Brown Bottles and Green Intentions

There's something really satisfying about an amber bottle, something so precious it whispers "Savor me" every time you go to open it.

A few things whispering around our house? Root: An organic liquor that pretty much tastes like artisanal batches of root beer except it has alcohol, so it's better enjoyed by sipping rather than gulping. After paying shipping for it, it's definitely not a last-bottle-in-the-house-after-an-all-night-party-session-and-the-beer-store-is-closed chugger. Not that we've ever done that. You'll want to savor the complex layers and flavors in an old, worn, leather library chair.

Portland General Stores' scents: a Christmas gift for the Mr. that I also get to enjoy. From classic to rustic, the scents are gentle on the olfactory, cleanly moving right along with the wearer rather than leaving a murky cloud of cologne in their wake. The tiny sample bottles will last for quite a while, which means I'll get to savor them by nuzzling up on my man.

Homemade vanilla: Yep, I did it! Since the little one has been keeping us awake at night and exhausted during the day, I haven't had much inclination to bake. But I will, and when I do, it's on! And we will savor the flavor beside a fire {I'm thinking sugar cookies}, maybe even with a belly-warming Root spiced cider.

On the business front, Wolfie and the Sneak have decided to up the ante on our environmental initiatives for 2010, including carbon offset through NC Green Power.

Community is essential to environment, so 10% of our sales go to community development projects such as Kiva and Kickstarter.

Oftentimes we'll have an announcement dedicating an amount of each sale to specific nonprofits, which has included breast cancer research or wind power development. {Right now, $5 from the sale of each calendar goes to Wheels for Henry. There are only 4 left, which means $20 left to possibly give!}

Prints ship in true cellophane sleeves {that means the "plastic" is plant based and will break down over time, unlike typical plastic sleeves}.

If and when it's possible, we re-use items--that means the rigid backing to protect your print might be made from an old record sleeve or something else. Ditto for shipping boxes, they've probably had a previous life or two getting something from point a to point b. Eventually it would be nice to calculate the carbon emissions of each shipment and offset those, but that's way off in the future when we have time for such things like math.

Alrighty, now that I've talked your ear off, what are you savoring these days? Any down time for enjoying the moments of the weekend?