redyogimom

Somehow or another I’ve been able to carve out time to sew, it’s one of my favorite pass times and it brings a lot of joy to wear and see others wear what I’ve made, here’s what’s come off the machine lately.

Wash Dress I love this pattern, it’s a breeze to sew and looks gorgeous on, I was generously gifted some beautiful linen and I think it’ll be my favorite go to this summer!

Summer Romper this cute as a button romper took no time at all and though it’s for Lucy, I’ll be making one for all the girls! So much fun, only wish they came in my size too!

Matcha Top is my new favorite pattern by Sew Liberated! I’ve followed this mama for quite a while and she’s given us magic again! I made this one in cotton voile and it’s divine!

What projects are you sewing?

We’re still inspired and elated from this weekend, I wanted to share some of the goodies we picked up from the weekend!

No secret I love Taproot, I’m already a subscriber but I was thrilled to sign up for two more years and was generously gifted this beautiful tote, you can snag one in their shop!

This weekend was my first introduction to Urban Moonshine and I was blown away! I scooped up these three tonics and will definitely be ordering loads more! This woman run business hails from Vermont and is just what my nerves, mood and immune system needed! Look at this beautiful herb poster!

Taproot Threads, not to be confused with the magazine but equally awesome, was my go to for clothing this weekend too! I stocked up on buttery soft organic threads for all the women in our family!

Jake got this innovative soil blocking set from The Gardeners Workshop, perfect for seed starting! Can’t wait to use these!

Items on the list:

I wanted to come home with everything I saw this weekend but we simply didn’t have the space or resources, here are my next orders though.

Fern Fiber absolutely enchanted me with their soft, beautifully dyed yarn, I’m making them my Mother’s Day wish list! They even list the name of the sheep on the card so you know who you’re knitting with!

Bipods, this company was the only top bar hive represented at the fair and I’m so excited to order our first hive, we’re waiting to move to the farm before we do though. This company is not just a hive but fully supports you on your bee keeping adventure. You have access to online classes, bee keepers and troubleshooting. I’m 100% sold and feel reassured moving into this venture!

Our weekend was so much fun, overwhelming, cold, rainy, beautiful and sunny, lots of walking, a few meltdowns ( I have to claim a few), friends, animals, role models met and everything in between.

Friday we drove up early to walk around Asheville, get into the hotel and gear up for a busy Fair!

Sierra Nevada brewery blew us away! It was only a few minutes from the hotel and absolutely gorgeous! The food was all local and farm to table. The beer wasn’t too bad either haha. Go and get the duck fries, you won’t be disappointed!

Taproot! This was my favorite part of the weekend, I could have stayed in that tent forever! I’ve been a long time reader of the magazine and follower of Soulemama (I was too star struck to get a pic) and it was so awesome to spend time in the cozy space they created! Saturday was a rainy, messy day and we missed Kristen Shockey’s Kraut workshop but I was so excited to catch her talk on homeschooling on the homestead, I’m stoked and ready for this new adventure we’re taking our family on! The big girls got to weave on the loom and dye with indigo, and we all got to drool over Fern Fiber’s beautiful yarn!

Shenanigans, a hotel room with 4 kids and tired parents….

These nuggets really learned a lot, despite some attitudes, complaints and selective hearing issues we enjoyed spending the weekend learning, experiencing and immersing ourselves in homesteading.

The big girls got to take workshops all weekend too, Pat Foreman was so kind to spend time educating them on chickens, from egg all the way to table! They kept begging to bring a goat or two home!

Goose met a beautiful Mini Jersey cow.

Jake got to meet Joel Salatin, Jake’s been reading and following Polyface farms for quiet a while so it was inspiring to meet such a role model and listen to his lectures!

The ride home was gorgeous, we stopped in Saluda for a bite and Greys Cafe delivered! This farm to table was the perfect bookend to our weekend! Can’ wait for next year, we’ll already have our farm and will hopefully bring some furry friends back home with us too!

How on earth do you flip an extremely negative situation around to use it for good? How do you share in a constructive way without carrying around the baggage of your story. I’m honestly still doing the treacherous inner work that comes along with all of that but I still feel the strong urge to share, to release some steam, as it were, and clear the air.

Our yoga community in Charlotte is a large one, it’s diverse, rich with styles and lineages all unique and beautiful. There’s a home for every type of yogi, those who want fast, hot and loud and for those who want a more quiet, introspective sort of class and everywhere in between.  I have practiced yoga for over half of my life and I have had the privilege of studying under some amazing yogis. These teachers genuinely care for their students and you can feel that in their classes. They carefully sequence their classes, choose their music, and intuitively assist their students with respect and expertise.

Something I’ve noticed, more prevalent lately, for a long time is the rising popularity of the narcissistic teacher. We have all experienced that kind. They love the sound of their own voice, can be seen checking themselves out in the mirror while teaching or (even worse) assisting students. This type of teacher is usually so self involved that they are rarely a deliberate threat to others and if so it’s usually unknowing.

There is another type of teacher though, and this one is the real danger. This teacher is so self abusive, manipulative, and traumatizing that most people just feel sorry for them. They start pontificating their story, their heart break, their abuse so other people will pity, help and or give them a get out of jail free card. Their lies, deceit and bitterness are tangible to empaths and those with their eyes open wide. This type of teacher preys on students, employees, teachers and even other studio owners. The drama and turnover they create in their own studios is alarming but to them, it’s always the other persons fault. Once someone sees through their bullshit it usually spells the end for that employee, and I must say the employee is better off.

How can you protect yourself from such a teacher?  (honestly this goes for life in general as well!)

1. You have a right to your body, if you don’t want to be assisted you can say no and expect that request to be honored, if it is not, that is sexual harassment and must be addressed!
2. If you witness or have negative and or sexually explicit remarks aimed at you, you can verbalize how uncomfortable you are.

The only way to make abusive, manipulative and sexually charged harassment stop is by calling it out. Saying things like, ” oh they didn’t mean anything by it.” or “It’s just better to leave this kind of thing alone, don’t want to rock the boat.” is promoting that type of behavior. Turning a blind eye to this type of behavior honestly just fuels it and their ego! No one should ever be traumatized in a yoga studio, that is sacred space, wether you’re a spiritual yogi or just someone who likes to move and sweat is irrelevant. It’s not time for me to tell my story yet but I can still channel the message. As yoga teachers there is an understood oath we take to protect our students, to guide them, to challenge them and to hold space for them. Laying hands on them in a perverse way not only breaks that oath but invokes the wrath of Karma and I’m not sure about you but I don’t want to be on her negative receiving end. Teachers need to stand up for fellow teachers and students. If you can’t do that, then ask yourself why you call yourself a leader and if you’re truly holding space or just claiming to.

I’m late as usual but today is an ode to sunny days, here’s what the garden/yard looked like this weekend!

It’s spring break over here at the homestead, which means, 4 kids, 2 dogs, 12 chickens and two parents cooped up. It’s also a nice foreshadowing of what homeschool will be like next year! Regardless of the population count at our house, errands must happen and the grocery store was one. The lumberjack was off at work so I was solo with all four and off to the store we went. Jake and I take what we eat and feed our family very seriously and have chosen to go 100% organic, I’m not saying this to sound holier than thou or make anyone that doesn’t eat this way feel bad, just sharing that through research and educating ourselves about the food system, once you know things, you can’t unlearn them!  It means a lot to us to feed our kids and our bodies the best, cleanest and healthiest!

So here’s how our grocery store marathon adventure played out. 4 kids, one mum, hot day and I hadn’t had any wine yet. We started at Aldi, I haven’t been in a while but have heard that they have switched to more organic food, cheap+organic= holy grail in my book. It is true that their packaged food, snacks, and eggs were organic and cheap so I’ll definitely be back for stocking up on staples but when it came to meat (they did have organic ground beef!) and produce they fell short!

upset that I couldn’t make it a one store shopping trip I tossed my crew in the yoga van and off we went to store number two.

Harris Teeter, I honestly don’t even know why I try, overpriced, constantly moving stuff around and not what we need. DO NOT EVER SHOP AT THE HARRIS TEETER IN MATTHEWS ON MONROE RD. EVER! I went in for goat milk and organic veggies and came up completely empty handed, I got thirsty after wearing a baby and lugging 3 others so I grabbed a juice and waited in line for 3 minutes to check out, elevator music and all.

Harris Teeter number 2, cotswold. Construction, 4 kids, mum near meltdown status. I found the goat milk, no organic potatoes or corn (I know the corn is out of season so it’s my fault) and forget trying to find nitrate free kielbasa.

Here’s the moral of all this and the lesson I was able to teach the girls. Our country’s food system is so incredibly flawed because of the votes (dollars spent) cast on that flawed system. Do I enjoy spending a ridiculous amount of money on organic food to feed a family of 6? It’s not easy but yes! I’m voting with my hard earned money every time I shop to make sure Monsanto gets a big fat NO at the ballot. I support farmers markets, I support local, we grow our own and buy organic at the store when we can actually find it. I could have easily just said “whatever” and stocked up on chemically injected meat from Aldi at a super cheap price and had a less stressful day, but they would have won. I chose, instead, to make 3 different stops, with 4 kids to do what my conscious knows is right. I know I’m talking about our food system like it’s a war, but that’s because it really is.

The chemicals, pesticides and gmos present in conventional food are a direct product of WW2. The same companies, factories and workers that manufactured weapons of mass destruction are manufacturing what is put in and sprayed on the food that a great majority of Americans are putting in their bodies. This not only destroys organs and tissue but it rapes the earth, poisons the water and pollutes the air.

You have a choice about what you do though, you have a very important vote to cast. Here are some ways to help turn that tide, heal your own body and your families:

Shop local, shop organic

Grow your own food: Use organic soil, compost and non-gmo seeds (heirloom varieties are best) It doesn’t matter one bit if you live in an apartment, townhouse or condo and have no yard. I have grown tomatoes, veggies and herbs on an apartment balcony before and it’s fantastic! A second option to this is renting a plot at a community garden. When Jake and I lived in the loft we didn’t even have a patio so we got a plot at the community garden down the street!

Go to the farmers market: local harvest.org is a great resource to find a farm or farmers market near you.

CSA’S: Many farms allow you to buy stock, you pay up front for a continuous supply of fresh, seasonal, local goods. You support them; they support you!

Sustainable organic farming is starting to make a resurgence, however, the statistics are pretty staggering. 2% of the workforce are farmers and the average age of that 2% was over 50. Basically if a huge change isn’t made, the type of small scale, local farms that give back to the earth, the community will die out. When you’re given the choice to buy from Monsanto (conventional) or buy organic, do what’s hard and expensive and best for yourself! It’s simple supply and demand.

Here are some amazing documentaries if you’re interested in educating yourself:

GMO OMG

Food, Inc

Fresh

The World According To Monsanto

Food Matters

Forks Over Knives

Fast Food Nation

Farmaggedon

Hungry For Change

Queen of The Sun

Food Fight

Seed of Freedom

Yesterday was all about the fruit and veggies we have going in the garden but today is all about the flowers, both blooming and soon to be. Hope you enjoy, we certainly are!

The growth and evolution of the garden surprises me every time I look at it, the nooks and crannies filled, the depth and the vibrancy, I planted this sage and thyme not that long ago and somehow it looks like it’s always been there.

The mint and lemon thyme are really starting to perch up after the cold weather left it a little sparse.

Strawberries and lavender round out the rest of the front bed. We’ve always gone to pick berries and now we just have to walk out the front door, so excited! I’ve already harvested a bunch of lavender and will probably grab another bunch today!

Peas, lettuce, and spinach are in the raised bed on the side of the house and we have a row of pots next to that are housing potatoes and this compost acorn squash, (remember that dinner I cooked Jake a while back?) The acorn squash guts were dutifully dumped on the compost pile, then one day after a hearty flip we noticed it growing right in the middle of the pile!

Tons of little baby seedlings are patiently waiting their planting!

Jake added a new square raised bed next to the front walk way, I’m not so patiently waiting for these beets to come up, we also planted some hidcote lavender on 3 of the 4 corners as the spanish lavender is taking over on the side.

We got our chickens in February and already they’ve grown so fast! We managed to keep 12 out of 13 alive and healthy, which for first time chicken farmers is a feat! So, here they are…

Marigold….I mean Marty. Yep, she’s a man baby! Marty is a handsome wellsummer rooster that I’m hoping to convince the bearded one to let us keep!!

Lucille

A sweet Rhode Island Red, she’s the curious one!

Joan Jett

This skittish Barred Rock is hilarious and loves to climb the coop!

Luna

Just as flighty as her name sake, Luna is a golden laced wyandotte.

Hermione, Luna’s sister, is absolutely Gorgeous!

Violet is a sweet little blue wyandotte, she’s super shy.

Lavender is her sister and has the same temperament, sweet but a scardy cat!

Whoopi is a super funny Black Australorp, she’s friendly and huge!!!

Queen Latifah is probably my favorite, she’s the largest in the flock and friendly enough to let you pick her up!

Cheeks, is everyone’s favorite, she friendly, curious, and hilarious all in one, she an Americauna, and will lay gorgeous blue eggs!

Fluffy is Cheeks sister and the prettiest in the flock, she almost looks like a hawk.

and last and least (only because she’s the smallest) Little Rosie, she’s a pretty wellsummer and still has her cute baby chick fuzz!

So excited for our girls to start laying!

Pinwheels are one of my favorite warm weather snack or lunch! So easy to make too!

You’ll need:

Tortillas

Cream cheese or hummus

Tabouli

Sprouts

Shredded carrots

The bearded one is not really a fan of dairy so we used hummus on his.

Spread hummus or cream cheese on your tortilla, then make a thick line of tabouli in the center, top with sprouts and or carrots, roll it, slice it and voila!