If you gotta party...

For Evan's first birthday party we tried to keep things as minimal as possible, using dishes that weren't disposable and buying as much of the food locally as we could. Thank goodness for the farm stand!

We spend a month gathering up party supplies, because I'd rather spend $10 here and there for a month or two than buy everything at once and have a heart attack. Our party theme was Chicago Bears, so there was a lot of navy blue and orange floating around.

Jesse had originally wanted to buy this party set at Target, but each set was $25 and we needed two (they were $1 a place setting).



I said no, and was going to purchase the standard paper plates because I couldn't justify that kind of expense for one time use plates. They went on clearance about a week later and Jesse bought them at half price. I was upset until I saw that every piece of that set (except the napkins) is recycleable.

We put a sign on our garbage can to tell our guests this, and every single one of them put their plate, cup, and fork in the recycling bin! It was a huge success, and I didn't have to feel bad about serving a buffet to 25 people and then throwing away their garbage because I was too lazy to do that many dishes.

Another month already?

As the holidays loom closer, and my access to a computer is lessened (see here), posting gets more and more challenging.

But today we bring you an idea for something you were most likely going to buy anyway!

Locally grown pumpkins are the greenest way to go for Halloween jack o'lanterns. Since the only fuel used in transporting them is the gas in your own car on the way to the farmstand, these leave the smallest footprint behind. Plus, local farms are more likely to cut back on pesticides and other common farming chemicals.



We bought our pumpkins at Stade's Farm, which focuses on bringing fresh, healthily grown produce to our area. We enjoy their produce from May to October each year, and I have to say, you can tell the difference!