à la carte spirit by ilona fried
Food
Cleaning up a Creek, Cleaning up Karma
Lured by a free breakfast, lunch and an REI t-shirt, I volunteered to help clean up the Sand Creek Regional Greenway, 25 minutes from my Denver apartment. In theory, picking up other people’s garbage is not appealing; in reality, it was revealing. Armed with hats, work gloves and black and orange bags (for trash and … Continue reading
More on Last-Minute-Itis
Two posts ago I wrote about how, in waiting until the last minute to make lodging arrangements for a conference (The Wake Up Festival), I stumbled upon a solution to what, until then, had been a conundrum: finding affordable accommodation that did not involve multiple roommates. Pleased to be renting a room in a private … Continue reading
Lessons from a Road Trip
On Monday morning, I hit the road. Meticulous planners will be horrified to learn that I made the decision just days before (maybe they are shaking their heads and clucking their tongues at this clinically extreme case of Last-Minute-Itis). And that is exactly why I needed to take off, to give my inner perfectionist the … Continue reading
Starbucks lacks an “à la carte” spirit
I’m not a coffee drinker, and even though I prefer real cafés to corporate clones, I can’t avoid Starbucks altogether. When I’m at an airport and want some tea, Starbucks is often the best or only choice. When I’m on a mountain club trip, sometimes the leader decides we’ll have a restroom break at this … Continue reading
Potlucks as Spiritual Yardstick
Years ago, I loathed potlucks. As a former Manhattanite, I had dined at my fair share of upscale restaurants, thanks to a foodie boyfriend. Having traveled and lived overseas, I’d enjoyed lots of authentic if not exotic cuisine. At some point, I decided that if I were to eat a meal out (in a restaurant … Continue reading
à la carte spirit by ilona fried 
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