Last weeks farmers markets post was so popular, I decided to post again. Yay to the girls who went to the farmers market this week or had their produce delivered by local farmers ;) 
This week I picked up some cherries, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, eggplant, chard, corn, nectarines and a loaf of flax bread, it was amazing! Can't wait for next week!
My green philosophy is to always be consciously thinking and questioning my actions and lifestyle choices. Is this necessary? How will it benefit me, and the world around me? And how can I push my self further?
Pushing myself to think about the bigger picture helps me to always think green, even in making small choices. I find a balance that works for me and hopefully this balance will always be questioned and re-evaluated. Being green has a snowball effect, the more green ideas you apply to your life, the more you question other aspects of your ways.
One example of my green "balance" is my nail polish. I am a girly girl at heart and I like to be pretty and that includes pink painted toes poking out of my peep toe sandals. Since nail polish is not really green, due to the chemicals in it, I try to limit the amount of nail polish in my life, but it's summer time now and I like my toes painted. No Miss is a cruelty free nail polish brand and is a balance for me to still try to be green without totally giving up my nail painting ways. The nail polish remover is completely organic and contains no acetone, and ethyl acetate and the nail polishes contain no formaldehyde, toluene, dibutyl-pthalate and camphor. You can find these at your local Whole Foods. Click here for more information on No Miss's products.
So as I mentioned this morning I had to pick up some cat food for my kitty. While I was at the health food store (which is on my exact route home, love that) picking up cat food and some glucosamine treats for him, I also picked up a few other green items as well. I picked up some cashew butter, a bottle of Dr. Bronner's Sal Sud (the uses for this are endless so it is always great to have on hand),a few bottles of Bossa Nova (so I saved a few rain forest trees with that purchase), and I picked up some Pheylonian Beeswax candles. The Pheylonian Beeswax candles have lots of eco/health benefits, they produce negative ions, which cleanse the air of dust, odors, toxins, pollen, mold, dust mite feces, chem-trail residues and viruses, and they are completely non-toxic, non-allergenic and non-carcinogenic(which most candles are not). Of course all these items were packed up nicely in my canvas tote ;)
Here is My kitty Oragnie, he is green as well. He is and indoor/outdoor kitty which means no litter box or plastic kitty box liners. Woot! We always make sure his diet is on track as well because we want Orangie to be as healthy as possible =) We feed Orangie Natures variety and Avoderm, click here for healthy cat food info and what Pet food brands to avoid. Reminds me I need to stop by the health food store today to pick up some cat food today....
Just wanted to give a shout out to Mandi, Erynn, Shana, Amanda, Jessica and all my other Green Queens! I love seeing your green ways! What better way to say cheers than with some Washington Apple Wine ;) Seeing all your green posts really inspires me and my green ways plus it makes me so happy! Live green!
This week I bought some organic skincare from the line Eminence Organics after a recommendation from my friend Lindsey. This company makes their items in a solar and wind power factory and all their packaging is made from recycled paper, woods and plastics. I love supporting companies like the this! I cannot wait to try out this grape antioxidant serum! Thanks again Lindsey! 
I also bought this bamboo tank top from shopbop. It was listed as being imported and I researched all over the web and found no answer of where it was imported from and just decided to order. When I came home I checked my other Torn tank top (which I love) to find out it was imported from China, boo. I tried, at least it's bamboo right??
Mrs. Meyers an eco-friendly cleaner is always on hand.
My plastic bag drawer. Although I hate that my bread and pita's come in plastic bags I try to make the best of it by reusing these bags. I use them to bag my fruits and veggies at the store and farmers markets. I also use them instead of ziploc bags and instead of buying saran wrap.
This next picture is of my bamboo kitchen tools and bamboo towel. Bamboo is great! It renews itself and grows much quicker then tress. It also requires little water to grow.
This last picture is of my cloth towels and cloth napkins. I never use paper towels or paper napkins anymore. Not only do paper towels and napkins require plastic to package but unless you buy recycled paper towels or napkins, regular paper towels are made from virgin trees =(
"If every household in the U.S. replaced just one six roll pack of 120 sheet virgin fiber paper towels with 100% recycled ones, we could save:
* 6,100,000 trees
* 15,751,000 cubic feet of landfill space, equal to over 3,800 full garbage truck
* 2.2 billion gallons of water, a year's supply for 17,200families of four
* And avoid 231,000 tons of emissions"
Plus cloth napkins are just so charming!
So following through on my ban of things made in China/sweatshops I did a quick inventory of my own closet. I was doing pretty well I would say about 75/25. My shoes, tops, dresses and jeans helping me out. My bras (Victoria Secret), camis (Nordstrom) and work stuff (Banana Republic and Gap) were bringing me down. After evaluating it seemed like the typical Mall stuff Gap, Forever 21, Banana, Victoria's Secret were the ones made in China or other places. I will no longer be shopping at the places. I was disappointed in Free People, I thought that there items might have been made in the USA (I did have some things made by them made in USA but not all). I was also surprised that a Bebe top I had was made in the USA (the company originated in San Francisco)I don't shop there often but they came off to me as a typical mall store and was surprised that they were USA made. My quest for a green/local closet continues! More organic cottons, vegetable dyes, and bamboo here I come!
It is finally cooling down but that heat we had sure helped my clothes dry fast! I always line dry my clothes. The clothes drier only to second to refrigerator in most use of energy usage and it is super easy to cut back on! I used to line dry my clothes outside but the sun can bleach clothes, so now I just hang my clothes up in my laundry room and air dry there. My laundry room is the garage so during the summer is it nice and toasty and the clothes dry super fast. Another good way to save energy is to wash your clothes cold, which I always do "Hot water heating accounts for about 90 percent of the energy your machine uses to wash clothes — only 10 percent goes to electricity used by the washer motor." Just doing little the things can make a big difference in your personal energy usage =) Keep it Green.
I'm not a tattoo girl, if I was I would get this Gandhi quote tattooed on me "Be the change you wan to see in the world". Instead I wear this bracelet everyday to remind me how I want to live my life. It inspires me to think about my actions daily. The new change I am making in my life is to ban all products made in China and in sweatshops. China is the worlds biggest Co2 emitter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environment_of_China) and I do not want to support that sort of pollution. I have also been searching http://www.sweatshopwatch.org/ regularly to check out all brands I think of supporting. Every time I think about voting with my dollar (making a purchase) I think about what sort of business I am supporting, and the repercussions of that support. From now on, no more made in China, Vietnam, or the Philippines for me...hmmm this may put a dent in my shopping, although the repercussions of that may not be all that bad ;)
Every Saturday morning I begin my weekend by meeting my friend Jaymi at the gym and then I meet my Mom (canvas bags in hand) at the local farmers market.It's a great feeling to start the weekend by doing things that are healthy. The Farmers market is full of healthy antioxidant filled produce, buying these delicious local fruits and vegetables is also very eco-friendly! These days buying organic isn't enough, in a March 2005 a study by the Journal of Food Policy found that "the miles that organic food sometimes travels creates enough environmental damage that it often outweighs the benefit of buying organic." Local baby! I am so fortunate to have a great local farmers market within 2 miles of my house, if you have never gone to one, you must check it out ;) This week we picked up some cilantro, garlic, onions, peppers, tomatoes, chard, kale, corn and cherries. I only spent about $12, I would have picked up more fruit but everything seemed to be as wilted from the heat as I was.
I pulled out some of my everyday green toiletries to show you my green ways. Back in December 2007 my mom and read a list of ingredients that are toxic and are in most
shampoo's, lotions, face washes and soaps. Our skin is huge organ and absorbers every thing we put on to it, so knowing the ingredients is key! Although my and Mom and I were doing pretty well, we did read through all our labels to make sure we were toxin free. Here are some of the products I use that are good and green! From left to right, my body brush that I use to brush toxins off my skin and it stimulates blood in the skin, Ergo Soy candle, Earth Science Aloe Vera Toner, Trader Joes (TJ's) Aloe Moisturizer, Tom's of Maine toothpaste and deodorant,
TJ's Vitamin E oil, Earth Science face wash, TJ's Refresh shampoo and conditioner and TJ's Next to Godliness hand soap.
And a great way to Green you bathroom is by purchasing 100% recycled bath tissue every so often. I pick mine up at Trader Joes.
"If every household in the U.S. replaced just one roll of 500 sheet virgin fiber bathroom tissue with 100% recycled ones, we could save:
* 448,000 trees,
* 1.1 million cubic feet of landfill space, equal to 1,700 full garbage trucks,
* and 161 million gallons of water, a year’s supply for 1,270 families of four! "
Maybe it was the boredom of being alone or maybe it was the heat but while Casey was gone I went a bit water saving crazy. So crazy I let our pool water level drop to dangerously low levels, since I decided saving water was more important then our pool water level. LOL. So the the first water saving technique I implemented was hand washing my plates and silverware over this jar and when it filled it up with water I would quickly shut off the water, run the jar out to my garden and pour it on my garden and then continuing washing and repeating this crazy cycle. LOL. I think a larger tub would make this whole process slightly less crazy.
The second crazy water saving technique implemented was removing the water stopper in our master bath sink. Without the stopper I can actually see the water go down straight down the sink, which shortened my usage usage even more. Although both of the ideas aren't saving incredible amounts of water, they are always consciously reminding me to think about the water I consume and how much is wasted. Hopefully my crazy ways help you think about your water usage or if you have you own water saving ideas feel free to share them!
Yesterday was my birthday and I received a few green gifts. I got some items to get my composting up and running, the book Gorgeously Green and a juicer! The juicer does not sound so green but I am trying to incorporate more vegan, vegetarian, and raw diet ideas into my diet, which are not only healthy lifestyles but very green as well. Organic fruits and vegetables are great for the environment due to not using pesticides,local ones are even better due to low gas needed to ship them and fruits and veggies don't use any packaging and they come in their own bio degradable wrapper ;). Adding more fruits and veggies in my diet means the less other junk and that means less trash from me. Good all around! I can't wait to start reading the book and to get juicing an composting! Thanks for all the Birthday wishes =) And of course the cakes were carrot!!
My friend Erynn showed me this awesome site called Gypsy05 http://www.gypsy05.com/index.aspx. Not only are Gyspy05's clothing seen on many celebrities but it's clothing is made from organic fabrics, natural dyes, and produced in a California based solar-powered factory. Did you read that solar power baby!!! When Erynn told me about this dress I knew I had to support this company! Thanks again Erynn, I can't wait to get the dress!
Maybe it's that I hate to waste things, I mean it comes in the mail every week! Or maybe I'm just bored, what ever it is I look forward to my Penny Saver every week. As one of my friends once said about the Penny Saver "you know that thing that comes in the mail that your not supposed to to read". Well I am an avid reader of the Penny Saver, it is quite amusing, have you seen the junk people try to sell in there!? You don't even know how happy I was to see the Penny Saver make it to the big screen in Juno. Well knowing my love of the Penny Saver my Mom likes to leave me little messages in the message center. So I was pleased to see a message from my Mom wishing me a Happy Birthday in this weeks edition. Always makes my day. Thanks Mom!
Not only is Bossa Nova one of my favorite Elvis songs (oh if you didn't know already I am a huge Elvis fan) but is now also one of my favorite drinks. Today I picked up some Bossa Nova Acia juice from the health food store. The fruit called Acia is packed with more disease-fighting antioxidants than any other fruit on earth! And for another reason to check out the Bossa Nova is for the environment ;) every Bossa Nova Bottle you buy( oh and yes they are glass bottles!) saves a rain forest tree!
For more Bossa Nova Acia information check out
http://www.bossausa.com/
and for some Elvis Bossa Nova Fun check out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-yZifpgCR0
"She said,
'Drink, drink, drink
Oh, fiddle-de-dink
I can dance with a drink in my hand"
It's better for the Environment then driving.
My thighs can use any extra work they can get.
It relieves my stresses.
Oh and gas is almost $5.....
Just got back from a ride to the gym and then to do a few errands, if someone were around I would take a picture of how cool I look on my ride. LIVE green! ;)
My sis got on board with the Canvas bags, she had some for grocery shopping but not for running errands or shopping at the mall. I would make her carry the stuff she bought but she felt someone would think she was stealing lol. So she picked up this Beau Soleil bag from Planet blue to use as a purse/shopping bag. Go SIS! I'm jealous that it has pockets.
While she picked up that I picked up this Signorelli - Grey Children's Health Fund Tee the proceeds of this tee are donated to the Children's Health Fund.
Can't wait to spend the weekend in Malibu with my sister! It is one of my favorite places to relax at, and I am already craving a soy vanilla latte from Coffee bean. Plus I was starting to get lonely at my house all alone.
My Trunk:
My Bag that I am rarely seen without:
This is what the trunk of my car looks like, it is filled with canvas bags to use during shopping trips. I use canvas bags for every type of shopping I do. I keep these bags in my car so I never have to use plastic bags, I also don't use paper bags. Most days I carry my Anya Hindmarch's "I'm not a plastic bag", it doubles as a purse and it's large enough to hold lots of things, perfect for running errands. I also keep extra canvas bags stashed in there if I need more shopping space (which knowing me I do!). Inside all the canvas bags in my car, I keep plastic bags from bread, pitas, ect to use for my fruits and veggies, this way I don't have to use more plastic bags when I am at the farmers market or grocery shopping.
I have discovered a frog has taken up shop in our backyard, in our swimming pool to be exact. It is quite amusing to see him swimming across the pool, not sure how healthy it is for him to be living in our pool but he seems quite happy for now.
Katie got engaged on Friday May 30th, and somehow she managed to keep it a secret until Monday so she could tell Carrie and I in person. She was so cute and brought us little cakes with notes that read "I'm going to need your opinion .....". The Champange and wedding magazines were broken out shortly after!
On May 16th My Sister graduated with her Masters from Pepperdine. My Mom, Dad, Stepmom and I went down to Malibu to celebrate. We are all so proud of her. We had a great weekend we ate lots of seafood and spent some quality time on the beach.
We took my Mom to Napa for Mothers day and we had a blast! We went to an exclusive wine tasting event put on by local wineries in the area. It mostly merlots, cab, and zins and all the bottles being poured were $60 or more and only had a few hundred bottles corked so even us white wine girls had a great sampling. And it was so nice to support the local wineries!
Spring has arrived and my flowers are blooming, can't wait for the veggies to come.
