PLANT LIFE | BRINGING THE OUTDOORS IN

Now that the weather is once again turning a little cooler, many of us will sadly be spending less time outside with the flora. Losing touch with nature for the next 8 months is the last thing we want! Being surrounded by leafy branches and chirping songbirds is good for our health and happiness.

With the majority of our time being spent indoors now, we need to bring the outdoors in. You know that deep, earthen smell of a plant nursery? It just smells like growth and life and quiet. Recreate that in your home! Pick a spot that you can create a living shrine in. If you have a whole room, even better! A few strategically placed stools next to a wide windowsill will do. Pick pots for your foliage that complement your decor style. Terra cotta, tin, ceramic, even paper. Choose natural materials that can be re-used in case you need to transplant your bigger specimens.

Think about what kind of plants suit you. Do you need something low maintenance, like an Air Plant? Or do you have a whole handful of green thumbs just waiting to take on a new challenge? Be conscious of the little members of your household, whether they are furry or not, you might need to research the safety of the plants you bring inside in case someone mistakes them for a tasty snack. Whatever your preference, get as many as you can and breathe in their benefits every day!

Even if you don’t consciously think about a plant, it will be doing you good anyhow. There is some debate about how helpful they are, but most studies conclude that plants are natural detoxifiers. They pull toxins and irritants from the air in your indoor space, increasing oxygen and decreasing your likelihood of falling ill.

We hear the phrase “I just need to sit in a forest for a little while” uttered more and more often. So many people spend most of their life disconnected from real nature, which is a shame because it does us so much good. Surrounded by plants, our anxiety drops, our sense of calm rises. Our mind opens, reminding us that if we feel cornered or stuck, there is always room to make a new path. Being responsible for the well-being of something living makes us more compassionate, empathetic, and fills us with a sense of stability.

Your plant sanctuary will be full of clean air and greenery. Green is associated with many things: growth, harmony, freshness, fertility, calm. It is also the most restful colour for our eyes. It is a symbol for sustainability and conscious living. Alternatively, green is also associated with greed, jealousy, and money. How you view the juxtaposition between these associations depends on perspective. We think we will stick with the former connotation! 

Depending on your style, you may end up with an indoor forest, or more of a jungle. On the West Coast, we have a pretty abundant forest year round, so we carry plants that mimic a more tropical atmosphere. During the cold months it reminds us of the last time we were able to bask in sunny warmth near the water’s edge. We keep in stock a variety of the Tillandasias family, or “air plants,” a low maintenance bunch that only require a good soak each week, no pot, no soil. Our Echevaria Succulents have great texture, bringing a bit of a geometric vibe to your mix. The broad leaves of the sensitive Fiddle Leaf Fig trees will transport you to sultry evenings in lush climates. One of our favourites, the ZZ PLant, is so easy to care for, and it’s glassy leaves and deep, wine bottle colour classes up any corner.

With the right combination of vegetation, you can bring your space to life! So have some fun and make yourself an indoor green space this fall! 

SHOP THE LOOK  |  

SALT Yara Tank  (online soon)

Mud Jeans Skinny Hazen | Pure Blue. 

Photos by Milton Photo + Life Set Sail. 

from SALT Shop - Journal https://saltshop.ca/blogs/news/your-style

JUMP IN

Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun on the Earth and her oceans. Their constant cycles are predictable and dependable. Even though we may be about 75% water, the pull of the tides do not affect us. However, that is not to say that our lives do not have their highs and lows.

The ebb and flow of life can’t be put on a schedule; it is constantly in a dynamic state of motion. Change is inevitable, no matter how hard you try to sit still, so why not take back some of your control? Why not create movement for yourself rather than waiting for it to find you? The phrase “Good things come to those who wait” is fine when applied to teaching the virtue of patience, but when it comes to building a life you love, we must replace that phrase with “Good things come to those who work their asses off and never give up.”

What ocean of doubt are you standing on the edge of, just waiting to jump into? A long dreamed of adventure? A journey of self-love? A new career? What feels just beyond your reach?

We know that whether or not it’s something you’ve said out loud, deep down everyone wants to be living their best life. We just have to find enough drive to go for it! If taking charge and chasing down your dreams isn’t something that comes naturally to you, we have a few suggestions on how to get started.

 

• Set goals. At this point it might sound cliche, but writing down specific, attainable, measurable goals is the first step towards achieving them. If writing isn't much your thing, use whatever creative outlet suites you. Make a vision board and set an intention for each image. Post them on your fridge or in your room, and look at them often. They will help keep you accountable!
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• Create habits. Whatever your goal is, be it career, health, or personal, you need to stay consistent. It’s like flossing: it doesn’t really help all that much to do it every few months when the mood strikes you, you have to do it daily. Whether you need to start getting up 30 minutes early, making a To Do list every morning, or dedicating an hour a day to working on an idea, commit to it and stick with it.
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• Ask for help. We can’t all be experts in everything. Or more to the point, we don’t have to be. Specialize in what you know you can be great at and ask for help with the rest. Even the most impressive success stories include a cohort of supporters who are there in the wings ready to lend a hand, or just cheer you on.
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• Be braver than your excuses. This step is the first, last, ongoing, and most important. Fear is the number one reason we hold ourselves back. If the consequence isn’t some sort of extreme physical danger, then the fear isn’t real. Somewhere along the lines, we teach ourselves that we aren’t capable or that the potential for something bad outweighs the potential for something amazing. It’s hard work, but unlearning these lessons and pushing past the fears hiding in our excuses could be the most rewarding thing you will ever do for yourself!
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If you have a great idea, run with it. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have all the steps in line yet, if you don’t take the first one, you’ll never get started. You need to just take the leap. Jump in with both feet. You might flounder or stumble. Guaranteed you will learn. Eventually you will be your own tide, the gravitational pull of your courage sweeping up those around you into their own adventures!

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all."

- Helen Keller

 

from SALT Shop - Journal https://saltshop.ca/blogs/news/jump-in

Modern Day Mermaids | Salty Finds

We may not have shimmery tails, but we often find ourselves salting our skin and combing out our beachy waves. Spending time near the ocean is where we find happiness. It’s expansiveness humbles us, it’s tides ground us, it’s consistent rolling lulls us into calm.

We have found ourselves drawn to stock our shelves with products we couldn’t have in our lives without the inspiration of the sea. So many amazing things come from the ocean, we are constantly grateful for it’s bounty, and excited to find sustainable brands that help us bring their benefits into our homes.

While we may revel in the surfer-babe waves that sea salt can help our hair achieve, when we are out in the sun so much, we do need to keep the moisture locked in our locks. Mixing a little sea water with tropical moisturizing oils gives us the tousled, just off the beach look without drying out our tips. Artifact Skin Co. offers us just what we need to keep our manes shiny and protected with their Mer-Mer Monoi Milky Waves Hair Mist and Tiare Hair Oil.

From ocean to doorstep, Charlotte & Castel is aware of the impact of every step of their business. We are excited to have their Sea Salt Soap join our ranks of sustainably produced self-care products. Mediterranean sea salt mixed with natural oils like coconut, avocado, grapeseed, safflower, and rice bran, bring us a long lasting bar that moisturizes and draws toxins from the skin. Natural scents like cedarwood, lavender, bergamot, grapefruit, and peppermint refresh and soothe you. Nearly 100% of the packaging and shipping materials are reusable or compostable, so you can feel good about your purchase. 

We’d love to be able to take an ocean dip year round, but our chilly Pacific Northwest waters aren’t all that temperature friendly. Montreal’s BKIND brings us a stress reducing salt soak full of natural scents from their handmade line of natural, vegan skin-care products that we can enjoy in the cozy confines of our bathtubs any time we want.   

Without tail fins to propel us through life, we depend on our feet to hold us up and get us where we need to go. They definitely deserve a little extra attention now and again. Drop a handful of Aenon’s Shea and Mint Foot Scrub into a basin of warm water, sit back on the couch, and let your feet melt. If there is any scrub left over, use it to exfoliate away dead skin and leave your feet refreshed.

Whether you use ocean inspired products daily, or occasionally, each time let it be a reminder that we need to be kinder to our cerulean waters. The ocean is impacted by human behaviour every day in so many ways. SALT is committed to learning more about how our choices can minimize this impact and reverse some of the damage done. Stay tuned for more on how you can help, starting with mindful purchases!

 

from SALT Shop - Journal https://saltshop.ca/blogs/news/modern-day-mermaids