Live Lightly Tour

We left for Austin, TX at 7:45 a.m…full of energy and smiles We were expecting a part for the RV motorized step to arrive that morning at the auto parts store and we were going to pick it up. However, we ended up waiting at store for quite awhile for their delivery truck. The truck finally arrived, but after Matt worked at it for an hour or so, we found that it was not going to work and had to drive back to the other side of town and return it. By this time, it was noon…and we needed to get on the road. It had already been a long morning, and we hadn’t even left town yet! It was a great reminder, though, how blessed we are to always have our home with us wherever we go. Bella and I were able to have play time and snacks during all of it!

All was well until we got to Taylor, TX, when we ran out of veggie oil. The fuel gauge was being a little feisty, and it appeared that we had much more than we did. Luckily, Matt was able to roll safely to a parking lot, and got the issue resolved. We had to switch over to run diesel for a bit…and for the first time in 14,000 miles on veggie oil, we had to run solely on diesel. It’s not a fun thing on the budget! 20 gallons for $90.00. Ouch!

We finally arrived in Austin at sunset (so pretty!), heading to Dripping Springs (just outside of Austin) to park at Andre and Evan’s eco-homestead in the hills! We arrived, got parked and headed inside. The first thing we noticed was the wonderful simplicity and beauty of their home. It was clear they took pride in creating a haven for their family. In talking with them further, we got a better picture of their home and what their goals were. I asked Evan to give me the run down in her own words:

We have a 2000 square foot metal roof to collect our water from. We had to honor our HOA restrictions, but decided on a roof that size based on André’s calculations for the amount of water that we needed. We have (2) 10,000 gallon holding tanks for the house and (1) 3000 gallon tank for the garden and (1) 200 gallon prewash tank. The first 200 gallons go into this tank so that any debris from the roof stays in this tank and doesn’t go into the household tanks. We also have a 1000 gallon tank as the garden back up. Our hope is to install a shop building this year and collect water from that roof as well. It will probably be about 1200 square feet of roof. Another project this year involves a covered porch for the front and a cover over the back patio. The coverings will provide more water collection and also help keep the house cooler in summer.

The actual structure is a metal building that we finished out. It came with an insulated liner. We added traditional studs for the walls, drywall and formaldehyde free insulation in the walls and the ceilings. We then wrapped the entire structure with limestone. Again, we had to comply with HOA restrictions, but this greatly increased our R factor (how well something is insulated). I estimate that we’re at R45, but that might just be my enthusiasm. We’re basically a house within a house and the air pocket in between the framing and the metal structure adds to the insulation.

We have only rainwater collection, so we’re very water-conscious. We had to change some of our water habits when we moved here, but now they are just habits and we don’t even notice that it’s a sacrifice. For the three of us we probably use 30 gallons of water a day. Some more or less depending on whether or not it’s a laundry day or if the dishwasher is run. We use the dishwasher about once every three days. Most days we’re under 30 gallons. We take military showers so that helps.

We’ve used low or no VOC paints, reclaimed materials when we can find them, and bamboo flooring from sustainable sources. Some of our furniture is new, but most of it is inherited or Craig’s listed.

Now that’s an eco-friendly house! And let me just tell you…their house is wonderful and inviting to be in! They are set back up in the hills and they have enough land to feel very secluded and free. It’s lovely. Every time I walked from the house to our RV, the crisp cool air would fill my lungs…and it was almost as if it had some kind of magical “happy” potion in it. Ahhhhhhh…

Evan and Andre are involved with various eco-minded projects in their city. They are in the process of starting a food coop and are working closely with CSA’s and local growers. They are also in the very beginning processes of planning and developing a holistic health and wellness center. They are part of a team of healers that are interested in non-Western practices. Evan in in school right now for naturopathy and André is a 5th degree black belt in a variety of martial arts. He teaches Tai Chi, Qi Gong and is a Reiki master. It was so refreshing and fun to see a family that walks their talk. They are passionate about the environment, each other, and living simply. The best part is that they are actively teaching their daughter to follow that same path.

Our days in Dripping Springs were filled with little girls laughter, raw food making, and good conversations. We ate at the cutest little restaurant, The Leaning Pear (located in Wimberley, TX). I could have stayed on their patio for the rest of my life! We also loved the Thai Noodle House, near the University of Texas campus. Big portions of yummy food for little prices!

A big thanks to Andre, Evan, and Pilar for their generous hospitality!

Photo album here.

We had a long drive ahead of us as we headed toward Texas…so we decided to break it up into 2 legs. Knowing that Bella’s birthday was on April 7, we decided to make that day a family day and spend a few days at Lake Bisteneau State Park, just outside of Shreveport, Louisiana.

Lake Bisteneau turned out to be a beautiful, quiet state park with a great price tag (only $16 a night!). Nearly every site had a large wooden deck on it, and all the roads were newly paved and perfect for a little girl with training wheels

We settled in for the night and got up early next morning to celebrate Bella’s fourth birthday. We surprised her by decorating the inside of the RV with pink streamers and balloons. She got to open up her presents right away, and then we got all the bikes ready for a ride and went to the playground. While we were there, we received several phone calls and emails about urgent tour-related business and had to drive the 25 miles into town to take care of a few things. Sometimes I think it would be really nice to have satellite internet!

When we got back, we made a raw strawberry pie, at Bella’s request, put that in the fridge to chill…and headed back out on another bike ride, this time with Bella in the Burley. When we got back, we held the candle lighting ceremony outside and we each grabbed a fork and dug into the pie! Yum! Bella had us re-light the candles 3 times for her to blow them out again. When we got back into the camper, she re-wrapped a couple of her presents again too…just for the thrill of it!

It was a really peaceful couple of days…they only thing is that we are still itching all the mosquito bites we got while staying there! Our campsite was right next to the lake (aka “the swamp”) and the mosquitoes were deadly!

Off to Austin!

Photo album here.

We knew nothing at all about Birmingham, Alabama when we arrived … but quickly found that it’s a fun college town with huge views and lots of flowering trees! The minute we parked at Ryan and Meredith’s house, we smelled the flowers! Purple wisteria and white dogwood trees…gorgeous!

Bella was a happy girl to find out that this stop had a little girl to play with as well. This little girl was Audrey…and she had really fun toys and dress up clothes…a play kitchen and a new swing set with a sand box. A dream come true! It took Bella about 2 seconds to get off the RV and over to their swings!

The night we arrived, Meredith made a delicious homemade tomato basil soup and we enjoyed conversation over dinner and afterwards we watched the girls play in all their silliness. Every 5 minutes they would come out with a new outfit on…costume changes were an integral part of their time together They danced up a storm while Matt played the ABC’s and 5 Little Monkeys on the guitar. Fun times

On Thurs. night, I had the opportunity to shoot some stock photos for MPower in Birmingham. Ryan is the Executive Director of MPower, an inner city ministry. The night I went, they were providing free medical care for those who needed it. After that, Meredith and Ryan took us out to a delicious Thai restaurant near downtown Birmingham. So tasty. After we came back home, we watched Becoming Jane. A delightful little flick

Thank you Ryan and Meredith for a wonderful visit…and to Audrey too!

Photo album here.

Greetings from sunny Arizona! Yesterday, we were featured on Apartment Therapy as one of their house tours for 2008. Be sure to check out their fun “Small Cool 2008” contest as well…there are so many amazing entries this year! I’ve also added a few more TV spots on our press page from recent stops.

We are headed to California tomorrow…and I will be slowly working on getting more photos and blogs up from the last 6 weeks. It has truly been a whirlwind, and when I do have a spare moment to breathe, I have chosen family/friend time over blogging time So, thanks for your patience! We have lots of amazing adventures to tell you about!

California is just around the corner! We updated the Route page again, and we will be starting in San Diego on May 2 and will head all the way up the coast. I have been in contact with most of you (I sent out many follow up emails tonight). However, there were a few contacts whose email addresses are coming back undeliverable. If you are Beth or Laura (see below), please email me directly. If I don’t hear back from you, there is a chance that we might not connect…and that would be sad!

San Luis Obispo, CA
Beth K.

San Francisco, CA
Laura H.

If you are on our tour route and are interested in booking an event with us…please contact me as well! We are always looking for colleges, coops, and private businesses to stop at for tours/demonstrations. And as always, Sara is available for photography sessions as well.

We headed back into Atlanta on a Sunday morning, so the traffic wasn’t nearly as bad this time around! We made our way to Marietta first, so we could stop at Life Grocery and Café and enjoy some raw goodness. They have a cute little raw café attached to the coop…and they also stock a nice cold case of raw eats as well. They had just opened for the morning, so it was just us in there. We enjoyed a little family time before we headed to Alan, Margie, and Lillian’s house in Decatur.

We arrived and as we were parking in the church parking lot behind their home…Lillian came out with Margie to greet us. Even though Bella and Lillian have never met, they greeted each other like long lost friends. It was hilarious! They were both excited to have a new friend to play with for the next couple of days. It didn’t take long before they were unloading toys and dress up clothes…chatting happily along the way.

Margie and I have been in touch since the beginning of the tour…because she was working on writing a special environmental education grant to bring us in to do a demo at the Oakhurst Cooperative Preschool, where Lillian attends. It was approved, and Decatur was added to the tour schedule! We set up at the preschool on Sunday evening for the demo…and had a fabulous turnout. There were TONS of kids, interested parents, and members of the community. We chatted with so many cool, like-minded people that night. There were several families who were making strides towards living more simply…in serious ways. One family quit their jobs and left the comfort of a big paycheck to homestead and live off the land…it was encouraging to see their passion and dedication. The kids had a great time playing in Bella’s toy room (aka The Bed).

Alan and Margie moved back closer to the city after living in the ‘burbs for awhile…and they couldn’t live in a cuter part of town! I LOVE there home and the area. Just down the road is a cute little “village” area with restaurants, coffee shops, and retail stores…as well as a community garden. Just a little further down is the Dekalb Farmer’s Market, which is quite possibly one of the coolest things on the tour so far. It’s a HUGE indoor market with every type of food you could ever imagine. Every type of exotic fruit and veggie (there were so many I had never heard of!)…even durians! Fruits and veggies by the case…dried fruit, oils, etc. in bulk…I was in heaven. It wasn’t just fresh produce either…there was a fresh fish/seafood market, prepared food bar, packaged goods, spices, etc. The sad thing is that there is no photography allowed…I was so wanting to show you all! Check out their website to see how truly huge it is!

On Monday and Tuesday morning while we were there, I had the opportunity to take class photos and individual photos at Lillian’s school. It was a fun shoot…and I enjoyed meeting all of the kiddos and their parents too. We ended up staying parked at the church where the preschool is located for our entire stay…it was a nice, private spot with a cute little trail up into the trees that Bella loved.

Margie is a fellow foodie and we loved chatting about raw foods, cookbook obsession, and juicing! She whipped us up an amazing Asian soba noodle/raw veggie delight and I brought my famous balsamic salad dressing…and we talked and talked over delicious food. Bella and Lillian dressed up like ballerinas and danced endlessly to the Nutcracker Suite (cranked up as loud as they could get it before we would tell them to turn it down). For dessert, we got busy on some Magic Carrot Juice and enjoyed every last drop.

Our time in Decatur was a blast…we loved the area and the people (just not the traffic!)

Photo album here.

No one really warned us about Atlanta…so we weren’t expecting the craziness that we encountered on the roadways surrounding it! Oh my. Those drivers drive faster and more sporadic than anywhere we’ve seen. And they’re an angry bunch too . So as we approached the Atlanta area on a Friday afternoon, we were a little frazzled! Luckily, we were early enough to avoid the true rush hour, and we headed north to Rome to the home of Ryan, Whitney, and Jackson.

Bella and Jackson were quick friends and were soon busy jumping on the trampoline and playing trains…although Bella was sure to remind us that she was OLDER than him (he’s 2) . They live on a really quiet cul-de-sac (with really smooth roads!), and Bella was able to ride her bike…which made her very happy! I even broke out the roller blades for the first time on our tour. Weeeeee!

If you want to know anything about Rome or Berry College, just ask Whitney. She’s a plethora of information and I received the grand tour as we drove around town! Berry College has quite an interesting history and the campus is spectacularly beautiful and sprawling … it boasts the largest number of acres of any college campus in the U.S (26,000 acres!). We took their photos at several locations there and enjoyed the scenery, wildlife, and beautiful old buildings.

Whitney borrowed some of my raw cookbooks while we were there, and decided to start doing green smoothies and a partially raw diet…I just heard from her, and the effects are already amazing! She is a baker, so she gets up super early…and says that now she can wake up at 2:45am and be wide awake! Yay! This is just one of the many cool things that happens when you eat raw. You don’t need as much sleep and you have more energy because your body doesn’t have to digest food (instead it just uses it to heal and give energy). On a cooked diet, 70% of the body’s energy goes towards digestion of foods…on raw, there is nothing to digest because the digestive enzymes are still intact (heating kills the enzymes). There’s a mini-raw lesson for you While we were there, I showed her how to make a green smoothie and some other raw goodies as well. There is nothing like hands on training

We had a great time in Rome! Next stop, Decatur, GA…back to the busy traffic!

Photo album here.

We’ve just updated all of our Texas Events…if you’re in these areas, come out and say hello!

Austin, TX
April 10, 2008
4:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Wheatsville Food Co-op
3101 Guadalupe

Plano, TX
April 12, 2008
9:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Live Green ‘08 Expo
2000 E. Spring Creek Pkwy

Dallas, TX
April 13, 2008
11:00 a.m.
Life in Deep Ellum

Arlington, TX
April 13, 2008
4:30 p.m.
City on a Hill Connection
University of Texas Arlington
BSM Building

San Antonio, TX
April 17, 2008
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
San Antonio College
Loftin Student Center Mall Area

San Antonio, TX
April 19, 2008
10:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Earth Day – San Antonio
Woodlawn Lake

Hallie and Chris are newlyweds…and are as sweet as can be. We had such a fun time with them…even though our visit was short. They are so full of life and energy! I initially met Hallie when she sent me this photo and told me the cool “God story” about her wedding dress. It was a thrift store find…perfect size…perfect price! And look at her fabulous hair! It matched the flowers in their wedding…now that just makes me HAPPY! A few weeks later, she offered to trade their Champion Juicer when we passed through Tampa, and of course, I was quite excited about that! We had been wanting a Champion…so that was such a blessing!

When we arrived from Sarasota…we met Hallie at their church and we got settled back into a nice, quiet corner. The church had a HUGE lot with a playground, so it was a blessing to have our very own “front yard” with room to run and play and be free. That evening, we went to their apartment to have supper (a HUGE yummy salad with all the fixins!). Bella loved watching their turtles and geckos…and we had a great time chatting. Both Hallie and Chris work from home…in the comic book/art industry. We had fun looking at the different comics they have done!

The next day, we met for lunch at The Grass Root, an organic vegan/vegetarian/raw restaurant. From the moment we walked in, I knew it would be a wonderful experience! It’s so deliciously earthy in there…with a deep orange color on all the walls that just radiates warmth! The owner, Spencer, was our server…and his wife, Sabrina, was on hand as well. The food was AMAZING…so flavorful, with options for everyone. They do more than just raw food, and have an extensive menu for the entire family.

Here is a little blurb from their website:

Grass Root is not only a destination for the health conscious, but also a cultural hub in Tampa. We have customers from all walks of life. Our restaurant has provided us with the opportunity to connect and feed a large array of people. We feel blessed to be of service to all of you.

Grass Root is truly an expression of who we are as people and collectively as a family. We have great respect for the Earth itself and accept responsibility for its well being. We know that eating an organic vegetarian diet is a major contribution. For those striving for an optimum existence , the RAW/LIVING foods lifestyle is the way to go. It has profoundly positive effects on your overall health, the environment and those around you.

They have won several awards, including one from VegNews for being one of the best restaurants for “every day dining” in the entire country! They also have a large raw meetup each month. I am so happy that we found this little gem…I really, really wanted to go back for another meal…but we had to leave for Atlanta! Someday…I’ll be back and will enjoy their food once again. If you’re ever in Tampa, don’t miss it.

Thanks to Hallie and Chris for being such great hosts!

Photo album here.

We drove straight across the state of Florida … from Vero Beach to Sarasota, and arrived at Paul and Nicole’s house. Some of you may know Nicole as “Mrs. Pivec” of Golightly Place. When we arrived, we were greeted warmly with a chalk drawn “Welcome Friends” in the driveway. An entire crew of people answered the door when I rang the doorbell, and we got to meet everyone, including Paul’s brother’s family, who was down visiting from Minneapolis for a month.

That night we had a delicious meal…Nicole is a wonderful chef, and their family is vegetarian. We sat out on their back patio and enjoyed the fragrant orange blossoms as the smells wafted through the night air. We had big plans to go to the beach the next day…but when we woke up, it was raining. And the forecast said that there would be more “soaking” rain. We didn’t want to take the chance, so we had a day of thrifting and grocery store shopping. Before we headed out though, I got to use their VitaMix to make my green smoothie…weeeee! Love it. Later on, we made some magic carrot juice…oooooh the carrot juice!

Speaking of food, we also went to Veggie Magic (owned by Jenna Norwood of Supercharge Me!). It’s a new raw restaurant in Tampa and we were excited to go! We had a great time taking it all in…checking out all the raw goodies. One of my favorite things was the caramelized onion “bread”…but later on we found out that it didn’t really agree with our digestive systems hee hee. We had “living” pizza, a Mexican green wrap, curried cauliflower, and raw apple crisp. Delish!

On Easter Sunday, we enjoyed visiting their house church (which they just happen to live right next door to!)…and a crazy egg hunt in the backyard. Paul and Nicole’s home backs up to a small pond…which they assured us only has one small alligator…sometimes There are other exotic birds (or so it seems to us) and lots of lizards too. They have an orange tree, grapefruit tree, mango tree, and avocado tree! It was like the Garden of Eden! I’ve never had an orange straight off the tree and it was like juicy heaven. It was such a beautiful setting…perfect for celebrating the resurrection of King Jesus! After all that excitement, we had a potluck brunch, and then at the last minute decided to head to the beach!

I am sooooo glad we did. It was a GORGEOUS day at Siesta Key, which was just a short drive from their house. We were able to get a lot of sun, build several sand castles and get in a few boogie boarding runs by Bella. It’s just so relaxing being at the beach. It’s not something I’m familiar with…growing up in Iowa. I could lay there all day reading and listening to the sound of the waves. As we were leaving, we were able to see a drumming circle starting. Yet another thing that I could listen to all day! I love drums. We arrived home sandy and tired…but it was so worth it!

Bella really enjoyed playing with the “big girls”, whom she lovingly called “Friend” because she could never remember their names (i.e. “Hey FRIEND!! Where ARE YOU??!). They spent a lot of time on the swings and the trampoline. More swinging practice for Bella. I think we might have to figure out how to attach a swing to the RV!

Thank you to the Pivec Family for opening your home and hearts to us! Our Florida visit was wonderful!

Photo album here.