about a green girl

New (old) Summer Tunes

Updated for your Summer desktop/laptop listening pleasure:

http://greentag.typepad.com/greengirl/lovely-tunes.html

Greentag Vintage: Summer 2009 Look Book

You can download and view the latest (and the first!) Look Book for this Summer 2009 update to my Greentag Vintage Shoppe on Etsy.com by clicking here!

Lots of accessories, Vintage designer 50's, 60's 70's and 80's items from Coach, Halston, Guess. Everything revolves around a little summer party theme, but I can assure you these pieces can be stylishly worn anytime! I also have several Plus-sized pieces. Stop by after July 4th!

Happy Independence Day~ A.

  

Props to the peeps (tweets) in Iran

I was trying to explain to my boss how Twitter has changed the world. It isn't easy to wrap your mind around if you aren't familiar with the tweets and whatnot.

There is no better example of the power of the internets, free speech, and connectivity than what has been happening in IRAN with the fake election. Communication cannot be denied and this new wacky portal called Twitter is keeping us all in the front seat, for good or bad. I think it is an amazing tool.

Globally, consciously we must support these people. When you look at the photos it is painfully obvious that we are all alike. We all yearn for freedom. We all want a future, a family, love, clean air to breathe, and place to live without fear of bombs and war and being gunned down for speaking up or holding a sign in the streets.

Why should a girl in Michigan (or Idaho, or Minnesota, or California, or Oregon,) care about these Iranian people? Forget about the fact that the CRAZY freak dictator who is stealing the election has the power and the means to harm us and our so-called allies, but remember HISTORY and how many empires have turned to dust by one flub up (or a million in-actions.) Now the Romans didn't have Twitter, but if it were your election being stolen by an idiot, how would you feel? (Oh wait, that already happened to us once, in the year 2000, and nothing really happened...)

The Iranian people don't have the cushy lives we have and maybe that is why they were more willing to RISK THEIR LIVES to tell the rest of the planet that they are getting robbed and they need help. All actions have consequences. I think we can all get that concept with our recent past, but if it were you there in Iran....what would you hope would happen as this plays out? Is there such a thing in 2009 as peaceful diplomacy? Is it all a game of liars chess? It's hard for most people with any sense of human compassion to watch.

Here is my big preachy part of the posting:

Make this 4th of July count by acknowledging the meaning of the day in your soul with ACTION, (big or small.) Can you doubt that you were so lucky to be born here, (even with all of our literal and figurative garbage,) and especially if you are a WOMAN??! Make the most of what you have and NEVER take it for granted.

Go make something happen! Recycle a failed idea and make it work. Speak up. Be less embarrassed to have a point-of-view.

Twitter, which is (dare I say,) revolutionizing the way we communicate globally, was just invented on March 21st, 2006 when this guy Jack Dorsey thought, "I want to have a dispatch service that connects my friends and I on our phones using text." It was just an idea to tell friends "the club I am at tonight is really happening right now!"

(Do people still use the term "happening"? How hip to be square!)

His friends called his invention "friend stalker", but now his idea is helping an entire country demand their freedom (or at least brodcast the truth,) 140 characters at a time.

 Awesome.

Lovely Storytellers and Photo Thieves

Do you know about Mackinac Island Press? It is a small publishing house here in Michigan who features children's authors. I discovered them recently and I am in love!

I especially like this author and book. It is so sweet. So many of us have little stories and wonder-thoughts inside our hearts that we never bother to share. Maybe their work will inspire you or the little munchkins in your lives.

Speaking of little munchkins.....one mommy's family Christmas card photo made its way around the globe and onto a storefront in the CZECH Republic! Yikes! Read the fully story here. I know I will be putting my photo accounts on PRIVATE from now on and all bloggers, Facebookers and the lot should (re)consider this story before posting their family pics on the internets! I mean, no harm was really done...but it is bizarre and the risk we all take when posting things that are so accessible to a katrillion people! I mean, I am all out there by choice, but If my photo appeared in an ad for a fat-farm spa in Norway...I'd be a bit pissed. (Don't get any ideas!)

You (we) have been forewarned! Time to edit those privacy functions on those social networking pages, "friends"! What a bizarre world we live in!

MODCLOTH: Update!

Mandy from the uber cool site MODCLOTH has just informed me that they do have plus sizes in their swimsuit category with hopes of expansion, as they grow! I love this site! Check it out if you are in need of some Betty Grable swimwear to cover a plump rump this summer! I have a black and white polk-a-dot suit exactly like this one and I love how it holds all the right stuff up, (the halter is amazing) and covers all the junk.

(P.S. You look lovely Mandy!)

seven years and a sassy wife (life)

I have so much to share with you! I have bumped into so many cool finds lately that they just pile up and have to be dumped into one big post to clean off the blog heap on my internal desktop!

This week, my husband and I celebrated our seven year wedding anniversary. I was visiting with my mom and grandmother after church on the Sunday before our anniversary day, and they were joking with me about the "seven year itch", and yadda, yadda, yadda... (and "What are your goals for your marriage in the next seven years?") Seriously!? Yikes!

My grandparents would have celebrated their 60th anniversary a few days earlier if my grandfather hadn't passed away, so I guess I will take the quizzing and questioning from a pro-wife like her. They had 54 solid years together.

Ironically, they would have been married almost seven years when the movie The Seven Year Itch with Marilyn Monroe came out in 1955. I can remember first watching that movie and how it amused me and appealed to the Catholic-girl tease in me with words like automat and icebox, (which are repeated breathlessly and often throughout it.) Then there was the famous white dress blowing up in the subway station scene, which made me wonder at age 14: "What was so darn spectacular about that?" And "Men are so predictable and easily amused," I thought.

But this day, (light bulb over head,) I thought....what if I could find a vintage inspired replica of that type of dress, in my chunky size?

So I searched around a bit and found out that you can buy many such COSTUMES, but few replica dresses. I did find a few sites that swim with that Rockabilly vibe and have some Marilyn-like dresses (even in PLUS SIZES!)The site that offers this Marilyn inspired dress from the movie Niagara, (shown left) is called Pin-up Girl Clothing. BEWARE you might have to dodge slutty, stripper clothes on their site to find the good dresses! The pale beige dress (shown below,) made my heart skip a beat, but it was SOLD OUT.

The site also carries Re-Mix Shoes which are vintage replicas. If you love the look of vintage shoes with the clean, ease of a brand new pair of your very own, check out their site. The quality is worth the investment if you can afford a pair. These are the type of shoes you'll keep forever.

I also love ModCloth which carries this Seven Year Itch dress. No plus sizes for the big girls, though. They have lots of other fun stuff to browse like a reusable cup that looks like a Starbucks throwaway, and fun books like this one by the founder of Ann Arbor's own FOUND MAGAZINE, or this one (shown above,) which might be a belated anniversary present for my Mr. Smarty-pants. I think he had that hair-do once upon a time. Hmmm... actually, I want EVERY SINGLE BOOK in their little bookstore category! Look at them all and have fun.

Last but not least, I found this little company in New York called CHAIRLOOM.

I fell in love with the idea of an upholstery company devoted to chairs. I pick up chairs like some people pick up stray dogs and cats. I can't help it. I hate to see a good one go to the dump, when 99% of the time they just need paint and new coverings. Check out their site to get inspired. You might buy a staple gun and some upholstery nails and make a project out of your old chairs.. because they make old junkers look so fresh, sweet, and easy to reinvent.

I like the lines on this little bench, which just as easily could have been a coffee table/side table with great legs which was then repainted, batted up, covered and finished to be recycled into a perfect little bench. It seems to beckon me, "Here! Sit and put your fabulous vintage shoes on, (while wearing your Marilyn dress,) and go have a fantastic anniversary dinner!" Or something like that.

Seven year itches? I say, put him in stitches with ridiculous dresses and an icebox dinner for two! Speaking of stitches, at least this anniversary was less eventful than last year!

dreams of the string section

If I hadn't learned to play the oboe...I would have picked some type of instrument from the string section to study. I would have been awful, no doubt. Those babies are not easy to just pick up and learn. The technique required to be a really great violinist takes years and years to truly master. Unless you are extremely gifted from the go. A natural. (If you read the book to which I refer below, you'll get that this is really an inside joke. It explores the idea that not everyone can be especially gifted or interesting, yet so many of us relentlessly aspire to be.....like with vanity blogs and silly-arty ideas we wish to yell from mountain tops or backyard gardens or just over the internets... :) 

These fellas certainly are gifted. Enjoy this short film by George Wu, inspired by Kazuo Ishiguro's Nocturnes, Five Stories of Music and Nightfall. This book is my highly recommended summer reading selection for you as you lay on the beaches of Lake Michigan....or whatever pond resides close to you!

Speaking of sweet tunes...

I thought I should remind you that I have been rotating my station playlist, in case you haven't noticed. You can open the little player widget here and keep a tab open on your browser to just have some nice tunes to enjoy while you work (if you don't have your own playlist handy...)

Right now, the music will sound mostly like these sweet guys (and gals)..

College Daze: ADHD in Overdrive

I was the first person from my family to go to a big university. I worked hard to get there and I paid my way through. It wasn't easy getting there; emotionally, financially, in every way...it was a challenge for me to find my path away from my youth.

So, I made a pact with myself that I was going to do it all. I would explore all of the action my campus had to offer. I was intoxicated by the freedom of getting away from my wacky childhood and giddy over having complete independence in a new town, far away from home.

I wanted to do everything. I joined organizations. I protested for animal rights (and paid a $200 fine for doing so...really dumb.) I welcomed Freshman on move-in day. I was the assistant to the director at the campus student union until I got bored and decided to pledge a sorority so that I could see what all of that was about, (like feeding "sisters" pieces of dry bread and saltines before they ralphed on fraternity dance floors.) I eventually quit that, but kept the sincere friends. After that adventure, I lived with the exact polar opposite of frat types in a big house off campus during my senior year and evolved some more. I became News Director for the campus radio station and I even DJ'ed my own show. It was one of my best gigs. I still keep tabs on that little corner of the campus. The kids that have filled my generation's spots at that radio station keep me informed on all that stuff I might never hear of again if it weren't for the power of the internets. They never fail to surprise me with their wonderful musical discoveries. Much like the friends I made at MUSIC EXPRESS, the little independent record shoppe where I worked while I was also DJ'ing and completing my studies, unique points-of-view grow and thrive in these little hubs of local culture. I particularly liked the curly haired guy who also worked for that record store managing the home brew supplies and comics and whatnot. He matched my weird combination of being an open-minded traditional in the package of a free-spirited type, ....so I eventually decided to marry him :)

Actually, I might not have met my hubby if it hadn't been for my life at the radio station which led to my job at the cool local record store where this boy worked too. (If you believe in that sort of chain-reaction thing!) Along with life partners, that radio station leads many faithful listeners to obscure talent, generation after generation. This clip of an amazing beat-box artist was shared by the latest group of campus station alumni who have finished their finals by now and are off to big summer adventures. MUSIC EXPRESS closed a few years back and was replaced by a chinese restaurant. Places like that come and go, but new voices, organizations and stores pop up all the time to keep college life fresh for the new recruits. This constant tide of fresh ideas is what I love most about college towns. The beat always goes on.

Curious Little Details

Do you have voyeuristic tendencies? Most people do. It is part of human nature to look, listen and learn the things we aren't necessarily supposed to; the private stuff that is really none of our business. I think that is why all those crappy so called "reality" shows have such followings.

Personally, my journalistic nosiness and voyeuristic curiosity comes less in to play with the high drama private stuff, as much as it does when I see those mysterious glimpses into the mundane bits of someone else’s day which somehow differ from my own.

Like....

What kind of artwork they hang on their office walls or..

How they (fail to) organize their file folders---(alphabetically or in random stack-piles?)

How they specifically butter (or cream cheese) their bagel,

...and stupid stuff like that.

I suppose all of those creature habits are what make us each specifically unique in some way. We each have our own logic to our daily routines. I think it was Stephen Covey who made a fortune off of writing about the habits of highly productive people. I think it is perfectly natural to want to know exactly how someone who creates something wonderful or unique gets through their day to net such a great result.

This super cool blog appropriately titled Daily Routines offers up the dish on what many famous people did (or do) to get through their day. One of my favorites from their collection is this little dialog with Hemingway about his writing process. Was there ever a writer more simultaneously gruff and poetic about everything? His balance of simple, hard and soft language won me over at age 22 when I really began reading his work.

Afterall, we are all just trying to find our way. Maybe the mundane details you'll read about from some historical figure you've admired will inspire you to take up a new habit or ditch a less productive one? Enjoy!

Ernest Hemingway

INTERVIEWER
Could you say something of this process? When do you work? Do you keep to a strict schedule?

HEMINGWAY
When I am working on a book or story I write every morning as soon after first light as possible. There is no one to disturb you and it is cool or cold and you come to your work and warm as you write. You read what you have written and, as you always stop when you know what is going to happen next, you go on from there. You write until you come to a place where you still have your juice and you know what will happen next and you stop and try to live through until the next day when you hit it again. You have started at six in the morning, say, and may go on until noon or be through before that. When you stop you are as empty, and at the same time never empty but filling, as when you have made love to someone you love. Nothing can hurt you, nothing can happen, nothing means anything until the next day when you do it again. It is the wait until the next day that is hard to get through. Photo from Earl Theisen Archives, Courtesy John F. Kennedy Library.

-The Paris Review, Issue 18, 1958

INTERVIEWER
Could you say something of this process? When do you work? Do you keep to a strict schedule?

HEMINGWAY
When I am working on a book or story I write every morning as soon after first light as possible. There is no one to disturb you and it is cool or cold and you come to your work and warm as you write. You read what you have written and, as you always stop when you know what is going to happen next, you go on from there. You write until you come to a place where you still have your juice and you know what will happen next and you stop and try to live through until the next day when you hit it again. You have started at six in the morning, say, and may go on until noon or be through before that. When you stop you are as empty, and at the same time never empty but filling, as when you have made love to someone you love. Nothing can hurt you, nothing can happen, nothing means anything until the next day when you do it again. It is the wait until the next day that is hard to get through. Photo from Earl Theisen Archives, Courtesy John F. Kennedy Library.

-The Paris Review, Issue 18, 1958

Publications to Love

I  just updated my left sidebar column with publications that I love. One of the new additions to the growing pile is WORN FASHION JOURNAL. This publication is proof that little independent magazines are so much more meaty and packed full of goodness than the commercial beasts at the corner chain bookstore (which are just typically packed full of advertorial blah and celebu-fluff.)

I got my first issue of WORN before they created their fantastic blog (which will suck you into to fashion fun-derland for a solid hour, if you aren't careful.) I am glad to see that they are succeeding and still cranking out the "good read" they've created. SUBSCRIBE if you are able to! It is worth every dime and you'll get that warm mushy feeling from supporting a cool independent business.

I love this prom dress photo shoot (below) for their next issue. Scroll down on their blogsite to see more memories of Pretty in Pink...and read quite the WORN editorial analysis over the male lead character's wardrobes. Would you choose Andrew McCarthy or Jon Cryer? A daunting questions to those who grew up in the late 80's!

I hope some Class of '09, Senior girl in a high school not far away is thinking of recycling a fluffy vintage prom dress with a pink lace collar on it! (Sigh.) Every girl that loves vintage and has absorbed this movie into their girlie teenage memory bank has envisioned herself as the perfectly crafty, cool, eclectic, Andy (played by Molly Ringwald,) who turned 50's fluff into 80's tres chic prom queen---and got both her men, (Ducky and Preppy.) I tip my tiara to you inventive, stylish girls!

PSA DAY

I found out a former colleague died this past weekend. She was a tiny, gorgeous, sharp-as-a-tack corporate attorney who made all the legal BS we had to endure with our company somehow enjoyable and bright. She died this past weekend of colon cancer at age 49.

She appeared to be the complete picture of health when I left the company in 2008. She only discovered she had colon cancer about 9 months ago. If it would have been caught sooner she would still be here.

 

IF YOU ARE OVER 40, you need to have a colonoscopy! No one wants to do it, but please get it done! 

SERIOUSLY! DO IT! 
 

What is this colonoscopy thing all about? (FAQs)

Watch Katie Couric get one done.

 

Now, moving our minds away from those particular body parts....

Are you using this site? If not, why not? http://www.goodguide.com/

This one is a good one too!

I did a 5k walk/run for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in my hubby's hometown with some friends this past weekend. (For a fat girl,) I hung in there and did alright. I did end up with sore feet and blisters from new running shoes. Lesson learned. Newsflash: Feet are so important. Between high heels and flip-flops, women never take proper care of their feet. I vow to love my feet more from now on. I intended to energize my large rump into feeling more on the health track with the little 5k and here I am.... feet elevated, typing on a computer and skipping the evening walk after dinner to spend it with blister pads and a PC. What a wuss.

I was glad to attend the 5k and be there for my friend who is not only a 7 yr survivor, but to race in memory of her mom who passed away from Breast Cancer in 1994. My friend was a huge support for me when I had my own little (thankfully, negative) episode with the mysteries of fabulous breasts.

So, that's the PSA laundry list for the day. May we all make smart choices and take care to live a good life! (Does typing count as exercise?)

wild things, part 2

I've decided that I really AM going to try and make a Wild Things Max costume for my son!

Look at all the cool MAX costumes I was able to find from other inspired lovers of the book:

 

the wild things are in hollywood

I have a small but treasured collection of Maurice Sendak first editions in my library, so it goes without saying that I am geeked for this film adaptation coming OCTOBER 2009 which was directed by Spike Jonze (who was formerly married to one of my favorite directors, Sophia Coppella.) Check it out. Also, be forewarned that with the smart release date before Halloween, the cool costume for little boys across America will be little Max's wolf costume and WILD THINGS masks! Maybe I will try and sew one for my boy?

Return from Adventureland

I took a vacation! I've returned swine flu-less. I took another vacation to recover from the vacation...and now I am back with every intention of recounting amazing adventures in the land of breezy palm trees. I really will get to all that, but first...baby steps back to right brain thinking.

During my recovery from the tourist mecca that is Orlando FL, I watched a 1986 award winning film adaptation of a well known book called A Room With A View. Even though I am a cheesy romantic and a complete sucker for period pieces, I'd never seen it before. It showcases a bunch of well known actors at the beginning of their careers and it shockingly (for 1986) contains a five minute scene with a bunch of full-frontal male nudity. My husband was disgusted by this but I think it had little to do with the male anatomy as much as it had to do with the fact that (refreshingly,) there was zero female nudity before or after this spectacle he had to endure. Not even the typical cleavage shots customary in most films with corsets and petticoats. Poor boy, watching a two hour chick-flick only to be insulted with male genitals and no cheap thrills for all of it. I couldn't help but laugh out loud at his grimace. Anyhow, the film was...ok. I wish I had read the book first. It did make me want to go to Italy very badly and make-out in a barley field with red poppy flowers.

Today, most of us have such short attention spans. We are trained to see action, a pay-off, the nitty-gritty details of characters in a film or in a book, at such finite and revealed levels. This movie was painted with much broader brush strokes, at a distance, slowly....and the big payoff equaled a few kisses...and then finally, multiple kisses towards the end. That's it. Nothing really to it. But the feeling evoked from those milk-toast, simple, sappy scenes gives you the actual feeling of a first kiss. That amazing feeling when you first kiss someone you completely adore and, because you have permission, you just want to keep on kissing them repeatedly. You have just discovered the other person fancies you equally. It's lovely and sweet, not...graphic. That's what I liked most about the film (besides the naked men, of course.)

No matter how fortunate you feel when you find the person you want to marry, as a girl.... you always morn that time when just kissing someone new was fresh and thrilling. Once that feeling fades, you exchange it for something different but you always remember THAT feeling at the beginning of your romance.

I am reading another book which was adapted into a movie but I can tell already, I won't want to see the movie. The book is written with such a blend of insight on negative human nature and a poetic melancholy rhythm when the author explains how he makes sense of all the bad things bad people as lovers do to each other.... but it's characters are too dark for me and resemble all the negative stereotypes of Euro-trash.The story has a sad honesty that makes me understand its mass appeal, but its primary argument is that nothing we do in life really matters if we only have one life. I don't subscribe, but the author does challenge you to think it all through on his terms. It is called The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

But.... enough about my movie watching and night reading. Did you have a pleasant Mother's Day? I liked waking up to this little stretch of chalk-board paint in our Kitchen with a message for me from my husband & son duo:

Which brings me to the real joy that was to be had amongst the crowds, $4.00 bottles of water and madness that is the commercial expanse of Disney on my recent vacation. 

It was the thrill of just being with my son on a grand adventure to some unknown land. (It was a "NO DADS Allowed" trip with grandmas, moms, and cousins-- which wasn't as mean of a proposition as it sounds since my husband called me from the golf course...)

Anyhow, my boy will only be 4 yrs old once, and the magic of that land was so true and genuine for him. He almost gave himself a dislocated shoulder trying to pull the sword out of the stone (The Sword and the Stone; remember that one?) at the Magic Kingdom. "That's a real sword mama, but it won't come out!"

We also went on his first "grown-up" roller coaster together, The Big Railroad Mountain. We went down Splash Mountain together, too. I love roller coasters. I always have since I was tall enough to try each one. It doesn't matter if it drops from 200 feet and flips around and upside down in the craziest way, I will ride them all if given the chance...so to me, this was a milestone to ride with my child on his first. Of course, I held onto his waistband with a death-grip the whole time thinking he'd fly out, so it wasn't quite the same experience!

We went with his cousins and rode through It's a Small World, and Pirates of the Caribbean and the excitement he whispered to me is right up there with the stuff I hope I never forget. He asked so politely for a coin to throw to make a wish during the Small World boat ride. (There is about $135,790 worth of change on the bottom of that ride, by the way.) He held his penny so tightly and declared "I wish to come back to this ride again with me and my momma, because I am so happy!" He even wanted me to accompany him to meet characters. It was a week together that I will always treasure, (except for that swine flu outbreak part to make us feel a bit jumpy.)

The spoils from our trip included the required Mickey ears, vintage children's books from The Largest Flea Market in Orlando (which was an exotic cultural experience,) A photo snow-globe of our cheesy mugs for Daddy's desk at work (also photographed and purchased at the Flea Market,) a photo from Gatorland of cousins holding a gator and a snake, Coach wristlet from the Orlando factory outlet (for mom,) cool books selected by my son for the plane ride home, like Mars Needs Moms by Berkley Breathed, and temporary pirate tattoos. Of course we did get a few other things, but my son's favorite is this Jack Sparrow plastic sword and scope from Pirates of the Caribbean. "Wow momma, we get off the ride and they just have all this Pirate stuff for us to buy on the way out of the ride!" Of course they do, darling. ;)

 

Happy Earth Day!

  

In celebration of Earth Day, tips to "go green" are being plastered all over the big ole' World Wide Web today. That's great. There is a ton of great info out there to motivate and inspire you to do your part. I am not going to bore you with a simple laundry lists of specific, scientific do's and don't's to help care for the Earth. I know you have already read a bunch of those so I'll save mine for later.

Instead, I thought I'd first give you links to lots of great sources for EARTH friendly information, products, tools, and events.

The book that will change the way you view the planet can be found here: michaelpollan.com 

Michael's directives include make one day per week a meatless one. You will save money and if everyone in our country did that, it would be the equivalent of taking 20 million SUV's off the planet; (since agriculture leaves an enormous carbon footprint on the Earth!) He also encourages you to stop buying consumable products that your great-grandmother would NOT recognize as food. They aren't healthy. Really.

A company turning junk into cool jewelry you'll want to wear: eclecticelements.com

Teach your family. Start a recycling project at your kid's school: terracycle.net

Remodeling? Throwing out that 70's shag carpet? Shawfloors.com will recycle your carpet!

Ever wonder how big of a deal plastic bags actually are? Visit reusablebags.com for a running tally of bags consumed this year, and get all the facts. (Then buy a tote bag!)

Did you hear that there is a mass of floating garbage in the Pacific Ocean that stretches from California to Japan? It's the size of Texas, and 90 miles deep. We are a bunch of united nations giving our oceans cancer (which gives, our birds and fish cancer...which gives someone we all know cancer!) And the number one problem is PLASTIC!

Great-grandson of Jaquc Cousteau, Fabien has his own series on PBS all about this topic. His site is worth checking out here.

If you are about to go to the grocery store to buy cleaning supplies or just need some practical advice on the whole green thing, check out thedailygreen.com. It gives you tips in bite sizes, by topic. It also shows you how changing the way you consume helps you save big bucks throughout the year.

See the movie EARTH. It is in theater's now and it will inspire you to care for the place we all live.

Finally, if you want to know who can help you go green around the Detroit area, visit the Green Street Fair in downtown Plymouth, May 2-3. Visit http://www.greenstreetfair.com/ for more info.

(Now on with the preachy part of my post...)

Audrey's TOP 4 rules for a more natural and environmentally positive home:

1. PULL THE PLUG! Yes, unplug things. It takes such little effort. It also saves you money!

2. A FULL LOAD RULES! That goes for dishwashers and laundry. It also saves you money! Hang clothes to dry in the summer. Have kids help. It's fun!

3. CLEAN YOUR OWN WATER! Britta water filtering pitchers are awesome. They even make one that attaches to your faucet. Use a water filltrator to waste less water and shrink your water bill. Plastic water bottles are the WORST for the environment. If you use one MAKE SURE it gets recycled.

4. LEAVE IT AT THE DOOR! Take off your shoes upon entering a home. This means less yuck drug into your carpets and floors, and less vacuuming and cleaning products needed to sponge up after you....which trickles down to helping the planet!

Finally, enjoy the EARTH.

Go to the park. Go to the zoo. Plant your own garden, (or at least one tomatoplant.) Don't litter. Use less. Reuse what you have. Visit a landfill or recycling pant and see what is really going on. We are all connected and this EARTH is just one big body that has been eating junk food and skipping the gym for far too long. Let's take care of her.

This Weekend in Metro Detroit

 

The cool cats at Handmade Detroit present: Craft Revival!

(Sweet poster art by local illustrator, Angela Duncan. Isn't she a rad artist/scribbler?)

When: Sat, April 18, 10am – 5pm

Where: Magic Stick, 4120 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI (map)

Description: A spring indie craft fair presented by Handmade Detroit 30+ vendors.

Free All ages! Vendor lineup can be found here.

More general info can be found here.

Plastic Shh..mastic. Don't you have a shopping tote?

Nancy Reagan should be so proud. Her JUST SAY NO slogan lives on in 2009. This time it is put to use fighting the addicting demons of environmentally bad stuff and consumerism, (ironically a culture she and her husband helped create in the 80's,) instead of against dope and drug dealers.

I was am an occasional user. (The first step is admitting you have a problem.) I admit I like re-using plastic grocery store bags for the cleaning of the cat box, or other liquid/smell-proof needs of disposal, but I am reformed when it comes to shopping.

I strongly recommend a shopping tote, like the cute one above, for all the rest of your retail transporting and whatnot. You can keep bags like these in the back of your car and pull them out whenever needed. You can't go into a store lately without seeing these little bags everywhere. Why not buy a fashionable, eco-friendly one like this? It comes from this SWEET shop in London, Lapin and Me. Only £5.00 for this cool tote! If you like quirky, UK-flavored stuff, you will soon be supporting the global economy with your cool purchases.

I am almost embarassed to use plastic bags anymore. Totes are cool. Totes are fun and make our Paul Bunyan sized carbon footprint smaller in a tiny way!

Not to peer pressure you or anything, but everyone is doing it!

The Zoo for Easter

I am Catholic. Not always a great Catholic, but a moderately good one most days. If you are a Christian, Good Friday is a day to reflect and be still with the idea that Christ died, on the cross, for us. Deep stuff. It is also a day of fasting, (which is a good practice for us with junk in the trunk.) Typically, Catholics go to pray during the "three hours of agony" from 12-3pm. I am pre-posting this entry, to be published at that time, so if you are quick...you will actually be reading this while I am praying at church. Pretty cool.

Many people wonder how to put this day of reflection into the context of their modern lives. Many of our friends have started a tradition of watching the Passion and discussing it. The film came out several years ago amid controversy. I can still remember going to see it for the first time and the sound in the theater after the film ended. Haven't heard silence like that since. An almost painful silence mixed with an embarrassing humility to be alive in 2009, all cushy and warm in our popcorn filled theater. However you decide to celebrate or acknowledge this time, I wish you and your family a good weekend.

On a more personal note, I will be traveling to the ZOO for Easter. KalamaZOO that is. Land of wild bunnies roaming acres and bossy daughter in laws (me) making cheesy potatoes and fresh baked rolls in the kitchen with my lovely father-in-law (who is quite a good cook, going against all of my matriarchal O'Connor instincts!) Have an egg hunt! Go to your church, (or to your garden if you aren't a church person; find a place of peace)--Look up at the sky! I saw an honest to goodness iridescent cloud the other day while driving home from work. I had to take off my shades and roll down the window and make sure it wasn't an optical illusion. It was like a rainbow had gotten all tangled up in that cloud and created this oil-slicked type of iridescent mixture so heavenly and beautiful I could NOT believe my eyes! I looked around at the exit ramp stop light but nobody was looking up at it. Everyone was too focused on the ground to notice all that beauty right over their heads.

OH!! I almost forgot! The Detroit Tigers home opener is today. (Those heathens! Playing baseball on a holy day!) I love baseball. Something to do with the nostalgia of my grandpa taking me there, bags of peanuts, and Ernie Harwell. It is kind of in poor taste (for a good Catholic,) to post such things... but I really love Detroit and the Tigers (and Jesus) so I hope he won't mind that I am further circulating this image which someone on My-space created in 2006 and I copied. Go Tigers! (Please don't tell my grandmother about this photo because she would not think it is funny.)

I Heart Stevie Nicks

I know she hasn't modified her gypsy look in like 40 years, but I just love Stevie Nicks. Beyond Rumors and the Edge of Seventeen she is an old-fashioned soul with a voice like a jagged razor blade. The video below is from 1983 when she looked so fragile (probably from drugs, but whatever...) I also like her because she got kind of fat at one point and didn't hide herself away because of it (ala Ann Wilson of Heart.) Here is one more reason why my love for her goes on - read this article about Stevie's take on technology and our children: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/09/stevie-nicks-rails-agains_n_185077.html