Pretty Little Green Things

Posts Tagged ‘Green design musings’

As I type, we’re flying at 30,000 on our way back from the most amazing weekend in San Francisco (I know, I know, not the most eco-friendly method of travel, but at least we can offset our carbon footprint on Virgin America).  Beyond having a wonderful time with friends and seeing the sights, what really impressed me about SF, was the absolute seamless integration of sustainability into everyday life.  Bike riders are everywhere, recycling & compost bins are the norm, city buses are zero-emission and even coffee stir sticks are hard to find, in favor of metal spoons to be washed & reused.  On top of that, I really appreciated the emphasis of living a healthy and balanced lifestyle with tons of outdoor activity options, lots of parks and open green spaces, and the easy availability of organic & locally grown food.  For me, it was inspiring and refreshing to see that big city living, an active & well-rounded life and sustainable practices can all go hand in hand.  So with that, I wish you all a fantastic Fourth of July and enjoy a few pics from our weekend in San Francisco. (Starting with a pic of a wonderful beach next to the Golden Gate Bridge).

Vineyards in Sonoma

Sunset in Sonoma

As I said, there’s a wonderful emphasis on locally grown organic vegetables in San Francisco.  And this caprese salad with the freshest heirloom tomatoes was no exception!

Rock sculptures in Sausalito with the city of San Francisco across the bay. Those rocks were all stacked by hand with no glues or cement. Amazing, huh?

I couldn’t possibly end this post without a slightly sweaty picture of me taken on the Golden Gate Bridge.  Safety first!

I consider myself to be a reasonably creative person, but sometimes people’s ingenuity just amazes me.  Case in point Shanghai based Daishu Ma & Marc Nicolau.  This duo has created a very innovative type of packaging that is not just biodegradable but quite literally returns to the earth it came from.  The boxes are made of a combination of sand & sawdust and are perfect for small, precious gifts.  But what really attracted me is the experience of actually opening these boxes.  By snapping them open, you’re basically destroying the whole thing, which I think is quite an interesting comment.  Daishu & Marc are taking custom orders through their website for your special gift.

Sand package – before

This is where the sawdust comes from.  Very organic!

Sand package – after

Photos from Alien & Monkey

Now that I’ve celebrated my one year blogging anniversary, I’m turning the tables on you.  I’ve been writing posts based on what I love and find interesting like green hotels, eco-friendly product round-ups, sustainable vendors and more.  But I’d love to hear back from you.  What would you like to see that you’re not?  Or what would you like to see more of?  And if there’s something you want to know more about, name it and I’ll incorporate it.  I want to hear from you, so comment below or on Facebook and let me know your thoughts.

In other news, there is still time to enter the giveaway for a beautiful bkr glass water bottle.  Click here and comment at the bottom or on Facebook to enter.  Comments will be closed at midnight on Wednesday, so enter now!

It’s that time of year again…Earth Day!  There are tons of great events happening throughout the country so get out there and get involved.  Earth Day Network has put together a Billion Acts of Green website where you can post your green goals as well as search for Earth Day events going on in your neighborhood.

But Earth Day is really all about examining your habits and figuring out ways to make a change for the better.  It’s not just a day, but a commitment to ourselves, our families, our country and our planet.  So what can we do in our own lives to make the world just a little bit greener?  If you’re like me (and you probably are), there’s already a lot that you do in your daily routine that’s eco-friendly.  I recycle, turn off lights, use CFLs and walk to work.  So I started thinking about what I could add to this routine.  I’m sharing a few of my own goals to get the conversation started.

• We already shop at Whole Foods and our local farmer’s market, but this spring and summer I’m going to make more of an effort to buy both locally grown and in-season produce.
• This is one I always forget about: unplug as many appliances and chargers as I can after I’m done using them.
• I’ve been seeing more and more clothing retailers moving to organic fabrics (case in point, H&M has a “Conscious Collection” now), so if I’m not buying vintage, I’m going to try to stick to organic clothing.
• One of the things I’ve found most frustrating about working in New York City, is the lack of recycling programs in office buildings.  If you ask, they say the garbage is sorted, but I don’t believe them.  Not only that, what if someone puts paper or a soda can in a non-clear bag?  How would the sorter ever know?  So my goal is to start a recycling program in my own office and maybe even the whole building.

What are your Earth Day goals?  Leave a comment below and let’s build on each others’ ideas.  Happy Earth Day!

Plus “What do you mean my flowers aren’t green?”

Happy Valentine’s Day!!

I don’t mean to ruin this romantic holiday, but did you know that not all flowers are eco-friendly?  That’s right, even though your bouquet was grown from the soil, it doesn’t mean it was done in a sustainable way.  Many conventional flowers are not grown using fair-trade practices and are sprayed heavily with toxic pesticides, dyes and other chemicals.  Not very romantic is it?  But guess what, you have so many other options for an eco-friendly Valentine’s that there’s no excuse.  Here are a few:

Buy flowers from your local farmers market ~ Not only will you be getting your blooms from nearby (thus saving on transportation ills), but you can chat with the farmer about how and where they were grown.  As a rule of thumb, it’s always best to buy your fruits and veggies in season and that logic applies to flowers too.  Now, I’ll admit, there isn’t the biggest selection of flowers at winter markets so you might have to get creative.  You might think I’m crazy, but cabbage is a gorgeous plant especially in the winter when it turns all kinds of pretty colors.  No, it’s not a rose, but won’t your valentine be happier with the sentiment that you love them AND the planet?

Buy organic flowers ~ Did you know that roses are dumped in fungicide in order to pass border inspections?  And even if you buy in the US, conventional flowers can contaminate groundwater and streams through fertilizer and pesticide run-off.  Not very pretty is it?  Fortunately you have lots of great options for organic blooms.  Online alternatives include Organic Bouquet, California Organic Flowers, and Organic Style.  In addition, many traditional online retailers have started offering eco-friendly options, although personally I’d rather support the companies that are doing all of it right, rather than a fraction of their merchandise right.  And most likely there are organic flower shops near you so a quick Google search could be helpful for more immediate needs.

Buy fair-trade blooms ~ So remember those conventional flowers doused in toxic chemicals?  Well, they don’t get that way by themselves.  They have to be handled by someone and oftentimes those unlucky people are low-paid workers many of whom are children.  These people suffer problems associated with pesticide exposure, including nausea, conjunctivitis, neurological disease, reproductive problems, and birth defects.  If that isn’t a reason to buy fair trade flowers, I don’t know what is.  Options for this include InBloom Group, One World Flowers, and World Flowers for you Brits.

Find VeriFlora certified flowers ~ You can find these blooms at many larger retailers, including Trader Joes.  The VeriFlora criteria generally isn’t as strict as other certifications, but I really appreciate that they tackle issues applying to everyone in the supply chain: growers, shippers and retailers.  VeriFlora also supports organic growing processes, fair-trade practices and water quality protection.  If you don’t have a Trader Joes in your neighborhood, you can check for local retailers here.  Look for the logo above.

Don’t buy flowers at all ~ I think the best gifts are lovingly made, so be creative this year.  From homemade valentines, experience gifts or breakfast in bed, the possibilities are endless.  This year my husband and I had a wonderful home cooked dinner (that he made from start to finish!  All I contributed was the place setting as you can probably guess) and spent our evening hanging out.  For me, it was perfect.

A few months ago when we were doing our big apartment renovation, you may remember my disappointment over the realities of eco-friendly construction in New York City.  In my contractor’s defense, I don’t think their un-sustainable work was due to a lack of caring, just a lack of green knowledge, but I digress.  One of the hardest things to see was watching them remove our old molding and doors, knowing they were destined for the landfill.  While these things were way too trashed for anyone to actually want, it’s nice to know that there are other options out there instead of a direct line to the trash heap.  Why demolish a home, when you can deconstruct it instead?  And that’s where places like the ReBuilding Center comes in.

Here’s the deal: a crew comes to your house and carefully disassembles what would have been demolished and thrown out.  Everything is then carted back to the warehouse for sorting and eventually reselling to be used in another house.  In fact, the ReBuilding Center can save up to 85% of a house from ending up in a landfill.  While you do have to pay for this service, just the tax deduction and knowledge that you’ve done the right thing makes it absolutely worth it.  There’s a really interesting time lapse video on the ReBuilding Center’s website of a home being deconstructed.  It almost looks like the house is disappearing!

The Rebuilding Center has tons of cool initiatives, donation information, classes & workshops and projects you can do at home on their website.  I won’t repeat them all here, so head on over for your daily dose of inspiration.

While some of you may call this process green and some of you may call it smart, I actually think that reusing the interesting construction elements makes your home feel like it has more character.  Even the newest houses can be totally unique and perfectly lived in.  I know I would love to take a peek at their stock!

If Oregon is a bit far for you, there are other options throughout the country for deconstruction services.  There’s Build It Green in New York and the ReUse People in California among many many others.  You also don’t have to deconstruct an entire house.  Projects can be as simple as having them pick up a few pieces to dismantling a kitchen or taking apart an entire barn like the picture below.

I’m going to leave you with a few additional pictures of what you can do with all this salvaged material.  A few reuse ideas from the ReBuilding Center’s Flicker page, care of Jonas Design & Photography.

Photos from the ReBuilding Center

No, I’m not channelling Coolio.  I’m actually talking about home decor blogs.  For the last few years, Apartment Therapy has sponsored an award competition for the best shelter blogs out there.  As voted by blog readers, the winners in each category receive what they call a Homie.  As Apartment Therapy puts it, “It’s not so much a competition as a celebration of the richness and awesomeness of shelter bloggers around the world.”  So this is my absolutely shameless plug to nominate Pretty Little Green Things in the category of Best Green Home Blog of 2011.

All of the instructions and information are on their site, so I won’t bore you by repeating it all here.  Click on the Homies image above, scroll to the bottom of the page and add a comment with my blog name & url.  Unfortunately if you’re not a registered member of Apartment Therapy, you’ll have to sign up, but it’s super quick (and totally worth it).  For you copy & paste fans out there, I’ll make it easy for you:

Name: Pretty Little Green Things

URL: http://www.prettylittlegreenthings.com

If I do get nominated (fingers crossed), there will be more voting rounds, so expect more pleading from my end before February 4.  I will return to your regularly scheduled blog posts tomorrow.  Thank you all for being the best blog readers out there!

I’ve been saving this post on Serenbe for a while not because I didn’t have enough material for it.  Rather, I’ve been saving it because, as a model of smaller, greener living, I wanted to give it its proper due.  So I’m starting off the new year with a series on this amazing eco community.  I’ll be sharing an overview of what Serenbe actually is, as well as peeks into the inn, restaurants and the founders house.

So why is this housing development so special?  First of all, Serenbe is not a traditional subdivision.  This community is so much more than a bunch of houses grouped together.  In 1994, the founders of Serenbe, Steve & Marie Nygren moved their family to a 60-acre farm in rural Chattahoochee Hill Country, one of the last undeveloped stretches of land near Atlanta.  When they saw similar rural areas being overtaken by the inevitable sprawl of development, they knew something had to be done to protect this beautiful expanse of land.  So they teamed up with neighbors to not only protect the 1000 acres that would become Serenbe, they successfully protected 40,000 acres around the development.  This area will remain green & natural and will never be turned into a traditional sprawling subdivision.  But realizing that there was still a need for housing and growth in this area, the Nygrens set about to create a development that focused on land preservation, agriculture, green building, arts and culture and community living.  Thus Serenbe was born.

View of the town center

Serenbe town center at night

Serenbe was planned under a concept new urbanism, namely one that creates a high density community gathered around a central village.  Residents have easy access to a number of shops & restaurants, plus walking paths throughout encourage walking rather than driving.  Not only is the layout of Serenbe more efficient than a traditional subdivision, it’s also one that fosters a true community in every sense of the word.  Here are pictures of just a few of these wonderful shops & businesses.  More on the restaurants later!

How cute is this shop?  It’s Blue Eyed Daisy, an organic bakeshop in the heart of Serenbe.

This is Bloom, a shop selling vintage pieces, eco-conscious goods and treasures from local artists and craftspeople.

Repurpose – a boutique filled with recycled or repurposed goodies for your home.

Goodies from Harris & Clark, Serenbe’s local grocery store.

How gorgeous is this?  Serenbe Stables – a place to keep your horse or learn to ride

All of the houses at Serenbe are built according to EarthCraft Home guidelines.  This means among many other things, that houses are situated for maximum use of natural heating & cooling from the sun as well as minimal disturbance to the land.  Recycling and composting are of course encouraged.  Native plants are used in lieu of traditional lawns so that there is no need for chemicals or pesticides.  Water conservation is fostered through the inclusion of low-flow plumbing fixtures and wastewater treatment facilities.  There are a variety of housing options to choose from, from larger estates to smaller cottages and townhouses.  Here are just a few of the super charming houses.

An EarthCraft house at Serenbe

Another super cute house

These are townhouses at Serenbe

There’s a lot more information about Serenbe online if you’re interested in reading more.  Start off at the main website to learn about this community.  And check back tomorrow when I’ll be showing you the restaurants at Serenbe.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and belated Happy Chanukah!  This has been amazing year thanks to all of you.  I started this blog with only a conviction and an idea in my head without realizing what it would actually turn into.  And it’s been an amazing journey.  As much as I babble on in my posts, this blog is really about you and what inspires you to live a greener and more beautiful life.  I’m so happy to be here to guide you and share my thoughts and findings with you.  So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

I’m going to take a much needed break over the next week, but will return in 2011 with tons of new content, exciting features and as always, gorgeous eco-friendly design.  I can’t wait for 2011 to begin.

As I said, this blog is about you, so if there’s something that inspires you or you want to see more of, please email me at petra {at} prettylittlegreenthings {dot} com or leave a comment below.

-Petra

For me, the holiday season is all about spending quality time with friends & family – not necessarily giving a huge pile of gifts.  And over the last few years I’ve become a bit disheartened with the rampant commercialization of Christmas.  So this year, starting with last week’s Buy Nothing Christmas post, I decided to take back the holidays and return to what makes them so special in the first place.  We’ve covered why this is so important in the first place as well as charitable donations as gift ideas.  So today, on to new topics.  No cost or low cost gift ideas!  All of these take a bit of elbow grease on your part, but what you’ll get in exchange is so much worth it.  I guarantee that if you make an effort to give really meaningful gifts this year, your family & friends will notice and appreciate it.

• Make a winter warm up basket filled with hot chocolate & marshmallows or apple cider & cinnamon sticks plus eco-friendly mug all wrapped up in an organic kitchen towel.
• Go to your local thrift store and get a collection of mismatched tea cups & saucers.  The contrast of shapes, sizes or colors will make the collection unique and beautiful.

Chic handknit scarf from PhylPhil on Etsy

• If you knit, sew or bead, put your creativity to work!  I’ve always found that the hardest part of giving away things I’ve made is that I undervalue them.  Be proud of your accomplishments because your family & friends are!
• Bake – everyone on your list will appreciate a batch of cookies, brownies or pumpkin bread.  Just skip the fruit cake!  Try these cooking blogs for inspiration: Smitten Kitchen and Simply Recipes are two of my favs!
• Dip. Anything. In. Chocolate. (okay only food products that is).

• Try your hand in canning or pickling.  It’s not as hard as you think!  Plus antique looking Bell jars tied with a pretty ribbon make a really nice and long lasting gift.
• Give the gift of time because that’s really what most people want anyway.  Make dinner for your significant other, take a niece or nephew out for a day of fun just the two of you, plan a museum day for a parent…

Cookie mix in a jar from Linaloo

• Cookie mix in a jar. I actually got this once as a gift and thought it was just about the coolest do-it-yourself idea.  What you give is a large jar (find a cool vintage one!) filled with all the dry ingredients needed for cookies.  Write up the recipe directions including the wet ingredients they’ll need to add later.  Add a bow & voila!  Not into just chocolate chip?  Try here for tons of different cookie recipe options.
• And finally from one of my readers, she’s giving reusable shopping bags to encourage her friends & family to make Mother Nature a priority.  Way to be eco conscious in a not at all preachy way!

What about you?  What sorts of eco gifts will you be giving this holiday season?