I strive for what I call Artful Green Living. This means that creativity permeates my life and green living is my lifestyle. It's not about a laundry list of eco friendly practices like recycling or using cfl light bulbs or buying organic, but a mindset and way of life. I take reusable bags to the market with me as I would drink a glass of water--without really thinking about it. It's pretty ingrained, though I'm always looking for ways to improve. This blog is born out of my creativity and passion to share what I have learned about healthy living and what I have found to make my surroundings beautiful and green in equal parts.
My posts tend to be about vegan foods, gardening, cycling for transportation which I think is wonderful for environment and health, travel which I think is great for cultural and environmental understanding, spending time outdoors connecting with nature, and book and product reviews which facilitate the above.
Not everything I review can be classified as "green" per se. Sometimes it's something that is just high quality that I feel won't need to be replaced for a long time or ever, thereby avoiding landfills. I try to choose vegan friendly stuff, though this is a complicated issue. I'm okay with wool, for instance, depending on the source and treatment of the sheep. Sometimes vegan items are decidedly not eco friendly, such as purses made of PVC and whatnot. Sometimes leather, which is a by-product might be the greener option. I struggle with this and am still finding my way through it all, I long for eco friendly cruelty free options, and I feel they are growing in numbers. I also love multifunctional things. I live in a small space and detest clutter. Therefore, things I choose to go into my home must meet strict criteria, I pass that on to you even though your criteria might be different. Which brings me to my next point--how I feel about stuff.
My philosophy on Stuff is--have as few things possible, but make what you do have the best you can. Quality over quantity. I would rather have one really nice coat than four mediocre coats. Make everything in your closet your favorite thing. If you don't love it, pass it on to someone who will.
I believe in artful green living. Everything in your home, ideally, should be as eco friendly as possible--not just to the earth but to You too. MDF is considered by many to be an eco friendly product because it uses wood scraps, but if it's going to off gas carcinogens into your home, then it's not really eco friendly. I feel that everything in your house should also be pleasing to your eye. Surround yourself with beauty. From a beautiful non toxic paint color to all your decor, you should love your home, it's scared ground. I have found that there are plenty of beautiful green products out there--it just takes a little effort to find them.
Years ago I read an essay by Buddhist Alan Watts about the kitchen. He said to make every pot, utensil, every spoon, and every spatula, something you want to hold in your hand, something from somewhere special, something of beauty and meaning. I took that to heart. It really weeds out a lot of of useless crap when you do this. Don't buy something because it's on sale, buy it because you love it or you need it and preferably both. Pay more for the quality thing, it will save you money in the end and it's better for our earth.
Food-wise, I consume a high raw, mostly vegan diet, though I allow for marginal aberration. I've been vegetarian since I was a teenager and evolved into a loosely vegan diet early on. I do this for health reasons as well as my complete and utter disdain for factory farming. Also, I simply don't look at animals and consider them food, eating a cow for me is as bizarre as eating a Volkswagen. It's not healthy, it's not earth friendly and it's not nice. Alternatively, I'm very excited by the trend of urban homesteading. I think raising your own free range chickens in a loving environment is wonderful though I don't think eggs are particularly healthy. But if you're going to eat them, I believe this is the ideal way. Gardening and raising goats and bees and whatnot is a sustainable back-to-nature thing to do, and smart considering our times. I also eat raw organic honey and think it's important to support organic beekeeping especially in light of colony collapse disorder.
You may also find me at Greenwala, as their Family Editor. Thank you for reading.
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We live in a rainbow of chaos. ~ Cezanne
I have from an early age abjured the use of meat, and the time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look upon the murder of men. --Leonardo Da Vinci
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purely delicious
find eco mama on greenwala
We live in a rainbow of chaos. ~ Cezanne
non gmo project
"He had that curious love of green, which in individuals is always the sign of a subtle artistic temperament..."
Oscar Wilde
I have from an early age abjured the use of meat, and the time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look upon the murder of men. --Leonardo Da Vinci
Pharmaceutical Corruption:
"It is simply no longer possible to believe much of the clinical research that is published, or to rely on the judgment of trusted physicians or authoritative medical guidelines. I take no pleasure in this conclusion, which I reached slowly and reluctantly over my two decades as an editor of The New England Journal of Medicine." ~Dr. Marcia Angell, 2009.
rethinking nuclear power
"Imagine the publicity if someone announced that they have developed a new
treatment that cured 40 percent of all people with cancer. The media would
be jumping up and down. That kind of benefit can be achieved today just by
following a vegetarian diet. Right there you have an answer and no one's
listening."
- Oliver Alabaster, M.D., Director of the institute for Disease Prevention,
George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
treatment that cured 40 percent of all people with cancer. The media would
be jumping up and down. That kind of benefit can be achieved today just by
following a vegetarian diet. Right there you have an answer and no one's
listening."
- Oliver Alabaster, M.D., Director of the institute for Disease Prevention,
George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
eco farm
Love = Art
I tell you, the more I think, the more I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people. ~ Van Gogh
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DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. THIS BLOG IS FOR FUN AND BASED ON MY PERSONAL RESEARCH AND OPINION. THIS BLOG HAS NOT BEEN EVALUATED BY ANY MEDICAL ENTITY OR FDA AND IS NOT MEANT TO TREAT OR DIAGNOSE ANY DISEASE OR CONDITION AND MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT WRITTEN CONSENT.
INTEGRITY: SOMETIMES PUBLISHERS SEND ME BOOKS AND COMPANIES SEND ME FREE PRODUCT SAMPLES FOR REVIEW SO THAT I MAY TEST AND EVALUATE THE PRODUCT. I DO NOT GET FINANCIAL COMPENSATION, NOR WILL I EVER WRITE ABOUT SOMETHING FAVORABLY IF I DON'T LOVE IT AND PERSONALLY USE IT. I AM UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO WRITE A POSITIVE REVIEW, BUT I DO TRY TO STICK TO THINGS I BELIEVE WILL BE USEFUL TO MY READERS AND THINGS I THINK THEY WILL LIKE. I WANT THIS TO BE FUN. I LIKE TALKING ABOUT THINGS I'M EXCITED ABOUT AND WANT TO SHARE WHAT I LOVE. I AM A BIG BELIEVER THAT THE MARKET DRIVES CHANGE AND WE DRIVE THE MARKET. WE DO VOTE WITH OUR DOLLARS, SO LET'S VOTE GREEN AND KIND.