Top 10 Real Foodie Mother's Day Gift List

As a real food mom, I thought I'd put together a Top 10 Real Food Mother's Day Gift List.  What types of things does a real food mom want?  Definitely NOT store bought Wilton Chocolates!  Probably not a bouquet of flowers that will wilt in a day that come with a packet of chemicals to prolong the life of the already dying flowers.  Also, candy won't make a nice gift for a real foodie because they are loaded with artificial coloring and refined sugars.  So let's look at some awesome ideas for the Real Food Moms of the world!

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10. Wholesome Sweeteners: Sucanat

I know it's not healthy to eat sugar all the time, even real sugar. However, on those occasions that I am fixing my mother's holiday recipes or simply needing a teaspoon of sugar for my coffee, Sucanat does the trick.  As a real foodie, I'd be happy beyond belief for a pack of Organic Sucanat to replace my Demerara sugar!







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9. Organic Raw Unprocessed Coconut Oil

Everytime I go to the store, I buy another container of Organic Unrefined Coconut Oil.  I use the product for so many things!  I use it to wash my face, to moisturize, to remove my makeup, and it also is a great oil for Indian dishes.  In addition, I take the coconut oil as a supplement to curb my craving for fatty foods and extra calories.




8. CSA or Co-Op Subscription to a Local Farm (LocalHarvest.org)

If I were in the states (which currently I'm not), I would go crazy for a subscription to a local farm for fresh produce, milk, and eggs.  I honestly can't imagine anything so healthy and perfect than being able to pick up the freshest fruits and veggies and cook wonderful meals for my family!  Any real foodie mom would be lucky to get a CSA subscription for a Mother's Day gift.





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7. Nourishing Traditions

Whether the mother in your life is longtime food enthusiast or just exploring the world of real food, if she does not own Nourishing Traditions then this will be the perfect gift!  Not only does it have tons of recipes for fixing traditional real food meals, it also is chock full of information regarding why the traditional meals are so healthy.






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6. A Kick Butt Stockpot (Le Creuset)

As a real food mom, I make broths and stews and other amazing dishes using my stock pot.  I couldn't live without it.  However, I could live with a larger one!  Buying a real food mother in your life a stock pot for Mother's Day will not only make her year, but it will also make some wonderful meals.






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5.  Cast Iron Skillet (Lodge)



My husband was the one who first introduced me to the cast iron skillet.  I thought he was mad.  The monstrosity is so heavy and you don't even wash it!  Fortunately, his southern heritage was a gem (in disguise) and I've come to love my cast iron skillet.  Not only is it beneficial because it develops wonderful sexy arms, but it is a great replacement for the not so safe non-stick skillets.  For the real food enthusiast, this would be a great gift to aid her pursuit of traditional foods!



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4.  Ball Jars with Lids

When you are cooking up outstanding foods, it's nice to have a good place to store them!  I love my Ball jars and use them all the time.  In fact, I need more of them.  I want them in every size.  I want every lid style.  I want labels.  If your real food lady is making broths and stews, she would probably jump for joy to have a set of Ball jars in any and every size.  I'm especially partial to the Heritage Collection with the beautiful hint of blue!



3. Herbs (seeds or plants)

I love herbs.  I use them in my cooking.  I make teas with them.  I add them to my natural beauty products.  Herbs rock!  If your real foodie hasn't yet explored the world of herb gardens, get her started with an organic herb kit or buy her some plants at your local farmer's market.  This option is much better than cut flowers!



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2. Fermenting Dreams (The Art of Fermentation)

Want to grow something altogether new together?  Ferment!  The book, The Art of Fermentation, is a great way to get started making kefir, cheeses, sourdoughs, and even sauerkraut.  If the real food mother in your life is serious about real food, then she will really like this book!



1. Send Her Packing

Find a conference, class, or a bed and breakfast to send her to for a little Real Food R&R.  A conference will be full of helpful information, a class might teach her to make new foods or about how to keep strong with her choice to eat real foods, and a bed and breakfast will provide her with real food while she rests.  All three are excellent choices!

Conferences

FoodDay.org

Real Food - Real Local Conference, Athens, OH 

Classes

Baltimore, MA - http://www.realfoodfarm.org/get-educated/workshops-2-2/

Connecticut - http://www.amandacooks.com/connecticut-cooking-classes/healthy-cooking-classes.htm

Charlotte, NC - http://www.nourishingcharlotte.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Bootcamp-flyer.pdf

Bed & Breakfast

The Turquoise Barn - http://turquoisebarn.com/bedandbreakfast2013.html

I hope you can make good use of this Real Foodie Mother's Day Gift List!  Enjoy!

Brooke

Owner and Designer of Designing Life

P.S.  Do you know of any other conferences, classes, or Bed & Breakfasts that specialize in real food?  I'd love to know!

Simplify: Money Doesn't Talk

You've all heard the saying that "money talks," but have you ever considered what that particular point of view holds for those who accept it?  For Simplifying Life with Designing Life, we will be discussing why money doesn't talk for a simplified life.  I hope you enjoy the discussion that my son and I had (see the graphic below) that inspired my continued thoughts on the subject:

 

Why Doesn't Money Talk

Literally, money doesn't talk or have a voice.  Figuratively, we say that money talks because if you hold a $100 bill up to a waiter who has just told you that there are no more seats available . . . somehow he manages to find that a table just became available.  Did the money speak?  No.  In fact, the person holding the bill is communicating loud and clear.  Is this person saying, "Check this out, I'm the nicest person in the world and I'm going to make your day and give you this $100 bill"?  Or is this person saying, "I'm in a hurry, I don't really care that there are no seats currently available.  Allow me to provide some incentive in order to get what I want NOW"?  Money doesn't talk, but when people use money to communicate in this way they certainly aren't making any friends.  Money doesn't talk . . . people do.

What Do You Use Your Money to Say?

In simplifying your life, consider using your money to say what you mean to say.  Most people don't throw a hundred dollars at their waiter, but someone might spend $500 for an extra (meaning having more than one) television for their home.  If you are attempting to simply your life, adding an extra television set probably won't give you more time or a simple life. 

 

What are you using your money to say?

 

What is important to you and your life?

How Can You Use Money to Simplify?

I honestly don't think it's wrong to use money to task things out in life and to use money on important things in life.  If you believe your family is most important, but you spend all your time working on a small business decide if it's worth hiring a new person on to help.  If you feel that it is important to develop friendships, then spend some money taking them out to eat, preparing elaborate meals at home, or organizing outings for your group of friends.  If you have extra money as a stay-at-home mom, maybe you can hire a cook, house cleaner, or lawn maintenance personnel in order to give you more time to spend on your children, on a break (in order to feel up to spending more time on your family), or on other things about the house.  However, please don't confuse a simple life with laziness.  Money is a great tool to allow you to have more time to spend on the important things in life . . . but it isn't very important to watch television all day, spend the day on the computer, or spend every day in pajamas.  With simplifying life, some days are for relaxation, but it's about focusing on what's important and dedicating your time to that thing.

Relationships vs Money

I notice that our American attitude is "accumulate," "attain more," and "make more money," while in regards to friends our attitude is "friends will wait," "someday," and "when I have the time."  I'm not sure about you, but that doesn't make any sense!  Relationships are a high priority in my life and money, while necessary, doesn't make the world go around.  I wonder what things in our life that we insist that we "need" are things that are absolute necessities.  When you consider someone who has "no" money and you see them walking around with designer jeans and an iPhone, it's easy to see that if we want something badly enough we find the money.  If I had to chose, would I let go of my subscriptions, my iPhone, my computer access, using my dryer, being super warm and toasty (rather than putting on a jacket in the winter), in order to have money to spend on relationships? 

What comes first in life?

 

What really matters, fake relationships on Facebook or real relationships forged in flesh and blood as well as tears and triumphs?

I hope this has helped you to think through an area that is fantastic to consider as you simply your life.  Thank you for tuning in . . . or well, clicking in for this simplify post!

Time to Simplify

Sometimes it seems that no matter how hard I try to keep my time simplified and purposeful, I get distracted.  I used to think that this was a fault and that I really needed more discipline to deal with my easily lost focus.  However, as I've begun to move through life and see how the "determined" live and how the "relaxed" live.  I now know that I don't want either.  I want to live somewhere in a happy medium.

My happy medium involves planning, prioritizing, and goal setting, but now I know that the planning, priority setting, and goal reaching isn't the end goal at all.  It's a process in order to remind me what is important in my life.  Knowing what is important helps me to simplify my time.  If all I do is plan, then I am not living my life at all!  Even if I reach goals through strictly outlined plans, it's not quite as fun as reaching it by just living intentionally.  I want to plan my priorities to reach a very simple goal this year.  I want to grow.

I do not suppose that you have the same goal as me for your year or your life.  Everyone has their own reasons for living life.  My reason for living isn't growth, but my reason for living helped me realize that this year was about me growing.  Do you know your reason for living?  Or do you have a goal that you are working toward this year?  Allow me to help you to simplify your time through a little planning, a little prioritizing, so that you can easily make choices that agree with your goals while living your life.

Planning

Some people believe that you don't get anywhere without planning.  That's not true.  You get somewhere, but when you end up where you end up you may not like where you are.  Planning is about looking forward and laying out a path.  The path may change and life definitely happens, but plans allow you to have an idea of where you are heading.  Take a second to find a piece of scrap paper.  Write down where you see yourself in one year.  Where do you see yourself in five years?  Where do you see yourself in ten?  All of the sudden when you begin to look far enough ahead, you realize that you may have to take certain steps to make that ten year self look like you want your ten year self to look.  Planning is vital, but must only be done periodically.  Again, there is no use spending one's whole life planning instead of living.

Priority Setting

Once you take a look ahead one, five, and ten years into the future you begin to realize that some things must indeed be more important to you than others.  Maybe right now, you are a mother orchestrating the raising of multiple children.  However, in ten years, you will be the mother of multiple teenagers.  When your teens are out playing sports, hanging with friends, and going to concerts, will you be spending time with their dad or your husband?  For me, that makes my husband a high priority even while I'm raising my kid.  Maybe you have teenagers already, where will you be in in ten years when your children are moved out and having children of their own?  Do you want to start your own business?  Do you want to volunteer?  What priorities might need to change now in order to assist you as you transition into being an empty nester?  Take a second with that scrap piece of paper.  Write down your priorities as they are right now in reality (not in wishing).  Now take a second and rearrange them into how you think or know they should be, be sure to add in any priorities that may have been missing from the first set.  Here's the top of my ideal priority list so you can get an idea of what a priority list may look like (no one has a "wrong" priority list, sometimes some are more helpful than others though):

God

Husband

Son

Relationships - Friends, Family, Bible Study Group

Home

Etsy - Orders

My Blog

Etc.

Each person will have their own priorities.  It is KEY to be aware of what you want your priorities to be.  Again, just like with planning, being aware of our priorities (not consumed by setting them) we can intentionally choose our activities and plan out our time.  Priorities make choosing activities simple, because you know exactly what to say yes to and when to say no.

Goal Setting

I still spend January setting a list of goals for each area of my life, but I do not suggest that anyone starts out by setting a massive list of goals or resolutions each January.  For me, this is almost a setting a course exercise where I set my sails and plot my heading for the upcoming year.  Some of my goals come to fruition.  Some remain undone.  However, I know what I want to achieve and I have some sort of compass to guide my decisions.  My success or happiness is not based on whether my goals are met, but rather did I live my life well this year?  For me the question is "did my life glorify God this year?"  Goals set in this manner simplify decisions rather than making every decision a hassle.

Taking Time to Simplify

While all this planning, priority management, and goal setting can seem to make life more complicated. I disagree.  My life is simplified by knowing where I am heading, what my priorities are, and what I'm reaching for in my life.  I can take aim without getting distracted by things that don't align with my plans or priorities.  I can grow in peace without feeling like I'm going to mess up big time.  I know where I'm heading and I know what is important to me.  This simplifies my time.

Do you have plans and know where you are heading in the next year, five years, or ten?

Do you have your priorities set?  Do you make your decisions based on what's most important?

Do you have a goal that you are reaching for this year?  Where are you setting sail to in your life?

Thank you for clicking over to Designing Life today!  I hope you have had some time to think through simplifying your time, I know I have!  I have some goal setting worksheets over at my Etsy Shop, Designing Life.  That is . . . . unless your scrap sheet of paper has been fully adequate for this exercise :-)  Come back soon to check out more Design & Decorating, Home Organization, Simplifying Life, and Printables 4 Life!

Refocusing Designing Life

We all grow.  We grow externally as children to become adults.  We grow internally in knowledge, wisdom, and in life.  People grow, but so do thoughts and concepts.  My Designing Life blog is one such thought, one such concept.

I started Designing Life's blog in August 2010.  The thought behind creating this blog was to share my experience as an Interior Designer as well as provide a supplemental source of information about Designing Life, my Etsy Shop.  Since it's conception in 2010, my blog has grown.  I have realized that Designing Life isn't just about interior design, but it's also about organization, family, and intentionally designing one's life.

However, in past months, I have taken the concept of "intentionally designing one's life" and broadened it so much that it is too all encompassing.  With some deep thought and contemplation, I have come to believe that my readers do not come to my site to hear about how to find peace, finding movies that motivate a workout, or even realizing the difference between Life Coaching vs Discipleship.  Though I personally am interested in these topics and they are great topics, Designing Life blog isn't about those things.  Designing Life the blog is about helping people with their home, organization, and life through design, organization tips, simplification advice, and printables.

Therefore, I'm refocusing Designing Life.  I'm narrowing this concept back down to appeal to my reader and to help others in these specific areas.  Consider it my winter pruning.  My blog will now focus into the following areas exclusively:

Design & Decorating

Home Organization

Simplifying Life

Printables 4 Life

Please join me as my blog and I continue to grow.  I would love to keep my current readers as I make these changes and gain new ones as this blog grows more like a flower than some expansive ivy.  Thank you for reading about the changes and growth happening at Designing Life!