Pick up your free Farm Trails Guide for 2009 -  2010 at a local farm or business or email them and they will send you one for five dollars.

They are really nice this year with recipes and notes from local farmers as well as the typical maps and guides to all the local farms in Sonoma County.

 The Environmental Discovery Center of Sonoma County offers multi-sensory, hands-on activities for people of all ages. Rotating exhibits focus on a different aspect of the natural resources of Sonoma County.

 Center's Features

• Nature Trails
• Outdoor Amphitheater
• Storytelling Cavern
• Science Activities
• Technology Tent - interactive computer games
• Theater - Educational videos

For more information,check out their website

I found this:

http://ecoadvantageusa.com/index.html 

They are also hiring. 

I came across this website, thought you might want to check it out. 

http://www.ecostiletto.com/

Alice Walker Designs has put out an eco-friendly lunch tote that I think is great. It's stylish and durable and allows you to pack a lunch that will leave no waste behind. The lunch box is insulated to help keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. It includes full size cutlery (fork, knife and spoon) and a cloth reusable napkin which all attach securely to one side of the inside of the lunch tote. The tote also includes three food containers with leak proof lids sizes small, medium and large. these containers could easily hold 1-2 adult meals or 2-3 kid meals inside. A stainless steel water bottle is  provided with an insulated bottle holder and strap/ carabiner if you wanted to take it somewhere separately, for instance on a walk or hike.

 The lunch tote is lead free and vinyl free and comes with a removable shoulder strap that is great for parents who are carrying arm loads of "stuff" everywhere. It allows one to sling the lunch box strap around the shoulder or across the chest for easy carrying. 

Chic, cute, and hip all describe the look and design of this lunch tote. The tote I received has a bright green interior on one side with a zebra print on the other. The water bottle is zebra print and the cloth napkin has a bright green and white polka dot design. The outside can be monogrammed in your / your child's initials for a customized look. The outside front of the lunch tote also has a small plastic window for you to include your address or phone number in case you leave it somewhere, which if you are anything like me, happens on a regular basis : ). 

I highly recommend this product for adults use in taking their lunch to work,  and kids to use for school lunches. It's purpose and design are appropriate for use by all ages and it's style and function make it a great buy for oneself or as a nice gift idea for a child or friend/family member. 

This eco-tote makes packing lunch and caring for the Earth fun! 

For more information on the Eco-Tote, please visit their website on the link above. 

http://www.waccobb.net/forums/showthread.php?p=75142#post75142

With the holiday season fast approaching, your mailbox is likely to get stuffed with catalogs from companies you have never heard of before let alone the usual suspects, most of which you will likely not open or not be interested in. 

If you are interested in reducing the amount  of paper wasted by way of catalogs mailed to your home, here's a website I found that will help you  do that.

PRESIDENT ELECT BARACK OBAMA (I love saying that) has a new website now.

Now that we have probably all had a moment to breathe a big sigh of relief after Tuesdays results, we as a country still have tremendous issues we have to deal with. I have been thinking about the promises made to change our health care system, the war in Iraq ending (hopefully soon), national energy changes and the environment.....

Here is a website that outlines the Obama administration's ( I really love saying that) focus and plan to deal with all these issues and more.  I like this website because it gives you the sense at least  of transparency in our government and also makes you feel like your voice and opinion matter to our leaders.

I encourage everyone to take a look around.

I just found out about  Solar Living Institute through a friend who visited there last week and said it was a great place to visit for those who are interested in alternative energy sources.

They have a sun powered carousel, electricity generating bikes, and solar panels that save 1600 tons of carbon emissions every year. 

Its in Hopland which I think is about 50 miles north of Santa Rosa.

I encourage you to check out their  website and maybe sometime we can take a "field trip" up there. 

I came across this through a mothers group and I wanted to share. We all have different expectations and goals around celebrations in our families, and I know I personally struggle with materialism and celebrations and how to best balance those. I found PROJECT BIRTHDAY that is a non-profit that does bday parties for homeless kiddos in shelters. Great idea, and they have various ways to help out. 

I feel a movement coming on...I was inspired by this, and wanted to share.

ROSA LOVES

Solage Calistoga.  We got to stay there Sunday night.  They are a "green" resort and spa. We had the couples Mudslide treatment. That was nice. I want a facial the next time I go though.

Each cottage has 2 bicycle's for the guests to use. They encourage the guests to save gas and the environment and use the bike's to tour Calistoga. 

In the cottage, the first thing I noticed is they don't use the individual small soap's, shampoo's, hand cream's, etc.... All they have is a small container of q-tips and cotton balls, and then they have refillable bottles of hand soap and lotion for the bathroom sink, and refillable bottles in the shower with conditioner, lotion, and body wash. All made by Sumbody.  

You know how some hotels and resorts have alot of  "stuff" to fill space and make it look decorative??? Well, this resort doesn't do that. Which I think is great! If it's not going to be used, why buy it. Pictures are a different story. The reception area, where you check in was very plain and simple. I found that to be very earth friendly. There was no "extra stuff" to distract you from the reason why you went there in the first place.

Dinner was great! But I think there needs to be more Vegetarian choices. Although, I guess you could order the dish with out the meat or fish.  Loved the dessert too! Next time I go, I'm going to order the donut's. I got to try one, and it was delicious!!!

For the turn down service they left a bottle of water and a glass by the bed side. It was Calistoga water. I mean they are located right next to the Calistoga water company. If your going to drink bottled water, might as well be local! 

Room service was excellent!!!! I had the French toast and hash browns, which was awesome!  I also had hot chocolate.   They brought the hot chocolate in these eco-friendly containers.  Oh! I also had left-overs from dinner. That was put in a box that is made of recycled post-consumer paper.

Here is a pic of the water bottle and hot chocolate cups.

The cleaning agents used by the resort is Method.

I know they also use geo-thermal water heating. But, I need to get more info on that.

If you would like to see more pictures that I took, just e-mail me a request.

The kids and I went to the Goodwill today to do a little shopping and I noticed that the employees were wearing T shirts that read, "Goodwill, Not Landfill". I love that. They usually focus their marketing on all of their humanitarian efforts which are wonderful too and include education, training, and job placement programs for people with disabilities. But it seems now they are focusing on the ecological benefits of donating and shopping at thrift stores too.

I still cant believe how often I hear people say they went through their things and threw out everything they didn't use anymore.  I keep hoping they mean they gave it away but I have a feeling many times they REALLY mean that they threw it away. 

While at the checkout line, I found information on the Goodwill's new online store. What a great idea! 

There is a website for everything I tell ya!

I thought it would be helpful to post a site that I was told about on this blog. I know we are all trying to take small steps, and this site might help educate and inform in regards to laundry.

www.laundrylist.org 

http://www.munchiemug.com/about_us.html

 They were at the Baby Expo in Santa Rosa today at the Wells Fargo Center.

I enrolled at the JC to take a Wedding Cake class. Saturday was my 1st class. The teacher explained that the Culinary Center only uses Fresh, Local, Organic food.  In order to make our Wedding Cake next Saturday, we had to come up with a design were we couldn't use food coloring or fake extracts. We could use fresh flowers if we wanted too.

Well, I really wanted to use Jelly Beans, but I couldn't.  As of right now, my cake will be totally white.  I really want it to have a touch of color.  So, I was doing some research on organic food color.  Much to my surprise!  You can make color from other natural foods.

Here's some links:

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/homemade-natural-easter-egg-dyes.html

http://www.treehuggingfamily.com/homemade-organic-paint-soap-for-kids/

http://homecooking.about.com/library/weekly/aa020298a.htm

 And Vanilla extract

http://www.chow.com/stories/10956

 So, now I'm off to go figure out how to color a sample of the organic frosting I was given.

This is so cool to know. Another step in making my business "green"! 

I came across this book Gorgeously Green today while meandering around the web. You can browse through the book by clicking here.

Here is what one book reviewer  wrote about the book......

Simply put, Gorgeously Green is fabulously fun. The book and the accompanying website are packed full of fun and valuable information that prove that the saying is true, it really IS easy being green. I can honestly say I don't think there's a better reference for fulfilling SSF's mantra "look fabulous, live well, do good". In the forward, Julia Roberts calls the book a "bible of hope and help (not to menteion a good cleansing mask andn source for eco-cashmere). Author Sophie Uliano makes making greener personal lifestyle choices fun and accessible to everyone. She makes it irresistable.

Uliano hits all of the big lifestyle categories too: apparel, food, beauty, gardening, travel, weddings, etc. And yoga poses! Yes, sprinkled throughout the book are yoga poses and other activities to invigorate the mind, the body, and the soul. Best of all, her motto, "one change makes a difference", confirms that you don't have to be perfect...one small step here and there can add to a big difference over time, especially if a lot of us make the same small steps. The way she presents her ideas and solutions is what really sets this book apart...its fun, its positive, its interactive, its educational, and I have to admit - its completely girly. But that's OK! Her concept of becoming a 'green goddess' is exactly what the green movement needs. As I said before, she makes going green irresistible. The fact that she provides a definition and discussion of 'gorgeousness' says it all.

On the website you can find some videos as well. After watching them you sense her passion, commitment, and excitement in every page of the book. Don't miss GGTV on the website, and the 'Girls Club' must be a lot of fun too. Probably most important though, is that she takes providing background information and resources on key issues very seriously, toxins in cosmetics for example. I don't think I've come a cross a better treatment of the subject or a better collection of green options to address the issues. There are literally easy to understand definitions and website links everywhere.

I found this site. Thought it was neat. 

http://www.baby-planet.com/Default.aspx

Sonoma County Facts

Very interesting facts. Garbage recycled in 2005: 61 percent

I wonder what it is for 2006, 2007, and what it will be for 2008. I hope to see the % rise. 

I think you should read this article about what is going to happen as 2009 approaches. The 2nd page of the article talks about how disposing of TV's will effect the landfills and our environment.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22401907/wid/11915829?gt1=10841 

 Here's some resources for green giving this holiday season:

www.justgive.org  - You can give gifts to charities in friends and family members names.

www.esty.com - An easy way to shop for great hand made goods. (I think of it like a craft fair online!)

Another way to support local crafts people (and traveling artisans) is to shop the craft fairs.  My favorite one is coming up this weekend at the Finley Community Center.  Click here for details. 

Here's an article that was recently in the Press Democrat on shopping green AND local.

If you want to shop for fair trade locally there's Kindred in downtown Santa Rosa.

www.fairtradefederation.com - A portal to many great on-line fair trade stores.

This holiday season I keep reminding myself of the green shopping law, as described in the book It's Easy Being Green,
"Buy not, buy less, buy green" 

I found this online quiz while browsing the internet. I am very embarrassed by my score (3.7).  3.7 is the number of planets it would take to support my lifestyle on a planetary scale. Wow! I thought I was doing better than that. Well, that's a great motivator!

If anyone wants to check out their score and share (or just keep it to yourself), its pretty interesting..... 

Greenfeet is a  website that I came across while reading a magazine article  in a waiting room today . It looks like they carry many interesting "eco products". It was begun by a stay at home mom  who has 7 employees (including her husband : ) and a projected gross revenue for 2008 of 3.5 million dollars. The article focuses on how to run a green business.....

Greenfeet makes it easier to leave smaller, "greener" footprints. Hey, nobody's perfect - including us. We recognize that there are often obstacles in the path of green footprints. They range from awareness and knowledge to economics and availability. It's our mission to help everyone overcome these obstacles. Welcome to Greenfeet! We truly want your experience to be fun and educational. We are dedicated to helping you make informed decisions about our products, so you are 100% confident in your purchase. Our first responsibility is to provide high-quality, truly natural products that you can trust. If you don't trust us, then you won't buy from us again and, quite frankly, we don't like that any more than you do. We continually strive to:

• Live by the philosophy that our customers are like family, treating each one with respect and honesty.
• Treat our employees with respect, loyalty and fairness. Their commitment is key to Greenfeet's success.
• Be socially and environmentally active in our local community, and conduct business in an ethical and responsible manner.

I have seen the brand Earthbound Farms many times when purchasing organic produce from Costco, Safeway and other big chain stores.

I am sure because they are such a big operation, there are some downsides to their farming techniques and maybe some short cuts they take but I thought their website was interesting to check out. 

It looks like they have U-pick and an organic kitchen at their headquarters in Carmel. It would be fun to check out some time if ever in that area.

I read about Oxbow Public Market in a magazine last week and wanted to share it with you. It's grand opening is somtime in the next month or so. It would be fun to check it out some afternoon this winter.

Oxbow Public Market and its artisans and purveyors passionately support the concept of sustainable agriculture and local harvest—promoting a healthy environment, and social and economic equity within our community.......

Oxbow Public Market has a commitment to the unique character, spirit and content of the Public Market not only as a place to display and sell organic and/or sustainably produced local crops, other regional specialties, and other high quality and unique food products, but also as a place that actively supports sustainable and organic farming practices, owner-operated businesses, local food producers, and the agricultural community of the Napa Valley and surrounding regions.

There is a similar market that I visit when in San Francisco at the Ferry Building. You can  learn more about it by checking out this website.

My friend Jen introduced me to the website etsy.  Everything sold is made by hand.
Items range from pottery, to jewelry, to clothing, to kid's toys, to ......you name it!
It's a great way to support "grass-roots" creativity and avoid the "made in china" stuff.
Any creative green mommies out there can also use etsy.com to sell whatever it is you make to earn a little cash on the side. Everything I have purchased from etsy has been beautiful and the service/delivery is great.

If you are anything like me, celebrity gossip may be a guilty pleasure of yours. Well, I stumbled upon a site that is all about the "latest in Green gossip". Its a perfect combo of celebrity and green-ness. Check it out!