Posted by Samantha on February 26, 2009 – 11:36 pm
A friend of a friend has started a great magazine for people who live gluten free. Even if you don’t, there are great recipes to try out for you or your family! Here’s a short blurb on what it’s all about:
“Check out this amazing new magazine! Delight gluten free is a fun food & lifestyle magazine for people with Celiac Disease, gluten intolerance and food allergies. It hosts delicious gourmet recipes and easy semihomemade as well. Don’t miss the Gluten-Free Meals on a Budget either. Whatever your food allergy you should be able to find something that fits your household, in their February issue they offer gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, soy-free and even some rice-free recipes. Not only that, this magazine has a travel section coming in May that will host lots of fun ideas and good advice for when you venture out on the road. Personal stories, inspiring articles on Autism, Q & A with the Doc are among the other features of this magazine.”
Posted by Samantha on July 21, 2008 – 5:36 pm
So, starting this week we are painting the new apartment and hopefully moving a lot of our stuff over there. (It’s just across the street, remember…) So of course I’ve been thinking a lot about the place and how it’s going to function for our family. And I tend to be a dreamer and have high aspirations. Combined with a love of new experiences, new spaces, new places… I can spend hours a day just THINKING about these things! There are a lot of changes we’ve been wanting to make in our home anyways, and a move is the perfect time to do that, so here are a few broadly stated dreams for our new home. And I’ll be blogging about each topic more in detail it the next week or two, with more great links and tips that I have found to be helpful and inspirational!
- Simple Living. Switch to a decluttered and more simple way of life. I want to be able to spend time and energy on people, not dealing with stuff we own. The easier to clean and take care of, the better! (Which will require more discipline on my part… ouch!) Simplemom.net is great site for helping simplify your home!
- Natural Living. We would like to start recycling and being more aware of how much energy, water we are using, food we are wasting, etc. Besides being better for our pocketbooks, I think this will be a good step to help us be more mindful of what we are consuming and why. I’ve linked to her site before, but Sara’s walkslowlylivewildly.com is my go-to site for ideas and resources on natural living. Thanks Sara! One of the changes I want to make is to start using bags like these from baggubags.com when I shop for groceries instead of discarding dozens of plastic bags each month. (plus they’re cute!)
- Creative Living. We want to be surrounded by beautiful creative art that inspires us to make artwork, craft, play music, write music and read more. And in our new place we can put holes in the walls! How revolutionary! Which means I am especially looking forward to putting up pictures, scriptures and artwork that have been stored underneath our bed for the past few years. I love the collage of family pictures at http://tarawhitney.com/justbeblogged/page/6/
- Hospitable Living. We want this to be a welcoming and comfortable place for others to visit. I grew up knowing that family and friends could stop by anytime during the day and I still miss that “culture” that is pretty absent here in the suburbs. (Although it will mean having a relatively clean house most of the time- which points back to item #1!) I haven’t found a specific site that just talks about this. If you know of a good one, let me know!
- Healthy Living. We will now begin to eat meals at a table like real families and not in front of the TV like poor college students! We would also like to switch to more organic food (especially meats) and cut out white flour/white sugars, and eat a LOT more fresh fruits and vegetables. Happyfoody.com is great. The Organic Center has just released a free pocket guide, which lists fruits and vegetables that pose the greatest risks from pesticides. And the Eat Well site is a free online directory of farms, stores, restaurants, bed & breakfasts, and other outlets that offer local, fresh and sustainable food in the US and Canada.
These are just some things I dream about. I am looking forward to talking about these more in depth in the next few weeks!
Posted by Samantha on July 2, 2008 – 6:12 am
We’re moving! Ok, so we’re only moving a block over. The 4th time we’ve moved in the last 5 years within a 1/2 mi. radius. But it’s to an apartment WITH A DISHWASHER AND A WASHER AND DRYER! I don’t know if I’ve ever been this excited. It’s like Christmas if Christmas meant you get to purge all of your junk, dream of new color schemes and redecorate a new space. Ahhhh… I love moving. No joke. I really love moving to new places, to Greg’s dismay.
So the new digs. What I’m loving so far:
1. Dishwasher (my first)
2. Did I mention my own washer and dryer? (also my first)
3. A back patio with room for a grill and table/chairs
4. A dining room area directly off of the kitchen, which mean the Connour Family will now begin eating meals at a real table like a real civilized family.
5. More closets and cubbies.
6. Newly remodeled kitchen and bathroom.
7. Lots of light in a roomy living room area.
6. Across the street from Tom and Jenni, two doors down from Jake and Dana, and across the street from the ice cream shop, my girlfriends at Salon 312 and Vivianna and her flower shop (and the Farmer’s Market on Tuesdays).
7. We can paint.
8. We can hang things on the walls.
9. We can paint.
10. We can hang things on the walls.
11. Did I mention we can paint and hang things on the walls????
So, much to post about these next few weeks. Decor brainstorming begins tomorrow!!
Posted by Samantha on June 23, 2008 – 8:10 pm
One of my favorite sets of blogs comes from a friend, Sara Janssen. Matt and Sara and their little girl, Bella, live on the road in a bio-diesel RV, touring the country on their Live Lightly Tour. Sara has a wealth of information between 3 blog sites about their adventures on the road, living naturally, sustainability, eating well and all-around enjoying life!
Matt and Sara’s Live Lightly Tour site chronicles their adventures and the people they meet along the way.
Sara’s Happy Foody site is chock-full of great recipes to make all of our lives and little healthier, complete with gorgeous photos. (Sara is also a wonderful photographer!)
Sara’s personal blog is Walk Slowly, Live Wildly and has amazing links and resources for natural living, anti-consumerism, faith, decluttering and simple living.
I hope you enjoy keeping up with Sara as much as I do!
