Greener at First Sight

They say as we get older, time seems to pass more quickly. Though my 30s are still dawning, I am definitely feeling as though time is flying. And perhaps that’s why, in my mind, my last blog post doesn’t seem like all that long ago. But a dear colleague pointed out that it has been “Meatless Monday” for over a month!

Truth be told, Mr. Green and I have had a busy fall with lots of fun adventures. For instance, a few weeks ago we visited Prince Edward County – a lovely collection of small towns south-east of Belleville and along the banks of Lake Ontario. Friends of ours gave us the gift of a second honeymoon when we got married, and we really enjoyed exploring the County at their recommendation. We just loved it.

Here are some greener highlights:

It will come as no surprise that Mr. Green is pretty big on fuel economy. We don’t own a car, so when we travel outside the city we turn to our friend Sandra at the Budget on Bloor to sort us out. This weekend we were treated to a fuel-effcient sporty Fiat. Though not much larger than a bicycle, it was exactly what we were looking for – and it was great on fuel.

 We stayed at The Merrill Inn and were treated to small-town hospitality from the minute we arrived.

And everywhere we looked, we were reminded of the Inn’s commitment to the environment. From their large refillable toiletry bottles - no freebies to take home here – to their locally sourced menu. Look at this lake perch!

 Our friends also treated us to a class at one of the local cooking schools – From the Farm Cooking School. We spent the day with Cynthia Peters – personal chef and food writer – touring around picking up ingredients for the lunch we made together in her beautifully appointed farmhouse kitchen.

She took us to Fifth Town Cheese, the greenest dairy in North America, and we sampled some of the most amazing cheese ever. The best part? (Well, apart from the being green thing) They have oodles of yummy goat and sheep’s cheese – a huge bonus for milk-sensative me.

We toured several wineries and even a vodka distillery, 66 Gilead Distillery. Imagine? Locally sourced vodka … pretty awesome. The Pine vodka tastes like Christmas in a glass.

We had a perfect greener weekend and we’re looking forward to going back!  

I came across this story in the NY Times … An interesting concept for those who don’t know a Mr. Green:

“Personal Eco-Concierges Ease Transition to Green”

Jennifer A. Kingston

They will run your errands by bicycle, recommend a spa that gives vegan manicures or buy organic clothes for you and your dog. They will even book you a dream vacation and buy the appropriate carbon offsets.

Some time has passed since my last post, but I’m trying to reinvigorate this blog now that Mr. Green and I are married (!!) and we have some more time on our hands. We had a blast planning our “big day,” and we’re so pleased that we were able to plan a wedding that stayed true to our greener values. For instance …

I mentioned our wonderful florist, Alison, from Coriander Girl … boy did she ever do an amazing job. Our flowers were sourced locally and looked just beautiful. I had long dreamed of having peonies in my bouquet and with a late spring and cool start to the summer my dream came true! The table arrangements were gorgeous and exactly what I was imagining. And those Ikea glasses we bought as vases have found new homes with our guests where hopefully they will be reused for many years to come.

I loved my dress that was made here in Toronto, not China. Our food was grown close to home, and it was so fun to walk between our venues rather than hop in a limo (I hate limos anyway).

One thing we did that will have the greatest impact on the environment was that we purchased offsets in India through The International Small Group & Tree Planting Program (TIST) in lieu of favours, so that our wedding was carbon neutral.

TIST strengthens poor communities by empowering subsistence farmers to reverse the effects of deforestation, drought and famine. In turn, these farmers reduce levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by planting diverse tree species, implementing conservation farming techniques and reducing fuel use with efficient stoves.

Mr. Green consulted a couple of his colleagues with offset expertise to determine our approximate footprint, and then we bought offsets to neutralize the environmental impact of our wedding – and our overseas honeymoon.

Offsetting is a great way to reduce your impact on the planet, and, like in case with TIST, a way to improve the lives of people in developing countries. But instead of turning to offsets as the sole way to reduce the effect of our wedding on the planet, we did what we could to minimilize our impact by making responsible environmental choices at every step of the way. And I think that’s the way we should use offsets – rather than thinking they give us a free pass to be wasteful, we should think of them as a way of complimenting our greener activities.

Apart from our day being greener, it was absolutely perfect – far exceeding our expectations.

We felt relaxed and happy all day long, to the point where our cheeks were sore from smiling and laughing with all our guests.

It was so special to be surrounded by our family and friends, and to feel their love and excitment for us.

I’ll never forget how I felt the moment I stepped into the church … The sun came out and there was Mr. Green waiting for me at the end of the aisle to start our lives together.

I was calm and beside myself with joy. After our beautiful ceremony we partied!

The kitchen utensils my roommates and I used as microphones while dancing in our unversity kitchen made a nostalgic return, and we were so pleased to see everyone having such a good time with them.

Thanks to everyone who made our day so memorable xoxo

You know what makes planning a wedding so darn fun? Working with people like Alison from Coriander Girl. Alison is our florist and she’s a real gem.

Despite my limited flower vocabularly, she’s the kind of person who just makes me want to jump up and down with excitement when we’re talking flowers. And her Parkdale shoppe is the sweetest. THE SWEETEST! It’s an inspired combination of country charm and English whimsy, just perfect.

You know what else? Alison is a reuser! She uses beautiful antique vessels for her arrangements. Think tea cups, mason jars, milk glass vases and apothecary bottles. Her designs are fresh, creative and so, so pretty. But perhaps the thing I love most about Alison’s floral designs is that they remind me of the beautiful chaos of my grandmother’s English-style garden.

Grandma spent hours tending to her colourful gardens and I used to love getting my hands dirty alongside her. I was an expert “dead header.

“My “vision” for our wedding flowers is one that incorporates the elements that I so loved about Grandma’s garden. We’re not working from a colour palette, instead we’re hoping that all the various colours, shapes and sizes of flowers that worked so well together at Grandma and Grandpa’s house will also work just as well on our harvest tables at the Gardiner.

I knew Alison “got” my style when she told me that she had saved the same photos of bouquets and table arrangements from various wedding blogs that I had sent to her for inspiration.

I can’t wait to see what she designs for July 2!

Oh! And here’s a tip for getting “better value for dollar” (a classic Mr. Green phrase) if you’re planning your wedding:

Instead of renting vases from a florist, opt instead to buy your own. I checked out a couple of different florists before we decided to go with Alison* and each one of them quoted a few hundred dollars for vase rental and I thought: if I’m spending that kind of money I want to, at least, get to keep them!

In the end, Mr. Green and I probably spent more time than either of us really wanted to hunting for vases. But spending less than $100 on our vases (read: drinking glasses) made our adventures through Chinatown, various antique and second-hand stores, and Ikea on a Saturday worth every penny! 

Of course, we tried to do the reuse thing first, but we just couldn’t get the quantity we were after (thank you Ikea). BUT since we own the vases, we hope that our guests bring the arrangements home to enjoy and that they reuse the vase in their own home.

We are getting so excited for July 2!!!

*Alison’s vases were a little too whimsical for the modern style of the Gardiner.