Friday, February 27, 2009

a green potluck

So yesterday was my 24th my bday and, boy, was it ever a blast! We'd tried to make it as green as possible. Our efforts included:

-Organic Chips & Dip from our fav. grocery store Greenlife
-Handmade Pizzas made from organic flour
-No use of plastic plates/cups or flatware (we happen to have a surplus of the glass & silver kind, respectively).
-Carpooling of guests.
-Local beer for the drinking from the awesome microbrewery Highland Brewing Co.

It was a last minute event, so I think we did pretty well doing our best to be environmentally aware in the party plans. What other green activities do you do when planning a party?

(A sampling of my handmade pizzas.)

To read more about the joyous activities from last night, check out the Roller Girl post, here.
~Am~

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Design Glut

The site of the day, today, is Design Glut. Discovered through one of Etsy's "How-To's," Design Glut is an awesome website that "make[s] culturally relevant products. Products are everything from jewelry to housewares to websites to essays." They also write great articles "about how creative firms get started. We answer questions you've always had about the design world."

I adore their website and products. Some of their products are kinda strange at first glace, but with a closer look, you can find them to be poignant and witty. Check them out to find out more about design and how you can your designs out to more people.You may be asking why this relevant to green living. Simply put, they support crafty living and, to us, crafty living = green living. :)
~Am~

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Seven Star Events

Need to throw a huge, huge, huge event but want it to be green and safer for the earth? Then call on Seven Star Events. Based in Asheville, Seven Star Events has "provided turn-key green event services for festivals, trade and consumer expositions, conferences, concerts, and mobile tours."


I actually met the VP of Business Development, Joseph B. Malki, in 2007 when I applied for a job with them. Everyone was super nice, and I loved the house they were stationed in. Plus, I adored the line of shoes by the door - it reminded a lot of college for some reason.

They also have internships, which help students learn the ropes in event planning in a sustainable and environmentally-healthy way. I am super interested in them because of all of these factors and I'd really love to get an internship with them. I want to work for a company that is passionate and caring about our Earth and I think they are a pretty good choice, don't you?

To find out more info about Seven Star Events, check them out here.
~Am~

Monday, February 23, 2009

movie rentals

Here's a debate that takes into consideration a variety of factors: where to rent movies. Such factors to take into consideration are, of course, money, environmental impact, convenience and economic impact (not the same thing as money).


The places I frequent to rent movies are:

Redbox
Rosebud Video
Ingles
UNCA library
Public library

Other places I could rent movies from:

Blockbuster
Other chain movie stores
Other local/non-chain stores
Netflix

Or I could just watch movies online via a variety of movie-watching sites (for free and not-free)...like Netflix, Itunes, YouTube and SurfTheChannel.

What do you think is the most eco-friendly & affordable place to rent movies? Your local rental place or an online site? What's the best thing to do when you're aching for a good cinematic experience?
~Am~

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Green Decorating Continued


So last week I wrote a post about the fabric panels I made using two vintage patterned hand towels I found at a thrift store. Turns out I had two of them left and I asked my mom to make me a pillow with them. My mom, as we have mentioned before, is seriously a Martha Stewart.

And so now I have a matching pillow for the price of only 4 dollars (2 hand towels) and the pillow was already owned just not covered by such loveliness.

Merci Maman! :)
( I really need to learn how to sew)

And why is this worthy of sharing on Lu n' Am? because it only cost me four dollars, the help of a talented mother, and it is entirely made of reused materials.

decorating really doesn't have to be expensive or consisting of "new" everything...

and speaking of green decorating...this new blog is very worthy of a visit.
- Pure Green Design
("Pure Green is a blog dedicated to delivering green style to anyone, anywhere...")
do check it out!

-Lu

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Be green, be mine

The Aid Agency has got it right. A smart valentine.

Happy Valentines Day!

~Lu~

Thursday, February 12, 2009

a "green guide"

I just adore reading National Geographic normally. They have wonderful pictures and great articles about really interesting topics. But lately I've been obsessed with reading their "Green Guides."

(Source found here.)

Right now I'm reading their Winter 09 guide and it's filled lots of facts and tidbits about going green. My favorite section though is their "One Green Year" article that extends for eight pages. This articles goes into pretty good detail about how you can "go green" by taking steps daily, weekly, monthly and yearly. It is an excellent article with ideas and suggestions for lists to keep track of your carbon footprint and your progress throughout the year.

I also really enjoy the advertisements in the magazine. All of them are related to being green, organic and natural. I don't really encouragement consumerism, but I enjoy seeing what my alternatives are as opposed to McDonald's and Wal-Mart ads.

~Am~

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Au Naturel

I received the last of my holiday gifts a few days ago and I was super happy to find some natural beauty and home products! One of my friends got me some lotion, soy candles, lip balm and organic mint chocolate from a local store called Au Natural. She also gave me the store's business card so I could look up more info about them.

So I checked them out...although not all of their stuff is completely natural, they have a fair amount of products to choose from that are more "healthy" and natural. All of their products are handmade by local crafters and they are located in a cute little part of West Asheville. My favorite things, by far, are the soy candles. They come in tons and tons of different scents and they are huge! Awesome, right?!

~Am~

Monday, February 9, 2009

Green Decorating


I have recently moved into a new apt, and lately I have been on a constant hunt for creative ways to decorate my new home. Mitchell and I have a very wee budget (the poor college student kind), and according to certain Decor magazines, furniture & living stores decorating tastefully is NOT cheap. Thankfully, that is not at all the truth. With all of the resources out there, I am absolutely convinced that one does not need tons of moolah and NEW decor/furniture to make a space fabulous.

This is where fellow bloggers come in. The internet is full of creative people who are willing to share that creativity with us. They practically do all the work, they come up with a project, take pictures, give suggestions, write patterns, give us printable projects or step by step directions for us to DIY.

So here is my latest little project. I have to admit I am quite proud of this one, because when it comes to anything that has to do with fabric...I am absolutely clueless. But once again, someone else pretty much did all the work by giving me step by step directions :)


Fabric Panels/Canvas

This project was so simple to make and not expensive at all. Most of you have probably seen these before.
I had previously bought several 3 dollar canvas frames at Big Lots (woot woot, I love Big Lots), and so I thought they would be the perfect size for this project.
I bought the fabric at a vintage/thrift store in Knoxvegas.

Fabric= A set of 4 hand towels for the price of six meager dollars. (My mom is making a pillow cover with the other two towels).
and then I looked up how to make fabric panels online...and stumbled upon this source. (<--- so click on that link for better directions than I would probably give you ;) I'm pretty sure we've mentioned How About Orange before :)




When it comes to decorating, I am a strong believer that buying new isn't always the best option. There are already so many used but unique materials that can be salvaged out there. And there are plenty of creative people around us to tell us how to salvage them.

Happy Tuesday!

-Lu


Saturday, February 7, 2009

charity:water

Here at Lu-n-Am, we have the wonderful opportunity to discover and support many new causes - whether it's supporting a new up and coming artist or supporting an environmental project. Our latest and greatest new find is charity:water. An international charity and cause, charity:water:

"is a non profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations. We give 100% of the money raised to direct project costs, funding sustainable clean water solutions in areas of greatest need. Just $20 can give one person in a developing nation clean water for 20 years."

In supporting and fund raising efforts, the twitter community is holding an international festival - termed a twestival. In cities all over the world twestivals are coming together to raise money for safe drinking water. Like the cities Paris, Tel Aviv and San Fransisco (and many others!), Asheville is holding a twestival.

The twestival in Asheville will be held at the Windows on the Park on Feburary 12 from 6-11pm. And all it takes is a $10 donation to get in. There will also be yummy food and beer from local businesses to dig into while there.

Two video shoots are also being held today at Pritchard Park with people pledging money to charity:water. All you have to do is show up with a little moolah ($5) & pledge to donate the money! The shoots will be held at 11:30am and 3pm today and will be broadcasted on youtube to spread the word.

The closest twestival in the area is being held in Charlotte, so if you're dying to attend and you're in the area or if your city isn't holding a twestival of their own, come check out the twestival in Asheville! Also check out the ipledge that's happening today and make your donation to charity: water!
~Am~

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

new green blogger find

It's always great to find more young bloggers that are passionate about helping the earth and doing what they can to be sustainable and responsible citizens. The green-blog of the day is Green Grounded. Written by a seemingly lovely lady of the name Ashley Sue, this blog is about making a difference, however big or small it is.

(Miss Ashley Sue in the flesh.)

I discovered miss Ashley Sue through twitter and Sensible Kitty. Some other sweet facts is that she also lives in Asheville and is a twenty-something. I think this calls for a meeting of the green minds, I do say. Check her out, she has many interesting insights about living sustainably that you are bound to find interesting, as well.
~Am~

Sunday, February 1, 2009

preserve products

Today Lu 'n Am would like to highlight a line of products who takes the philosophy "reduce, reuse and recycle" to the next level.

Preserve products philosophy is "nothing wasted nothing gained". The line of products which includes personal care items (toothbrushes and razors), kitchenware (cutting boards, colanders) and tableware (cutlery and plates) are all made with 100% recycled materials. The company's goal is to keep its products out of the landfill.

Preserve has a partnership with Stonyfield Farm to reuse their yogurt containers in their products. Reusing the plastic results in less resources (water, energy, oil, etc.) being used to produce their products. Less green house gases are also emitted in the environment.



Not only does Preserve use recycled plastic, they encourage their customers to recycle once they need to replace the item. I have purchased preserve toothbrushes for our whole family. Once they were worn, I was able to send them back to Preserve in a postage pre-paid envelope. They have a similar program with their razors. Talk about closing the loop - no waste!

Preserve products:

* are not tested on animals

* are made in the United States, working with US manufacturers

* do not contain toxic chemicals such as BPA

* uses clean energy and energy reduction measures at their office headquarters

* support local non-profit organizations

Next time you shop for personal care items, consider a purchase from Preserve. The website has a handy dandy shop search feature so you can find the nearest store that carries this eco-friendly line.

Cheers, Kimberly
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