Archive | TRAVEL AND BOOKS

Christmas in the Utah Mountains

Eben and I are back from our Christmas vacation in Utah. It was nice to wake up to snow covered mountains and snow flurries everyday. How was your holiday weekend? What are your New Year’s Eve plans?

Today, I am going to snuggle up in front of the fireplace and write my holiday thank you cards. I am excited to be back and was wondering, what would you like to see at Sweet Greens in 2010?
P.S. I am extending the remaining Etsy giveaways through the New Year to give everyone a chance to enter.

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I snapped this photo from my parent’s living room – isn’t it an amazing place to live?

Have A Very Lovely Green Christmas

Hello, Friends! Are you ready for Christmas? Can you believe that it is in 2 days? By the time you read this, Eben and I will be in Utah. We will be staying in my childhood home in Liberty, Utah. Liberty is a small mountain community in the Ogden Valley and my parents home is nestled between Wolf Mountain Ski Resort and Pine View Reservoir. It is a beautiful place and I am excited to go home again. It will be lovely to see the snow covered mountains and frozen water. (I will take pictures to share with you.) We will be spending time baking goodies with my sister and her three adorable children on Christmas Eve and enjoying brunch and exchanging gifts with my entire family at my sister’s home on Christmas morning.

The remainder of my visit will be spent at the mister’s mother’s home. They live at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon in Salt Lake City. I always feel so relaxed at my mother in law’s home, it is always warm and cozy and this year the mister’s brother and his son, and Eben’s cousin will be spending the entire time there with us. Eben can’t wait to hang out with a cousin his exact age! 

Our stay in Utah sounds pretty laid back and relaxed, which is perfect for this time of year. I want to wish all of you a lovely holiday weekend, I hope you enjoy yourselves and your time with your family. I hope you have time to relax and enjoy the moment. I look forward to another wonderful year at Sweet Greens and would like to thank you for your love and support. I will talk to you again on December 29th.

How are you spending Christmas?
What traditions does your family celebrate?

On The 12th Day of Etsy… Bike Burrito Giveaway

♫ my true love gave to me one bike burrito, ♫ a fantastic recycled baby bib, ♫ a lovely pair of recycled earrings, ♫ a beautiful pair of handmade shoes, ♫ a couple of sweet little cases, ♫ fabulous natural skin care, ♫ a beautiful organic double v shirt, ♫ a fab alphabet pillow made from recycled suits, ♫ a handful of sweet upcycled heart felts, ♫ three lovely reclaimed wooden handcrafts, ♫ two calling handmade upcycled bird ornaments, ♫ and a fantastic stocking made from men’s recycled suits. ♫

Giveaway number 12 is a fabulous, fabulous Bike Burrito. Are you familiar with Bike Burritos? Do you ride your bike? Mr. Sweet Greens and I do quite often and I think I see Bike Burritos in our future. Are you asking, “What is a Bike Burrito?” In Jayme’s (the designer) words, ‘The Bike Burrito is a funky twist on the classic bike tool roll. It is designed to carry your bike essentials in style!’ Isn’t that great?

Jayme Bassett collaborated with her friend Russ Roca in December 2008 and came up with the Bike Burrito. Their main goal was to provide cyclists with a classy and functional alternative to carry their bicycle accessories in style. The Bike Burritos come in tweeds, plaids, quirky patterns and are all lined with a long lasting canvas interior. Lovely, no? Wouldn’t these make fantastic gifts?

Jayme lives in Long Beach, California with her boyfriend and their three cats. They are both car free individuals and do everything by bicycle and/or public transit. Fabulous! The first trip that really defined their relationship was a two week bicycle tour down the Oregon Coast. How fitting. I love it, I want to go on a two week bicycle tour with the mister.

The winner of this giveaway will receive a regular Bike Burrito that contains 3 pockets perfect for a spare tube, multi-tool and some spare wrenches. I think this is something that everyone who rides their bike should have and the best part, it looks fantastic.

A huge thank you to Bike Burrito for hosting this lovely giveaway.

How to Enter

  • Visit Bike Burrito and leave me a comment telling me which bike burrito matches your personality.
Additional Entries

**** Please help me spread the word about Sweet Greens’ 12 Days of Etsy by sharing it Twitter, Facebook, Kirtsy, your blog or any other social website that you use. I would greatly appreciate it! (Please leave a separate comment for each thing that you do.)


Are you wondering what the 12 Days of Etsy are, read about it here.
You have until December 30th @ 12 am EST to enter this giveaway.

*UPDATE: WINNER:: #14 Betsabè Congratulations and thank you to everyone who entered.

Gifts For Cooks: The Cook Bookery


Do you have a Julia Child on your holiday list? A budding pastry chef? How about someone who really, really enjoys cooking? Or, have you yourself been looking for that heirloom cookbook that your mother or grandmother used when you were a child? Did you know that you can still find those rare and fabulous cookbooks? Who knew? I recently found The Cook Bookery, an online cookbook store that specializes in rare, vintage and hard to find cookbooks. Heaven.

When I started to browse The Cook Bookery I immediately thought of the mister, who loves, loves, loves to cook. I also thought of the cookbook that we had in our household as a child. You know the cookbook with chocolate fingerprints and greasy stains on every page? I remember spending countless hours with my mom baking cookies and brownies from that cookbook. I am seriously considering browsing until I find that cookbook and ordering a copy for Eben and I to share. I think that I will also talk with the mister’s mother to find out which cookbooks she used when the mister  was growing up. I think the mister  would love to receive some of those cookbooks as future gifts. Wouldn’t a cookbook from the past of a friend or family member be the perfect holiday gift? Not to mention, a shelf full of fab rare and vintage cookbooks looks lovely, no?

Do you collect heirloom cookbooks?
Which are your faves?

Cast Your Vote! Green Chic Finalists

I had many wonderful notes left for me on the Green Chic posts with your green tips. I want to thank everyone who participated. All of your green tips are fabulous and I can’t decide who should win, so I would like you, my reader’s help. Check out the ways Sweet Greens’ readers are green and chic, then vote for your favorite. Leave me a comment telling me who you think should win a copy of Green Chic | Saving the World in Style by Christie Matheson – those two individuals with the most votes will win a copy.

1. Diane:
I limit my driving. I bum rides from and entrust some tasks to family/friends. My lovely car sits in the drive a lot. It is there if I need it. I am not as active as I was or would like to be because of a medical issue; it has made this change easier to initiate. I’m glad for the positive.

2. Savvy Christine:
Use bar soap instead of liquid soap and shampoo — especially if the bar soap is hand-made locally. It costs less to ship, doesn’t have as much packaging, and you can take it in your carry-on bag on airplanes. I love homemade bar soap. It feels so luxurious.

3. Dina:
I always use my own “green” shopping bags – and bring my own coffee cup when I go to Starbucks.

4. Nelsby:
I buy only organic, Eco-friendly personal care products (bath, body, lotion, cosmetics, etc.).Thanks for the giveaway…I’d love to learn more ways I could be greener

5. Becca Greene:
I work in a restaurant and always bring in my own cup to work instead of using the disposable ones like most of my coworkers. added bonus i always know which one is mine. plus mine is super insulated so i don’t end up with watered down tea. recently, I’ve been trying make it home remedies like using the pineapple rinds you would normally throw away or compost as an exfoliate/wrinkle reducer to save money and in addition the packaging costs of buying extra beauty products.I’m glad you brought up throwing small purchases in your purse. one of the many reasons i am now hooked on having a super sized purse.

6. Aik:
I buy only organic products. I use self-made organic toilet bowl washer. I plant my own veggies. I don’t use disposable bowls, plates, etc. I bring my own shopping bag when I go to the mall. I eat only organic, non-chemical products. I recycle.

7. Julie:
I make my own cleaning products out of vinegar, essential oils, baking soda, etc. I use my own reuseable shopping bags for everything except raw meat products. I recycle. I plan on planting a garden now that we are in a house.

8. Kaycee:
I bought a fantastic adorable water bottle which I refill instead of using plastic ones. I was using at least one bottle a day last year!!

9. A.J.:
I bring a canvas shopping bag when I go shopping to avoid having to use plastics for my purchases.

10. Valerie:
Always carry a compact tote bag in my purse for when I’m shopping.

11. Jen:
I keep a mesh reusable bag in my purse all the time for small purchases.I make my own laundry detergent to keep chemicals out of the water supply.I make my own cleaners or use Eco-friendly cleaners

12. CurlyFry:
I light candles instead of having overhead lights on!

13. Diane:
Shorter showers for sure. Just purchased a water saving contraption that has made it possible to make everyone’s showers shorter, whether they want it that way or not! Ha!

14. Laureen:
My lifestyle revolves around being green (and dragging my family into it too, but that’s where most of the battles lie!). One of the many things I do is consolidate car trips and I do not drive unless absolutely necessary.

15. Tofufairy:
I am green chic because I do everything I can to help the environment in my little part of the world…I recycle everything I can, I reuse or free cycle or Craig’s list or donate anything I do not need or can’t use. I compost, I buy organic and natural products to use on my body and in my house.

16. one4earth:
I am green chic because I started a recycling program at my job on Earth Day 2007. Since then, I have collected over 20,000 bottles and cans and recycled them, preventing them from entering the waste stream.
17. Kelly:
I’m a green chic because I always recycle my tin cans, bottles, newspapers, and I try to reuse all my plastic bottles. I also try to walk whenever I can instead of drive.