You may wake up on the wrong side of the bed, but that doesn’t mean you should start your day off on the wrong foot. The citrus pros at Sunkist recently debuted a new line of all-natural smoothies and juices that will help you make the most of your mornings. Available in eight different flavors, they’re made with good quality fruits, like Alphonso mangos, Valencia oranges and Marion blackberries from the Pacific Northwest, all selected from small, regional farmers.
The juices are loaded with healthy antioxidants and nutrients, and they’re free of additives and preservatives, making them a healthy alternative to the many sugar- and preservative-filled fruit juices lining grocery store shelves. I’ve tried two of the eight varieties: Glorious Greens, made with wheat grass, flax seed, spirulina and green tea; and Berry Cherry, a tasty blend of Oregon, Washington and California raspberries, Bing Cherries and strawberries. Available in the refrigerator sections at Whole Foods, Kroger, Fairway, Hannaford, and H·E·B.
Eco friendly, sustainable and good looking — does that sound like you? These bamboo tile placemats come in black and brown.
find @ pfeiferstudio.com
Hong Kong designer Keikko Lee has won a Gold Award at the recent Seoul Design Competition for her solar-powered “sticker lamp”, said to be as thin as a magazine cover. The designer’s conceptual lamp features electroluminescent material on one side and solar panels and sensors on the other. Stick it on your window to charge during the day and place it anywhere in your home for light at night.
No word on when this solar lamp concept will make the leap from paper to hardware.
photo credit: scmp.com
Low-fi, high tech, and jungle design all in one sweet looking package. Designer Singgih Kartono creates these organic looking wooden radios from sustainable ebony wood. The radios are made in Indonesia by local craftsmen in an area of high unemployment. Magno radios feature the most MP3 compatible electronics and both AM/FM and shortwave reception.
come in small, medium and large (as pictured) @ designpublic.com
They happen frequently when our appetites greet the table and transform into delicious appetizers, main dishes, drinks, and possibly desserts. They are leftovers; resulting from the widespread eyes-bigger-than-stomach syndrome.
Although frequently dining out and succumbing to this syndrome many times myself, my feathers still ruffle witnessing leftovers fall into containers for their travels to peoples’ fridges, quite likely accompanied by a paper/plastic bag. Even when the leftovers are devoured and the food’s energy used, a different type of waste occurs as the one-time-employed containers hit the plastic garbage bags that soon after thump into a dump.
Most restaurant containers are either plastic, plastic/wax-lined paper, or Styrofoam, with the first being a recycling gamble and the latter two very rarely recycled. Thankfully, all can be avoided with our determination in remembering to bring a few staple food containers from our fridge to our eating locale. I’m talking about used margarine, yogurt, cream cheese, and hummus containers; peanut butter jars if you don’t mind the weight, and store-purchased plastic ware if that’s what you prefer. With a quick wash and dry, these guys can be stuffed into reusable bags and left in cars/packs to be at hand when needed.
For those who’d prefer using a container that’s not plastic, yet created for carting prepared food, check out the stainless steel Food Carriers from Healthy Kitchen. They’re available as a single container, and either 2-tiered or 3-tiered versions that come equipped with a handy carrying handle. Each compartment can be used as a bowl or to reheat foods (solid foods only, no liquids).
To make the process kinder to our wallet and the environment, many conscious restaurants now offer discounts for bringing your own left-over or takeout containers. No such luck at your favorite kitchen? You might try asking them and voicing your interest; they might even save some money by purchasing fewer containers.
If this whole bring-your-own container ritual is new to you, you might try it for a few weeks and reward yourself by not having to empty the recycling/trash bins as often. You quite likely will find self-gratitude as another reward.
If the price of oil, gas, and electricity is blowing through your bank account make sure the heat in your home isn’t going out the window. In addition to weatherstripping and proper insulation you might want to cut down on drafts and heat loss by installing insulated curtains for the winter months. The curtains pictured above are backed with 100% acrylic foam insulation which blocks winter’s drafts and heat loss from warm interior air hitting cold windows.
these and more insulated curtains @ plow & hearth
Why do humans have all the fun at Halloween? The biggest kick I get on Halloween is barking at kiddies when they ring the old doorbell. One look at me and nobody’s scared. Drat!
Anyhoo, here are a couple of neat toys for my furry brethren from designer 
Nina Ottoson’s Zoo Active line of dog party toys. These toys require a pooch to uncover the hidden treat to the amusement of their masters and/or assorted party guests. Hope all you Saint Bernards can figure these out. Remember – small dogs are smarter.
Peace, Seamus the eco dog.
find these toys and the best treats @ olivegreendog. Take a bite out of your bill –use OliveAC code at check-out for 10% off.
RSS
