A Ravishing Radish

We put together a flat of plants to show off one of my favorite “Very Veggie Sea Salt”bags... the radish! Our embroiderers have stitched the radish design and made it a work of art. It is truly amazing how they can stitch a design with a needle and thread and make it look like a painting.

We even named it “Ravishing Radish.  Others designs that the embroiders have stitched into works of art, we’ve named as well.... Pinup Girl Tomato and Endearing Corn. Our designs were inspired by the desire in today’s market for good, fresh, healthy eating. Our tag even explains how our “Very Veggie Sea Salt’ enhances the natural goodness of vegetables.

They make a great gift for anyone who loves Farmer’s Markets and other Foodies. 

The Sal de Margarita spirit

We love every one of our Sal del Mar bags that we have designed over the past six years since we started Sal del Mar. Each of our bag designs have been hand-embroidered by a group of women in the small village in the Sierra Madre, Occidental, Mexico who benefit from the sale of Sal del Mar. What is amazing is that no matter how many they make, each one has been embroidered with special care and displays their artistic talent and craftsmanship.  The detail and colors are so exquisitely done. We think it captures “the margarita spirit.” 

We celebrate our Sal de Margarita... and on Monday celebrate National Margarita Day! 

For the foodie on you holiday list

We have put together a pasta gift-basket idea that any Foodie would like. We started with a wire basket that we found at Bon, a gift boutique in Tucson. Of course, our gourmet sea salt is the first element we added. We have learned that salt/Sal del Mar is an essential ingredient for the pasta water or the entire dish will taste under-seasoned.

The hard part was deciding what other ingredients to add because the list of great pasta products is limitless. We choose breadsticks, tomato paste in a tube, olive oil, artisan pasta and wooden utensils to toss the pasta. Shop around to find lots of different ingredients and place your order at Sal del Mar to select one of our embroidered bags. Just add a tag and a bow and it will make a great gift ... even for the non-foodies. 

A painting worth a thousand words

Our Sal del Mar mermaids have gathered for tea at the Sal del Mar Tea Room wearing their Holiday hats to remind everyone that our hand-embroidered bags make the perfect Holiday gift. The reason they look so excited is that they want everyone to know that there are many hand-embroidered bags to choose from: palm trees and sea creatures.. a slice of lime and a garland... a mermaid with a shell fan... a mermaid wearing a Holiday hat... and even a huge fish.

This whimsical painting shows off part of the fun we have a Sal del Mar. It started with just a glimmer of an idea forming in my head. So.. I called up Paula Hamilton, who is the artist for Sal del Mar, and we exploded with ideas between each other. This one began with a story we made up of our mermaids who came ashore and because the Holidays are coming they decided to have a tea party to discuss it. Then Paula created her magic and made the idea even better.

Remember they make a great hostess gift for Thanksgiving... and they're already wrapped!.

Salty gift idea

We are always finding gift ideas for our Sal del Mar hand-embroidered bags. (Of course, they are the perfect gift just by themselves). So... recently we decided to start "listing" ways to combine our Sal del Mar bags with other items to make a special gift. We even created a new category on our website, called "Salty Gift Ideas." This is one of my favorite ideas. It is simple and easy to create with just a few items: a hors d'oeuvres plate (many to choose from either on line or at local gift boutiques); a cheese spreader; one of our hand-embroidered bags; and tie it all up with a ribbon and tag.  A perfect gift for a Thanksgiving host or hostess.

A summer find

This tractor and gardener were one of my favorite "finds" this summer. I loved the setting of the 12-acre Powell Gardens in Kingsville, Missouri and all the many edible gardens (it is the nation's largest edible landscape).  But on top of all that, I discovered that the tractor, kneeling gardener and 12 other scenes like it were not "real" but actually built with LEGO bricks by sculpture artist, Sean Kenney. 

I liked the signage throughout the gardens too, such as the one near the kneeling gardener that points out "that gardeners have a longer life expectancy than average. That's because gardening is one of the best physical activities around, especially for mature adults."

It seemed only fitting that Sal del Mar's Very Veggie Sea Salt should be next to gardener planting seeds for the Summer and Fall harvest.

For more information on the Powell Gardens, go to www.powellgardens.org. Look for the Harvest Celebration & Antique Tractor Show on October 2-4.

Let summer begin

We love all these photos from our travels to farmer's markets across the country last summer. The beautiful bounty reminds us of what is soon to come and we are full of anticipation of summer beginning. Remembering last summer's plates of sliced tomatoes that need only a pinch of our Sal del Mar gourmet sea salt.

Our new Sal del Mar "Very Veggie" sea salts: Ravishing Radish, Pin-up Girl Tomato and Endearing Corn will enhance all vegetable's natural goodness. They will make great hostess gifts to take to your Memorial Day BBQ. See them in our Shop.

Introducing our Very Veggie Gourmet Sea Salt

Endearing Corn-on-the-Cob

Ravishing Radish

Plump and Juicy Tomato

Spring is here and we can't wait to show off our new Sal del Mar hand-embroidered bags. The designs are inspired by the irresistible display of vegetables soon to be seen in our Farmer's Markets and in our local grocers.  We have in fact named them:  There is our Ravishing Radish, our "Cover Girl" Plump and Juicy Tomato and our Endearing Corn-on-the Cob.

Each design is truly a work of art that our embroiderers have painted with thread. Of course, Our Very Veggie Gourmet Sea Salt is the same salt we are known for and use in everyday cooking or for crusting the rim of a cocktail glass. We just wanted to show off Sal del Mar and how it is ideal for sprinkling on fresh vegetables to enhance the flavor of their natural goodness.  You'll want one for your own kitchen or for giving as gifts to your gourmet friends (Our Very Veggie Gourmet Sea Salt makes a great Mother's Day gift - tie up our embroidered bag with twine on top of a new cookbook!)