One of my biggest battles is smelly shoes. I love to wear shoes that don’t require socks (like barefoot running shoes and canvas slip-ons), but in doing so my shoes tend to smell horrible. Even when I toss them in the washing machine and let them air dry, after wearing them a few times they smell again.

I have finally figured out how to keep my shoes (and thus feet) from smelling by using a homemade shoe deodorant spray. This recipe is so incredibly easy.

Homemade Shoe Deodorant Spray

For really smelly shoes, fill a spray bottle with rubbing alcohol and spray directly on your shoes. Be sure to get the spray all the way down into the toes and inside, along the top of the shoe.

Or for a less intense spray, fill half of your spray bottle with vodka and the other half with water. You can add a few drops of an essential oil of your choice to leave behind a nice scent. Shake and use. I recommend using a finer spray  so your shoes don’t get nearly as soaked and dry in a couple hours.

To be honest I was afraid that my feet would smell like a mixture of a stale bar and B.O., but so far it has worked exceptionally well. It doesn’t smell at all once it dries, and it has been keeping my shoes fresh longer.

I feel like a little kid every time I get to take the train or BART. Although a part of it is that I only get to take public transportation on special occasions (and usually to visit San Francisco, which is always fun), there are so many other things that make me enjoy it. 


Even though when I drive I get to control the temperature and who is with me, I can’t read, meet new people, close my eyes for a few seconds (ie. accidentally fall asleep and wake up at the next station), or work. Yesterday I took Caltrain and BART into downtown San Francisco for a job interview, and the hour and a half I spent in each direction was a great break in my day to stop and take a moment to myself. To combat my nerves I was able to meditate and focus on my breathing. I have never felt so at peace or calm before an interview (which isn’t to say I still wasn’t nervous, but at least my hands weren’t shaking and my heart wasn’t beating out of my chest). 


I’m sure if I was able to use public transportation every day I wouldn’t be quite as enamored with it as I am now, but I hope that in the near future I can use it as my main mode of transportation. 

Happy Earth Day!

Even though we should live every day like it was Earth Day, here are some things that you can do today to decrease your impact.

Today my homework took me off campus and into a whole new world. I am no foreigner to gardening and I have been around very small scale farms before, but I have never been or seen anything quite like Veggielution.

Even though I am only a junior I am working my senior journalism capstone this year for my communication degree (a capstone is much like a senior thesis. Next year I will do a different senior project for my environmental studies degree). I am writing about the growing food movement in Santa Clara County, and my research quickly led me to Veggielution, a community farm in San Jose.

Veggielution began it’s journey in 2007 in four backyards with San Jose State students. Since then it has grown into a farm on 2.5 acres. The land is used to produce crops that are low cost or free to the community, educate people about gardening/farming, and serve as a beautiful space for people to relax and connect with the nature and people around them.

I spent the morning weeding and thinning out recently planted carrot beds with about 7 other people, while about 40-50 other people did other jobs elsewhere. It was wonderful to get outside (before the sun got too hot) and meet some new people. It feels great to know that although I didn’t do an extreme amount of work, someone will enjoy the carrots I carefully selected and weeded.

I’m falling in love with my capstone project, and I can’t wait to visit more incredible places like Veggielution.

*This post was originally published in The Santa Clara in my Sustainable Student column

As a college student it is a constant challenge to balance cooking myself healthy meals and spending that time on all of the other things on my to-do list. Today I decided to quickly grill some eggplant and make couscous. 

In all dinner took me 30 minutes total to prep, cook, and clean up. It was an extremely easy and quick dinner that was filling, nutritious, cheap, and satisfying. I need to explore some more quick meals. Any ideas or favorites?

It seems like over the course of the winter I forget what it feels like to have the sun’s rays warm my skin. Today we had beautiful weather and every time I stepped outside without my sweater on I felt this surge of joy. I cannot wait for the weather to stay warm and all of the wonderful things it brings including drying my clothes outside, going for runs at night when it’s still warm out, grilled vegetables, shorts, iced tea to cool off, and enjoying a good book outside.