Coloring Books

After

Before

I have a confession to make. I am a bookaholic. I have too many books. The books pictured on these shelves are just about one third of all of the books we own. Some of our books are on another book shelf. Some of our other books are in boxes in the garage, and have not seen the light of day since we moved in a year ago. The books that are pictured are the books that I read or use most often. Most of these are cookbooks. ( My obsession with cookbooks and meal planning is a post for another day.)

Recently I was reading an online article. The site was one focused on home decor. It may have originated with Martha Stewart. This article that I read suggested an interesting way to arrange your books on your bookshelves. The writer of the article suggested arranging your books by their color. I had always arranged my books by their subject or purpose. The way books are organized in a library. I was sort of dumbfounded by this new way of looking at books on a shelf. I had never considered this as an option when arranging volumes on a shelf. I had always seen book shelves as totally totalitarian. The article explained that by arranging the books by color it made the arrangement of the books more of a focal point. By arranging your books this way, the books themselves can become a design element and not a design deterrent.

I gave this idea a try as you can see. What do you think of the results?

(At this time, I can't find the link to the article I read. I will post it as soon as I locate it.)

Whole Food Experiment Redux

Have you ever had one of those days, where all the things you had planned on your to do list suddenly changed and you really did not know why. Yesterday was that day for me. All the things I was so passionate about yesterday, took a back seat to time and all the other things that were going on around me. Tommy's expression, in this photo, says it best. Have you ever felt like he looks?

I had all intentions of going to Whole Foods yesterday. In fact, I love the store. I like there 365 organic products, and most of the time, their produce is great. But..and this is a big but..in mid course of cutting out the Whole Food coupons, and making my list of what to buy..I ended up going to.. wait for it..my good buddy Trader Joes.

I apologize for being so fickle, but the truth is most of Trader Joes products rock and ( I still don't know why) are inexplicably cheaper than other stores. I will admit that some of the items they carry are light in volume and their packaging is smaller. In my world it is worth it, when you like organic and your lactose intolerant to be able to get stuff that fits my budget and that I can eat safely.

Before I proceed you must know a few things. There are a few items I don't buy at TJ. I buy my bulk cheese, most canned goods, and most of my meat from other stores. So in honor of my not going to Whole Foods to buy the majority of my groceries this week.. I may end up going there for a few things after all..

I am a woman, and my perogative will change. I will keep tweeking my world until I have the best streamlined food/grocery situation I can have for my family. The only thing I know for sure is that it will keep changing. I wll keep you posted on my journey.
Happy shopping.

Whole Foods Experiment

What am I going to feed my family? That is a question I ask myself often. Many of you are in the same boat. I want to feed my family good, home-made, healthy dishes that they will eat and enjoy. I also want to stay within my budget. I am constantly looking for ways to make this process easier and more streamlined. Since I do enjoy cooking, we eat most of our meals at home.

I am a member of many websites that provide information about deals and sales in various grocery stores throughtout the country. One websited I follow is, www.yourgreenhelper.blogspot.com.
She compiles a list of ideas for feeding your family on a budget without skimping on the quality of the food you bring home to your family.

I am going to conduct a little experiment. I am going to do my biweekly grocery shopping at Whole Foods on Saturday. As most of you know, Whole Foods, even though it is a great place for quality food, is very expensive. I am going to use the sale price list and coupons listed on the website above. I will try to center my meals on the items that are on sale and what I already have in my pantry.
We will see how this works out. I will keep you posted.