Tag: UTC neighborhood

Eco Land and Sea — locally made spa goods

Feeling tired and stressed? Want to soak in a steamy tub with eco-friendly soap? Herbal ingredients calling your name?

Eco Land and Sea is made from an eco-heritage that spans the land and sea.

Get clean with botanical, no palm oil or animal-body fats type herbal soap bars.  No detergents added, just pure, natural soap.

You can also stock up on bath salts, bath powder and bath bombs. (oh yesss!)  The best part about all of this– the stuff is locally made and eco-friendly.  Everything was really pretty.   Word on the street– they suds up well.  I should know–  I met Chris who told me he is the person who makes the soap.  Sounds like he is working on some new formulations and made a special order for a customer last week.

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I met up with Chris last week at the farmer’s market in San Diego’s UTC neighborhood.  He was working the booth and singing the praises of eco-friendly soaps.  I just loved these tiny heart soaps priced at a budget friendly 50 cents each.

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Lots of lovely choices on the table! And wrapped in delish looking ribbons– by the way they smell just as delish.

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Thrift Shopping… at the farmers market

One of my favorite summer activities is browsing thru the local farmers market. What could be better than listening to some fun music and shopping at sunset? I live in San Diego’s UTC neighborhood and have recently “discovered” we have a farmers market on Thursday nights.

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Last week I met Sandi and Hugh at the Terra Verde Foods booth.  Terra Verde Foods is a small family owned and operated specialty foods business started in 1996 as an organic farm in Fredericksburg, Texas.  Their interest in food and cooking led to the development of Terra Verde Farms’ artisan foods. Terra Verde Foods specialty foods are hand-made in small batches from recipes that have been in the family for generations or new recipes developed from scratch.  Minimal sugar is added to the products… and no artificial flavorings, preservatives or colors. You’ll remember what fresh fruits and veggies taste like!

I sampled the Tomato Basil Garlic pasta sauce with a sprinkle of Lavender Pepper. What a wonderful combination.  Pictured below you can see my purchase of the evening– pasta sauce. It was $8.75 well spent. Since I’m a one-person household right now, I asked about the best way to save leftovers.  Guess what– I’m told freezing is the way to go.

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Like I said, this Lavender Pepper was a delight. Something about eating lavender flavor seemed odd– but after a taste– ooo la la.  I can easily see myself using this sprinkled on cheese as an appetizer or as a seasoning on steak or salmon. I do tend to like a more subtle flavor which explains why I liked this so much.  (I’m already pre-planning this will be my next purchase!)

Cheers- and happy food shopping at the local farmers market.

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Dumpster Diving – University City – San Diego

My motto– if you’re planning to dumpster dive– do it with dignity. I’m not a big fan of physically diving into dumpsters. Mostly out of fear.

I prefer to walk by and if there is something interesting laying out front of the dumpster or perched within easy reach then I grab the item and give it a visual scan. Personally, the item needs to be in good condition and something I can put to immediate use or else I leave it.

Here is a cute table I found recently in the UTC area near Nobel Drive and Lebon Drive. It was set out front of the dumpster within easy reach. Very cute table. The only thing I had to do was dust it off and replace the drawer pull. The cost of drawer pull was $2.75 at Cost Plus World Market. Again, a really simple fix and now I have a cute table in my entryway!

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