Blogger Showcase!

Why does it seen like I turn around and it's Tuesday again!?!?!?

This week, I want to showcase someone my mother just turned me on to. As you know, I looooove to cook. Love it. Love. It. As the weather cools (can't believe I just typed that), I turn to my slow cooker to get things ready while I am working and being taxi-mom all day. I have some pretty good slow cooking cookbooks, however, all but one uses copious amounts of cream of mushroom soup - which I'm not even sure belongs in any food group.

Just so happened my mom drops the name of this blog during a conversation, and I am totally hooked. The site I'm talking about is... (here goes the drumroll...)

At A Year Of Slow Cooking, Stephanie has taken, as the title announces, a year to use her slow cooker every single day. For those of you familiar with books and movies, Julie and Julia has done a similar project, as the author cooked through Julia Child's cookbook in a year and blogged about it. Stephanie has blogged through her escapades, has published a cookbook, and though her year has ended, still shows up to post every now and then.

What I really like about this blog is how she pictures her ingredients, gives clear instructions on how to fill the pot, then returns after the meal to describe how it went - how it looked, tasted, and what the kids thought.

Of course, the best part for me, is Stephanie's family is gluten-free just as mine is. It is really hard to find gluten free folks making waves in the culinary world, and doing a good job of it, so I appreciate the added resource.

Some examples of what she cooks up:

• Autumn Sausage Casserole
• Crockpot Peanut Clusters
• Sweet Potato Chili
• Crockpot Honey Cake

Mmmm. Can't wait to pull my pot our and dust it off after a hot summer. I'm not too sure what I'll make first, but I'll be sure to let you know.

Definitely stop by A Year of Slow Cooking. If you make something, tell me about it!

Blogger Showcase!

It's Tuesday! Time for the Blogger Showcase!

This week, I am showcasing a blog that is new to me, but not to some of my blogging friends.

Urban Homestead South Africa

Some amazing ideas for gardening are shared here. Talk about inspiration! I only wish we were going in to spring as they are over on the other side - my plants did so poorly this year, after all that planning and planting.

I also learned about a lovely loaf of artisanal bread dough that you keep ready in the fridge to be baked before a meal - you ought to check that out. I only wish it was gluten free (boo hoo).

There are some fantastic recipes, garden structures and stories about a husband (Superman) that likes to make surprises.

Check out Wendy at Urban Homestead South Africa when you have the chance. I know I'll be back for more!

Blogger Showcase!

It must be Tuesday! Time for the Blogger Showcase!

I look forward to this time every week so I can share one of the great blogs I've been looking through, reading, getting excited about (when I'm supposed to be cleaning/parenting/sleeping... you name it). The hardest part for me is deciding who to pick because I keep finding such great ones.

This week, I am showcasing... drumroll please...

Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick has the most incredible decorating ideas I've found so far. Being mindful and mindfully simple does not mean being boring and ugly. I love to bargain hunt down the aisle of the flea market on any ol' day. I could - and often do - stop the van on a moment's notice to peruse a tag sale or two on a hot Saturday morning, coffee in hand. But then, what should I DO with those new treasures??? Well, I look to Sarah for the answers. She's amazing. Her motto is: "A good home must be made, not bought" (quote by Joyce Maynard)

• Want to know what to do with those great second hand finds? Look here.
• Looking for support while re-organizing the house? Look here.
• This woman will arm-wrestle you under the table for molding. Look here.
• Have you ever needed a reason to use spray paint? Look here.

The options are endless the way Sarah sees it. And to top it all off, she offers decorating advice at a steal of a price.

I am always looking forward to whatever she comes up with next - but I find myself asking, "Why didn't I think of that?!?" as I read her posts. It's really okay that others come up with the good ideas, as long as they don't mind that I try my hand at their projects every now and then (when I'm not reading blogs!).

Check out Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick when you need a good decorating idea, or when you need to smile - her sense of humor is terrific! You'll be glad you did!

Blogger Showcase!

It's Tuesday! Time for the Blogger Showcase!!

Today, I want to spotlight someone I have been following for quite some time. Angela at My Year Without Spending has spent many months being seriously devoted to something called The Compact, an amazing idea where one carefully considers each purchase made, focusing on reusing, recycling, borrowing, bartering (and going without in some cases), in order to ease the economical and ecological burden of ourselves and our society. Angela talks about joining a CSA, de-cluttering, and learning how to cook meatless Mondays. She has highlighted other friends who have purchased clothing at their local second-hand stores in her weekly Thursday posts titled, "Thrifty Threads".

Angela has also introduced me (and many others) to this idea of the 'baby steps challenge' toward simplicity. She has set herself the goal of becoming more mindful of how she treads upon the earth, but to get there, she recognized that she needed to master several smaller steps in order to be successful. So far, her monthly goals have included:

• Eliminate junk mail
• Air-drying her laundry
• Composting
• Eliminate hazardous household chemicals

What I love about Angela is rather than only shout out about all the great things she's doing to 'save the earth' (although she really IS doing so many great things to save the earth), she talks about how hard it is. She talks about major changes she has had to make in order to live with her decision to remain true to the Compact. She talks about how it used to be, how it is now, and how she sees it in the future. A real perspective, from a real person. I like that, and I really appreciate that.

Go visit Angela at My Year Without Spending. I think you'll be glad you did.

Keep the great ideas coming Angela!

Blogger Showcase

Here we are again on Tuesday - Time for another Blogger Showcase!

The reason I spotlight other blogging friends is because I just get so inspired by what all of you write and show and do and feel. It's my way of giving back to you, and my way of hollering to the internet world - "Here's someone pretty incredible!" So just bear with me.

The spotlight this week is on: (drumroll, please)...

Stacy at golden bird knits is an amazing combination of creativity, inspiration and kindness all wrapped up in one person. She spends her time crafting with yarn, collage and felting. Her two cats are especially silly - you have to check out Superhero Charlie.

I love checking in on Stacy because she is just like me - working hard to get by in this world, yet saving just a bit of time for herself for the creative side. She clearly states her experience of her own personal creativity as:

I'm so much happier since I've been blogging and doing more arts and crafts these last few months. I didn't allow myself to create for many years, often without realizing it, because I thought one of the requisites for making art was you had to be good at it. (Don't ask me how you ever get good at something without doing it badly in the beginning.) I never questioned that belief until recently.

Now I understand that creative expression is essential for me, and any judgement, self or otherwise, about the result is inconsequential.

Creating has nothing to do with who I think I should be or what kind of image I have for myself; it is the authentic expression of who I am. (Monday, May 18, 2009 post)

I love Stacy's honesty, her desire to take risks with her art, and her flexibility to find what works for her. She doesn't worry about how her creations will be received (as a recipient of one of her Artist Trading Cards, I can tell you I'm thrilled to have one of her pieces).

You might want to check out her knitting patterns, felting projects, or her incredible creative collages. Head on over to golden bird knits for a treat - you won't be disappointed!

Blogger Showcase

Welcome to my first weekly blog series showcasing other blogs. One thing I love to do each morning is read other people's blogs. I find so much encouragement, real-life living in these blogs, and would love to share some of what these fantastic folks are doing with you. Some of these blogs will most likely be familiar to you, as many of us run in a similar circle. Others, I hope will be new to you, and will help us all open our circles to new and wondrous ideas and thoughts.

This week, I am showcasing 5 Orange Potatoes.

Lisa, over at 5 Orange Potatoes is such an inspiration to me. Mother to her two Little Ladies, she dreams up ever-fascinating ways to keep the dreams of childhood alive and well. I have often wished I was present in her household by the way she describes the fairy-sewn leaves in her yard or how she finds just the right vantage from which to watch bees sleeping. Daily, she has new and exciting ways to encourage her daughters to explore and discover the earth and all the marvelous aspects of it - things that we often take for granted, now being adults and oh so far from childhood ourselves.

For example, in this post, she helps the girls explore Queen Anne's Lace flowers, to see who lives inside them. Now, I have these flowers in my yard. The first time I saw them come up, about 8 years ago, I was enchanted. When I mentioned how lovely they were to my landscaping friend, she snorted, "Oh yeah - they're great, for a noxious weed". Yikes. I have since discovered how annoying they can be if left untamed - they took over my yard with their loveliness - and happen to be listed on the intrusive weed list for Massachusetts. But to see how Lisa explores the QAL with her daughters is just perfect. It made me smile and hope that I hadn't pulled every single flower out of my yard, so I could go out and look inside them. And here, she shows how they used dye to make 'fireworks' out of QAL - another reason not to completely quell the overgrowth in my yard!

And here, Lisa gives a recipe for Lavender Chocolate Cake. Lavender cake!!!??? Oh yes. Divine. And I can vouch that it tastes as good as it looks. I think lavender is one of my favorite herbs. I had never had the courage to cook with it before, only using it for scenting oils, soaps and cleansing waters. But pair it with chocolate, and all of a sudden, cooking with lavender sounds tempting. Scrumptious, even. You have to try it.

Check out Lisa's Blog, 5 Orange Potatoes. She is a beautiful crafter, and has lovely ideas for how to keep kids busy on long, hot summer days. And tune in next Tuesday to see if your blog will be featured here!!