How to make vegetable broth from scratch + what you can compost (traditionally)

November 20, 2020

One of the things I’ve been working toward since coming back from Ukraine is becoming more sustainable and eco-friendly with my actions.

In Ukraine, eco-friendly isn’t really a thing. It’s not safe to drink the water, so I was blowing through bottled water on a daily basis. Packaged goods are triple-wrapped in plastic (seriously, you’ll buy a plastic bag of milk, which will then be put into one of those flimsy little plastic produce bags and THEN put into a normal grocery bag) and recycling… is a joke. While Ukrainians are great at reusing a lot of things, there is SO much (avoidable!) plastic waste in Ukrainian society.

So, when I got back to the U.S., I put more of an emphasis on being eco-friendly. I’ve always been good about recycling and relying on public transit, but now that I’m driving a gas-guzzling SUV and living in a city that doesn’t offer up the same robust recycling program that Chicago did, I started looking into new ways to scale back my waste.

I’ve stopped buying Ziploc bags and Saran Wrap and use Pyrex and beeswax wraps instead. I carry a HydroFlask with me everywhere so I don’t have to buy bottled water. I bring my own reusable grocery bags to Safeway and Whole Foods and I don’t use straws.

But, still. There’s always more to be done! And, while Flagstaff doesn’t accept most recyclables the way that Chicago did, there is one thing Flagstaff offers that Chicago didn’t…

Composting! Which I do now after I make… vegetable broth from scratch!

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Moving to Flagstaff: A half-assed road trip along Route 66

September 24, 2020

Hi. So. I moved to Flagstaff, Ariz., for a new job!

Everything happened so slowly and so quickly at the same time. Talk about “hurry up and wait,” right? I applied for, interviewed for and informally accepted a job in the span of about 48 hours, then sat around doing literally nothing (except watching Netflix, kayaking and camping) for five straight months. Then, I got my formal offer and had about two weeks to finalize my Jeep purchase, find an apartment, pack up a UHaul and move my entire life across the country. In a GD pandemic.

Boy lemme tell you. Everything that could have possibly went wrong during this move went wrong.

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Duchess and her toys

September 14, 2020

My mom came over at one point to dog-sit Duchess, my sister’s golden retriever, when she remarked “Kelly, Dutch has more toys than you had as a child.”

Well, without missing a beat, my sister was like “Duchess IS my child.”

Seriously, my sister spoils Dutch.

The world’s in chaos so here’s a lighthearted post featuring Duchess and some of her toys.

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My unemployed summer in Michigan

September 9, 2020

Have you heard teamwork., Loote and John K’s song “Wasted Summer?”

If not, you should listen. It’s pretty good. It’s a nostalgic bop about wasting the summers of your youth on doing drugs, sleeping in cars, falling in love and listening to music.

I’ve had it stuck in my head pretty much constantly this summer because, well, there’s a pandemic, I’m unemployed and I’m essentially wasting my summer. It’s just nowhere near as fun as teamwork., Loote and John K make it seem.

I will say though. Like I said in my camping trip recap, the one good thing about this pandemic is that it forced me to get outdoors and enjoy the nature of my home state.

It also forced me to develop closer relationships with a smaller number of people. Because I had the tiniest social circle ever, most of my summer memories were made with Kelly (my sister), Lexi (my cousin), Kayla (my sister’s best friend) and Zach (a friend from high school).

Now that it’s Labor Day Weekend and my summer is coming to an end, I kind of wanted to share a few odds-and-ends of the random (pandemic-safe) things I did during my wasted summer in Michigan.

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Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore + camping in Traverse City, Michigan

August 25, 2020

I guess the cool thing about COVID (jk, there’s really nothing cool about COVID) is that it’s forcing me to spend more time exploring the outdoors here in my home state.

This past weekend, my high school friends Zach and Kevin and I booked what was literally the last public campsite in the entire state of Michigan and went up north to spend a few days camping in Traverse City.

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