So I almost missed this year’s Ultimate Blog Party. If it hadn’t been for Marly, who found my site (probably from last year’s event) I wouldn’t have even known! Susan and Janet of 5 Minutes for Mom are the lovely hosts of this 4th year event. (Ladies, my sincere apologies for showing up late. At least I brought wine)

Um, Susan, what is a Blog Party?

It’s a way for people to get to know each other in the blogosphere. If you visit this page you will be inundated with great blogs to check out and explore. Swing by just like you would a new neighbor’s house (although not in the way those two lovely thieves swung by my house). Stop by, have a virtual bite and cocktail and make friends.

When you spend a lot of time online, it can feel disconnected, not seeing the people you know so much about. There are a lot of you who have been loyally reading my blog for a while and know more about me than some of my friends. That’s how it works. This Ultimate Blog Party is about engaging and having some conversation.

If you haven’t already, go make some friends at the Ultimate Blog Party!

I want to focus on something happy today, to get my mind off two women breaking in to our home and stealing my cameras. Let’s talk about my beautiful garden.

The first thing I noticed about this house is the garden. Our landlady, Janet, has put 20 years into tenderly developing the most amazing garden. I don’t have the skill or ability to make the paradise she has created, so I’m glad we have it to enjoy.

All through the garden are little surprises, like clay turtles or fairies. We have a few light orbs that are solar powered, so at night, when we’re sitting out enjoying a glass of wine under the twinkling Christmas lights, we have orbs changing colors.

We’ve got flowers, ivy, succulents, lavender, rosemary, birds of paradise and tons I don’t know. It’s my heaven.

Last weekend, after the earthquake, we planted tomatoes, peppers and herbs. My dad had a very green thumb, so I can appreciate walking through Lowe’s and inhaling the intoxicating scent of flowers. Remembering what I had at home, I had to curb my spending to produce. I wanted an avocado plant, and probably will still get one.

Enjoy a virtual tour through my garden. And if you stop by, we can enjoy some wine there!

So if you’re like me, one of the things that’s been keeping you from buying organic is the cost. It seems like it’s so much more, right? I decided to test it out. I bought only organic or natural products today at Henry’s Market and want to compare them next to their less organic cousins.

I’ve been buying organic milk for a while, but initially I remembered the shock. What I paid for an entire gallon of milk I paid for a half gallon. It was an outrage! Because my hub has a keen sense of taste, we’ve been on the hunt for grass fed milk (well, the cows, anyway) in San Diego because the milk tastes better. It seems like no one has it.Today I bought raw milk that was grass fed. It was good but not that different. Plus now I’m a little scared because I read that people get sick from raw milk. I paid $3.99 for it. A regular 1/2 gallon cost $2.49.

I sprung for organic coconut creamer for my coffee rather than cow creamer. (Looking at the website: oops, it’s not organic!)Haven’t tried it yet. It cost $2 versus $1.69 for a little non-organic carton.

I find it easier to buy organic packaged foods or dairy than veggies for some reason, so this was the real test. I found organic versions of everything I buy in the produce section, and the prices weren’t that much more for organic.

• Zucchini: $1.99/# for organic vs. $1.29/pound
• Bananas: $.77/pound vs. $.69/pound
• Ok I didn’t really buy much produce this time. My bad.

Henry’s meats are “natural,” and here’s what that means:

• Raised humanely
• No antibiotics/steroids
• No added growth hormones
• Traceable to ranch of origin
• Minimally processed

I paid  a bit more for a rib eye steak at $9.99 per pound. What are they normally, like $6 or $7 a pound?

So you be the judge. Sometimes organic or natural costs a lot more, like for meats. I’m not sure whether I see the value just yet. If the steak tastes a lot better than regular, I would pay more. Produce was just a few cents more for organic, so I’d definitely shop more in that department for organic.

All in all, it was a good experiment, and one that taught me a lot!