Craft fair adventures

The table at the fair

Creating a Zen Gypsies lifestyle offers infinite opportunities to nurture yourself while you go about the everyday.  Being mindful or living fully in the present can be fostered in many ways. It can be taking time out for meditation or something as simple as taking a relaxing bath or walk which gives you a few minutes away from all the various obligations vying for your attention so you can just be.  Our holistic approach to creating a rich and fulfilling life explores many options to explore to foster mindfulness in your daily life.

For us, nourishing ourselves both from the inside by eating healthy meals such as salads in a jar or taking care of our skin by using the most pure body products we can is something we strive to do whenever possible.  There are many good organic and natural beauty product options available commercially, but with a little creative play in the kitchen, it is possible to make many of these products economically at home.  As we were testing some of these recipes to be able to share them with everyone in future workshops, we decided to make a few limited edition small batches for a local craft and vendor fair hosted by the Hollywood Volunteer Fire Department in Leonardtown, MD near the Chesapeake Bay. Here are some photos of the results of our adventures in the kitchen and at the fair.

Making whipped shea butter

  

Handmade cotton wash cloths, signature tea, bath salts, eye pillows and sachets

The Zen Gypsies table at the market

We had a wonderful time at the event, and enjoyed meeting other local artists and vendors.  We weren't able to make it around to all the buildings, but we did get a chance to check out a few of the vendors and a few favorites included Dottie's Dips (delicious mixes you add to fresh ingredients to make dips or marinades) and the doTerra essential oils display.  Thanks to all of our local friends who were able to stop by our table to support us in person and for all the well wishes from those who couldn't be there. 

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To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to do.  

Khalil Gibran (1883-1931)

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Healthy eating: salad in a jar

Salad in a jar

Nourishing ourselves and eating mindfully often seem to take a backseat in our busy schedules.  I am a huge fan of preparing as many of my meals as possible in my own kitchen as I enjoy the process of gathering, preparing and presenting a meal even if it's just me at the table.

Here's a healthy meal that you can make ahead so you can grab it and go on your way out the door or when you are pressed for time  You can make one or several for the week.  The key is to put the salad dressing on the bottom of your canning jar and then top that with some sturdier ingredients that can stand up to being submerged until served.  Items that work well include beans, carrots, cabbage, peppers, cooked potatoes or the like.  You keep stacking ingredients putting the most delicate on the top so they don't get bruised. When you are ready, just turn the jar upside down over a large bowl or plate and the salad dressing will pour down over the mound of salad and you are ready to eat!

If you want to make more than one, set up an assembly line and fill the jars with your prepared ingredients.  You can vary the dressing or the ingredients to mix it up.  You'll have several meals together in no time.

Salad in a jar

Layer everything in quart size canning jars. The salad pictured above starting from the bottom is:

Vinaigrette (like this one or use your favorite bottled dressing)

Drained and rinsed canned chickpeas (or any protein source you like)

Fresh mozzarella (or vegan feta)

grated carrots

sweet peppers

spinach, arugula, lettuce mix

chopped red cabbage

spring onions

radishes

cut cherry tomatoes

pumpkin seeds 

toasted walnuts 

croutons (stored separately and added at serving time so they wouldn't get soggy)

Other favorite combos include:

Southwest flair

Salad dressing  made of ranch dressing or plain yogurt with a little salsa and chili powder stirred in

corn

black or pinto beans

jalapeño or sweet peppers

salad greens

spring onions

radishes

tomatoes

grated cheese

tortilla chips (added at serving time)

Asian flair

Oriental style salad dressing - homemade or bottled 

cubed tofu (or other protein)

shredded napa or green cabbage

grated carrots

spring onions

mung bean sprouts

sweet peppers

sesame seeds

roasted cashews or peanuts

I hope you give this a try, and we'd love to hear about some of your favorite combinations in the comments below.

Aurora harvesting salad ingredients from Melinda's garden

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Reflections before the holiday rush...

After the intensity of preparing for the Mind Your Own Biz Creative Challenge and the HVRSA Fall Craft/Vendor Show, I had the opportunity to catch up on some much needed rest and to read a number of thought-provoking articles.  They were a potent reminder of the importance of taking a step back, savoring the moment, and reflecting on the things that are important to me.  With the holidays fast approaching, it's hard not to get swept up in the mad rush, stress and chaos of the season and easy to forget what it all really means.  And often, it's even harder to maintain the practices that keep me centered, especially during times when I need them most.  With that in mind, following are links to articles that really resonated with me.  I hope you will find something here that speaks to you as well:

This fascinating article by Béatrice Pouligny discusses gratitude (and so much more) as a practice essential for emotional, physical and spiritual healing.


From Leo Babauta, 12 Indispensable Mindful Living Tools.


And from Danielle LaPorte, a reminder that choice is where our power lies, and we can choose differently.


Here's to a mindful, gratitude-filled week!

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Starting out...

Starting out...

 

An enormous amount of work goes into starting a business, but when it's something you love, it doesn't feel like work at all!  That was one of the driving forces behind wanting to create this venture:  building something that was personal, passionate and meaningful, not only to us, but also to the people who would be drawn to the kind of community and activities we wanted to share.  With that in mind, here are some of the highlights of our journey to date:

• Trip to DC's Eastern Market for creative inspiration
• Attended Sierra Bender's "Goddess to the Core" workshop at The Mindfulness Center in Bethesda
• Worked with the lovely and talented Fritz, Creative Director of Fritz Partlow Design LLC, who developed our beautiful logo and business cards
• Attended the Google's Start Up Grind talk featuring Paul Allen (co-founder of Ancestry.com)
• First official photo shoot
• Networking session hosted by Mind Your Own Biz Challenge DC at Chesapeake Bay Roasting Company
• Participated in the Mind Your Own Biz DC Creatives Challenge (best of luck to the finalists, it was amazing to meet you) 
• Creative time in the kitchen creating organic bath and body products for upcoming craft fair
• Launched the Zen Gypsies blog and penned first post
• Secured booth at the Hollywood Volunteer Rescue Squad Auxiliary Fall Craft/Vendor Show 

So what inspires you?  What feeds your soul?  What creative adventures have you had this week?  Leave us a comment and let us know... we'd love to hear from you!

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The journey begins

Zen Gypsies sharing a moment of silliness during a photo shoot

We're the Zen Gypsies!  We'd like to invite you to join us as we explore more ways of infusing mindfulness, creativity and fun to our everyday.

As we write this invitation to you, we are excited about the journey that is ahead of us.  We are starting a new chapter in our lives… writing a new story.  And when traveling to new destinations, it’s always more fun to have few expectations so that you’re open to going with the flow and allowing unexpected adventures to unfold.  So in that spirit, although we’re not quite sure where this will lead us, we are certain that it will be a delightful ride!  What amazing things are just around the corner?  We hope you’ll come back and take a peek!

We look forward to sharing adventures with you!

Aurora and Melinda

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