Noisy Butterfly

Love the name of this vendor - just take a moment and imagine a noisy butterfly......I had a little fun with that , it sounded like a helicopter. Anyway, back to our amazing 100 Mile Finds vendor, Noisy Butterfly who "makes the ordinary extraordinary".

For example, check out this gorgeous harmonica pendant. The harmonica measures 1 1/2" in length and has the "Swan Harmonica" logo either side. The harmonica is charmed with a freshwater pearl and a charm with a butterfly on one side and the word "inspired" on the other.

  Or, this Vintage Style Bronze Locket features a beautiful Rare Bermuda Blue Jewels set in brass charm and a single Kishi Pearl. The chain is about 24" long. The pendant can be opened by pressing the knob to reveal the time.

Thank you Noisy Butterfly for sparking our imaginations and for your truly unique creations.

Vintage Paper Parade at 100 mile finds

Sometimes the virtual world feels a little intangible to us here at 100 Mile Finds. We 'virtually' see these amazing products, and keep in touch with our talented vendors primarily through email. We always get inspired when we see our vendors at the Shows and Sales we try to frequent.

All of this is a slow segue into the tangibility and tactileness(if that's a word) of using and sending handwritten notes and cards. With no further adieu, meet Debra Norton of Vintage Paper Parade. Debra's designs have a vintage feel with a modern twist in their clean design.

Debra's personalized note cards listed on 100 Mile Finds are "simple, stylish personalized cards for your children (or yourself) to write thank you notes to friends and family. This listing is for a set of 10 folded cards and envelopes". A variety of colours available. Just let Debra know what you are interested in.

Don't wait for the next special occasion to run out and buy that card. Stock up in advance so you can send it out on a whim, when those 'real' moments pop up.

Auntie Gin Handmade Knits

Ski passes have been purchased, I had to scrap my windshield this morning - we can light a fire and bring out the basket with the hats and gloves.  There is always room in that basket for one more hat, I think.  Especially when it is as cute and cozy as Auntie Gin's.  Virginia Dineen, sole proprietor of Auntie Gin Handmade Knits works from her home to create each piece.

There are Auntie Gin hats on 100 Mile Finds for all the generations - from babies to adult sizes and they are colourful, comfortable with a hint of nostalgia. This 1920's inspired cloche hat is one of my favourites.



And I know we are looking at the hat in this picture (not that scrumptious baby with the cutest expression in the world...)



Auntie Gin will be at the Farmers Market at the Evergreen Brickworks on Saturday from 9-1pm. See you there!

A FUNdraiser for 'Not far from the tree'

100 mile finds 1st give away ever!

We are giving away a signed copy of Sarah Elton's LOCAVORE!

Contest ends November 19th, 2010

Susan and I were lucky enough to see Sarah Elton speak last Thursday evening. We were so impressed that we wanted to share her book with a lucky someone. She was gracious enough to sign a copy for us! Thus our first ever give away at 100 mile finds!

Click here if you want to read our blog about the evening.

You can enter the give away by doing the following. (Please make sure you leave EACH as a separate comment so that you qualify for all the entries that you are entitled)

• "Like" us on our Facebook Page (remember to leave a comment below, on the blog, telling us that you've done it)
• Follow us on Twitter (don't forget to leave a comment, on the blog, telling us you've done so)
• Subscribe to our newsletter (you guessed it, leave a comment here, on the blog, so we know you've done it) 
• Share us on Facebook or Retweet us (seriously, you don't know what to do?)
  

THE GORY DETAILS

1. Entrants MUST be 18 years or older.
2. Contest entrants must live within 100 miles of Toronto. Click here and scroll down to find out if you are in the area.
3. Delivery of prize is limited to shipping within the 100 mile radius as described above.
4. No purchase is necessary - A purchase will not increase your chances of winning.
5. The winner will be chosen using Random.org, a random number generating website.
6. Upon determining the winner, we will notify the winner by email. The winner has 72 hours to respond. If we do not hear from the winner at that time, a new winner's name will be drawn.

Entries may be posted between November 3rd and November 19th at noon EDT. The number will correspond to the comment entry and the winner will be notified via email.

Good Luck!

LOCAVORE by Sarah Elton

Last Thursday evening Susan & I were lucky enough to have the privilege of hearing Sarah Elton speak at the Runnymede Library! She is not only the author of LOCAVORE, but she contributes to the CBC Toronto drive home show 'Here and Now', she writes for the Globe & Mail and The Atlantic's Monthly website! She mentioned kids too! Yikes, now that is busy!
Susan and I had just been talking about the book and her radio show and that she was definitely one of our "people" then, voila, I'm at the library, a favorite place of Sarah's too, and I see the poster announcing that she is coming. If you put it out there, the universe snatches it up! It happens time and time again.

Sarah didn't read from her book, instead she shared some of her favorites stories. She told us about Harold and Kathy Steves, and she talked about some her own experiences growing up. Then she opened up the floor to questions. That was when it got really interesting, not that it wasn't fascinating already! She has a great way of keeping the conversation going and inviting people to ask controversial and provocative questions. I learned more about food in general, in that hour and half, than I've known up until now.

Did you know?

• That Sarah Elton, and those in the know, believe that the first step to developing a sustainable food source in Canada is by developing a locally sustainably meat.This is scary, because we all know how expensive local organic meat is. We have to change the way we eat! It's as simple and complicated as that. Does that mean we all have to eat less, good meat? How do we make local & sustainable meat more accessible?

• We have to recognize that we have power as consumers. Sarah mentioned time and again how important it is talk to your grocery manager about providing locally sustainable fruit and vegetables. She spoke of talking to the managers of local Farmers' Markets about staying open later so that working folk can get access to them. Right now, whether we like it or not, it is our responsibility to get access to more local, sustainable food. We have to make this happen.
  
  
• Long Distance Organic doesn't have any real value. It needs to be local & sustainable. We have to get fossil fuels out of our food system. The only way to do that is to buy local. She did predicate that she buys local and sustainable first, but will buy long distance organic over long distance non-organic. This is something that happens in February rather than July.
  
  
• Organic produce is not considered nutritionally richer than regular produce. It's the pesticides that are the issue.
  
  
• There is an Organic Dirty Dozen, if you can't afford to buy everything organic, these are the items you should consider
• Peaches
• Apples
• Sweet Bell Peppers
• Celery
• Nectarines
• Strawberries
• Cherries
• Pears
• Grapes (Imported)
• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Potatoes
  
  These are the items that are the "safest" to eat
• Onions
• Avocado
• Sweet Corn (Frozen)
• Pineapples
• Mango
• Asparagus
• Sweet Peas (Frozen)
• Kiwi Fruit
• Bananas
• Cabbage
• Broccoli
• Papaya
  
  
• We really have to change the way we eat, if we want to support a local & sustainable food source. We have to start eating with the seasons.
  
• Most of the farmers in Canada are poised to retire, their average age is 56 years old. Interestingly though there are an abundance of young men and women ready to take their places, what we need is land for them to farm.
  
• We need to shape food policy! Check out these websites www.peoplesfoodpolicy.ca and www.sustainontario.com
  

Thank you Sarah Elton for an amazing evening! Susan and I were so impressed by everything Sarah shared with us we have bought a copy of her book, she generously signed it for us and now we are going to give it away to a lucky winner of our very first giveaway ever!

Check us out on Face book and Twitter or keep checking back to the blog for all the details.
Enjoy this beautiful day!

Halloween at 100 mile finds w/Sweets from the Earth

I did it! I handed out a healthy Halloween treat, and lived to tell the tale! Actually as word got out that we were dishing out cookies from "Sweets from the Earth" we seemed to become a destination stop in the hood! Kids loved getting chocolate chip cookies as a treat! We had our biggest turnout ever!
I think the secret for these guys is to have two campaigns. One geared towards families who battle allergies and sensitivities to food and a second to lucky families like us who just want to eat as healthy as we can! It's an added bonus that we're supporting a local and sustainable food source too! Now that I'm getting to know the folks at Borden Communications + Design, I'm trying to find out more about Fair Trade and how to support that initiative. There is allot going on there, that we need to be think about how to make sure we are leading the lives we want to!
Have a great 1st day of November everyone,
Shirl