About

My name is Valerie and I am passionate about thriving in all aspects of life – professional and personal. For me that means working long hours as an attorney and strategizing to balance the demands of job with my interests in food, healthy and mindful living, and my love for lists and planning.  I am 33 years old, an avowed city dweller who finds beauty in urban chaos, married to another lawyer who (fortunately) also likes city living, and at some point through it all, discovered I cannot eat gluten, dairy or eggs.  You can contact me via email, Twitter, Facebook, or by leaving me a comment.

“City” –  I started this blog when I lived in New York, and now live in Washington, DC, in the vibrant neighborhood of Dupont Circle.  I love everything city living has to offer including museums, farmers’ markets, public transportation, Zipcar, and walking everywhere.

“Life” –  Mindful living for me is two parts lists/planning, one part contemplation, and one part spontaneity, which is why despite having a very organized kitchen, I do not always fold my laundry, much to the chagrin of my husband.  I like to write about all sorts of life topics including organization, pretty paper products, living in small city dwellings, yoga, beauty and makeup, clothes and time with loved ones.

“Eats” –  After a lifetime of sinus infections and stomach problems, I discovered a couple of years ago that I cannot eat gluten, dairy and eggs.  Today, I eat a strictly gluten-free, vegan, and semi-raw to high-raw diet, as that seems to be what works best for me to maintain a consistently high level of energy.  I love to cook, try new recipes, and also pack a lunchbox of lunch and/or snacks almost every day, mainly to minimize the interruptions in my work-day.  I initially thought it might be fun to share the lunchboxes for a week, but the interest from readers was such that I ended up deciding to use the lunchboxes as one of the organizing principles of my blog.  Despite eating what many would consider a non-mainstream diet, I regularly go to business lunches, and have written about how I accommodate my dietary preferences in a variety of settings, including lunch with clients, business and personal travel as well as different social settings.

I do accept selectively accept products for view, or other partnering opportunities with companies and brands.  Please contact me via email for further information, policies and examples of past brand partnerships.

I started blogging in 2007 and initially wrote about green beauty products, which is a continued interest of mine that is now much more mainstream than it was in 2007, with far more products and information available.  More relevant, I became tremendously bored writing about just one topic, which is why with time I started writing about other aspects of my life and interests.  I also changed the name of the blog a couple of times, and at one point used a pseudonym (City Girl) which you might see pop up in the archives.