A Break

If you haven't already noticed, I'm taking a break from my blog. I want to take some time to focus on things that require more time away from my laptop, but I have intentions of coming back to my blog with fresh, new ideas in the future.

In the meantime, keep it green.

Love,
Roque

Rules for Buying Lotion, Soap, and Shampoo

This in an interesting article I found about a possible link between cosmetics and breast cancer. It is a little far fetched...it is not proven that certain products cause cancer, but it is apparently best to avoid these products so that it does not contribute.


It is safe to say that buying organic products, free of harmful chemicals, is the safest way to go. Not only is it good for the environment to buy products that do not have harmful chemicals, but it is also good for our personal health.

I will give you a quick rule of thumb (based on the MSN article) for buying cosmetic products such as shampoo, lotions, and soap. Remember that "organic" can sometimes be a marketing a ploy, so be sure to check the ingredients!

Shampoo: Stay away from products that contain "methyl-, propyl-, butyl-, ethyl-, or isobutylparaben, and opt instead for paraben-free alternatives".

Soap: Avoid liquid soap that contains triclosan, an antimicrobial agent used in many antibacterial products that has been linked to hormone disruption in animals. Just FYI, it is also uncertain whether antibacterial soaps are any more effective than regular soaps.

Lotion: Look for lotions labeled phthalate-free, or opt for those that don't list fragrance as an ingredient.

Green Newsletter and Book Worth Reading

I'm sure all of you have seen Seventh Generation products around, but many of you may not know that Seventh Generation was actually one of the first "socially responsible" companies. I absolutely love their products. I swear by there dish soap in Lavendar and Mint. It smells so good AND it is enironmentally friendly!

Long story short, I subscribe to the Seventh Generation E-Newsletter. They send it out monthly and it is always full of fabulous information.

This month, the newsletter contained an article about a new book called "Go Green, Get Lean". The title appealed to me....LEAN AND GREEN! Two things I strive to be!

So check the book out at Amazon.com. Don't forget to buy it used....Reduce, REUSE, Recycle!!!

And check out Sevneth Generation to sign up for their newsletter. It it worth it!

My 5 Energy Saving Tips for the Summer

Hello Friends!

Recently, San Antonio has been stuck in a weather rut. The city has been in triple digit weather consistently for the past couple weeks. I know it is just as hot in other cities around the country, so I thought I would pass on some of my energy saving tips for the summer.

My Top 5 Summer Energy Saving Tips:
1. Use ceiling fans and in turn, set the thermostat to about 3 or 4 degrees higher than normal
2. Use your blinds and curtains to your advantage. Although it is pretty and sunny outside, angle your blinds facing upward to keep the sun out and close your blinds and curtains in the rooms that you are not using.
3. Unplug small appliances. Many people do not think about it, but when they are not in use, unplug the toaster, coffee maker, blender, etc.
4. Check your refrigerator temperature. For example, my fridge is set on a 0-5 scale. 0 is off and 5 is the coldest. I set mine at 3 which uses less energy than 5.
5. GET NAKED. That's right. Sleep naked! You won't get as hot in the middle of the night which means you won't use the air conditioner as much!

Hope this helps you all out! Send me any suggestions on what I should post about next!

Green Office

I have a slight obsession with office supply stores. I just love buying new pens, folders, planners....and I can't live without post it notes. My favorite office supply store is Office Max for several reasons, one of them being that they carry an array of eco-friendly office supply options. So, just to keep it short, I am posting 3 office essentials that you can buy eco-friendly at Office Max.

1. The Recycled Paper Post it Note

2. Recycled Computer/ Multi-use Paper

3. Recycled File Folders

New, Natural Bedroom

Hello All!

Once again, I apologize for falling behind on my blog. I am learning to juggle my new job and having a life at the same time. It is challenging. I am working so hard on getting my apartment together. I really hate living in an unorganized and unfinished place so it has really been my priority during my spare time. As I said before, I am keeping in mind the environment while decorating and furnishing my place so I thought I would share my findings!

I will start with my bedroom. Two words I kept in mind while decorating my room was Natural and Serene. I wanted my bedroom to be a peaceful place that I wanted to fall asleep in. One that was comfortable and would look good even when it's a little messy! I got some of my inspiration from Pottery Barn (picture below).






My room is not nearly as beautiful and put together, but I pulled a few items from this picture including the color palette, the use of shells, and using natural wood for my bedroom. I am not able to paint in my apartment so I am having to keep the wall the greyish blue color. Ick. It is still in progress, but here are some pictures of my bedroom!!


I LOVE my bedding. I recently purchased the duvet and shams from West Elm. They are organic cotton and sooo comfortable!










I am adding some flowers to my vase (made out of recycled glass) which will add some life to my dresser!




This is my bedside table with a lamp and linen shade (filled with sand), a few journals and books, and a natural wood frame with special picture inside.

All of my candles, in my bedroom and throughout my place, are soy based. I found several different kinds at Target for about $8 each.

Hope you enjoyed the bedroom tour! If you have any questions about where I bought items just write a comment and I'll respond!

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.

Blog Award

As most of you know, I'm fairly new to blogging. Having a blog is a HUGE stretch for me. I don't really do the whole Twitter thing, I never had a MySpace page, and it took me my whole freshman year in college to figure out Facebook. Point is, I had no idea there were Blog Awards floating around the blogging world. So, when Michelle (another blogger, http://ladybugsandmore.blogspot.com/) left me message saying she had given me an award, I was really surprised!

Michelle awarded me with a "Inspirational Blogger Award". She was given the award a few days ago and was asked to pass the award on to five other blogs that she finds inspirational.

Here is what Michelle posted on her blog about Take On Green...

"Take On Green, Roque's blog inspires me to do more. I stumbled across her blog by seeing a comment she left on another blog I follow. Her blog name, Take On Green, is what caught my attention really. I have mentioned Roque and her blog in my posts before. Not only does she inspire me to be more "green" but I also get tips and ideas on how to have more "green" in my life. It is not just about recycling and reading her blog, she helps me realize that. Roque is trying to live a more eco-friendly and healthy life and with her blog, you learn how to do the same. If you want more "green" in your life then you must be sure to check out her blog. I hope you will find yourself following and find her blogs as inspiring as I do. Thank you so much Roque for being so inspiring."

Thanks Michelle for the sweet award and I will be working on passing it on to the blogs that I find inspiring!

Green and Beautiful: Alicia Silverstone

She is green, beautiful, and an inspiration for us all! Alicia Silverstone definitely practices what she preaches from what she eats to how she decorates. Alicia is a vegan (which she claims is why her skin is so perfect), she is a PETA activist, and she diligently practices being green in all aspects of life.

This photograph is Alicia in just one little area of her home (all eco-friendly, of course). She told InStyle magazine that "everything we’ve brought into this house is environmentally sound." If anyone finds more pictures of her home, please send them my way! I would LOVE to see more!




She has a book coming out in October called The Kind Diet... Alicia says "The book is about being kind to yourself, being kind to animals and being kind to the environment, all in one bite…It’s just easy-to-read, easy-to-digest…For those who want good skin, or to lose weight, or for the enviro-curious, this book is for you!"

Here is a link to an interview with Alicia about her new book...
http://www.ecorazzi.com/2009/04/27/exclusive-alicia-silverstone-chats-with-ecorazzi-at-heart-of-green-awards/#more-15904

If you are interested in her book, it is available for pre-order on Amazon.com for $19.77 in Hardcover! Snag that!

Just One Last Earth Day Thought...

"It is a beautiful and blessed world we live in, and while life lasts, to lose enjoyment of it is a sin."

-Talbot Chambers

Hanalei Bay, Kauai

Earth Day Resolutions

As most of you know, today is Earth Day! I hope that everyone has something planned to honor the day whether it is spending a few hours outside or shopping with reusable bags for the first time. In addition to your Earth Day activity, try making some Earth Day Resolutions. Just like New Years, make some resolutions for yourself or for your family that will improve the environment.

Here is my list of Earth Day Resolutions:
1. Keep a reusable bag in my car at all times...just in case I have spontaneous grocery run!
2. Practice eco-friendly decorating in my new apartment.
3. Buy more eco-friendly cleaning products and make some of my own.
4. Keep up with my green blog!

**My Going Green Inspiration...over-grown bright pink bougainvillea flowers and palm trees**

Now, it's your turn! Find some inspiration and make a resolution or two!

Watch Movie, Disney Plants Tree

T-minus two days til Earth Day! I hope everyone is planning on doing something (even the tiniest thing) in honor of Earth Day/week/month. I have been throwing out some ideas of things to do or buy for Earth Day and I have another one!

On Earth Day, April 22nd, Disney is releasing their movie titled Earth. Earth is the first film in the new Nature Disney series. For every ticket bought during the opening week, Disney is planting a tree in your honor.

Check out their website for more information about the film.

http://disney.go.com/disneynature/earth/

This is something I am definitely planning on doing within the week so I will give you all a follow up on how it is!

More Reusable Shopping Bags: Kir DeVries

I found this site a few days ago on another blog I follow (MadebyGirl...check it out). Since I just posted about the Gap shopping bags, I thought I would continue the trend and give you some more options for cute reusable shopping bags.

Kir DeVries bags have bright, fun patterns and can be bought in packs of three if you wish!

http://www.shopkirdevries.com/index.html