Organic Cupcakes in La Jolla

Cupcakes! This wedding trend just takes the cake...literally! (Booya! How many times has that line been used in the wedding industry?) I usually try to only post about resources that can be enjoyed on a national level, but I couldn't resist when I came across Cups, an organic cupcakery, lounge, and teaching kitchen in La Jolla, California. I love their vast array of yummy flavors! Use their menu as inspiration for your own cupcake aspirations (and dress it up - cupcake confessional has a ton of cute cupcake accessories). Otherwise, if you're in La Jolla, this place would make for a unique bridal shower or bachelorette party spot.

Real Eco Wedding Inspiration

I've been looking forward to sharing the following wedding with you for quite some time. It was on the docket a while back, but then I got that nasty cold which sucked the life out of me and put me a little behind in terms of blog work. So anyway, enjoy the eco-wedding-happiness that is about to ensue! :) Oh, and the lovely photographs are courtesy of Boro Photography.


This non-traditional couple, Pam and Dave, opted to have a wedding which reflected their own eco-happy values by using recyclable, compostable, and locally grown products. Their wedding venue and menu was of utmost importance to them and after much searching, they decided upon Fruitlands Museum, a non-profit nature, heritage, and art museum in Harvard, Massachusetts.

Fruitlands Museum is affiliated with two exclusive caterers, one of which being Fireside Catering and the bride and groom's ultimate choice because of their farm-to-fork menu concept and their complete farm-to-fork menu concept. Their menu consisted of:

"...five passed hors d’oeuvres, which included bruleed figs with aged balsamic vinegar and serrano ham (and some without for the vegetarians); grilled chicken quesadilla with fresh mango, cilantro and green chiles, Hubbardston capri with butternut risotto cake and sweet onion jam; grilled shrimp on a sugarcane skewer; and peppered beef with stewed figs and Great Hill Blue cheese fondue. These were served on slate stones and compostable square dishes for that rustic feel. The main course was comprised of roasted turkey breast with roasted white and sweet potato wedges and autumn vegetable ragout; harvest salad of baby romaine and red leaf lettuce with dried-cranberries, toasted pumpkin seeds, caramelized apples and cider vinaigrette; and Cavatelli pasta with braised short ribs and wild mushrooms."

Um, can you say YUM!



With the help of Wake Robin Farm, the bride was able to purchase and create her own centerpieces with the help of her mom, mother-in-law, and best friend.


The bouquet was made with freshly cut flowers and eucalyptus.

Not being one to miss out on exercising her creative skills, the bride chose to create her own invitations with the help of invitesite.com. Her invites were made with tree-free paper and envelopes, as well as recycled card stock.

"A real pressed orange cosmo flower was glued to the invitation for that added touch. The invitation was placed in an orange sugarcane and mulberry wrapper (100% tree-free). The envelopes were made from recycled paper and the envelope liner was orange mulberry paper and tied with natural mulberry paper raffia."

Wake Up Your Brain with Unique Engagement Photos

My baby munchkin turned two months old on Sunday and while she's sleeping better than last month, she still wakes to feed about every three or four hours during the night. I've more or less gotten used to this schedule, but I'm particularly sleepy today. Lack of sleep must not be good for the brain because I swear I saw a towel moving in my peripheral vision this morning. And then while reading a blog earlier, I misread the name Morgan to be "Bacon." "Bacon? Who names their kid Bacon," I thought.

Sheesh... Maybe I'm just hungry.

So today I give you pictures from an old post which is sure to wake up your brain: how not to have boring engagement photos! Be goofy! Do something different! Take off all your clothes! Er, okay scratch that last one. Below - some unique ideas from Duston Todd's portfolio. He has some really creative engagement photos!

Renting Vintage Vases?

Maybe I'm wrong, but I really think it was blogging that created the trend of vintage style weddings. All it takes is one very creative bride to create a frenzy of style that many brides will try to emulate. However, I'm surprised at how long the vintage theme/style has lasted. Or maybe I don't know what the hell I'm talking about. Is vintage out and purple in? Because I'm seein' a whole lotta purple these days.


Oh well, whatever the case, I love the vintage look. Whether it's a wedding or a home, using old stuff for a new look is eco, it's fun, and it's a great way to add character to an otherwise boring centerpiece, accessory, decor, etc...

So remember not too long ago I was talking about how much I enjoy HGTV's Design Star. (Although not so much the last season - I wasn't crazy about the new format. I was really disappointed when judge Vern Yip came to town for a store's grand opening, but I got a cold and couldn't make it. I had full intention of going and telling him how much the new format sucked. But anway, I digress...) Last season's winner, Emily Henderson, has a great blog, The Brass Petal, in which she mentions her friend's plan to rent vintage vases from a major collector via Craigs List for her own wedding! I mean, who knew you could even do that! So if you like the look of vintage, but aren't crazy about spending an entire weekend stocking up on little old vases, consider renting! And if you can't find anything on Craig's List, maybe visit your grandpa's retirement home and see if any of his gal pals will lend you their old vases? :)

Wow, it took me a long time to get to the meat of this post. My apologies...

See more pictures here from Emily's blog. Photography by Nightingale Photography

A flower girl does more than just spread flowers on the aisle. For guests, the highlight of the wedding ceremony is the bride's entrance. And the low light is sitting around and waiting. Somewhere in between is this magically cute moment when a tater tot makes her way down the aisle. She provides a moment for guests to stop holding their breath and say, "Awww, isn't she cute?"

Let your flower girl wear a crown on your big day. That way she's not just a flower girl, but a flower princess. Don't have any little girls in your family? What if you had a flower prince? Custom and pre-handmade crowns from Cakies.

Canopy Verde: Eco-Handbags

It's really annoying when product manufacturer's say their product is green just because they use recycled zippers or something. We like to call that "greenwashing" round these parts. But I think it's safe to say that Canopy Verde does no such thing. These stylishly awesome bags are made of organic cotton and dyed with "special OEKO-TEX 100 Certified Dying Process." Sound too fancy? It's just a certification system which guarantees the absence of harmful chemicals.


I love the fashion forward style and while I love the uniqueness that something handcrafted provides, it's nice to see an eco-fashion product that could easily fit in next to the high end designer bags at your typical department store.

www.canopyverde.com

Eco Undies

Do you wear underwear or knickers? I suppose your answer would depend on where you're from. Or maybe you're just one of those people that likes to pretend their European, so you spell things the English way, like "colour," or say "joie de vivre" a lot because it sounds cool. Whatever your flavor, knickers or underwear, they both have the same purpose: to cover your hiney.


London based Green Knickers boasts the tagline, "Fair Trade Organic Undies for Nice People." They bring hiney coveringness to a whole new level with feminine bows and sensual satin, all made with hemp and silk. And they've got a selection for the boys too.

For those not in the U.K., shipping across the pond isn't exactly eco. Offset your sin by not buying any clothes from the evil mass clothing conglomerates.

Sustainable Fishy-ness

Thank you everyone for your patience. I think we'll just leave "Sleep Week" as it is at three posts and move on to better things. The cold from hell that I had is finally tapering off. Thank the freakin' lawd! You never really appreciate how nice it is to breath until you have a horribly stuffy nose.

Yesterday I was perusing my facebook feed and I saw an interesting note from Food Inc. They mention and link to an article which states that Whole Foods continues to sell endangered seafood, but with a warning. I'm kind of on the fence about this. Ultimately, grocers should be able to sell whatever food they wish, but c'mon! We're talking Whole Foods here. Their the ones who have "an unshakable commitment to sustainable agriculture (via their website)." Are fish not considered agriculture? To their credit, WF will stop selling endangered fish by Earth Day 2013.

Check out this post from June 2009. I thought it fit with the fishy theme of today.

Did you see the movie Shark Tale? If you haven't, it's a cute movie and I recommend it. But if you have, then you'll probably remember the scene where Lenny's pop is urging him him to eat the helpless little shrimp (who happens to be pleading for it's life) in an effort to prove that his son really is a tough guy...er..shark. Of course, Lenny, being the sweet, sensitive vegetarian shark that he is opens the restaurant window and frees the little shrimps, while we, the audience, all breath a sigh of relief.

Now, if seafood could talk to us in ways we could understand...well...I don't think we'd be eating it, because that would just be weird. But my point is that if fish could talk, they would probably be telling us some very important things. According to the latest issue of Body and Soul mag, all species of edible fish may be extinct by the year 2048 if we don't change the way we fish. So if you want to offer seafood on your wedding menu, it would be wise to choose a fish that reproduces in large numbers and/or comes from a responsibly maintained fishery. To help you do this, The Environmental Defense Fund and Smithsonian Magazine both have an easy to use web guide to the best, worst, and somewhere in the middle eco-friendly fish out there. EDF even has a downloadable pocket guide perfect for on the go!

Top picture: copyright by Dreamworks Animation (http://www.sharktale.com/)
Bottom pictures: Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, Environmental Defense Fund

Uuuuggghhh!

Sorry everyone! Sleep week got totally derailed as I came down with
the flu/really nasty cold/strep throat. No, not all of those at once,
but one or the other. Operation recuperation is under way and
hopefully I'll be back, gracing you with my most amazing writing
skills (note the sarcasm) before you know it.

Repost: The Benefits of Sleep

I hope my sleep themed week isn't making you, well, sleepy! This was originally posted in June 2009, but I found it to be particularly pertinent this week. Enjoy!

When I was in college, I had the opportunity to listen to a semi-motivational speaker (and I say "semi" because he seemed more apt at rambling than motivating). He spoke rapidly, moved around the stage often, and gestured wildly with his hands when he said words like "life" and "goal." At first, this was amusing and my stressed out brain enjoyed the somewhat incoherent chatter coming from this guy's mouth, but when referring to his skewed sense of time management, he said this: "Don't worry so much about sleep. You'll sleep when you die." To which I thought, "Geeze, how many lattes has this guy had!"

To this day, I wholeheartedly disagree with this type of sentiment. To some, life is all about "Go!Go!Go!" and if you are that person, then more power to you, but sleep is a necessity that give us the ability to function properly. (Have you ever gone into work after a restless night and felt as if your eyes and your brain weren't attached? I have. It wasn't fun.) Although it can be hard, especially while planning a wedding, working a full time job, finding time for yourself, and if you have kids, you might as well forget sleep, but an important fact always remains: sleep is a vital part of a healthy life.

If you had any doubts or need a better reason to crawl into bed a little earlier, check out the benefits your body reaps from sleeping: (source FitSugar.com)

1. Sleep helps keep your immune system strong.

2. While you're asleep, your brain sorts and processes the information it received while you're awake.

3. Recent research suggests that sufficient sleep aids in weight loss, while sleep deprivation can result in an inability to lose or maintain weight.

4. A good night of sleep keeps coordination in tip top shape.

5. The body repairs itself while you're alseep. Get 8 hours to avoid puffy eyes and circles under the eyes.

6. There may be a link between a good night's rest and fertility. Some experts suggest that sleep deprivation can make getting pregnant more difficult. (ConceiveOnline.com)

So next time someone says, "Don't worry so much about sleep," you can just smile and nod, because while they're grabbing another latte, rambling incoherently, and doing whatever is so important at two in the morning, you'll be snuggled into your cozy bed, dreaming about wedding cakes and honeymoons.

Photo Credit: Tumultuous Woman

Sleep Week: Badger Organic Sleep Balm

Continuing with sleep week here... For all of you without children, do me a favor and sleep an extra hour today for me. Perhaps I can live a little vicariously. Seriously.


I really love Badger products. There is something very friendly and honest about their products. It's a green, family run company where I imagine the company picnics smell more of patchouli oil than Ralph Lauren cologne. Not sure if this certified organic sleep balm actually works, but it apparently contains a whole slew of oils to "calm, encourage, cheer, and relax." And if you're a bride-to-be, get your sleep on woman! That beauty rest is important!

Sleep Week: Green Registry Giveaway

The theme for this week is: Sleep. My seven week old is this wonderful bundle of love, but as a first time mom, I miss my Zzzz's. So I'm keeping this short and sending you on over to Recycled Bride's Green Registry Giveaway with Williams Sonoma (an AWESOME! place even for those who are dependent on Hamburger Helper). What can you win? A $200 gift card! I can only dream of running through fields of cookbooks, spatulas, and professional grade cast iron skillets!

Eco-Idea: Repurposed Spoons as Table Signs

These may be a bit too small, but what do you think about using vintage stampings for your table signs? These are vintage silver spoons flattened and stamped, perfect for an outdoor or garden themed wedding with a vintage flair. Available at J Lynn Creations.

Winter Wedding Inspiration at Etsy

The amount of wedding inspiration you can find on the internet is amazing. And I know you're just looking for something to do while your boss is out on his two hour lunch. Etsy is a wonderful place to peruse goodies and pass the time at work if you have that kind of cushy job. And you can really hone in on useful wedding paraphenalia by visiting Etsy's Handmade Weddings feature. Their most recent post features a beautiful array of Winter wedding awesome-ness!

Baby's Breath Bouquet

Hope you had a Luhhhvely Labor Day Weekend. For those of you not in the states, well, I hope you just had a great weekend too! To welcome back the week, I wanted to share this simple baby's breath bouquet. I love this because baby's breath is usually more of the background filler in a bouquet, but here it's the show stopper. Put something simple in abundance and voila! It's really an unexpected look.

If your wedding is in the spring or summer, plan ahead! Here you can find seeds to grow your own baby's breath!

Photo from Hilda Grahnat

Wedding Inspiration

I'm cheating today and sending you over to the blog, "Unruly Things." Maybe you already saw this blogger's gorgeous wedding, but in case you haven't check it out. And if you have, check it out again because it's just that pretty!

In NYC? Marry Me Cooking Lessons

I recently posted a link to some of the best green cookbooks and emphasized the importance of sharing at least one meal a day with your partner. If you like the idea, but find your cooking skills a bit non-existent, here is a unique idea for all you New York City residents. Passion for the Palate is offering a "Marry Me" lesson, where couples are taught by two seasoned chefs how to hone in on "specific recipes and ingredients that will keep the love alive throughout their marriage." Ohh-la-la!
Classes start at $250 per couple and gift certificates are available. Visit PassionForThePalate.com for contact info.