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By eliza_cross, on January 19th, 2012%
 Photo of Denver skyline by Larry Johnson If you’ve lived someplace for a while, it can be surprising to discover all the interesting things there are to do. If you’ve joined the January Money Diet, this month is an ideal time to research some new fun and free things to do in your back yard.
Have you ever checked out your city’s Tourist and Visitors’ Bureau website? Here in Denver we have the aptly-named “Visit Denver,” and along with tons of information about sports, recreation, arts, culture, events, festivals, museums and venues all around the Mile High City, I discovered a list of free factory tours: Anheuser Busch, Boulder Ice Cream, Celestial Seasonings Tea and Coors Brewery, among others. I bookmarked this site, not only because ice cream and beer tastings sound extremely appealing, but because it contains so many great ideas for free outings.
Another opportunity to get to know your town or city is to make a stop at your local historical society. While the term ‘historical society’ might conjure up a boring snoozefest, most good historical societies have exhibits that will captivate people of all ages. It’s always fascinating to see how people lived in times past, see what local landmarks are still standing today, and appreciate our modern conveniences.
Speaking of landmarks, when was the last time you toured the state capital or visited the tallest building in town? Denver is home to a United States Mint, and the last time I visited was during a field trip in the 5th grade. It’s time to take my son and let him experience the dazzling sight of money being made.
You can find more ideas by checking out the local travel section of your library. Check out some books and see what travel writers are suggesting to tourists; it’s a sure bet you’ll find some new ideas for inspired outings.
Here’s to new adventures, and be sure to tell us what you discover!
P.S. In case you’ve just joined us, the January Money Diet is a challenge to take a 31-day break from nonessential spending. You can learn more about the money diet here — and jump right in!
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Win a Deluxe Happy Simple Living Gift Basket
In honor of the January Money Diet, I’ll be giving away a gift basket chock-full of home and garden goodies plus a signed copy of my latest book 101 Things To Do With Bacon. On January 31, 2012, I’ll draw one random name from everyone who commented during the month and that lucky person will win the gift basket. I hope you’ll stop by often this month and share your own ideas, thoughts and experiences about taking a 31-day break from nonessential spending.
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By eliza_cross, on September 22nd, 2010%
 Today we’re fortunate to have a guest posting written by Karen Susman. Karen is a professional speaker, author and life coach. She has a gift for networking, as well as a very warm, personal — and often humorous — way of connecting with people. Whenever I spend time with Karen, I leave feeling energized and motivated. Her e-newsletter ‘Next Level Tools‘ is one of my must-reads. You’ll understand why when you read this article, excerpted from an essay Karen wrote after she returned from a trip to Italy.
Dolce Far Niente Right Now!
Palermo, Monreale, Trapani, Cefalu, Agrigento, Corleone. After eight days of sightseeing in Sicily, our bus was heading for Taormina for six days of relaxation. As mandolin music from The Godfather filled the air, our guide, Gaetano Salemi, told us we were going to learn Dolce Far Niente. Dolce Far Niente, he explained, is the sweet act of doing nothing. This is different from lolling about or (horrors) wasting time. This is doing nothing on purpose. Sicilians embrace Dolce Far Niente by sitting in the square or cafe with friends and talking. Just watching the world go by is permissible, too.
If you’re used to racing from here to there and getting great joy from checking items off your to-do list, Continue reading The Sweet Act of Doing Nothing
By eliza_cross, on April 6th, 2010%
 Grapevines in the Golden Vine Winery inside California Adventure This is the final posting about our trip to Disneyland, and our attempts to travel and live green while on the road. As I mentioned in Part 1, my definition of living sustainably is being a good steward of our finances. Since we had five days total for our California trip including travel time, we decided to purchase three-day Park Hopper passes for Disneyland and California Adventure and spend the majority of our time at the parks. This turned out to be the perfect decision for us, and I was happy that we didn’t try to squeeze in trips to Universal Studios and other attractions on this trip; we’ll save those adventures for our next visit to Southern California.
On the day we arrived, we settled into our hotel, bought groceries and got acquainted with the area. Then we had three relaxed days to explore both parks, with no pressure to arrive early or stay late. Most days we walked back to our hotel later in the afternoon and went for a swim.
My sister turned me on to the wonderful site MouseSavers, which is chock-full of insider information about the parks, hotels, discounts and deals. I purchased our Continue reading Our Green(ish) Trip to Disneyland – Part 3
By eliza_cross, on March 19th, 2010%
 Fresh fruit for sale on Main Street in Disneyland Last week I wrote about the travel and planning aspects of our recent trip to Disneyland, and this week I’ll share some of our efforts to live green on the road–as well as our trade-offs, mistakes and dilemmas.
Before we left the urban homestead, I turned all of the thermostats down to 62 degrees. We use programmable thermostats in our house, so after I set the temperature I pressed “hold” to lock it in until we returned. I left one small light on that is fitted with a CFL. A neighbor watched our house while we were gone and he also turned a different light on every night. I hate wasting the electricity, but like most people we have to balance our environmental concerns with security considerations when we travel.
If you’ve been trying to eliminate toxins and chemicals from your life, living in a hotel for a few days can sometimes be challenging. My advice is to Continue reading Our Green(ish) Trip to Disneyland – Part 2
By eliza_cross, on March 10th, 2010%
 Hyacinths in full bloom surround Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse in Disneyland We left our urban homestead last week, lured by the magic of Disneyland. Throughout the planning stages of our trip, I tried to make as many eco-friendly choices as possible — balanced against practical and financial considerations. In this posting I’ll share the travel decisions we faced and the choices we made. In Part 2, I’ll share some of the personal aspects about our own efforts to be eco-conscious travelers, and in Part 3 I’ll report on our experiences within the Disneyland and California Adventure parks.
My definition of sustainable living includes trying to be a good steward of our finances, so during the planning stages I tried to maximize our value on this trip. For the air travel from Denver to Anaheim, I purchased one United ticket for $241 and redeemed one free MileagePlus ticket. For the first time, I also purchased carbon offsets for the energy we used flying from Denver to Anaheim. I’d always wanted to do this, but I frankly felt a little overwhelmed by all of the choices — there are literally hundreds of carbon offset organizations and I’d read rumblings that they weren’t all completely legit. After researching a number of options I ended up purchasing an offset from the highly-regarded organization TerraPass, enough to cover both our air travel and car emissions during the trip. (To offset an air travel trip, go to the air travel page and enter the airport codes for your departure and destination cities. TerraPass automatically calculates the carbon emissions. In our case, two direct roundtrip flights from Denver to Anaheim equaled 1,689 miles or 1,148 lbs. CO2. We purchased offsets for 2,000 lbs. of CO2 and the cost was a surpisingly affordable $11.90.)
Next, I searched for a green hotel. Continue reading Our Green(ish) Trip to Disneyland – Part 1
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