With summer coming up on us pretty fast, it made me realize just how long it's been since I talked zero waste. Last year for the entire month of September, I went zero waste (I only used products that were recyclable, reusable, or compostable). It was a project near and dear to my heart, and one that took much thoughtful planning and research for more environmentally friendly alternatives to products I commonly used. When my month of zero waste was over, however, I became a bit more relaxed around certain things. I still attempted to be less wasteful, but found my "reasonable exception" list growing. Being some 8 months after my zero waste challenge, I felt it was time to readdress the question: How zero waste am I?
Read MoreDoes anyone remember the Valentines episode of 30 Rock, when Liz Lemon and her boyfriend go to Ikea to buy a dinning table? Brilliant stuff. If you haven't seen it, drop whatever you are doing, watch it, and come back (the rest of my blog post will be patiently waiting.) I have friend who dread the very idea of going to Ikea. "It's too crowed," or "It takes too long to find what you need," or even "I get lost every time I go there." To anyone who feels anxiety any time someone suggest they go shop at Ikea I have a a quick world of advice: Never go to Ikea on a weekend during a holiday in China. You will immediately regret it and end up walking around with a new appreciation for people suffering from claustrophobia, getting bruised up like a salmon trying to swim up stream, and in the end forsaken your quest to buy bedding for your new apartment decided that the airplane blanket you took of the plane is "good enough." (Someday I'll tell this story in full.)
Read MoreIt's almost Valentine's Day (whether you like it or not). I classify myself as a Valentine's Day Indifferencer but that doesn't mean my lack of feelings for the holiday get's in the way of enjoying pink versions of all my favorite items and V-Day sales. Here are my top picks for Valentine's Day (+my overall feeling about the holiday)
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