Author: <span>Elizabeth Garcia</span>

Baking

Zucchini: the vegetable of love (in our house, anyway)

I met my husband in the middle of a summer where I had a very prolific zucchini plant in my garden. I was wooing him with home cooked meals and baked treats, many of which contained zucchini. We haven’t had a garden for the past few summers for a variety of reasons (California’s drought, we were in the middle of a move/remodel, had a baby, etc), and I really, really miss the satisfaction that comes with feeding your loved ones with food you have grown. Read more “Zucchini: the vegetable of love (in our house, anyway)” →

And so the adventure begins Family

Today is the first day of a new adventure…

With Little Man transitioning into pre-school in September and with our choosing a part-time program, I quit my job. It’s a job that I love and find largely satisfying. It’s a job that is based on many years of professional growth and at which I’m quite skilled. It’s a job that helps meet our family’s financial needs in this ridiculously expensive region where we live. However, considering that this is Silicon Valley, and I work mostly for startups, it’s also a job that often comes with a lot of pressure, a shortage of resources and a feeling of a really long and never-ending to-do list. Read more “Today is the first day of a new adventure for our family” →

Essential Oils

Dining outdoors annoyance-free, naturally!

Summertime means dining outside and dining outside usually means pesky annoyances. Did you know you skin is your body’s largest organ? Most of what you apply topically gets absorbed into your bloodstream. Although I’d like us all to enjoy our backyard as much as possible this summer without being bothered by pests, the idea of putting toxic chemicals on my family’s skin to deter them is even more unappealing than the pests themselves. Read more “Dining outdoors annoyance-free, naturally!” →

lemon blossom buds Family

Citrus Trees: Hardier Than I Expected

Let me start by saying that while I love flower and veggie gardening, I don’t really know much about trees. I produced some amazing tomatoes in large containers on the patio of my condo, I had some awesome raised beds (made by my awesome hubby) for veggies and flowers in the teeny-tiny back yard of our previous house, but I have never had reason or opportunity to select, plant and grow a tree. Last October Frank and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary (that’s Fruits and Flowers for you modern gift givers). We had also just bought a house that had a yard roughly three times the size of our previous yard. In an attempt at romantic and clever gift-giving, I bought Frank the gift of three fruit trees—a Bearss Lime, Meyer Lemon and Bacon Avocado. Tiny little tender trees. Right before the Godzilla El Niño winter. Read more “Citrus Trees: Hardier Than I Expected” →

Beauty

(Not So) Fun Facts: Perfumes

Everyone likes to smell delicious! Many of us turn to perfumes and colognes to make us smell better, but some of these perfumes might actually be harming our bodies. Unfortunately most common perfumes are made with petrochemicals, colors and artificial fragrance. Most personal care products include fragrance in them for a pleasing aroma, or to mask the smell of other chemical ingredients. There are so many reasons to avoid perfumes and fragrance-laden personal care products. The infographic below talks about the symptoms of allergies and sensitization and steps you can take to avoid these chemicals in your daily life. Read more “(Not So) Fun Facts: Perfumes” →