viva verde

as most people know in the county, the only Whole Foods has moved from Holt St in Tustin to the new development “The District”. According the the OC Register, the store is almost triple the size and has created contracts with local growers to supply organic, seasonal produce, has a tea bar, wine area, clothing, basically the works…

i shouldn’t be complaining, because i am happy to see that natural, safe and local foods are taking center stage and thank you Whole Foods for doing that. but, it is seeming more and more like a “big box” retailer. not to mention the “Whole Paycheck” characterization with $5 grapes (comparable to $1.69 at T Joes & about $3 at your local farmers’ market). i am also wondering if with this new store they are incorporating alternative energy (they should have the money from all of those $5 grapes), and using low/no-VOC and eco-friendly materials that don’t off-gas on their certified organic produce & baked goods. hopefully they did.

i dont know what much about this upcoming development, “the district”, but to me, to have this large of a store seems to really cater to that specific area only. surrounding this is wide industrial area. i cant see that many people wanting to brave the 55 fwy for food, when there are T Joes, Mothers, and Henrys sprouting up all over the place. i guess i still think this is a weird location.

has anyone else been to this new store?

in the long list of “thank you very much for saving my butt” is EARTH FRIENDLY MOVING

Spencer Brown, founder of the company has thought of probably one of the best ideas since the straw: providing quality, recycled, reusable moving items to make one of the most dreaded experiences in life a little easier.

Earth Friendly Moving, provides you with tough durable, recycled plastic cases & recycled packing material to transport or items from point A to B.

they drop off what you need, you pack & move…they pick it up when you are finished. all in a biodiesel truck too! no more cardboard assembly of all the dang boxes and then figuring out what to do with the mess, and really no more waste that results in moving!

Spencer and his company were the kindest people to offer their moving supplies for the show and i can tell you that it really made the difference…i much rather spend the time putting my stuff away then breaking down boxes and figuring out what i am going to do with 100 boxes that i used for about 1 hour…BRILLIANT.

Orange Coast Magazine did a little something on our store this month! if you can’t get a copy my mother (as all parents do), scanned the piece.

the show has been a great learning experience so far. but what i have really loved about it has been my neighbors across the way LOLL DESIGNS

a fantastic group of people making some serious outdoor furniture, these guys make the best looking, durable, well-designed patio elements that brings the outdoors to a completely other level—something to show off!

the pieces are made from recycled plastic (they even have a bench made from Tide bottles and it smells like…well you know), they do not fade with sun and have a sturdiness that will withstand the test of time.

the pieces cost a little more than conventional outdoor favors, but considering replacing, refinishing and renewing your standard brand, LOLL makes a serious bargin…you will want to sit outside in the dead of winter!

recently featured in the LA Times, you will be seeing a lot more of LOLL…in fact, these kind people are allowing us to take orders! in about 2 weeks we will carry a sample chair for you to experience for yourself why i love them so much.

August was supposed to be the “relaxing” month….sipping CSA magaritas, listening to some favorite tunes in the store, sweating the days away thinking about the upcoming holiday craziness that was to come.

in late July, we were contacted by the Southern California Home & Garden show and asked to do a booth, and we couldn’t miss the opportunity, so of course we will! only problem—we had to get it together in a little over 3 weeks!!! so that’s what we have been doing: frantically figuring out what the heck we are going to do for a booth (plus run a store). August has now been one of the craziest months besides december….

with a little (or i should say A LOT) of help from Dawn & Toni (2 interior designers from the Art Institute….thank you whomever is in charge of the universe for sending these 2 gifted lasses!) we pulled off a fantastic display. i have to admit, i was a little scared when i was told to paper-mache Sonotubes…there was many a late night dipping kraft paper into bins of elmer’s glue (not the perfect relaxing summer activity).

this is the before

yeah, i was scared, i have no vision for these types of things. but Dawn & Toni worked their magic and this is what resulted:

i have to admit, we have one of the better booths in the show! our floor is Flor (recycled polyester carpet tiles), the tops of the tubes are covered in clay paint (and the tubes make for convenient storage!), organic cotton fabric are the square panels on the walls, and wheatboard connects the tubes to fashion a desk area…welcome to my new home for the next 10 days!

what is a CSA??? 

small basket (great for 2-3 people):  32.50/week

large basket (3-5 people, large families): 42.50/week

drop-offs are usually at 3:30 PM every Wednesday, we keep the store open a little bit longer on those days.  baskets are left in the back patio of the store if we are closed.  a trade in basket is also available for members to trade in items that they do not like/use with ones that they will.

Morning Song Farm, is the name of the farm, they are based in San Clemente.  they are a certified organic farm.

to start your membership, email farmer Donna @

donna@morningsongfarm.com

what was in my basket last week (we have a large basket):

1 basket blackberries (gone in 2 minutes), 10 oranges, 3 limes, 3 lemons, 2 bunches of swiss chard, 2 baskets tomatillos, 1 awesome bunch of red carrots, heirloom cherry tomatoes, bok choy, asian pears, mint, rosemary, cilantro, parsley, red onions, 2 bags of lettuce, 1 bunch of beets, 1 bag green beans….and i might be missing something else….