Barefoot Books // Giveaway

Jess contacted me about Barefoot Books quite a while ago, so I’m excited to finally share with you more about the company’s adorable books for kids.

Barefoot Books started up in 1992. Their titles are all about having your child “step inside the story.” They carry books for children ages birth to 12 years and up. What I like a lot about these books is that their topics range from the ABCs and 123s to folk tales, world cultures, poetry, and beyond. They also carry more than just books.

Ada’s favorite product that we reviewed? The Yoga Pretzels deck.

I have a similar deck of cards with basic yoga poses, but this one breaks them down into terms kids can understand. Every night, Ada wants to pull these out, go into my yoga nook, and do a few poses. I love seeing her get so interested in something I like -- but I think a lot of it has to do with giving names to the poses like “gorilla”!

Ada’s favorite book we reviewed is Millie’s Chickens.


The art in the book is so whimsical. And beyond just a story about Millie’s chickens, we also get to read all about the different breeds, steps to taking care of chickens, information about eggs, and a lot more. It brings the story to real life and gets Ada asking lots of questions. We actually have been reading this book every day because she likes it so much.

But there are so many more books in the Barefoot catalog. And I think it’s also important to note that the company is big into sustainability practices with its printing and production. For example, the paper in these books does not contain pulp from illegal or unsustainable sources.

Here are some of the Bestsellers.

// GIVEAWAY

Now is your chance to check out Barefoot Books!

The giveaway is for a copy of the Yoga Pretzels deck.

To enter, please browse the digital catalog and leave a comment with the name of your favorite book. You get an additional entry if you order a product by October 31. For a third entry, you can “like” Jess’s Facebook Page (just leave an additional comment below).

Sound good? I’ll announce the winner on November 1st.

// CODES

If you just can’t wait, Jess has included a few codes for you.

Use the code FALL2015 for 20% off your order through October 31st.

If you’re interested in joining Jess’s team, use the code FALLSTART15 for 15% off your starter kit.




GOOD LUCK!

* Disclosure: I was given a few books in exchange for my honest opinions on Barefoot Books.

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Homesteading For Beginners

So, some of you might be wondering why I’m delving deeper and deeper into homesteading territory. No, I haven’t turned into some underground prepper stockpiling supplies for the zombie apocalypse. Instead, I’m striving to be more self-sufficient in our everyday lives. It’s empowering. It’s smart, too -- I like using the resources we already have at our disposal.

Plus, many of the projects we’ve been involved with have helped us save money all while catering better to our family’s specific needs. We’ve created all our own green cleaning supplies, for example, and they are certainly healthier and safer than even the most “natural” store-bought alternative. With each new idea or project, we learn something useful for the future.

Since I’m still relatively novice to this way of life, I thought I’d share some of the resources I’ve been using to guide my path. I’ve discovered through writing about homesteading that many of you are interested in dipping your toes in the waters.

Good news: It’s not an all-or-nothing adventure.

Getting Started With Homesteading

This comprehensive beginners guide via Common Sense Home has info about anything from gardening to raising animals to smarter food storage. I especially like this post on involving young kids in the process. But, just like me, you can skip over anything that doesn’t fit your lifestyle or goals.

Advice From 9 Modern Homesteaders 

I love this article in Mother Earth News about self-sufficiency from some homegrown “experts” in the area. What you’ll gather as you read is that you start the process using whatever tools you already have. For some, maybe you actually grew up canning or on a farm. For others, everything might be entirely new. You’ll be happy to know there’s no prerequisite -- you can start wherever you find yourself on this spectrum.

Little House in the Suburbs

As much as I dream of moving back to my hometown in the mountains -- it looks like we’re here to stay in our current digs in the suburbs. At least for a while. So, we’re trying to take advantage of the things we can do versus dwelling on what we can’t. The book Little House in the Suburbs is a great jumping off point if you’re in a similar situation. There are canning techniques, homemade household item recipes, backyard gardening tips, and -- my favorite -- community building ideas.

How Homesteading Makes You Happier

I found this post on Pioneer Settler early on about the 12 ways becoming self-sufficient can make you a happier person. For us, even this early in our process -- many of these ideas hold true. I love saving money, feeling more in control of our home, and there’s this tremendous feeling of satisfaction I get from all of it.

Made From Scratch

Another book I’ve enjoyed reading is Made From Scratch which helps readers discover the “pleasures of a homemade life.” I like the review on the back of my copy by Deseret News, which explains how “this book isn’t about having a farmhouse or acres of land, or a barn full of livestock, but about being home open to learning the simple skills most of us have forgotten.”

And Much More . . .

If you want to follow along with different articles and resources as I find them, follow my Homesteading Pinterest Board. I try to put on there things that I want to try, others that I find a little crazy, and general inspiration for moving ahead with our own self sufficiency.

Related Posts

Cleaning With Baking Soda Basics
Cleaning With Vinegar Basics
Homesteading Stuff You Can Buy at the $1 Store
DIY Natural Lotion Cubes
10 Smart Ways to Use Epsom Salts
Powerful DIY Laundry Detergent
5 Green Cleaners That Work
5-Minute Homemade Deodorant
8 Ways We've Eliminated Plastics
Cleaning Produce The Natural Way
Chemical-Free Clean With Castile Soap

* Here’s the image source for the 1800s garden above.

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Weekend Things

Happy Friday, everyone! To keep the grocery savings theme going this week, I've decided to expand on our latest tips to 1.) Shop every other week and 2.) Make the most out of that trip. There are some great links below regarding food waste + how to avoid it below, along with other fun stuff.

// Breakfast for Dinner //

We do it once a week because it's easy + inexpensive -- how about you?

Landis' new book has some fresh ideas beyond our usual fried eggs + sourdough toast.

// Microwave-Free //

Our old clunker has been in the basement for 8 weeks.

Don't even miss it. Anyone else sans this "essential" appliance?

// Hot Mess Grilled Cheese //

A sandwich we could become obsessed with.

Pepper jack, onion rings & jalapenos.

// Sourdough Saga //

My sourdough starter ate itself! I had only waited 7 days to feed it.

Will have to start the process all over again. Boo.

// Kettlebells Workouts //

I did this killer thing the other day. My butt still hurts.

Ran 2.5 miles to gym, 25-min kettlebell workout, 2.5 miles back.

// What We've Watched //

Bag It (interesting eco-documentary); The Perks of Being a Wallflower (LOVED it);

Pitch Perfect (mindless fun); Flight (honestly never want to fly again). 

// Reduce Food Waste // 

And other tips from the book Unclutter Your Life in One Week

Pretty sure I'm getting a (digital) copy with my V-day gift-card.

// Long-Lasting Fruits + Veggies // 

"40 percent of the food that’s grown and sold in the United States is wasted."

Here's some tips for how to "get smarter about how you shop."

// Soap Opera //

We've been buying Dr. Bronner Castile soap for years.

Love it for camping, but started using it everyday to simplify our bath routine.

// 10 Easy Vegetarian Meals // 

That your tots + kids will love.

(And you probably will, too.)

What you may have missed this week on Writing Chapter Three:



Have a great weekend!

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Weekend Things

Here are a few suggestions for your weekend:

Make a vegan pizza loaded up with veggies, etc. We made this one last night using Pumpkin Garlic Knots dough with Walnut Pesto for "sauce". But before all that, we roasted red peppers, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, onions, and tomatoes for the topping. Just enough so they could go in the oven again and bake onto the pizza.

A drizzle of tahini went perfectly!


Make Angela's Crispy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. This is batch number two for us. I substituted 1/2 cup honey for the sugars and omitted the water in the flax egg (just added a tablespoon flax meal in its place). Coconut oil in place of Earth Balance. They turned out great.

And for exercise and entertainment: Thanks for all your great suggestions for workouts and books yesterday. I thought I'd compile them for future reference and to share with those of you who don't regularly click onto the site to see the comments.

AT-HOME WORKOUTS/RESOURCES

ZWOW Workouts on YouTube
The Bar Method Dancer's Body Advanced Workout
bodyrock.tv
willPower & Grace Mile High
Nike Training Club app
Yoga Today
Jillian Michaels: Ripped in 30
Mandy Ingber's Yogalosophy
BeFIT on YouTube
Crunch: Super Slim Down
The Biggest Loser: Weight Loss Yoga
Jackie Warner's DVDs
Yoga Download
 
BOOKS:

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer Lee
Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder
Complications by Atul Gawande
Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Room by Emma Donoghue
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami

I think that's all of them. Keep 'em coming, and have a great weekend!

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Ready, Set, Weekend!

Happy Friday. I thought it'd be fun to share a variety of things I've been meaning to sneak into posts, but just haven't yet. There isn't much of a theme here. So, let's get to it!

#1: Grace wrote to us because she enjoys our Food for Runners series. She sent along the link to an awesome cookbook called Power Foods: 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients.

Grace writes: "Power Foods starts out with info about 30-40 of the most nutrition-packed foods out there and explains why each are good for you and how to best to prepare and store them. Next, it's got tons of recipes containing all (and pretty much exclusively) these super foods."

"It's not aimed at eating light or weight loss, but at how to feed your body what it needs to keep it strong and healthy. Right up your alley. The recipes are great too. I want to make every one of them! And the majority are vegetarian. The photos are excellent to boot. I highly recommend it."

You can buy Power Foods on Amazon.com for $16.

#2: Christina writes: "I just started running this summer and really enjoy it . . . I recently came across this way of running called 'Chi running' and was wondering what you thought about it. Have you tried it, and, if so, is it worth venturing into?"

What is Chi running? Check this out . . .



I'm sharing this topic because I, myself, don't know much about it. Stephen, on the other hand, read ChiRunning: A Revolutionary Approach to Effortless, Injury-Free Running and watched several videos like the one above. He now swears by the method, which he says has "helped [him] use the downward pull of gravity to [his] advantage."

#3: Kim writes: "At a race I did recently, the results had a column for something called 'Age Grading' . . . I hadn't seen that before. What do you know about this number? Does it matter much?"


I came across the age grading thing in the same way, Kim. I had never heard of it before, but then I saw a number in the results of a race one day. Basically, age grading is a way of judging everyone -- regardless of age -- on the same scale based on their performance versus exact time. There's more information about specifics on the Compuscore site.

The scale is as follows:

100%= Approximate World Record Level
Over 90%= World Class
Over 80%= National Class
Over 70%= Regional Class
Over 60%= Local Class

To calculate your age grade for a recent race, just check out this nifty Runners World Calculator.

Do you know anything about Chi Running or Age Grading? We'd love to hear your thoughts and help answer these questions. Just leave a comment or email us at neverhomemaker [at] gmail [dot] com.


And read all about our Tornado Thursday today on Writing Chapter Three. What a wild afternoon it was.

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Operation Beautiful: Giveaway

It's only appropriate on the day we post all the new info about the Foodie Book Club to announce a book giveaway, right? We're celebrating a pretty big milestone for us: This week, we passed the 2,000 subscribers mark (2,218, to be exact)! I can't even begin to tell you all how thrilled we are that you guys and gals are liking the site. We're changed it quite a bit from the early days back in November 2009 . . . from a Home/DIY blog to one dedicated to Fit Foodies.

We really feel we've hit our stride. Posting content that is near and dear to our hearts is so much fun. And we love all the emails, comments, and tweets about your own journeys toward healthy lifestyles. Keep 'em coming!

Anyway, here's a big THANK YOU. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We hope you'll continue to read (never home)maker and enjoy our recipes/fitness tips/etc.


I'm sure most of you have heard about Caitlin Boyle's recently released book (image source), Operation Beautiful: Transforming the Way You See Yourself One Post-It Note at a Time. If not, here are some reviews from the Amazon site:

"Operation Beautiful is an amazing book and movement that greatly helps women take control and start slicing out self-hate, stitching up self-esteem, and finally start healing from all the body drama that's making us sick!"
- Nancy Redd, New York Times bestselling author of Body Drama: Real Girls, Real Bodies, Real Issues, Real Answers

"In a time when so many people have their self-esteem and inner sense of wellness determined by plastic and often unrealistic standards, Operation Beautiful guides the way to loving oneself in a wholesome sense and to being the healthiest, best you can be!"
- Jennifer Ashton, M.D., CBS News Medical Correspondent and author of The Body Scoop for Girls

"Operation Beautiful is tea and sympathy, a kick in the pants, and a pep talk from a trusted friend all in one. Caitlin walks the walk and expertly weaves her own deep-held secrets in with life-changing stories of women from all around the world...should be mandatory reading for women everywhere."
- Stepfanie Romine, SparkPeople.com

Even if you already own a copy of this book -- it'd make a great gift! Entering isn't hard -- and selection will be at random (using Tara's Random Number Generator).

Here's the scoop:

THE GOODS: One (1) copy of Caitlin Boyle's book titled Operation Beautiful. Value: Approx $17. Really, though. The stories are priceless.
TO ENTER: Leave a comment with the word BEAUTIFUL somewhere in the mix.
IN ADDITION: Tell us about one random act of kindness that has impacted your life.
GIVEAWAY CLOSES: Friday, September 3rd at 9:00PM EST
PRIZE SHIPS: USA and Canada only.
ALSO: To win, I need your email address -- so please provide it (or your blog link so I can find it -- just some way of contacting you) or, unfortunately, you cannot win.
PS: One entry per email address is allowed. The winners will be selected using Tara's Random Number Generator and announced Tuesday (9/7) morning.

GOOD LUCK!

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Foodie Book Club: Updates

Hey, everyone! Those of you who have been reading the site for a while know all about the Foodie Book Club. It's this little group we started to read books related to recipes, cooks, foodie bloggers, etc. You also may know that as the head of this group, I've slacked a lot this summer. In fact, I haven't read a single book. Well, until now. And I'll be posting my review of Julie Powell's Julie and Julia within the week.

I'd like to catch everyone up to speed. Here are the books the club has read/reviewed so far.

• MARCH: The Nasty Bits by Anthony Bourdain (our review)
• APRIL: A Homemade Life by blogger Molly Wizenberg (our review)
• MAY: United States of Arugula by David Kamp
• JUNE: The Vegetarian and the Butcher by Tara Austen Weaver
• JULY: The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone

When we started the club, we had a TON of interest. We recognize however, that it's hard to keep up. Lives get in the way. As well, we haven't been the best organized, but we're motivated to change. So, if you're new to the blog and you'd like to join, don't be intimidated.


We have MOVED the club from (never home)maker to a new home on Good Reads. If you'd like to OFFICIALLY sign up, just create an account on GR and search for the "foodie book club." You'll see our smiling faces. Or follow this link to find the Foodie Book Club directly.

Here's some more info:

• Each month, we read a book chosen by majority (or just that sounded interesting to us). If you'd like to suggest books for consideration, please email us or leave a comment on the board. Currently, we have a list set through November.
• We'll read the book and then post about it starting last Friday of the month. How? We'll post a thread calling for all your reviews. Simply add your link to the reply.
• With our new home on Good Reads, we're going to allow you to post your reviews at any time, no deadline. But we'd appreciate if you could get it in within one week from the posting date. Just leave a PERMAlink to your post, not the link to your general blog page. Good Reads also allows those of you without a blog to participate. Just link to your Good Reads review.
• Posts need not only be text and a general summary. You may pick a specific section you particularly enjoyed and tell us why. You could post a video where you talk about your reactions. You could create a recipe that you felt inspired to make by reading. A photo response. I'll say it again: Anything goes.
• And we know that things come up in life that might make participation in any given month a complete in-possibility. We ask that you try to not miss too many months (but, again, we're all busy -- so, we get it).
• To sign up, just visit the Foodie Book Club on Good Reads. Follow instructions to join. And join. If you have questions, we'd be happy to help!

Also: If you'd like a button for your sidebar so everyone can know you're in the club, just grab the one below!

<a href="http://www.neverhomemaker.com/2010/02/foodie-book-club-details.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4052/4383030070_e9ba2a2324_o.gif"></a>

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Foodie Book Club: Next Four Months . . .

Hey, everyone! I've received several emails/comments asking about our next Foodie Book Club books. This month is flying by fast, I didn't even realize we needed to pick them. Yikes! I looked at the last time we all voted, and there were four books tied for 4th place. Instead of re-voting, I thought we'd just go with these selections to take us through September (woah -- are we really that far along 2010?).

As a reminder about our new membership "rules" . . . You don't need to be "officially" signed up. Simply choose to read the book in any particular month . . . and feel free to post about it when the call for posts goes out (which will be the last Friday of each month -- from that date, you get an entire week to post your review/recipe/etc.). That way, we're not exclusive. You need not read every book every month (in fact, I may need to duck out this month myself). I want to keep it loose. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or email us at neverhomemaker@gmail.com.

(Pssst: Click on the book title for more information and to order via Amazon.com)

JUNE:


The Butcher and the Vegetarian
by Tara Austen Weaver

JULY:


The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet
by Alicia Silverstone

AUGUST:


Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously
by Julie Powell

SEPTEMBER:


The Omnivore's Dilemma
by Michael Pollan

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