Fundamentals

If you follow me on Instagram then you know that mushrooms are in my food ALL THE TIME. I love them. All different varieties. The earthy flavor and the smooth, rich texture are only some of the reasons I use them so often. Mushrooms are full of nutrition and immune boosting properites. Here is some info from Mercola on the health benefits of this delicious obsession of mine. Mushrooms from a farmer at our local market Pepperplace Market . The FASEB Journal recently published nine studies on mushrooms that were also presented at Experimental Biology 2013, which detailed a wide variety of...

Dear Partners, Last night, like so many of you, I watched the election returns with family and friends. And like so many of our fellow Americans – both Democrats and Republicans – I am stunned. We cannot know what the precise impact will be on our country and the rest of the world. I am hopeful that we will overcome the vitriol and division of this unprecedented election season. As Americans, we must honor the democratic process. We have a president-elect in Donald Trump, and it is our responsibility as citizens to give him the opportunity to govern well and bring our country together...

Are you following us on Flickr ? You may have noticed that recently we have a sidebar with lovely photos. This is the feed to our Flickr account. It's a great way to share tiny moments that may not fit into a blog post. I hope you will check it out! Spiffy Eats Flickr

The first thing I want to say is THANK YOU! Thank you to all our readers, twitter followers, facebook friends, and instagram followers. Thank you for liking, sharing, commenting and overall encouraging! We read every comment and they all touch our hearts. Each and every one of you mean so much to us. We would not be where we are without you. Thank you for following along the last few years as I have developed my voice in this blogging world. Thank you for putting up with all the iPhone photos, and the facebook posts with hundreds of food pictures. From the bottom of my heart- THANK YOU! Now...

From the moment I saw the lovely exterior of this new spot, I knew it was perfection. The mix of southern charm and industrial pieces fits perfectly with the small town of Homewood Alabama. As we walked in to the cafe, we were met with friendly faces and warm greetings. Before I even stepped up to the counter to order my food, a staff member had placed a warm cup of Alabama's own Royal Cup Coffee into my hand. As I sipped, my friend and I decided what food we would order. Everything at Real and Rosemary is whole food options. We had the opportunity to meet Jennifer Mims, one of the owners...

I will admit it, I enjoy grocery shopping. It is one of my favorite activities. The thrill of finding healthy, clean foods at good prices is like a sport for me. Ok, now that you all know how weird I am.... here is what I buy at Aldi. Publix is my favorite, but I have got to tell you guys how awesome Aldi has been the last few times. I have been so impressed with all the organic products I have found. 1. Organic Frozen Berries $2.79 2. Organic Fresh Produce (various prices) 3. Grass-fed Beef $6.99 4. Nuts $5-$7 5. Free-range Chicken Broth $1.79 6. Organic Canned Tomatoes $1.49 7. Organic...

First of all, I want to say thank you to all of my Spiffy Gals (and guys) that read our recipes, diys, tutorials and natural living posts. We appreciate you so much! We would love to share even more of our story with you through our Instagram . Through Instagram we tell small stories about our day to day lives and occasional behind the scenes sneak peeks! Here are a few of our most recent posts. Enjoy! We would love for you to comment, and tell us more about you so that we can follow you back. And thank you again for reading. Sunday mornings are for cuddles with my cats and pup. Sunday...

We all have Christmas wish lists. Items we dream about having as part of our kitchen arsenal. Today we wanted to share with you a few that are on the top of our list! Stainless Carving Set Touch of Modern says, "Jean Dubost’s family, inspired by the traditional peasant tool, has been crafting the artisan blades since 1920. Surrounded by legend and myth, the Laguiole knife still carries the mark of its ancestors. A bee that is found engraved on all Laguiole products was originally part of Napoleon Bonaparte’s imperial seal. The blade, made of high-grade stainless steel, is stamped, then ground...

This month I have decided to participate in the See Jane Write event, Blog Like Crazy! It has been one hell of an adventure and I have enjoyed it so much. I am also participating in an event with The Birmingham Girls Club . This is an Instagram challenge. Each day we post a photo based on the inspiration chosen for that particular day. Both of these challenges have been fun learning experiences. I have stretched myself beyond my normal bounderies. I even posted a photo of my own hands for the BGC Instagram challenge (which I never do, due to all of my old lady wrinkles). I have also shared...

Last year was my first time to experience the amazing Christmas event Market Noel . I remember how excited I was to meet local creators from all over the Southeast. I got my camera, notebook, cute holiday outfit and headed out to enjoy some Christmas cheer. As I walked in the front door, I was immediately giddy at the sight of greenery strung all along the massive stairway. The Birmingham Junior League volunteers greeted me with a smile and I made my way up the stairs. As I climbed closer and closer to the top, my senses were flooded with cinnamon, cardamom, apple spice, and every other...