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It’s All Fur Love: Adopting a Pet

Nov 1st, 2008 | By The Conscious Snob | Category: Sustainable Living
Rating 4.00 out of 5

adoptpet4 Its All Fur Love: Adopting a Pet

Considering a furry addition to your home? Whether you’re considering your first pet or looking for your second or third, I highly suggest thinking about the different ways your new pet can come to you.  I’ve had several friends who have had a great experience purchasing pets, but personally, I find pet adoption an even more rewarding event.  Although it may seem like there’s more work in adopting a pet, the truth is that taking care of any pet is going to require a certain level of commitment from you. If you think you’re ready to share your home with a dog or a cat, consider the following 5 points.

Are you ready to commit? While taking care of a dog may not be as strenuous as caring for a child or working full-time, it still takes time and responsibility.  The basics involve being able to feed and walk your new dog at least twice — daily.  If you have a sporadic work schedule or know that you can’t commit to these fundamental needs of a dog, then consider getting a cat.  Even if you’re able to hire a dog-sitter or a dog walker to help you out, remember that your dog also needs baths, occasional vet visits, and most importantly, attention and love from you.

Evaluate yourself. First, make sure you’re not allergic to pets.  If your eyes well up whenever you’re near Fido, then leave Fido to someone else’s care.  Next, consider your lifestyle and what kind of pet you’re looking for.  Dogs have a wide range of personalities and different levels of energy.  Think about what you can handle and what works best with your personality.  Finding a pet, to a slight degree, is similar to finding a significant other… you guys have to work well together.

Think money. Taking care of a pet is an expense.  While the basic costs tend to be minimal and predictable (unless you’re spoiling your pet with Coach collars and LV carriers), there can be incidents where you may have to rush your pet to the vet for emergencies.  These visits can be very costly.  And if your pet happens to have bad teeth, be prepared to pay a sizable sum for doggy dentistry.

Screen the animal. Determine the criteria and qualities that you’d like your new pet to have before you start your pet hunt.  Like humans, dogs come with different characteristics and different temperaments.  The best thing is to test a dog’s temperament before you make the commitment to take it home, this will ultimately benefit both of you.

Consider adoption. An innumerable number of dogs and cats are put to sleep in shelters each year because there just aren’t enough homes for them.  Instead of encouraging over-breeding (and even worse, the proliferation of dog mills), why not adopt from your local pound or animal shelter?  If you’re a first time dog owner, there are a number of foundations that help with your adoption process.  Many of them will screen you and your home first before they allow you to adopt, to insure that you’re ready and able to make this commitment.  If you’re looking to adopt a particular breed or type of pet, a good starting place is petfinder.com, which allows you to search for your criteria in your local area.

I can’t stress how rewarding it is to give an adopted pet a comfortable and loving home.  If you’re looking for a furry companion, think about these five points before you take action, and please, remember to consider our very last point!

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GC6: Quality Ride with the SO

Nov 1st, 2008 | By The Conscious Snob | Category: Sustainable Living
Rating 3.00 out of 5

giftchallenge6-4 GC6: Quality Ride with the SOOn day 6 of my participation in the 29-day gifts challenge the weather was gloomy and sporadically rainy — but it engendered a bit of quality time with my significant other.  No, we didn’t spend a cozy night at home roasting marshmallows.  I got to drive him to work so that he didn’t have to bike in the rain.  It wasn’t a whole lot… but I did have to get up ridiculously early!  That’s love. :)

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The Giving Challenge series is intended to document The Conscious Snob’s day-to-day experience participating in Cami Walker’s 29-day Giving Challenge.  Check in with us daily to see how we’re giving back.  Will you join the challenge?

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GC5: Ricola From Your Secret Neighbor

Oct 31st, 2008 | By The Conscious Snob | Category: Sustainable Living
Rating 4.00 out of 5

giftchallenge5-4 GC5: Ricola From Your Secret NeighborYesterday, I did something bit more spontaneous for day 5 of my participation in the 29-day gifts challenge.  For the past few days, I’ve put quite a bit of thought and planning into the challenge — but last night the opportunity to give just unexpectedly came up.

To give you the proper backdrop: I live in a small, 6-unit apartment complex where my neighbor and I share one stairwell.  The building is old and the walls are thin.  This means we can hear everything.

Recently, a new tenant moved into the apartment next to me.  We’ve introduced each other in passing, but otherwise we’ve seen little of each other.  Last night, through the thin walls I heard him coughing up a storm.  A loud, dry, throaty cough that lasted into the wee hours.  Having recently been sick myself, I offered up what I found most comforting during my distress: Ricola herbal cough drops.

So I took a handful of Ricola cough drops, dropped them in a little baggie with a get well note, and left them in front of my neighbor’s door to be found the next morning.

I haven’t heard him coughing tonight — so maybe it’s working?  Or maybe I was just imagining the sound?!?

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The Giving Challenge series is intended to document The Conscious Snob’s day-to-day experience participating in Cami Walker’s 29-day Giving Challenge.  Check in with us daily to see how we’re giving back.  Will you join the challenge?

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PONO: Fusing Fashion with Philanthropy

Oct 30th, 2008 | By The Conscious Snob | Category: Conscious Fashion
Rating 4.50 out of 5

pono4 PONO: Fusing Fashion with Philanthropy The amount of jewelry we have available to us today surmounts any possible collection that could have been amassed by our parents in their generation, but more doesn’t always have significance.  Aside from those special pieces given to us by our loved ones, how much of our jewelry collection actually means something to us other than as mere accessories we use to jazz up our outfits?

It is precisely for this reason that we fell in love with PONO Accessories’ inspiring jewelry collection.  Seen on The Devil Wears Prada, Gossip Girls, and recently featured on Harper’s Bazzar, PONO’s increasing popularity is owed not only to its unique style and vibrant colours but also to its incredible mission to benefit non-profit organizations around the world through its Give Love, Practice Peace collection.

The Give Love, Practice Peace collection focuses on three different causes: Give a Girl a Chance, Al Gore’s The Climate Project, and The Natural Resources Defense Council.  PONO has designed jewelry made specific for each of these causes with the commitment to donate a percentage of the sales to each non-profit and the intention of promoting awareness through their jewelry’s message-specific designs.

Of the three causes, Give a Girl a Chance tugged most at our heartstrings.  A Feminenza International global program, Give a Girl a Chance works with Non-Governmental Organizations in Africa to rescue and rebuild the lives of girls who are victims of female genital mutilation and forced marriage.  For this cause, PONO donates 20% of their total sales from their  “Brightness of Life” collection — a line of colorful and intricately beaded bangles that were inspired by beaded bracelets made by the Masai tribial woman in Kenya.

My favorite bangles are the Golden Strand Brightness of Life Bangles, which are made from glass beads and radiate three different color schemes: Cherry Gold, Rainbow Gold, and Garnet Gold.  I’ve tried them and I love them.  I’m already thinking about sending these to friends as Thanksgiving and/or Christmas gifts.  They’re beautiful with a meaningful message — AND all three can be purchased for $50, which is a steal since the bangles are usually sold at $20 each.

Other pieces from PONO’s Give Love, Practice Peace collection may seem a bit pricier, but remember there’s message and action taken with each item purchased.  To help you make your decision more easily, readers of The Conscious Snob will be given an exclusive 10% discount towards their entire purchase.  Purchases must be made through PONO Accessories’ online Ebay store.  Once you’ve made the purchase, notify the PONO seller that you have have a discount code from The Conscious Snob and 10% of your purchase will be refunded to your account.  Coupon code: conscioussnob

So why wait?  Send a message to others by choosing to wear jewelry that does more than just “bling.”  Happy shopping!

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If you’re in New York City, you’re in luck.  PONO will be having a sample sale in their showroom starting Tuesday, November 11th and ending Friday, November 1th from 9 am - 7 pm. All items will be 60%-80% off retail price and purchases of over $100 will be able to pick a free item.

Address:
Bobbi Trim/PONO Accessories
8th Floor
132 West 36th St.
New York City, NY 10018
Visit their online Ebay store

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