Pier 1 Coasters

Just wanted to show off my great find at Pier 1! AND, they were on sale! $2.15 a pack!

Eva Longoria Loves Reusable Bags

I have done a few posts on reusable shopping bags, but for some reason it just never gets old to me! There are so many cute bags out there and I just want to buy them all!! I thought these bags that are sold at H.E.B (grocery store) in my new city are pretty clever. Eva Longoria (yes, the hot desperate housewife) lives in San Antonio with her hubby Tony Parker so she has "signed" the H.E.B reusable bags to endorse and encourage being eco-friendly. I just LOVE her!

Can you see it...?

So, if you live in San Antonio, grab some of your own bags!

Cooking Green

As most of you know, in the past few weeks I have graduated from college, moved to a new city, moved into a new apartment and will be starting my new job next week. One exciting thing after another keeps happening in my life and it is almost overwhelming!! But, I am enjoying this big turning point in my life and I am embracing it! I moved on Saturday and have been working on making my apartment livable! So, of course, I have been attempting to furnish and decorate my apartment in an eco-friendly fashion.

One of the first items I bought for my apartment were pots and pans. I have never owned my own set and I love to cook so it was my priority item. My mom, sister and I went to Bed Bath and Beyond to do some shopping and we found the perfect pot and pan set for me!

Take a look....

This Cuisinart Greenware set is considered "green" because it has superior heat conductivity which means it requires less energy to heat. In addition, the set is petroleum free and made from 70% recycled stainless steel. I will also add that the set was very affordable and no more expensive than the other sets I shopped.

I am finding so many eco-friendly options for my new place and I am so excited to share them all with you! Stay tuned!

Bright Ideas for Living Green

I was listening to the radio this morning and heard a great tip for going green on a tight budget so I thought I would share it. Instead of replacing every light bulb in your house with energy star light bulbs, pick 5 of you most commonly used bulbs and replace those.

Sometimes being green isn't cheap, but I think this tip proves that there are ways to integrate being eco-friendly into your life through baby steps.

As you all know, I have been taking small steps toward living a more eco-friendly life. Here are a few of things I have done in the past few days that you could also try. I promise that it eventually becomes routine!

-Went grocery shopping with my reusable bags

- Bought organic and locally grown peaches

- Bought a bamboo cutting board (earth friendly)

- Jogged outside in the sun

- Went to an office supply store to ask if they could hold their packing boxes for me instead of buying boxes for moving

- Recycled the packing boxes I did not use

- Raided the university recycling bins for newspapers to use for packing

- Turned off my air conditioner and opened all the windows in my house (beautiful day)

-Made myself organic coffee

- Shopped for new bed linens (found an organic set I plan on ordering)

Back from Vacation with New Eco Chic Shoes!

Today I am back home after a week long beach vacation. The week flew by and I had a great time, minus one major incident... my best friend (Reba) BROKE HER LEG skim boarding on the beach. It was terribly traumatic for us all and especially Reba, but she is recovering and being such a trooper! (love you Rebs!!!)

So, even though drama ensued during our trip, I managed to do some shopping. I have two favorite boutiques on the island called Isla and Rica. I love the boutiques so much and want to support them so I make it a point to purchase something from the boutiques whenever I visit. Thankfully it is not that hard to find something to buy!

Much to my advantage, Isla had some shoes I have been eyeing. I saw them in the May issue of People Style Watch magazine. The shoes are made by BC Footwear and the style is called "Danke". They are flat sandals made from all recycled material and they are sooooooo cute! The magazine says they can be found on Nordstrom.com, but I can't find them online. It looks like Delia's is carrying them and I will keep my eye out for any other retailers.

http://store.delias.com/item.do?itemID=50776&categoryID=443

Each pair will vary in color so don't count on getting a certain color when you order....mine are purple, green, white and pink. They don't exactly match, but that is what I love about them!

One Week Vacation

First, I want to apologize for not updating my blog as much lately. I have been really busy (graduating from college) the past week and now I am headed for a get-a-way at South Padre Island. So, I will be without the internet and blogging for a week.

Second, I know that some of my family members read my blog every now and then so I just want to say thank you all sooo much for coming to my graduation over the weekend! It meant so much to me to have you all there!

Everyone have a good week!

Green Thumb

I was browsing the dollar section at Target the other day and found some plant and herb kits that were absolutely adorable and only one dollar! I have been wanting to grow some of my own herbs for cooking so I thought I try my hand at it!

I bought Oregano, Marigolds (for fun), and Basil.

I already messed up and left the tiny (and by tiny I mean the height of my pinkie finger) pots outside during torrential downpours last week, but they survived and now I have some baby sprouts!!!

Check your Target and see if they still have these little kits. They are so cute! If not, just buy some soil and seeds and small pots! It is very inexpensive and very eco-friendly. Eventually I would love to have my own vegetable garden...I'll get there one day!

All Natural Cleaning: Lemons

I came across an article on the MSN homepage yesterday about all-natural cleaning. One of my Earth Day Resolutions for the year was to use eco-friendly cleaning products and also make some of my own, so I was very interested to see what kind of tips the article offered!

The best cleaning tip I found in the article was the idea of using lemons for cleaning. I LOVE the smell of lemons and as most people do, I associate the smell with cleanliness (especially in the kitchen).


Here are some of the suggestions the article made on how you can use real lemons for cleaning:

Countertops: Dip the cut side of a lemon half in baking soda to tackle countertops; wipe with a wet sponge and dry. Don't use on delicate stone, like marble, or stainless steel (it may discolor).

Cutting boards: To remove tough food stains from light wood and plastic cutting boards, slice a lemon in half, squeeze onto the soiled surface, rub, and let sit for 20 minutes before rinsing.

Dishes: To increase the grease-cutting power of your dishwashing detergent, add a teaspoon of lemon juice.

Faucets: Combat lime scale by rubbing lemon juice onto the taps and letting it sit overnight. Wipe with a damp cloth.

Garbage disposal: Cut a lemon in half, then run both pieces through the disposal.

Grout: Spilled morning coffee on your tile countertop or backsplash? Here's how to tackle grout stains: Add lemon juice to 1 or 2 teaspoons cream of tartar (an acidic salt that acts as a natural bleaching agent) to make a paste. Apply with a toothbrush, then rinse.

Hands: When you touch raw fish, the smell can linger on your fingers. Rub your hands with lemon juice, which will neutralize the odor.

Laundry: To brighten whites, add 1/2 cup lemon juice to the rinse cycle for a normal-size load.
Plastic food-storage containers: To bleach stains from tomato soup and other acidic foods on dishwasher-safe items, rub lemon juice on the spots, let dry in a sunny place, then wash as usual.