by Marina Hanes

Fancy, Green Feet

The snow is finally melting and milder temperatures are setting in, and you can find inner peace knowing that you will no longer have to be cooped up inside. Begin spring with a fresh step by buying a comfortable and cruelty-free walking shoe. Non-leather shoes can be just as stylish as the leather ones you find at the mall, but you don’t have to feel guilty for wearing them. Athletic-inspired Mary Jane shoes are adorable and functional…plus, they come in a variety of colors with unique button closures, bamboo lining and recycled tire outsoles. For a sexier look, check out the vegan platform pumps with a zebra pattern. Go to vegetarianshowsandbags.com.
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by Marina Hanes

Healthy Happy Hour

What’s your poison? To help you keep celebrating the New Year, Cocktail Organico can enhance your Happy Hour with more organic options. Whether you like tequila, vodka or wine, there are many types to choose from. If you are a vegan or vegetarian, you might enjoy Casal Dos Jordoes Tawny Port, which is vegan and made from certified organic grapes in Portugal. Don’t know much about alcoholic beverages? Read their reviews and you will be a connoisseur in no time.
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by Marina Hanes

Starting a Green Lifestyle

Starting a greener lifestyle can be difficult, but beginning with simple changes can make the transition less overwhelming. For example, stop taking ATM receipts, request paperless statements and bring your own bag when you grocery shop. These tips and others can be found at EcoHearth, a new website dedicated to eco-news and products to make you more aware and sustainable. There is even an Eco Shop where you can buy a solar charger to power your iPod and iPhone wherever you are as long as you can capture the sun’s rays. See ecohearth.com
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by Christine D’Angelo
I haven’t bought lettuce in a year and I’m eating a lot more salads. That can’t be a bad thing. I live in an apartment building, so open ground I can call my own is at a premium. But last spring I inherited a bunch of planter boxes. Now, I’m a rose freak, but these were the wrong vessels for roses. So I decided to try growing lettuce, which I figured would work in the shallow growing beds of these boxes.

I started from seed using seedling starter kit…basically little pots on a tray. I had butter lettuce and a packet of mesclun, which includes red and green leaf lettuce, frisée, mizuna, mâche, escarole and chicory. Since then, I’ve expanded to spinach, green onions, arugula, and red and green romaine. I try to start a new batch of seeds every three weeks or so, rotating out different things so I constantly have lettuce ready to eat. At any give time, some of the plants are small, just starting out, while others are mature.
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by Glam-Granola Author Wendy Roy
Today we take a look at skin care products and practices, keeping a strong eye towards non-toxicity as usual. Less is more; a simple and healthy routine will give you your best skin situation ever.

Evening Skin Care

Cleansing
Pick up a soft face brush (looks like a baby’s hair brush), and a cleanser that doesn’t contain sulfates or loads of chemicals. For now, if you see Sodium/Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, and/or heaps of ingredients that you don’t recognize, it’s best to move on. If your skin is dry, it will appreciate a cream cleanser. I am currently enjoying Evan Healy’s Blue Lavender Cleansing Milk. If you have very oily skin, you may benefit from a fruit acid exfoliant variety.
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by Marina Hanes

Spring-Inspired Jewelry

Unique handmade jewelry is often hard to find, and when you’re looking for natural pieces inspired by nature, it can be even more challenging. However, Moonrise Jewelry creates their pieces by hand in Virginia, and currently they are featuring their real orchid necklaces preserved at their peak bloom. The turquoise and plum colors in the Turtle Bay orchid necklace makes for a head turning statement, and the St. Kitts is a simple necklace perfect for everyday or for work. See moonrisejewelry.com.
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by Glam-Granola Author Wendy Roy
I receive many inquiries regarding my skin… Particularly, how do I keep it looking nearly flawless (thank you!) using an essentially organic regimen.

There are fundamentally three areas to look at when we’re ready to bring out our most radiant skin. There is the lifestyle aspect, the skin care piece (products & practices), and cosmetics. Lifestyle comes first. If you want beautiful skin, take heed of the below five basic tips before all else.
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by Marina Hanes

Eco-friendly Gift Giving

Even though the holidays are behind us, you still have to think about the gift giving events that are coming up. Mother’s Day is in May, and you might start receiving invitations to bridal and baby showers, birthdays, graduations, etc. What are you going to use to wrap all of those presents? According to the Sierra Club, if every family in the U.S. wrapped at least three gifts in reused materials, 45,000 football fields could be covered with the paper that was saved. Fabric Wrapper creates eco-friendly gift bags, wrapping paper and other products from reusable fabric material. Plus, 1% from every purchase is donated to environmental organizations. See fabricwrapper.com.
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by Marina Hanes

Groove into Green

So you have celebrated the New Year, now what are you going to do to improve your life? First, check out Groovy Green for some ideas. This site was originally created to shed light on some of the environmental issues in Ithaca, New York. However, this site now covers national and international news and discussions on sustainable living and renewable energy. With January being all about New Year resolutions, check out this site so you can learn how to compost or start your own garden. The site is full of pictures and videos that will guide you in your green projects.
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by Marina Hanes

Energy Solutions

What do you know about geothermal, wind or hydrogen energy? Alternative Energy can keep you current on the different ways that these types of energies are being used to preserve the environment and provide energy independence for the U.S. Although alternative energies are used to power industrial plants and factories, they can also make a difference for your home. Did you know that a new piece of technology is able to scan your home and detect openings in your insulation? Even if you are looking for a green collar job, this site will help you on your job hunting.
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by Marina Hanes

Green Moms

Do you try to be an eco-conscious mom? Are you often looking for alternatives to the traditional home cleaners, because you worry about how the chemicals affect your children? A mom who knows what it’s like to juggle your personal life with raising children is the creator and writer of Green & Clean Mom. This site includes a forum where eco-friendly moms can discuss their challenges and solutions to living a greener lifestyle. There are also opportunities to win contests and prizes from giveaways. The blog is updated regularly with articles examining eco-driving, chemical free products, rain barrels, etc.
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by Wendy Roy
We Glam-Granolas are a stylish people. Period. Yet there are three varieties, or styles, that are apparent among us so we must honor each group. They are, Feminine, Clean, and Sophisticate.

Though overall we are probably one of the above, many of us are a mix with respect to different areas of life. (For instance, I tend to be Feminine-Sophisticate in dress, but very much Clean-Sophisticate in home décor.)

To find out where you fit in best, enjoy the coming quizzes. The first focus is fashion. Take the short quiz below; your predominant style may surprise you!

Most days we’ll find you in
a. Kitten heels and pearls
b. A fitted sweater and name-brand jeans
c. A dramatic ensemble

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by Wendy Roy
The Glam-Granola tag line is “Where Glamour & Wellness Unite” and regarding the latter, I’m referring to a state of wellness within us, and also around us, in our loved ones and animals, and ultimately for our home, Earth. Fortunately, you can live your fab life while easily tending to all three areas, including contributing to the current green “campaign.” Here’s how:

Am I polluting my body?

The main question that Glam-Granolas ask themselves each day before eating, cleaning house, or purchasing food or beauty products is, “Is this toxic to me?” If you are polluting your body, you are most likely polluting the planet as well, and vice versa. This is a useful rule of thumb to keep in mind when out shopping, or just living day to day. For now, let’s take a quick look at four basic areas.
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by Dona Hastie
It is not all that hard to live the simple life and nearly everyone senses just what it could be. Our craving to drug ourselves comes from this sensing of the simple life, however it is not necessary to use artificial means to achieve a peaceful existence. The popularity of Oriental thinking, like Zen, Tao, even Feng Shui is just a symptom of our need and recognition of the life that is available to us with only a few changes. In our society, with the competitive spirit running high, and which is ingrained in us from early on, one has to figure out a way to not let winning matter so much.
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Sustainable News

Are you looking for eco-friendly jobs or the latest green news on travel, architecture, cars, fashion and beauty? Tree Hugger is a comprehensive green site that can help you get informed on the environmental issues you care about. You can also look into the lives of other environmentalists by watching some video eco-tips. Tree Hugger’s readers have sent in videos showing their green habits and green hacks (renovations). You can learn how to make recycled paper, how to teach children to compost and various other ways to be more sustainable.
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