I had intended to post this on Friday the 13th, but I forgot to set the date, so here we are. If you celebrate it, I hope you all had a safe and fun Halloween.
Continue ReadingPlastic-Free July 2023 + Fall Update
This one is going to be very brief. As with the past few Julys, I took part in Plastic-Free July, which is still tricky even though things are just about back to normal regarding bulk buying, etc. My best friend and I took a couple of days and went to the Queen Mary, which was a blast. We grabbed food from a few different places (I was surprised at how many used plastic-free packaging!) and had a mini buffet. As far as the plastic I accumulated: A carton of fruit, a loaf of bread, and four takeout containers from one of the restaurants. Since we grew a lot of our summer produce, there wasn’t much to purchase.
The rest of summer flew by. We’ve been working on filling the yard with fruit and vegetable plants, as well as dotting the area with some edible flowers. So far, my personal favorite is the lavender. I’ve already dried quite a bit of it for tea. It is hard to believe that fall is already here! October is tomorrow, which kicks off “spooky season” for us. Some decorations have been displayed, and I will be working on low-waste treats for my nieces and nephews in the upcoming weeks. I’ve just about finished with holiday gifts, which is something I like to finish early so there’s no scrambling at the last minute. I am also working towards getting a few things running since they have definitely sat too long. Once everything is sorted out I can elaborate more.
Thank you so much for taking a minute to read this. I appreciate all of you and hope you have a wonderful weekend! Peace & Love, always!
Birthday Celebrations with Darphynia
My birthday officially starts tomorrow, but I started celebrating early by going out for some of the things companies offer. My fiancée joined me, which was nice. If you were curious, I’m not like the sustainable people who say “No” to freebies. Quite conversely, I love when free things are offered, especially since I’m on a limited income. It’s a nice thing that companies do, which often leads to people making a purchase if it’s not a requirement. In a way, it’s a win-win. I have discussed my love of free offerings in previous posts. Even though I try to limit how personal my blog is, I pride myself on transparency.
Continue ReadingTried & Tested: Blueland
*The products mentioned were sent, complimentary, for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links that provide a commission at no additional cost to you.
Life Update and Beyond
Some of you may have noticed, I’ve been absent for a couple of months. That is because my mom unexpectedly passed away in the early hours of January 4th of this year. I made a post on Instagram about my taking a leave of absence. My last living grandparent passed away a couple of weeks after Mom. My fur baby, who turns 15 this year, had a lung infection soon after my grandparent’s passing. It was caught early, and now she’s nearly back to her old self. I guess life wasn’t done because my dad tested positive for Covid-19 and passed it to my fiancée. Luckily, I didn’t test positive and could take care of them. Needless to say, 2023 thus far, has not gone as planned. We are still navigating this new normal, and every day is different. We can’t thank everyone enough for the outpouring of love and support in so many forms. That is the update as of now. In unrelated news, I have some fun collaborations in the works and will be back to a more regular posting schedule. I am also working on our first vlog. Admittedly, the video is taking far longer to make than anticipated. I had been meaning to start a vlog series ages ago and never got around to it. Hopefully, you will all get some value (or at least entertainment) from them.
Peace & Love, always!
Happy New Year!
Last-Minute Gift Ideas
As 2022 comes to a close, so does the window for getting gifts together–Christmas is just 6 days away! Here are some last-minute gifts for anyone on your list. Many of these are handmade and (hopefully) budget-friendly. You can find most of the ingredients at your local dollar stores. With food costs continuing to rise, food may be more costly than gift cards, candles, etc. I know I mentioned Christmas, but these gifts can be for any holiday you celebrate. If you celebrate a holiday, or holidays, other than Christmas, I hope you have a wonderful holiday season. You don’t necessarily have to, but I recommend an ingredient for anything food-related that you make, just in case anyone happens to have sensitivities, allergies, or dietary restrictions.
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An Update in Autumn + Holiday Gift Ideas
Hi, everyone! It has been quite some time. My posting, as of late, has been far less than usual. Since testing positive for COVID back in June, I haven’t felt great most days, and the days that are good have been spent crafting for a new project. I meant to provide some updates last week and simply didn’t get around to it.
Hello, fall…almost 🍁
I somehow missed all of August. Not much happened last month. We finalized the gift drop-off route for the holidays, got to work on decorations, and finished most of the holiday gifting. Ideally that all gets done before the seasons change. Between health issues and other things, it didn’t.
Continue ReadingPlastic-Free July 2022: Weeks 3-4
Weeks three and four were uneventful. I’m still not feeling great and decided to update my GP. We have a telemed call next week.
*As you can see, this post is a couple of weeks late. Things were a bit hectic, and I wasn’t feeling well. That being said, I hope you enjoy this short read.
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Darphynia's Diary 
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