Recycled Puppy!

I grew up with a darling little golden retriever pup named Aspen. Aspen was adorable plain and simple. She ate razors under the piano, stole junior mints from under the tree, brought dead snakes in from the field...but she also broke up fights between siblings, kept watch over sleeping babies and laid her head in your lap at exactly the right moment.

Despite my great love for our papered pure breed golden, I always said I'd get a dog from the pound when it came time to get a pup. There are so many wonderful dogs already out there, why encourage over breeding and puppy mills?

I know adopting a dog can be a little nerve racking but in November of last year, my dog hunt came to an end. One day as I browsed through the classified, I spotted her, a white lab that had been rescued from an abusive home and was living with a cute little family in Heber. They needed to find a forever home for this 2 year old white lab. 8 months later, I couldn't be happier with my little Miss Kayla, the recycled puppy!

Kayla {one of the drawbacks of getting a pre-owned puppy is that you can't pick the name}, Kayla is great with kids, loves other dogs, and is as obedient as they come. In Kayla's case, her neglect actually made her easier to train because she lives for love and she's easily trained with praise. Here's Kayla watching her friend Lenny the weiner dog puppy sleep.

She's so well behaved that she comes to work with me...just another long day at the office!

Buy Local

Living downtown has its perks to be sure. One of the great things about living on Broadway {yes, I live on Broadway in SLC} is all of the great businesses within walking distance.

Here's a pretty obvious one, walking is good for the you and good for the environment. So living in a place where businesses are within walking distance...double plus.

One of my favorite restaurants just a few blocks from the condo is Oasis Cafe. I'll be the first to admit that sometimes local, organic food isn't quite as awesome as a burger and fries at Five Guys. But Oasis has some amazing dishes, including the absolutely amazing The Mediterranean:
Grilled Yukon Gold potatoes, roasted red onions, kalamata olives, tomatoes, feta cheese and hummus, served over field greens in a roasted garlic vinaigrette. Yep, this is as good as it gets. You need a picture to truly appreciate this dish...which gives me an excuse to walk around the corner and eat there. Stay tuned.

I'm also happy to report that Oasis is part of the Buy Local First project. I love frequenting local businesses and I also happen to love their logo. A+ for good design.

Ivy of Ivanhoe

The beauty of this blog is that I am now accountable to my readers {Ben}. When I hop in my SUV and drive to work rather than walk, I feel like I'm letting down more than myself. Which I hope is a good thing, because lets face it, sometimes you need someone to keep you honest.

So speaking of walking to work, I thought an appropriate topic for todays post would be to explain why I love love love my little condo in downtown Salt Lake. And why I feel it makes me a little more green.

The condo, lets call it Ivy since its part of Ivanhoe, was built in 1908. I adore the old character of the building and think the renovation was simply stunning.
Buying in city centers helps to create sustainable cities and promotes quality growth...building up instead of out. I also feel good about buying a conversion property rather than new development. Granted its not as though I'm building out of garbage like this very cool article suggests, but I'm doing something rather than nothing. Right?
Oh, and as an aside, there happens to be a condo for sale in my building. Check out the pictures.

Welcome Greenies

About, oh, two years ago I read an article in the NY Times about No Impact Man. In a few words, No Impact Man is a guy who asked his obviously adoring wife to live a no impact life. I was intrigued and inspired, but after reading the plan I realized quickly that I didn't have the time, the will power or the bank account to make it a reality for me.

In other words, no impact was a no go.

But since that time, I've been able to make small changes to my life that ease my conscience and help me feel like I'm doing my little part.

I love the snowy tips of the rocky mountains in my native Colorado. I love the gorgeous flowing rivers of my once home Montana. And I love being able to grab the pup and be in the hills in 20 minutes in my now home Utah.

But lets face it, I'm not a no impact kind of girl, I'm a city girl. I live in a darling condo downtown, I love new shoes, and I live for travel, music, and time with my rockstar friends...usually at a good restaurant. I'm a downtown girl with a big green heart.

So I've decided to devote this blog to the little things that make us green. And yes, I know, green is a relative term. To me, green is living a healthy, happy life while doing those things that lessen our impact on the environment. General statement? Yes, but the details will come!