I taught myself to knit when I was 23, and it felt empowering to take a ball of yarn and turn it into a hat or a scarf. My children learned how to knit at a young age while attending a Waldorf school, and I believe that this simple interweaving of threads is an important connection to our pre-industrial heritage. The fine alpaca sweater worn by my baby here was designed and knit by the skillful hands of my eldest daughter's 19-year-old friend. It's now a family heirloom.

When it comes to medicine, I'm all about purity of ingredients, gentleness on the body, and effectiveness in uprooting conditions so that the result is true healing and health. The best answer I've found this side of heaven is homeopathy. This 250-year-old form of medicine has saved us literally thousands of dollars in doctor and hospital visits, many hours of worrying, and untold side effects of a myriad of drugs. Once you understand how it works, it's quite easy to use, especially when you have a remedy kit and a materia medica (an explanation of the remedies and their uses) at your fingertips.

I've had a latte every morning for about 12 years now. It's a daily ritual that I used to have in cafés - oh, how I love a beautiful café. Visiting new ones might be the thing I miss most about living in a city. But these days I'm enjoying the short commute downstairs to use the best, small-batch roasted coffee beans I can buy close to home, with raw milk and maple syrup from local organic farms.

I did not have any dogs growing up, but I knew that once I got one, he would have to be as handsome as he was useful. I was attracted to the deep browns, ticking patterns, and elegant composure of German Shorthaired Pointers, in the family of huntings dogs, also called gun dogs, bird/duck dogs, and field dogs. My prayers were answered in Strapping Noble, whom we nicknamed "Strap," our German Shorthaired Pointer mix. Since we're not hunters, he's turned out to be more handsome than useful, but I'm happy with that!

I had no idea I could enjoy a book so much with "plastic" in the title. Of course, the positive way to describe the book is living with authentic, sustainable materials: wood, glass, steel, linen, cotton, sea sponges .... Not only are the photos beautiful, taking their well-laid-out suggestions make for surroundings that make you feel better, too.

I am in love with wool. I wear wool socks all winter, along with "woolies," a thin, wool base layer, usually Merino. It's an amazing temperature-regulating, natural, traditional fabric that is widely-available and super-breathable, which means it hardly needs to be washed (and never dry it in a dryer!).

This book makes me want to clean my house and to take better care of the things that I have. Not only are the photos full of modern-rustic farmhouse charm, the advice is truly helpful. I also love that the cleaners are truly non-toxic (hint: most solutions involve baking soda and/or vinegar!) since I strive for a chemical-free home.