What Are You Doing To Be Green?

Earth Day is right around the corner. While I believe we should Make Earth Day Every Day - April 22nd offers a good reminder to each of us to look at our daily routine and see how we impact our environment.

What is my family doing to be green?

We do our best to take care of our land. We live in the land of shining mountains, and wherever we go, we always try to leave a place better than we found it. When in the mountains, we only leave footprints and only take pictures. We have a reycyling system set up in which the kids are actively involved in deciding what can be reused and once a week we make the trip to the recycling facility with the kids, so they understand the bigger picture. We teach our children to conserve everything - water, electricity and food. I teach my children to take what you need and need what you take and not be wasteful. My kids are great about recycling their toys and clothes to those in need.

I use my Etsy shop as an outlet to make environmentally responsible products available. My upcycled dresses and handbags breathe new life into a discarded piece of fabric. My reusable sandwich and snack bags cut down on the amount of ziploc bags we use and my reusable shopping bags and library totes reduce the amount of plastic sacks we go through. When my 4-year-old plays house, she uses her small market bag to put her play food in when she goes grocery shopping. Of course there is always room for improvement and we are always evaluating and looking for new ways to incorporate "being green" in our daily lives.

So what is my latest attempt at being green? I am offering you a chance to win one of my Ecofriendly Grocery Bags! These bags are a must have. These make great gifts! With Mother's Day and Easter just around the corner, it is time to stock up.  Makes a great gift for a girlfriend or neighbor!

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5 Ways to Enter:

1) Go to Prairie Wind Designs and leave a comment here with your favorite item from my shop. (Mandatory Entry)
2) Leave a comment here telling me what you are doing to "be green"?
3) Become a follower of  Prairie Wind Notions.
4) Become a fan of my Facebook Page.
5) Follow Me on Twitter.

Remember to enter in seperate comments so you can be counted for each entry!


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The giveaway ends Sunday, April 17th at midnight (CST). The winner will be chosen using random.org and I will post the winner on my blog Monday, April 18th. Be sure to leave a way for me to contact you to arrange shipping and for you to choose your bag!


I encourage you to take a few moments to look at your routine and ask yourself what small changes can I make in my daily routine that will add up to a larger impact on my environment. Your first step should be to sign up for this fabulous giveaway! 

GOOD LUCK! <3 Misti

We have a Winner!

And the winner of a 1941 Searchlight Recipe Book is:



Congratulations Sandy and Cosmo! You have won the antique cookbook from the Cookbook Addict!  Stacey will be contacting you shortly in exchange address information.  A special Thank You to Stacey from the Coobook Addict for offering this great giveaway and sharing her fantastic recipes!

Thank you to everyone who participated in my most popular giveaway to date!  I appreciate all my new blog followers and subscribers! I look forward to sharing with you as we try to find more Inspiration in the Everyday!

BONUS Post from the CookBook Addict

As promised here is a special Bonus Post from the CookBook Addict! As many of you know, CookBook Addict is offering an awesome giveaway of a 1941 Searchlight Recipe Book! Go To this post and leave a comment! Only comments left on the giveaway post will be entered in the giveaway! Since only one lucky person can win the recipe book, here's a little something as a thank you for all who entered - A Free Recipe!  With so many fall potlucks, bake sales and the holidays around the corner, these torteletts are sure to be a hit!

Tortelettes
(Joy of Cooking 1946)
About 40 one and a half inch cookies
"A very old recipe. Anything as good as these should survive."

Grate:
The rind of 1/2 lemon
Onto:
1 cup sugar
Cream the sugar with:
3/4 cup butter
Beat in, one at a time:
2 egg yolks
Add gradually to make a stiff dough:
1 1/2 cups or more bread flour
Pinch off about a teaspoonful of dough at a time. Roll it into a ball.
Flatten the balls until the dough is very thin. Beat slightly:
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water
Brush the cakes with this mixture.
Blanch, then shred coursely:
1 cup almonds or other nut meats
Combine them with:
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
Sprinkle the cakes with this mixture.
Bake them in a moderate oven at 375 degrees until light brown.
I'd love to hear from anyone who tries this recipe! Don't forget to go to this post and leave a comment to be entered in the giveaway for a 1941 Searchlight Recipe Book!

A GiveAway from The Cookbook Addict

I am so excited to bring you this giveaway from Stacey at the The CookbookAddict! Stacey is a wealth of information when it comes to cookbooks! I am making this a two part giveaway! Watch for an upcoming BONUS Post! 

A little about meMy name is Stacey and I live in NE Wisconsin near Green Bay. I’m a stay at home mom of 3 boys and a baby girl ages 1-8, we have 2 dogs, 1 hamster, and since it rained last night I’m guessing about 5 frogs the boys brought inside that are hiding somewhere in my house. I also have an amazing husband who is (for some reason) crazy supportive of my vintage cookbook addiction.

How did you start collecting?

I think it started with my frustrations on how our eating habits have evolved over time. I look at us now with our lists of must have staples in our hands while grocery shopping and wonder how those lists have changed from milk, sugar, and eggs to instead Mac n cheese, hot dogs and frozen pizza. I became attracted to the simplicity of the past, simple recipes, simple ingredients, the time when you were out of bread you just made more (and were able to name every single ingredient in it too!). I also fell in love with the personal side of history that comes with them. The everydayness of their stories. I could relate to having to scrape meals to together during hard times and I could actually use information like “how DO you get gum out of carpet?” I feel like nowadays we think we’re smarter and above people from the past. Yes we do have more information than they did, but for the most part, I feel sometimes all we’re doing is re-inventing the wheel.
Please share a little about Vintage Cookbooks.
All of the different types of cookbooks can be a little overwhelming so I like to break them down into categories and some of the main ones to know are:

There’s the late and great 1800’s early 1900’s antique homemaking/cooking/serving cookbooks. Typically the oldest type found (if collecting American cookbooks). You can find recipes for detergents, facial cream, medicine (of course I wouldn’t use the opium they list as an ingredient but that’s just me) and about a million other things you forget weren’t invented by companies. I also love them for examples of “how one ought to behave in public” and “what is expected of the hostess when guests are to be served”. They’re like Emily Post on steroids and absolutely, positively fascinating! Prices vary with these but they’re extremely popular and collectible.

There’s what I like to call the “big mama-jammas” the “one stop shop” cookbooks. They can be counted on for having recipes chapters for breakfast, hor d’orvs, dinner party menus, recipes for bridge luncheons, Sunday suppers and everything in between. They’re usually thick and heavy and generally were put out by big hitter companies like Good Housekeeping, Betty Crocker, or Culinary Arts Institute. They are also a pretty sure bet if collecting and consistently popular.

There’s also the cookbooks that were put out by church and local groups to raise money. They’re smaller in size but have some of the best tried and true recipes you can find! As far as collecting and value go they’re a world all their own. I personally think that they should stay in the area they were written for so only occasionally do I put them up for sale but of course that’s just MY opinion!Then there’s the advertising recipe booklets that were generally put out by top companies usually to promote a specific product. With company funded test kitchens on Park Ave. and spokeswomen that became the rock stars of their time. There’s pure advertising genius with these babies because this is time where eating and food REALLY started to change. It was after WWII and companies had a surplus of “shelf-stable” processed food that they had been sending to the troops and decided to market to the general public. These promo type books were around earlier but they increased exponentially during the late 40’s and into the 50’s. It’s good to do your research with these but cover art and rarity play big factors in value. For me that’s where I stop, for the most part but others sometimes collect what they think WILL be popular and that’s a good way to ensure long term success in your collection.

What are your favorites?
My personal favorites are a toss up between my 1899 White House Cookbook with so many “extras” tucked between it’s pages I swear I can still find things I never saw before and my 1902 Women’s Favorite Cookbook with the most amazing illustrations and one of the most complete sources for every recipe dealing with the home at that time. Then there are the handwritten books I have with notes about bills to pay and dates to remember and all of them are from ladies who lived in my area. They’re just priceless to me and I would sob uncontrollably if I lost them.

What is your inspiration?
My inspiration comes from wanting my kids to have memories of how absolutely AMAZING home baked bread smells in the oven and how lucky they are in life. Also I know it sounds kind of corny but it’s inspiring to me to think I’m helping save these recipes that all of these under-appreciated and over-worked women were so dearly proud of by making sure they get treated and recognized as the treasures they are.

So are you ready for the Giveaway? Just comment to win A 1941 Searchlight Recipe Book!

Here's How to Enter!
Leave a comment for each separate entry! Please leave an email address or Etsy shop name in each comment you make! Otherwise we won't know how to find you if you win!
1. Mandatory Entry: Visit The Cookbook Addict and browse around Stacey's shop -leave a heart if you are so inclined(not mandatory)! Then return here and tell us what you like!
2. Follow  Stacey's Collecting Vintage Cookbook Blog and leave a comment that you did so.
3. Follow this blog, Prairie Wind Notions and leave a comment that you did.
4. Become a Twitter follower of  CookbookAddict on Twitter or Like her on Facebook  (1 Entry for each - leave a comment!)
5. Tweet the following:
#Giveaway from CookbookAddict http://prairiewindnotions.blogspot.com ends 10-24 #cookbook @prairiewinddsgn @cookbookaddict3
and leave a comment with the link to your tweet. You may tweet once a day for an extra entry.
6.Post about this giveaway on your facebook page. Leave a comment with a link to your facebook page.
Giveaway starts Sunday, October 10th and ends at midnight on October 24th. Winner will be determined by Random.org.
Good Luck!

We have a Winner!

Congratulations!

I went to Random.org and Lucky Number 16 is the winner!

Congratulations Elizabeth! You are the winner of a Ten Dollar Gift Certificate to Laura Elaine Designs! Head on over to Laura Elaine Designs to do some shopping!

Thank you to Laura for offering this great giveaway and Thank You to each of you for entering and promoting this giveaway!

It was so much fun I'm doing it again! Stay tuned this week for another fabulous giveaway from one of my favorite Etsy shops!

A Giveaway from Laura Elaine Designs

I am so excited to introduce you to Laura Elaine Designs.  Laura Elaine creates beautiful running pages and scrapbooks.  I'm pleased to tell share with you that Laura Elaine is offering a Giveaway! First, Let's get to know Laura Elaine Designs.
1. Tell us a little about yourself.

I am a 30 year-old wife, mom, runner, scrapbooker, and part-time physical therapist. I love to be creative, I love to be outside, and I love to be active.

2. How did your Etsy shop get started

I heard about Etsy from my cousin last winter. I had been making my scrapbooks for a while and just selling them at craft fairs and giving them as gifts. I was so excited to find Etsy - it is the perfect way for me to be creative and sell my scrapbooks!

3. What are you currently training for
Currently, I am not training for any race, but have still been running about 3 times per week. I am taking the fall off from a big race, mostly because my husband is training for the NYC Marathon. With our crazy schedules, and a 2-year-old, it makes it difficult for us both to have a big race to train for. I have an upcoming 5k next weekend, and will more than likely do a Turkey trot on Thanksgiving. My next big race will be next spring - possibly Boston's Run to Remember again. It's a half marathon that I did last year and it's an awesome course through the city.

4. Advice for running moms or those wanting to get started running

My best advice for those wanting to get started is: ANYONE CAN DO IT!!!! I was not a runner in high school or college; I was a gymnast. Being a gymnast meant that the longest that I had to be active for was 90 seconds. I can remember having to run a mile and a half for conditioning in college and we complained the ENTIRE TIME and felt like puking at the end.

Fast forward to 2006: My husband and his best friend (both previously non-runners) made a bet that they were going to be bandits at that year's Boston Marathon. Long story short, we all caught the running bug! Hubby has completed 4 marathons (two of them Boston, running for Children's Hospital) and I have completed 4 half marathons (Boston 1/2 and Philly 1/2 before I had my son, and NYC 1/2 and Boston's Run to Remember post-partum).

There are a ton of training plans out there (the Couch to 5K is an awesome beginner one!) that help beginners lace up their sneakers and get out there.

5. What inspires you

My son is my inspiration. Our family lives an active life - hiking, biking, traveling, skiing, swimming, and of course running! It is important to me to set a good example for my son on how to be healthy, active, and take care of himself. When I put on my running shoes and put them in the stroller to go out for a run, he is learning the importance of exercise and taking care of his body.

Now for the GIVEAWAY! Laura Elaine is offering a $10 Gift Certificate to her Etsy Shop!

Here's How to Enter!
Leave a comment for each separate entry! Please leave an email address or Etsy shop name in each comment you make! Otherwise we won't know how to find you if you win!

1. Mandatory Entry: Visit Laura Elaine Designs and browse around her shop -leave a heart if you are so inclined(not mandatory)! Then return here and tell us what you like!

2. Follow Laura Elaine's Running-Scrapbooking-Being a Mom Blog at http://www.lauraelainedesigns.blogspot.com/ and leave a comment that you did so.

3. Follow this blog,  Prairie Wind Notions and leave a comment that you did.
4. Become a Twitter follower of PrairieWind Designs or Like me on Facebook.  (1 Entry for each - leave a comment!)
5. Tweet the following:
 #Giveaway from LauraElaineDesigns http://prairiewindnotions.blogspot.com ends 10-3 #running #scrapbooking
and leave a comment with the link to your tweet. You may tweet once a day for an extra entry.
6.Post about this giveaway on your facebook page. Leave a comment with a link to your facebook page.
Giveaway starts Wednesday, September 22 and ends at midnight on October 3rd. Winner will be determined by Random.org.
Good Luck!