Archive for September, 2008
We Are The World
We’re back with some more green tips that we snagged from a fun & informative read (True Green by Kim McKay and Jenny Bonnin). I was actually sitting at my super cool downtown hair place (called Red- how cool is that?) when I noticed this book atop the stack of mags and decided to have a little look-see. And it turned out to be really inspiring. So as you peruse the helpful hints below, feel free to snag your own copy (or any other greenification manual) and leave it out in your waiting room, cubicle, or any other shared domain where you think it can make a difference. But enough jibber jabber. Here are some über simple solutions and switcheroos that you can easily implement to make the world a greener place:
1. Replace your paper coffee cup habit at work with a ceramic mug that can be reused (and bring in a knife, spoon, fork and plate to store at work instead of relying on the plastic versions that can only be used once).
2. Leave the clippings on your lawn when you mow for enriched soil and happier grass. It’s the lazy person’s way to a greener lawn. Love it.
3. Start a compost bin. It may seem like a radical step, but it’s actually really easy. Check out our super simple system here.
4. Grow your own fruits and veggies (my thumb’s too black to start with seeds, but a little basil and tomato plant are super easy to care for- and you’ll save money and avoid pesticides in one fell swoop).
5. Use eco-friendly cleaning products, and bring old oil paints and paint thinners to specialized recycling centers to keep ‘em from contaminating our water supply (for some great green cleaning products, check out this post and all of the helpful comments that our readers left).
6. Set the freezer to -5 degrees and the fridge to 40 degrees F. Anything colder just makes things unnecessarily icy.
7. Wear a sweater when you’re cold and wear something skimpy when you’re hot. This is my mom’s method and it’s been passed down to me after I noticed substantial heating and cooling savings from this method after leaving the nest. Look at it this way, the money you save on heating can be put towards a cute new sweater to wear around the house.
8. Turn off the light/tv/radio when you leave the room. Don’t believe those rumors that it takes more energy to turn something off and back on again than it does to leave it on. Unless you’ll be back within 3-5 minutes, all things should be shut off.
9. Join the fan club. Invest in an oscillating table fan for your bedroom if you don’t have a ceiling fan and use fans throughout your home to keep air circulating to decrease your air conditioner dependence.
10. Set an alarm for five minute showers only. For those who are wary about installing fancy low-flow shower spigots, this is an easy way to ensure that you’re not wasting water. And if you have a waterproof shower radio like John and I, you can limit yourself to two songs and you’re out.
11. Recycle. I just learned that only 70% of the people in my hometown recycle. I just don’t understand it. It could not be easier (especially since we don’t have to separate anything these days and it can all just go straight into the free bin that they provide). Please please please consider using this free service for the good of your planet (and your karma).
12. Reuse printer ink cartridges (this is an easy one) and lots of places like Staples and Office Depot will actually give you money back when you bring in your old cartridges.
13. Be an office eco-warrior and convince your company to “duplex” (use both sides of paper to print) and institute paper recycling bins.
14. Snag some indoor plants for your house and your office since they reduce toxins in the air and can even combat colds. John now has two plant friends in his office and we’ve added 7 green guys around the house (none of which, sadly, are shaped like an animal).
15. Shut down your computer when you leave the office each night. I know from experience that this seems like a lot of extra effort when you’re just trying to get out the door, but it’s something that you can do every day that actually makes a huge difference over the course of a year. So worth the extra three minutes.
16. Use those cute reusable fabric shopping bags that everyone from Target to your local grocery store sells for less than $2. They can hold a lot more than the average paper or plastic bag so all of our two-week grocery shopping items can fit into our four bags. Which makes it a lot easier to lug them into the house.
17. Buy Energy Star appliances. They’re a tax write off, they’re just as affordable as non-energy star versions, and they’re good for the globe. Even our TV is energy star rated, which makes us feel slightly less guilty when we watch hours of home improvement shows.
18. Get books from the library and rent videos at Blockbuster or through Netflix instead of purchasing boundless books and movies. You’ll save packaging from going into landfills and keep your house less cluttered to boot.
19. Get a fuel efficient car. We recognize this is a bigger commitment than some of the other easy-peasy items on this list. But with soaring gas prices and a super-sized world that just keeps getting bigger and more insane, it’s refreshing to snag something practical and functional without buying into the go-huge hype.
20. Support local business. If you find a little shop nearby that does something well (for us, it’s a local printer called Uptown Color where we get all of our shop merchandise printed) then use them religiously and spread the word about them to others.
So whaddya think? We’re by no means experts in the area, but we’re learning as we go and sharing the wealth. Are there five things from the list above that you can institute in your life? Any other quick and easy eco ideas for us to share? Do tell.
Image sources: mugs from here, fan from here, chia pet from here
Wedding Crashing: An Exotic Island Luau
Why stop at the lower 48 states when it comes to wedding crashing? That’s what we asked ourselves before virtually hopping on a plane. The destination? Maui. The reason? Sean & Jenn’s fabulous island wedding. Meet the happy couple:
The ceremony and the luau that followed (fun, right?!) were held on August 1st at The Old Lahaina Luau in picturesque Maui. Sean and Jenn planned their entire wedding remotely from their Pennsylvania home (they never set eyes on the location until they arrived for their big day). But of course it was breathtaking (it’s paradise, people) and they were super excited to get their destination wedding started.
Jenn snagged her dress at Marriage Couture while the bridesmaids wore adorable bright blue sun dresses snagged at J Crew on sale. Score! They looked unbelievably perfect with the sea and the sky, and their white daisy bouquets were accented by festive Hawaiian leis.
And the groom and his groomsmen weren’t too shabby either. Sean donned an ivory linen suit from Bachrach while the groomsmen wore white linen shirts from the Gap with light colored dockers. And they all looked especially dapper thanks to the addition of Maile leis, which are typically worn by the groom in a traditional Hawaiian ceremony.
Jenn also wore a gorgeous bridal lei (which Sean gently placed over her head during the traditional Hawaiian ceremony). The bride and groom stood in a white orchid circle of love, another beautiful and memorable Hawaiian tradition.
The officiant even blew a conch shell as they shared their first kiss as husband and wife.
After their ceremony, Sean and Jenn invited all 33 guests to an exotic luau complete with a pig roast and a fantastic hula show. You may wonder how we go about blending in at such an intimate affair…
… well we’re just sneaky I guess. Just kidding, we mentioned this was a virtual wedding crashing, so they actually sent us these Hawaiian pics to share. We did attend their reception here in the states though (for all of their family members who couldn’t make it to Hawaii) since Sean is actually my step cousin. Thanks Sean and Jenn for letting us share your special day!
And we got to snap some pretty pics at their stateside reception in Pennsylvania in person. Of course the reception was just as sweet as their exotic Hawaiian ceremony and luau. There was a brief cocktail hour complete with a slide show of their Hawaiian nuptials and an exotic fruit and cheese table with birds of paradise and orchids (to serve as an oh-so-sweet reminder of Maui). Then we moved to the ballroom where the table settings consisted of sophisticated slipcovered ivory chairs and some of the coolest centerpieces that we’ve ever seen.
A mixture of blue hydrangeas, yellow orchids, white roses, and green berries were clustered in short square vases for a tasteful and sophisticated floral arrangement with a splash of exoticism (thanks to those stunning orchids).
Words cannot describe how delicious the almond vanilla wedding cake was. I’m not usually über excited about wedding cakes but this stuff was the bees knees. And the exotic green orchids were the perfect reminder of Sean and Jenn’s amazing Hawaiian nuptials.
We hope you’ve enjoyed our latest wedding crashing excursion in paradise. And congrats again to Sean and Jenn! Oh and if any of you have fall weddings on the agenda, you might want to look around for us, you never know where we’ll pop up…
Putting The “Men” Back In Home Improvement
I’d say 9 out of 10 of you reading this post right now are women. Which is great, don’t get me wrong (I grew up with 3 sisters so I’m certainly comfortable with a female majority). But I wanted to give a quick shout out to the occasional male who drops by Young House Love (consider this your virtual chest bump, fellas). Thanks for helping me represent.
But why do so few dudes check out home design blogs? Well, because it’s sometimes hard for us to hold our ground and hang onto any semblance of masculinity in the world of fabrics, florals and furniture placement. Especially when tradition tells us to keep our hands out of our ladies’ territory.
But Sherry and I both think designing and decorating your home should be a collaborative effort. A synergy of the sexes, if you will. So I present to you for your entertainment 10 reasons why us guys should stop ignoring home design. (And ladies, feel free to share this with the man in your life).
1. We get to build stuff: Interior design and home improvement gives us endless opportunities to tap into our primal, macho urge to put things together. Sure, it may not always been as intense as framing a house, but even breaking out the allen wrench for some basic Ikea furniture can give us that simple satisfaction of having created something with our own two hands (and if we’re lucky it’ll take the assistance of some big, noisy tool).
2. We also get to destroy stuff: Ripping down drywall. Busting loose a stubborn, old cabinet. Even digging in the yard. Why pass up a hobby that allows us to occasionally let loose and recklessly (well, sorta) tear something apart?
3. We get to solve problems: A big part of designing a room is overcoming its challenges. Finding practical furniture placement, dealing with lack of storage or even making spaces multifunctional. Pose it to us as an assignment and we’ll be resentful. Pose it to us as a puzzle and we’ll work ’til we figure it out because now we’ve got something to prove. Why do you think we get so protective over packing the car before a vacation?
4. We get to ignore directions: We don’t need the map to find the new restaurant. We don’t need the manual for the new DVD player. And we certainly don’t need a piece of paper to tell us how to install this new light fixture. We take pride in already knowing how to do certain things, so let us show you how smart we are (but please keep the instructions nearby in case the bookcase we’re building starts to look more like a bed).
5. We get to laugh in the face of danger: Home improvement can be risky. Some projects let us do things like play with electricity, crawl into dark spaces and even get up on ladders (or better yet, the roof!). While safety should never be ignored, it’s kind of fun to pretend we’re part handyman and part daredevil.
6. We get a work out in: Interior design can be hard, physical work that has often given me permission to skip the gym for a couple days. Painting engages all sorts of upper body muscles, balancing on a ladder strengthens your core and moving heavy furniture pretty much gets the whole body workin’. Just squeeze in some cardio before tackling a day of design and you’ve got an excuse to fire the personal trainer.
7. We get sweaty and gross: All that physical labor works up a good sweat which, combined with some dirt, paint or sawdust, can make us pretty darn nasty. Sure we need a shower asap, but every guy secretly loves being grimy. Plus, we can tell that you girls secretly think its kind of sexy.
8. We get to impress our lady: Being sweaty isn’t the only thing our women like about us taking part in home design. Sure there’s that weird “awww” face they make whenever we “get in touch with our sensitive side”, but we also earn major points for participating in her hobby and helping her with all the stuff she can’t do alone. And heck, if we can do it all without complaining, we might even get a special reward later.
9. We get a say in things: And as much as us men are motivated by showing off, being an active participant in the design of our home means we get a say in the final product and – surprise – will be happier with the result. It’s like this, if you need more seating for when the guys come over for Monday Night Football, say so now or forever hold your peace (and good luck explaining the pink wallpaper to your bros).
10. We get respect: They say the clothes make the man, but it I’d argue that the home makes the man. A well designed space – no matter the style – speaks volumes about a guy’s taste, success and self-worth. There’s no reason to be embarrassed or emasculated by wanting our place to look its best, so it’s about time we men put down our remotes and stop making our women do all the heavy design lifting.
(And if you don’t believe me, how could you not trust some vintage Tom Selleck? C’mon – he’s Magnum P.I.)
Images found here and here (then we added the captions)
Paint Treatments Go Posh
Sometimes murals or paint treatments can skew crafty/tacky, but lately we’ve been noticing lots of fresh and crisp painted details that give a room some definite va-va-voom. For example, this fabulous shot of the Luxe Hotel designed by Mary McDonald that we spotted here:
And this Moroccan inspired painted border that we saw here, which takes a super white room to a whole new level.
This lattice-looking paint treatment that we spotted here is also one that we’ve been admiring. It looks super intricate but we can imagine that using masking tape to create the outline would be the hard part- then all it takes is a coat of paint and some serious tape peeling while it’s still wet (that’s a great tip to keep taped off lines crisp, always peel ‘em before the paint dries).
And last but certainly not least, we really liked this rich emerald green painted trim seen here. It’s like a modern take on the accent wall. The graphic pattern that it highlights (thanks to those gorgeous windows and doors) really makes it a focal wall and plays up such a breathtaking architectural accent:
What do you guys think? Are wall treatments (from subtle semi-gloss stripes to nursery room murals) your cup of tea? Have you noticed this seemlingly new trend too? Do tell. And of course, feel free to send us some pictures of any and all paint treatments you’ve done in your own home (or have collected in your inspiration folder).
Make Womb For Some Relaxation
We loved hearing about all your great wedding gift ideas, so we thought we’d turn our attention to another fun and festive gift-giving occasion: a bun in the oven. When we recently learned that a good friend of ours is pregnant, we excitedly set out to find the perfect way to say congratulations. Knowing that a baby shower down the line will no doubt supply her with countless diapers, washcloths, onesies and bottles, we thought it would be fun to do something sweet and soothing just for her- a sort of calm before the storm if you will.
And we quickly learned that our inclination to pamper the prego is all the rage these days. Everything from belly “facials” to in-home massage therapy and even private prenatal yoga is available just for expectant mothers in need of some serious serenity.
Women are indulging like it might be their last chance, and even personal pregnancy concierge is popping up in larger cities (pregnancy assistants will rub cocoa butter on your belly, spoon-feed you Ben & Jerry’s and even make a pickle run if your cravings get the best of you).
We also learned that nearly 60% of couples surveyed in 2005 (and probably even more now) embark on a “babymoon” before becoming parents as a sort of last hurrah before the baby comes.
We’re not even expecting, but it sounds absolutely heavenly to us- who doesn’t need a break, right? And the fact that there are now specialized babymoon consultants, like Two And A Half Travelers (how cute is that name?) makes us even more excited to be parents one day. I mean who wouldn’t want to run off for some serious bliss before baby?
While we couldn’t plan a surprise island getaway for our expecting friend and her adorable and excited husband, we happily dug up a mini-indulgence that’s sure to bring some much needed relaxation right to her door. This Eco-Me Body Spa Gift Kit is chock full of non-toxic and natural ingredients to create eco-friendly spa products in the comfort of her own home.
What about you guys? Did you come up with any fab gifts for your prego friends? Or did you receive anything that made your journey to mom-hood even more exciting/relaxing/comfortable? We’re totally new to the friends-having-babies thing, so feel free to shed some light on anything and everything you found helpful!
Looking for more prego gift ideas? Check out a few more suggestions here on about.com.
Images courtesy of Two And A Half Travelers and Winebasket.com
