A Lifestylists Guide to the Green Evolution

Nothing can hurt or help more than words and they are something that’s truly priceless.

I was checking my LinkedIn page today and saw that a few people had given me recommendations including Sam Weidner Jr who was the VP of Patriot Homes and who had written the following:

“I have had the honor and the privilege to see a true artist at work. I hired Suzanne Felber to help Patriot Homes take a new, innovative, and aggressive role in helping redefine manufactured homes as people knew them. Without question she tackled that task with enthusiasm, and a creative vigor unlike anyone had seen in our industry at the time. Suzanne has a brilliant mind for knowing design trends and how to present her designs in a way that attracts buyers from all walks of life. With her help Patriot was able to win over 9 housing design awards including an award for best marketing campaign awarded by the NAHB. If you want your products to look the best the hire the best, Suzanne Felber.”
Service Category: Professional Lifestylist
Year first hired: 2002
Top Qualities: Great Results, Good Value, Creative

It’s one thing when you think that you have given a job your all, but when you receive something like this out of the blue it makes you want to go out and work that much harder, and give that client a big hug!

I’m honored to have worked with Sam and his company, and I’m looking forward to working with him even more in the future!

Today many of us gathered to say goodbye to a great man – Norman Brinker. Most people know of Norman as the mind who started and refined the trend of casual dining and the founder of Brinker International, but to me Norman will always be a horse lover, polo player and wonderful father first.

In my horse days I had a barn behind Norman’s equestrian center – Willowbend Polo Club. We would ride back and forth between barns and most of my horses came from owners at Willowbend that owned horses that were too much for them and wanted to unload them. Those were wonderful days and how fortunate we all were to be able to watch Norman streak across the polo field doing what he loved. Norman had an uncanny knack of knowing and remembering everyone’s names from the grooms to the owners and he treated everyone equally.

When I had two very young children I decided to work as a waitress at Steak and Ale – a concept that Brinker owned and was fairly new at that time. I helped open the Plano location and Norman spent an amazing amount of time with us learning what worked and what didn’t. He also wanted to make sure that we knew our jobs inside and out and we did a lot of wine tastings to learn about what we were serving. That was my first exposure to wine and it’s an experience that I still enjoy. His passion about the company made us passioniate about what we were doing, and we took our jobs personally and wanted to make Norman proud of us.

Our lives continued to intertwine – my sister was married at Willowbend and went on to work at the corporate offices at Brinker International. Being a “Brinkerhead” she loved being a part of that culture and was always amazed when she would visit a Chili’s and Norman would be there often by himself just enjoying a burger. He always remembered my sister and made her feel special.

What Norman and many great self-made leaders understand is that to succeed it has to be personal. Your own integrity, how you treat people and love of what you do  is not a small part of why these people have succeeded and why so many people people love and respect them in return. I wish I had taken a pen and notepad to the service because the wisdom and stories that were shared were incredible. Ross Perot and Mr. Brinker were good friends for many years and I can understand why – they are a lot alike, and both have a great, dry sense of humor that I love. Mr. Perot spoke and he was able to capture what made Norman so special. Even though he had been in a coma and had health issues from a polo incident and had other obstacles, nothing was going to keep Norman down and no matter what he did it was always with an amazing positive attitude and a love for life and everyone around him.

We’ll miss you Norman, but know that you are happily playing polo on the most heavenly fields any of us have ever dreamed of.

I heard some disappointing news today – Michelle Kaufman Designs, one of the best green designers has closed their doors. If you have ever seen one of Michelle’s designs you wouldn’t forget it – they combine beauty, simplicity, form and function into a beautiful green package. This is a woman who saw the future and tried to draw the rest of us to it.

Doing the right thing isn’t always the least expensive way to go, but it’s still the right thing to do. If we don’t support the people and companies that think outside of the box and are willing to give their all to what they believe in we will lose that talent and energy.

Building Green typically has more upfront costs but the savings realized long term can be incredible. Plus the difference we can make in the environment can’t be measured in dollars and cents but how do you put a price on the quality of life for your children and grandchildren?

I am bound and determined to make a difference. I’ve got Michelle’s website up on my other computer and just watching the slideshow is motivating me to think about ways that I can make the Home Idea Factory more green and I’m excited! A Whirlpool Sustainable kitchen  definitely in my future and my goal is to use as many local, green-friendly sources as possible.

The thing about Patriot Homes is that they were never afraid to push the envelope and the Weidners always supported what they believed was the right thing to do.

With grocery costs going thru the roof and concerns about the safety of the food that is available, this is the perfect time to think about incorporating edible plants into your landscaping.

I’ve had great luck with basil in my gardens, and when discussing with the lead gardener at Gaylord Texan what would be good choices for this years plantings she recommended going with plants that do well in my soil and light which amazingly enough are tomatoes, basil and mint. Even in my shady areas the mint seems to be happy as can be and is a welcome addition in my infamous Texas Tea and Mojitos.

Basil actually is beautiful when it blooms, and I’ve been known to give people bouquets of my blooming basil which are as fragrant as they are pretty.

My tomato plants get to be the size of a typical bush, and even the ones that don’t produce very good tomatoes contribute a great splash of green. Rosemary is another great addition that takes a while to get started, but gives green and scent all year long in my climate.

The Green Evolution is in full swing, and Earth Day is the perfect time to reflect on where we are and where we are trying to get to.  Just think about how much more acceptance the green movement has now, even compared to last year. Consumers no longer hope they can buy a green product – they expect the products they buy to be green.

Housing is a great example – it’s exciting to see more and more builders using green practices as a standard part of their building. Energy Star appliances are more common than ever, and Whirpool has stepped to the front of the line with their commitment to making our world a better and healthier place to live.

Whirlpool’s focus on green is at every price level, and last week they were a major sponsor of the Manufactured Housing Industry Congress. They brought Mark LaLiberte to the event to educate participants about going green, and Mark did a fantastic job of explaining how just doing the small things can make a big difference.

At the International Builders Show in January they showed their Sustainable Kitchen. Beautiful, inviting, efficient and green! Going Green doesn’t have to mean having solar panels on every roof – it can be as simple as making the home you live in more energy efficient and purchasing the right Whirlpool appliances for your lifestyle.

There’s so much to talk about, and thanks to Whirlpool and advocates like Mark we’ll continue to have great accomplishments to talk about in the future.