Showing posts with label green with envy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label green with envy. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Eventful Wednesday: A GWE Thanks Giving

Here at Green with Envy we wanted to share some of the things that we are giving thanks for this year:

Sweetgreen - their salads and their partnership
Wonderful Clients - from intimate to large scale, our clients are always great
Great opportunities - this year has brought us new experiences and creative adventures
Our supportive hubbies, Dan and Steve
Our wonderful children, Siena and Leo
Family & Friends
and our blog followers

Happy Thanksgiving!



Monday, November 21, 2011

Eco-Monday: Paint the Halls


An easy way to add an eco-friendly element to your house is through paint. When it's time to add a new coat to the kitchen or transform that upstairs bathroom, consider using eco-friendly paint. Average paints contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which are often emitted as gases. These chemicals are not healthy for the environment of your house or the environment as a whole. Instead, purchase paints that are approved by the Green Seal Standards. This nonprofit organization is dedicated to improving the environmental standards for many common products. Milk paint is a great alternative because it does not emit VOCs and works well as an interior paint for your house. Any eco-friendly paint uses water as a base instead of a petrochemical base and come in cans composed of 100% recyclable metals. 

Three paints to consider buying are:
1. Benjamin Moore Aura - specifically the GreenGuard
2. Olympic Premium - the Green Seal 
3. Sherwin-Williams Harmony

                               




Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Eventful Wednesday: A New Tradition

I have noticed that a lot of the "guest books" being used at weddings now a days are not the traditional scrapbook. Instead many people are using unique and creative approaches to remembering their guests and often turn the "guest book" into a piece of art for their newlywed home. We thought we could share our favorites in hopes of inspiring your own creative take on this long standing tradition. 


This is an easy DIY project. All you need is a sheet of frosted heavy plastic from a hardware store as well as wooden letters and craft pens from your local craft store.

I have often seen this idea used in tree form as well, using guests fingerprints as leaves. Don't forget to add a thin tipped pen so that guests can sign their fingerprints. 

There are many options to use this idea on your special day. Using the first letter of the couples new last name, using the first letter of the bride and groom's first names, using the first letters of the couples respective last names...either way it's a great guest book idea to use as decoration in your house!

How fun would a photo book of your guests be on your 50th anniversary? Pictures are worth a thousand words and this great idea captures the joy everyone shared on your special day. 

If you really love DIY projects, you can take your guest's puzzle pieces and turn them into the top for a coffee table in your living room. You can also put the puzzle pieces in a large hurricane vase and display them in your home. 

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Eventful Wednesday: CityDance Ensemble goes Green

Recently we were given the inside scoop on CityDance Ensemble's newest development, which we are excited to say has a green twist! In partnership with the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County as well as the Music Center at the Strathmore, CityDance Ensemble will be transforming a current dance studio into a state-of-the-art dance theater named BlackBox Theater. This theater is not only unique because it is the first environmentally friendly theater in the DC area, but also because CityDance has formed a partnership with Christopher K. Morgan and Artists to create their first Resident Dance Company.  

1. The entire electrical needs of the BlackBox Theater will be powered by solar energy. In using these solar panels, any surplus electricity that may be generated is instantly returned to the power grid and therefore reduces the overall carbon footprint. 

2. The lighting of the entire theater will utilize LED and High-intensity Discharge (HID) lamps. These HID lamps are unique in that they make more "visible light per unit of electric power cosumed".  

3. The production team has partnered with MechoSystems to bring in a unique shading system that makes a bold commitment to protecting the environment. This system will increase overall energy efficiency by filtering sunlight to decrease the gain of solar heat in the space. By lowering the heat brought into the space, BlackBox Theater can cut their cooling costs and eliminate a decrease the overall carbon footprint.  

Friday, October 14, 2011

Fun Friday: A new type of flower

 In the spirit of staying green, today we wanted to share with you some great photos and DIY tutorials on how to create felt or fabric flowers. Not only will they stay "fresh" all day long but these pretty flowers can be re-used throughout your house to embellish pillows or clutches. 


    
These great idea boards demonstrate all the different and creative ways fabric flowers could be used during your big day. 
                            
Feel free to get creative and add buttons or attach name cards for seating assignments. 

Embellish a journal and gift them to your bridesmaids, or reuse the flowers from your wedding to embellish a clutch. 

Thanks to Skip to my Lou, you can learn how to make 11 different fabric flowers here.





Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Eventful Wednesday: Welcome to the World Baby Leo

We are so excited to announce a new addition to the Green with Envy family!


Introducing: 

Leo Vincent Gerardi 
 born on October 10, 2011 
 7 pounds 11 ounces



Congratulation to Carlee and Steve on this wonderful blessing! He is absolutely stunning and seems like such a sweet little guy; Auntie Laura can't wait to meet him!!

 We wish Carlee and Steve the best of luck and great wishes for a life of happiness and memories with their bundle! 
xoxoxo



Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Eventful Wednesday: Nestination India


Nest, in partnership with Maiyet and in combination with the Indian Embassy, is hosting their second annual Nestination. This year Nestination India will happen on:
                                     
When:            October 14, 2011 from 7pm till 10pm
Where:           Indique Heights
2 Wisconsin Circle,
Chevy Chase, MD 20815

What is Nest?

Nest is a nonprofit organization that empowers female artists and artisans around the world. Using a unique combination of interest-free microfinance loans, mentoring from established designers, as well as a market in which to sell their crafts, Nest helps its loan recipients create successful small businesses. Nest instills pride of ownership, preserves ancient artistic traditions and successfully moves women from poverty to self-sufficiency. More importantly, in India Nest is creating a stable home environment for many of the Indian families. Many gypsy women of India that have been given loans by Nest have decided to settle down in one area, send their children to school, and develop their craft. These micro-loans are supplying a greater opportunity by supporting education and family development.

What can you expect at Nestination Indian?


The event is expected to draw an international crowd of over 400 attendees. The evening will weave a combination of cultural activities such as traditional artisan demonstrations (ikat, block printing and beading), henna station, welcome traditions including bindis and marigold strands, a sitar player, a popular Indian DJ, samplings of Indian cuisine and a special speech delivered by The Indian Ambassador or appointed Indian Embassy Representative. Indique Heights, a locally well-known Indian restaurant, will be supplying a night of traditional cuisine. You will also be able to walk through a re-created Bazaar which will feature over 400 products that have been hand-made by the women in India.


Learn more about Nest and this Event
Purchase Tickets Here

Come for a night of cultural immersion, great tastes, fun activities, and an opportunity to learn about the women of India. Your support will be so impactful and you can wear a tradition bindi while doing it! We would love to see you there!

Monday, February 14, 2011

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!

Thursday, January 27, 2011

A New Year's Resolution - by Blog with Envy

Good morning Blog with Envy readers.  I hope this posting finds all of you happy, healthy, and off to a great start in 2011.  Here at Green with Envy Events, we've made our own New Year's Resolution to blog more and blog less in 2011.  Sound confusing?  Well don't worry, we are going to be making some positive changes around here.  And today I'm excited to tell you about our new weekly format. In efforts to give you MORE exciting tidbits, we will be blogging 3 times every week.  And...we'll be keeping it a lot shorter and a whole lot sweeter.  Here's the plan:

Eco-Mondays - Every Monday we will post a fun piece of Eco-Goodness for you to enjoy.  And there are no restrictions here...it could be anything.  From cool products to exciting Eco-Events, to important Green News...or maybe just a useful tip.  Whatever it is, it will keep you informed and help you expand your inner green goddess (or god?).  

 

Wedding Wednesdays - If you couldn't tell, we love weddings around here.  And there are so many amazing wedding ideas, companies, blogs, products....etc.  So every Wednesday we will give you some inspiring wedding delight!  But weddings aren't our only specialty...we plan all sorts of events at Green with Envy.  So if it's alright with you, we might slip in some tidbits about the other events we're working on too.

Fun Fridays - We are party planners after-all...so obviously we love to have fun!  And what's not fun about Friday?  So every Friday we'll send you into your weekend with a little amusement and joy.  Something that will make you smile.  Life is short, and it's our belief that we should have as much fun as we can while we're here.  You only live once, so make the most of it.  And we'll do our best to help you do just that.


Friday, January 7, 2011

We want to hear from you in 2011

Happy New Year to all our Green with Envy Events fans!!!

As we say goodbye to another year, and welcome in a fresh new one...we at Green with Envy Events are ready to put a fresh face on our Blog. What does this mean for you? How about more postings, better articles, guest appearances, special offers, and so much more. The blogging has slowed down a bit over the past couple of months...and we apologize for that. But not to worry, we are back in action and ready to Blog our way through 2011.

And we want to hear from you!!! Let us know what you want to see more of on our blog. Send us your ideas, recommendations, critiques, etc. Our goal is to satisfy our readers, but we can't do that unless we know what you want. So tell us! =>

We're looking forward to hearing from you, and we wish you the most happy, healthy, and prosperous 2011!

With love from your Green Gals,

Carlee & Laura

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Introducing ~ The babies of Green with Envy Events

Today I'm keeping it short and sweet. It was a busy weekend here at Green with Envy Events! Our co-founder Laura was visiting San Diego from Washington DC with her darling baby Siena! This was my first time meeting Siena, and Laura's first time meeting my baby (puppy)...Rita. I just had to share these adorable pictures of Siena and Rita getting to know each other. With these two cuties laying at our feet, how on earth are we supposed to get any work done?

It's never too early to instill a good work ethic. Siena was helping Laura send emails, and pretty soon she will be a guest writer on our blog. Seriously, can she be any cuter?

Have a great week everyone! And don't forget to spend some time with the ones you love...even the furry ones. xxoo Carlee

Monday, May 24, 2010

My Big Fat Green Wedding: Date(s) and Location!

After a long hiatus, we are finally back with tidbits and updates from our Eco-Wedding Series. As mentioned in our previous post, the couple wanted their festivities to take place during EarthDance Week, and with this in mind they have decided on exchanging their vows and celebrating with a small, intimate group of family and friends on Sunday, September 26th in Big Sur, California. They will also be having a much larger Eco-bash on Thursday, September 30th in Los Angeles, California (venue and info on that to follow, so stay tuned).

When looking at their options, they not only wanted to minimize travel for their guests, but a natural, secluded setting was very important, as they both enjoy the serenity of the outdoors. Big Sur seemed like the perfect choice, as it was equa-distance to both the Northern and Southern parts of California. Nestled among majestic mountains and the piercing blues of the Pacific Ocean, Big Sur is a haven for those looking to get away from a fast-paced lifestyle, offering a tranquil enviroment, and therefore the ideal location to say their 'I Do's'.

Looking for that perfect spot, the couple instantly fell in love and got inspired by Ventana Ranch Inn, which is situated on 234 acres of wooded hillside, 1,200 feet above the Pacific Ocean.

Ventana Ranch Inn not only provides a peaceful and soothing atmosphere, but they also incorporate sustainable practices into their business model. They strive to work with florists who source local wildflowers, and their catering team incorporates local and sustainable produce and goods into their menus.

It only added to their delight when they found out that Ventana Ranch Inn is owned by Joie De Vivre Hotels, a boutique chain of hotels that strives to have a positive impact on their community. JDV is dedicated to donating a minimum of $200 per guest room per year to organizations in their communities and also participates in the You Can Make a Difference Program. Funds collected through Ventana Ranch Inn for these programs support the local Big Sur Health Center, whose mission is to provide comprehensive health care to all in Big Sur regardless of their ability to pay.

So, there you have it! Sustainability, charitable donations, and views to die for. The couple (and their guests) are surely in for a magical experience at this one-of-a-kind resort. Next up, LA Venue and Flowers, so stay tuned!

Your Green with Envy Girls,
Laura & Carlee

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Green Girls 2nd Year Bash ~ Eco-Fashion Show Sneak Peak

Green with Envy Events has teamed up with TheGreenGirls.com to co-produce their 2nd Anniversary Bash...and you won't want to miss it!!! Happening Saturday, June 26th at an exclusive private home in the West Hills of Los Angeles, this event will surely make you Green with Envy! Come mingle with the Green Girl Gurus, Green business professionals, celebrities, media, politicians, and lots of greenies...all while enjoying live entertainment, sipping organic drinks, marveling at the gorgeous designs of the Eco-Fashion Show, and all while benefiting a great cause - Earth Spark, a non-profit organization which empowers communities by eradicating energy poverty. Come celebrate this dynamic group of people, who inspire us to make the world a better place!

Started by founder Apple Levy two years ago, TheGreenGirls.com is a collection of blogs, articles, videos & photos that help inspire an Eco conscious lifestyle backed by a team of talented women (including your Green with Envy gals, Carlee & Laura) who are professionals in their own fields. The inspiration to help people live brighter, healthier, greener lives is what drives TheGreenGirls.com.

And if you're not already sold on coming to this one-of-a-kind event...here is a little more motivation. A sneak peak into the amazing collection of Eco-brands featured in our Eco-Fashion Show. Feast your eyes on the latest and greatest trends in Eco Fashion!!!

Welcome to the sexier side of Green ~ Niksters ~ Eco Bikinis.

Niksters Eco-bikinis are made from sustainable soy, organic cotton, bamboo, and other natural fibers which all promote a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. Their entire line of bikinis is stunning...but here are a couple of my faves.

Reco Jeans - Sustainable Denim Technology

Reco is an Eco-friendly, fashion forward, true recycled denim brand. Who knew that Eco-friendly jeans could be so sexy? All the excess denim, threads, rough edges and cut and sew pieces get recycled and intertwined with a combination of recycled and fresh cotton to create an innovative new form of fabric...true recycled denim. I LOVE IT!!!!

Broccoli City ♦ Organic Lifestyle

Broccoli City is leading the way in bringing the urban community to a “green” lifestyle. With that as their goal, they use sublimation ink products in printing their shirts, which qualify as "green ink". They are water-based, and, are measurably less harmful to the environment than any solvent based ink currently being touted in the industry…eco-, bio- or traditional. The result is an ink that when paired with their 100% organic cotton t-shirts, creates a finished product that is certifiably Green and USA made. They make being green, look so fresh!

Cri De Coeur ♥ Never before has being so Eco-friendly been so stylish!

Thanks to Cri de Coeur, a line of top-quality vegan shoes, ladies around the globe can create eco-luxe looks in no time flat. Pairing deftly with everything from cocktail dresses to skinny jeans, Cri de Coeur shoes embody effortless chic. Every pair is handmade with a meticulous attention to detail and an eye for design. Rich color combinations, supple vegan materials and seductive yet comfortable heel shapes are marks of the brand. Cri de Coeur provides stylish, contemporary women’s footwear that is ethically produced from start to finish.

Raintees • Saving Trees with Tees

Rain Tees are a 100% organic line of apparel for women and children that feature designs by youth living in endangered rain forests. They donate school supplies to the children and ask them to illustrate what they see happening in their world every day. Each Rain Tee features their thoughts, illustrations and names...and for every item sold, a child involved in the non-profit Kids Saving the Rain Forest receives a tree they can plant to replace one that has been destroyed. These adorable tees are giving back in more ways then one!

So there you have it...just a few of the many AMAZING Eco-brands you'll find at theGreenGirls.com 2nd Anniversary Bash. With only 100 tickets available, at $25.00 (donation) per ticket...you can't afford not to attend the Eco-Bash of the year! Buy your tickets here.

Hope to see you there!

Ciao, Carlee