Empowered Women International Event

Empowered Women International Event

A couple weeks ago Ansell and I attended a special shopping event at One Thousand Villages that was hosting Empowered Women International.

One Thousand Villages is a fantastic store that specializes in Fair Trade goods. All the items sold in the store are Fair Trade and really unique.

At the event, One Thousand Villages donated 20% of all proceeds sold that evening to Empowered Women International. I had been wanting to get some Christmas presents there anyway and liked being able to ensure a chunk of the profits went to my old internship non-profit EWI.

It was also great because I got to see Marga, the founder, there and finally introduce her to Ansell.

All in all we had a great time shopping and got our Christmas stuff done early!

Afterwards we went to a Bluegrass bar and listened to some live music.

Art Festival in Old Town

Last Sunday while Ansell while out getting drunk with his college program on a winery tour I was enjoying the big Art Festival in Old Town.






I started the day off with brunch at my new favorite brunch place Bread & Chocolate. For $15 you get tea or coffee, juice, a breakfast entree, and a little basket of baked treats from their bakery. I really love the omelette there. It's delish!

The Art Festival was huge and extended several blocks down King St and traffic was blocked off. They had various different artists but I was only impressed/interested in about 5 of them. 

However, I was really glad that we get to have events like this and throughly enjoyed myself!

By the way, I looked fab with slicked back hair, a fedora, and red lips (although mostly worn off after brunch). :)

Alexandria Farmer's Market

I woke up early last Saturday and decided to hit the local Farmer’s Market before work.

The farmer’s market in Alexandria is, of course, super cute. It takes place at the back of the Alexandria City Hall where there is a community area and large fountain/pool.

The farmer’s market has produce, flowers, artists, and other food stalls. I got decked out in my summer gear complete with big hat, large sunglasses, light cardigan, and cotton dress.

It was already 90 degrees at 8:00 that morning and the sun was pretty harsh. So, I was happy to have a light cardigan and hat to protect my skin from the sun.

Here is my favorite produce stall and I got some giant tomatoes, a squash, a zucchini, giant peaches, apples, cherry tomatoes, and a big watermelon.

I also got local yogurt from a yogurt and cheese stall.

Until Ansell comes back (August 13^th evening!) I will be going on a diet. No meat, one cooked meal a day, fresh fruits and veggies the rest of my meals, and only fruits, veggies, and some yogurt with limited grains.

I also got a heavy-duty antioxidant green tea that I’ll have daily and bolster the whole diet with V8 and LOTS of water.

So far, I’m really enjoying it! It’s kind of a relief to know that you can only have these certain types of food and all you have to do it slice it up and eat up. The produce itself is so delicious that it only takes a touch of seasoning. :)

One of the best things about going to a Farmer's Market is that you are supporting local business. It is more expensive but you don't have to do ALL your grocery shopping there. Get some of your favorite produce from a Farmer's Market and supplement it with Trader Joes. Either way you're supporting local produce!

Bon Appétit!