A little outdoor space is better than nothing at all. The good news is that maintenance can’t be that difficult with a postage stamp sized yard.

  posted @ 6:56 am Comments (0)

World Water Day is coming up. The annual event is held every March 22.

Much of the world faces a global water, sanitation and hygiene crisis. The UN and the  global community participates in World Water Day to remind us that it is everyone’s obligation to pitch in. Let’s try to reduce poverty, disease and hunger by helping to improve sustainable access to safe drinking water and better sanitation for millions around the world.

How can you help? Here’s a list of events by region. You can also donate your voice by linking your Facebook or Twitter accounts to World Water Day.

  posted @ 6:13 am Comments (0)

Thanks to SuperVegan for filling us in on the recently opened vegan bakery at Greene and Classon on the Bed Stuy/Clinton Hill border.

Clementine Bakery will be serving up sweet pies and pastries, but they do have some savory treats as well. The dill and mozzarella biscuits sound delish. Yeah, that would be vegan cheese.

They use 100% fair trade and 90% organic ingredients. Drinks? Roasted Kitten Coffee using the Japanese Hario pour over method and also French press.

See ya there.

  posted @ 9:19 am Comments (0)

The Water Tank Project is coming to an NYC rooftop near you for three months in the spring of 2013. Word Above the Street’s public awareness campaign aims to inspire millions of people to be more responsible with their daily water usage.

Select rooftop water tanks across the city will be temporarily wrapped with original artwork, the subject matter being water. Students, emerging and established artists will take part in the project.

The Water Tank Project will also promote New York City’s high quality drinking water and highlight the role of the world’s major cities in leading the way to responsible stewardship of water.

How can you help? Donate here. Or…on March 1st shop at Whole Foods as 5% of the sales will be donated to the project. Or…got a tank? Let them use it!

Via Cool Hunting

  posted @ 8:53 am Comments (0)

Spent a romantic Valentine’s evening at the Woodstock Sanctuary B&B, not with my husband but with my friend Deb. We went upstate to look at some properties and although we didn’t get to spend too much time at the sanctuary, we got to see what it was all about.

The B&B is a fairly new addition to the sanctuary. Because of it’s non-profit status, you have to be a member to book a room. The profits go to the care of the rescued farm animals, so go early and go often! Membership benefits include discounts to some serious vegetarian restaurants both upstate and in the city.

Before renovations

The farmhouse is a lovely restored pre-Civil War home. Because of the newness of it, I was afraid to touch anything, but it was definitely comfy and homey. Images of the farm animals hang from the walls and even the claws on the tub are painted like a rooster.

Two of the rooms share the two hallway bathrooms and there is one room that is en-suite. We’re talking about $120 for a room but it was higher for Valentine’s. The vegan breakfast served in the morning gives you a selection of bagels, muffins and cereal with fresh fruit and non-dairy options. There’s a newly updated DVD collection, some books and of course, wifi.

The sanctuary asks that you remain respectful of their cause and refrain from bringing in any animal bi-products. This means leave your fur coat and Ugg boots at home. And don’t bring your McDonald’s in for lunch and say you couldn’t go a day without meat. Not that people staying here would do that, but you get my drift.

The owners live in this gawgeous home. Wins my award for “Best New Construction Evah”.

The sanctuary is located just off of Rt 212, somewhere between Woodstock and Phoenicia. We had dinner in Bearsville and made it back in one piece within ohh, maybe 15 minutes?

Great guest house but of course it’s all about the animals! We got to visit them and meet the farm staff the following morning. We hung out in the goat pen a bit and we were greeted by the pigs in their pen. We got to meet Dylan the giant grown up veal calf and the chickens and roosters.

So, if you’re looking for that perfect B&B in the country and you happen to be an animal lover, this is THE place. I’ll be back for sure. Perhaps I’ll even bring my husband for a real romantic evening.

And now….meet the animals! (Full set on Flickr)

  posted @ 10:23 am Comments (5)

This is a guest post by Jeremy who loves writing about living green, saving money and DIY. He is from EasyApplianceParts, a DIY resource and retailer of appliance replacement parts.

We spend almost one third of our life in the bedroom. The bedroom is our space to relax, unwind and leave the stress of the world behind. Creating a bedroom that is your own sanctuary can be done without having to spend a fortune redecorating. How?  The answer is upcycling. This means taking existing items and repurposing them to build the bedroom of your dreams. The recipe for an upcycling designer is a layer of personal design style, followed by a cup of creativity, two cups of the materials you’ll need and a sprinkle patience, topped off by a do-it-yourself attitude.

Create your own furniture

Buying a brand new bedroom set can be expensive. Most of the bedroom sets currently available from furniture stores are made from particle-board based wood.  Create your own durable and stronger bedroom set by using previously used wood such as boards, planks and wood pallets. Solid wood pieces can be found in antique stores, yard sales, estate auctions or old barns.

Making your own bed – Wood pallets used to transport goods can be obtained from nurseries or home stores. They can be transformed into just about anything – desks, chairs, end tables, benches and beds.  Homedit has developed a stylish and easy to build platform bed made from wood pallets. The best part of this idea is that it costs next to nothing to build.  The only materials that are needed are wood pallets, hinges and casters. Add your mattress, paint and you’re done. An extra added benefit to a wood pallet platform bed is it can be enlarged or reduced as required.

Extra seating – If your bedroom is large try adding in a bench at the edge of the bed or by the window for a window seat.  Old coffee tables or a small garden bench can be used to make your own bench – just add some paint, cushion and the bench is ready.

(more…)

  posted @ 7:27 am Comments (1)

Missed the Mulchfest this weekend? Do not fear. As long as you get your tree curbside by January 14th, it can still be recycled. Who wants to schlep their tree to a park anyway when you can just put it out with the trash?

The Department of Sanitation is asking residents to remove all stands, tinsel, lights, and ornaments before placing trees out for collection. Don’t place trees in plastic bags or tape them. Just-the-tree. They will be chipped into mulch that will be distributed to parks, playing fields, and community gardens throughout the city.

Get ‘er done. You really don’t want that thing up in your house until Easter, now, do you?

  posted @ 9:37 am Comments (1)

This past weekend I participated in Build it Green’s Crafted at the Canal in Gowanus. ‘Twas really nice to take part in a show where all of the goods were made out of recycled materials. Not only that, but it was my first time in BIG’s new Brooklyn location. OMG, it is huge! I’d say that have it only about 30% filled with used building merch as they only moved in about a month ago.

Anyway, back to the craft show, which will be happening again this weekend: Dec. 17th & 18th. 10am-5pm.

WoodKnot Design is a couple of extremely talented guys who know how to work old wood. It’s obvious the photos depict items made out of antique shutters and doors, but the medicine cabinet above was once an old swing set. Always impressive to hear about the past lives of objects.

Bespoke Glass Tile gets a percentage of it’s glass through a commercial recycling resources, including Build it Green. They are a green company, right down to their shipping supplies and web host. Ellen and Lesley create beautiful glass tiles for backsplashes and house projects, but I love their gifty tile creations made out of cabinet doors and sewing machine drawers.

I was severely crushing on these recycled t-shirt pillows by Tura Lura. This talented chick does gaw-geous crocheted and embroidered jewelry too, but she had me at hello with the old shirts. Darth Vader? Awesome. Superman? Who doesn’t want a Superman pillow?

So, y’all should swing by this weekend to support these and many other upcycled vendors (including myself). Need more persuading? Check out what Build it Green has on hand….

  posted @ 9:44 am Comments (0)

Seametrics has put together a list of the top 50 green living blogs. Who is Seametrics? The company designs and manufactures a wide variety of flow metering products. They provide solutions to users in industrial water treatment, energy management, irrigation, utilities, transportation, and chemical handling. In other words, big industry.

There are some awesome green blogs on the list. It’s going to be fun exploring them. But my favorite? Oh, something called “Reclaimed Home”. Ever heard of it?

  posted @ 8:41 am Comments (0)

When I first saw a group of adults installing a garden at Leadership Prep on Macon Street in Bed Stuy, I thought they were building a movie set. Back in the olden days when I was growing up, NYC public school’s didn’t even have a patch of grass. Well, public schools have turned into fancy schmancy charter schools now and the the kids get to learn about stuff like gardening and catching rain water. It’s pretty awesome.

I thought this Bed Stuy school was special until I passed by Frances Perkins Academy in Williamsburg and saw their fabulous garden. They too, had a rainwater system in place. Wonder who gets to bring home the vegetables?

  posted @ 6:50 am Comments (0)

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