Dominique Browning is one of our favorite green bloggers, friends, and Practically Green advisors. She’s been writing about gracious good living for decades, and before that she was talking about it and simply doing it at her house, in her life, and with her kids.

She’s got a new book out called Slow Love. We recommend it to anyone who’s ever been smacked with a curve ball—fired from a job, received a scary medical diagnosis, reckoned with a dead-end relationship, moved from a “forever” house. The book resonates for anyone who’s had to let go of whatever was familiar, cozy, expected, and routine. And that’s practically all of us.

In Slow Love, Dominique describes how she digested her own complex prickly ball of unexpected change—and how she’s moved on.

There’s lots of wisdom in this deceptively little book, and we look forward to spoon-feeding it to you—slowly and lovingly, that is—during the next few months. For today: Sometimes it’s the little things that matter, like thinking through the soap at your sink.

From www.SlowLoveLife.com:

SLOW ME UP! SOAP DISHES

I have turned against those liquid soaps in plastic dispensers. First, it was the chemicals in the plastic that made me nervous. Then, it was a matter of aesthetics. Even the best of those liquid soaps have an annoying, stumpy look. Of course, I recall that I turned against bars of soap when they got gummy with sitting in pools of water, or cracked and dried out from disuse. But that reminded me that what I miss most of all is soap dishes. Frances Palmer made the lovely ones in this picture, and they turned my head.

I have lately found myself snuffling the bars of handmade soap that are turning up all over town–and online too, like the gorgeous little goat milk jewels from Beekman 1802. They remain my favorite houseguest present–and a few pretty stones in the bottom of the dish will keep the soap from melting.

Dominique’s blog: www.slowlovelife.com

Her “Personal Nature” column for the Environmental Defense Fund: http://blogs.edf.org/personalnature/

Learn more about why switching from gel to bar soap is green.