of it properly at a recycling facility, where the grease is used to make a supplement in animal feed," he says.

He hopes to make a residential collection bin available within Lafayette in the future, in conjunction with Lafayette Consolidated Government. He has even worked with with one local resident who contacted him about a pickup after saving their cooking oil for a year. "I would pick up if they have 20 gallons or more," Brian says. 

"All in all, we are your one-stop shop for cooking oil and grease collection and recycling in the greater Acadiana area," Brian says.

For businesses near Lecompte and Holden, Louisiana, Dar Pro offers cooking oil collection.

Filta handles cooking oil collection for Baton Rouge, Denham Springs, Hammond, Gonzales and Prairieville, Louisiana.

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Photo Friday | National Secondhand Wardrobe Day

Break out your favorite vintage or thrifted outfit tomorrow and celebrate National Secondhand Wardrobe Day in eco-friendly style!

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Photo Friday | Pamplona Tapas Bar's Commitment to Reducing Waste

Nestled in Downtown Lafayette, in a gorgeous historic building, is the restaurant Pamplona Tapas Bar. The restaurant is known for its gourmet tapas menu, ambiance and killer sangria (okay, it's definitely known to me for its killer sangria).

But did you know that Pamplona has also made efforts to reduce its own waste footprint and recycle more?

Photo courtesy Pamplona Tapas Bar

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Photo Friday | Weekend Getaways

Earlier this summer, my husband and I took a short weekend getaway as a quick babymoon. Taking a small (or large!) babymoon is, to me, especially important to take a breather during preparing for a baby's arrival, in addition to relishing that last time you can go somewhere without having to either find a babysitter or bring a child with you.

We made our way to the beach and got in some great R&R time before heading back home, back to work and back to finishing up things around the nursery and checking other less-fun things off pre-baby punch list.

While the majority of my focus was on simply relaxing and not stressing about everything still left to do (which, if you know me, is hilarious), I still worked to be less wasteful. I noticed that the beaches promoted the phrase "Leave only footprints", although it seems like many beachgoers weren't too worried about leaving some of their trash behind. We spotted a few morning walkers picking up trash as they went, which was inspiring.

I packed my water in a trusty reusable water bottle, and thanks to the water pitcher in the hotel lobby, I was able to fill up on our way out without having to hunt down a water fountain or resort to bottled water. We brought reusable coffee cups, and my husband packed our small travel coffee pot, so we didn't have to use single-use coffee pods or filters.

I also packed my Vitamin A swimsuit and a hand-me-down maternity one-piece suit, along with two borrowed beach hats from one of my cousins-in-law. My red cover-up is from my great aunt as well.

We may have had a short trip, but it was pretty perfect. And yes, we know that next time we head to the beach, we won't be toting just one canvas bag of stuff, ha!

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Photo Friday | Just Take the Photo

A little departure from my usual posts, but the concept of making memories has been on my mind lately. Blame it on pregnancy hormones for sure.

I am absolutely known as someone who takes a lot of photos. My phone's camera roll has a ridiculous amount of photos stored (and yes, I clean it out regularly, and yes, a lot of the photos are of recycling bins and my cat.)

But, I'm someone who subscribes to the belief that it's better to just take the picture and have it saved away, than to not take the picture and wish you had. Especially with the ability to save digital photos so easily these days, it's a no-brainer to me.

Last month, my grandmother passed away, and the last photo I'd taken with her was the month before. I felt silly in the moment taking it, but I knew it was one I would like to have saved. And now, more than ever, it's a poignant photo that I'll always cherish.

 
On another note, there's a photo my husband took a few weeks back of me in our baby's in-progress nursery. (A very rough sneak peek, and I promise you guys will get a tour in a couple more weeks now that the room is much more put together!) It was a spur of the moment photo, and I was resting while playing on my phone before he snapped it.

The more I looked at it, the more I came to really cherish it. Just a simple moment, but one that will be fun to look back on as we prepare for our first baby's arrival.  

I know that once our baby is here, I'm going to be even more focused on capturing memories. You can always go back and pare down your saved photos, but you can't always recreate a moment to get a photo.

Yes, I take a lot of photos of our cat as well, but they're also photos I know I will value years down the road, especially after Dax's health issues three years ago. 

The point is just - take the photo. Capture the moments and the memories. You can still be present and mindful, and the photos don't have to be perfect or shared right away (or ever) on social media. Sometimes, even if you feel silly taking the photo, it can become something you treasure immensely.

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Photo Friday | Gulf Brew Recycling

This weekend is Lafayette's annual beer festival, known as Gulf Brew. It always draws a huge crowd, where attendees can sample a ton of beers from local, craft and larger breweries. The proceeds benefit Acadiana Center for the Arts, helping to continue Lafayette's strong arts culture.

Photo via Gulf Brew

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Photo Friday | Preparing for Baby

With just about two months left to go, I'm probably in a state of what most people would call "nesting", but I term more as "Type A panicking to get everything done".

We've been making a lot of progress on our little girl's future space in our house, and I'm excited to see different elements come together.

I've got some more in-depth posts coming soon on our registry, my upcoming shower and baby's (extremely adorable already) wardrobe. But today, I'll just share a couple sneak peeks!

We've collected a great assortment of hand-me-down clothes from friends, a small collection of secondhand clothes from a local nonprofit, a few pieces made of sustainable fabrics like bamboo and organic cotton and some clothing gifted from family members. I recently went through all of the clothing and organized it by size, and washed the smallest pieces with some baby-safe eco-friendly detergent.

Talk about excited to see all of these tiny outfits on our tiny human!

I'm also extremely excited about the prospect of using this gorgeous baby wrap to go for walks around the neighborhood or even just for cuddles. I've had my eye on Solly Baby wraps for months, thanks to my friend Laura, and even though I've only practice wrapping it once, I'm not disappointed.

All of Solly's wraps are made of certified Lenzing modal, a sustainable fabric sourced from Austrian beechwood trees, and everything is made in the United States. This fabric is seriously soft and lightweight, plus it's breathable so Baby and I won't get too hot. I also appreciated that there was no plastic in the packaging when it arrived.

There's still plenty more to do, but I know we'll get there. I can't wait to share more about our nursery and other eco-friendly and secondhand items that are helping us prepare for Baby.

Happy weekend, everyone!

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Photo Friday | Plastic Free July

So here's something I've seen floating around this week, as we finish up the first week of Plastic Free July:

Did you know that every piece of plastic that has ever been created still exists in some form on our Earth today? Despite recycling efforts, only 9% of that plastic ends up in new products.

Think about that, and think back on all of the single-use plastic you've used in the past. The toothbrushes you used as a child still exist, even if you threw them away 25 years ago. That Styrofoam takeout container from a restaurant 10 years ago is still around somewhere, whether it's in a landfill or somewhere out in nature. The thousands of straws you've used over the years are all still on this planet.

When you throw plastic away, it doesn't disappear. Because plastic doesn't biodegrade, it either sits in a landfill, or becomes litter and pollution. When you recycle plastic, sometimes it becomes a "new" product, and sometimes it still ends up being thrown away if it's contaminated. And not all plastics are recyclable.

Plastic Free July is a global initiative that focuses on reducing single-use plastics and improves recycling worldwide. 

This month, I'm aiming to look at where I can reduce more plastic in my own life. I'm in the habit of not getting single-use coffee cups or straws, but there are still plenty of areas where I can improve.

For example, I was recently out and about near lunchtime and needed to pick up some food to bring back to my office. I ended up going with the Whole Foods hot bar, where I was able to avoid getting lunch in a plastic or Styrofoam container. My tea can is recyclable and I had a reusable fork at work that allowed me to skip the plastic cutlery.

When you have a choice, choose to refuse single-use plastics. And of course, it's understandable if sometimes you slip up - it happens to all of us! Plastic Free July is not an all-or-nothing approach. It's about becoming more aware and putting in more effort to reduce your plastic waste. 

If you end up with a plastic iced coffee cup, keep it until you can rinse and recycle it. If you forget to ask your waiter not to bring a straw, just remember the next time you're out. If you left your cloth bags at home or in the car, see if it's possible to go without a bag at all.

Read my Times of Acadiana column all about Plastic Free July!

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Photo Friday | Mickey's Loop Bike Ride

Happy Friday, everyone! It's been yet another whirlwind week...while I keep hoping that one of these weeks will be a little less busy, I've pretty much accepted the fact that I will have about five minutes of downtime a week before the baby arrives, ha.

Who all is looking forward to a day off next week, even if it's smack dab in the middle of the week?

But looking ahead on the calendar to an event I saw on Facebook this week...the third annual Mickey's Loop Memorial Bike Ride is scheduled for Wednesday, July 11. The loop bike lane is named for Mickey Shunick, and passes in front of her memorial bicycle on St. Landry Street near downtown. Forward Lafayette and TRAIL Events are putting on the ride again this year.

This year, the bike ride is in honor of JeanPaul Judice, who was killed earlier in January while riding his bicycle after a pickup soccer game.

My husband and I participated in the first Mickey's Loop Memorial Bike Ride back in 2016, and it was definitely a hot, sunny evening. If you participate in the ride, be sure to bring a lot of water, and don't forget your helmet and lights.

Because of the heat, I won't be able to participate in the ride this year, although I wish I could get in a bunch more miles on my bicycle before September! Baby and I will still be supporting all of the riders in spirit and remembering the legacies of all those who have been killed while riding their bicycles.

Visit the Facebook event page for the memorial ride to get all the latest updates.

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Photo Friday | Summer Season

Now that it's officially summer, time for fun in the sun is at its peak level.

I know that most people in the South can vouch that it's been summertime for a month and a half now, and we've certainly been getting in pool time since early May. But with the summer solstice comes those longer (and usually hotter) days, more hours at the pool and more backyard cookouts.

I've put together a short roundup of some of my previous blog posts that can help you make your summertime activities more eco-friendly. Consider it some complimentary poolside or beach reading! 😎

• Sustainable Summertime Gear

• What's In My Eco-Friendly Beach Bag

• Eco-Friendly Swimwear

• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Celebrate the Fourth of July

• Focus on the Impact, Not the Instant

• Greener Backyard Cookouts

Hope you all have a great weekend!

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Photo Friday | Zero-Waste Cravings

I've been diligent about my health and nutrition throughout my pregnancy so far, but I can't lie - I still give in to my cravings.

And while I don't miss wine or frozen margaritas all that much (shocking, I know!) I have found myself craving a cold refreshing drink sometimes. As I've decreased my sugar intake over the last year or so, snoballs are just entirely too syrupy sweet for me now.

However, ironically, I've been crazing a good old frozen Coke as the temperatures have skyrocketed.

This week as one of my cravings hit, I realized I would feel better by going the zero-waste route, instead of walking out of the store with a single-use plastic cup (even if it is recyclable). I brought a widemouth stainless steel tumbler and my widest stainless steel straw, the one perfect for smoothies and frozen treats.

I was able to easily fill up my tumbler, and when I checked out, I told the cashier how many ounces the tumbler holds, so she would quickly be able to ring up the equivalent size. One thing about bringing your own containers is getting looks of confusion from cashiers at gas stations, grocery stores or wherever. But if you make it as easy as possible for them to ring something up, and be confident, you shouldn't run into many issues.

And let me tell you: on a hot, sunny day, that frozen Coke absolutely hit the spot. I had forgotten about the other bonus of bringing my own reusables: the drink stayed frozen longer than it would have in plastic! The insulated tumbler works wonders, and the straw keeps the drink cold all the way through.

My zero-waste journey is absolutely not perfect, but swaps like these certainly make a difference.

And now, I shall go back to drinking my 80 daily ounces of water from my giant reusable Ragin Cajuns football cup...

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Photo Friday | World Oceans Day

This past Wednesday was World Environment Day and the focus was on ways to beat plastic pollution, one of the biggest threats to our environment.

It's only fitting that for World Oceans Day today, that focus on plastic pollution continues. Plastic pollution is a detriment to both our land and marine environments, along with our wildlife.

Graphic via Pela Case

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Photo Friday | Bicycle Safety Festival and Summer Reading Kickoff

Tomorrow will be a busy day for two of my favorite eco-friendly things: bicycles and libraries!

Happening tomorrow at Parc Putnam in Downtown Lafayette, the third annual Bicycle Safety Festival and Lafayette Public Library's Summer Reading Kickoff is helping to herald in summer vacation.

Parc Putnam is on Lafayette Street across from the federal courthouse - there is plenty of street parking, but of course, I encourage you to ride your bicycles there! The Congress Street bike lane is conveniently adjacent to Lafayette Street, allowing you a safer ride. (In previous years, the festival was held at Parc San Souci.)

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Photo Friday | Memorial Day

Memorial Day weekend is here, marking a long weekend for many and the unofficial start of summer. It's most important to remember why we have Memorial Day, so please take a moment to honor the male and female service members who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our country.

If you are planning a gathering or activities to take advantage of the long weekend, remember to be sustainable!

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Photo Friday | The Plogging Trend

I almost hate even calling plogging a "trend", but it has a catchy name now, so I suppose it is officially a trend.

If you're unfamiliar, plogging is a Swedish term that describes picking up litter while jogging. Simple, right?

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Photo Friday | Mother's Day

It's been one of those weeks where, while you're glad it's Friday and the weekend is here, you're also wondering how in the world the week flew by so head-spinningly quickly.

But we are here, and it's Mother's Day weekend!

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Photo Friday | National Bike Month

Happy Friday everyone! Are you just as relieved as me that the weekend is here?


In honor of National Bike Month, which kicked off on Tuesday, I've got a new article in this week's Times of Acadiana on a new bike rental option in the Lafayette area. The city does not have a large public bike share program, although the UL Lafayette campus has the Geaux Velo bike share.

However, BudBike, the new bike rental program, offers something different for riders - electric bicycles! These allow you to cruise a little more and enjoy the surrounding scenery, and can be rented by the day.

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Photo Friday | Sustainable Festival Food Options

Super quick post today, because I know most everyone in Acadiana has Festival fever!

I've got to give a shout out to Scratch Farm Kitchen, a staple at the Farmers and Artisans Markets on Saturday mornings, and a new food vendor at Festival International.

Photo via Scratch Farm Kitchen's Facebook

They focus on serving farm to plate street food, and this week, they shared an Instagram post showing off their compostable bowls for the weekend. It's so great to see a Festival vendor looking for more eco-friendly options!

Photo via Scratch Farm Kitchen's Instagram

If you're looking for a healthy Festival food alternative, check out their menu:

• W.E. Grassfed Burger
• Beta Bowl
• LocoRito Burrito
• Curry Up

Then, visit their food truck located in the LUS La Craft Biergarten space on Jefferson Street all weekend!

Don't forget to check out my blog post and Times of Acadiana article on how to geaux green at Festival International, and have fun this weekend!

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Photo Friday | Bubbles, Not Balloons

First, a note of housekeeping for Lafayette residents: Tomorrow's Household Hazardous Waste Day collection has been canceled, thanks to yet another Saturday full of thunderstorms.

During this week's Project Front Yard Gr8 Acadiana Cleanup Festival of Service, I got to share a little about eco-friendly alternatives to balloon releases. Check out the video here. Videos definitely remind me of why I'm a much better writer than speaker, ha!

I had a lot more fun than I even expected blowing bubbles and planting a seed ball in this community space, and now I'm looking forward to planting the rest of these wildflower seed balls in my own yard.

These seed balls, by the way, are from Seedles, a small business out of the San Francisco area. I actually happened to discover them via Facebook ad, and it was perfect timing when it came to needing some samples for this video.

One thing I noted in our live video is that if you use flower seed packets or seed balls for community or memorial plantings, it's important to choose flower varieties native to your area. Seedles allows you to choose your region when purchasing seed balls, so I was able to pick flowers for the Southeast part of the United States.

Southeast Wildflower Seedles - Butterfly Weed, Partridge Pea, Lance-Leaf Coreopsis, Plains Coreopsis, Purple Cornflower, Rattlesnake Master, Indian Blanket, Standing Cypress, Blazing Star, Wild Blue Lupine, Lemon Mint, Drummon Phlox, Mexican Hat, Clasping Coneflower, Black Eyed Susan, Scarlet Sage, & Spiderwort.

In Eco Cajun spirit, my outfit this day was mostly secondhand. I have to say, for spending $1 on this dress at a garage sale, my cost-per-wear is almost too small to calculate at this point. Definitely a staple dress in my closet over the past year, and I anticipate even more wears this summer as I prepare to live in comfortable dresses.

In a bit more housekeeping, if you missed my Earth Month spotlight on Sustainable Anna, read it now! I've got two more really exciting spotlights coming your way in the next two weeks as well.

I've also got a column out in the Times of Acadiana on how practicing self-care is extremely beneficial. Take a few minutes to read that, then a few more minutes to meditate. It'll help you jump start your weekend for sure.

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