Not literal rockstars, but Larry’s Beans Coffee is pretty close to stardom, and they are a crown jewel in the Triangle’s hip and green market.  Yesterday,  I noticed a full-time job opening at Larry’s Beans as an Account Manager.

Larry’s Beans coffee is organic, fair trade, kosher and a plethora of other fantastic certifications.  The beans are roasted here, they have a cool bus, and their coffee is as awesome tasting as their names are fantastically whimsical. Seriously, who can pass up a cup of “El Salvador Dali”, “Bean Martin”, “Frank Sumatra”, or my favorites, the “3 Moon Peru” and their holiday blends.

These coffee addicts and self-proclaimed fair trade mavericks are one of my favorite coffee brands, period.  Add to that their sustainability school, and you can see why I love this company.

By now you should be sold on why this company would be great to work with, but just in case, look at the awesome Rock Star characters you would work with in this small, kickbutt company.

So, if you feel like you could get stoked to be a full-time ambassador of fair trade, sustainable company ethic and coffee, click here to get a better look at the job and how to apply.

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

In the world of sustainability, “buy local” is a big trend and catch-phrase.  I question, frequently, the balance we need in such a global economy where our local businesses are closing doors.

I moved from Raleigh, NC recently, to Asheville, NC (well… I’m trying to make the move, which requires finding the right job in WNC).  Raleigh is a glossy land of commercialism and capital, where chain stores and big-box rule the land.  

The Asheville Kingdom, on the contrary, is comprised of what feels like thousands of locally-owned independent stores to fill all our needs and whimsy.  From wigs to chocolates to fuels to clothing, lest us not forget the plethora of ethereal culinary delights, Asheville is ruled by the individual.  Chains are relegated to the outskirts of town and rarely do Ashevilleans patron such stores.

The truth is, however, I miss Costco.  I do not miss any other chains, at all, but Costco.  The giant mega-store mentality that Asheville rails against happens to be a great location for me to pick up affordable storage-quantity items like biodegradable dish soaps, and five pound bags of chicken for Marc.

Where’s the balance?  I’m sure I’ll write deeper on this topic shortly, but I wanted to through out here that Costco, as corporate and impersonal as they are, also leads in pushing “green” items into mainstream at prices that the everyday man can afford.  By the way, Asheville has plenty of people struggling to get by… further complicating the notion of what a community really needs to be supported.

*coming posts (working titles):  

When Independently-Owned Sells China

Is Cheap and Green Better Than No Green At All?

Series: Face of Sustainability

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

So, I went to another coffee den that my sister and bro-inlaw recommend:  West End Bakery ~ A Neighborhood Cafe, on Haywood Road in West Asheville.  Again, needing some reliable internet connection, I headed out in hopes of finding somewhere to call home.

Initial impressions:  

Smells much less like coffee and more like savory foods… which is a good smell, but not the comforting smell of espresso that I expected.

Yellow.  Tons of yellow.  I’m not a fan of yellow, but on this grey winter day, the warmth of the room is nice.

RAD art.  I love love love love the art here… It’s by Marie Knight, whom I obviously will have to look more into. 

Good coffee.  Really good coffee.  And though I’m not partaking of food today, I hear their food is super excellent as well.  Major bonus points for a big sign of all the foods they use that are locally grown.  Very cool.

Also have signs up sharing the cafe policy of recycling and composting.  Right on.

Big white C9 Christmas lights and silver plastic garland around their front windows.  Not eco, but reminds me of my childhood.  I hope they have them up year-round.  And I can’t judge.  For all I know, these were salvaged from some thrift store or an employees basement.

Neat plant life and real flowers in bud vases throughout the cafe.  Very very nice touch.  I despise finding artificial plant life in cafes and restaurants.

I’ve been here for a couple hours, gotten a lot done, and know I’ll be visiting again.  It’s down the road from where I am staying, it’s homey and interesting, and I have to say, the people who’ve come and gone have intrigued me immensely.  I hope I eventually get to meet some of them.  They just further compel me to come back and come often.

It’s not my Global Village, but again, like I said in part 1, I don’t know if anyone else is.

Sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue

A couple nights ago, my sister and I had picked up some groceries from Asheville’s amazing thrift-grocer (stocked FULL of healthy, off-beat options that I am alllllll about)), Amazing Savings.  I picked up some vegan, macrobiotic noodles with a tangy asian-styled sauce in the cooler section.  

So, we got home, and I dove right into them.  It had been hours before when we purchased our loot, and I had been a little slobbery for them since.  

Unfortunately, they were really dry.  They were covered in a tasty sauce, but I kid you not, the noodles and mushroom combination sucked all the moisture from your mouth while you ate.  Plus, it was a STONG earthy, mushroom taste that was a bit too much for me.  So, after eating about half, I knew I had to toss the noodles.

So, I chunked the whole thing in the trash.  Plastic prepared-food package and all.  

My sister scorned me instantly and removed the plastic from the trash can, dumping only the noodles back in.  ”What’s up with that, Green Rockstar?” she said (or something like that).

Oops!  Hadn’t thought twice about it!  I’m so in the habit of tossing all plastic that isn’t a bottle, since Raleigh only recycles plastic bottles.

Guess that’s one more thing I’ll adjust to as I settle here in Asheville!

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

I adore Global Village Coffeehouse in Raleigh.  It is, and has been, my favorite hideaway anywhere, ever, for five years.  And Mike Ritchie has been my favorite business owner.

But now I find myself on the other side of North Carolina, holed up in the mountains of Asheville without the comfort of my Marc (for a few months, nothing permanent) or a Global Village.
 

Due to a lack of strong internet connection chez familia, I hijacked their laptop and decided to find my Westside Global Village.  And unlike Raleigh and Durham, which have relatively limited coffee house options that offer proper ambiance, lack of pretention, organic fairtrade brew that is locally roasted, with a great staff to boot, Asheville supposedly has a plethora.  Throw a reuseable coffee mug, and you’re bound to hit one.

The options were plenty, I am sure, but I am unfamiliar with this city.  I have seen Green Sage repeatedly as I get lost in downtown, so I went to get lost and find it again.

Eureka.  Instantly, I enjoy the warm, hardwood floors, beautiful bakery case with organic carrot cake and vegan ginger snaps, a recycle and compost center, and a display of Larry’s Beans for your homebrewing needs (yay, Larry’s Beans!  A little taste of Raleigh here in Asheville!). So I’m spending some time in a place that feels like a sophisticated friend’s downtown penthouse loft (on the ground floor), and I’m spending that time with ten of my closest strangers who seem to be having a dinner party (furthering the friend’s sweet pad vibe). This group is obnoxiously loud, which would not be the case at GV, but the music playing is a great eclectic mix, and the furniture is pleasing to the eye as well as comfortable.

It’s too early to tell if I’ll like Green Sage… much less love it like I love Global Village.  But I have dozens of other coffeehouses to try.  Frankly, I doubt I’ll find another Global Village.  Green Sage impresses me instantly, however, and I know when I need somewhere comfortable downtown, this place has promise.  The ambiance is a little polished and impersonal, but again, it’s an easy find.  And I’m sure to like it more without ten cackling women deafening me.  Honestly, they are so loud, they’ve made me completely regret coming here.

In a city where I still feel lost, and honestly, a little trapped too, I’m letting her introduce herself to me as I introduce myself to her… and in time, hope to love her like I love Durham.  And that means trying new coffeehouses to find a homebase.  Better luck next time.

Cheers to new chapters, new promise, and a great internet connection.

Sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue

In the sticky transition I am in, lodged back and forth amidst my new home (Asheville) and the home we’re leaving (Raleigh), I was lucky enough last week to have two goodbye outings with work colleagues.  The first was fun and official.  The second one was impromptu.  On a whim, four of us went to my favorite pizza place in all of the Triangle (or anywhere I’ve been, actually):  Moonlight Pizza. 

(That’s Lisa on her blackberry in the pic.)

My sister discovered this place several years ago and introduced me to its wonderfulness.  I love that it is locally-owned and better than anywhere else around.  I love the funky, warm ambiance of its inside area.  I love the essence of Raleigh you feel when you eat on their patio, which we did being the great night it was (plus Doug brought his buddy-dog Willow Bee ~ btw, thank you, Doug, for suggesting Moonlight!). 

I love that I can order a tasty pizza without cheese and have avocado and pistachios on my marinara instead.  I love that two of the four beers they had on draft were Angry Angel (my favorite Raleigh beer) and Highland Oatmeal Porter (an Asheville brewery).

Then, when I asked for the to-go box for my leftovers, I found another thing to love about Moonlight:

100% Recycled-content box.  Heck yeah!  Locally-owned and steps toward a more sustainable business practice and smaller footprint!

Cheers to what is wonderful about Raleigh and Moonlight!  ~ Ashley Sue

Green Grounded is sometimes amazed at how the natural environment and urban development merge.  Often, I notice that we push wildlife out of their natural settings.  Consequences are expressed in our daily lives as we experience far too many deer carcasses on the side of highways.

On a much (much) lighter note than roadkill, here’s a video I took last week of geese overtaking the valley… the urban mecca known as the strip mall (Pleasant Valley, Raleigh).

Sustainably yours, and be nice to the geese!  Ashley Sue

After I saw the first few leaves changing color over a week ago, Raleigh faced a couple freezes, and all the trees are ablaze with splendid Autumn magnificience.

John over at Raleigh Nature shared the most AMAZING pics of the foliage over at Dorothea Dix campus. 

My photos are not nearly as beautiful, but I still felt inspired to share the view from my living room of the same tree that I caught as it began its transformation.

Yes, you may notice that in these photos Marc and I had pitched a tent in our living room.  If that seems odd to you, you must not know Marcus and myself very well.  Trust me. This is nothing weird.

Sustainably yours, and hoping you are enjoying ALL of Raleigh’s beauty this Autumn,
Ashley Sue Allen

The film here was filmed in mid-September, as Green Grounded and the Triangle were suffering from $5 a gallon gasoline.  “Drill Baby Drill!” was a popular chant (or source of criticism), and I was still driving Gina.  I planned on airing it before registration deadline, but life (and car accidents) got in the way.

I waited to put the video up for a while, but now, one day from Decision 2008, those of us who are waiting until actual Election Day to cast our votes still have time to weigh out all of the issues that matter most to us.

The economy.

Health care.

Employment.

Our parents.

Our children.

Life.

Education.

Poverty.

Terrorism.

Energy for today and tomorrow.

In this video, I urge you to consider how you feel about the realities and possibilities of drilling, “clean coal”, ethanol, biodiesel, wind, solar, hydro, nuclear, and all other alternative energy fuels.  The Green Revolution is one for our generation to shape the future, better or worse.

I also ask for you to consider the unexpected.  I’ve said before and will continue to say… gas prices may seem reasonable again now, but can we hinge our complacency on that?  We need to account for the unexpected… no one expected 9/11… Katrina… Ike… hanging chads… mortgage crises… and these were pivotal moments that effected every other aspect of our lives that matter.  These crises will continue to occur:  right when you need to find health care, or plan to buy a house, or have to find childcare but were laid off, or want to celebrate an election outcome, or have to drive to work.  So please take it all into consideration, as it all fits together.

Sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue Allen

The Green Grounded Team could not believe how many envelopes, letters, postcards, brochures, and copies of our police report ended up in our mailbox after the accident.  Apparently, advertising your law services and chiropractic practice keeps the USPS in business… and unfortunately, continues deforestation for paper products. I think a whole tree died just to advertise to Marc and myself.  The worst of it is, we got duplicates of many services ~ one to each of us from the same practice.

…and I never saw a single “printed on recycled paper” or “printed with soy ink” stamp on any of it.

Add this to the onslaught of political ads we receive in the mail, and we have a true waste nightmare. 

I hope each of you are recycling the political smear-papers you’re receiving.  According to a recent issue of “Triangle Home Improvement”,

City of Raleigh Waste Reduction Specialist Linda Leighton says nearly 40% of the trash in the local landfill is paper products that could have been recycled.

Sustainably yours ~ Ashley Sue