Easy Money

I scream, you scream, we all scream not for ice cream but for some extra cash in the kitty!

The Garage Sale Trail launched yesterday in Sydney, home to the first ever Garage Sale Trail. Last year Bondi brought out their goods and went all out to impress, so much so, for 2011 they're taking it National!

On April 10 2011, all over Australia peeps will be holding garage sales to celebrate community, sustainability and creativity, and all in the name of good old fashion fun!

The Garage Sale Trail isn't just about buying and selling, it's also about getting out and about, meeting your neighbours and celebrating what's special about our community.

So have you registered your garage sale? Do it NOW @ http://www.garagesaletrail.com.au/

And follow them on Twitter @garagesaletrail, I suspect there will be many more surprises to come!

February Wrap Up

It's been a pretty crazy month or so. While slowing down, I ended up being immersed 24/7 in a world of sustainability and environmentalism. I have been on a mission, Mission: Safe Climate. A mission joined by the likes of David Suzuki, Michael Reynolds, aka Garbage Warrior, Charlie Pickering, Julia Zemiro, Adam Bandt, Clive Hamilton, Anna Rose, Catherine Deveny, and the list just goes on....

It's been super amazing and to top it off, I did get to meet not just one but two internationally renowned environmentalists. Booyah! Just gives me more ammo to continue the mission.

A long overdue post - Garden Love

[the cooking area is made from recycled tiles and bricks that has been carefully carved to perfection]

My first friend at primary school is still a dear friend of mine. Believe it or not, I still remember how we met. We were in the same prep class and we were sitting on the floor during quiet time. She asked me what my name was and I asked her what her name was. Her name was Emma. I had never come across an Emma and I went home telling mum I had a new friend called Amen, as going to a catholic school I was exposed to a lot of amens and at that time to me Emma sounded a lot like amen.

Twenty-six years later, Emma and I are still friends. While we live and work in different circles, we always make the time to catch over Christmas and New Year and for each other's birthdays.

So at the start of the year, I headed over to Em and Mick's new digs. They've been renovating for a while as they work full-time. However, the love and dedication they have put into their home has been worth the wait.

What I love about their house, is Mick the green thumb and hands on type of guy that he is, has created a garden haven that steers clear of any nonna/nonno resemblance. Tasteful, modern and very inviting. It just goes to show how fulfilling something can be when you put love into it.

Inspiration comes from Terra Nostra in Campagnia, Italy. Terra Nostra I am told was an adventure they had in Italy where they were invited to a feast of home grown produce and locally farmed meats. Everything about Terra Nostra was about self-sufficiency, a concept that always gets me spellbound.

On Board with Green Renters

What is or Who are Green Renters?

Green Renters is an online source for people who strive to lead a sustainable and ecological existence within the confines of rental property. They run workshops, stalls, presentations and panels with a host of tips, advice and home made goodies.

With housing affordability sky rocketing, more and more people are forced to rent or even moved back to their childhood homes. Along with this movement is also an increased demand for "greener" living as we experience unforeseen climate chaos. So, what may have started out as a side project has lead to exciting developments, with Green Renters only just recently becoming incorporated. What does this mean for this little green chick? Well one of the main requirements for an incorporated organization is there must be a board. Do you see where this is heading? Yes, green chick is now a board member of an incorporated organization. I've never sat on any boards and it does seem quite a mature thing to do, so I am quite excited about it. With their purpose, their mission, encapsulating elements of what Green Chic is about, I continue to see great things for 2011.

Green Food Generation

They say money is the root of all evil, yet it is money that makes the world go round. Go figure.

One of many of the problems I think exist in this world is that we value things not according to what we truly like but rather we base it on the expected value influenced the false belief of celebrity status.

Recently, I was given a book as a result of a tweet (power of twitter, hey?). I was slightly shocked that a person I have never met was so willing to give me their copy. Being someone who can't simply accept a person's act of kindest, I offered an exchange. It would seem for them, they valued baked goodies higher than holding onto this book. No mula was exchanged and we both were left pleased with our new items.

I absolutely adore this type of act and I think twitter maybe just be the way we can exchange goods/services to reduce our carbon footprint. Rather than our collection of useless items taking up space or going into landfill, it is found a home. It is more than just an exchange, the added value comes from learning the history of how the item came into possession. But I guess that's sibjective as while I value knowing, others may not.

What is this book? Green Food Generation - a culinary adventure by Haydon Wood. It's a book that has selected restaurants around Australia who are conscious on how their operations affect the environment. Quite a wordy book but the images will keep you going. Receipes you will find but whether they are nice and simple, one has yet to test. For I, great to know whereever I travel in Australia I'll be able to find quality wholesome food, but will I really travel with this book, probably not. I'll just note down the restaurants and pass it on!

Thanks GreenRenters for getting in touch. The whole experience has been more than just a book.

The good news, the bad news...

So I have some bad news but it's mostly good news. Shall we start with the bad, lets. The bad news is, I'm way busy. The good news is, I'm way busy doing something I luv. Finally, green chick has got her groove back, metaphorically speaking. It's been two years of sacrifices but totally worth it cause I now feel like I'm finally cruising. I'm on a road that has my name all over it!

The news? Well as I write this blog entry, I write it wearing the media/comms coordinator hat for the Sustainable Living Festival. How crazy is that. The role kinda fell into my hands and here I am working with an awesome brunch of people, passionate, intelligent and so chilled. When it's right, it's right as when it's hot, it's hot. Not only do I get to take the reigns of the role, I also get to work on all areas of the festival while expanding my sustainability knowledge. Double win! The program for this 16 day festival is freaking amazing. Three words: David Suzuki Awesomeness.

As I just mentioned, it's taken me two years to get to this place. Finding oneself is a hard thing to do when you have all these outside influences and social norms to fight against in order to think truly for oneself. Amazingly I feel I have grown to be a better person. For every challenge and experience I have faced, I have been able to take something away from it. Sometimes it's been about learning the truth about oneself and other times it's been about coming across people with qualities you don't ever want to have. Surrounding yourself with people you respect as oppose to people you think you should know will guide you into the person you want to be. And everyone is different.

So first week into 2011, all is RAD.

While I don't want to get too ahead of myself, I must say exciting times they are at Green Chic. Thank you sincerely for taking this journey with me and I hope you are inspired to live the dream. No matter what the dream is, it can work but you need to take that risk and be true in what you do. Let instinct and karma guide you.

"If you think you're too small to have an impact,
try going to bed with a mosquito"
- Anita Roddick (The Body Shop)

So long 2010, Hello 2011

It's been nine months since I started this blog and while the blog was a way to document my "green" journey, much rewards have also been reaped. I truly recommend one to start a blog, with not the purpose of selling oneself but as an outlet where you can note your thoughts and share your discoveries. Whoever then comes across your blog, well that's just a bonus!

I was watching an interview with the The Script on Video Hits one Sunday morning, and was touched by the thought behind their new track 'For the first time'.

"Staying in is the new going out, when you don't have money you tend to connect to the things that are important to you, your friends, your family, you realize god we haven't done this in ages, you want to get out you know like twister or an old cheap bottle of wine and have fun in your own home, and we thought it's a great message for people to realize that although times are hard, there is a beautiful upside, you may have nothing, but in losing everything you realize that you're finding each other..." - The Script

...drinking old cheap bottles of wine
Sit and talking up all night
Doing things we haven't for a while
We're smiling but we're close to tears
Even after all these years
We just now got the feeling that we're meeting
For the first time...

While what one achieves is subjective, for myself I feel the changes I have made have been an achievement but I also know there is much more to be achieved. I look forward to 2011 and leave you with this gift from author of "The Art of Being Minimalist" Everett Bogue (click on the below image for the gift!)

This is my new year's resolution/2011 challenge. To be a testament to Mr Bogue's theory.