Check Out My Etsy!

Well, I finally bit the bullet and started an Etsy shop for selling my photos as either prints people can frame or as cards :) I've had it open for two days and already sold two prints...woohoo!! Go ahead and take a look!!!

One Local Summer Challenge

This spring I checked out the book Plenty from my local library and I loved following the journey of a couple from the Pacific NW (Vancouver BC) dedicated to eating completely from a 100 radius for an entire year. Between their story, reading past blog entries from a flickr contact who did something similar, and knowing that I live in the middle of one of those most furtile farming valleys in the country I thought it would be fun to join the One Local Summer Challenge starting June 1st!

So far about 80 people are on the challenge to eat one meal a week with all ingredients except oil, salt, pepper, and spices being local from 100 miles of our homes or from wherever we are located that week. My main objectives for this challenge is to use my garden produce first, support local farmers for the remaining ingredients I need, adapt my meal planning to make conscience choices of what is in season and most readily available (products not creating a large carbon footprint to get to my kitchen), and try fresh recipes I have never had before! That last reason is why I planted eggplant in my garden. I've never tasted it but for some reason think I don't like it...that will change this summer as I'm determined to make eggplant a main ingredients for a few of my One Local Summer Meals!

It's not too late if you want to JOIN the challenge! And Mom, I fully expect you to participate in this challenge with me when we find ourselves on vacation to Savannah/Charleston in mid June! Maybe Paula Dean or her boys will make us a delicious local meal :)

Another Month, Another Post

Ok, so it seems like this blog is only getting monthly updates lately. Sorry! I just don't feel the inspiration for writing on the blog like I used to :( Seems like Flickr is my best outlet but I promise to be better in the future with the blog. So much to look forward to...yummy fresh seasonal recipes, summer travel, and living life to the fullest in the bright summer sun! So, don't take BerryBungalow off your "favorites list" yet... I promise to be back on track soon! My academic year ends in a few weeks so I am sure I will be back to being a regular poster soon :)

But, for my monthly update here are a few things I've been up to lately!Our students are always coming up with creative events...like Braine Freeze, a fun slurpee drinking contest. They got even got two tenured faculty to compete! You woman are my hero's as there is no way you would catch me doing this! My friend Rodney is back in town for the week so we of course had a BUSY week but with his trip starting the last week of tulip season we had to go back to the tulip farm! So Lovely!
After tulips we went to Silver Creek Falls and got wet walking behind this fall! Silver Creek Falls State Park is in the area of Oregon I grew up in so it was fun showing it off to a friend! Then the next day we had an AMAZING day snowshoeing on Mount Hood! The Oregon Cascade Mountains has a record amount of snow this year. Check out Timberline Lodge and the snow banks that go up to the third story!! CRAZY!!! The weather was absolutely beautiful and set the bar pretty darn high for the next snowshoeing day!

On Rodney's last day we hit the beach and checked out Cape Disappointment in Southeast Washington. What a gorgeous state park and we enjoyed stumbling onto this gorgeous lighthouse! I'm hoping to go pack to the Cape later this summer to see more of it's beauty!
The last few weeks have been busy with work and me doing a lot of hoeing to get my community garden plot ready for planting! After many blisters from my workdays my dad came for the big day of planting...cannot wait to see Mother Nature do her thing and for the garden to grow!! I'll keep everyone updated on the progress :)

See you soon!