moose tooth pin~

i put it up then took it down. just didn't seem finished to me. does now. :)
numinosity tooth from kim. white coral from richelle. sierra nevada pale ale bottle cap tooth cap. hand formed steel wire pin ~sealed with bees wax~ myrrh, white glass, crystal, dentalium shell. sterling silver wire. vintage and contemporary all the way!

so today, i am shopping at the grocers (local challenge is done). simply can't afford the food at the co-op so we decided co-op for local meats and super for the organic other stuff. seriously, $4.00 for a can of organic pinto beans? simply can't do it when it takes two per meal for our family. good thing our local super carries a huge variety of organic, just not in the meat department. have you ever tried local organic meats vs. the super meats? way different flavor! yum.

on the agenda ~homemade raw fruit and nut bars~ and flax crackers in the dehydrator. haven't made them in years and could use an extra shot of omega threes for the old mental health! ;) curried lamb and lentil stew in the crock. gonna be a productive day as more basil arrived form hubby's green house and needs planting as well. cheers y'all!

numinosity and challenges~

my love love tommy just came home and said ~that ones a keeper~ as i was about to post it. so, imma not gonna post it 'cause i think he's right and i kinda felt it as well anyway. it's just so pretty that i wanted to share! so here is a glass numinosity bead with yummy amber chips, a long ceramic bead, lace trim and white glass seed beads. it is a keeper and one-of-a-kind. thanks kim! <3

but i digress. i have been posting about challenges, one of which i blew today by having red chile cheese fries! ah, the shame of it! ok, another ten days on the real food challenge it is to make up for that flatooey. blech. but, it was going real well till my meltdown today, so I was thinking of upping it to the 100 days if i can keep my cravings at bay. ;) seriously, last night i used my grammas recipe for egg noodles and substituted whole wheat for white flour and they were awesome! even picky little dude ate them without question and both kids asked for them again. with the noodles we had pesto made from the basil we grow and then pickled peppers and green beans from last years crop. what a meal! i can deal with this. i think i can continue this challenge with the caveat not to cave to cravings.

then the homegrown challenge is going well too. 30 days of locally purchased products. even found a place to get gas. *big smile*

the real challenge of course is staying creative as the stash dwindles and the cash is not available to re-stash. i'm a teacher and it's summer. gotta be careful, but this is when i am most productive as the rest of the year i am full fledged teacher! sooo, in drops a box of yummy goodness from kim at numinosity beads to keep me going. i made some stuff (like the necklace above) and intend to make some more for sure. i'll get her back, no worries on that! thanks kim. cheers y'all!

~doll head and another challenge

i made some stuff, which i enjoy, but my stash is getting so puny, i can't make much of anything at the moment. so, another challenge? making something pretty with what i have, which is almost gone. hahahahaha. means i'll be shifting gears and sewing again soon!
but back to my original challenge of 10 days of real food. going good, but I can make some very fattening food if i want to, so ima gonna watch that part. tonight~chicken curry~ with peas from the garden and red quinoa salad. yum!
so, since i'm challenging myself, i'm also going to do the 505 30 days of buying local which means local beers, co-op shopping for all the food and walking since I won't be able to buy gas! lol
cheers!

frozen charlotte and a pipe stem. vintage faux pearl necklace. sterling.

bike chain links. silk. antique linen buttons.

leather pouch with a watchmakers vial. assorted pipestone, glass, faux pearls and then one-of-a-kind shell beads made by me!

bike chain links, lace, cut crystal beads. love. <3

~10 days of real food and new jewelry too!

a friend was telling me about the 100 days of real food challenge and it sounded good. i needed to cleanse a bit. too many chili cheese fries these days. so i checked it out. i went ahead and did the 10 day pledge and hoped my family would hop on board. my little one, who said he wanted to be a foodie 
~what's that sweetie?~ i asked.  ~it's a person who tries new food~ he said
so i thought,
~excellent!~
well, he's struggling and won't give up his nose dogs (hot dogs that he was told were made out of noses).
so, slowly i will get him on board.
tom's cool with it, so that's helpful to have an ally.
i'm on day four and it's been great! i'm not missing the eating out, which i thought i would, and i feel good too. so far we are eating really well. home made seafood chowder, steak and potatoes, lot's of oats, whole wheat brownies, fruits and veggies, quinoa salad, chicken satay, smoked salmon spread on whole wheat crackers, homemade granola on yogurt...tomorrow i'm making a lamb stew from local lamb. the only challenge is getting the local or wild caught meat/fish/poultry and we are using what we have at the moment (so not completely in the rules of the challenge, but not throwing away the food, i will just replace it once it's gone with the good stuff).
i don't know why it took a challenge to change my eating habits. i've known for forever that we should eat a certain way for sustainability, but liked eating out too much and fell to the whims of my family. not any more! it's been fun looking for new recipes and challenging looking for ~less than five ingredients~ but the thrill of the hunt takes over and it turns out to be a fun challenge instead of a restraining one.
hell, if i can get through six more days, i'll go for the hundred and then try to work the budget idea in as well. $125 a week for a family of four. we'll see.
cheers y'all!

new work on etsy today. :)