friday favorites.

here are my favorites for this week:

• doggie travel tags. we must take haley with us when we next travel. it's just simply a must. as a paranoid individual, i'm paranoid about her running off while we're on holiday (um. even though she has our cell phone numbers engraved on her tag. ahem.). now i can set aside (some) my worries and attach on of these to her collar with our hotel info. unless of course the collar falls off. or the person that finds her doesn't see that. or she happens to wander 100 miles away from our hotel. $5.50 (with free shipping!).

• storage boxes. we don't have a lot of storage pieces in the room formerly known as the office, so i opt for filling our closet with these boxes. they're easy to stack and oh so easy to fill. receipts, cds, user manuals, photos. the opportunities are endless! the only thing i don't like is that they require assembly, but what doesn't at ikea? various sizes and colors. these are $9.99 for two.

• oxo brite. i'm not a fan of chemicals as you probably already know and i'll do whatever i can to avoid using them, especially on things that i wear, thankyouverymuch. i just recently tried this product and was happy to discover that it actually works, unlike some others i have tried. it truly got my whites whiter! now i wonder if i can use it to bleach my sink? $11.75.

• green tea toothpaste. remember how i was talking about switching toothpastes because of sls? after a good bit of research and inquiries to the companies regarding animal-derived ingredients (nature's gate, jason's and weleda do not use them in the products i asked about. email me if you want more 411), i tried this green tea toothpaste, which i give 8.5 out of 10. the only reason it's not a perfect 10 is that it tea-stained my toothbrush which sort of made me wonder what's it's doing to my teeth. i'll balance that comment with the fact that i like it extra-special much because it has myrrh, which is excellent for a healthy mouth. (for the record, i also tried jason's nutrismile, but it gave me a tummy ache. i don't know why. i swear i'm not eating it.) $6.99.

• bariani olive oil. this is my favorite olive oil, though i don't keep it stocked since i'm in la and it's produced in sacramento. which would mean i'd have to order it (which i've done) or load up on it at a san francisco farmers' market next time i'm up there or visit one of these stores, which i'm frankly too lazy to do. i might just have to though, i've been craving it like a madwoman. it's flavorful, made by a small producer that is family owned- and operated, organic and produced in a limited quantity. try it! you'll like it! $17, 1.0 liter; $9, 500 ml or $4.75, 250 ml. also available in cases.
  

ps wish my bladder and i luck today as i fill it with 32 ounces of fluid and resist "releasing" until after the ultrasound. ugh.

photo credits: george; ikea; earth friendly products; levland/nature's gate; bariani.