If I had a trust fund or won the lottery, I'd quit my job, travel...and collect art. My real-life options may be more limited, but I still find beautiful art at Tiny Showcase, an online community for artists created by Jon Buonaccorsi and Shea'la Finch. Tiny Showcase helps to expose and sell smaller works. Each … Continue reading Tiny Showcase: Small on Price, Big on Giving
Ecosalon
Modern Balance
I am a defiant modernist. Le Corbusier, Mies, Schindler, Neutra - I gave them my heart years ago (and my last boyfriend accused me of having a fear of commitment!). As my life and my choices have turned a lovely shade of green, these two sensibilities have naturally melded into one. It's fairly easy to … Continue reading Modern Balance
Create a New Kitchen With Old Glass
If remodeling your kitchen sits on the top of your most-wanted list but on the bottom of your most-affordable, I am here to suggest an option that will give your kitchen a fresh little boost for the spring season. It's easier than you might think. And it's recycled. Adding new hardware to your kitchen cabinets … Continue reading Create a New Kitchen With Old Glass
The Proper Way to Wash a Pillow
You do wash your pillow, don't you? We spend almost 1/3 of our lives sleeping. That's 262,974 hours eyes shut, horizontal and hopefully in a REM-like state of restfulness. That's a lot of time spent with our heads nuzzling the same old pillow. Pillows are one of the most overlooked and neglected of household items, … Continue reading The Proper Way to Wash a Pillow
What’s the Story?
Everyone loves a good story. In fact, I'm a sucker for one. As a young girl, I'd squeeze in next to my dad and the huge armrest of his brown and orange plaid recliner (yes, it was the 70s) in eager anticipation of the next chapter of "Alice in Wonderland". An hour later, he'd peel … Continue reading What’s the Story?
Pretty, Polished and Green?
Don't cancel your next appointment at the nail salon just yet. Your squeaky clean eco-conscience and your pretty, polished nails need not be mutually exclusive. I'll admit that my concern about the toxicity of nail polish and remover didn't arise until well into my green-conscious years. I don't have a good explanation for this, other … Continue reading Pretty, Polished and Green?
The Proof Is in the Pillow
This past weekend the clocks jumped ahead and stole an hour right out from under us. One hour of precious beauty sleep - poof, gone! As I set my clocks ahead on Saturday night, I pondered the necessary adjustments - loss of sleep, waking in blackness, longer evenings. Then I crawled under my duvet and … Continue reading The Proof Is in the Pillow
Sink Your Toes Into Shaggy Bamboo
Some fashion and design trends of years past should be left well enough alone. They had their moment in the spotlight, their five minutes of fame or maybe they were just a one hit wonder. But now they're just old and so very outdated in my humble opinion. The problem is, such trends always seem … Continue reading Sink Your Toes Into Shaggy Bamboo
The Sock Problem
I'm going out on a limb and broaching a subject most women (who have brothers or sons or boyfriends or husbands) would prefer not to touch with a 10 foot pole. Literally. The subject: stinky athletic socks. If you haven't been exposed to the inside of a gym bag or entered your son's room and … Continue reading The Sock Problem
Save a Tree, One Gift at a Time
Are you tired of showing up to a dinner party with the usual hostess gift - a bottle of wine or basket of soaps or bouquet of flowers? Or maybe one too many times you've forgotten about getting a gift at all, until 30 minutes before the party starts? Whatever your gift-giving dilemma, this pretty … Continue reading Save a Tree, One Gift at a Time
Not Just Another Green Day
Do you remember your first Earth Day? Mine was in Washington, D.C. and the year was 1990. I can still feel the energy in the air as my friends and I weaved our way through the crowded Mall toward the Capitol. The excitement was contagious and we were so eager to help spread the message. … Continue reading Not Just Another Green Day
Stay on the Line
Call me wacky (sometimes) or old-fashioned (a little) or someone with too much time on her hands (I wish!), but I like doing my own laundry. There's something satisfying about separating darks from whites and folding everything just the way I like it. A big part of my laundering "formula" involves avoiding the dryer. I … Continue reading Stay on the Line
Walk Out of Winter in Organic Tights
Depending on where you live, there's at least a month of winter remaining, which translates to 30-plus tights-wearing days to go before it's time to bring out the organic self-tanner and bare your pretty legs. Until then, keep them warm with a pair of these organic bamboo tights by Sternlein. My classic Wolfords are finally … Continue reading Walk Out of Winter in Organic Tights
Don’t Throw the Bamboo out with the Bathwater
You remember it: the commercial of the frazzled woman with hands flailing in the air and a helpless look on her face because her husband and job and kids and pets all need her at the same time. She cries, "Calgon, take me away!" and is instantly transported to a bubbly bathtub where she can … Continue reading Don’t Throw the Bamboo out with the Bathwater
Say Yes to Seconds
There is eco-friendly fashion, and there is eco-friendly fashion. The first you might classify as newly crafted out of organic and/or recycled materials with a conscious attempt to have very little, if any, effect on the environment. The second is the re-used variety - purchased from second-hand shops or your grandmother's closet. I entered a … Continue reading Say Yes to Seconds
The Eco-Friendly Bottled Water (Toy)
I'm not a parent (yet), but I am an incredibly proud aunt to Jack (almost 3) and Rose (15 months). I had no idea how much love I was capable of until they burst into my life and stole my heart. I would do almost anything in order to keep them safe, happy and healthy. … Continue reading The Eco-Friendly Bottled Water (Toy)
Not Your Mama’s Wallpaper
As recently as 10 years ago, if you said the word "wallpaper" I had visions of orange shag carpeting and my mother on a stepladder with a plastic bucket of gloppy paste. That toxic and tres passe technique would never be found on the walls of my home. But today that same technique has become … Continue reading Not Your Mama’s Wallpaper
The Best Made Better
Luxurious, soft, refined, sophisticated. What could be better than cashmere? At one time my answer would have been an emphatic "absolutely nothing!" That was before I knew about Deborah Lindquist, one of LA's most adored and eco-conscious designers. Her passion for the environment combined with a cutting-edge fashion sense has made her a forerunner on … Continue reading The Best Made Better
A Routine Moment Finds Flavor
A Sunday morning in Malibu spent window-shopping and sipping coffee with a girlfriend is my idea of heaven. Whether it's the latest designer denim or celebrity eye candy, we always have fun checking out the flavor of the week. It was only a matter of time before toothpaste got its turn. No, I'm not talking … Continue reading A Routine Moment Finds Flavor
Countertop Composting
Why throw away bits and ends that can be used to fertilize your lawn and enrich your garden soil? Almost any organic material can be used - composting is a spectacular way to recycle kitchen and garden refuse. Composting can seem a serious endeavor, not for the faint of nose or easily distracted. Why? Because … Continue reading Countertop Composting
Kim Derby 
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