Green is the New Pink: Valentine's Day Picks

I kinda miss elementary school Valentine's Days: mass-produced valentines (of course, my mom helped my sister and me make our own - why wasn't it cool to be thrifty when I was growing up??), covertly passing meaningful candy hearts to the boy you liked, teachers giving up on lessons because the whole class was too hyped up on sugar.  Ah, the good old days.  

If the past two years are any indication, boyfriend and I will most likely open a bottle of champagne to bring out the flavors in our takeout and watch TV - an arrangement I am very satisfied with.  But for those of you looking for goodies for the special people in your life, here are five green/thrifty twists on Valentine's Day Classics.

1. For roses that will last forever, check out the tutorial I found on Pinterest!  Consider using scrap paper or old magazines.

originally found here

2. I received a pack of Theo chocolates in my stocking this Christmas, and I am a fan of their organic, fair trade, sustainably grown concoctions*.  For the adventurous chocolate lover, consider the Ginger Rose & Cherry Pink Peppercorn duo.  If you're trying to show a lady how smooth you are, why not give the Casanova Caramel set?  

3. Tell your girlfriend/boyfriend/bestie/sister/dad/etc what you love about them through Tagxedo.  

this is actually Frida Kahlo.  But you get the idea.

4. With a name like Global Girlfriends, it seems appropriate to buy your gal pal a fair-trade gift from this group and support women's economic empowerment worldwide**.  I nabbed a pair of their earrings - at the local grocery store of all places - that I wear 2-3 times a week.  This Recycled Seatbelt Beehive Handbag is pretty awesome.


5. Love on others: a friend of mine knew his then-girlfriend wasn't really into any of the above items, so they volunteered at a local soup kitchen instead.  What a cool way to celebrate with your family, housemates, friends, or maybe that guy/girl you're interested in...

What are your Valentine's Day plans?

*And no, Theo Chocolate didn't pay me to say this.  They don't even know I exist.

**Same here.

Sponsor a Child: Kolkata City Mission

This is the Bagmari Slum Community, Kolkata, India, July 2007.  These kids are unbelievable.  They bounce in on empty stomaches, crowd into a tiny hut, grab a broken piece of chalkboard, and carefully imitate the letters and numbers we write down down.  They deserve so much better than I can offer in my six weeks here.

Flash forward to 2012, and thanks to a lot of hard work by a lot of incredible people, you can help contribute to that better future.  For $25 a month, you can support a child with nutritious meals, educational opportunities, medical care, health and hygiene training, and the message that somebody cares about them.  For kids who have been told that they are untouchable, for kids who cannot dream beyond the squalor of slums, for kids who have to fight to make it to their fifth birthday, that message is priceless.

Kolkata City Mission has an amazing vision for the program long term.  When you sponsor a child, the organization will send you their photo, personal story, status updates, and periodic communications from the child.  It's easy to set up secure, recurring, tax-deductible donations!

I cannot tell you how exciting it is to be able to help support this little girl who captured my heart four years ago!  (Here's some extra exclamation marks for illustrative purposes!!!!!)  Will you consider setting aside less than a dollar a day to help one of her neighbors?

Guest Post: Be Impulsively Generous

I had the chance to spend the weekend with my baby sister (who is almost 23 and has been taller than me for a decade now).  She works with kids with autism, many of whom are from recently immigrated families struggling to get by.  She herself lives on a tight budget, but I'm always inspired with how generous she is.  I asked her to write a little guest post for ya - enjoy! 

This blog was inspired by my reflections on "simplifying" my life and how I realized that my entitlement to money was just part of the clutter. And one of my best tips for doing this is: be impulsively generous.

Part of the beauty of budgeting conscientiously is that it frees us to allot a portion to just "give away."  This is different from making recurring donations, as my friend Helyn explained, because that can detach you from the experience of giving (and if you don’t even notice it missing, then you’re missing part of the point). 

My friend Paul sometimes empties his entire wallet when there’s a special offering. I felt compelled to do this once for a special offering for the poor at church, before I realized that I had just gone to the ATM and had way more cash than normal.  I hate to admit that I questioned this action - would I have enough spending money for the rest of the month? If I gave only half of it, wouldn't that still be very generous? But into the box it all went, and it was beautifully freeing. 

“Planning” such spontaneous giving helps break down our justification to hold onto our money, and also helps us become more observant and intuitive of others’ needs.  Spend it on a gift to bring a friend out of a funk.  Spend it on a meal for a friend or a neighbor (especially if you have neighbors who call the bushes behind your apartment home). Buy flowers from the man sitting on a gas station curb and enjoy their beauty in your home.  However you give away your money, take joy in the fact that it was used in the best way possible - freely.

Thanks, baby sis!  I've gotten reliant on my debit card, but have started carrying cash after hearing this story.  That way, I'm always ready when I feel that tug to give away money on the spot.  It really is freeing!

From My CSA Box This Week - Kale Crisps

CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture, is a growing trend connecting you with your farmer.  If you'd like to consume more local, seasonal produce while supporting small family farms, this is a great option for you.  For about $20-25 a box, you get a whole mess of  in-season goodies, and many places will deliver straight to your door .   I plan my meals around what ends up in my box, which encourages me to eat my veggies and be creative with new recipes.  To find a farmer near you, visit Local Harvest.  Here's my farm!

This week, I got some gorgeous kale in my box, a hippie food favorite.  As a chip lover, I was intrigued by the concept of chips made out of something healthy that still tasted like something unhealthy/delicious.  I consulted about five different recipes, burned my first batch, tried again, and then came up with this:

Here's what I did:


1. Wash and thoroughly dry kale leaves.
2. Break leaves into bite-sized pieces - tear away from the stem in the middle.
3. Toss leaves with olive oil and a bit of salt.  You'll want to make sure that each piece is completely coated without oil globs, since that will burn - I think that was my mistake first time around.
4. Lay pieces out onto a baking tray and bake for about 14 minutes at 295, flipping halfway through.  (This is what worked for me - I saw instructions from 10 to 20 minutes, from 275 to 350 degrees.  Experimentation is fun, especially when your oven is from 1968.)
5. Take out, let cool, and enjoy, whether you are full-time crunchy or just dabbling in the culture.


These really do taste like chips, except that after consuming a bowlful of kale crisps, you feel great rather than bloated.  Win!


*Update: after playing around some more, I've found that baking these at 275 until crispy works best - no need to flip them.  My favorite way to eat these is with sesame seeds, which you can add in with the olive oil.  Great late night snack!


Linked up at Your Green Resource via Live Renewed.  Check out both for great ideas on living green!

It Worked!

Remember this post on green garbage?  I noticed that my cubicle's garbage bin was emptied every day, meaning that the plastic liner was changed five times a week, no matter how little trash was in there.  So I made a simple sign letting maintenance know I only needed my trash emptied when it was full.  I printed it out to and left a copy by the common printer so my coworkers could make a copy if they wanted to join in.   That simple act set off a chain reaction that led to the formation of a Sustainability Committee for our university office, which is home to hundreds of employees across different facilities.  And next month, we're part of the pilot group for a green office initiative that's set to roll out across campus - and beyond.


To be honest, if I hadn't shared the sign on the blog, I might never have put it on the printer for fear of causing problems or being dismissed as a young idealist.  But since I published it on the internet, where at least five people read my call to action, I felt compelled to follow through myself.  And now, I get to be a part of something much bigger than I imagined.  We're looking at energy management, green purchasing policies, and even composting in the office!  I'm excited to share more about what I learn as the project unfolds.  Internet, thanks for giving me that push.

I should also thank the Internet for Pinterest, which let me stumble upon Your Green Resource and the blog, Sorta Crunchy (gotta love that title).

Eradicating Polio in India...

...may be just around the corner.  Intrepid vaccination teams traveled to the poorest reaches of the country previously considered to be the virus epicenter.  It has been over a year since a new case of polio was reported in India; if this holds true over the next two years, Southeast Asia would be declared polio-free.  Public health: yes we can.

More on the story available here from BBC News Asia.

Repurposed Jewelry Organizer

As a right-brained person, I need to see my junk treasures in order to remember to use them.  Previously, my jewelry box was tangled mess of necklaces, earrings, bangles, and other assorted accessories (with the few "nice" pieces stored properly away from the fray).  I knew I needed a better system.


I also had a wonderful mirror from my Great-Grandma that was carefully stored away.  I noticed that the lattice style frame would work perfectly as an earring hanger.  In one of those kismet thrifting moments, I found a tiny bookshelf discarded from a five-year-old's room for the oh-so-right price of $3 that fit perfectly around the frame.  With a little paint and a few hooks, here's what I now use:

There are lots of variations on this project around the internet; the take-home point is to look for potential in the junk treasures you already have and get inspired to turn them into something useful.  I used the existing knobs on the front of the shelf for frequently-used bangles, hammered tacks into each side for necklaces, and placed small catchalls (also handed down from different Grandmas) on top for rings and bracelets.  If you don't have an awesome vintage frame laying around, consider:


* Embroidery hoop plus doily, as shown here.
* Netting tacked to an old frame, like from a produce bag or basket (like this).
* Any sort of strainer...ok, you get the idea: anything with holes.


Note: I haven't had any issues with the frame tarnishing my earrings, but you may want to be mindful of this when selecting materials.


Do you have a favorite repurposed project to share?

A Different Kind of Calendar

It's amazing how long it takes to clean, and how easy it is to remessify a space (yes, remessify - make that your word of the day tomorrow and impress all your friends).  As with most challenges, a little a day is the way to go.  Enter the My Simpler Life 2012 Declutter and Organize Calendar!  Free to download, the calendar gives you one chore a day to work toward a simplified living space - plus a good-for-the-soul task on Sundays.  Now, if you'll please excuse me while I go sort through the spices, brought to you by my mom and the dozen-plus roommates I've had over the last six years...

This isn't my spice drawer.  Google found it for me over at Faith Works.

Happy New Year!

Welcome 2012!  May this year bring us opportunities to give with the feeling that we have received much more in return, relationships with those who do not look, act, or think like us, and a renewed passion for stewarding the planet with all of its creatures that have been entrusted to our care.  

And some fun along the way!