An Edible Table Runner for Earth Day
For the past 2 years working with Little Miss Party, even before living in New York City, we have made it a point to celebrate Earth Day. Whether it was a simple setup in the office or a styled dinner for Seri and her friends, we find it extremely important to call out this holiday, to celebrate our planet, and remind everyone to be more mindful of the fact that we have not done such a great job of protecting the Earth for many years...
We do our part in the office by recycling everything we can, shopping for food with local vendors at the Union Square Farmer's Market, and repurposing any supplies as often as possible. For example, if we do a photo shoot with food (like this one!), we make sure none of the food goes to waste by eating it for lunch, letting everyone in the office take some home, or serving it to Seri's family for dinner. If we buy an item for a client's event, we donate it or bring it back to the office and make it into a DIY! Last year we even made these amazing planters with pots we had in the office and used them as a dinner party favor so each guest could bring home their own personal herb plant- one less item to buy at the grocery store = one less plastic bag polluting our environment!
We transformed this idea for this year's Earth Day shoot after Seri found some amazing herbs at the farmer's market. She planted them in her favorite CB2 pots so she can continue to use them while cooking throughout the spring. Avoiding buying the packaged individual herbs at the store is SUCH an easy way to reduce plastic consumption.
These potted herbs came in handy quick when we decided to make a MEGA SALAD BAR on the table in the office for Earth Day. The inspiration was the table runner trend- but why not make it EDIBLE?! We lined the table with wax paper, added the fresh herbs, topped it with all our favorite veggies and locally sourced ingredients.
I thought this was a brilliant idea for a gathering with friends, because I find I am SO picky about what I like to put on my salad and it's not always a mix of ingredients I want to eat when I'm at a dinner party. This is such a great way to host a healthy meal for your friends where everyone can fully build their own salad with only the toppings they like. You can pluck your favorite lettuce from the bed of the table (we used butterhead and romaine) then top it off with olives, tomatoes, cheese, olive oil or fresh herbs right off the plant!
We even found an amazing loaf of crusty bread from a local baker that paired perfectly with the farm stand goat cheese roasted red pepper spread.
Of course, we couldn't resist picking up flowers at the market to add to the table. We placed our favorite watering can on top of a tall cake stand to keep it away from the food and used it as a vase for our tulips and ranunculus. We also potted some flowers from the market so we can keep them out on Seri's terrace to grow throughout the spring!
By the end of the shoot, we were starved... and made ourselves some stunning salads for lunch!
And if you were wondering about Seri's BEYOND perfect shirt for this shoot... it's from Madewell and 25% of the price will support Surfrider Foundation's mission to protect our beaches! A great cause and such a simple way to celebrate Mother Nature.
If you're wondering about simple things YOU can do to stay mindful of protecting our planet, here are our favorite 3 things to do regularly:
1. Reduce your running water: Sounds simple, but we often leave our water running for far too long! Wash your dishes with less water, turn off the sink while brushing your teeth, or limit your morning shower to 5 minutes.
2. Use public transportation: Listen- we live in NYC! Of course we use Uber and drive cars to events when we have a lot of supplies, but otherwise, we are hopping on the subway or walking wherever we can! Leaving your car behind as much as possible can help drastically reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses that pollute the Earth.
3. Recycle: Most modern cities now have public trash cans AND recycling cans. Stop and think twice about throwing that soda can into the trash and wait until you see the proper recycling can.
Celebrate, respect, and protect our planet this Earth Day and ALL days!
xo
Maggie