Confession: I'm A Documentary-a-Holic.

That's a thing, right?

The first documentary I remember watching was Super Size Me as a sophomore in college. I absolutely loved it and watched it several more times (Partly because I found it fascinating and partly to talk myself out of McDonald’s French fry cravings). I had never seen anything like it – equal parts entertaining and informative.

I was hooked on the non-fiction genre: films, books, and podcasts. I could learn  and gain new perspectives while hearing stories. Gain new perspectives while listening to individuals debate about health care reform or Planned Parenthood funding. Learn while reading about someone’s adventures in local eating. I. Love. It. (I'm well-aware this might make me a total dork, but I've embraced it.)

Since I’m always on the lookout for good documentaries, books, and podcasts, I wanted to share some documentaries that I’ve watched and enjoyed lately:

Food, Inc.

A super-popular film about food that I’m sure many of you have watched. There’s a good reason it’s so popular, though. It’s a fascinating (sometimes even damning) look at the food industry. Its tagline, “You’ll never look at dinner the same way” is accurate. Since food choices are deeply personal, this documentary is a great, albeit challenging, one.

Tapped

Do you drink bottled water? Want to learn some ridiculous facts about bottled water? How few plastic water bottles are actually recycled? How bottled water is less regulated than tap water? Watch this movie. Even if you’re a tap water aficionado, you’ll learn something from this. Or at least be motivated to speak out about issues of water and ponder whether drinking water is a right or a commodity to be purchased.

Run Granny Run

A beautiful, refreshing film about an endearing 94-year-old woman who inspired me in ways I can’t even explain. She walked across America at the age of 90 to raise awareness about the influence of big money in campaigning and politics. Then she entered the political arena for the first time by running for the U.S. Senate at the age of 94. She is a feisty, remarkable woman. A 94-year-old activist: you’re never too old to stand up for what you believe in.

Street Fight

Sigh. I cannot say enough about how excellent this film is. It follows the story of Cory Booker as he runs for mayor of Newark, New Jersey. He is straight-laced, Oxford-Harvard-Stanford-educated vegetarian good guy who runs against a longtime mayor who’s arguably corrupt - pitting police, businesses, and all resources against Cory. It’s an inspiring, frustrating, and captivating film.

King Corn

A food film that takes a look at how corn, a heavily subsidized crop, permeates almost every food we eat in America. Two rather entertaining guys plant an acre of corn in Iowa, then follow the corn as it is processed. It’s ridiculously funny and quite eye opening.

Inside Job

Another popular documentary, this film will probably make you a little bit mad (both in the 'angry' and 'crazy' sense). It’s about the bank bailouts, the economic fallout, and the people who got us there. It wasn’t my favorite, but it was very interesting (and maddening-slash-saddening), and won plenty of accolades, so you should probably check it out.

Let’s swap. Any documentary recommendations for me?

So Fresh and So Clean Clean.

Laundry is one of my favorite chores to do. Weird? Maybe. Here are six tips to make laundry day a tad more eco-friendly.

1. Line dry | I stopped doing this for a while, because, well I am lazy and we had free laundry. I am so happy I've started this again in the recent months. It takes very little effort and makes me so very happy. For more on how I line dry inside check out this post.

2. Soap nuts | OH EM GEE. Get some of these and get them NOW. I am amazed that something this natural could actually work, but, they so DO. Soap nuts grow on trees and you toss them in your laundry in a little linen bag. After a few loads of laundry, the soap nuts break down and you can compost them. How awesome is that? Check out their website for more info!

3. Dry cleaning shmy cleaning | I wash EVERYTHING in the washer - including my wool winter coat, dress pants, and bras. As long as I use cold water and line dry, it works great! Wool is a natural fiber, so it can be wet. Dry cleaning processes use TONS of nasty chemicals, anyway. Yuck.

4. Wash full loads | If you wash smaller loads, you waste water. And we don't like wasting water.

5. Don't wash clothes unless they're dirty | Wear your clothes as many times as you can before you throw them in the washer. Simple, right?

6. Wash with cold water | Most clothes can be washed in cold water, which uses way less energy.

The best part about all of these? They'll save you money, as well!

On Earth Hour, Michaels, and Other Tomfoolery.

My weekend....in Six Morsels.

(Since you're in on my six obsession now, I'll be randomly posting with six morsels. Yum, morsels.)

1. A China-free shopping trip to Michaels craft store left me frustrated and angry. With a 25% off coupon in hand, I eagerly skipped into the store, determined to get some adorable goodies.

I left 45 minutes later, with this:

I spent, like, $3. At least this no-more-Made-in-China extravaganza will make me spend less money. Sheesh.

My 45 minutes in the store went a little like this:

At first...

Lah lah lah. I love pretty things. Oh, look! Martha has some adorable baker's twine. Yay!...Oh, silly Martha, it's made in China. Well, how about this cute adhesive ribbon? Hmm...more made in China. Oooh, cute paper tags! PleasedontbemadeinChinapleasedontbemadeinChina... Boo! More China.

Later...

Darn you, Martha. You're so great, why would you source nearly EVERYTHING from China or Taiwan? You make me sad. Well, how about some scissors? Fiskars!...are all made in China. Great. Why did I decide to do this? No one will know if I...no! Ashley! Stay strong! Fiskars, how the heck can you charge $13 for a tiny, tiny pair of scissors from China? They probably cost you like 30 cents to make, you little thief. I shake my fist at you, Fiskars.

Finally...

Time to check out. All I have are these pins. Made in Malaysia. Whatever, at least I've lived in Malaysia. And it's not China. Wait, let me dig through this pile of adorable ribbons...China...China...China...(x 1,000)...Finally! Brazil. That will do. Here you go, cashier, your stupid store should be called Michael's Stuff from China. I hate life. Bleh. Oh, wait - a 40% off coupon? In that case, I'll be back next Saturday - plan on a frustrated and frazzled Ashley.

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2. For my grandpa's birthday, we went to an Italian dinner put on by the Sons of Italy. Combine Sons of Italy and Knights of Columbus and you get a lot of adorable old Italian men named Guido who have the secret recipe to the sauce.

One of my 3-year-old cousins took a liking to photography, leaving me with dozens of shots like this:

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3. We participated in Earth Hour, an hour when people all over the world turned off their electricity for one hour. I love candles, so I was all about this...

Using a camera doesn't count as electricity does it? Shoot.

We sat out on the front porch, Mike playing his guitar and me with my feet propped up on the railing. Drinking up the 60 degree weather and enjoying his music - it was a perfect opportunity to savor spring.

Until...the rat sighting.

Yes, apparently that's why our basement literally smells like crap. There are rats living in the space between the first floor and basement. And they crawl in under our front porch. Awesome. Reason #483 I'm glad we're not homeowners. Someone else can figure out how to get those little suckers out.

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4. We watched nearly the entire third season of How I Met Your Mother. An excellent, excellent show if you've never watched it. So much like my favorite show, Friends, only there's a YOUNG MARRIED COUPLE. (!) Unheard of on most sitcoms, they are so adorable and my favorite part. I dismiss all the crazy amounts of casual sex on Friends - but it's kind of awesome to see a couple that doesn't have to be depressingly unhappy or slut-faces or whatever. Just complete and total adorableness. Plus, the rest of the show is hilarious. And filled with slutiness, so you can still get your fix if you like that sort of thing.

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5. Two hours in Urgent Care on Friday (a long, weird, night guard-swallowing incident - something that would only happen to me), and I left with an order to suck on cough drops. Or go to the ER. It was my choice.

I chose cough drops, obviously. It was a happy ending.

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6. Sewing has officially taken over my life. I blog less, I cook less, I read less, I see Mike less, and I dream about fabrics now. I have half a dozen sewing books checked out from the library. It sounds sad, but I've never been more excited to get home and work on my projects. Between that and my Photoshop class, all my downtime is spent creating. Which I love. Putting my creativity to good use has been a gigantic blessing this year. I can't explain how happy it makes me to be able to create and share.

While it makes me really sad that I haven't quite figured out how to balance this with blogging and personal life, I'm working on solutions. Maybe getting a part-time instead of a full-time job would be a possibility - leaving me with, *gasp* free time once again. Stay tuned and remain patient with me.

Meanwhile, check out my latest sewing obsession - little card wallets!

Available (or soon available) in my shop.

I have been using these myself, and am in love with how small and convenient they are. We went to a pub on Saturday, and I just threw my ID, a tiny bit of cash, and my credit cards in there. Better than sticking it in my back pocket an hoping it doesn't fall out. (Let's face it - I have every reason to be afraid of things falling out of my pockets!)

Worth it Wednesday: Let's Get Something Straight.

My hair is a crazy animal, and I never quite know what to do with it. I usually go with curly, as it's quicker. However, I recently purchased a new straightening iron that might change some things...

IONIC NANO SILVER TOURMALINE CERAMIC STRAIGHTENING IRON*
[Kudos to Sarah for suggesting I do a Worth it Wednesday on this!]

Worth: It's currently $67.49 at Target.com (with free shipping!). I just snagged it for $29 on clearance at TJ Maxx, though. [Can I get a "Woohoo" for clearance?]

Works For: Thick, thin, wavy, straight - this little gem tames it all. Not for bald people. Or babies.

What I Love: It can get insanely hot. Like 395 degrees. Woah, baby! The best part? It cut my normal straightening time from 45-60 minutes to FIFTEEN MINUTES. This means I might actually spend the time to straighten my hair now. Also, speaking personally - most hair straighteners don't do a great job on my wavy, thick hair (we're talking it gets wavy again an hour later.) This actually works! And for much less than a Chi.

A few more highlights:

• Includes Heat-Resistant Carrying Pouch (Cute and silver!)
  
• Made of Ceramic
• Features Instant-Heat Recovery System
• Features 30-sec. Heat Up
• Automatic Shutoff (good for energy and my absentmindedness)
  

What I Wish: It could be even hotter and I'd be happy. But my hair probably wouldn't, so I guess it's good.

{Side note} I'm always on the fence as to whether it's better for the environment for me to use hair products or straighten it. On one hand - there's packaging waste and chemicals, on the other hand - there's energy usage. Sigh. I'm probably the only person who weighs things like this. But completely au natural is not an option, unfortunately. I have wild-crazy-frizzy-unpredictable hair that isn't so appropriate for work. And now I'm blathering on about my eco-anxiety. Apparently this is what you guys will be subject to in the wake of all the election excitement: Get excited!

*The more syllables and adjectives, the better the product, apparently.

Asparagus in January

As I mentioned, I've recently read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.

Now, this might sound dramatic:

It pretty much changed my way of thinking about food and farmers.

I've lived in a lot of places. The capitals of Thailand, Malaysia, and Hawaii, to be specific. (As well as smaller cities in Ohio. Can't forget those!) I've visited more than a dozen other countries. I love cities. LOVE. Love the thriving masses of people in the streets. Love how you can get a chocolate sundae at 2 in the morning. (Or, in the case of my prom night, get greasy pad thai at 2 in the morning.) Love how there's always cultural activities, progressive people, and unique, funky stores.

I love cities. To the point where I'm a bit of a snob, actually. Country bumpkins and rural farmers, psh. "How cute!" I cried when my friends in the Hawaii exchange program told me they had never ridden a bus (or any public transportation) and didn't know what to do. Secretly, I was thinking Oh man! Are you serious? So glad I'm a city girl!

When we honeymooned in Vermont on a few farms, I noticed a difference in their rural folks. They were progressive, well-spoken, and there was no back-country drawl. How interesting! But I went on my merry little way, with a slight sense of condescension for those country kids back in the Midwest.

Now, Barbara Kingsolver has called me out. She challenged my attitude and pointed out how most of the media and culture is like me and favors the densely packed cities, while disdaining the country folk. Those "country bumpkins" are the ones who feed us ALL. How dare I look down on them, where would I be without them? For shame, Ashley!

That really strikes me. Those farmers, the ones who I feel sorry for because they're "so much more sheltered" than I? They're the ones who are working their butts off so we all can EAT. And the Lord KNOWS I love to eat. :) So I'm changing my ways!

Sometimes it's all to easy to forget where our food comes from. We just expect there to be fresh produce in the grocery store. Year round.

I've decided (again, Barbara coerced me into it!) to try and make a modest effort to pay attention to what I eat. No more out of the country produce. No raspberries in February or kiwi, probably EVER. In fact, we're going to even make an effort to eat as locally grown as possible. I mentioned in November that every Saturday morning we head to the farmer's market. This time of year, we can still get some things from the farmer's market - Amish cheese and butter (heaven. fatty heaven, but HEAVEN), some potatoes, onions, garlic, maple syrup, and citrus fruits (not local, but comes from Florida, not TOO far away).

It's been completely crazy to realize that everything has a season. I was so unconnected with my food that I had no idea what was harvested when. Except, of course, that pumpkins and apples are in the fall! Here's to country lovin'...

only love, mr. farmer!!


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PS: We passed the 1,000 visitors mark! Yippee!!

The Answer, My Friend, Is Blowin' In the Wind

We don’t use a clothes dryer because we’re cheap. We can also claim that we want to reduce energy usage. ☺ Instead of using the dryer for our clothes, we bought an indoor clothesline from Ace Hardware and mounted it in our second bedroom/study/storage area. We also have one of those expandable drying racks. We either open the window or turn on the fan in the room. I've never had a problem with clothes drying inside, even in the winter! We can dry two loads of laundry between the line and rack. It takes about 10 minutes to hang up and a few minutes to take down. It’s really not too hard and since dryers use a TON of energy, it’s worth it. The trick is to take your clothes down before they're completely dry so they don't get that stiff cardboard feeling. Your clothes will as soft as from the dryer!

The Obligatory DUH Post

If you haven’t done this yet (or at least heard of it…), it’s safe to say you’ve been living in a box. Plain and simple: get CFL bulbs. There’s all kinds of statistics like how they save tons of money, reduce CO2 emissions, and yada yada yada. Point is, this is easy and affordable and really makes a difference. The light can be more white and difficult to get used to at first, but then remind yourself to stop whining and suck it up.

We bought a few packs with our many, many, MANY gift cards from our wedding – instead of throwing away the conventional light bulbs already in our apartment, we simply placed them all in a box (So we can take our CFLs with us when we move out, and replace them with the regular old light bulbs. Sneaky, eh?) Utilities are included in our rent, so we’re just doing this out of the goodness of our hearts (You could also call it eco-guilt. Is that a legitimate term?)

Must. Have. Coffee.

In elementary school, I loved the smell of coffee. When I'd go to the grocery store with my mom I'd sneak a few coffee beans from the coffee aisle and secretly enjoy their smell all day. I have loved coffee ever since high school, when I discovered Nescafe living in Malaysia (yeah, not the most gourmet coffee. Shut up.) Then I discovered Coffee Bean and Starbucks and Gloria Jeans and I was hooked. Espresso, lattes, and macchiatos, oh my! Mmm. I still absolutely love coffee, but I try to make socially and environmentally conscious decisions about my addiction.

Fair Trade: Coffee growers are mostly in developing countries and can be compensated with reallly unfair, crappy prices for their coffee. Fair trade means they are given much better returns. So no more unfair corruption. Or...at least less.

Shade Grown: I just learned about this one! Did you know that for many coffee plantations, rain forest may be torn down or at least damaged? Shade grown means they harvest coffee beans among the plants that are already there - so no deforestation. :) Everyone wins, even the workers, because wouldn't you rather work in the forest than in a field under the hot, hot sun??

Organic: Safer for the workers, for the environment and for you.

Locally Roasted: Good for local economy, less CO2 from travel, and tastes better.

Enjoy!