Lillstreet Loft

Big Movements Start with Small Changes

Anastasia Reid October 23, 2016

This past week was dedicated to Earth Day. Very rarely do people come together to promote change for the better, especially when it comes to our environment. But Earth Day and the week/weekend surrounding it is an exception to this general rule.

I myself didn’t end up out in the community doing any volunteering, though I know there was plenty of tree planting, recycling, and picking up trash going on in my city. What I did happen to do, however, was donate to non-profit environmental organizations to offset my carbon footprint. While it wasn’t a lot, I plan to donate that much every month from here onwards. To me, this is one of the best places to begin. From here, I can do and learn a whole lot more.

The thing is, I could be so much more for the environment and for my community alone. While reversing the effects of global warming takes an effort from everyone in the world, it all goes back to the individual people in individual communities to be built up on a global scale.

So that’s where I wanted to start, my “carbon tax”. From here, I know I can do so much more in terms of recycling. All it really takes is having a dedicated container for paper, plastic, and aluminum, and I’m good to go.

See, the problem is that I’ve put off the small things like recycling for so long that it’s tough to get into the bigger projects right off the bat. So if I can do my part in recycling the few polybags I have leftover from moving into my apartment, I’ll at least have taken another step in the right direction. It’s all building blocks from here.

I’m not exactly sure what my steps will be like from here on forward, but I know that I want to do something new and better every two or three months. If I can gradually ramp up in my volunteering, recycling cheap moving boxes, and getting more house plants, I’ll be able to tackle tougher items on the list.

For example, cutting back on my consumption of red meat and dairy helps to remove my own carbon footprint because of cattle’s harmful impact on the environment. Just as well, buying fewer plastic containers (such as tupperware) and making sure those are glass also helps. Heck, I’m even making sure to buy my clothes from resale shops instead of buying brand new clothes online.

No change in someone’s life is too small, even if it feels like you could be doing more. Everyone starts somewhere, just as every movement starts at a small scale. Eventually, you’ll be doing far more good than you ever could have imagined.

Grilling Season Has Arrived!

Anastasia Reid September 17, 2015

Gear up for grilling season because it’s that time of year when the weekends are starting to be perfect for having cookouts and doing some porch sitting.

I always welcome grilling season with arms open wide. There’s no better meal to me than something that’s been grilled, no matter if it’s with white meat, dark meat, or no meat! From all the various vegetables and fruits you can grill to the hearty cuts of meat out there that every guy enjoys getting to the right temp, grilling out is a treat for any modern man.

You see, the enjoyment most people get out of grilling isn’t necessarily the end product. No. It’s the process of grilling. No matter if you’re using propane or charcoal, starting up the grill and doing all the prep work needed is a bit of a chore. But it’s also an art. One that requires the proper techniques and care and attention.

Cleaning the meats and preparing the vegetables and whatever else you’re cooking also takes some work. Marinades need to be prepared. Kabobs need kabobbing. Meats neat cut and trimmed and seasoned.

And then, when all that has been taken care of comes the real treat: setting that slice of meat on the grill and just hearing the hiss and sizzle of the grill.

I’m a huge fan of grilling for that sound alone. It makes storing all of my tools for half a year in old cardboard boxes worth the wait, honestly. If we could grill all year long, it wouldn’t be nearly as special. That’s how most of these things seem to go. With year round access to something, it’s alright. But when it becomes an exclusive thing, a limited activity, THEN it becomes so much more fun and interesting and special.

The other thing that makes it so great? You can become your household’s own master chef. No matter how bad or good you are at grilling, you can take pride in doing the cooking half the time. And even better? Well, grilling is always an excuse to crack a beer and relax.

So, I implore you guys to get your own grilling tools out of storage or whatever cardboard boxes you’ve buried them in over the winter. Fire up the propane, stock up on your charcoal, and clean off the grill. It’s time for grilling season. It’s time for some grill marks. It’s time for summer.

Candy Galore!

Anastasia Reid May 1, 2014

Easter reigns supreme when it comes to candy on holidays. There’s absolutely no other way to put it than that.

Okay, let me rephrase that: Easter reigns supreme in second place when it comes to candy on holidays. Because there’s no overthrowing the ruler of them all. Halloween.

But still, that goes to show that the candy industry booms when it hits spring. From pastel-colored candies to chocolate molds of rabbits, birds, and eggs, Easter knows how to party with chocolate, colored sugary treats, and pretty much all other aspects of thematic candies.

I’m often asked what my favorite candies are even though I don’t munch on candy that much. But when it comes to Easter, I definitely have a few favorites that I have no hesitation in choosing as the best candy. Heck, I’m not even opposed to loading up a few cheap moving boxes full of candy after the holiday is over and having a stash available for the next few months. Check them out!

Robin eggs.

These are the best, in my opinion. They’re simple, they’re reminiscent of robin eggs (almost to much, to be honest), and they’re festive as all candies can get. It’s probably the design that makes me like this chocolate more than others, but still, the flavor is solid as well.

Peeps.

Whether you like them or not, Peeps are the iconic Easter candy. I myself happen to love them, especially because they’ve recently begun branching out with different flavors and designs. But really, I never get how someone could hate these. They’re marshmallows with sugar on top of them!

Sour candies.

Sour candies make the world go round and your mouth go numb. I can’t do too much of these simply because of that last point, but boy oh boy do I enjoy some sour candies here and there. They help to break up the monotony of chocolates while also being colorful and festive. While things like Warheads are a bit too much for my own tongue, I do enjoy the sizzle and burn of some of the tartest and more sour candies out there.

Cadbury eggs.

More candy means more eggs. The creaminess of these eggs knows no bounds. Though there’s not much else to these eggs and their insides, they’re well known simply as dang good candy.

Chocolate bunnies.

Even though these are just pure chocolate molded into a shape, milk chocolate is milk chocolate. And when the bunnies can be pretty huge for “a piece of candy”, they’re even more memorable and fun to bite off of. I like the ones that have colored bowties or colored eyes on them!