Earth Day (Week)! #3

Earth Day (the official one) has come and gone and I celebrated it wonderfully with the one and only fanciful gal pal in the cinemas, watching "Earth." Disney will be planting a tree for every ticket bought so our outing was both for business and pleasure.  

Today's tip to recycle, reduce, re-use: 

Bicycles!

I really wish I had gotten my bike when I first decided I wanted one. That was back in July, when I was still trekking across Europe (travel stories can be found here) and we would rent bicycles and carelessly cycle to and fro, passing this national monument and that historical artifact.  Then, on the train to Switzerland, I talked to a 76-year old cyclist for 45 minutes and thought to myself, "Wow, if a man this old can continue biking and stay active, I need to start a hobby like that." From then on, I vowed to find myself a bicycle for Westwood.

Fast forward to six months later and I was still bike-less and traveling around Westwood either by foot or by car.  No good. My angel came in the form of my friend Jenn Lim who graciously and generously gifted me her unused bicycle. 

Everyone, meet Ruby. (She's the one on the right.)

She's a beaut, ain't she? Yea. She makes me happy.
Even though it's hella scary wheeling the streets of Westwood, what with our crazy drivers and even crazier pedestrians but everyday, I can't wait to push pedal to the floor and ride around, wind blowing in my hair (but not so much when I wear my wretched helmet.)  I thank God for these pleasures.  These small joys bring so much happiness (to me at least) and people constantly forget about it or take it for granted. Well people, don't!

Oops...this is beginning to resemble somewhat of a philosophical issue. Changing subject...ride a bike! Look how much fun I'm having. Don't you want that smile on your face?

Earth Day (Week)! #2

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

U.S. has initiated today as the day where we inspire awareness and appreciation for this round globe of ours.

As previously posted, I have decided to do a little feature each day for about a week on ways that I recycle, reduce and re-use in order to contribute my bit to helping the environment. Today is about...

Clothes.

Last year, when I decided to travel to Europe and then Asia for half a year, I realized that I had to save up some money. First splurge to disappear from my budget: Clothes shopping. 

It was hard to nip the habit in the bud but slowly, I no longer missed trips to the mall and coming home with shopping bags every few weeks.  Even in Europe, I kept my purse strings shut. Only when I hit Hong Kong did I finally let loose and fill up my suitcases with bright-colored tights and comfy flats because c'mon, it's Hong Kong! How do you not shop there?  After returning home, I also returned to banning shopping from my monthly itinerary. Now, I never crave shopping trips and find it a waste of my afternoon and hard-earned (financial aide) money.

You may ask, "But, Janice, how do you stay so stylish and cute (and humble) without any new clothes every couple of weeks? How do you keep up with the trends?"   

My secret?  I do still get clothes from time to time but they aren't new.  They are select pieces accumulated from various thrift stores, mom's closet, gifts, hand-me-downs and my favorite: consignment shops like Buffalo Exchange. 

At Buffalo's, I can go in with old clothes I no longer wear (but are in fabulous condition and still retain some sort of style to them.  Those Old Navy fleece? Forget about it.  That pair of gold lame ballerina flats? Bring it in!) If the store does decide to take my stuff, they offer me either a small sum of money or store credit. I always take the store credit and then I pick out clothing from their shop with it.  

Buffalo Exchange only stocks their store with the hippest, trendiest clothing and most of them are very good quality.  Looking through my closet, I would say that 70% of my favorite pieces of clothing are from that shop.  I also tend to be a lot more daring with the outfits I choose from Buffalo's since it's often cheaper, I tend to be more willing to experiment with different styles. 

My mom's closet also has some long-lost gems that I recently unearthed. I love vintage clothing 'cause you know no one else will be showing up in that same purple and teal ruffled skirt because it was from a shop that no longer exists.

As I grow older, my wardrobe is also maturing and so I've been slowly updating my closet with more high end, designer brands.  But until I can afford those Christian Louboutins with my own hard-earned money, the leopard print pumps selling for $15 at Buffalo's will have to do.

Earth Day (Week)!

Why settle for Earth Day when you can celebrate Earth Week??!!  Or better yet, Earth Month! How about Earth 24/7?  

Because I, alas, cannot all my time to writing about ways to save our globe (but why not?), I shall try, for this week at least, to devote one entry a day to finding ways to recycle, reduce, re-use.  First up:

Bottles.

Errr..not those types.

These ones.

The New York Times has a sunny little article out about the costs and benefits of water bottles, comparing plastic ones with those made of stainless steel.  

Up until last year, I'm ashamed to say that I was a user of plastic bottles.  I always recycled but every week, I would still use up tens of twenties of bottles (hey, I'm a thirsty girl).  But I finally saw the light when I was traveling around Europe and Hong Kong and didn't have luck to find water everywhere I went nor the capacity to lug gallons of water up the hills to my dorm room.  So I started using a plastic canteen to quench my thirst. And you know what? Best idea of my life.  

With a more durable and sustainable water bottle, you can:

1) Drink water WHENEVER you want! Just fill it up at a nearby fountain.

2) Save money. Do you know how much packs of water in plastic bottles cost? Last time I checked my sources (Sheila), it was $3.00 +$1.20 in CRV (the charge for the plastic bottle) and you constantly have to buy a new box every week. Know how much a bottle costs? Anywhere from $5-$10. Save that extra cash for something that really matters, like that cup of coffee you so badly need at 8 in the morning.

3) Drink at whatever temperature you like.  Durable bottles are far more useful for when you want that piping hot mug of green tea or that ice cold lemonade.  They keep the temperature of the liquids longer and you can buy different types so you won't burn your hand. Yay for pro-choice!

These days, you'll hardly see me without my convenient blue and silver bottle (far right in the picture above).  And I haven't looked back.  Drink up!