Thrifty Thursday - Upcycled Hard Arnold Palmer Caddy

My Big Craft Challenge entry along with the drink that inspired it all.

Unless it involves knocking a ball through a windmill while avoiding having it sink into the depths of a miniature pond filled with exotic koi, I'm not really a fan of golf. But I am a fan of half-tea / half-lemonade drinks, like the Arnold Palmer. Because we live in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia we have the advantage of buying limoncello from a local distillery.

This place is the bombdiggity.

When going to see the multi-talented Jennifer Maghan play live music there a few months ago, the guy behind the bar suggested we mix the 'cello with their lemon ice with Jeremiah Weed Sweet Tea flavored vodka for an Arnold Palmer that was out of this world. The recipe goes something like this:

Limoncello + Sweet Tea Vodka = Hard Arnold Palmer

This drink was pretty spectacular, enough that we decided to keep the ingredients stocked with the other kitchen essentials. However, our kitchen space is very limited so we had to find a way to store the ingredients so they'd be on hand without cluttering up the kitchen counter. Enter the Big Craft Challenge.

For my entry, I found a vintage metal shower rack. Throw on a couple of coats of hammered black spray paint, use a guitar string as wire to add some beads (some of them made from rolled-up strips of magazine pages), and tada! I now have an Arnold Palmer caddy! Here are the photos. What have you created lately? I'd love to see!

Detail of bead work.

With a bottle of Relax wine for good measure. The basket will hold lemons and limes, while the hooks below will hold corkscrews and other drinking-related accessories.

Something Else Saturday - 7 Reasons to Shop Your Local Farmers' Market

We have one of the best Farmers' Markets in the world. It's cozy. I can buy more than just fresh produce. And I never fail to run into at least one other person I know. Here are 7 reasons to attend your own local Farmers' Market.

  

1. They eliminate the middle guy, which means higher financial returns for them because of direct selling, price control, and regular income. Our local market is right near the library, making Saturday morning trips into town multi-purposed. Families can visit the market, county offices, the library, and the local area museum all within the same two blocks.
2. Customers and producers give each other feedback. Customers know how their fruits and veggies are produced, and what their meat ate during its short lifespan. Really, wouldn't you rather have your cattle eating grass their entire lives than genetically modified corn that's loaded with antibiotics?
   
   
   
   
3. They're friends of the environment, reducing food miles, vehicle pollution, unnecessary packaging, noise, and fossil fuel use. And many of the farmers in my area use natural pesticides, which makes the foods safer to eat as well.
4. Not only does the consumer know where the food that's bought at a Farmers' Market comes from, but the vendors often can educate their customers on other things like how to prepare and cook fresh ingredients versus things you'd buy in the store.
   
   
    
5. Farmers' Markets encourage those who are unemployed (or underemployed) to tap into their talents. Our local market has people who, in addition to fruits, veggies, and meats, also sell honey, birdhouses made from gourds, jams and jellies, flowers, jewelry, salsa, pies, breads, dairy products, pottery, and locally roasted coffee beans. (Obligatory shout out to Black Dog Coffee, which helps get me through slow days.) They also feature a couple of hours of free, live music from local musicians such as our town's very own County Clerk, Jennifer Maghan. When people are successful at doing something new, it raises their self-confidence and encourages other people to re-evaluate their own skills.
   
   
      
6. They regenerate small towns, bringing new life to otherwise stagnant areas of cities and towns.
7. The most important reason to shop your local Farmers' Market is because it stimulates local economy and keeps your dollars in your town. It increases self-employment, encourages citizens to support local business, and even attracts new retailers. Our town has since enjoyed the opening of a new tavern bookstore. That's right, you can peruse new and used books while having a pint of ale, glass of wine, a panini sandwich or quesadilla and a soda, or a cup of Black Dog Coffee.
   
   

And there you have it! What do you like best about your local Farmers' Market? What do you wish they did differently? Can you think of other benefits? I'd love to hear all your comments!