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It’s EARTH DAY & I’m getting started early! I have a million papers to grade & a dozen or so things to do around the house. But I’m just going to take a second to talk about what we all can do today (& every day) to be a little more environmentally friendly. Some little swaps make huge impacts. For example you can switch to a bamboo toothbrush instead of a plastic one. There are also toothbrushes that you only need to replace the heads—so you’re being far less wasteful (but it’s still plastic so use sparing). Bamboo is an eco-friendly alternative, because it is a natural plant, fully biodegradable, thus a renewable & sustainable resource. It is one of the fastest growing plants on the planet! Speaking of bamboo, if you love paper towels & haven’t been able to transition (or just don’t want to) to cloth towels, there are tons of great bamboo paper towel products out there! Additionally, you can find tissue & toilet paper made from bamboo too! Some other easy swaps are bringing your own coffee mug or water bottle like @oceanbottle I like OB because it can be used for cold or hot drinks, has both a flask and mug attachment, & funds collection of thousands of plastic bottle from coastal communities. Their bottles are also made of recycled materials. Beeswax snack bags & silicon bags are perfect alternatives to plastic bags. Laundry strips like @truearthmovement are excellent in cutting down water & plastic waste. And, of course, for clothing if you can’t borrow or thrift, chose B-Certified corporations like @tentree & @wearpact These brand use sustainable materials & supply chains. While tentree uses recycled materials for most of their products, Pacts uses organic cotton which means items are decomposable so once you’ve worn through them, sewed/repaired, & worn through again, you don’t have to feel bad about putting it in the earth (like my Green Vibes Only Tank 🌱). Organic cotton production also promotes & enhances biodiversity & biological cycles For skin care you have a good number of sustainable brands options. I use @activistskincare & @loli.beauty but there are obviously others out there. Checkout my link in bio for brands I trust. (at New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/CN-GxYpnHOj/?igshid=1x3prwxcixg35

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I love the @activistskincare trial kit because it’s travel sized! It also comes with a little pouch to keep everything together. My favorite products are Sea to Skin cleansing gel, Botanical cleansing oil, and Healing water mist. I love that they have a refill program, which means less single use plastic in our landfills! This was a no-brainer skincare switch for me. • Want to try? Get 50% off by using FLORAANDFIRE50 at checkout. You also should get free US shipping! (I’ve put an easy access link in my bio) • Activist Skincare (made in the US!) uses 100% vegan ingredients sourced from sustainability-minded suppliers, glass packaging, and low-waste refills. They donate 5% of their revenue to environmental organizations. Recipient organizations have included Communities for a Better Environment, Cultural Survival, Earthjustice, Environmental Defense Fund, Rainforest Trust, and more. Customers can select any eligible organization to receive their 5% at checkout. (at Canton, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/CNPxhfVnPuM/?igshid=3py4ma2euuw3

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Hey fellow #bookworms! Does anyone want to do a book swap? I have a few novels I’d like to clear off my shelf. Please DM me if interested! Books available: The Beatles, Bob Spitz Such a Fun Age, Kiley Reid Room, Emma Donoghue All Boys Aren’t Blue, George M. Johnson Dear Martin, Nic Stone All American Boys, Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds Twelve Years a Slave, Solomon Northup American Street, Ibi Zoboi Marie Antoinette: The Last Queen of France, Evelyn Lever I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, Joanne Greenberg Go Ask Alice, Anonymous The Help, Kathryn Stockett The Complete History of Jack the Ripper, Philip Sugden • Books I’m looking to read (open to suggestions, too): Transcendent Kingdom, Yaa Gyasi Before the Coffee Gets Cold, Toshikazu Kawaguchi After the Quake, Haruki Murakami What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, Haruko Murakami Mrs. Dalloway, Virgina Woolf The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern (at New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/CMued03H4_b/?igshid=1fdcml7ms7h3x

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Sundays are for lounging in super cute clothing. • Eco-friendly clothing: @tentree 10% off with code TBOSS10 (at St. Lawrence University) https://www.instagram.com/p/CMrty7gHy4d/?igshid=1v88xq3zn0wx8

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What really can I say. Literary academics would likely turn their noses up at Rupi Kaur’s poetry. But, she’s not writing for them. In fact, I’m sure she’d give a big “fuck you” to western (colonial) institutions and their strict notions of what poetry is and how it moo should be structured. If you have read poetry but don’t know where to start, Home Body is a good place. Rupi’s poems combine feelings of happiness, love, trauma, anxiety, and all that’s in between. Her poetry is accessible, providing no-nonsense readership. (at Rochester, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/CMpPC5dHW8X/?igshid=twhcp1a3yhvs

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Let’s talk about ACTIVEWEAR! So even prior to COVID you could spot me wearing activewear when I wasn’t teaching or in class. The pandemic has made it too easy to wear activewear all day, every day (I see you, too). But along with wearing activewear comes being active in it—and not all activewear holds up. There are quite a few brands that have nice work-to-workout wear clothing. Usually, my go to for clothing is “can I find it second hand?” But, it’s hard to find good condition activewear second-hand (when people sweat constantly in something, the sweat smells often lurks behind). If I can’t find what I need secondhand, I choose brands with eco-conscious ethos. Not all brands are the same, so be sure to research how their clothing is made, where it is made, what they do to cut emissions, what they do with their profits, etc. certified B-corps are the best for sustainability and countering climate change, so that’s a good place to start. • For me, I have two go-to brands for activewear. Pictured is from tentree’s new inMotion line. I bought a few products and over the last week I wore them while working out (running, walking, biking), paired them with “in public” clothes (the pandemic has me wearing sports bras 100% of the time—screw wires!). First, @tentree bras do not have pads! I love this because, really, they are annoying and fold, twist, and fall out in the wash anyway. The fabric is thick enough and the elastic is strong enough that everything stays comfortably in place. The material is soft, but hardy and breathable. They have three bras and legging styles, respectively. You can get high waisted, regular, and mesh leggings. They aren’t too “sporty” looking so you can blend in with a less casual outfit. Their collection also comes in nice, muted tones (use code TBOSS10 for 10% off—valid until March 22.) • The second brand I love is @sand_cloud, but they are behind in stocking their activewear. They have two bra and legging styles (one is more sporty than the other). Their fabric is also very soft—but strong and breathable. They also have amazing Turkish towels! (You can get $15 off their website through my link in bio) What brands do you use? https://www.instagram.com/p/CMnEDQ1n1ZC/?igshid=19d91xjpt4kf0

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I love the old buildings in my town. https://www.instagram.com/p/CMmrz65nTwC/?igshid=18p0hzi52ot34

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Devoured this in one sitting. Not as good as her second novel, but still well written. Mona Awad definitely found her writer’s voice in Bunny! https://www.instagram.com/p/CMku6Qln5SQ/?igshid=1052w1lnrxpz3

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50% off! Hey guys—Activist Skincare has given my followers a 50% off code for their TRAIL KIT! I use two skincare brands and this one of them. They are an eco-conscious, so if you’re trying to find new ways to be sustainable, this is a brand to try! Use code FLORAANDFIRE50 at checkout. You also should get free US shipping! (I’ve put an easy access link in my bio) • What is Activist Skincare all about? They use 100% vegan ingredients sourced from sustainability-minded suppliers, glass packaging, and low-waste refills (offered on almost all our products). They ensure their products are as good for the planet as they are for your body. They donate 5% of their revenue to environmental organizations. Recipient organizations have included Communities for a Better Environment, Cultural Survival, Earthjustice, Environmental Defense Fund, Rainforest Trust, and more. Customers can select any eligible organization to receive their 5% at checkout. https://www.instagram.com/p/CMkF_PhHrnL/?igshid=1w9xsysrghmx3

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One of my favorite end-of-winter things is when the ice on the river cracks and moves all at once—it’s a fantastic sound and awesome sight. https://www.instagram.com/p/CMkBBqzHRwF/?igshid=nu3zt4781bzp

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I’ve gotten a lot of messages about my plants and tips on plant care. I’m usually able to answer specific plant-care questions, but for more general questions I always recommend this book. The author, Darryl Cheng, provides planters with a new way to understand of the proper amount of light and water needed for plants, through the use of light meters rather than the antiquated “low light, medium light, high light” or “water every week” suggestions that often come with house plants. https://www.instagram.com/p/CMiHcR3HMTX/?igshid=vcn4swhpldhc

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My plants are growing like crazy! Must be spring. Here’s one of my plant shelfies (and our youngest fur baby—Eddie—photo bombing). • What are your favorite plants? https://www.instagram.com/p/CMhiksfnQPG/?igshid=eu95y1oj4ec2

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Industrial looking things. (at Canton, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/CMfmUd1nuuq/?igshid=1d5k26hvlqhot

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It’s the middle of Women’s History month. Yay. A full month dedicated to our history. As an academic, a historian to be specific, I find this month annoying. Why? Because we should be learning about the accomplishments women have made alongside all the white-men that have overshadowed us in history. It’s annoying because our world is built for (white) men and by (white) men. The book Invisible Women highlights this. From safety belts to vaccines, our world is made to fit men. For men to feel safe. I also read two horrifying comments about a female writer this morning, which put me on edge. One was written by a male who obviously felt as though the female writer didn’t deserve the positive attention her writing received as she doesn’t conform to a western-male writing structure. The other was by a female who basically regurgitated what the male had said. Anyway, we—females—need to stop putting each other down because we a) don’t understand another’s trauma/story/experiences b) don’t understand their appeal c) are jealous of their accolades d) feel like we are better We don’t need to add to the work men already do. Thanks for staying with me through my rant. https://www.instagram.com/p/CMfKDw0nRim/?igshid=1ao2rax6qvbv0

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The weather is at the middling point of not-quite spring but definitely not winter. Warm enough to be outside, yet risk enough to bundle up. My #tentree cabin blanket is perfect for porch lounging! https://www.instagram.com/p/CMdUOmFHXwo/?igshid=120x08z0wy9vm

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I HAD to buy this edition of my favorite novel The Awakening by Kate Chopin as it has a new introduction by my favorite contemporary author @carmenmmachado Thank you Carmen for being the incredible writer you are. I know being a literary genius means you won’t be hemorrhaging books every year, but please—I cannot wait for you to publish more! Thank you @thedallasreader for making me aware of this! The introduction is as promised. 👌🏼 https://www.instagram.com/p/CMcfwBenbMb/?igshid=2jph0wgl7ov4

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Does this mean it’s spring? I’m so looking forward to tearing down our current greenhouse and garden and build a new one! I also can’t wait to lay on our hammock and read ALL the books! What’s your favorite thing about spring and summer? https://www.instagram.com/p/CMcSjc0Hwk9/?igshid=18jr22t5qr7a5