In October of 2008 I launched this blog with the name Green Leaf Reviewer.
This thing started out as a place I could share environmental awareness as seen in pop culture, to review products and services touted as Green, and share personal stories of the eco efforts that I was making as well as a slew of artists and businesses.
Over the past 8 years I have enjoyed writing under the original premise of this blog. But now that I'm working as a full-time writer I find writing on the side impossible. So to do it I have to be really excited about the subject matter.
Not to mention, eco-mindedness is fairly mainstream these days. Consumers are smarter, they care about the planet and their own environment. Reviewing a product for green isn't as important to shoppers these days. And, to be honest, it isn't as important to me.
What I want to know is how I can make all those items myself? How can I eliminate chemicals from our lives, our house, our immune system. I like making stuff and experimenting.
So instead of shutting this blog down I'm shifting the focus, and the name, to something much more me.
Welcome to City Raised Hippie.
The other night at happy hour with some friends we spent some time defining who we are - the gamer, the hipster, the dork - and then I easily uttered:
"I'm pretty much a hippie."
At first I wondered if it was okay to say that. I live in the suburbs, have a pool, don't even have 1 goat. But as I thought more about it I realized that while I might enjoy some of the comforts of modern living, I try my best to make our life as natural as possible.
And I usually do it with love.
So, yeah, I think I am a hippie chick, with an edge.
I'll make my own laundry detergent, beauty products, shop in thrift stores for clothes, eat organic whenever possible, and as we do renovations on our home most of them will be to increase functionality and energy efficiency. Not to mention my husband has a huge garden planned so we can grow our own food.
Yup, even here in the desert, in the middle of one of the top ten largest cities in the United States, I learned it is possible to live a more natural, planet conscious life.
Thanks for stopping in and I hope you enjoy reading about my green journey!
Get started here.