Issue 22: Truth: Money CAN buy happiness. At least for you in your place.

Melody WarnickBlacksburg, Love Where You Live experiment, Place love

I know, I know. Buying things doesn’t make you happy. Experiences do. But what about paying for gear that helps you have more meaningful experiences where you live? I have spent about 20 years of my adult life in places where it snows every winter, sometimes an awful lot. Utah. Maryland. Iowa. Virginia. And yet it was only last year … Read More

Issue 19: 11 Things I Learned at CityWorks (X)Po

Melody WarnickCool projects, Place love, Placemaking, Virginia

Why do I blow off so many potentially life-changing conferences? Money. Time. Complicated carpooling schedules. Guilt-inducing children. Even attending the wonderful CityWorks Xpo conference in Roanoke, 45 minutes down the road from Blacksburg, required a herculean level of organization. And yet, as my writer friend Kate Hanley points out, “Good things happen when you leave the house.” Like the fact … Read More