Our Best Advice

NICE CREAM ICE CREAM

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010 | Our Best Advice | Comments Off

pint sized happiness is just a spoonful away

We love finding JOBS for Cooks and Chefs who also trick kids into eating healthy. Kids can be fussy eaters and a promise of ice cream always helps. (see our other great TIPS here). We know that despite being able to make delicious sweets, sometimes Chefs simply don’t have enough time and need backup for a last minute meal.

TIP – Kris Swanberg started making ice creams for friends and family after receiving an ice cream maker wedding present. A year later, small batches of NICE CREAM was born, hand-creafted creamy goodness in pint sized servings. Organic raw ingredients come from local farmers purchased within a 100 mile radius (go LOCAVORES), combined with goodies available from seasonal changes.  A perfect offering as a specialty dessert or gift if you wish to be creative but avoid the work.

Kris' Nice Cream Ice Cream

Order strawberry short cake in the Summer, Lavender Vanilla Bean in Spring, sweet potato with toasted marshmallows and pecans in the Fall, and a whiskey flavored pint for adults to get you through a Chicago winter. Some of our VIP clients on tour need a quick local pick me up, they’ll ship special orders, and if you have an event or party, they’ll create specialty flavors just for you.

Let us know how you liked it, we’d love to hear from you. Send our blog, Tell A Friend — and THANKS!

Serving Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Bel Air, Benedict Canyon, Torrance, Hancock Park, Laurel Canyon, Los Feliz, Marina Del Rey, Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Melrose. Santa Monica, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Encino, Woodland Hills, Topanga Canyon, Westwood, Hollywood Hills, Pasadena, San Mareno, Santa Barbara, Orange County, Ventura County, California, New York, & the greater United States…

Our Best Advice has been brought to you by www.ISAstaffing.com.Visit often for other great ideas, use our Tell A Friend featured link to this blog, and our Domestic Staffing website to pass our TIPS and renowned services. THANKS!

Tags: BEVERLY HILLS, CHEFS, Chicago, childcare, Childcare Services, Cooks, desserts, Echo Friendly, events, Gifts, governess, Holiday Events, ice cream, Kids, LOCAVORES, meals, Nannies, NICE CREAM, organic, Organic Raw, Parties, Party, Specialty Foods, specialty gifts, Sweets, VIP Clients, Weddings

ORGANIC FLOWERS

Monday, July 6th, 2009 | Our Best Advice | No Comments

Scherer_Gonsales Spring 2009 Shoes

Many people don’t know that approximately 80% of the flowers sold in the U.S. are imported from South America. Not only is that a huge chunk out of our domestic economy we do not reap any benefits from, they use twenty-five different pesticides that have already been outlawed in America due to their carcinogenic components. Why would we bring back into our country goods that have been outlawed that support poor working conditions of farmers, with violations of child labor laws we believe in? The trend is moving away from purchasing goods that harms our precious soil and those working it whether here or abroad. Please : Tell A Friend and help spread the info.

Our TIPS for today is buy domestic ORGANIC FLOWERS. To buy organic flowers make sure they are VeriFlora certified. This ensures the flowers have been grown using fair labor practices and sustainable farming. If you wish to purchase solely American grown flowers they would be USDA Organic certified.

Veriflora roses design from Lilly Lodge

On the East Coast in New York there is a great store called Gardenia Organic (www.gardeniaorganic.com), a florist that believes organic does not have to mean more expensive. Voted Best Florist in 2008 by New York Magazine, they deliver throughout Manhattan and provide online selections. This florist also packs their lovely flowers in recycled paper and uses recycled glass vases. On the West Coast we have Lily Lodge in Los Angeles. Lily Lodge uses Veriflora certified organic roses set into a 100% recycled hand-blown glass vase as one of several recycled or vintage containers for arrangements offered online. Lily Lodge also provides beautiful packaging for hand cut loose flowers delivery. Check them out. Write us about florists you know who specialize in organic or pesticide free flowers and plants.

Out of the $20 billion people spend on flowers in our country annually, only $8 million is for organic flowers, a tiny portion of the flower business. We need to support growing organic which is expected to grow approximately thirteen percent annually according to the Organic Trade Association (as of 2008), which may exceed expectations if the trend is actively supported. Buy organic and order organic on line to send organically grown flowers. Encourage others to do the same by sending them our TIPS page which also gives them links they can forward to others. Pass on that florists or growers will also use a USDA/TILTH certification to identify they are an organic grower of annual and perennial cut flowers.

Gardenia Organic design offered online

You can take these few steps to have beautiful organic flowers for the Home, Event, Weddings, or Holidays. Grow your own. Buy organic bulbs or seeds to start your own organic flower garden. You can order organic and heirloom seeds and bulbs with TIPS provided by growers more then happy to assist you in every way even if you do not purchase from them. Buy Organic Flowers locally. Invest in your community and save on shipping costs and the energy by purchasing chemical-free flowers from local farmers markets. Inquire about organic flowers with local florists. Find out if they carry organic fresh flowers or plants. If they don’t, ask them to order some for you or better yet, encourage them to start purchasing organically grown and/or pesticide free flowers and plants to offer customers.

A wonderful delight of the recent Spring fashion shows in Europe were shoes designed with embedded flowers set into them celebrating mother nature (see above). Now if they could just figure out how to do that with environmentally friendly acrylic platforms used for that concept, we will really make some headway in unleashing that unbridled creativity humans are famous for, and protect Mother Nature at the same time!

For more information visit the VeriFlorawebsite. For more information visit the USDAwebsite.

HAVE AN ORGANIC FLORALS SUMMER!

Serving Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Bel Air, Benedict Canyon, Torrance, Hancock Park, Laurel Canyon, Los Feliz, Marina Del Rey, Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Melrose. Santa Monica, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Encino, Woodland Hills, Topanga Canyon, Westwood, Hollywood Hills, Pasadena, San Mareno, Santa Barbara, Orange County, Ventura County, California, New York, & the greater United States…

Our Best Advice has been brought to you by www.ISAstaffing.com, renowned Best of The Best in Household Work and Domestic Help staffing. Visit often for other great ideas, use our Tell A Friend featured link to this blog, and our Domestic Staffing website to pass our HOT TIPS and renowned services. THANKS!

Tags: Arrangements, BEVERLY HILLS, Brentwood, Bulbs, Domestic, environmentally friendly, events, farmers markets, Floral Arrangements, flowers, Fresh Flowers, Hancock Park, Holidays, Hollywood, home, Los Angeles, New York, Organic Flowers, Pacific Palisades, Seeds, Weddings, West Hollywood