I was a ridiculously fortunate kid. Not like my family was rich, and my sister and I were spoiled, getting everything we wanted, but it’s safe to say Santa was really, really good to us every year. My sister and I would pore over the J.C. Penney Christmas Catalog every fall, carefully circling every item we daydreamed about…
Product Review: Feel Good With Change Soap Co.’s Vegan Skin Care & Cosmetics
A few years ago, I was working at The Oakland Press and met Tina Ersig who owns a carpet cleaning company with her husband. I don’t even remember how I found out about their company, The Greener Cleaner, but I was so excited about their nontoxic cleaning company that I wanted to spread the word….
Happier Is a Great App. Here’s Why I’m Happier Without It.
The journalist in me has always loved the chase of a news story, whether good or bad news. But as a journalist who’s mostly been out of the game of reporting bad news for more than two years, and a human being, the bad stuff gets to me. I feel conflicted because I love the…
Home Depot Offers Incentive to Switch to LED Christmas Lights (& Why You Should Do it Anyway)
Usually, by this point in November, I am happily singing along to just about any Christmas song I can get my ears in the vicinity of. This year, I haven’t been able to get into it yet though. Maybe it’s transitioning to this warmer weather? Maybe it’s enough other life changes happening distracting me from…
Five Eco-Friendly Uses For Fallen Leaves
I’ve been in quite the transition over the past month or so as I moved from Worcester, Mass., to Denver. As you can imagine, there’s a lot to take in (I really just moved across the country to Colorado? Those are mountains I see on the horizon?!) and adjust to (I can walk to the…
Litterati: Ridding the World of Litter One Instagram Pic at a Time
Every April, I am so excited to see the thousands of people who care about their communities enough to get out and help pick up the litter thrown all around it. But Earth Day ends, the bags of trash get counted and most often, people aren’t out cleaning up litter until the next year. Meanwhile,…
Now on Facebook!
Do you spend a lot of time on Facebook? (Maybe unfortunately) So do I. But I’m always finding cool, informative stories, blogs photos and other fun stuff around the Web and in life that I’m eager to share with the world, but this space doesn’t seem quite right. So, guess what? Drumroll please … I…
Washing Your Face with Baking Soda Doesn’t Have to be Drying
It’s taken me a few years and bouncing between a handful of types of face wash to revisit the more natural, chemical-free, baking soda face washing. I’ve written about this twice before and the initial post about the wonders of washing my acne-prone face with baking soda is continuously my most-read. So for those of…
Get a Workout Buddy, Get Motivation
I have never understood why so many people get into a relationship and get out of shape. If you exercised before, why stop? Don’t you value yourself enough to want to be healthy and look good for yourself even after you’ve landed the person who’s better than you’d dreamed? Well, let me tell you, I…
7 Reasons To Participate In Earth Day Cleanups
Last weekend, I participated for the second year in a row in my city’s Earth Day cleanup. I had honestly been looking forward to it for months. My assignment for this year was cleaning up a baseball field and the surrounding area down the street from where I live. I’m always surprised that I don’t…
A Better Way to Be 