Spring is in full swing, which means seasonal allergies are in full bloom.

Being married to an allergy sufferer myself, I’m well aware of the irritating symptoms that come with the blossoms of spring. Many of my clients have mentioned that allergies have been especially bad this year, which makes any outdoor activity uncomfortable.

Most people with allergies have decided to either stay inside as much as possible (what a drag) or take medicine which leaves them feeling drugged and drowsy. I’m not sure which is worse, being unable to open the windows to enjoy our gorgeous weather or feeling like rehab is right around the corner.

So, you may ask, what exactly are allergies, and why do we suffer from the runny nose, itchy eyes and wheezing?

Allergy symptoms can be summed up in one word: inflammation. I lied, symptoms can be summed up in two words: histamines and inflammation.

As we know, histamines are produced as a defense mechanism by our body to protect itself, and in this case, histamines are being produced to protect against seasonal pollen. Histamines trigger the inflammatory response, and together they form the perfect storm, aka: runny nose and watery eyes.

The good news amongst all the tissues and red noses is that there are a few natural methods that actually work to relieve and prevent some of these seasonal allergy symptoms. No, they may not completely cure your symptoms, but they have been proven to provide at least a little relief so you can go outside and play without living in a bubble.

As I mentioned before, inflammation plays a big part in irritating our body, so one of the easiest ways to limit some of our symptoms is to simply eat anti-inflammatory foods. Anthocyanins have been known to contain anti-inflammatory properties, and are found in dark red and purple colored foods such as cherries, grapes, beets and plums.

Apples, cauliflower, onions, berries, cabbage and nuts contain a very powerful substance called Quercetin. Quercetin is an important antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-histamine. I guess it’s true what we’ve always heard: “an apple a day, keeps the doctor away.”

Another way to minimize allergy symptoms is to avoid foods that create and promote inflammation such as dairy, processed meats, processed sugar and nightshade vegetables.

There are even a few herbs that have been know to alleviate certain symptoms. Stinging nettle is quite effective in reducing inflammation and clearing congestion from your nose and chest.

Curcumin, in the spice turmeric, has been shown to be an effective natural anti-inflammatory treatment for allergy sufferers.

I know it sounds like an urban myth, but yes, raw local honey does indeed help allergy sufferers. I’m living proof of this, as I experienced pretty bad allergies the first year I moved to Sacramento. Regularly partaking in some local, raw honey has been a lifesaver for me. I usually get this from the most local source possible, usually the farmers market. I’ve been here since 2006 and only had the sniffles and headaches the very first  year.

If you’re experiencing seasonal allergies this spring, my heart goes out to you. Take good care of yourself and eat whole, organic, anti-inflammatory foods, and stay away from dairy and processed foods, and hopefully you can play outside very soon.

Happy Spring!!

If your thumb is anything but green and everything you plant in your yard turns up wilted and ugly, you’re not alone.

Many people including myself have trouble starting and keeping a vegetable garden growing. I am here to give you a few tips and ideas for beginners.

The key to your first vegetable garden is to start small, even if that means start with one pot and one plant. You don’t want to overwhelm yourself and larger gardens mean more work and more garden pests.

When picking out what to plant, go for vegetables that you enjoy eating. Popular vegetables for gardening include tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, peppers, beans, and herbs. Some people prefer seeds but to make it a lot easier you can buy the starter plants most of them come ready to plant, which saves time and are more successful.

Now that you have your desired plants all plated and ready to grow the key to growing anything would be to take care of it. Making sure your garden is watered regularly is key. Don’t over water or water in the heat of the day, that could cause sad plants.Mulch can help keep the soil moist, too. Walk by the garden or container garden every few days to check plant health and keep an eye out for garden pests and bugs.

These easy tips and ideas should help you with your first successful vegetable garden. Happy Spring and planting!!!

Let’s be honest, the light rail is usually associated with less than appealing visuals. And I have to admit, after living in Sacramento my entire life I never once took the light rail. But after moving out of midtown and into East Sac, I quickly realized what a pain it is to have to drive and park on the grid.

So, after 27 years of fearing our public transportation system, I’m happy to report that it’s really kind of rad. Tickets are only $2.50 and will take you into midtown faster than any parallel parking job you’ve ever attempted.

As with most public transportation systems, it takes a bit of planning (especially in the winter when standing still outside isn’t an enjoyable activity). The schedule changes at certain times on certain days – sometimes a train comes every 15 minutes, sometimes it’s every 30.  Either way, it’s not super inconvenient to wait for the next one. There are also multiple lines, so make sure that your destination is covered by the train that you’re on. Most of the stops (like most of midtown) are within walking distance of wherever you want to go, but it’s nice to get the most bang for your $2.50 and ride straight to your desired station.

The thing that always bummed me out about our public transportation system was the lack of options for our suburbs. I thought Folsom was the only sprawl section served by the light rail but it turns out that it’s pretty extensive. There are “Park and Ride” options near Folsom, Sunrise, Pocket, Natomas, and Arden areas. It takes some extra planning and probably at least one transfer, but I’d like to think that it’s worth it in gas and environmental savings.

For now, I’ll enjoy the three minutes it takes to get from my house to Magpie on our light rail and I encourage you to get a taste of it as well! Everything you could ever want to know about our regional transit is online (http://www.sacrt.com).

There are few things that can get me out of the house before 9:00 am on a weekend.

A few Sundays ago, Sacramento’s Cycle Swapmeet was one of them… Ok, ok 9:30am.

I’ve been hunting for a good deal on a street bike since my bike was stolen from my patio last month. This was my second bike stolen in as many years I might add. The first I chalked up to life experience and an overly visible bike rail at my old apartment. I have to admit, I wasn’t devastated to replace the pink coaster (with matching pink basket) that my dad picked out for me for Christmas. Don’t get me wrong, I was very grateful for a ride around midtown and the reminder that I will always be a 7 year old ballerina in my dad’s eyes, but it just wasn’t me.

This time is different, I was pissed. I scoured shops for a refurbished bicycle until I found the perfect vintage bicycle at College Cyclery. I fell in love with a quirky green 70′s bike that Mike fixed up for me. I quickly got used to the gears being on the center of the frame and getting compliments on the paint job. “Free Spirit” was emblazoned on the frame (the model name I believe) and people assumed I had it done myself. I am flattered that the label fit me so well, but me, a custom paint job? As if.

My new bike has big tires to fill, and I had high hopes the Swapmeet was the place to find it. The timing was perfect after all. So I bundled up and headed to the West Wind Drive-ins for the Swapmeet. Even before I parked, the throngs of leather clad men tipped me off that the emphasis of this meet was definitely on the MOTORcycle. I considered pocketing the $6 for parking and heading back to Midtown. Still, I was there and going to check it out if for nothing else than to write about.

I did a quick tour of the vendor’s tables and to be fair there were two vendors each with a few bikes on display. Three if you count the tandem bicycle. Sadly, none of the handful of women’s bikes were what I was looking for so I left empty handed. Though, not before doing a little reconnaissance. A lady informed me there were usually more bicycles at the summer Swapmeets. Unfortunately I can’t wait until (May 19, July 21, or September 15, 2013) to replace my bike. Unless it gets stolen again of course! Just kidding, I plan on breaking the cycle (pun intended) by parking my new bike inside the apartment.

Despite my experience, I would recommend checking it out this summer if you’re looking for bike parts, a fixer-upper or anything motorcycle related. There were endless tables and blankets of motorcycle parts. I might also bring a friend because let’s face it the drive-ins are sketchy on a good day, but luckily it was an I feel like wearing all black kind of day so I didn’t stick out (too) badly!

Source: Sacramento Bee

By Lisa Page

Adding a little bit of “cool” (cool blue that is) to our favorite mid-sized city, a living outdoor art project is in the works this week in downtown Sacramento. “The Blue Trees” project is part of artist Konstantin Dimopoulos’ effort to call attention to global deforestation. Sacramento is the artist’s fifth Blue Trees stop, having installed The Blue Trees in Melbourne (2006), Vancouver (2011), Auckland (2011) and Seattle (2012).

Here in Sacramento, twenty mature trees and forty container trees will be colored bright blue by the artist and Sacramento Tree Foundation volunteers. Painting started yesterday and will continue through Saturday. And in case you were wondering, it’s safe—the blue pigment used on the trees is a non-toxic, environmentally-friendly substance that will stay on the trees for up to six months.

Several local organizations and businesses are supporting the project (Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau, Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission, Sacramento Tree Foundation and SacTown Magazine, among others) in an effort to call attention to Sacramento’s valuable urban forest and the unique benefits of visiting our city. After all, Sacramento claims to have the highest number of trees per capita than any other city in the world.

Source: Sacramento Bee

Sacramento has SacTown Magazine to thank for The Blue Trees coming to town. In its June/July 2012 issue it challenged, “Why not commission him to bring his ‘Blue Trees’ project to the City of Trees?” And four months later, here it is. Don’t we wish other things in the city would happen as quickly?

GOTG readers are invited to come and check out the trees at a cocktail party TODAY from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Convention Center, which is the site of the main installation of Blue Trees. Be among the first to get a sense of the project’s impact! RSVP here.

Where is Dimopoulos headed next? After Sacramento, Dimopoulos takes his project to Gainesville, Florida later this month and to Houston in 2013. He is currently in discussions to expand the project to New York, Boston, Liverpool and Vienna. Not a bad list of cities for Sacramento to be included with.

Source: Sacramento Press

By Amy Thoma

This Friday all you girls (and guys!) on the grid have the chance to help rebuild the McKinley Park playground. Sadly, on July 29^th the historic and beloved playground was torched in the early morning hours by an arsonist. Not to jump on my soapbox, but parks are an incredibly important part of a community. Kids need them. Families need them. I can’t properly articulate how sad it makes me someone would attack our community like this.

Happily, Sacramento is doing what we do best: rallying to rebuild it.

On Friday at 7:30, Shine Coffee House is hosting a benefit concert with some of Sacramento’s finest musicians with 100% of the proceeds going straight to rebuilding the park. Shine has also developed a specialty drink for the evening called “The Playground,” and all proceeds from sales of the drink go directly to the rebuilding effort!

This is what being a community is about. Budget cuts have devastated city parks funds and it’s time for us to step in. I’ll be there on Friday and I hope to see you too.

Performers include:

• Hero’s Last Mission
• Lindsey Pavao (from NBC’s The Voice)
• Mat Sertich (of The Generals)
• Jason Weeks
• Joshua Krage
• and a few surprises as well!

Details:

• Date/Time: Friday, August 17 at 7:30pm
• Location: Shine Coffee House, 1400 E Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
• The ticket price is your donation, give at the door or give at the stage.

Containers filled with colorful plants in various heights spruce up a boring cement patio area.

By Alanna Bradley

When my husband and I first moved into our house we were elated to have a pool, unfortunately the pool was surrounded by flower beds and a lawn of dirt and weeds. I set out to make my backyard the stuff BBQ party dreams are made of. The first step, of course, was to buy really pretty pink gardening tools, gloves and sunhat.

My dad has a green thumb; unfortunately, I wasn’t born with his gift. Even though I now find gardening to be one of the most therapeutic activities in my life, keeping plants alive and thriving didn’t come natural. Below are some of the lessons, tricks and products I’ve learned along the way.

1. Pace yourself: Resist the temptation to buy all the pretty plants at once. If you buy too much at once you could end up not having time to get them all in the ground in a reasonable amount of time. Also, if you do delay on planting remember those plants need A LOT more water in those tiny containers than they do in the earth.

2. Make a plan: you don’t have to plan everything to the square inch, but do read those fancy little tags to learn how large the plant is expected to get once it is full size. This will help you make sure you have taller plants in the back and smaller ones in the front once they reach full size. You want all your beauties to get attention from your admirers and adequate sunlight.

3. Keep the tags: If a plant starts to look sickly and you can’t for the life of you remember what it’s called it’s hard to do much about it. The tags come with pictures for easy identification so you can properly research the plant to hopefully make a diagnosis either at the nursery or via Google.

I love the day-glow orange flowers on this Kalanchoe. This particular plant looked like it was growing black mold a while back. Turns out it had mites, very curable with a little powder you get at the nursery.

4. Make friends with clerks at your drugstore: Say whaaa? Seriously, not all drugstore employees have a green thumb. They usually toss perfectly fine flowers because they don’t look pretty enough to sell. My dad has been getting these discards for FREE for years. With a little water and the tiniest bit of attention, he nurses them back to health for a beautiful spring/summer garden. If they happen to say no, take a trip around to the back of the store and you might find a few palettes out by the dumpster.

5. Integrate: Edibles and spices are just as pretty! Plant the mint next to the blueberry bush right in front of the climbing Jasmine. Beautiful and functional.

6. Product recommendations: There’s more to the garden than the plants. Here are some tools/products that I have come to love.

• Sure Start – sprinkle a little bit of these granules into the hole before you plant (the box has directions on how much to use per size of the plant container)
• Sunset Western Garden Book – this is your bible for all things gardening. From climate zones to details on over 8,000 plants and gardening tips…it has it all. Seriously.
• Garden Safe Snail Bait (Garden Safe is the brand) – safe to use around pets and works like a charm. You probably have a slug or snail problem if you see holes in the leaves of your plants.
• Ammonia – best natural dog repellant I’ve found. I’ve also read that vinegar is good, but our dogs seem to like it. Spray ammonia on potted plant bases and also put cotton balls soaked in ammonia in small lidded containers with holes poked in the lids to keep pets and animals away.
• Nursery staff – don’t be shy ask them anything. I’ve gone so far as to bring in pictures of areas I’ve wanted to plant in and a good staffer will help you plan it all. It’s their job and they usually love plants and helping the amateur gardener shine.
• Bark – this is a great weed barrier. I love the black bark because it feels clean and sophisticated. On the topic of weed block– I used the black sheets for a while, but they make adding additional plants in at a later date difficult.

Dust of your bike, grab a sleek messenger bag, slip on a skirt, and rediscover the euphoria of getting around on two wheels.

In honor of May is Bike Month I thought I would provide you ladies with some Pedal Pretty Tips, as well as a few Pedal-Powered Activities.

Unfortunately cycling is often correlated with spandex suits, clip in shoes and cheesy helmets. But thanks to the Bicycle Chic movement, fashion faux pas are a thing of the past for a variety of woman cyclist. Today cycle chic or bicycle chic refers to cycling in fashionable everyday clothes.

Pedal Pretty Tips:

“I live dangerously – so I put on a dress. Mount my bicycle. Start pedaling. And let the wind decide if my knickers will be introduced to the world.” Marie, from Marienade

Don’t be afraid of skirts and dresses.

• Ride with your Knees In
• Shorter Skirts w/ heavier fabrics result in less flying up. But be advised that wherever they ride up to, there they will stay. Usually around mid-thigh.
• A step-through bike frame is easiest to mount and dismount
• DIY your own Skirtgaurds are great for riding in longer/flowery skirts. (prevent material from being caught in spokes)
• Keep one hand free to prevent unexpected wind gust issues
• In the spring and fall, tights or leggings will be your best friend, but you can always use a DIY garter to pin your skirt in the hotter months

Don’t be afraid of wearing cute shoes or heels.

• Most the articles I’ve read recommend heels that you can hook over the back of the pedal and not wedges. But I personally love riding in wedges. Check out more tips HERE and HERE.

Carry your stuff in style.

• There are a lot of options to carry stuff while on a bike without having to sacrifice style. Using panniers, a basket or messenger bag rather than wearing a backpack will also stop you from getting a sweaty back

Helmets.

• Protecting your head doesn’t have to mean compromising on your style. Great options HERE.

Pedal Powered Activities:

Summer weather in Sacramento offers lady riders a chance to cool off and let the wind blow in their hair. According to League of American Bicyclists, “The warm climate and low slope terrain make Sacramento an ideal place for bicycling.” So I say: Get out there and ride!

• Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen Bicyclette: Third Thursday of each month Is ladies night. The shop fee is waived for female/gay/transgender individuals
• Design Rides: Celebrate design-driven businesses and homes in and around midtown by bike! June 3rd, Aug 19th & Oct 14th
• Sacramento Tweed Ride: June 3, 2012
• 2nd Saturday Midtown Cruise: June 9^th, July 14^th, August 11^th,  September 8^th & October 13^th  (Meet in the SUZIE BURGER parking lot, Ride starts at 6:30pm
• Second Saturday Coffee Bike Tour: Starts every Second Saturday at 10AM at Broadacre Coffee.
• BBQ, Bikes & Beer: July 7, 2012 Midtown Sacramento
• Princess Promenade Bike Festival : Sunday, October 14, 2012 (Ladies only ride)

The Green Restaurants Alliance Sacramento (GRAS) is holding a compost festival today at Fremont Park from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

If you have been eager to learn about composting, this is your chance.

This educational festival will include learning about the local food cycle, preserving fertile soil and keeping food waste out of our landfills.

Many of Sacramento’s “Farm to Table” restaurants will be participating. There will be live music, local wineries and tastings ($25 tasting menu fee) by Ella’s, One Speed, The Waterboy, Mulvaney’s, Hot Italian and more!!!  There is a suggested $5 donation fee.

Visit here for more information!

Mother’s Day is right around the corner, and you’d think that as a new mom of a 1-year old, I’d oooh and ahh over a couple of nice bouquets from hubby. But those lovely white lilies? They’re actually coated in inches of diesel dust, metaphorically speaking.

A recent radio program has made me think better of hinting for flowers this year on Mom’s Day, or giving them to my own mother and mother-in-law. Freakonomics Radio, a regular program on public radio’s “Marketplace” program (which always seems to be on Capital Public Radio during my drive home at 6:30 pm), pointed out that all the “eat local” folks who try and purchase their produce within a couple hundred miles of home should really reconsider those Mother’s Day flowers this year.

“It turns out that about 80 percent of all cut flowers sold in the U.S. are imported,” noted the Freakonomic blog that discusses their recent radio interaction with Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal (listen to the show HERE).  ”The leading producers are Colombia, Ecuador, and Costa Rica.” Even more disturbing is that, according to Freakonomics, most of these flowers are flown into Miami and then trucked to other parts in the U.S., including California. Miami is 3,048 miles from Sacramento. That’s a lot of gasoline.”

So what’s a new Mom to do? The Freakonomics commentator recommended plastic flowers … ick. Yes, I’m fine with a fake Christmas tree, but flowers? Fake plastic flowers make about as much sense to me as fake plastic fruit.

Buy Local

The first thing I did was hit the Grid and stopped by Procida Florist (12^th and J Streets)  to get some advice. According to owner Bonnie Procida and designer Staness Jorge, there’s good news if you’re willing to buy flowers within a 300 mile range, as there is a thriving Bay Area-grown market, with most of the growers based out of the coastal areas surrounding San Francisco (Petaluma and Santa Rosa to the north, Half Moon Bay and others to the south).

California grown flowers are of very high quality, noted Bonnie. And San Francisco has an amazing flower market where farmers and wholesalers meet buyers. I’ve never been, but have heard it’s an amazing stop for a day-trip to SF. General public can get between 10am-3pm M-Sat. (Professionals get to start picking the best stuff at 2am, which is a little early for my tastes.)

I also did my research, and stumbled upon more information not included in the Marketplace report. While Kai’s guests were right that 80 percent of the cut flowers in the U.S. are imported, he neglected to mention that of the domestically grown blooms, most are grown in the Golden State. There’s even a Facebook page for California Grown Flowers, the common name for the California Cut Flower Commission, the trade group of all the state’s growers.

These folks participate in the “California Grown” campaign, but while it’s easy to put identifying stickers on oranges or include a slug on dairy packaging, those identifying marks get lost once a bouquet is assembled. Bonnie and Staness at Procida recommend asking a florist they trust about the origin of the flowers, and customers should be flexible in their flower choices if California Grown is a priority.

Paper Flowers

A sample of Kusudama flowers from Graceline Paper Studio of Davis, for the music loving Mom. Non-sheet-music paper flowers available too!

There are artistic flowers made of paper, like Kusudama flowers from Japan, or tissue flowers from a variety of places like Mexico or Thailand, that might make a classy substitute for the real (and carbon-coated) thing. I was able to find a gal out of Davis who specializes in Kusudama flowers and similar products.

You can try and make your own, too. The tissue flowers could even be a kids’ project.

• Tutorial for Kusudama: http://annie.paxye.com/?p=2319.
• Tutorial for tissue flowers: http://www.ehow.com/video_4790377_make-mexican-paper-flowers.html or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK6QBG6IhX0.
• Tutorial for Thai style tissue flowers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxXBoe6yqx4&feature=related.

Live Plants

My best option? Local lavender, from The Lavender Farm, based out of Lincoln. I met these folks at the Sunday farmer’s market in Carmichael last summer, where I bought a small plant that’s thriving this year. They sell amazing smelling bouquets, but I’d rather ask for (and give the new Grandmothers) a live plant instead. They’re at other local farmers markets as well.

And speaking of live plants, maybe THAT’s the better Mother’s Day present – an heirloom tomato plant for the summer, or a small herb garden planter with some thyme or oregano, or even a spicy hot pepper plant for the mother in your life who likes (or needs) a little kick. Fresh produce works too – I’ve seen and tasted some early-season strawberries that were amazing. And if you need something to put that plant into, check out Sacramento’s very own pottery factory, Panama Pottery just off the grid (24th Street, just south of Sutterville) for local pottery and inexpensive imports. Just nothing in plastic, please.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Have your own imported-flower-alternative idea for Mother’s Day? Please let us know! Leave a comment below with your best suggestions!

A few questions…

• Do you live on the grid?
• Do you work on the grid?
• Do you have children?
• Did you know you can burn approx 280 calories an hour during a light bike ride?

If you answered yes to #1 and 2 – and no to #3 and 4 – you are a prime candidate for going car-free in Sacramento. I should know, because I’ve been without one since 2006.

I grew up in Tennessee – the land of SUV’s, gas guzzlers and lifted trucks – my first car was a 2-door GMC Jimmy V8. I lived one mile from my high school, yet drove everyday. And my childhood home had a walk score of just 14 out of 100.

I was, in other words, completely addicted to – and dependent on – my car.

In all fairness, the cost of living in the South is much cheaper than California (including gas), and it was considered normal to receive a car on your 16th birthday (at one point, all four of my family members had their own car). And because we love our suburbs and sprawl and shopping malls, you hardly ever had to worry about finding a parking space (directly in front of) wherever you were going. Lastly, the only people who rode bikes were 6 years old or professional bike messengers or weekend enthusiasts complete with their neon spandex outfit. I knew virtually no one who used a bike to run errands, visit friends or get around my college campus.

But fast forward to 2006. I accepted a job in the Governor’s administration and moved to Sacramento, and right away I noticed people were riding bikes. Everywhere. To work in suits, to restaurants in dresses, to Target, to Safeway… And it was socially acceptable to do so. Whoa.

So I decided to jump on the bandwagon and haven’t looked back since.

There is NOTHING like riding around Sacramento on a beach cruiser on a warm day. Sacramento is the perfect biking city – it’s flat, it’s small, and if you avoid major streets like J, 16th and Alhambra, you can literally rule the road.

Would this work if I lived in Natomas or Carmichael? Probably not. But with a new walk score of 94 out of 100 and my office several blocks away, I make it work. It’s cheaper than owning a car, I get plenty of exercise (May is health/fitness/nutrition month after all!), and it decreases my carbon footprint.

Top 5 Questions I Get From Friends and Family

• How do I get to Arden or Natomas or San Francisco or Tahoe? This is where having friends with cars is helpful (TIP: Always pay for gas, they’ll forget they’re doing you the favor), but car rentals in Sacramento (Hertz, Avis and Enterprise all have locations in midtown) are almost always super cheap ($20-47 a day).
• How do I get groceries? I have a basket and a large tote. I may have to go more often, but I consider those extra trips bonus workouts. And whenever I have a rental car, I try and take advantage and do one giant trip for larger items like detergent and paper towels. Plus Safeway delivers!
• How do I get to the airport? Super shuttle – they pick you up and drop you off anywhere ($13/one way).
• What do you do when it rains? Ummm, I wear a trench with a hood.
• Is it safe? Yes! Period. Just get lights for night and a great lock.

I can’t over-emphasize how much of a novelty this is to folks back home. Everyone who comes to visit sees my two (well you need an extra for guests!) beach cruisers on the patio and has the same response: “Bikes? Oh my gosh, how cute! Can we really ride them around town?” Between the coolness factor and the safety factor, too many communities just aren’t bike-friendly, which is really too bad.

Are You Sold Yet?

• Find my recommendations for local beach cruisers and bike shops here.
• May is Sacramento Bike Month. Check out all the action here.
• Not completely sold? Try it out and see how you feel. The perfect excuse is Thursday (TOMORROW), May 20, which is Ride Your Bike to Work Day.
• UPDATE: Check out Melody Stone’s Velodius blog for local profiles, tips and bike news!
• Looking for a direct (and legal) bike route? Check out this handy google maps application.
• See also: Sacramento Bike Commuter Guide

And I can’t help but link to Meghan Smith’s rendition of “Here Comes Your Man” – such a cute video featuring a stylish/vintage beach cruiser!

I love to walk with my kids, and my kids and I really enjoy a good park. I think parks are a great way for my kids to burn energy in a contained area where I can keep an eye on all of them. My kids love the swings and they love to climb (so pardon the pun…but I have monkeys).

I usually try to go to local parks, but I do venture out to others off-the-grid that include water or sprinklers, like in Folsom and Rocklin. Once it becomes super hot in the valley, there’s nothing better than letting your kids play – while having the option to cool off under the sprinklers. I even mentioned to to the Carmichael parks and recreation folks that there should be a water park in this area!

Here are my picks for the best kid-friendly parks in the Sacramento area…

Carmichael Park

(Green Park Lane and Carmichael Park Road) Includes 3 playgrounds and bathrooms – there are actually 2 parks (big and little) that are connected. Another play area is located by the school, and there’s a great dog park nearby.

Antelope Park

(Ocean Park Drive and Olberoing Way) This park is big and shady with bridges and monkey bars. There’s also a nearby swimming pool that offers lessons.

Del Campo Park

(Crestview Drive and Heathcliff Drive) This park is small and cute - but no bathrooms.

Crosswoods (bunny) Park

(Auburn Blvd and Van Maren Lane) They have a great playground and swings – and it’s close to the library. We call it bunny park because we used to see them all the time. Lately, not so much, but we’re hoping they come back this year.

Fair Oaks Park

(8000 Temple Park Road) This is a great park with swings, sandlot and neart the library. It’s perfect for all ages.

Rusch Park (with Lions)

(Antelope Road and Rosswood Drive) I love that this park has the area for big and little kids. My favorite spot is on the lion side near the main road and baseball diamonds near the community center park area.

As a mom with five kids, I don’t bring all the sand toys to the park… Call me what you want, but I don’t want to lose those toys nor have my kids forget them. Parks are a great way to meet moms – and don’t forget to bring snacks and plenty of water!

TIP: We are consumers and patrons of parks – if you see that the playground or park has been defaced, speak up. Same goes for ideas for added features and additions. Check with your local parks and recreation for phone numbers.

When do you go to the park? In the morning or afternoon? Do you BBQ or have family events there ? What parks do you find to be the most kid-friendly?

Guest blogger Julie Jones is a mom to 5 kids and while she has some spare time, she likes to read. She has been in the area for 1991 and is a discussion leader for Sacramento MomslikeMe and, and loves to find good deals and hang with her friends for GNO. She blogs at www.tableforseven-julie.blogspot.com.

If you are looking for a way to incorporate vegetables into your diet, you may want to check out one of the local farms in the area. There is a program known as Community Supported Agriculture that will deliver fresh veggies and fruit to your neighborhood for pick-up.

For me, this is a perfect option. I know that I need to eat more veggies – its healthy and a great way to lose fat and build lean muscles. For years, I basically would just purchase the same vegetables week after week at the grocery store – almost as a chore.  I could go to the many wonderful farmers’ markets that are in the area, but I’m just not that motivated to hunt down veggies each weekend.

Community Supported Agriculture is a way to bring the farm directly to you. There are organic and sustainable farms throughout not only the region but nationwide that allows people to essentially purchase a share of the farm and literally enjoy the fruits of their labor.  The veggies and fruit are picked that week so that you are eating what is in season. They have more nutritional value and taste like they are straight from your own garden.

I have been a member with Full Belly Farm located in the Capay Valley for a little over a year. There’s such a wide variety of veggies and fruit, and I love their weekly newsletter that provides information about what’s happening at the farm - and healthy recipes on how to use the veggies in your weekly box.

My pick-up is in Land Park every Wednesday, and it may sound strange but every Wednesday I cannot wait to find out what’s in the box. It’s like my birthday every week. I really love picking it up and researching recipes to use all of the variety of veggies.

It has made me a lot more adventurous in preparing new vegetables. I had never prepared fennel or kale before. And I noticed that I eat more veggies when I am using this service and eat more often at home which saves money and calories.

Not all of my recipes have worked. For example, I attempted an acorn squash soup and it was more of a crunchy mush. (Doesn’t that sound appetizing?) But it was fun trying.

How To Get Involved

Check out http://www.localharvest.org/csa/, plug in your zip code and check out all of the many farms available.

A few recommendations:

• Boxes are pretty full of veggies and fruit. If you are single, you may want to consider either splitting with a friend or asking for twice a month delivery.
• If you travel a lot (like me), I only pay month by month so they don’t go to waste rather than purchasing a longer-term commitment.
• Check out all of the farms in the region that deliver in your neighborhood. There is more than Full Belly Farm but I do recommend this farm – they offer such a diverse variety of veggies and fruit all year round.
• Commit to eating all of the veggies by the time your next box arrives. I have to do this to ensure I don’t procrastinate and the veggies go bad.

Check Out Some of the Local Farms in the Area

• Full Belly Farm (Guinda,CA) www.fullbellyfarm.com – Members pick up their shares at convenient locations in their communities. Members can skip weeks for vacations, etc. or get the box every other week. Farm offers an annual Hoes Down Harvest Festival and several farm tours and potlucks during the year.
• Riverdog Farm (Guinda,CA) www.riverdogfarm.com – Each week you pick up your box of freshly harvested, certified organic seasonal produce at a convenient location. Delivery includes Sacramento.
• Eatwell Farm (Dixon,CA) www.eatwell.com - A great variety of fruits and vegetables year-round. Organic pasture-raised egg shares are also offered. You can choose to receive a box every week or every-other week and can postpone boxes when you go on vacation. Box contains 9-12 items, each with a portion for 2-5 people.
• Good Humus Produce (Capay,CA) www.goodhumus.com – Members pick up their shares in a central location in the following communities: Davis, Woodland, Sacramento and Roseville.
• Farm Fresh To You (Capay,CA) www.farmfreshtoyou.com – Offers a regular box, mostly fruit box, and a small mixed fruit and vegetable box delivered to your home.
• DeVoDa Gardens CSA (Woodland,CA) www.devodagardenscsa.com – Receive a variety of seasonal vegetables, herbs and flowers delivered right to your doorstep on the same regularly scheduled day each week. THey grow mostly heirloom varieties of popular vegetables, so you will always find something familiar, yet interesting & tasty in your box.
• The Natural Trading Company CSA (Newcastle,CA) www.naturaltradingco.com – Grows more than 40 different types of vegetables and 85 types of tomatoes. The variety and quality are great.

EDITOR’s NOTE:

Do you belong to a Community Supported Agriculture? If so, what is it? Do you have a favorite recipe that was used with those sometimes, very unique, vegetables? Let us know by leaving a comment below or emailing us at girlsonthegrid AT gmail DOT com.

Happy Earth Day everyone!

The City of Sacramento is hosting their own Earth Day celebration at Cesar Chavez Park and City Hall from 9am-2pm. Geared for kids and adults, they’ll be live music and information on recycling and green jobs. 50 vendors are confirmed, and the city expects more than 3,500 people to show up.

EDITOR’s NOTE: Holding an Earth Day event or happy hour? Let us know ASAP (and we’ll update this post) by leaving a comment below or emailing girlsonthegrid AT gmail DOT com.

So I may or may not have jinxed the weather two weeks ago with my profile on Sacramento’s best patio bars/restaurants, but weather.com is promising sunshine and high 60′s-low 70′s for the rest of this week so here we go again…

We may not have made Bicycling Magazine’s list of the best biking towns…or the best small biking towns, but Sacramento IS an AMAZING biking town. It’s small, it’s flat, and at night/on the weekends, there’s barely any traffic in Midtown so you can rule the road (ear muffs coppers).

And I’m personally not into the fancy Cannondales or single-speeds. To me, nothing says California like a beach cruiser – complete with bell and basket. I go everywhere in mine – the grocery store (small trips), dinner, work, friends’ houses, you get the idea. It’s good exercise, it saves me a ton of money on cabs or having a car, and in the summertime, it’s the best way to create a breeze in the delta heat. If you’re convinced – and you should be – here are my picks for the cutest models and best places to find your very own beach cruiser…

Favorite Models

Electra’s Gypsy

Liberty of London’s Garla

Nirve’s Wispy

Raliegh’s Retro Glide

Diamondback’s Della Cruz

Phat Cycles’ Melodie

Where To Buy

• Mike’s Bikes (1411 I Street) This is where I found mine (Gypsy model above). Mike’s has a huge selection, and a ton of accessories. They have a repair shop in the back and are extremely friendly (my bike was making a weird noise 3 weeks after I bought it, and they fixed it in minutes without charging me). They’re also dog-friendly, which is always a huge plus in my book.
• City Bicycle Works (2419 K Street)
• East Sac Bikes (5520 H Street)
• Craigslist (everywhere) If you have a bit more time on your hands, you can find some amazing bargains online. See here and here for examples. As always, be wary of scammers.
• Guy on 24th and J (24th and J Street) On the weekends, there’s a nice guy who sells a great variety of bikes on the sidewalk.  Like Craigslist, you can get great deals – my boyfriend got a vintage, 1940′s cruiser for less than $150.  He also really knows his stuff and can help with repairs and advice. Be sure to say to his pup – she loves her belly scratched.
• Target (Broadway and Riverside) Liberty of London (bold and girly patterns) has the cutest bikes for little girls! They have a woman’s model too, but it’s temporarily out-of-stock.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Can’t live without your beach cruiser? Have a favorite model that we missed? Or tips on buying your first cruiser? Leave your comments below or email us at girlsonthegrid AT gmail DOT com!

I don’t like to knock on Sacramento. In fact, I will go out of my way to not comment on articles that wax poetic about certain annual events I think don’t live up to potential.

But there are some things I just can’t bring myself to blindly enjoy just for the sheer novelty of a local endeavor.

And one of those things is the Midtown Antique Faire (http://www.sacantiquefaire.com/).

It occurs every second Sunday of the month, and it happens under the freeway. And it is three dollars to get in. And I think it is overrated.

I have gone twice. The first time, when the weather was warmer and I was helping a fellow Girl on the Grid decorate her new apartment, I kind of enjoyed it. We found a few chochkies for her new shelves and some lovely frames with items to put in them. So, it was nice – not perfect, but acceptable.

But, I went last weekend, and I was miserable. Not only was it freezing, but when you aren’t looking for more clutter for your already cluttered abode, it serves no purpose. I was fishing for furniture and artwork – nothing too specific!

I was looking for bookshelves, a little stand for our bathroom, possibly a cool funky chair or some picture frames to add to my small antique picture frame collection.

Parking lots and carts on wheels are the name of the game at the Antique Faire.

Mind you, I am not a collector. I don’t collect things. I freak out when I go to houses where there are mass collections of Elvis Presley posters or old gas station tins on top of the cabinets. The only reason why I have a small (and I mean small) collection of frames is because my future mother-in-law likes to do two things on family trips: gamble and antiquing. So, instead of pounding my head against a wall in boredom, I look for frames and old postcards to decorate my house.

But if you are collector, and you are looking for old posters, Depression-era glasses or old toys, the Midtown Antique Fair, between 6:30am and 3:30pm is the place for you. The place is brimming with old junk, um, er, I mean, vintage memorabilia. (I was sad when I saw toys I used to play with there, and come on! I just turned 26!) There are a lot of plates, gold framed landscape paintings of countryside, toys, old radios, decorative boxes, jewelry, creepy dismembered dolls, broken things that need TLC and napkin holders.

In warmer weather, I think they are more diverse with plant sales, patio furniture and food vendors.

I ran into a friend who actually scored a beautiful rocking chair for $40, but frankly, I thought that was the steal of the day.

There were a few other booths that really caught my attention. One man had a few loved but worn tables, but nothing I wanted to throw down thirty-five bones for. A woman and a partner fix up brass Victorian bridge lamps that were quite stunning. Another was a Russian man’s booth that sold Orthodox wooden icons from the 1860s and rare Russian stone jewelry.

However, dude needs to lower his price point for an antique fair under a freeway.

And it’s actually the location of it that kills me. I don’t even like to be stuck in traffic under an overpass. Maybe I died in an engineering collapse in a past life, because I get so anxious hearing cars and trucks zooming over my head. But shopping to the deafening sound of traffic overhead is, as I alluded to, anxiety-ridden. I think it stops being noticeable after a while, but just the concept of being under the freeway rubs me the wrong way.

And I like antiques. My living room hotel lobby-esque armchair was purchased in a basement store in Brooklyn for $25. And the mid-century bar my fiancé bought during his bachelorhood is a centerpiece item in our “middle room” (and almost a virtual shrine …but I won’t go there).

So, my friends, if you want to know where to get the best antiques in town, a place not littered with junk, but with actual items you will love and cherish and want to pass down to your children’s children, do not go to the Midtown Antique Fair.

Go to the Antique Company on X and 21st. They have amazing furniture, lamps, stained glass window decorations, etc. They have so much to enjoy and explore, and I mean exploring. It’s like an onion, enjoy the layers – don’t be deterred. http://www.theantiqueco.com/

Go to Three Women and an Armoire for fabulously restored furniture at 11th and F. I could spend all day there without being bombarded by junk. Just don’t go on a hot day. It’s an old warehouse with not a lot of cool air floating around. http://www.3-women.com/

For cute clothing and jewelry, the Indie Craft Fair in Sacramento is amazing. I’m wearing a gold locket necklace I bought there as I write this. http://www.indiesacramento.com/.

But it comes down to this, I will go back to the Antique Faire when they promise two things: a place that serves quality coffee and they put the kabash on toys from the 80s. I’m too young to feel vintage.

Editor’s Note:  Do you feel differently about the Antique Faire?  Where do you shop (locally) to find unique items for your home?  Let us know by leaving a comment or email girlsonthegrid AT gmail DOT com.