Thanks GIVING!-
Helpful and heartfelt ways YOU can help give something back to your community this holiday season

Planet Friendly Clothing:
Wanna save the planet while looking chic? Recycled clothing is more versatile, interesting and cool than you think.

Getting Grateful:
Fitness expert Wess Murray on why it DOES make a difference when you care for yourself, and others.

Happy ThanksGIVING and Welcome to our Second Edition!

We've been encouraged has been quite the labor of love for me, and has been a long time in coming. It's story takes strange twists and turns, and, for some of the people who know me, this may be one of the last things they could have envisioned me doing!

I'm a city girl...and a country girl, at heart. Much of my life was spent in New York City, living the glamorous (or, usually, unglamorous) life of an artist (For more on THAT, see the "About Us" section).

Before my New York City Life, I'd lived in Florida, where nature, simple skills, and the lore and lessons of my mother would be the inspiration to do creative things that--while not necessarily stage worthy---were beautiful in their own ingenius way.

So as an alternate to that crazy city life, I decided to put together some of that information for those of you gals (and guys!) who, like me, live an unconventionally conventional life. This is for those of you who hang out way too much in city farmer's markets, for the "foodies" who like fresh and interesting farm faire, for you desperate "fire-escape gardeners", for you secret knitters and crocheters, sewing hounds, organic buffs.....you know who you are.This magazine is for you!

Our opening issue is perfectly timed. Halloween is my favorite Holiday, so we've packed a smorgasbord of holiday tips and tricks into this month's mag! We hope you enjoy!
Thanks! Zan