Some Things I've Been Meaning to Post...

1.) I finished this book about a week ago and highly recommend it:
It is Barbara Kingsolver's Memoir/Recipe Book/Call to Action about how her family pledged to eat things produced locally for a year. They grew a lot of their own vegetables on their farm in Virginia; they also raised turkeys and chickens. They were able to connect with other farmers to get the things they did not have. The very few things they couldn't get locally, they agreed to buy fair trade (like coffee and spices).

I don't aspire to have a garden. And I don't aspire to eat locally for an entire year. But her book did inspire me to buy locally when I can (which is why we've been frequenting the farmer's market). Her book also inspired me to freeze some of those things we buy locally. Last weekend, we froze more green beans and some pesto sauce that we made with some basil we bought. She also talks a lot about the benefits of organic foods and pasture fed meat. I won't get into the details, and I do recognize that eating organic is expensive. We do eat organic when we can-- especially milk and meat and any produce where we eat the skin. I was so excited to find local, organic, pasture fed beef last weekend at Findlay Market. And in case you didn't know...most cows raised for the business of the beef industry are given corn and grain to eat instead of being let out to pasture. Kingsolver's research found that pasture fed beef is actually higher in antioxidants than in regular, corn/grain fed cows. Anyway, the book is good. You'll never think about food the same way again (it's a good thing). And there are tons of delicious recipes.

2.) Have you seen these adorable crayon rolls? I've seen them on some different blogs and in different Etsy stores. I was tempted to buy one, but figured that they couldn't be too hard to make. I followed this tutorial here. My first one came out okay.
The lines for the pockets aren't perfectly straight, and I tried to add ric-rac, which was way too advanced for my beginning sewing level and made my corners bulky (when I ended up pulling the ric-rac out). But my second one turned out awesome.
I left off the ric-rac, used a striped fabric for the pockets (so I'd have lines to guide me), and left a smaller hole to turn it right side out (which I then hand-stitched closed instead of using the sewing machine). This one went right into the hands of my friend's daughter, who is almost 3. I think that they'll make great little party favors some day. Or even a great present for a birthday party when paired with some cute coloring books and other craft stuff. I have another one all cut out and ready to sew that I'll probably work on tomorrow during Cate's nap. Here are my first two-- all rolled up.
3.) I think this girl looks adorable in her swimsuit cover up. Don't you?
We're hitting the pool more in preparation for our upcoming vacation to Hilton Head.

~Melody :-)