Year: 2011

BlogHer 2011 – Thoughts #1

My first BlogHer. WOW! I still feel like I’m processing all I learned, heard, saw, felt, and experienced. I have a feeling I will write quite a few posts sharing all my thoughts as I sort it all out. (Hence the #1 in the title above). This one is just an expression of how I […] Read more…

Meatless Monday – Snickerdoodles

Warning: this is not a healthy food post! Yes, the cookies are vegan, but no, they are not a “whole food” without added sugar! I tried so very hard to make them be, but my magic was unsuccessful. They are, however, super yummy, and, I fear, by the time this post is up on my […] Read more…

The “Honey on Your Face” Challenge

For a little over a week now, I’ve been participating in the “Crunchy Betty Honey Challenge”. What is this, you ask? Well, basically, it means, honey is now my new (favorite) facial cleanser. Yes, honey! You know you have a jar just sitting there in your cupboard, so quick, go get it. Why honey, you […] Read more…

“She Art” E-Course with Christy Tomlinson

I think I’ve mentioned before how I have this fabulous art studio space located in one half of our garage. I love this space! Though it would be hard to tell when you consider how little time I seem to end up spending out there. Most of the time the space is out there simply […] Read more…

Komodo

This is Komodo the alligator lizard that lives in my garden. A lizard who is now Hunter’s friend. Notice that I am not the one handling Komodo. This is strictly a job for animal loving 6-year old Grandsons (and not squeamish 40-something year old Litas). Most days Komodo gives me quite a start as I […] Read more…

Rosemary, Chives, Oregano & Sage

Yes, more herbs to share! As I’ve said before, I’m seriously loving the abundance of herbs growing in my yard this year. My goal is to keep them going all year long – even if I have to move some inside over the colder winter months. This week, I thought I’d share some more herb […] Read more…

Ultimate Green

Have you checked out the Practically Green site yet? It’s fun and full of quick “green” reminders and incentives. You take a quick survey and then you get your results (levels 1-10) on how GREEN you are. I’m happy to say I’m at level 9 – Wicked Green. There’s something super fun at being called […] Read more…

Bounty of Herbs

This year I’m celebrating pretty much everything that grows in my garden – as I think everyone should. Happily, I’ve never had trouble growing herbs. Which means, I love, love, love growing just about all of them! This weekend, along with these gorgeous tomatoes and some more tasty strawberries, I gathered some Cilantro which can […] Read more…

Green Summer

I think it might be time for a “GREEN” summer update – what do you think? I thought it would be a good idea to let you know I haven’t given up my “green” ideals…and hopefully I can give you a little motivation along the way. There are just so many ways to take small […] Read more…

Happy Birthday America!

(image thanks to the Crafting Chicks – a great site – you should check it out!) ~ Lita     Read more…

Back to Reality

Ok, that doesn’t sound too bad does it?? It’s not, and I’m not complaining…well, except I would’ve liked more time to blog about our trip this week. I have more photos from beautiful Lake Tahoe coming soon…what a fabulous time of year to visit the lake! There’s still snow on the mountains, the air is […] Read more…

Tahoe – Rubicon Trail to Emerald Bay Hike

As expected, it’s just glorious up here in Lake Tahoe. We’re staying in Incline Village for 5 days with our good friends Greg and Dianna. There is still quite a bit of snow up on the mountaintops making almost every view simply gorgeous. The crisp, clean air just makes the colors seem much more vivid […] Read more…

The Garden’s Growing

WOW, I feel like I just put a lot of these seedlings in the ground and am so amazed at their progress. Even though I’ve been super busy at work this week (heading out on vacation next week), I wanted to get some photos up of how my herbs and veggies are growing. I’m always […] Read more…

Meatless Monday – White Bean Patties

This recipe is inspired by Whole Living magazine. I read it, I craved it, then I made it! Ingredients: 1 – 19 oz can white beans 1/2 shallot, finely diced 1 small carrot, finely grated 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal 1 tsp chopped fresh sage Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive […] Read more…

New Chicks in the Family

Here they are…our little girls! Well, they actually live at Libby’s house, but that makes them my little “Grand-chicks”, right? I wanted to post pics from when they were the teeniest, tiniest little cuties, but I swear, they grew overnight! I think this is their teenage phase – don’t they look like they’re suffering from […] Read more…

Mimi’s Path to Dominican Sisterhood

Remember how in the past I mentioned Mimi was considering becoming a Nun? Well, this last weekend, Libby, Hunter, Westly and I joined her in visiting the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose. This is a congregation of Holy sisters (nuns) that Mimi has chosen and is hoping to join in the future. We went […] Read more…

Vegan health Tips

I had a doctor’s appointment today. Not a big deal really, so no worries. Just been feeling a bit off lately and well, having a bit of a skin rash issue. I’ve been a bit in denial about dealing with the rash, but last week when it appeared on my neck (and forehead), I figured, […] Read more…

When Pops is away….

Pops is away for the next week. He’s off in Mexico on a surf trip with his buddies. One word describes the moment… aaaahhh!   Don’t get my wrong, he’s the love of my life, my soulmate, the yin to my yang…all of that, but in a moment of honesty, it’s so nice to have […] Read more…

Banana Coconut Cream Pie

Not that there’s ever a bad time, but this week I figured I needed to make a “Springy/Summery” dessert. Summer is trying to get here…but it’s just happening a bit too slow for me. Maybe this will move it along a bit. The recipe comes from VegNews May/June 2011 (my favorite magazine). It was created […] Read more…

Favorite Finds of the Week

I think everyone knows I have a magazine addiction. In fact, I think it would be lovely if I could have a job that included reading magazines and sharing fun tidbits from them. So, I thought I’d start a new weekly feature here based on my career aspirations. I typically rip out pages from the […] Read more…

Spinach, Mushroom & White Bean Strudel

This marks my first time using phyllo dough!! I may be a geek, but this was seriously exciting to me. Somehow, I’ve always had “fear” of using it. I thought it was just too fragile to work with for someone as clumsy as I can be at times. The verdict is…it’s super easy to use. […] Read more…

Green Onion Trick

So, maybe you already knew about this…it’s possible I’m the last one to realize this little trick. I can definitely be a geek that way. Did you know that you can keep your green onions growing after you bring them home from the store? My friend Kathy told me her mom does this, so I […] Read more…

Vegan (Brownie) Sundae

For anyone who thinks it’s “No Fun” being vegan, here are a few steps we take around this household to have some: Step 1 – Bake the fudge vegan brownies from the mix you purchased a few weeks ago. Step 2 – Top with your favorite non-dairy frozen delight. (Optional – heat up the brownie […] Read more…