Birchwood Cafe

I have been meaning to try the Birchwood Cafe in Minneapolis for a very long time. The opportunity finally presented itself this week. We had weddings for some friends during the last two weekends, and friends were in town from all over the country (and world) for the week. When some of my favorite girls wanted to meet for dinner, I suggested this little gem.

I ordered the Turkey Club, and oh my goodness, it was the best sandwich I've ever had! We stayed long enough for dessert and enjoyed the carrot cake, 2 chocolate chip cookies, and a fruit cobbler as well.

The front door proudly states: We love local farms, and the food reflects this. In addition, the cafe composts everything it can.

Visit the website for more information, and visit the Birchwood Cafe for delicious food you can be proud to eat!

Weeds

Nate came home this weekend with Roundup weed killer. He had had it with the weeds in our rocks lining the driveway. They don't really bother me, but I'm not the one pulling them.

Regardless of his frustration, I told him I really was not okay with using Roundup, we agreed to look up some safer alternatives. We agreed to try spraying vinegar on the weeds. One week later, the weeds are brown and shriveling. and Nate will be returning the Roundup.

We will need to do some prevention to keep the weeds from reseeding. Corn gluten is supposed to prevent seeds from growing, but it takes a few years to be efffective. We've put corn gluten down twice, so we'll see what the outcomes are in a year or two.

Baby Food!

A has begun his adventures in eating. I have no doubt that he'll develop a sweet tooth like his mom, and a snacking habit like his dad, but while I still have full control over what he eats, I'll try and prevent that from happening.

We started with Gerber's organic brown rice cereal. This was after much internal debate on my part. I wanted to excite his taste palate early and often, but the doctor thought I was a little crazy. After discovering that rice cereal can be whole grain, I allowed myself to feel okay starting with this simple food.

The next food introduced is where things got interesting. I decided to puree my own organic sweet potatoes. (1 potato made 18 servings at a cost of about $.07 a serving, compared to my jar of Earth's Best organic which cost .$.15 a serving). Nate insisted I need to account for my time as well-this first foray into purees took me 2 hours :o. I blame the blender though-it's a piece of junk. So I indulged in a $35 food processor. Hopefully this (and experience) will speed my process up. And after tasting both varieties myself, I have to insist that my fresh puree is much better than the jarred stuff.

Regardless, A is loving his solids. He says "mmm" after every new food. It's been very exciting for both of us!

Toys for 6+ Months

As A whined on his playmat he's had since birth, I thought, hm, maybe he's ready for some new toys. So I Googled "6+ month toys" and was reminded of a website I've visited before, Baby Earth. According to the website, their commitment is “to making baby’s world as healthy, happy and safe as possible." And, "While only a portion of their products are eco-friendly, BabyEarth boasts one of the largest selections of eco-friendly baby products in the market today." 


I'm already itching to buy a bunch of new, reasonably priced, eco-friendly toys for my little guy to chew on. 

Compromise

Our green activities have always been within the parameters that they must not make our lives too challenging. Therefore, when A came along, I knew we were bound to compromise on something. Our compromise has been line drying laundry. I still get a load on the line every once in a while, but where it was once peaceful to spend time just hanging laundry, it is now stressful to get A and the laundry outside, get the line up, keep him entertained, and get it all hung, just to repeat in reverse a few hours later.

We'll get around to line drying again, I'm sure. I can already see the days when he happily runs around the yard while I hang everything. Or maybe I'll be napping in a hammock while he does the laundry :)