The year started out pretty slow which is common for online stores just starting out.  There were times when I though about giving up and focusing on my full-time day job.  Running Green and Chic and working was kicking my butt to say the least, and I had a tough time managing both.

Around the same time, personal health challenges forced me to slow down a bit.  I could no longer ‘do it all’ as I initially planned.  It felt like the blog and store was coming to a screeching halt at that point.  As time went by and I was able to manage my time better, and business slowly started to pick up.  I found out what changes I needed to make on my website and marketing efforts.  Executing these changes is not easy to say the least, but change is always exciting. Relocating this past September brought on a whole new set of challenges, but I am so glad I made the move from the Bay Area (where I was born and raised) to Portland, OR.

I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who supported me this past year, and I’m looking forward to what 2010 will bring.

Happy New Year!

As a mother of four, Mary has a deep interest and concern for the state of our world, and for preserving it for the future of our children.  As a freelance writer, she enjoys researching and writing on topics of health and green living, so that she can learn as she helps to spread the good word!

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Biking to work used to be such a foreign concept, but nowadays you see far more people using this mode of transportation. What you may not realize is that jumping on a bike to get to and from work can help to clear your head, make you feel physically better, and reinforce your commitment to be more eco-friendly.

1. Good for the Environment: If you want to do your part to be eco-friendly and give back to the environment, biking to work is an excellent way to do so. You can save on the emissions that a car would give off, and this helps to control pollutants released into the atmosphere. This is the way to go if you want to be green and environmentally friendly.

2. Helps to Clear Your Head: Whether you’re preparing for a big presentation that day or trying to release stress after a crazy day, biking can help you with the mental aspects of your job. You jump on your bike and instantly your head is clear and the stress quite literally melts away. This can allow you to cope with stress better and contribute to better mental health overall.

3. Burn Some Amazing Calories: Biking burns major calories, so if you make the commitment to bike to work at least a couple of times a week you are going to see some results. As you use this mode of transportation, you are also contributing to the calorie burning that so many of us are after in the long run.

4. Beneficial to Your Health: Any form of exercise can truly help to combat certain health conditions. Biking to work will help to lower your blood pressure and cholesterol, and do its part in contributing to better heart health. Bike to your health and you will see right away how much better you feel, and you just might eliminate the need for certain medications.

5. Save Some Money: If you’re watching every penny as so many people are these days, you will find biking to be a very safe investment. Rather than spending a ton of money on gas, biking is free of charge and you never have to worry about paying for parking either.

6. Great Form of Exercise: We all need exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle, and biking is a very comprehensive type of a workout. If you use this mode of transportation as a way of getting to work, you will be in excellent shape and automatically fulfill your daily workout requirement.

7. You Will Be Much Happier: As you are saving money, working on your fitness, and improving your mental health, you will find that biking to work just makes you feel better. You will be much happier as you are doing something good for you and for the environment.

Biking to work is an excellent way to combine fitness with a commitment to the environment. If you take it upon yourself to bike to work at least a couple of times a week, you will be simply amazed at the results.

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M. Ward blogs about how to study to obtain an online BSN degree.

In the seventeen months Green and Chic Blog has been in existence, I have written a few posts that has stood the test of time.  These are still the most searched and visited posts since I started blogging.  I recently edited  a few of these posts to give them a bit of a “face lift” for my new readers.

“I have a headache!” – A word about perfumes was one of my first posts in the “Chemicals to Avoid” series. I wrote this post out of frustration due to constant exposure to artificial presumes, scents and fragrances that gives me terrible migraines.

Petroleum jelly possible cancer risk is sort of a controversial subject because we don’t know for sure if petroleum jelly actually causes cancer, but there are other good reasons to avoid products with petroleum jelly and mineral oil.

Alternatives to fabric softeners Did you know that commercial fabric softeners is one of the most toxic household products used today?  This post goes into why that’s the case, and what you can use as a safer (and cheaper) alternative.

Out of these three, is there anything that stands out to you? I will continue to revise some of my older posts in the coming weeks so stay tuned via RSS or email.

Photo by: D’Arcy Norman

Local. Used. Eco-Friendly. Less

These are the four words I keep in the forefront of my mind when shopping. From clothing  to food, if its not local, used and/or eco-friendly, I wont buy it.  Here’s how I apply “less” to shopping:

Less
First and foremost, I try to focus on buying and acquiring less.  I’ve learned the hard way that having less is more economically and environmentally friendly, especially if an item is not built or manufactured for long-term use.   Though its beneficial from a financial standpoint, for the purpose of this post, my focus is environmental.

Here are a few common items that we don’t need to buy, that only ends up in the landfills.

• Magazines - I canceled my magazine subscriptions a little over a year ago and I couldn’t be happier.  The magazines I collected were full of ads, nauseating perfumed pages, and they took up precious space in my home.  I flipped though the pages to cut out certain articles, photos and words for art projects and tossed the rest (with the exception of National Geographic and a few trade magazines).  Though they were recycled, it was still a waste of paper.  At the time, I was subscribing to  mostly beauty and fashion magazines and I find well written articles, photos and information from fashion blogs and websites without wasting paper – and its free.

• Paper napkins - Investing in cloth napkins can go a long way in reducing waste.  Since used napkins are not recyclable, they eventually end up in landfills. The same would apply to paper towels and disposable cleaning cloths.

• Technical and computer software books - I cant tell you how many antiquated software books I had to get rid of over the years.  They are difficult to hand off to someone else and even many libraries don’t want them (who needs Windows ’95?). If its not available at the library, downloading an electronic version would be the next best thing.  The same might apply to map and travel books too.

• Bottled Water – We all know about this one.  Using non-plastic reusable bottles will go a long way in reducing plastic waste. I do have a case of water in my “earthquake kit” a few in the car for emergency purposes though.

• Processed food – Pre-packaged processed foods can often create a tremendous amount of waste and may of it isn’t recyclable.    Buying produce, bulk grains, nuts seeds and oils, and meat and fish from the counter (instead of the styrofoam packages) will go a long way in reducing waste.

What other common items have you purchased that in hindsight really isn’t necessary but wasteful?

I’m sure we all can create a long list.

Marc Jacobs coat purchased new at 80% off the original retail price.

Previous posts in this series:
Eco Fashion: What is it?
Eco Fashion: Do it yourself – Organic Fabric
Eco Fashion: Do it Yourself – Yarn
Eco Fashion: The Cost of Eco Fashion

For me, shopping for used clothes is the most enjoyable type of shopping there is (and I’m not a huge fan of shopping in general despite my love of clothes). Though the clothes may or may not be made from organic fabrics, buying used is still eco friendly for obvious reasons.  (Even though the coat in the photo above was purchased new at a consignment store, most of what I buy is preloved.)

Consignment is one of the four ways I shop for used gear.  Ill go into more in a future post.

A consignment store is a second hand store where you can buy used (and sometimes new) items such as clothes and accessories, furniture, housewares and much more.  You can either purchase it outright or bring similar items in to sell or trade depending on the store’s policy. Some shops will either buy your items when you bring them in and others will put the items up for sale to see if they will move in a set amount of time.  I have been shopping and selling at consignment stores for years and I have learned a lot along the way to make it easier on myself and my pocketbook.

In terms of shopping, I never go to a consignment store expecting to find a specific item because I know I wont find it.  I usually have a few things in mind that I’m always on the hunt for however.  In my case its jeans, handbags, shoes, coats and jackets – mostly large ticket items. Anything else I may come across that I’m absolutely drawn to would just be icing on the cake.

Part of knowing if I’m getting a good deal or if an item is overpriced is knowing the brand, the quality of the item, if it will still hold up to multiple wearings and washings and so on.  Since consignment stores tend to be a bit pricier than thrift, I have to really know what I’m getting into before making a purchase.

Since you cannot return items to consignment stores aside from trying to resell it, make sure the item you purchase is what you really need or at least want.

Downtown Berkeley BART Station.
Photo credit: hortulus

For a variety of reasons, we will be selling one of our cars in the next few months.  Many of you have probably already taken this step eons ago for a variety of reasons, but in ’09, I am ready to take the plunge.  I have been reluctant to do this in the past because I’m so in love with my 15 minute commute to work by car as opposed to the 1+ hour commute on three different modes of public transportation just to go seven miles across town.

We will still have one car between the two of us so we will have to get used to planning our  trips more. Thankfully he works entirely from home, so the car will reside there most of the time.  The good news is, we will be relocating in the next several months, hopefully to a neighborhood with a decent transportation system and certain amenities within walking distance (local grocery stores, cafe’s etc).  Though we live in the San Francisco Bay Area which offers some of the best public transportation around (at least in California) we happen to live in an neighborhood where its not that great.

For the time being while we are still here, we will share the one car so that I can get to and from work in a reasonable amount of time – at least some of the time, make it to doctor’s appointments so that I wont use all of my PTO (personal time off) at work from using public transit, and still be able to combine trips on occasion (grocery shopping + work, etc).

I wish biking was an option, but my paralyzing fear of traffic even crossing the street, the killer Berkeley hills with narrow winding roads, and limited vision in my left eye that mostly occurs when my body tempeture rises (long story) makes it unsafe for me.  There are some serious weekend warriors that take over the streets up here during the weekends and I hope to be one of them some day.

Keeping with the theme of Green and Chic, I will say that one of the reasons why we are giving up one car is to help reduce pollution and waste.  Though we will still have the one car, it will be driven much less.  Once we move, the usage will continue to go down.

Over time, I will blog my progress here  if I can keep these posts interesting!  If I don’t have much to say, I will just Tweet the updates.

I discovered this great blog from Kim Woodbridge of Antisocial Developement through one of her weekly blogrolls entitled Green LA Girl – Car Free Monday’s .   This series showcases women who decided to be car free in Los Angeles of all places.  Thought I’m not quite ready to start biking again, this blog is still very

I will be putting my car up for sale in the next month or two.  Wish me luck in this economy!

Photo credit: Goodnight Photography

Before a few weeks ago, I had no idea what “tagged” meant, but Ross from Will it Change You? decided to honor me with it. I’m not used to talking about myself on this blog much, so this is a bit of a change for me.

(Lets see…six things about me…)

1.  I have a tattoo on my right ear.  Its something I decide to get three years ago (my first and only tattoo) almost on a whim.  Despite what my mother would say if she knew it was real, I haven’t regretted it, and I actually forget that I have it most of the time – unless I see someone staring at me.

2. I feel like I’m the only Bay Area (San Francisco) native! I don’t think I actually know anyone other than my older brother who is actually from here.  Anyone else?

3.  This is my first blog. At least my first blog that lasted longer than three months. Before this past spring, I never thought I would be blogging.  I was never much of a writer so this is a big change for me.

4. I have worked for over a dozen companies in almost twelve years.  Why?  Besides being laid off about four times, I get bored in my jobs very easily.  I have been at my current job for just a little over a year and I’m already ready to leave!  I always want something new to do, see, learn, explore, people to meet and so on.  My mother has been at her job/organization for almost 39 years and I don’t know how she does it.  She’s been an RN for almost 25 of those years – the ultimate recession proof occupation, so that helps.

5. Hobbies. In the past ten years, I have taken piano lessons, violin lessons,  sang in a professional classical chorus, took a painting class, posed as an art model, dabbled in photography, learned how to knit, improved my sewing skills, ran a 5K, took snowboarding lessons, took up indoor rock climbing, learned how to make soap, and started a website and blog.

6.  I have a paralyzing fear of spiders.  Its a true phobia given I have no rhyme or reason to be this fearful of them. I don’t fear bites, getting tangled up in a web or anything like that.  Its the mere fact that its a spider that that I start to exert physical symptoms of a phobia.  I even fear the actual web of a spider which is a separate from the spider phobia.   Other critters don’t bother me – I don’t even have a fear of snakes but don’t put me in the same room with a spider, even a tiny one.

To continue this tagging game:

1. LINK TO THE PERSON WHO TAGGED YOU
2. POST THE RULES ON YOUR BLOG
3. WRITE SIX RANDOM THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF
4. TAG SIX PEOPLE AT THE END OF YOUR POST AND LINK TO THEM
5. LET EACH PERSON KNOW THEY ARE TAGGED AND LEAVE A COMMENT ON THEIR BLOG
6. LET THE TAGGER KNOW WHEN YOUR ENTRY IS UP
7. DON’T BREAK THE CHAIN (not actually a rule)

Thuy with Green Grown and Sexy
Simple Mom
Lovelyn with The Art of Balanced Living
Jim with Blueprint to Financial Prosperity

My apologies if you already been through this!  I couldnt exactly find six people to tag.  Everyone else I know have been tagged so far (I think).

For the first time in I don’t know how long, I had a little downtime while stuck in a hotel in the Portland area due to unusual weather over the weekend.  I had some time to think about my website and the blog that’s attached to it.  I pondered what this blog means to me, my readers and where do I see it going.

When I first started this website and blog, I had no idea where it would take me. My goal was to have an online store; or at least try my hand at it for a bit to see how it would work out long-term.  When I was told by numerous people that blogging would help promote Green and Chic, I started to think twice about the whole thing since I never blogged before, or read blogs for that matter!

In this journey, I discovered that writing about Green and Chic will not and (for me) should not be just about my store and products.  I think that would be very boring for my readers – and myself for that matter!  Over the past few months, this blog has morphed into writing about my journey into a more sustainable lifestyle and sharing what I learn with others.  I don’t claim to be an expert in the subject of green eco living, but like so many people, its an area that I enjoy learning about.

I had a chance to revisit the goals of my blog and what it means to me.  I’m glad its more than just selling products from my website, affiliates, PPC, and other ways to monetize the blog.  While those things are great and necessary for survival, I want it to be more than just making money online (which wasn’t the original goal of this blog ironically).

I would also  like to take this time to thank all of my readers: the commenters, blog rollers and the silent readers.  There are so many people I would like to thank who has assisted me in my blogging journey, but I know I will leave many people out.

If you blog, has your blog changed, improved and/or grown since your first post? Where do you see it going in the near and distant future? I know these are broad questions, but I would like to get a variety of responses regardless of your niche.

Happy Holidays!

From my own observations, one of the biggest New Year’s resolutions made are usually have to do with weight loss or becoming more fit.  Its been noted that new new gym memberships spike during the month of January, but attendance usually drops by the end of February.  Why is this?    One problem is some people expect  instant weight loss or fitness results. When you plant a tomato seed, you cant expect to make marinara sauce the next day. Another is, people try to do to much too fast and burn out, then give up.  If you never planted a garden before, a good idea is to start with just a few, easy to grow plans then work your way up to a full garden.  Perhaps, they are not doing the right type of program for their body type and are  frustrated when they don’t see results. If you live in New England, don’t expect to be able to grow bananas. You have to find what you can grow in your region and what time of year you should plant it.

Over the past few years, I have had almost all of my resolutions fulfilled within the year.  The ones that didn’t “work out” were the ones I gave up on before I gave them a real chance.  Some resolutions may take more than a a few months or a year to fulfill so patience along with hard work will eventually get you there.

So how do you fulfill your goals?

First, you have to know what you want.  Do you want to go backpacking in Kashmir because your friends want to do it (or have done it), or because this is what you want to do?  Do you want to start a business because your buddies are working from home now and you’re still doing the 9-5 grind even though you’re happy with it?  Do you want to do something only because your parents expect that of you?

Marelisa’s Abundance Blog offers some really great tips in the article: Start 2009 With a Bang: Create a Life List.  This list will help you get a grasp of what you want and how to get there.

Blogger Newbie lists three steps to getting your goals accomplished in 3 Steps to Achieving Your Goals

Monika at The Writers Manifesto teaches you how to beat procrastination and get things done.

Common New Year’s Resolutions

Finances
Do you have a goal to save X amount of dollars a year or maximize your 401K, but not sure how to afford or even do it? No matter what you financial situation is, Get Rich Slowly blog is a must read that offers a ton of practical advice when it comes to  your money.  Articles such  as Making the Most of Your checking Account and Things Its Cheaper to do Yourself can point you in the right direction.  I can literally spend all-day reading some of the various articles (and comments) here.

Ramit at I Will Teach you to be Rich has a lot of money saving tips for those who are new to tightening their wallets.  Tip #1: Pack lunch for the rest of the week can make a great start for many.

Starting a business
Get Rich Slowly also has great advice on starting a business. The section on entrepreneurship is a must read for anyone contemplating that journey.

Steve at My Wife Quit Her Job runs an online wedding linen store with his wife.  Six figure salary aside, he is open and honest about their day-to-day challenges and rewards.  There is also a great deal of tips on how to start your own (specifically, online) business.

Fitness and weight management
Cranky Fitness offers a lot of good articles on diet and fitness.  Posts such as Why the Weight Loss Plateau?  can help you when you’re feeling stuck before you throw in the towel.

Cool Running’s Couch to 5K is one of the most popular and effective running programs out there.  Couch to 5K program gently guides you off the couch (office chair) and hitting the road to a 5K in a reasonable amount of time.  Remember, the key  is not to do to much to fast.

So the keys to successful fulfillment of your resolutions are knowing what you want and why, having the right tools to cultivate that resolution, and persistence – not giving up.

So what are your goals/resolutions for the coming year?