Eco-Monday: Sweetlife Festival 2011

Here at Green with Envy Events, we are all about making our events sustainable and making sure we are aware of the impact our choices make. With this in mind, I wanted to mention the Sweetlife Festival, and event we are working on at Merriweather Post Pavilion on April 30, 2011.

The Sweetlife Festival is an annual celebration of flavorful music, wholesome food, and thoughtful living. A festival with soul, the day will not only feature top national talent, The Strokes, but will incorporate dining and entertainment options that embody sweetgreen and additional festival partners ethos towards healthy, sustainable living.

The Sweetlife Festival is presented by sweetgreen, a Washington D.C. based restaurant group that leads the national charge in sourcing delicious local and organic ingredients, with an underlying commitment to the environment and community.
The festival will raise money for Jamie Oliver’s Food Foundation, an organization dedicated to improving America’s health by changing the way we eat and DC Farm to School, which sets out to improve child health, reconnects students with where their food comes from, and connects local farmers with schools in an effort to get more healthy, local foods into school cafeterias.


The festival will also have a minimal carbon footprint and feature delicious local and organic foods. This is a celebration with a purpose and we are expecting over 10,000+ attendees throughout the day.

It's important we all support events and organizations that make an effort to minimize the carbon footprint. We hope to see you all there. Visit http://www.sweetlifefestival.com/ for more info. and to preregister for access to pre-sale tickets. Live it with us!

Happy Monday, Laura

Fun Fridays ~ Rain in the forecast

Hello world.  This weekend many parts of the country are expecting rain, lots of rain!  Even here in sunny San Diego we're expecting a wet one.  In hopes to send all of you into your weekend with a positive attitude...I have gathered some of my favorite "dancing in the rain" photographs to brighten your spirits.  There is no reason to stay indoors and be a Debbie-downer all weekend.  Get out there and jump in a puddle, kiss with rain drops falling on your face, sing, dance...enjoy!  Because...

"Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness, has never danced in the rain!"

Wedding Wednesday: TOMS shoes are made for walking--down the aisle!

If you are ready to walk down the aisle, look no further for footwear. Launching in early March, TOMS Wedding Collection will offer a selection of refined fabrics for brides, grooms and the wedding party. Whether you are a classic bride, love a little sparkle or want to go retro, TOMS will have the right shoe to suit any brides's taste.  With so many stresses leading up to the big day, everyone should walk down the aisle in comfort and style.

And with every pair you purchase, TOMS will also give a pair of new shoes to a child in need, so you'll be happy to take those new steps as husband and wife knowing you made a difference.  

Grossgrain ribbon can make any bride blush

All that glitters is not gold

Crushed velvet for the retro in you

Leather to go with any look

Something Borrowed, Something Blue (and sparkly!)

The look in action

Enjoy! 

Xoxo, Laura

Eco-Monday: Recycled cashmere for your little one

Although I'm on the West Coast at the moment enjoying the beautiful sunshine, I'm well aware that I won't be so lucky upon my return to the East Coast this coming Saturday. I'm prepared to pull out the jeans and cashmere once again, and rock my staple wool dress with legging and boots. With this cold weather in mind, I wanted to give a shout-out to a company that does recycled, cold-weather style for my little one seem effortless and oh, so chic.

Luvette is a small eco-responsible, mother owned design studio in Berkeley. She does up-cycling at it's best, taking repurposed felt cashmere and old wool sweaters and creating beautifully designed, handcrafted baby and toddler clothes. These cast-offs are chosen for color, quality and softness of material, and are reincarnated into special little things for your bunny. The line includes simple cashmere dresses, felted wool bibs, soft wool and cashmere pants (called longies and shorties), skirts, overalls and baby blankets.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Bibs too cute to mess up!

Bloomies to die for! I want a pair.

A chicken is the new Fido, at least in my house.

The attention to details is amazing, and every piece is a unique work of art, sewn with a lot of love, one by one. She also does custom pieces, so if  you have a sweater that's of sentimental value that you  just can't part with, she can make it into something magical and long lasting for your little one. Check out the rest of her stuff, here.

Happy Monday! xoxo, Laura

Wedding Wednesday ~ The Fabric Florist

At Green with Envy Events, we are always on the look-out for floral alternatives for weddings and special events.  And I'm ecstatic about my latest discovery - the gorgeous fabric flowers of Jane Joss on Etsy.  Jane Joss is an alias for Alyssa and Joslyn Krismer, sister-in-laws (married to twins!) who share a love of interior design and crafting.  Visit their shop and you'll see there is no shortage of love put into these beautiful designs. 

At Jane Joss, they create fun, original floral designs using handmade fabric leaves. Mix and match stems or request a special fabric to create your perfect arrangement. Jane Joss accepts custom fabric orders at no additional charge. They can also use your own fabric to make a custom arrangement. Consider old baby blankets, quilts, tablecloths, or even clothes to create a unique keepsake!

Can you imagine how beautiful a bouquet or centerpiece out of these beauties would be at your next event?  We love these fabric flowers because they're reusable, they reduce floral waste, and they are simply darling.  So next time you need flowers for a special occasion, consider using one of the many floral alternatives that are on the market today.  Not only will it give your party a unique and interesting touch, you're helping save the planet...one flower at a time.   

Eco-Mondays ~ Show some LOVE @ Earth-List.com & GoGreenPress.net

Happy Eco-Monday everyone, and Happy Valentines Day!  Today we'd like to show some Eco-love to our favorite online green resource - Earth-list.com.  Earth-list.com was founded in 2008 by our good friend Mike D'Ascanio, and it has quickly become the world's premier informational resource for all things GREEN!  They are on a mission to unite the Green Movement by providing the most centralized resource on the practices of sustainability and going green. Their goal is to make Going Green easy for the average person by providing the most comprehensive list of late breaking Eco news, media, products, services, and information.  And that's exactly what they've done. Anything and Everything you could possibly need to live green can be found at Earth-List.com.      

And as if running one website wasn't enough, they've recently launched the newest member of the Earth-List family - GoGreenPress.net.  GoGreen Press  is the perfect media solution to help your Green business get publicity. They specialize in breaking the news on Green businesses, offering specialized press writing and distribution services that will get your Green business highly effective and targeted publicity.  And we can personally testify to the quality of their services...GoGreen Press just did a press release for Green with Envy Events about our upcoming event, Where the Wild Things Are, a Food & Wine Celebration benefiting the Chula Vista Nature Center.  Check it out here.

And you may have seen these guys out and about in the community.  Our favorite Eco-Celebrities - Green Man and Blue Man.  Leveraging their universal appeal for good, Green Man and Blue Man are being put to work as the headlining mascots for Earth-List.com to raise awareness of sustainability, recycling, environmental responsibility, and everything related to Going Green.  Green Man has become so popular, that Earth-list has recently launched the Green Man Shop where you can shop for hundreds of your favorite Eco-Products.  I encourage everyone to stop in and check out their amazing selection - think of it as your very own Eco-Amazon.com. 

For all of you out there who are just beginning your journey of going green or who are already living it - Earth-List.com is one of the best resources on the web to guide you to Green enlightenment.  Green with Envy Events is proud to work with the Earth-List family!  We thank you for all your hard work and for helping us stay green!

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Fun Fridays ~ In ♥ with Organic Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Happy Friday everyone.  With Valentines Day just around the corner, I thought I'd send you into your weekend with a sweet and organic treat to bring some love into your life.  Who doesn't love Chocolate Covered Strawberries?  They're easy to make, delicious to eat, and in my opinion...one of the best ways to get your daily serving of fruit.  And now, you can not only show your love to that special person in your life...you can show some love to your mother earth by using all organic products to create this special indulgence.  For all you lovers out there...follow these easy steps to become a Valentines Day hero.

What you'll need:

- Organic Whole Strawberries, stem on

- Organic Chocolate (i love Dagoba!)

 

What to do:

- Wash the Strawberries

- Melt the chocolate

i like using some dark chocolate and some semisweet chocolate for a nice balance.

break up the chocolate into small bite-size pieces and melt in a saucepan on low heat, stirring constantly.

- holding the strawberry by the stem, tilt the pan and dip the strawberry into the chocolate, twirling it around until the entire strawberry is covered.

- place the strawberries on a plate with wax paper and put in the fridge for a bit until chocolate hardens.

- enjoy!

Wishing everyone a very happy Valentines Day!  

Engaged with a Cause

As part of our Wedding Wednesday Series, I wanted to take a  moment to congratulate a new friend of mine, Julie Gerdes and her hubby-to-be, Andrew Becnel on their recent engagement.  I met Julie a month ago, when she joined the DC Chapter of NEST, a non-profit that is close and dear to my heart. In many regards, Julie is a traditional bride; she's giddy about her special day and spends countless hours poring over the details, wants that magical dress, the favors, the photos, and the lovely venue. But what really  impressed me about her was her desire to give back to the community and those less fortunate, all through her wedding.

Working in development for a non-profit, Julie is well aware of the barriers that NGO's go through to raise that last dollar.  She has experienced first hand the difficulties of the fundraising process and has vowed to make a difference through 'Wedding Philanthropy', or how to GIVE BACK via your wedding.

Julie's philosophy through the planning process has been simple: you are spending the money anyways for the big day, so why not make vendor selections who take your money and give 100% of it back to charity or find other creative ways to help out the surrounding community with your payment.

Unfortunately, Wedding Philanthropy is not on the forefront of trends, like how to Green Your Wedding, for example.  But through her blog, Julie highlights a number of vendors (businesses, non-profits, corporations, and plain ole' good Samaritans) who have found creative ways to 'Engage' in Wedding Philanthropy.

She writes about places like The Bridal Garden, the ONLY non-profit bridal boutique in New York City, where 100% of the profits go to helping fund education programs like the Brooklyn Charter School.

AND

She highlights people like Walter Grio, from Shoot For Change (SFC), based here in DC.  Walter does something extraordinary...in his spare time, he shoots events, special occasions, family outings, editorials, yet does not collect a single dime for himself. Instead, he asks that his clients donate 100% of what they would be paying for his services to a selected charity.  Last year alone, SFC raised over $19,000!

Here at Green with Envy, we encourage our clients to be both environmentally and ethically responsible when selecting choices for their event  (whether it's a wedding, a corporate event, or even a fundraiser). I think we'll be adding third 'enouragement' to our list.

Please check out Julie's Engaged with a Cause Blog to  learn more about Wedding Philanthropy and how you can make a difference on your big day.

Happy Reading...xoxo, Laura

Save energy, water and reduce laundry time!

Our Eco-Monday Tip of the Week:

Have you ever had that morning where you  are in a hurry, you look in your closet and realize a) you didn't pick-up your dry cleaning and b) you forgot to do laundry so you literally  have nothing to wear? If you are a busy mom like me (or even better, have a very full social calendar with tons of commitments), you've had many such mornings. But don't fret, there's a very simple solution, one that can be found in your liquor cabinet.

Using a spritz or two of vodka to freshen up clothes in between laundry loads is a must try!  Vodka kills odor-causing bacteria, but doesn't leave a scent when dry.  Not only is it an easy solution to that hectic morning, but you can reduce the amount of laundry you end up doing, saving time, energy, water and cleaning chemicals (make sure you do a spot-test first to be safe)!

So instead of wearing that hideous sweater you swore you'd  never wear again or doing a rush half load of laundry in the morning, spritz your duds with a little bit of vodka, then hang to dry in a well-ventilated area.

You may even be tempted to start your day with a vodka infused concoction.  If that is your thing, at least make sure it's organic vodka.  Here's a list to get you started!

Happy Monday! xoxo, Laura

Fun Fridays ~ A little Public Art to brighten your day

Happy Friday everyone!  Today we take a visual adventure through some of the coolest public art pieces that are scattered across our country.  One of my favorite things about traveling is discovering new things...and there is nothing better then walking through a new city or driving through the country and coming upon a huge piece of art just sitting there in front of you.  Some are very modern, some are quirky and comical, and some are just classic. But what ever they are, they can always add a little humor and happiness into your day.  See if you can guess where some of these sculptures are? 

Wedding Wednesday: No Words Needed

I love all things old; vintage clothes and jewelry, antique furniture, classic cars and old movies. It was to my delight, then, when I stumbled upon this 'old' movie.

Kahli and Potsch, an extrmely creative couple from LA, wanted to put their love into words.  Er..action. As daunting as the task seemed, they created this silent movie with the help of their friend, in one weekend.  And it premiered with great approval at their reception.

Here's "Falling for You" by Kahli & Potsch. Enjoy, I sure did.

Falling For You from Khali & Potsch on Vimeo.

Happy Wednesday. xoxo, Laura