Green Sharlene

Happy 2015!

Happy New Year


As I am setting my intentions for the year 2015, I plan to take more time to make new friends in our new community.  2014 was a year of big change, and a big move for our family. 

Where did the time go?

We are still settling in, and learning where our favorite places and services are in the Yuba Sutter area. I know a lot of folks through the business, but we haven’t made time yet to get to know folks outside of work much, and I hope that we find time to make that happen this year.

We are so grateful to be celebrating at the Dancing Tomato Caffé, “10 Years & Cooking”. It is an honor to cook for and to serve our wonderful guests, and we thank you for this opportunity.

I guess I really hope that time is on our side, and the years don’t keep flying by so quickly. A big part of our move was to slow things down a bit if we could, and simply enjoy and get to know each other.  Have a cup of coffee and chat.

Cheers to time, to enjoy being happy & healthy!

Tastefully,
Green Sharlene

Tips for a GREENER Holiday Season

Add Organic and Local Foods to Your Holiday Feast

Dine locally at Caffé Italia and the Dancing Tomato Caffé while doing your holiday shopping. We can prepare some incredible side dishes for you to go with your holiday meal. Let us do the cooking, plan on our famous Tortellini Amalfi or a Classic Caffé Lasagna for Christmas Eve, complete with garlic bread & salad. Make life easy and pre-order something to pick up for the holidays. Pre-orders due by Monday December 19th. Dine LOCAL, EAT WELL!
Caffé Italia and Dancing Tomato Caffé gift cards are very green and they fit everyone on your list!

Support Local Family Farmers

Support local family farmers who grow sustainable meat and produce. Not only does it taste better, you'll be doing your part for the planet too. Looking for a local or organic turkey or ham for Christmas dinner?  We are surrounded by local farmers.

Make Your Own Wrapping Paper

Most mass-produced wrapping paper you find in stores is not recyclable and ends up in landfills. Instead, here's a great chance to get creative! Wrap presents with old maps, the comics section of a newspaper, or children's artwork. Or use a scarf, attractive dish towel, bandana, or some other useful cloth item. If every family wrapped just three gifts this way, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields.

Buy Energy-Saving Holiday Lights

Now you can decorate your house with LED lights that use 90 percent less energy than conventional holiday lights, and can save your family up to $50 on your energy bills during the holiday season! LED lights are available at many major retailers, including Target, Costco, and Ace Hardware to name a few.

Happy Holidays to ALL!

Tastefully,

Shar


Less is More

Well, I am loving the “less is more trend” that today’s economy is teaching all of us. I’m learning that when times were better, they really weren’t in terms of the amount of things we’d buy…we had too much stuff. Getting back to basics is not a new concept, but it is one I am teaching myself and our kids. Too much becomes unnecessary clutter, and that can be stressful.

I find myself cleaning out closets, and enjoying the sense of accomplishment while earning extra cash by consigning things that I’m clearing out. We have some great consignment stores in town. I also think more about purchases of small things that add up, monetarily and in the closets. I ask myself if things will last, and how soon will I be clearing it out of my way. I love to spruce up our gently used kids equipment, organize clothes that will never fit again and come to the sweet terms that I’ll never be that size I was twenty years ago. Some one else will look great in my “other” clothes and shoes that were a size smaller. Those other clothes were from another time, when my family was also smaller. I love my new size, this is where “less is more” does not apply.

I haven’t mastered the “less is more”, yet. I still have piles of laundry on the bed, and I claim I just don’t have room to put it all away. That’s not true, I’m still sorting & parting with things, donating some to good causes, and making a little extra money on the side. This makes getting organized a lot more manageable, it’s the staying organized that is a challenge… forever I think. I am shopping less, but when I do, I try very hard to SHOP LOCAL, because some retail therapy is good for me, and our local economy.

With the holidays around the corner I’ll stay focused on green gifts, with creative wrapping that can be reused. Which brings to question, what’s really wrong with re-gifting?  I say why not?  I love hand me downs with thought put into them. Some of my best purses and shoes are hand me downs. If you know someone who will love or use something you have, more than you do, by all means, give it away as a gift with a nice note telling them so.

Tastefully,
Shar