Do you ever get those moments where you are struck by a lightening bolt of inspiration to purge all unnecessary belongings?
Last night was one of those nights for me.
After realizing that Spring would be coming to an abrupt end in 8 days, I decided it was now or never for my annual Spring Clean Purge.
Each Spring, I gather up all unnecessary items and I donate them to charity. Last night I collected 5 bags of things. Many of these items were items that I was having a hard time letting go of last year, and lo and behold I never wore them once! Moral of the story: Always trust your gut.
Sometimes, it takes me a while to part with an item. My motto now is if I haven’t worn it in a full calendar year (all types of weather!) it gets donated. BOOM. If you live in Alberta, you can change that to ‘if I haven’t worn it in a full week’. :ninja:
Eric was so inspired by my donation bags, he decided to do his own SCP…
Yes, those are Daffy Duck and Superman ties. [You know who you are.]
It was amusing watching Eric take each item of clothing from his closet and comment on it. One of my favourite comments was: ‘It is so small on me it barely covers my nipples!’
Where does he come up with this stuff? I seriously lost it laughing on a heap of clothes when he said that. I said, ‘Oh come on, it almost covers your belly button at least!’ Needless to say he donated it. I’m sure some 8 year old will be very happy.
Then it was time for more Farmer’s Market prep!
Good times.
My mother-in-law used to be a huge crafter and she would sell all of her goods from her home. The basement would literally be flooded with her crafts and she would be up until the wee hours of the night preparing.
Eric had the prestigious role of being the crafter’s assistant when he was a child. One of the more memorable (and oddly enjoyable tasks) he recalled was picking the dried glue off the table for his mom. :lol:
His resume also boasts potpourri and wreath maker. Not to brag, but my crafting resume boasts trinket box maker, plaster crafter/painter, friendship bracelet maker (variations: Gimp, bead, string), and clay modeler.
Is it any wonder we fell i love? I think not.
Our window seat in the office is the same length as the market table I am buying, so I thought it would be a good place to do a dress rehearsal on!
The troops all lined up!
I also added some ribbon and an Ikea flower that I hacked gently cut apart.
It’s no Martha, but I’ll take it.
I am going to put two rows of flavours in each basket like so…(obviously it will be full for market open!)
Then I made a trial for the tags. Each flavour will have a tag in front of it with the name and description of the Glo Bar. I think I am going to make the print larger for the final tags just so people can read it easily.
I also made myself and TEAM GLO name tags…
After crafting in the office, I decided to craft in the kitchen. Farmer’s Markets are lots of work to prepare for!
I made GLO BALLS!
Yup, yup I was BALLIN’.
Remember when I made my raw chocolate chip cookie balls in May 2009? Well, I used the recipe for inspiration, threw in some new and amazing ingredients, and came out with a few kick-butt flavours!
They are OFF THE HOOK!
I plan on selling GLO BALLS at the Harbourside Oakville Organic Market in addition to the bars (market starts June 19th!).
I will be giving hints to the flavours all week…so stay tuned.
The market orientation went great today! I met some lovely people and I felt much better after seeing the market site and finding out about how it will all operate. The market is held in GORGEOUS downtown Oakville and it honestly could not be a better spot for a Farmers Market! I am so excited. :biggrin:
However, there is one PROBLEM…
[source]
I pass by the Oakville Whole Foods along my journey!!!!
Normally, this isn’t an issue for me seeing as I live 1 hour away from here, but now I am going into the belly of the monster every Saturday for the market.
When in Rome… :lol:
I finally got my paws on some red and green organic kale!
I was all excited to buy frozen cherries to make a Cherry Bomb, but they didn’t have any. I can’t find frozen cherries anywhere!
Mmmm so happy coconut butter is back in my life. Also starring a new appearance by one of my old pasttimes- Canadian Maple Butter. Best thing in the WORLD!!!!!!!!!
[Insert loooooong day of cleaning the house top to bottom with Eric].
I’m off to balance out the day’s chores with some relaxation, dinner, friends, and a few brews! Hope you have a great night! See you in the AM.
Wow, a spring clean… refreshing, isn’t it? That reminds me, I have to do one… :/ I’m so excited for your farmer’s market booth/stand! You’re going to do great… you’re really well organised and it shows that your heart is really into it – Glo balls, YAY! :D
Have fuuuuun! :)
Wei-Wei
Don’t you just LOVE de-cluttering your closet? I usually leave clothes at home when I go away to school (half because I don’t like them but I have parting issues and half because they won’t fit in my dorm closet). But when I come home for breaks I always seem to get rid of bags upon bags of stuff. It’s nice to de-clutter once in awhile!
I wish I lived in Canada because I want to try all of your Glo Bars! I have family in Calgary but I have yet to visit them since they moved from Manitoba. Can you ship orders to the states? I looked on your website last night but it said a lot of your bars were sold out.
Yes I ship to the states! :)
I think a do a bi-seasonal clean. I’m such a clean freak :)
I need to find some coconut butter!!! I went to WF and couldn’t find it :(
YES for purging of the clutter! Best feeling ever. :)
Ya girl! Look at you go! Glo balls sound like a great idea :)
Gaaah Whole Foods!!!!! Major jealously over here. Unfortunately, we don’t have them on Vancouver Island :( Maybe it’s for the better though because I’m sure I’d be broke if I had access haha!
I got frozen cherries at Whole Foods Yorkville ONCE but then i never saw them there again…and they no longer carry the brand of frozen fruit that the cherries came from (they also had frozen figs and other interesting frozen fruit that I can’t find anywhere). Now, I think frozen cherries just don’t exist in our part of the world. Hopefully they’ll come back.
I am considering making a trip to Oakville to pick up some Glo bars! I’ve been wanting to try them but haven’t made it to the store in Thornhill (and I hear that they are often out of stock? Which is wonderful for you, but bad for me!). And also, would love to meet you, of course.
By the way, coconut butter is the best thing…ever…I had it on a sweet potato the other day and it was love at first bite.
That is interesting about Whole Foods and the cherries…maybe if we all email/call they will carry them again? hehe
Hope to meet you at the market!
frozen cherries= no frills, their sour and have no added sugar, theyre perfect for green monsters! Happy blending!
I love spring cleaning! Even now, as I live out of a backpack while seeing the world, I manage to purge a few items every once in a while. Feels so good.
So jealous of your fresh jar of coconut butter! Everytime I go to Whole Foods (today included) I am sooooo tempted to buy a jar but I just can’t justify the price!! One day when I’m rich and famous I will have a cabinet full :).
Good luck at the market!!
P.S: Bf made your overnight oats this past week and loves it!
those Doctor Kracker brand crackers are the best crackers in THE WHOLE WORLD!!!!!!!
Just a quick suggestion for frozen cherries – I usually find mine at Trader Joe’s. Not sure if you’ve got one near you, but they’re good & cheap! :) Love your blog, find lots of inspiration here!
No we dont have TJ’s in Canada! =( Ive never been to one, but I am planning on it when I go to Chicago (I hope they have them!)
I LOL’d when I read the Alberta bit.. I am in Alberta, and I just donated two big bags of clothes! Yay for de-cluttering!
I wish I lived in Canada so I could check out your awesome farmer’s market stand! Everything looks delicious! Thats a shame about the frozen cherries… they are definitely my favorite green monster addition. You can add a lot of spinach to a choco-cherry smoothie and is still tastes like dessert!
The Glo Balls look amazing!
Please please please start selling these!
I’m thinking about it, but I need to test them shipping and everything. Hopefully they will be fine!
Your not alone…I’ve been to 6 different grocery stores in Calgary and can’t find any frozen cherries either! Boo!!!
I can’t believe that eric was crafty! impressive…and that you got rid of so much. That really inspires me to do the same tomorrow. Looks like the market will be so fun….and I feel ya on the WF’s calling your name…story of my life! too bad you couldn’t find frozen cherries, so weird!
What a lucky farmer’s market to get to get your bars and other tasty treats! I hope it went well.
I can’t wait to hear about your market recap! Your setup looks amazing. ;) I love spring cleaning! An organized house = an organized, calm mind ;)
Oh man, I am SO bad about holding onto things I don’t wear anymore. I have clothes from high school in my closet still (and I’m 27). It’s just so hard to let go sometimes!! :-)
I know what you mean…I still have ‘sentimental’ clothing items I will never get rid of…like Eric bought me these two tank tops the first few months we were dating. I STILL wear them (I wore them to our honeymoon) and he laughed b/c I said I would never give them away.