Articles Written by Julie Hancher

I feel for Lolo Jones' big secret. The dating world is tough, and things that make you different can be uncomfortable to share with someone you're just getting to know. My little secret?

Happpppy Independence Day Week! The celebration to kick off America's birth has begun, and we're celebrating all things red, white & green. (Whattt?) Here's a few links for your enjoyment:

With Dirt Factory debuting in University City this week, everyone's talking about composting. Whether you're a University City resident or not, where can you turn your orange peels & egg shells into plant-satisfying goodness?

One of the beautiful things about a CSA is getting a crapload of veggies which you have no idea what to do with. I may have overdosed after having goat cheese, almond & cranberry salad 7 days straight for lunch. My next dilemma? I had various vegetables and wanted something asian-influenced to go along with my 5% Asian self. Luckily I found a package of spring roll wrappers from the grocery story recently and decided to be creative with them. Note: you can swap out the veggies I suggest with your own fillings. But mine were pretty damn delicious... Here's my vegan recipe: Julie's Half-Assed Veggie Spring Rolls

We've all heard it before: - Air conditioners "work" harder when they're cooling down your house after a hot day ... But it's (True? False? The anticipation is killing me... so just click through & find out, after the jump!)

I recently received an invite to attend an evening sold as a "conversation" about the local food movement. (Disclaimer #1: Specifics withheld:My intention is not to embarrass any individuals, but to discuss my frustration from this experience.) Since I've been screaming 'GO LOCAL" on GPB for the past few months, I felt like I wanted to rejuvenate my feelings on the topic and get some new insight. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed. The format of the discussion was pretty straight forward: Young woman "expert" wrote a thesis, presented a PowerPoint with a few short clips (including Food Inc. & Freakanomics), followed by discussion. The most frustrating part of the evening was the presenter's arguments against the local food movement. (Disclaimer #2: I've read a book pro-locavore and anti-locavore.) Although I love a good debate, I felt that many of her anti-locavore arguments weren't well explained. Therefore, I've analyzed a few of the "Going local isn't all it's cracked up to be" arguments:

I've had a few friends move and therefore ask this question lately: Where can I get a recycling bin?

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society has returned for another round of their Pop Up Garden again... They transformed a vacant lot in Rittenhouse Square into a temporary garden. 1905-1915 Walnut St will turn

OK, so I use "Friday Roundup" as an opportunity to share everything you (and we) couldn't write about over the past week. But today's edition is fully dedicated to Shell (Oil). As a marketing guru/Social Media queen for a heavily-regulated industry, I have NO idea what crack Shell's execs were smoking in order to pass this idea... They started a "Let's Go Arctic!" campaign to get people pumped about drilling in the Arctic. Yet the spoofs of the campaign are INCREDIBLE, and every graphic created is very publicly accessible from Shell's website.  Instead of promotion, they've given ammo to those against their drill campaign: Just see the "popular" page filled mostly of anti-drill messages. I'm highlighting a few of my personal favs for "Shell Friday": I'd like to personally thank Andy for this one: (See a bunch more and how to submit your own, after the jump!)