Eco-Monday: Putting the Glam in Recyclables

From this... 

     

to That.



Hello again from the intern! As any normal child, my desire to recycle came from a need to save the animals after I watched the movie “Happy Feet”. Just out of pure interest I “googled” 'facts about aluminum drink cans' today and stumbled across the Can Manufacturers Institute. The fact that made me realize just how important throwing my coke can in the recycling bin stated, “For each pound of aluminum recovered, Americans save the energy resources needed to generate about 7.5 kilowatt-hours of electricity" If you are unfamiliar with kilowatt-hours (as I was), this equates to the amount of light Pittsburgh uses....over a 6 year period!!! So now that we all know just how important recycling these small cans is, I present a crafty solution. 

As a college student I am always on a tight budget and yet I'm constantly searching for a piece of jewelry that will spice up my outfit. I tried my hand once as designing my own necklaces but that never seemed to turn out well. My solution to this dilemma later came when a friend of mine discovered Etsy while preparing for her wedding last November. I discovered so many great vendors that re-use everyday products to create gorgeous one-of-a-kind pieces. The vendor I'm currently hooked on is JMP Designs. This vendor re-uses the drink cans her family consumes in order to create adorable and trendy pieces of jewelry.  In reading her bio I was happy to discover that her goal was to “make the world a little greener with style,” a statement that any green goddess can relate to.

So as the season moves on and the bright fun colors of spring make it back into your wardrobe, I suggest checking out this vendor and realizing the amazing impact that buying an adorable new necklace can make. 

Enjoy the week!

Fun Friday ~ DIY Herb Garden...in an old shoe organzier

Happy Friday everyone.  Spring is in the air, and everywhere you look flowers and plants are starting to peek out at us.  Having moved so many times in my life (most of them being rentals), I've found it difficult to really connect with my garden.  So you can imagine my excitement to find this brilliant do-it-yourself vertical herb garden inside of a hanging shoe organizer.  It's easy to set up, it's portable, and for those of you who live in apartments or have limited gardening space...it can hang just about anywhere.  And it keeps the cats away too. 

To create your own Vertical Herb Garden, simply follow these steps from Instructables.com:

Materials:

- Hanging pocket shoe organizer / store

- Pole and attachments (curtain pole or pipe fittings, screws)

- Strong metal saucepan or utensil hanging hooks

- Compost of a good quality - moisture holding type

- Selection of plants or seeds... e.g. mixed leaf salad, herbs, sorrel, peas, mini tomatoes

- Piece of wood 2"x2" - width of the pocket store to keep the base of pockets away from the wall

- Trough planter to catch drips

1. Attach pole to shed or wall - Attach a strong chrome pole with metal fittings to the shed. You could use a curtain pole. Make sure it is at the correct height especially if you want to grow plants in a trough below (see step 6). This uses the surplus water from the pockets above.

2. Attach hanging shoe store - Use strong hooks or wire to attach the shoe store. They must be strong enough to support the weight of the compost, plants and water.

3. Test Drainage - Pour water into the pockets to check the drainage, if they don't drain then make a few small holes in each of the pockets.

4. Fill each pocket with compost - Add a good moisture retaining compost, fill to 1" below the rim so that water does not pour out over the rim.

5. Add or plant seeds - Sow seeds or add seedlings.  Suggested...herbs thyme, sorrel, chives; salad mixed leaf, mustard, cut and come again, or spinach; minibel tomatoes; or petit pois peas you can eat the young leaflets and tendrils.

6. Drip Aid - Use a piece of wood to make sure the excess water drips into the trough below.

7. Maintaining a healthy hanging veg plot -

- Water slowly with a gentle flow, or you may wash soil and plants out of the pocket and it will dirty the crop below.

- Add water retaining crystals to the compost. HINT... add water to some crystals in a container and allow them to swell then add that to the compost and fill your containers, otherwise when the crystals swell they can grow so much that they push the compost, seeds and plants out!!

- Plants like tomatoes will need regular Tomato fertilizer (and use slow release granules) as the fertility of the compost will soon get exhausted.

- Do not over pick salad leaves, so the plant regrows.

- It is important to keep a look out for aphids, slugs, caterpillars and other pests.

- Remove diseased , infected or damaged leaves... compost them.

- Remove unproductive plants and compost them.

- When reusing pockets add some fresh compost.

So there you have it, your very own vertical herb garden.  There's something special about walking into your backyard for ingredients.  Reconnect with the earth and get yourself an herb garden!  And have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Eventful Wednesdays: The Cherry On Top

Happy Wednesday! My name is Brianna Davis and I am an intern with Laura for Green with Envy. I only started 3 weeks ago but have come to love the fast pace business and the commute into DC. With that said I wanted to let you know about something that is near and dear to my heart. Despite today’s uncharacteristically cold weather here in DC, we are gearing up for one of spring’s most traditional and exciting event.

The Cherry Blossom Festival is scheduled to kick-off this Saturday, March 26^th and continue through the trees peak bloom period, slated to end on April 2^nd. This tradition began in 1912 in order to celebrate the 3,000 tree gift that came from the governor of Tokyo. Since then this event has exploded into a festival with art, theater, sports, family fun, food and beverages. 

This year the event that really caught my eye was a Sustainable Sushi Tasting on March 30^th. It’s a fun spin on incorporating Japanese culture into the festival and offers a really great food alternative to the everyday meal. You have to be 21 or older to attend because there will be sustainable wine and sake to sample as well. If you just like to go for the scenic walk around the tidal basin or you want to catch the parade we urge you to check out the official website at http://www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/.

Fun Friday - Game for Adults? Yes please!!!

Happy Friday everyone! If you're like me (and most of my friends and family) you enjoy the thrill and competition of playing games.  Well then you're going to love this!!!  The Go Game is kind of a combination of all your favorite games.  It's a little bit of Charades, a little Amazing Race, and lots of excitement, creativity and silliness.  The Go Game is based out of San Francisco, but due to the high demand for their innovative scavenger-hunt style game production, they are now available across the globe.  These games are for just about any occasion.  They offer Team Building experiences, games for Conventions, Training and Marketing Campaigns, and Pure Fun Games that are perfect for any event - Weddings, Private Parties, Flash Mobs, Bachelor parties, Reunions...or anything you can think of.  

The experiences are themed, and each team is given phones, cameras, video cameras, and other gadgets to help them complete their missions.  Then when it's all over, everyone gets together and watches all the pictures/videos and calculates the winner!  Have you ever seen a group of people, dressed in silly costumes, running around your town?  Well it might just be The Go Game. 

During the weekend of my wedding in 2006, we signed up our entire wedding guest list for our very own Go Game in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco.  And it was a huge hit!!!  To this day I still hear from our wedding guests that The Go Game was one of the coolest experiences they've ever had.  So if you're looking for something different to do for your upcoming event, I recommend checking out The Go Game!  Where else do us adults get to act like crazy kids for a day?  Take a look at some of these pictures, and you'll see what I mean. 

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend! xoCarlee

Event Wednesday: Pop Up Shop

I wanted to invite everyone to come to an extremely fabulous Pop-Up Shop Event in DC, the weekend of April 1-3. Trina Turk, who has been a great supporter of NEST, a non-profit that is very dear to our hearts, will be hosting this fabulous event at The Donovan House, one of the swankiest hotels in DC. You'll get to shop the newest spring collection, mingle with an exciting group of women, sip some bubbly, pick up a resort piece or two, and  meet the one and only, Mrs. Turk herself.

And besides, we'll be there, so what more could you ask for?

FUNinspiring Friday: Some girls have all the fun...and creativity

I've been obsessed with Terrariums since we discovered Tend Living a while back and did a posting of it here on our blog.  So it was to my great delight when I discovered that a Green with Envy Intern also created these works of arts (amongst many other things). And it should have been no surprise, since she's extremely talented and creative.  This chandelier-turned-terrarium from Ariel is so clever, and a great way to repurpose an otherwise out-of-date fixture. Not only do the paned panels recall the look of traditional terrariums, but the piece also includes a convenient door — originally for changing light bulbs — which is perfect for the occasional rearrangement of the plants and rocks.

Ariel is currently studying at Corcoran College of Art & Design, and does it all!  Illustrations, concept design & installation, branding and logos, and she even creates her own textiles with repeated patterns based on photos she's taken. AMAZING!

And as if she wasn't busy enough,she also explores with jewelry design, like these found metal pendants on gold plated chains.

You know how they say some girls have all the fun? It's really true in this case( note to mention she's got a ton of energy, creativity and she's gorgeous). Make sure you check out the rest of her stuff, here.

Happy Findings!

Wedding Wednesdays ~ Thread Design = To Die For!!!

Today we're very excited to share with you one of our favorite dress designers - Thread. And for those of you lucky enough to be in the New York City area, Thread presents their Thread Weekend Wedding Pop-up Shop featuring their new 2011 collections from Thread Bride, Thread Classic, Thread Bridesmaid and Thread Social, one-on-one personal consultations with the designers, a special 20% off all orders, and oh so much more!  The Pop-up Shop will be open March 25, 26 & 27 at 26 West 17th Street, Suite 301, New York.  It's by appointment only so rsvp to amy@threaddesign.com. 

Thread Designs offer some of the most darling dresses for Bridesmaid, Brides, Flower girls, and party-goers.  They have a huge selection of colors, designs, shapes, materials, etc.  There really is something for everybody.  And what  I love most about Thread is these aren't your typical, run-of-the-mill bridesmaid dresses.  These dresses are high-style, unique, and very fashion forward.  Here are just a few of my favorites.  I love all of their dresses, it was so hard to choose.  

BTW, can i just point out that this light green dress above is in Seersucker!!!  How adorable is that?  If you're not in the New York area and want to check out their collection, try and make it to one of their upcoming Trunk Shows -

 March 10-13

Bella Bridesmaid, Orange County

Corona Del Mar, CA  92625

949.717.7800

or

March 17-20

Bella Bridesmaid, Richmond

Richmond, VA 23226

804.658.0105

Happy Shopping!