By Teanna Gentry

"The grass isn't always greener on the other side, it's greener where you water it." This quote from the vice president of my old medical company recently popped back into my head when I was on the hunt for what's new and exciting in Burien businesses. For this go around, and because this quote has me thinking about green things, like grass, I wanted to take a dive into businesses that deal with products and goods from our good ole Mother Earth. We live in a very dynamic community and recently many people have been drawing attention to the bad & ugly around us. Today I want to focus on the good.

Enter in Paper Delights. Paper is made from trees, trees are green. You get the idea. This locally owned business is run by Kathy and Alicia who are a mother/daughter duo who wanted to see "better shops here" in Burien because they live locally. Their Seahurst shop is tucked away on the corner of 152nd by Bistro Baffi and boasts unique cards, stationary and handselected gifts. My husband recently picked up a card for me for Valentine's Day from their shop and the card front read, "Wanna know how much I love you? If you weren't already mine I would scour the earth for your a**!" Yowza. But I thought it was hilarious! I love that this shop also offers group classes like calligraphy and paper flower making. Who wouldn't love that?

My next green scene brought me to Emerald City Smoothie in the Safeway Plaza. Owners Janel and Danny are Burien locals for over 30 years and know the value of creating something worthwhile that keeps people coming back for more. Not all their smoothies are green, but boy are they tasty! My favorite is the Vegan Dream, but really anything is good here. Danny told me, "We take the time to make our smoothies the right way. The consistency of the smoothie is huge." I definitely don't want to crunch & gulp my smoothie and I like that they come around the corner and hand you the smoothie you ordered once its ready. It's the little things like this that stand out. They also have tons of supplements, vitamins, healthy protein bars, and more to shop from when you stop in.

The final stop on my quest for more green left me at Pan Perennial. Have you heard of "permaculture?" The term focuses on making use of everything in nature and eliminating waste. Balance and sustainability are key because everything serves or has a purpose. Brian Reindel, owner of Pan Perennial, told me that his relatively young and small company, "Focuses on connecting with our neighbors, hearing their stories, and learning how we can serve the community best. We want to inspire and help our neighbors grow more of their own food, and we would like them to be able to do it in beautiful, harmonious settings that can be relaxing, renewing, and shared. We actually don’t offer traditional lawn care services at all. We don’t even have a lawn mower, unless you count sheep—nature’s original lawn mowers—then, yes, we do have a few of those. But, we are perfectly happy transforming a lawn into a productive foodscape, rain garden, pollinator meadow, or wildlife habitat!" I love this. If you are looking to take your home, wellness, and health up a notch, these are the guys to call.

Now go get your greens!

Biography
Teanna Gentry is a health and wellness guru from the Pacific Northwest who has a passion for helping people find freedom in movement. She was an all conference Track and Field athlete at Eastern Washington University from 2003-2007 and has since coached and trained athletes and clients of all ages in the greater Puget Sound area in running, yoga, speed/agility/quickness, and total wellness. Teanna is a certified yoga and barre instructor, as well as an avid lover of the outdoors. She is most oftenseen around Hot Feet Fitness or running around town with her husband and toddler.