Happy Half Birthday!

It seems a bit silly to be celebrating my blog's half birthday. But seeing as though I started blogging on December 31st--New Year's Eve--I think we will all be a bit more occupied with much more fun activities on my blog's true birthday.

My blog and I have that in common, actually. I am a January baby, and growing up I always thought that it was the lamest month to be born. Your birthday gifts get lumped in with Christmas gifts, and party activities with friends and classmates were severely limited to movie showings or the arcade at the mall due to the miserable Midwestern winters. The only perk was if I was really lucky, my birthday would fall on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and I'd have a day off from school.

It seemed as though the kids with summer birthdays had it so good-- picnics, pool parties, zoo visits, popsicles, sunshine, and lemonade. And ice cream cake! Nobody wants ice cream cake in January. At one point, I remember trying to scheme to celebrate my half birthday in July instead. [Remember when half-years were important? "I'm seven AND A HALF," we'd proudly say. Now we try and shave entire years off our age.] Since my own half-year birthday plans never panned out, I thought I'd honor my blog with a half-birthday.

In the spirit of my childhood longings, this summer I want to promise to:

- Chase down an ice cream truck, get my favorite Good Humor King Cone, and park myself on the curb to enjoy it
- Make homemade lemonade. Perhaps I'll make a grown-up version like this Basil Lemonade or Mint Ginger Lemonade
- I also want to stop at any kiddie-operated lemonade stands I see, and make sure to give them a dollar for the 25 cent cup of juice
- Catch fireflies in the park
- Enjoy Fourth of July fireworks
- Attend an outdoor theater performance (which we discovered today on an early morning walk when we passed the park where performances are held!)
- Befriend someone with a hammock

This summer will be lovely (when I'm not dying of heat exhaustion)... Do share, what are your special summer treats?

Project : Vision Board

Last week I reflected on all that I've achieved during the first six months of 2010. As we move on to the second half of the year, I was inspired to create a Vision Board full of the things I'd like to cultivate in the upcoming months and years. And, I also just love ripping up magazines and cutting out pretty pictures! It reminds me of my high school days of plastering the cover of my assignment notebook full of pictures of boy bands and Leonardo DiCaprio (particularly from his Titanic days--definitely had a thing for Jack Dawson).


I chose several different areas to represent on my Vision Board-- friendship/connections, professional pursuits, home life/physical location, travel/leisure, and personal development. I kept these areas in mind, but I tried not to over-think them as I searched through magazines for images and phrases that appealed to me. All together, I'm quite happy with the vision of my future on the board, and I love the central image so much--there's even a cow in the background that's wearing a "I heart Vegetarians" sign! Perfect!


To some, making a Vision Board might seem a little to "out there" or hippy-dippy. But for me, I'm realizing how important to regularly reflect on who I am and where I want to go. The Vision Board, as well as my Style Statement ("Bohemian Simplicity"), gives me a place check-in and make sure that my choices and actions are supporting my goals.

Sometimes I find that certain people in my life aren't supportive of the shifts and changes I am going through (such as: not believing that I can create and run an indie business, or snarking on and ridiculing my vegetarian-centric diet-- I faced WAY too much of that this weekend while visiting my in-laws in Wisconsin). This criticism throws me off my game and fills me with self-doubt and insecurities, but then I stop for a minute and ponder my Vision Board and my Style Statement... And I see that I am exactly where I need to be, I'm on the path of becoming exactly who I want to be. And that is always a comforting thought.

Have you ever made a Vision Board/Dream Board? Are there any other methods you suggest to keep your dreams and ideas at the forefront of your mind?

Foodie Friday : Cobblers and Crisps and Crumbles, Oh My!

In the milder temperatures that rolled in along with the thunderstorms of this week and last, I have been squeezing a bit of baking in--the only time I could possibly bear to have the oven running.

I rarely find myself baking. But after I made these two recipes, my husband said, no less than for separate times, "WHY do we not bake more often?!?" So yes, both these recipes came out well, although the blackberry cobbler was favored a bit more by both of us. Sweet (but not too much so), comforting and warm in all the ways a good dessert should be.


And here is what I've learned in my recent foray into baking:

1. There is NO possible way to take an attractive photograph of a baked fruit crumble.
2. It is completely laugh-inducing to try to explain the difference between cobblers, crisps and crumbles to your husband. Hilarity ensues.
2. Fresh rhubarb needs much less sugar than rhubarb that was picked a while ago. Please don't try and mask the rhubarb flavor with too much sugar.
3. (Soy) Ice cream makes everything more delicious!

Recipe Sources:
Simply Recipes' Rhubarb Crumble with Cardemom
Pioneer Woman's Blackberry Cobbler (A very easily veganized recipe with the use of Earth Balance instead of butter and almond milk instead of cow's milk).

Chicago Storms

In addition to Wednesday's tribute to the frustrations and joys of living in Chicago, I wanted to share this video (now that my cable and internet has returned). It was filmed during the second huge storm to hit Chicago in a week's time span, complete with tornado warnings and flooding. It was a beautiful storm, though, and this video captures a very cool moment. [Discovered through the Chicagoist].

Lightning strikes three of the tallest buildings in Chicago at the same time! from Craig Shimala on Vimeo.

For more photos of yesterday's storms, click here. The sunset really was that unreal afterward. I was just about to write, "It was like there was a giant, orange fireball in the sky" -- Really, Caiti? You almost just used a metaphor of the sun to DESCRIBE THE SUN. Doofus. Carry on....

Sweet Home Chicago

It's easy to forget how beautiful you are when I'm crammed onto a lurching rush-hour Green line train, trying to figure out how to maneuver my head to avoid the inevitable body odor of a fellow passenger while struggling for balance as I simultaneously maintaining a grip on the nearest pole and my duffel-bag-of-a-purse. It's easy to forget your charm when I'm being begged for money by the same person on the same corner day after day (not that the person bothers me, but more so the situation and circumstances that put him there).


My ears ring each night when I enter my apartment from the constant blaring of taxi horns and the rattle of the trains on the El tracks overhead. There have been numerous times in which I've exited a train only to wrinkle my nose and proclaim, "What is that SMELL?" Could be Blommer's Chocolate factory (one would be surprised at how unpleasantly odoriferous the roasting of chocolate can be), or the meat-packing district, or a questionable smell wafting from the river.


You are crowded, humid for much of the year, expensive as all get out. Your people are kind--typical Midwesterners--but who also have the tendency to be overly boisterous (and intoxicated) when it comes to anything sports related. Politicians claim that you are such a "green" city, yet you don't have a proper recycling program. And need I mention that the constant construction on all of your roads is so bad that a neighbor who recently relocated to Chicago from India finds the traffic unbearable?


But there are times when I'm walking down the street, muttering to myself about the various frustrations that come with being a Chicagoan while hopping over pot holes and weaving between pigeons, and then I'll happen to glance up.

And it hits me.


Chicago, you are beautiful. While I don't plan on staying here forever, nothing can compare to the rush that I get when I'm flying into the city and catch that first glimpse of the sparkling towers, gleaming along the lake. I'm so glad to call you the first city I loved.

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Photos were snapped on Father's Day while on the a boat tour of Chicago architecture, something I have never done in my 20-something years of living in Chicagoland. Lesson learned: sometimes is wonderful to be an explorer in your own city. The photos above were edited in Photoshop using a modified version of this lomography action.

2010 Goals

I thought about trying to make a World Cup/soccer joke since this post is all about GOOOOOOOOOOALS, but I don't know enough about the sport to come up with something clever and witty. So you get this lackluster opening instead.

I was laid up a bit yesterday, nursing a painful, purplish case of sunburn from the weekend (I wasn't warned ahead of time that I'd be spending all day on a boat. I'm trying not to be bitter about the lack of a heads up--from now on I am carrying SPF 50 in my purse. This girl likes her ghostly whiteness). At one point while I was resting, it hit me that it is almost July. The year is half over, people! I haven't given the calendar more than a cursory glance in weeks, so to really let it sink in that we are over six months into the year launched me into a whirlwind of thoughts, mostly revolving around what I haven't gotten done yet.

But I'd love to reflect on what I have accomplished, because when I stop and consider it, my life is drastically different than it was six months ago. Like flipped upside down by the boot straps, shaken up in all the best ways possible. So let's take a look.

January 2010: Where I've Been

- Just before the new year I launched this blog with this little post. I was unhappy with my day job and was looking for a creative outlet and a means to connect with other creative people.
- I named my Word of the Year for 2010: Action. I wanted to take the steps to change my circumstances, both at work and with my creative pursuits, which I hoped to develop into a side business.
- Then I got laid off, just days after starting this blog and beginning to verbalize my dreams (and, coincidentally, right in the middle of taking a "Stop the Job Suckage" Challenge). So I was happy when I was let go; it seemed like a sign from the Universe that now was the time to make things happen.

June 2010: Where I Am

- I now have designs up for sale on Minted.com, after entering the first contest of the year.
- I've taken a lot of time for self-care, working towards healing some of the things that were holding me back from trying to achieve my dreams.
- I enrolled in (or won blog-giveaways to participate in) a number of e-courses including The Courageous Year, Indie Business 2.0, Unravelling, Persisting Stars: Yes!, Tell Your Story, and Flying Lessons. (Yes, I also learned that I have a bit of an addiction to e-courses.) It's been so interesting to see how different people go about teaching their courses, and my opinions of the courses has varied from deeply loving a course to wondering why I bothered. But I learned something about myself from each course I took.
- My Etsy shop is in place, and I'm in the middle of creating stylish wedding invitations, cards and personal stationery to stock it up before I open up shop.
- I have connected with so many people through blogging and Twitter, which has been wonderful and brings me so many smiles every day.

June 2010 Onward: Where I Want to Go

- I hope to open my Etsy shop by late summer or early fall.
- I'd really like to put more time into the blogging community, to develop deeper online relationships and strengthen this fantastic little community.
- I want to foster more real-life friendships, which I talked about a few days ago.
- Practically speaking, I would like to find a part-time, low-stress job that will allow me to put a little less pressure on myself as I set up my Etsy shop.
- And I need to (FINALLY) sign up to take a yoga class at a local studio!
- And lastly, I want to take a vacation somewhere this year, even if it's just a short road trip. Since I'm no longer able to go to Squam, I would like to treat myself to a little trip and feed my inner wanderluster, who often shouts at me to pack my bags and head somewhere new.
___________________________
Whew! Quite a bit going on, yes? I'd like to make a regular habit of reviewing my goals on my blog, or perhaps setting monthly intentions like my new blog-friend Analiese at Tulips and Tea often does. It's wonderful to reflect on how far you've come and refocus on where you'd like to go.

Foodie Friday : Garlic Scape Pesto

I have a confession. I pretty much despise summer. Now, I can't be too tough on summertime, for it does bring me the bounty of the beautiful produce I've been gushing over the past few weeks. But summer heat and myself, well, we just don't get along. Never have. When I was young, I remember spending hours and days on end holed up in the dark, cool retreat of the basement at my father's house--even sleeping on cots down there each night--because they didn't have air conditioning to combat the 95+ degree summers (with loads of Midwestern humidity, of course).

These days, since I lack the means to hire someone to walk around and fan me while feeding me cold grapes (and my husband keeps flat-out refusing this perfectly reasonable request of mine), I take every means possible to keep myself cool through the insufferable summer temperatures. And often, this means avoiding the stove (and, god forbid, the oven). My summer cooking takes on light, fresh and cool characteristics.


Enter pesto. The perfect summer food, taking no more than a blender or food processor to prepare. In this case, we have garlic scape pesto. My introduction to garlic scape came last year with our first CSA box. Intrigued by the wild yet graceful curly tendrils, I dug up some information and learned that scape is the young stalk of the garlic plant that grows as the garlic bulb--the part that we are accustomed to using--matures. These curly stalks are tender with an identifiable garlic flavor, minus the biting pungency of raw cloves of garlic.


This mild garlic flavor lends wonderfully to a simple pesto. Using nothing more than the scapes, pine nuts, olive oil and a bit of Parmesan cheese, garlic scape pesto pulls together in mere minutes.


The finished pesto stores wonderfully in the refrigerator for about a week and can be frozen for much longer. It has a multitude of uses that all comply with my no-heat cooking rule. Stir into cooked pasta (and any vegetables you prefer; some of my favorites have been asparagus or freshly shelled peas), spread onto crusty bakery bread and top with chopped tomatoes for a quick bruschetta, add to panini sandwiches before grilling, mix with a bit of butter or Earth Balance and toss with lightly blanched peas, mix into scrambled eggs, spread onto grilled pizzas, or anything else you can imagine.


Garlic Scape Pesto Recipe
[Recipe adapted from here and here]

1 cup garlic scapes (approximately 8-10 scapes), roughly chopped
1/3-1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (It's perfectly fine to omit cheese for a vegan recipe, I'd just add a bit more nuts and a touch of salt)
1/3 cup nuts (I used pine nuts, but toasted slivered almonds and walnuts would also work)
Salt, if desired (I omitted the salt since I added a bit of cheese)
1/2-3/4 cup olive oil

Add garlic scapes and process in food processor or blender until finely diced, scraping down the sides of the food processor as needed. Add cheese and nuts, and blend until well combined. While running the food processor, add the olive oil in a slow stream until pesto comes together. Taste and adjust cheese, salt or oil to your personal taste and texture preferences.

Makes about 1-1 1/2 cups of pesto.

[All photos: Caitidid Designs on Flickr]

Love + Thanks

I wanted to thank each and every one of you for your kind comments, love, ideas, and support on yesterday's post. It's sometimes easy to feel alone when we are going through challenging times, but putting those thoughts out there showed me that not only am I not alone, but there are so many people who are willing to offer their support. I am now brimming full of ideas for new approaches to finding and cultivating creative friendships locally. Your words were so inspiring. The blogging community is truly amazing, isn't it? I really hope that someday I will cross paths with you all, my online friends, and turn you into true-blue, "IRL" friends as well. Y'all are a lovely bunch. XOXO.

A Note to the Universe

I'm quite nervous about publishing this blog post, but I know it's what I need to do right now, to release these thoughts into the world. ETA: I just realized this post also happens to coincide with Jamie Ridler's Wishcasting Wednesday Question: What do you wish to nourish?

Dear Universe,

I want to put it out there, in words, exactly what it is I want. Because, unless I put it into words, it's never going to happen, right? Well, here's what I wish for: Friendship. I'd desperately like to bring into my life a group of creative, artistic souls who are open to connection, honest words, and creation. Like Sex and the City, but artsier. I'm certain that these creative people exist in Chicagoland, but I have yet to find them. I believe this year could be the year. I'm ready to nourish friendships in my life.

My life has become fairly small since graduating college, and I have relied too much on college friends who are sadly too far away. And while I found a wonderful group of women to feel at home with while at Squam Art Workshops (the first time I've connected with anyone since college), they too are spread across the country from Seattle to New Jersey. I long for LOCAL connections. Perhaps I have manifested this before, but forgot to specify the locality? I love my far-away friends, and I LOVE the connections and support I've found online (with my amazing blog friends and e-course friends and Twitterers), but I am learning that that doesn't compare to face-to-face interacting--to sitting over a cup of tea at a cafe, to making art together.

This year, I am completely open to friendship. I am scared to put myself out into the world, but I'm going to do it and trust that the universe will bring to me exactly who and what I need.

With openness and gratitude,
Caiti


To my blog friends: Do you have creative friends? How did you meet them? How did you go about creating (or joining) a creative community?

June In Photos

This post was inspired by Kate Miss at For Me, For You, who has a weekly "Bits of My Weekend" post. While she seems to have more photographic talent in her big toe than I have in my entire body, I'd like to make it a practice to take more regular snapshots of my life. I certainly won't be able to commit to this weekly, so a monthly review seems like a good compromise.

This June has been about: Hockey, hockey and more hockey, culminating in the Stanley Cup! Walks in parks. Playing with my new point-and-shoot (a Panasonic Lumix, which will hopefully make these monthly photo posts more likely to happen). Noticing the details, like the shadows my curtains make on the wall. Petting kitties. Writing, journaling, sketching. Matinees and Sunday brunch at Heaven on Seven for some beloved Cajun/Creole fare.

Well Said : Marianne Williamson

One of my favorite quotes of all time, I do believe.

Foodie Friday : First CSA Box of the Season!

I know it's Saturday, but my Foodie Friday post is intentionally late this week because Mark and I went to pick up our first CSA box this morning at the Farmer's Market! I'm so excited to get cooking. I wanted to share a photo so you can see what kind of produce (and how much) you get out of one box-- it's quite a haul!

We received a great mix of veggies today. We have, from left to right (although not everything can be made out clearly, my apologies): spinach, kale, red leaf lettuce, snap peas, garlic scape, potatoes, yellow onions, shallots, radishes, green onions, baby leeks, rhubarb, fennel leaf and cilantro. Whew!

Some of the recipes I'm thinking about making include:
- Homemade salsa
- Rhubarb crisp
- Creamy leek and spinach soup (non-dairy except for a little parmesan cheese)
- Cilantro coconut chutney
- Potato and onion hash with veggie scrambled eggs
- Salad with radishes and snap peas
- Garlic scape pesto

This is seriously my favorite part of summer, hands down. It even beats out popsicles and road trips, cross my heart.

21.5.800

I think about half the people I follow on Twitter are taking part in the 21.5.800 experience. Now, I'm not one to give into peer pressure, but this seems like a really fun and positive challenge.

21.5.800 is a project initiated by writer Bindu Wiles, and consists of 21 days of doing yoga 5 days a week and writing 800 words per day. Stretch the body, stretch those writing muscles. I registered yesterday as a participant, although I'm joining in two days late, so I am all the way at the bottom of the list, but I'm ok with that--at least I'm taking part in the action! [I am currently listed as the 423 participant out of 424. And the one person to come after me has a blog titled "Brain Vomit and Floating Cat Heads." RANDOM. I'm a little afraid.]

I don't plan on posting my 800 words on my blog because, well, that would be a lot of reading for y'all, and I'd also like to use this challenge as a way to write without an audience. Just put down on paper whatever my little heart feels without censoring myself. But I might end up sharing a few pieces (or portions of). I'll be storing my writing on the website 750 Words that I found through Amy at Just a Titch, who is also a fellow participant. It's a neat site that counts your words as you type, privately stores your work online, and sends you daily reminders to yell at you to WRITE. And hello, no hand-cramps from writing in a journal.

As for yoga, I will be doing a few yoga videos that I can stream from Netflix, but I'm also going to use this time to finally find a local yoga studio (after months of talking about it).

So here's to the next 19 days of writing and yoga! Care to join me?

Thursday Things : Capiz Shell Lamp

Photo credit: Jordan Ferney, Oh Happy Day

My "Thursday Things" post this week is oh-so-simple.

I.Want.This.Lamp.

(Ignoring the fact that it's far outside my Ikea-appropriate budget).

I discovered it yesterday on Jordan Ferney's blog when she gave us a "tour" of her son's closet bedroom, and I was immediately drawn to the lamp. What do you think: Beautiful or gaudy? I think it's lovely. [Capiz Shell Lamp, $325-$625, available on Amazon or at Rehab Vintage].

Art Journal Page in Progress

I created this page for fun last week. The final week of "Tell Your Story" prompts didn't resonate with me whatsoever, so I went off and did my own thing for this page. And I.LOVE.IT. I'm not sure it's quite done yet, but I'm loving what I've got. It was fun to not over think everything and just throw paint around and see what happens! As the class finished up, I discovered that I have more fun doing things this way now than following the prompts from Tell Your Story. I think I tried to make my pages look TOO MUCH like the sample pages from Elsie or Rachel.

I'm not even sure if I am done with the page yet, but since I had such fun doing this page, I thought I'd break down how I created it. Of course I didn't take pictures throughout, but I think you'll be able to get the gist of things if I write it down step-by-step. It's really simple stuff that probably everyone knows, but I really like how the background looks like peeling, old paint layers. If nothing else, I'd like to record what I did here so I'll remember the steps in the future.

1. I Gesso-ed the journal page, spritzing the page with a little water to thin the gesso down as I painted it over the page.

2. I then used Gel Matte Medium to glue down a piece of brown kraft envelope that has several postage stamps on it (bottom right). Then I used the medium to glue down more stamps in the upper left, as well as a torn page from a book.

3. I then took 3 shades of turquoise liquid acrylic paint and squirt random drops straight onto the page. I spritzed the page with water, and then used both a paintbrush and my hands to blend the paint all over the paper, covering almost the whole surface. I took care to not cover up the postage stamps too much, and if I did, I just used a towel to clear off some of the paint.

4. Then I used bright lime paint and put a dot directly onto my finger. I spread it on the page with my fingers and blended it into the page.

5. I took a scrap piece of cardboard and covered one edge in white paint (dipping the cardboard into a pile of paint, or spreading paint directly on the cardboard with a brush). Then I used the cardboard as a scraper on the page, leaving streaks of white in various spots.

6. Then I took a piece of wide-holed mesh and covered one side in black paint using a makeup sponge. Then I used it as a stamp and pressed it into the page in various places. (I also tried using the makeup sponge with paint to stamp THROUGH the mesh onto the page, but that didn't work. That's the black smudge near the girl's neck).

7. I drew the girl in pencil first, drawing the head and then drawing the hair around it. Then I went over the pencil lines in India ink. Some areas needed two coats of ink to become darker/thicker.

8. Lastly, I glued some random numbers to the upper right corner.

And that's where I left off. What do you think, does the girl need a face? I can't decide. I kind of like her faceless right now though. I will probably put some words in big loopy calligraphy above the girl's head using India ink. I'll post an update if I do anything else to the page...

____________________________
Since the Tell Your Story class has ended, I have been bookmarking various sites that have additional prompts and journaling ideas. For more art journaling inspiration, check these links:

1. 52-Week Art Journal Challenge by Emily Falconbridge
2. Journal Prompts Part I from Anna at Be Healthy, Well & Inspired
3. Journal Prompts Part II from Anna at Be Healthy, Well & Inspired
4. Journal Prompts Part III from Anna at Be Healthy, Well & Inspired
5. 57 Questions to Spark Your Creativity from Carolyn at a Beautiful Ripple Effect (Not specifically intended for art journaling but I feel a lot of the questions posed could certainly be inspirations for prompt!)

Design Nerdiness : "Lady Rene" Typeface

I admitted a while back that I once organized all my CDs by how much I liked the cover design. However, this is only one small example of my design-nerdiness. There are many more examples. MANY MORE. And several of them revolve around typefaces/fonts. Like how I've made it a game to name as many typefaces as possible when I'm out and about (like when I'm driving past billboards or looking at magazines at Borders). Or how I go off on rants at the undeserving ubiquity of Papyrus (DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED). Or that I love to go to Corner Bakery over Panera because I like the mix of typefaces that they use all over the restaurant and on their beverage cups.

I could go on. But I'm forcing myself to stop for the sake of not scaring off my readers. However, I do want to share a typeface that I found when browsing on MyFonts for fun yesterday. It's a brand new font from Laura Varsky and the AMAZING Alejandro Paul called "Lady Rene." (In fact, I hadn't realized it was an Ale Paul typeface until I went to look up the information to type this entry. But it doesn't surprise me as I am quite an Ale Paul groupie. All his work is TO DIE FOR.)



Beautiful! I love the hand-drawn, illustrated quality. It feels organic and playful, like something you'd see on a sweet little cafe chalkboard sign. I can't wait to see how it's used in projects.

In My World, a.k.a. "Random Blathering"

I was inspired by Amy at Just a Titch for this entry. If you don't read her blog, you should-- she is always so honest and so funny.

Amy wrote a post last week where she filled her readers in on what's new in her life, so thanks to her inspiration, I am going to do the same, especially since my last few posts have been more photo-based. Get ready for a whole lot of random blathering.

If you asked me, "what's new in your world?" I would tell you that:

- I am working on my design business, as I mentioned last week. I'm hoping to open an Etsy shop mid-to-late summer that features unique wedding invitations, cards and personal stationery. I'm excited about it, and I'm enjoying the process of researching pricing and printing options and brainstorming ideas. But funny enough, I am finding myself a bit stuck when it comes to the actual DESIGNING. You know, the part that would actually give me a product to put IN my Etsy shop. I think it's a bit of performance anxiety. I want to have good products, so I'm pressuring myself to create something stellar, which makes it hard for me to begin at all. I think for a long time I was so caught up in being afraid to start that I had convinced myself that I didn't want to design at all. That was why I kept going back to corporate jobs that I knew weren't good fits for me. Now I realize that I AM afraid of doing this, but it's because I DO want to do it, and do it well. And being conscious of this is helping me take little steps to move forward.

- One thing that threw me for a loop was that I just found out I did not win anything in the Minted birthday contest. I didn't necessarily think I'd win one of the top 10 spots, but I was feeling really good and confident about the design in general. So I was disappointed. And of course, my dramatic brain immediately thought, "See, you suck at design." But that's not true! The winning scores ranged from 4.12 to 3.68, and my design received a 3.48. I was 27th out of 398 designs! That's not bad. I have to stop beating myself up when something trips me up. [However, I'm officially done with Minted contests. They are getting far too big to make it worth my time.]

- I went to Iowa last weekend to visit my two beautiful nephews, including one that I hadn't had the chance to meet yet. Visiting with them was fantastic. I haven't been around a lot of young kids since I babysat in high school, the only exception being my 5-year-old cousin, who is, in most people's opinion, a holy terror. I have come home after many visits with him to declare, flat out, that I.WILL.NEVER.HAVE.CHILDREN. But this weekend was wonderful, seeing how two well-adjusted children with wonderful parents can be. It made me feel a little bit better about the prospect of future offspring. [Side note: I think I know more women my age who are pregnant right now than aren't. Seriously freaks me out. I don't feel old enough to be heading into baby-territory, but so many people around me are. It'll definitely be a few more years for me, minimum.]

- This is tragic, but I have banned myself from the library. I have five (unread) books checked out right now, but after they are returned I am not allowed inside the library anymore. This is because I have no less than 30 books that I own sitting completely unread. I joined Paperback Swap a month ago, and I've been able to unload all the books I didn't want to keep, but now I have a whole new set of to-be-read books! I want to read at least six novels this summer.

- I have been thinking about something that Kara of I Just Might Explode brought up few weeks ago about people who rely a little to much on WeHeartIt. And I don't want to offend or knock anyone for what they choose to blog about, but I will say that I really appreciate bloggers who are true, honest, and open on their blogs about their real lives... people who are sharing THEIR hearts, not only WeHeartIt. Thatisall.

What's going on in your world?

Foodie Friday : CSAs

I have professed my love for farmer's markets already, but, honestly, my husband and I haven't been buying much from farmer's markets because we get almost all the veggies we need through a CSA share, which we completely LOVE. So I decided to make that my topic of discussion for today's Foodie Friday!


What is CSA? CSA stands for "Community Supported Agriculture." What this means is that you essentially buy a "subscription" (a.k.a. a share) to a farm in exchange for a box of fresh vegetables and/or fruit delivered to you weekly or bi-monthly.


What is the advantage of a CSA share? There are so many. Like the farmer's market, it is seasonal and local food, so it travels less distance to get to you, which also means it is fresher and more nutritious (fruits and veggies become less nutritious the more time that passes after they are harvested). Most CSAs are also organic. I also think it's a more efficient system, even more so than farmer's markets -- All participants pay upfront at the beginning of the season, so the farmer has a clear idea of how much to plant. Best of all, it is super incredibly affordable (see next question!).


How much does a CSA share cost? Each farm offering CSA shares prices their offerings differently, so I can't speak for everyone. Our bi-monthly CSA share (2 boxes of veggies per month) is from King's Hill Farm, which we used last year as well. It is a decent chunk of money up front, but when you break it down, it brings our total to about $30 each box we receive. And the boxes are chocked FULL of produce, so we are able to feed ourselves primarily off of this produce for two weeks for what equals approximately $15 per week. For two people. Not bad at all. It's a wonderfully better value than the grocery store, for sure. And many farms offer payment plans so that you can split up payments into smaller chunks.


What do you get in your CSA box? This is where things get interesting. Generally speaking, you don't always know exactly what will be coming throughout the season. About one week before each delivery, we do get a newsletter that details what will be coming in that particular box. During that time, I look up recipes so that I can be prepared once we get our food. As I mentioned above, CSAs are all about local and seasonal food, so what you receive will depend on where you live (i.e., what can be grown locally) and what time of year it is (since different produce is harvested at different times of the year).

For example, our first CSA box will be delivered next weekend (yay!). The newsletter says we will receive: lettuce, Napa cabbage, spinach, cilantro, radishes, rhubarb, snap peas, garlic scape, yellow onions, shallots, and potatoes! Each newsletter gives storage tips and recipe suggestions (and sometimes nutritional information), so I never feel clueless. Occasionally we get an odd ingredient like kohlrabi or celeriac that I've never heard of or used before, but with a quick Google search I can get more information.


How are the boxes delivered? A few CSAs do door-to-door delivery, but most seem to have a specific time and place for you to pick up your produce box in your town. The farm we use is in southern Wisconsin (and we are just outside Chicago). Last year we picked our boxes up twice a month on Wednesdays at a person's house in our town who agreed to be the local distributor for the farm. This year, the farm will take part in the local farmer's market, so we are scheduled to pick up our boxes twice a month right at the farmer's market.
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So that's an overview of CSA shares! If you have any other questions, please let me know. I truly loved our CSA last year because it expanded my food knowledge so much. You'd be amazed at the delicious local produce that just isn't carried in typical grocery stores. It really was an exercise in creativity, and was one of the best things I spent money on last year. All the above photos came from meals that we made using ingredients from our share.

Many CSAs are still accepting applications, so visit LocalHarvest if you'd like to discover a participating farm near you. If it seems like it might be too much food, you could consider splitting a box with family, friends or neighbors. And get ready for some fresh, delicious food. :)

Thursday Things : Beautiful Design

These days, I've been immersed in design-land, working on invitation and card designs, surveying price points of similar products on Etsy, researching printing options, and writing my bio. I hope to have the grand opening of the Caitidid Designs Etsy shop by mid-to-late summer! Exciting!

And since I have been tuned in to the design world lately, I wanted to share a few of the beautiful items I've come across online lately, especially since I haven't shared anything design-related on the blog in a long while. I love noting what I'm attracted to, and seeing how that comes through in my own designs and artwork. These days, I'm loving hand-drawn elements, bold typography, western/southern themes, unique colors, and layers.

Designed by the groom, Mike Dornseif, and seen on Twig and Thistle

Designs by HelloLucky!, seen on Oh So Beautiful Paper

Student work by Cari Caldwell, seen on Lovely Package

Design by the bride's company Simple Matters, seen on Oh So Beautiful Paper

Designs by Sideshow Press, seen on 100 Layer Cake

Yolo Colorhouse Paint seen on The Dieline

Designs by RageHaus, seen on Oh So Beautiful Paper

Designs by Smokeproof Press, seen on Jolie Jolie Design

And lastly, for any other design nerds out there, this two-minute time-lapsed video of the creation of a book cover is fascinating to watch even if you are familiar with the process.