Cool Hunting

You may have heard of the website by the same name. I was so excited to come across a pop-up store while on a visit to New York City over the holidays. Basically, they merged with the Gap and right on 5th Ave had a store of all many of their great finds, from art to hand-crafted to vintage goods.

http://www.coolhunting.com/design/cool-hunting-for-gap.php

I was tickled to see an artist, Ian Hundley, who I'm familiar with, who hails from Brooklyn, featured in the store. I included him in an article I wrote a few years ago on Redefining Quilting. It discussed how new artists are using innovative approaches to designing quilts as we know them by merging contemporary aspects with this tradition craft.

Here is video of a studio visit to Ian Hundley:
http://www.coolhunting.com/culture/ian-hundley-1.php

Another contemporary quilt designer, Ai Kijima, uses sheets, pillow cases, table clothes she finds at second hands stores for material. You can see her latest work here....when living in the U.S. one summer she was inspired by an introduction to Amish quilt making....

www.aikijima.com

The Baby Mash Cafe 2011

For the third summer I'll be dishing out some homemade baby and toddler food with dishes dictated by what's ready from my garden where everything is organically grown of course. Dishes made using all organic ingredients and made in front of your eyes, the fresh produce becomes the backbone of the Mash of the Day. I give parents the options to pick and choose from a selection of ingredients to take into consideration any food allergies.

I look forward to sharing my garden with you and to introducing your child's palette to some wonderful new tastes!

See you at the Baby Mash Cafe this summer! Stay tuned for updates.....

First Felted Wool Experiment

I was excited to give it a try. My son's teacher at the Kimberton Waldorf School, who is super crafty, gave me some tips. I had some old sweaters I wanted to put to good use and I was pleasantly surprised. Simple instructions: Take your sweaters and wash them in super hot water a couple of times (she even adds boiling water as they soak to speed process, but I didn't) and then put them in dryer. Do two cycles of both and presto, your wool will felt! I was a little disappointed that my nice cable knit lost its cables as I didn't expect that outcome. However, I was happy with a Christmas ornament I made and I saved two arms from one sweater to make some wool longies (one of these days when I can find the time along with that cowl I have been wanting to knit!).

Here is the result of my first experiment. I found the hand-hewn buttons at the Waldorf Holiday Festival.

Local Dairy + Zoo = FUN

Why trek all the way to the Philly Zoo when you can check out white Wallabees nearby in the gorgeous countryside of the Oley Valley! A little hidden gem that is free of charge, not only can you see an amazing selection of animals, some of which you can pet and feed, but you can head to the dairy afterwards for some locally made ice cream. They sell crackers you can feed the animals, inside the dairy.

While I prefer to make my own ice cream at home, during the summer months, I let my kid's indulge here from time to time. The ice cream is made from a local dairy that doesn't use any hormones or antibiotics and if you take your own ice cream cones, you'll be covered.

I take my own organic cones, bought at Kimberton Whole Foods, and they don't mind filling them if you hand them over. Their cones are made with artificial ingredients.

Don't Underestimate Baby's Palate

If you're following this blog, you mostly likely made homemade food for your baby, in which case you won't learn anything new from this article I wrote on the subject. However, I wanted to pass it on in the event you know of any new mom's who are on the fence, afraid or don't know where to begin on the homemade baby food journey. Please feel free to pass it...

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=145324

Custom Adult Onesie

My husband and I were so jealous of our son's fleece hooded onesies they wear in the winter months that I was on a quest for us to have some of our own! After a search turned up zero options, I called my nearby fabric store to see if they knew of any sewers who could make an outfit/pattern from scratch. That led me to Nancy, a Mennonite woman who can sew ANYTHING. I dropped off the fleece I picked out at the fabric store along with one of my child's onesies and some requested measurements and voila, $8 (I kid you not) and one week later and we were all warm and snug in our new adult-size onesies. Sure, we look ABSOLUTELY ridiculous wearing them, but we can wear them in the privacy of our own home and just hope for no unannounced visitors when suited up in them! Har har.

Check them out..........
You can customize the entire outfit by purchasing your own zippers, cuff elastic etc, enabling you to color coordinate if you have a specific color coordination idea in mind. The more you provide, they less it will cost her to make.

Wooly Baby

A new friend of mine recently introduced me to wool longies. Supposed to be a wonderful cover option to diaper your child, I'll have to confess I use them for the warmth factor alone! On my first search for a trial pair for my youngest son, I was so delighted to come across this pair as well as to learn the girl who owns the etsy store from which they were purchased, is local, from Philadelphia. They are made from a recycled (upcycled) sweater. It is so nice to see my child all toasty warm in these pants during these chilly winter days and I have been so fascinated learning about the anti microbial qualities of wool.

How adorable are these?

http://www.etsy.com/transaction/37668856

Also, check out these slippers made of recycled wool and leather jackets. They are pretty irresistible...

http://www.wooly-baby.com/

Did you know this about wool? Compliments of Planet Green?....

1. The lanolin, a natural oil, makes it waterproof.
2. It wicks moisture away from you baby.
3. Wool is naturally antibacterial, anti-fungal, and antimicrobial.
4. Because of the antibacterial qualities the wool does not need to be washed that much; a few hours drying time and it is ready to go.
5. Warm in winter and cool in summer because it breathes. That means less likelihood of diaper rash.
6. These diaper covers are durable. With care they will last through several children.

Our Backyard Wind Turbine

One year in the making, last year my husband installed a wind turbine he made from scratch. From hand hewned wood propellers to two old Volvo brake rotors, it is powering up his workshop. On windy days it is quite a sight to see in motion, knowing it is generating power from a natural source! Check it out in action here.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpAbIGno_p4

Green Play House

I am so in love with this play house! My husband will be selling it in his eco-toy store, but he will also have a conversion kit in the event you have saved one from your childhood or come across one second hand. I love this particular one for its modern and sleek design. For Christmas this year, we gave our oldest son my old dollhouse, but did a 'green' conversion on it, souping it up with solar panels, a wind turbine and mini recycle bins for the kitchen! He absolutely loves it and it's great to enable him to just expect this is how a house will operate. It is also nice he can see our wind turbine operating in our own backyard!

http://www.diapers.com/product/productdetail.aspx?productid=18055&site=CI&cm_mmc=cse-_-googlebase-_-toys_books-_-PL-067&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=PL-067

Lucky Bums

I'm a big downhill skier and as my son is approaching 3, so I was so excited to get him on skis this year. After doing some research, I came across these. They are supposed to be great skis to throw on for play in the backyard to give a child a good feel for being on skis. I love that a regular snow boots fits in the bindings and that they can also be used to get a feel for cross country skiing since the back of the foot isn't bound. I am so excited to have my little guy out with me in the snow joining me in a sport I love! They are arriving this week. I also love the fact they are wood and will be a great first-skis-momento to save for him.

http://luckybums.com/snowkidsbeginnerwoodenskis.aspx

Eco-Toys

My husband recently started a business called Stokes Solar and aside from offering green energy audits on how your home can operate in a more green fashion to solar and wind turbine residential packages, he will also have a toy store! Inspired by his love of renewable energy combined with being a daddy and wanting to educate our children as they play, the 'toys' don't require any batteries! Thanks to water, wind and sun, they can do anything and everything. There will be an open house in the showroom this spring, so stay tuned!

A Thing for Letterpress

If you are into the art and wonderfulness of letterpress designs, check out his article I wrote on a local couple who has their own press in their design studio....they sell their cards at Hello Bluebird (great store in West Reading) which is where I came across them! Also included are some pics from a visit to their studio...

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=204597

You can buy their cards at Hello Bluebird, great (all things homemade store) located in West Reading.

www.hellobluebird.net

Garden Strategy Time!

I had a recent realization it's time to start thinking about the garden already!......

A couple of days ago when in the whole food section of Giant, I was sooooooooooooo excited to be greeted by a display of organic seeds by Burpee. The excitement came from the fact that garden time is right around the corner!

It got me thinking about my own garden, what to start indoors, what to get in the ground early, etc. One thing I finally learned last season from having two kids with limited time, is to only grow what is normally on my shopping list in the veggie dept. I usually try to go all out and want to plant everything, but it just gets too overwhelming, so I find keeping a minimalist approach leads to less disappointment. It's neat to factor the savings every week when you realize you don't have to add certain items to the list!

While I respect Burpee, I'll personally be getting my seeds here since I am more in tune with their mission as they have been offering organic seeds for over 20 years and it is the backbone of their operation:
www.seedsofchange.com

Made with Iron

My husband's website is up and running again. Check out his ironwork. Aside from commissioned sculptural pieces he also makes functional items for the home.....

www.johnbstokes.com

Hello Bluebird

Need I say more? How cute is this name! I was in need of a great gift and was enticed by the name. I walk in and I'm greeted by all things homemade-handcrafted-many things made locally-fabulousness. The owner, Alex, also runs a mini craft bazaar in the summer months. They also have a great selection of stuff for kids and babies....all homemade. It is like Etsy right at your fingertips.

www.hellobluebird.net
http://www.craftybynature.net/

I included Hello Blue Bird in an article I wrote about Vintage Jane (owned by Stacey McCaffrey) who sells her items in the store as well as has her own store on Etsy.

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=184082

A Love of Asparagus

I recently ran into my friendly neighbor, and owner of Oley Valley Organics, Barb. We talked about her yummy asparagus which will be sold once we start seeing the daffodils popping up. Her roadside stand will be full come spring.

This is also a wonderful spot for picking your own raspberries and strawberries. Her patch is unreal and you save lots of money compared to the roadside stand price. It is also more fun and I find they taste better when you actually pick them yourself! My son was more into eating them the last time we picked them. We picked enough pints to freeze throughout the summer for making smoothies.

A great tip barb gave me....Best way to freeze is to lay them on a cookie sheet and freeze the berries individually and then put them in a freezer bag so they don't stick together.

The only thing I want to warn you about his the mushroom soil they sell. It is not aged, so if you buy it, don't use it for the current season and ask them best tips on prepping it so it is organically certifiable.

Here is an article I included them in last year that sheds more light on their mission as well as the bread they make in their bake oven...the first photo you see includes some bread I made in a relative's bake oven.....if you ever have the chance to cook bread, pizza or pies in a bake oven, take it!!

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=134862

Grid

I came across a new magazine offered for FREE near the front door at Kimberton Whole Foods, called GRID. This is part of my new fireside and bedside reading material. It is all about sustainability and touches upon food, design, etc. If you'd rather check them out online, here is their website. Great read.

http://www.gridphilly.com/

Two Gander Farm

One thing that is super unique about this farm is that they offer a CSA (organically grown food, but not certified) when no one else is...during the cold winter months! This farm is located just down the road from my home on Covered Bridge Rd in Oley and thanks to 4,000 square feet of greenhouse space, it is a sight to be seen during the winter months. Rick, the co-owner with Trey, is a great guy and will be happy to give you a tour anytime. It is such a treat to see the lush selection of greens and veggies during this time of year. Their 300 member CSA is full this year, but you can always get a head start and sign up for next year!

Here is an article I wrote about them if you want to learn more as well as see a photo of Rick in one of his greenhouses on my last visit:
http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=267373

Warm & Toasty

I walked by them a few times intrigued by the mix-matched wool clippings from old sweaters, making each mitten unique in the pair. They were staring at me at the Kimberton Whole Foods in Douglassville on my weekly shopping trips and I finally bought them (when they went on sale) and my hands could not be more appreciative! They are fleece-lined making them super warm.

It turns out there is a great background story here...aside from them being made by some locals, two sisters started making them as thank-you gifts when their mother was in hospice. Now, they have turned it into a business.

New Cafe Discovery

The Raw Can Roll Cafe is worth the trip for anyone in a 1/2 hr radius or more. I highly recommend the guacamole and hummus (served with their homemade veggie crisps) and the seasonal soups (the only thing not raw for winter) are also divine! The atmosphere is best for lunch and they are closed Sun and Mon.

www.rawcanrollcafe.com

The owner of the cafe also owns Pure Body Wellness, a holistic wellness center, located in the same shopping strip.

www.purebodynow.com