Coming Soon...

Opening November 2010!

Nestled in the village of Middlebury VT, Clementine (will soon be!) a place to gather inspiration and find your new favorite things.

www.clementinestore.com

Location:

Opening the first week of November 2010! Main Street

Middlebury, VT, 05753

Almost, TGIF!

I've spent the past week working my butt off. It's totally gone! I look a little weird right now but, other busy people tell me it will come back soon. Over the past few days, I found myself skipping out on a couple of dates because I was too tired to hold a lucid conversation. I instead chose to sleep...before 9pm! Granted I've been up at 6:30am trying to fit in an almost daily run (which is a very positive change in my life) but, a 9pm bedtime is pretty out of the ordinary for me.

Tomorrow night, I'll be toasting the Libras in my life, eating cheesecake treats and attempting to keep my eyes open long past the time when they would normally close. Saturday night, I'll be wishing a friend well as she and her partner head west to Seattle to start the next chapter in their lives together. Saturday and Sunday are all mine. I plan to thoroughly enjoy that free time to relax and recharge.

Tonight, I had to deal with all the apples that haven't been getting eaten! I gathered them up and started peeling, then chopping, then cooking and finally cooling. Steve came home and said the house smelled delicious. I can't smell it anymore but, the apple sauce sure tastes yummy! Would you like some? We have WAY too much.

PS: If you have even the slightest bit of anxiety, don't ever see the movie Law Abiding Citizen. Just don't. I guess it was well done for a completely messed up story but, I wanted to hug my pillow for the five hours that followed the movie. Not worth the stress.

Catching up.

Today, is a catch up day following a very busy week. I spent the morning doing laundry, weeding out my closet for today's clothing swap at Holly's (!!), taking work calls from the photography crew in California (it's raining there, boo) and making a big breakfast for myself with the last veggies I was able to pick from my pots. The wind and rain from the storm that passed through on Friday took it's toll on my tomato and basil plants and knocked my mums right off the steps! With the gardening season coming to a close, I salvaged what I could and put the pots away for the winter. This year was a solid first attempt!

Cheese, please.

Cristina and Jeff invited a few people over last night to indulge in the last of what their garden has to offer. Dinner was amazing but, the highlight for me was the ridiculous cheese spread we were welcomed with, compliments of Steve and Cristina! Jeff has an island in the middle of his kitchen. So it was easy access to the apps. It's been a long time since I've seen guests flock towards food like they did last night. Yum, yum. We finished off the evening with some pumpkin chocolate chip cake w/ cream cheese frosting (a la mode) while David recited words for the Vermonters in the room to repeat in their respective, regional Vermont accents. Amazingly good entertainment.

Cheese Diagram:

Good, clean livin'.

Last week, I went to an AIGA Lecture (American Institute of Graphic Arts) at the Echo Science Center here in Burlington. Founder and CEO of Pangea Organics, Joshua Onysko spoke. "He is an exemplary model for smart, successful eco-living for both civilians and corporations alike. He thinks outside the landfill, and it shows in the company he runs and the products he makes." I took away 3 things from the evening:

• Read your labels and know what ingredients you’re using. All ingredients should be natural, edible and entirely organic-when possible. It’s not cheap but, make small changes when you can.
• Smart design can be the catalyst for change. For example:
- Choose to screen print on bottles so your manufacturer doesn’t have to cut out a label and create more waste.
- Less is more: Generate a concise message to print on actual packaging vs. the inclusion of a booklet inside each product that will ultimately end up in the trash.
- Why not put seeds in your biodegradable, molded egg crate style packaging? Use the product, stomp it into the ground once you’re done using it and then wait for a pine tree to grow. Biomimicry at it’s best.
• Free product!! For answering a question correctly. Woot, woot!

FYI: Your skin will absorb vitamins from the sun; chemicals; and anything else that it comes in contact with. Anything that your skin takes in will eventually wind up mixed with your blood. Perfumes, deodorants, hair dye, nail polish, moisturizers, cleansers all of these things can contain toxins that may make you sick. While many consumers assume that all skin care products current on the market are safe, the health and beauty industry isn’t that heavily monitored. Joshua said, “There are over 100,000 ‘ingredients’ in the products we buy. Only 10% of those are actually tested and proven to be safe for our use.” Read your labels.

OK. I'm getting off of my biodegradable soap box now.

When there is no, why.

Everyone likes to understand why. We also like to be understood. But, it's not always that easy. Occasionally, there are obstacles that keep us from getting the answers to the why questions. We might not have the luxury of knowing why in every case and it's not always the best approach to search for those answers to satisfy our own needs. What about the other guy? He has his reasons. If that's the case, you just have to accept where things land and let it go. This week, I've had to remind myself to let go. I like to understand--that's the way I'm built. But, I'm learning that I don't have to every time. Who wants to have everything figured out anyway? That would make living life, well....snore.

Here's the good news: If you ever get frustrated enough to throw a pen--I did this week--you're probably going to learn something new. Remember, the biggest challenges in life reap the biggest rewards.

The Big Party.

Every year, the owner of Burton Snowboards throws a party for his employees and other people who are involved in the process of designing, producing and marketing of Burton product. It's always a whole lot of fun-this year was no exception. Here are a couple of silly pictures taken throughout the evening. Good times.

Here we are doing: "Toys on wheels"

This might be: "Dinosaur"

My Doppelganger:

Who's a redhead? She's a redhead!

Creature...

Thanks for the photos, IPW.