The Wellgro Co.

Today I left town on a big old jet airliner.  It’s the first trip of five that are scheduled over the next several weeks.  I bid farewell to Austin with an early morning wave good bye and way too much packed into my suitcase  (I can’t help it… I like to feel prepared for any situation!).  I typically have a hard time eating fresh, healthy, balanced meals when I’m traveling, and I often return home with good souvenirs + a few extra LBs- if you know what I mean!  This week I’m staying focused on making smart dining choices:  fruits + veggies + whole grains, please!  It’s time to learn how to travel light!

Over the weekend, I was lucky enough to be a part of the Cream event.  Words truly can’t describe the beauty, creativity, hard work, and graciousness of the day.  The Bash Please girls are beyond amazing… and sweet, sweet, sweet as can be!  I loved everything about them, including their die hard work ethic and the details that they tended to all day long.  I met more local gals… bakers, floral makers, paperers, vintage collectors, stylers, and picture takers… who blew me away with their talents.  

On the topic of inspiration…  there was a moment right before guests arrived, when I was able to stand back and take it all in.   Looking around Mercury Hall, seeing amazingness everywhere I turned, physically hurt my heart a little.  Not in a bad way, but rather in a big, gigantic, motivational way.  Whoa!  Fun, excitement, and beauty all wrapped up into one (long!) day.  If I could bottle that feeling I would.  But, I can’t…. so let’s create it over and over and over again!

As I mentioned, this month has been the hey day of inspiration.  We rang in the New Year with an engagement party and the best host + hostessing I have ever seen.  Seriously, I have offered to be an apprentice to this missus during her next soiree!  She made it look fantastically effortless.  Practice makes perfect so we better get to throwing more shin digs!  

The first weekend of the month, I attended Blogshop.  That two day workshop presented the opportunity to learn a lot and meet a bunch of sweet, talented, eager, excited ladies (gents… if you are on the market, Blogshop is the PERFECT place to find the one!).  Bri + Angela were patient and kind teachers, giving us the need-to-knows of photoshop for blogging.  And again… practice makes perfect so we better start taking pics of more shin digs!  

My biggest take away from the engagement party + Blogshop… inspiration comes from all different sources.  From gracious hosting, to experts sharing their knowledge, to creative minds focused on starting something good, it’s so important to take it all in- learn from those around me and continue building my network.  

Hey!  The Wellgro Co. is on a mission to do some good and we need as much inspiration + collaboration as we can find!

Have a warm + rad-ishday!

We are twenty- something days into this new year, and (wowzers!) it is shaping up to be a good one!  This month has been chock full of optimism + goodness, which has left me even more motivated.  I’ve been reminded that inspiration comes from places and things, certainly, but most importantly (for me) it comes from people.  During this first month of 2012, I have crossed paths with many hard working, business savvy, go getters who are blazing a trail of entrepreneurship across many fields. I have made wonderful connections and had thrilling conversations.  I have been given the opportunity to listen and to share.  I am fully enthused… excited…and ready to cut the pie- so to speak.  Taking time to inspire + be inspired is the focus this week.  Ready.  Set.  Go!

This weekend is The Cream event in Austin, curated by the ladies of Bash Please.  There are so many amazing participants coming together to make this event over the top in the most special way!!  From local Austinites like Camille Styles and Bake Sale, to some of my most favorite out-of-towners like 100 Layer Cake, Sharkpig, and The Flash Dance.  I am thrilled to attend and meet + greet some of the finest folks out there!

For all of you travelers… I pulled together a list of great local eateries to help you navigate the food scene this weekend.  We are spoiled here in ATX with local chefs who aim to feed us fresh, delicious food.  Below are some of my ultimate favorites…enjoy!

SOUTH CONGRESS

enoteca/ vespaio  1610 S. Congress

northern italian  //  homemade pasta, wood fired pizzas, great wine list, decadent desserts

hotel san jose  1316 S. Congress

urban, bungalow-style hotel  //  have a glass of wine + dip your toes in the pool

2^ND STREET DISTRICT

la condesa  400a W. 2nd Street

mexican  //  a personal favorite.  try the street corn (you can cut it off the cob), tacos and margaritas

lamberts  401 W. 2nd Street

downtown bbq  //  fancy bbq + good live music

jo’s  242 W. 2nd Street

coffee + breakfast + lunch  //  good coffee, breakfast tacos + bites, sandwiches + soups + salads

MARKET DISTRICT

24 diner  600 N. Lamar Blvd

chef inspired comfort food  //  chicken + waffles, omelets, burgers

open 24 hours

whole foods  525 N. Lamar Blvd

whole foods corporate headquarters flagship store  //  just in case you need a grocery!

NORTH… just a little

uchiko  4200 N. Lamar Blvd

japanese farmhouse dining  //  grilled shishito peppers, crispy brussesls sprouts, sushi

contigo austin  2027 Anchor Lane

fresh, quality, bar food //  enjoy sitting outside..crispy green beans, hot toddies, smores

I love taking cues from our grandmother’s generation.  Some of my favorite lessons learned…grow your own food or buy it locally, get gussied up for airplane rides + trips to the market, entertain effortlessly with good food + great drinks!

The Esquire Party Book is one of my most treasured flea market finds.  This edition has a copyright from 1965 and is brimming with throw-back ideas for entertaining around the clock.  The illustrations are fantastic, and the hints to the host are perfect for anyone who is interested in good old fashioned etiquette fun!

If you’re ever lucky enough to stumble upon this book… it’s worth adding to your collection!  

This week’s lesson plan:  have fun with everything pertaining to food, drink, etiquette, decor, and doing good.  Go on… carouse, frolic and make merry!

Do you meet the recommended daily allowance?  It takes planning + effort to execute this intake of goodness.  But once you get in the groove… it easily becomes a part of your daily routine.  

Like all things, a healthy lifestyle requires really good planning.  After all, we have to cook up fantastic ideas before we can execute them!  In our quest to focus on real food, we have discovered that a weekly blueprint is the key to our success.  When we don’t put the necessary time into planning, our diet suffers and we end up in the rut of convenience food.  [Anyone out there ever have the “what’s for dinner” conversation after a long day of working/ care taking/ creating… only to open the fridge and have nothing staring back at you??]  Having a game plan -but also knowing when to be nimble- has helped us implement a much healthier lifestyle.

 Below are a few of our need- to- knows:

 1 //  what vegetables are in season + available at the farmers market- spending time exploring the farmers market or produce section of the grocery let’s us know what’s in season.  The good news… fresh, seasonal produce is typically the least expensive.  

 2 //  the best go-to cookbooks- serving as a guide to make fresh food delicious + nutritious. If we find a bunch of turnips on sale at the grocery and don’t know what do to with them, it’s no problem!  We have a small collection of cookbooks on our bookshelf that cover simple, yet tasty vegetable dishes and require only a few ingredients that we always have on hand.   

 3 //  lunch planning for the week- prepping on Sunday, so that lunch packing is quick + easy each day.  We chop + package salads and vegetables or make a big ol’ pot of soup so that our lunch menu is set before Monday morning.

 4 //  drinks + snacks- a good game plan helps us eat + drink our daily requirements. Fitting in 8 glasses of agua + 7 servings of fruits and veggies takes a little concentration at first… but having a plan in place allows us to meet those minimum requirements!

 5 //  planning a little white space - leave a little room to wiggle!  Sometimes is fun to shake up the game plan and and do something crazy, like have breakfast for dinner… that’s ok too! 

 Preparing good meals made with real food takes a bit of effort to cook up, but we think it’s worth it… don’t you? 

I believe that the small moments are what make up a good life.  Over the past year, I’ve been more dedicated than ever to taking photos of friends, family, and food.  On New Years Eve, I shared the 2011 year- in- review with my family by giving them a gift of photographs.  Everyone received a small collection of developed photos [my top 18 picks of the year] as well as a flash drive with hundreds of photos on it.  I adore the way the gift turned out and am looking forward to making this an ongoing tradition.  Want to give the gift of History?  Follow the steps below… and let us know how it goes!

DIRECTIONS

1 //  stay up to date with downloading digital photos as they are taken, don’t let your digital camera get back logged.  and, delete photos that aren’t the best of the best, it’s much easier to delete as you go!

2 //  keep digital photos filed on your computer by month, create a folder for each month of the year.

3 //  purchase a flash drive- you can find unique + stylish drives online 

4 //  copy monthly photo folders onto the flash drive

5 //  have the top picks from the year developed, so that the gift recipient can archive or frame

6 //  wrap the photos + flash drive 

7 //  give + enjoy… the rest is history!

turnip + apple + cheddar sandwich

oh, we are enjoying the exploration of fresh food!  this week at the farmers market, we bought purple + white turnips from Milagro Farm.  they are a bit spicy and just as good raw as they are cooked.  paired with apples, our turnips made a fresh, crisp flavorful sandwich.

INGREDIENTS

fresh rustic bread / one large turnip, sliced / half apple sliced [save the extra for snacking] / one slice of cheddar

Here we are.  It’s a new year!  It seems like making resolutions is kind of an old fashioned idea, which may explain why we love it so much!  So… in the spirit of sharing, here is what we resolve:

- be open to opportunities that are all around us

- connect with creative, optimistic folks in our community (local + virtual)

- raise awareness about real food 

- document our life…  food, business, family

- work hard and demand positive results

Here’s to a *healthy + happy* new year!