Vintage Beauties

Loving all this beautiful stuff from Private Collection, a vintage clothing company based in Israel.

Blazer

Sweater Vest

Wrap Dress

Newspaper Seed Starter Pots

Remember how I was talking about starting a garden about a week ago? If you need starter pots for your seeds, check out these very eco-friendly alternative to peat pots. Newspaper! :) Available at WallFlowerStudio. $5.50 for 25

Hand Painted Shoes

I once went on an organized tour of Italy and in our group was this woman who wore high heels...everywhere. Can you imagine trekking through cobblestone streets for two hours in heels?! This woman had it down to an art. I also lived in New York City briefly and could never do the long walks in heels. I know that for some woman the heel is a cult - wear it or die! So if you're like me, but you're a bride, don't hesitate to remove your shoes and wear something more comfy during the reception.

Personally, I think these hand painted shoes are adorable and what better souvenir from your wedding day than a pair of customized shoes? Check 'em out at Lisa Rachel. Available for $50.

Chocolate!!!!!!!

I will NEVER turn down free chocolate, cookies, or cake. Seriously. Never. Unless it was being offered by a strange man on a corner with a nervous tick and whoops like a bird when the cops drive by. Even then though, I would probably consider it for a second and weigh my options. "Hmmm... free cookies one hand. On the other hand, possibly laced with cocaine. Free cookies. Drug addiction..."

When Lake Champlain Chocolates offered me up a few samples to try and review, I was all over it! This blog has reached such prominence that I am now being offered free chocolate. I can die happy.

Alright, so here is my review. They sent me some super cute favor boxes, one which contained truffles and one which contained wrapped chocolates. Honestly, the chocolate was all delicious. Was it knock-my-socks-off-oh-my-god-I'm-in-heaven kind of chocolate? No, but it was close. The personalized boxes were very elegant and I can't imagine these not being well received at any type of wedding, except for maybe a wedding in July, outside, when it's 95 degrees and all the chocolate melts.

Lake Champlain chocolates are all natural, containing no preservatives or shelf extenders and they are all made in Vermont. They offer a really nice variety of chocolate wedding favors, as well as an organic selection worth checking out.

Thank you, Lake Champlain for letting me try your delicious chocolates! Don't hesitate to send more boxes my way! :)

Toot Toot!

Toot Toot! That's me down there! I was so honored to be a part of the always beautiful Eco Beautiful Weddings Mag. Check out the article about Earthly Affair on page 34!

Winter Wedding in the Garden

Winter is about to officially be over. Down here in Atlanta, we experienced a winter with record breaking amounts of ice and snow, which had the city practically shut down for a week. (That happens when your city employs only about 4 snow plows.) Before we know it, the cool, crisp winter air will be replaced with hot, sticky air of summer enjoy this lovely winter wedding, courtesy of Brooklyn based Levi Stolove Photography.

Held at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden - botanical gardens are a great way to add a little eco-awesome-sauce to your wedding. Many of them fund environmentally related educational programs, not to mention the abundance of florals and foliage will allow you to take advantage of the venue's natural environment.

The Bride's father who grew up in Park Slope played with his crew of bagpipers serenading the Bride and Groom who laughed and cried at the performance.

Healthy Monday: Let Your Garden Grow

It's time! It's time! Start planning your gardens!

A couple of years ago, I planted tomatoes, corn, onions, lettuce, cucumbers, bell peppers, and squash. Oh, and watermelon! I can't tell you how satisfying it was to eat fresh watermelon straight from my own garden. And those suckers grow like weeds! (Itty bitty watermelons are pretty cute too.)

my watermelons and tomatoes!

I've planted a garden before (see my onions), but my apprehension this year results in the fact that I have a seven month old and am already pretty stretched when it comes to free time. However, that's not going to stop me from encouraging you to get your thumbs green! Gardening is a great way to increase your access to fruits and vegetables. For instance, you can either pay between $2 and $5 for spinach at the supermarket, or you can get a whole packet of spinach seeds for the same price and have a whole summer's worth of spinach goodness! Plus, you're more likely to eat more veggies if they are coming from your own garden. If you're new to gardening, HGTV has a great list of how-to's and tutorials. Will you be gardening this year? What do you plan to grow?

Repost: Eco-Idea - Repurposed Spoons as Table Signs

Gotta repost for today. I write these the day or night before and tonight has been tough. Baby girl has been crying all night. So enjoy this lovely repost and have a wonderful weekend!

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.

Off the Map and Upcycled Goodies

Geography is so not my thing. I know where the important things are on a map - like the Bahamas, Costa Rica, Hawaii - but ask me where Egypt is and all I can tell you is that it's somewhere "over there." I seriously used to dread being confronted with one of those tv or news shows that likes to test people's knowledge of current events. They would be like, "Hi there! Were currently doing a survey to gauge how smart the average American is. Can you tell us where Venezuela is on this unmarked map?" ... Silence... After staring open mouthed and wide eyed for about 20 seconds, I would gracefully pivot on my heel, smile, and RUN! You'll never know how stupid I am America! NEVER! Hahahaha! Ahem, well, I guess now you know.


Anyway, I like what InkWhimsy has done with these old maps - upcycled them into sweet heart stickers. Maps don't need to be read. They need to be enjoyed for their pretty colors and organic lines.

CD Favors

Are cd's still considered popular favor ideas? On one hand, I love cd's - I love music - and they are indeed a great way to share your favorite tunes with your guests. Plus, it's fairly inexpensive to burn a disc at home and these organic linen sleeve's are so sophisticated and pure. (I'm thinking they would look perfect lined up on a pretty favor table for a beach side wedding.) On the other hand, most people take advantage of digital music downloads these days and I wonder if the actual cd would just end up in the trash. What are your thoughts?

Super Food for Friday!

photo from The Steamy Kitchen - check it out, it's an awesome site!

Can you tell food is on my mind? This is my second post this week about food! I read somewhere recently that Kale is a super food (which means it's really freaking good for you). And I really love Kale! Not raw so much though. Anyway, I am on the path to eating better and living healthier in an effort to regain my energy. It's completely depleted so it's time to buck up and put away the cookies. More on this later though.
What are some of your favorite super foods?

Up-Cycle This!

Need a place to record all those secret wedding planning thoughts?

Or a place to sketch out your floral arranging visions?

Or maybe you need an awesomely unique gift for that pensive man in your life who has a penchant for scribbling.

PeaceMealDesign takes old books and makes them new again (aka upcycling) by turning them into blank paged books, ready to be filled with doodles, secrets, and ideas. Yay for upcycling!

Plantains a Plenty!

Left: Cooking Light, Right: Martha Stewart

So last Saturday I went to a Caribbean restaurant where I had a very interesting experience with ox tail. (Read the whole "tale" here.) And while the ox tail didn't exactly delight my culinary senses, the fried plantains did. Have you ever had these deeeelish-ious little banana like fruits? I am sure the frying part makes them completely wrong and unhealthy, but they are very yummy. This really got me thinking. Why not offer them at weddings? A vegetarian inspired fare would do quite well with these little puppies offered up around dessert time. Or perhaps buy them yourself and wrap up some baked plantain chips for your out of town guests or to give as favors (edible favors are quite eco as they usually leave no waste). Would it be weird to have an island themed wedding if you were no where near an island? Maybe, but who cares!? I say bring on the coconut drinks, little umbrellas, and all the fried plantains you can eat!

A Plan to Eliminate Sleep + Links to Laugh

Ugh. I hate that I can't seem to keep up with the blog as much as I used to. Oh little bloggie. Please forgive me. I have another love now and her name is Sophia and she's seven months old and she's this freaking awesome little person and... Juggling two major priorities has not been easy. My husband and my daughter will always receive 100% of my effort - that will never change - but as a result, Earthly Affair (and this blog) receive perhaps only around 30% of my time. The solution? I am in the beginning stages of sleep elimination. Over the course of the next six months, I will gradually learn to live on only 2 hours of sleep a night.

Yeah. Right. Since sleep elimination is not possible, I have been considering other options. I actually told my husband last night that I was going to sell Earthly Affair, but when I really thought about it, that saddened me deeply. (I have probably been driving him nuts talking in circles about this. He's going to read this and go, "Waaaa?") Not only do I love having this creative outlet, but I nurtured Earthly Affair and put a shipload of sweat equity into it. Seriously. A shipload! People really don't get how much work owning your own company is. So I am going to hold on to it and trust that there is a plan that will work for me. It may not make me millions. It may not make me famous. It may not get me on the cover of a magazine. But I know it will work for me. And it will make me happy.

I have been worrying a lot lately over this. So I am going to make this post all about laughing and, well, not worrying. Join me in a few funny links:

Playable Angry Birds Birthday Cake

Angry Birds Peace Treaty

What is it about paper and babies?

Snail Love

Cats and Thumbs