Saturday Morning Daydreams

I'm both impressed and inspired by this gorgeous, 100% biodegradable and recyclable packaging, designed by a student in the UK named Ben Huttly. Unlike traditional packaging, it was specifically created to have a positive effect on the environment via special paper embedded with vegetable seeds.  On top of the innovative eco-conscious design, the typography and bean shape of the labels is incredibly visually appealing.  Go Ben! (source)

I'm in love with this pretty, simple linen tea towel, hand-stamped with olive and avocado colored artichokes by Giardino.

I don't have a garden bed, but I'd buy this charming little book, Soil Mates by Sara Alway, just for the design.  Full of pretty pictures and complete with a burlap potato sack cover, it teaches the basics (in a fun, quirky way) of companion planting: aka which plants and veggies will be BFFs and thrive best in the same garden.

Just looking at these vibrant, hand-screenprinted apple skirts by Made With Love By Hannah makes me want to skip all the way to the nearest apple orchard.  I love the simple wrap design and the bold colored print against the white twill fabric.  These define cute. 

How adorable is this alphabet fruit and veggies poster by Petit Flaneur?  It was designed to hang in a nursery, but I think it would look awfully cheery in my kitchen.

This centerpiece is beyond amazing.  Who needs flowers when you have artichokes, lettuce, asparagus and wheatgrass?

It's true - I'm daydreaming about vegetables and fruits this morning.  This might seem like an odd choice for a daydream, but there is definitely a creative purpose behind it.  I grew up eating all kinds of freshly picked goodies that my mom grew in one of her many gardens.  She instilled the desire in me to eat as much organic, locally grown food as possible, and did her very best to teach me how to grow my own as well.  Unfortunately, I didn't inherit her green thumb, and although I could decorate a space like there was no tomorrow, all of the house plants would, inevitably, die.  On top of that, I spent many years after college roaming the country, never home for long enough to tend to a garden.  And when I was home, whatever apartment I happened to be renting (in whatever city I decided was the best for that given year) very likely didn't have a yard (or even a porch). 

This year, however, some sort of switch flipped in my brain, when the fiance and I randomly bought a little organic basil seed kit while shopping.  I'm almost embarassed to admit how excited we were to watch them sprout through that black soil in their pot, and start to grow into - gasp - food!  Yes, food!  That we could eat!  That we grew ourselves!  This new found love of growing our own veggies provoked us to run to the nearest garden store and load up on a plethora of other veggie, fruit and herb seeds including but not limited to tomatoes, parsley, squash, thyme, and lettuce.  Since we don't have a yard, our little urban farm is limited to the pots that are now covering our back porch and window sills, but hey - it's a garden.  With food.  That we're growing ourselves.  For me, that might just be a small miracle.

I'm also daydreaming about driving to local farms and piling up on as much produce as possible, an adventure I started last summer. Although my cooking skills haven't (and likely never will) catch up with my brand new planting skills, there's something kind of magical about making a yummy meal from stuff that was just picked right from the earth. 

Did I mention how much I've been into fruit and veggie prints as well?  I'll admit that I've been staring at my new red and white apple print tea towel a little too much lately.  I think I'm starting to freak Robbie out...

You can check out past editions of Saturday Morning Daydreams right HERE.