if not now...when?

i can't be a farmer, but i can shop at the farmer's market!

  visit my flickr!

as summer starts to race upon us, there is no better way to celebrate the season than to visit your local farmer's market!! we will be at the beach this summer, and i am really looking forward to being able to visit this great little farm. they have the BEST strawberries EVER!!

the LA times has a columnist writing about farmer's markets, recipes, and farm market fare. i wish the register would add this kind of info to their food column online... more of a focus on orange county. here is a google map that gives locations and times for southern california farmer's markets.

***ETA: YAY oc register - they are starting a farmer's market section!! i wonder if she read the same times article that i did?? ;) ***

View Where to find your local farmers market in a larger map

slow foods usa also has links to local chapters that can guide you to local markets and other sources for good, natural food. 

i just really enjoy getting outside in the beautiful weather - getting some good, fresh food from some hardworking people who actually care about food. i try to buy mostly organic fruits and veggies all year round, but the spring and summer bounty make the farmer's market practically irresistable! :-)

also looking forward to finishing this book: lots of recipes and even more reasons to eat real food.

 

looking forward to a holiday weekend, complete with night at the museum II and another weekend at the beach!

travel album... and reflecting on reflections

a bit late, as always, but i wanted to make sure that i gave a quick shout out to the relections girls. a couple of weeks ago, we all met up at the hyatt newporter to do some amazing creating. loved spending the weekend with my fellow bahama mamas - annie, crazy suzy , jackie, and lia. what a great, if not nutty, group of girls. we laughed to so hard, i thought i was going to die! seriously funny and silly stuff going on there... thanks to you all for making the weekend as fun as it was! 

the classes were really great. maggie holmes is a super talented scrapper and photographer who did the most adorable class for us- a sweet, brightly colored mini album that i have ACTUALLY COMPLETED! it's a miracle! as soon as i get some pictures in it, i'll be sure to post it. maggie was a really nice girl - although i think we probably scared the living daylights out of her and her friend kelly when we all ventured out to dinner at fashion island... i'm sure they think we are insane...

jamie waters and her darling husband chris gave us a short lesson in photography that provided me with a lightbulb moment regarding exposing photos - almost worth the whole weekend right there. ;) seriously, these two are an adorable couple - with lots of talent between them. loved it. :)

what can i say about stephanie ackerman? besides making the best cookies ever, and actually giving us a project that we could FINISH... she is just a funny, sassy, and great lady! i feel really lucky to know her - she is just a source of endless talent and energy and fun. check out her blog - she always has a lot to say! :)

shannon tidwell put on a really great class, too. i wasn't sure if i was going to like it as much as a lot of the papers we used were not really my style, but she had so many great tips and creative ideas that i got a TON out of her class. she really had some neat ideas - and brought us some of her 2peas garden work to see in person. really cool stuff! 

melissa phillips had the cutest little shabby chic, vintage-y class for us. we made this adorable little house that is right up my alley (although i'm sure my husband thinks it is just more clutter :P ).

     

we also did a little wall hanging that i didn't get around to. i love all these pretty feminine products - lots of fun! :)

i had been looking forward to taking christine middlecamp's class for a while. she had done some projects last year at scrapbook oasis that i LOVED. she is really the queen of layering, and layering... and layering. the album that we started in her class was gorgeous - very detailed and intricate. maybe a little TOO detailed for a class - unfortunately, we didn't get too much done, but i am hoping to get around to it soon...

mara may's class was the last one of the weekend for me. i went to the class to pick up my kits because i had made plans to spend the day at the beach with my family. mara may was really nice and her projects were beautiful!! we got soooooo much product - very, very generous! 

  i am so impressed with what karen and susan  put together here. i'm not surprised, since oasis always has the BEST events, and susan, well, she's just the most creative, talented, and warm hostesses ever. along with rebecca (who did such an amazing job), they really rocked the house. the classes were super generous with product, they had TONS of giveaways - it was really top notch. i'm really happy for them that it went so well! looking forward to next year! :)

and really, the weekend put me in a creative mood. i came home and finished maggie's project, and then moved on to this cute little album that i bought on etsy. i meant for it to be for our italy trip,but decided to go a different way with it. i am adding all of our vacations and road trips to make it a family travel album that i can keep adding to over time. i have really enjoyed being crafty again. it's been too long...

 

 

one of the pages - lots of miscellaneous going on here - i love that! :)

  

until next time, just counting the days until summer vacation, getting done with dance, girl scouts, all the things that keep us busy, busy, busy. looking forward to a lazy summer by the pool and at the beach...

oh, and GO DUCKS!! GO LAKERS!!  :-)

hope you have a great day! :)