Zeno's Bar & Grill

I saw the magazine Plenty for the first time today, and I’m not impressed. While it is better than the now defunct Organic Style, it still seems to suffer from the need to encourage people to buy more stuff. Given that a recent column in the NY Times described us as a “nation that behaves like a college student who has just gotten his first credit card” (Ben Stein, Sunday’s NY Times; quote of the week in our book), the chair made from recycled shopping carts for $500 just seems silly. And don’t even get us started on Real Simple! What is so simple about cluttering up your place with all that stuff—we don’t care how streamlined it looks. It’s not a bad magazine, it’s just totally inconsistent. At least when you pick up Vogue or People you know exactly what you’re in for. And we love them for it. When Melanie graduated with her Ph.D., the other students in her lab gave her a subscription to People as a going away present.

Anyway, for real recycling, nothing beats eBay or Craigslist. Instead of shelling out for the pricey pseudo-vintage tea set in Land of Nod, I got a real set for my daughter on eBay. And Melanie saved several pounds of metal from the landfill when she sold some old Nutone blender accessories from the 1960’s (they came with her house). Now that’s some serious green.

--Kelly & Melanie