I hate to say it but:  A+I  are creatures of  habits with what we eat.  I own so many cook books of course a fan of Martha Stewart and any kind of entertaining and going all out, but when it’s just him and I, it’s hard to think outside the box (won’t even get into the fact that he’s a meat eater and I only eat seafood, that’s for another day!) Besides scattered trips to the  grocery store where I feel overwhelmed, one habit that I am ok  mentioning is our bi-weekly basket from Berkshire Organics.  Instead of going to the store and grabbing what we think would be the easiest produce, we pick up our basket (which lasts us 2 weeks) and get to experiment, use recipes (some also come with each basket) and try new ideas AND eat healthy.  We pick up our basket (so I get to scope out all the local goods, soup, cookies…you get the idea) but you can have it delivered right to your house! Good stuff…if only I could get A to  try meat free dishes….another day perhaps!!

Out in the “blog-o-sphere” I heard about a new foodie podcast, Spilled Milk and I quickly listened to the first two episodes: Fried Eggs and Winter Squash.  There wasn’t only info on recipes, but more about the culture of the food/topic, here’s a great example: how come when you peel squash your hands get dried out? I can’t wait until the next episode!

About Spilled Milk, “Here at Spilled Milk headquarters, we combine food and comedy in a bowl and stir it up until it explodes. Join your jovial (possibly too jovial) hosts, Molly and Matthew, for recipes, cooking tips, winning lotto numbers, and catfights. Spilled Milk has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to treat any disease, but just between you and me, it probably cures chlamydia.”

Food: striking the balance between saving money, staying local, and relatively healthy+tasty. Working Class Foodies is a life saver for me, inspring me to step out of the box,  and that eating local  and sustainable is not as unaccessible as I once thought.  Max and Rebecca Lando, bro-sis duo “cook fun and simple meals for under $8/person using local, seasonal, and sustainable ingredients.” Giving Thanksgiving leftovers new life to cooking beef  tongue (ok, maybe not trying that one) but it’s total DIY and a great cooking resource.

It’s been important to me since  I moved to this area is to meet people and support the community, staying local and sustainable when it’s within our budget.  As an artisan I’ve met many small business owners but I’m a total fan of the crew over at The Emporium!  In addition to quirky/crafty goodness, they do mini-webisodes, “Manic Monday’s with Paige” where Paige interviews some of the artists in the store, gives tour and most recently, gave a tour at The Market, the new grocer in the Upper North section of Pittsfield.  Check out the video, I know I’ll be stopping in The Market sometime soon!

I’m so excited to share that A +I’s wedding was selected as The Budget Savvy Wedding of the Week by The Budget Savvy Bride, a fun blog which provides, “real budget-savvy inspiration, tips, deals, and tidbits” and was one of the wedding blogs I subscribed to for inspiration while planning our wedding.

We included so many DIY details, and working with friends, and family for for vendors, sourcing vintage/upcycled materials and using as many wedding blogs as inspiration. I looked at SO many weddings for inspiration, it’s amazing what people can do for a wedding! Anything can be a point of reference and  inspiration: the logo Laurie Coyle made us was great because we used that in many elements (which I go into on the BSB write-up) and we were inspired by rustic/nature elements (birds canning jar centerpieces and faux-bois) so those became major elements  in what we did.

I’m happy promote my friends/ family/vendors who were so gracious in helping us with planning and execution of the wedding and the DIY nature of the wedding…thanks for checking it out and thanks Jessica for the inclusion!!!

Design Sponge: in the kitchen with: the pie truck

Ok, so I usually utilize Food Gawker for dinner ideas for stuff I have lying around and make dinner.  I just received zucchini and mushrooms in my bi-weekly Berkshire Organics basket and saw this on DesignSponge and is a perfect fit for a fun meal this weekend…

-source more home decor DIY projects that works for renters.
-take advantage of all of the local, low cost places to go in the area (even if we can’t take vacation, still get away).
-do more cooking! With me beig a non meat eater and him eating meat…striking a balance and saving $$.
-stay inspired, it’s what keeps us making, whether in our home, kitchen or in craft/life.
-of course there is more, but that’s for he and I!

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photocredit:anicepackage

What a lovely kit, to write to love letter while studying abroad or even just to someone around the corner!!! The envelopes reminded me of some of the internional penpals I had from summer camp and getting their letter with the phrase “par avion” seem to have something magical to it…I still have many of those letters,with their special envelopes that carried them to me. Check out A Nice Package, whimsical packaging and great kits and goodies!!

via  New DIY Valentine Kits from Nice Package via Creature Comforts.

Staying in last Sunday morning, A+ I made French Toast and used Italian bread instead of white bread: it was amazing! Really, I almost never want to go back to regular white bread! Seriously, it’s  the little things in life that keep us sane right?