Faves – Sustaining Sara

2022 Faves

We don’t always take a year-long hiatus, but when we do we share our [insert year] Faves post two months late…okay we always do take weird hiatus’s but that can change! I just want to continue the trend of sharing my favorite things from the year past and this year is no different.

To be honest, I was thinking about this post back in December 2022. With that bit of information you may be asking “Sara, if you had this post planned so well in advance, why are you so behind and lazy?” And to that I say “lazy; yes, Planned; no.” To be honest this year I was having a hard time conveying my fave items into a post simply because the things that made my year great were not things I can simply give you a link to or even readily available to you.

Take that information with a grain of salt. Without further hesitation, the things that romanticized my 2022, my 2022 Faves:

My House

In 2022 my husband and I bought our first house (can you see what I mean by things I cannot “give you a link to or even readily available to you”)? I wish I could give you a link to your own, personal dream house, but unfortunately I cannot.

All obvious aside, we had so much help, love, and support that lead to us getting the most perfect house for us! We have continued to improve it with our own cozy furniture, bold paint, and appliances. There is still a lot of work to do (kitchen remodel, basement bar installation, installing more electric outlets), but our house has seriously been the most amazing addition to my family’s lives and I do not take that for granted.

“The Window” during Christmas festivities.

Wine

So this one is for the 21+ crowd. I have always enjoyed wine and the past few year my husband and I have become serious about learning about wine and wine tasting. Well this year I have been able to take my knowledge and experience to the next level and now I am a buyer and consultant for a local grocer! This has been so much fun and my desire to learn more about wine has only become more insatiable!

Here are a few wines I recommend:

La Vielle Ferme Rouge: ‘Quality exceed price’ – a wino colleague

Z. Alexander Brown Uncaged Pinot Noir: for a celebrity wine this Pinot Noir is classy and floral, I love it!

Teruzzi Isola Blanca Vernaccia Di San Gimignano DCOG: I was given this in a wine tasting and FELL IN LOVE. Just a great balanced white with citrus and floral notes.

Flowers

I don’t care what anyone says, this is the period in my life were I need to romanticize the little things the most and flowers are a huge part of that. Our house came with a beautiful rose bush of some kind memorializing a pet cat and we tend to keep the flowers healthy and beautiful! Last fall I planted tulips and irises, but with the literal hot-and-cold winter weather, I fear they both started to pop out of the earth just to be frozen in the most recent ice-storms.

Anywho, this summer I plan to plant as many dinner plate dahlias as I can as well as many other pollinator-friendly flowers. Make sure you are following me on instagram for all the beautiful, and sometime unsuccessful, flower pictures!

Well, that’s a wrap for my 2022 Faves. This was was different from the previous, but I would not change it for the world! I have so much to be thankful for and these things continue to make me happy. What are your fave things, people, or places right now? What is giving you feelings of gratitude?

Honorable mention to my lovely partner in life; my husband. He is always on these adventures with me and I am lucky to have him as my best friend.

Spring Thaw and My Fave Paved Trails

Well last week we were talking about snow days and how cold it is, this week I wanna talk about the Spring Thaw. If you are experiencing snow melt, fog, or anything else that resembles spring then you are also getting the ugly glimpses of earth that the snow was hiding all this time. I hate this part. When the snow melts there is mud and puddles everywhere. While I just in general like to stay off the weak ground at this time, it is actually important too.

When possible it is important to stay off trails during the spring thaw. The ground is weak and loose, walking on it can damage the trail and cause intense trail maintenance (something a lot of trails have little funding or volunteers for). That being said; here are some paved Michigan trails to frequent while things warm up!

Lansing River Walk

The Lansing River Trail now stretches all the way from Waverly Road to Old Town! You can also catch it from Potter Park into MSU. Altogether, over 16 miles of paved trail pass through numerous parks and natural areas, as well as Downtown Lansing.
https://lansingrivertrail.org

Lansing Park Crego Park Lansing River Walk — Resting with our hammocks out after taking the Fellas on a walk on the Lansing River Walk!

I talked about in Wrapping Up February how I used to live in Lansing and I loved frequenting this trails for a good hike with my sisters or walking the Fellas. It is also a very popular bike route that my fiancé endorses himself! My recommendation is to start at Crego Park (also a great hammock and kayak location!) and take the Lansing River Walk to Potters Park Zoo! Just realize that some areas do get flooded over as spring is birthed!

Blue Water River Walk

The paved pedestrian path rolls along 4,300 feet of shoreline and connects to the Bridge to Bay Trail. An elevated structure that was once used as an ferry dock provides a fun and different perspective on the river and land.
https://www.bluewater.org/member-detail/blue-water-river-walk/

I have not been able to walk a significant amount of this trail but the views are gorgeous! The Lansing River has nothing on the size of the St. Clair river and while these are both “river walks” they are both so different in their own ways. The Blue Water River Walk is a great example of showing that we can enjoy nature while also returning it back to a more natural state.

All I am saying is that Spring is a beautiful and wonderful time and whenever possible we should be avoiding trails during the spring thaw. Great benefits of the paved trails I talked about today is that many are also bike paths, may have other amenities like picnic or hammock spots, and/or are communities efforts at the rehabilitation and preservation of natural areas. So enjoy and once snowmelt and precipitation take a break we can enjoy the joys and beauty of our favorite hiking trails again!

Love,

Sara

Sustainable Living – Products and Services

Well y’all, this is the post that finally starts to cover how I practice a more sustainable lifestyle. I want to share with you a few products and services I use that help me decrease waste and things I look forward to utilizing in the future. I hope that these are helpful and feel free to click on some of these links for offers to start utilizing the same services!

Things I currently use:

Imperfect Produce

First off, let’s start on something I am passionate about considering my own bad habits. Did you know that rts.com is projecting 80 billion pounds of food waste this year? Yikes. I feel bad about throwing away part of my lunch or letting potatoes go bad (who even has time to let potatoes go bad!?), but there is a substantial amount of good food that cannot even make it to market because it looks funky or is of inadequate size. This is where Imperfect Produce comes in for me. Imperfect Produce gets their hands on the produce grocers won’t buy and not only sells it to you to deter food waste, but will deliver it to your doorstep.

Y’all. I don’t drive. But I love grocery shopping and ugly produce/overstock food items. This service is so convenient for me and I love opening up my box on delivery day. And to be perfectly honest, I have not gotten any of the funny looking produce that they advertise. Most of the items are overstock or abnormal size; for example my favorite item which was a giant 3 lb. carrot! I just love this service and am so happy to always have fruits and veggies to incorporate in my meals.

If you are enticed by Imperfect Produce, check out this link for $10 off your first order!

Who Gives A Crap

I purposely did not make this the first topic because some people do not like to talk about toilet paper, but here we are. Who Gives A Crap is a 100% recycled toilet paper subscription service. Yes, a subscription service for toilet paper. They also have add-on products like facial tissue and paper towels made from recycled materials if that is your thing.

On top of being eco-conscious, Who Gives a Crap is also dedicated to making a social impact. Who Gives a Crap uses 50% of proceeds to create sanitary toilet options for areas in need of them. Plus, they are certified Carbon Neutral and a B Certified Corporation meaning they meet the highest level of social and environmental impact.

I just love never running out of toilet paper while also supporting a socially-conscious business. I really think this is the best way to buy toilet paper as a capable and responsible consumer. Plus, when the shelves were cleared of TP in March 2020 I was un-phased! Who Gives A Crap did not take on anymore customers during the TP shortage, but I was able to keep my subscription and give away this “currency” to family and friends in need. I love it!

For a piece of mind when it comes to this bathroom staple, here is a link for $10 off your first order!

Fillaree

By now you may have noticed that I LOVE subscription services and am in a blessed position to be able to afford the upfront investment of bulk supplies (aka large produce box, 3 month supply of toilet paper). Fillaree is also just like that but is a refill subscription service for soaps. REFILL SUBSCRIPTION. You are sent a container of whatever soap you choose from – dish, hand, body, hair, all purpose spray, and other eco friendly accessories – and you can create a refill subscription where they send you a new bottle and you ship back your empty. Easy-peasy!

Products and Services looking forward:

Dropps

I would like to get a Dropps subscription for dishwasher and laundry pods…but I do not have a dishwasher yet and want to bundle the two. Dropps packaging and pods are biodegradable which I think is awesome. As you can imagine though, once we switch to drops we will look to dropping Fillaree dish soap. For now we are a Fillaree and Charlie’s Soap household.

Girlfriend Micro Plastics Filter

Y’all have not heard about my absolute LOVE for this brand! I bought their leggings at launch (anyone remember that annoying “$20 luxury leggings” ad from 2016?) and am now a devotee to their recycled bottle leggings. As you read this my next order is on the way with my new micro plastic filter for my washing machine! Since we are slowly moving from one house to another I decided this was a perfect time to get a micro plastic filter to do my part in making sure little pieces of plastic crud do not enter our water ways.

If this pumps you up as much as it does me, check out Girlfriend and use this link for $10 off your order over $95.

Compost

No secret, I currently don’t compost. I am learning about household composting and a sustainable practice for my household.

No Buy/Eco Minimalism

I am trying to stop shopping for things I don’t need. These things are filling up my life and are destined for a landfill or the back corners of my closet. When I think of this fate I am pretty confused as to why I spend my money on frivolous things. I DON’T LIKE IT. This will be an ongoing adventure but one that I am sure will give me the piece of mind that I need.

Thank you for checking out things I use to be more eco-conscious and please let me know what products I use that you are interested in or alternatives you utilize! Comment below!

Love,

Sara