OK, so this one is short and sweet, folks.

If you work in an office environment or are around people you want to fawn over you, go out right now and buy some Burt's Bees Milk and Honey Body Lotion.

First off, it's amazing moisturizer. I keep it on my desk and use it all throughout the winter and summer when my skin is screaming from heat or air conditioning. Coworkers love to borrow it, and as it is 100% natural, you can feel good about using it and supporting a good company.

But the biggest reason to use it?

Popularity.

Every single time I put it on, someone walks by and asks what smells so good, then stops to chat.

And today, as I was rubbing some into my elbows, my friend, Chris, walked by and said �That makes me want to come over and lick your elbow.�

It doesn't get a lot better than that.

Find Burt's Bees lotions and other products at your local Whole Foods or body products stores, or go direct to the Company Store

I have a few slightly obsessive-compulsive tendencies. One is that I MUST clean the dryer lint filter immediately upon opening the door. It is like this little prize: "Let's see what the lint bunny laid for me to day!" Okay, maybe I am confessing too much, but there is this beautiful thing about removing all the stray fuzzies from clothing in one nice little soft sheet � don�t you think? Regardless, here is the point: doing this is actually a GOOD HABIT. Here's why: A clogged lint filter can increase energy use up to 30%, and may be a fire hazard.

We all have friends who have never thought of cleaning their lint filters, right? I see my friend's filter absolutely suffocating from its own good deeds, with grey fuzzy gunk just pouring from every orifice. I ask if they ever clean it and they shrug like they have more important things to do. Well, I tell you what, Mister! When your energy bill comes in high and your clothes are still damp after a 70 minute cycle, you will think twice about the coy shrug!

Okay, I am really not the Dryer Lint Nazi. I promise if I come to your house I will check for a bottle of good wine before I check the dryer filter. (And then if all goes well with both we can check for belly button lint).

BTW - I tried to come up with some crafty thing to do with all the dryer lint, and I found this one website that suggested I make paper from it, but get this� at the end of the process, I am supposed to glue it to construction paper. Um, okay. Sure. Just throw the stuff out, and be proud you are saving energy and your dryer from choking. Set the lint bunnies free!!!

In honor of the fact that Heather is going to see the latest Star Wars movie tonight (yes, she was a complete Star Wars groupie geek as a kid), and to celebrate the fact that Jen joined her first CSA this year...

You must go and check out this short �film� online � it�s absolutely hilarious, organic silliness for a Friday:

http://www.storewars.org/

Speading the seeds of the organic rebellion,

Jen and Heather

Strange fact about me: I tend to be at my best - most energetic, happy, sassy, manic - in the equinoxal times of the year... During the spring and fall, I am completely top of my game.

Sadly, being "top of my game" sometimes means that I - gasp - drink a little too much, sleep too little, find or invent dramas for myself, and eat take-out seven times a week while standing up in my kitchen as I try to put on makeup, clean my kitchen, and talk on the phone to firm up my evening plans all at the same time.

But fortunately, my split-personalitied, Gemini-self always comes around in the summer and winter. While the rest of the world plays and parties their way through summers of barbeques and winters of holiday goodies, I generally find myself doing 20 hours of yoga a week, ignoring my phone, and gardening (summer) or reading (winter).

And... I cook. I cook a LOT in the summer and winter.

There are many things in the world that I may only do marginally well, but honest-to-God, I can cook a decent meal. I prefer to cook for two or more people, but it honestly makes no difference to me if I have someone over or not. I've spent many a night, alone, thrilled with myself, sipping a glass of wine while eating something stunning out on my deck.

Last year, after spending some time volunteering at a great NYC non-profit called Earth Pledge (check them out at http://www.earthpledge.org/ or http://www.greeninggotham.org/), I learned about a program that gave my summer cooking tendencies an even greater shot in the arm. All across the country, there are programs called CSAs - Community Supported Agriculture. At the beginning of the summer, you can sign up with a CSA in your area. You pay the farmer upfront for a "share" in the farm, and in return, once a week, you get whatever is harvested that week. You take a little bit of the risk with the farmer (at the start of summer, no one knows what is going to happen with the crops); they get much-needed funds and guaranteed sales at the beginning of the season, and in exchange, you get perfectly fresh, usually organic produce once a week, and the knowledge that you are eating locally instead of buying pesticide-laden produce shipped in from Chile.

It can be sort of a grab bag (what is one person supposed to do with 2 pounds of fava beans this week?) since you never know what you are going to get, and sometimes items will pop up that you have NO idea what to do with (celery root..., um, OK). But generally, you get between 7 and 10 different items, at great value, and they are all FRESH and amazing. Several of the CSAs out there also have a "fruit share" available, and you can get pounds and pounds of weekly cherries, apples, strawberries... (And if you are like my friend, Marisa, and you can't eat the ten pounds of fruit you get each week, you can do what she did: cut it up and throw it in a pitcher with wine and booze and eat it all week long, saucing your way through the summer, feeling good about eating your daily "fruit" requirement. Feeling REALLY good about eating your daily fruit requirement...Which, luckily, the government has upped!)

So - check out CSA opportunities in your area:

• http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/csa/csastate.htm (Good database of US CSAs)

• http://www.umassvegetable.org/

• http://www.justfood.org/ (NYC-area)

As for me... I'm going to enjoy the rest of May before I hit my hibernation mode, so I'll be seeing you around my usual wine haunts for the time being...

So my birthday is just around the corner.

Daily, I marvel at how some friends shy away from their birthdays. I'm actually now at the age where people start to freak out about each passing year (some even going so far as to begin to lie about it... one friend has been 28 for like 4 years now).

Me? I've never had an issue with aging. I looked like I was 21 when I was 14, and each year, I actually like how I change. So, it really doesn't bother me much that I'm turning 32 in a few days. I've always been a complete birthday freak, and I can't wait for the dinner party I'm having at Inoteca (Stephen is going to opera-sing Happy Birthday to me. If you've never been to Inoteca in the Lower East Side for a birthday, it's really an experience not to be missed).

That said, it's time for true confessions. I'm a body products and cosmetics junkie. I may have no problem whatsoever envisioning saying "I'm 40" in eight years, but I sure as hell am planning to have everyone ooh and ahh in complete and utter shock, unequivocally exclaiming "No way - you look like you are 30 at the very most..."

To that end (and because I really am just a spa whore), I buy and use an obscene amount of ridiculously expensive skin care products each day. I don't think a day has gone by where I haven't worn sunscreen on my face since the mid-90s. Don't get me wrong - I love that sunkissed look, and tend to sport as much color as I can all year - but my moisturizer has sunscreen, and I never miss a morning. (And with the exception of those, ahem, very few evenings where I somehow find myself not sleeping at home, I never miss a night of washing my face and putting moisturizer on before going to bed, either. I don't care how tired or tipsy I am - the face gets treated).

Mainly, I just shy away from thinking about the packaging, the chemicals, the unnecessary waste of it all. I have my favorite products, and who cares if they come from Japan? Who cares if I can't pronounce all the words in the ingredients labeling?

Well, I should. So, this year, as I turn 32, I'm making it a mission to find some great all-natural skin care products that really work and that will allow me to look like a fresh-faced, dewy 16 year old after a night out drinking a bottle of wine and 3 hits of grappa. When I find them, I'll share the secrets with you (hint, hint: send us your product suggestions here). In the meantime, some places to start to look:

• Natural Skin and Hair- lots of options
• Verde - if you are in London, I can vouch for nearly every one of their all-natural products (and hey - it's a good afternoon of wandering about Hampstead Village).
• Aveda - Here is the one that Jen uses and loves although it has no sunscreen (bad Jen!).

If you find some great products and send them in as a tip, and I love them, I promise to shower you with lavish praise and send you a bottle of Chianti.

In the meantime, I will wander around the Lower East Side, allowing my wine-tasting flirty partners to marvel at how I don't look a day over 26... sure, sure...

3 Days and Counting...

-Heather... off to rub some isopropyl alcohol and betablahblahunpronouncable into my skin...

OK, so my uncles sent me this t-shirt today that has all these frogs on it, sitting around on lilypads, and the text reads:

"So many frogs, so few princes. Do I have to kiss them all?"

Accompanying the shirt was a very nice card that said �Your uncle and I saw this in Creston, BC, and thought - 'this is just perfect for Heather!' and we had to get it for you.

OK, aside from the fact that the shirt is an extra large and I can't wear it anywhere but to bed... why on earth is it 'just perfect' for me? (And perfect enough to make an international purchase and then send it 3,000 miles to NYC??)

Funny thing is, my extended family (not my parents, thank God) has seemed extraordinarily stressed about my lack of a husband for a good long while. In the summer of 1995, while at the SweetPea Festival in Bozeman, MT (a great art and culture festival with stunning bluegrass musicians wandering around, should you ever want a great excuse to meet up with Jen and become a groupie), an aunt of mine came into the bathroom - while I was showering, I'm not kidding - and said "Today's the big day!" When I looked puzzled (naked and puzzled, mind you), she added: "Today's the day we find your husband!" And then said almost under her breath: "At your age, we better hurry up."

I was 22.

A decade on, and it seems that even the men in my family are getting concerned.

Funny thing is, if they knew the truth, I think they'd all have even greater worries. (And here is the truth - so let's hope Aunt Charlotte and Uncle Jimmy are not reading this) I'm not all that worried about the marriage thing. And as for frogs and princes, well, I'm terribly picky on occasion, waiting only for princes while mainly having a great time, followed by random bouts of kissing-bandit-ness, where everyone I encounter seems to be somehow wearing a crown while sitting on a lily pad, so I dive in. All in all, my life is pretty good (and as it is being documented daily now, if you ever meet me and prefer your anonymity, give a wide berth before I grab you).

So let�s get on to these frogs and princes and somehow make this Friday posting at least a "leetle' bit green"

Green topic of the day: Is it OK to eat frog legs as long as you kiss the frog first?

Discuss amongst yourselves.

-Heather -  off to find a few horny toads in the Lower East Side of the Pond

By adopting a cat or dog from the shelter you will be helping to reduce the demand for the puppy and kitty mills (ie: those dreadful places that people like Cruella D’Ville run).

But alas! Since this blog is about fun things and feeling good, here are some reasons to adopt an animal (or to give them as gifts!):

• People who have animals live longer – it is a fact, Jack.
• In a study published by “Preventative Medicine” people who had a pet were 45% more likely to exercise than those who did not. (Find dog trails near you at www.thedogpark.com)
• When you hold a purring cat, all of your troubles melt away.
• Cats kill mice, au’naturally. (Yes, I would have gotten a cat for my mouse problems except I am house sitting and owners allergic to cats.)\

If you are thinking you want pick of the litter, so to speak, not a problem. An incredibly useful tool has been developed:“petfinder.com” – which has photos of shelter animals, searchable by breed, sex, age, etc… and zip code.

Still not convinced? Instead of adopting, then, consider donating your used car or cell phone to a shelter. This helps recycle what would end up in a landfill, gives you a tax write off, and provides some operating funds for the shelter. (There are different programs that exist for each area, so just Google it.)

Off to take an evening walk with Cricket. (Hey, maybe that study is right… I don’t think I would have made the time away from my computer to exercise today without those big beady eyes looking up at me.

OK, OK, Crick… just let me hit upload… ) - Jen

For the past 5 years or so, I’ve toyed around with “detoxing”… taking a break from everything from bread to booze in an effort to counterbalance the negative things I do to my body on a daily basis (let’s face it, I’m really just trying to leech the wine out of my cells).  I started the whole detox kick in London after I found myself getting sick nearly every other week.  The habit of doing the detox just stayed with me as I moved back to the States.  So once or twice a year – for a month – I give up red meat, wheat, shellfish, caffeine, chocolate, alcohol and dairy.  (That’s 28 days of a lot of fish and rice)…  My friends and family have all learned to give me a wide berth during that first week, as – surprise, surprise – I tend to be a bit, well, crusty.

And while – from a willpower perspective – the wine was the most difficult thing to cut out of my evenings (what on earth do you do in New York in the evenings if you can’t drink???), it was the lack of caffeine that sent me into a tailspin…

See, I like my coffee.  Oh yes – I love a good cup of coffee.  I’m not even all that particular about the style, as long as the coffee itself is good.  Automatic drip, French presse, Italian Moka, cappuccino, latte, macchiato, black, sweetened… whatever… you name it, I like it.

So over the past years, I’ve gotten a little confused about the whole coffee thing.  All these labels… What the hell was fair trade?  I could ferret out what “shade-grown” meant, but why declare it?  Was fair trade coffee organic?  “Bird-Friendly????”  What was next?  What did all this mean?

So as I sit here on my rooftop, swilling my French Roast and Sumatra blend from John’s shop on the corner, I thought I’d do a little research and relate what the hell all this coffee labeling means…

• Grown without the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers
• Assures the health of the soil, forest, and farmers

• Gives farmers a better standard of living
• Guarantees producer cooperatives a minimum fair price

• Reduces clear cutting in tropical rainforests
• Protects migratory bird habitats

• Enhances flavor

For best results, apparently, we all need to look for the trifecta – that triple play (me using sports analogies is like King Kong in a dress, but bear with me) where the coffee is organic, and certified as fair-trade and is shade-grown. 

But as with everything – just take a little bite – make sure your next pound of beans offers at least one of them.  And then eventually, we can even start talking about offsetting carbon emissions and buying more local versions (then again, Brooklyn isn’t exactly known for it’s Juan Valdez beans, so I’ll stick to South America for the time being…)

My dad is a pilot. While growing up, and still considered a dependent (as if I am not one now, but that is a different story), I was known for jetting off everywhere at moment's notice. And why wouldn't I? It was free. For example, I flew to Hawaii for three days on college fall break in pursuit of winning the affection of my cooler-than-school surfer boyfriend. And now� well now, I live in Montana. I moved here to help ME become more 'sustainable' - as the energy of the city combined with my natural energy really just whipped my adrenalin levels into a frenzy. Although that was fun, it couldn't last, and neither could my health in the long term. So now I sit writing on top of a mountain in the town of McAllister, only known as a town due to the presence of the 'Bear Claw' bar and post office that closes for lunch.

Although it's a dreamy existence, it does get lonely. You can only talk to cows, horses, and The Cricket (my pup) for so long and not be hurting for more a meaningful response than a whinny or some bad gas. So, I am a sucker for cheap flights back East to see my friends and family, and to attend all the open-bar gala weddings where I change out of my Carharts for a full-length dress. Plus, I consult for businesses all over the United States to help make them become more sustainable (environmentally, socially, and economically), so plane travel is just a fact of life.

However, when working with a client that provides a mechanism to offset air travel emissions (myclimate), I realized that I was this huge hypocrite environmentalist. Turns out that each time you fly, your portion of the flight contributes an average of nearly a ton of carbon dioxide pollution. (Carbon dioxide is a prime component of climate change.) So, unless we are all planning for beachfront property in Iowa, this is probably not a good thing.

To get the full scoop on just how hypocritical I was being (or maybe to find out that all my other, greener ways would balance out my environmental indiscretions), I took this quiz, called My FootPrint, which tells you just how many planets we would need if everyone on the planet lived like you do. I was excited to see my results -- I guess getting a little high on my green horse. I don't eat meat; I recycle; I drive a 33 mpg Dodge Neon only when horseback won't get me there; I don't even have to chose between paper or plastic because I bring my own (hemp!) bag to the supermarket. I welcomed the opportunity to assess my ecological footprint (bring it on!).

The results are displayed like this: "if everyone lived like you, we would need __ planets." My score, in large thanks to air travel, is 3.9 planets! I found a shallow 'victory' for at least coming in below the average ecological footprint in the US: 6 planets.

Beyond this pointing to the fact that we can't smooth out the world's inequalities by making the poor much richer (because if everybody lived like the average American it really would take 6 planets to meet all our needs), it told me that we all have to find a big bang for the buck way to travel in class� green class. So, now I am committed to offsetting my air travel emissions (what? You thought I would miss your open bar gala-esque wedding? Ha!). Emission offsetting means that you purchase a corresponding number of trees or clean energy credits to neutralize your carbon contribution from your flight. Below are some good resources to do this.

Some Green Air Travel Tips:

Purchase wind certificates. Organizations such as Native Energy, allow customers to both calculate and purchase certificates (sometimes known as green tags) to offset emissions caused by automobile or air travel. (I personally like this one because it helps Native American tribes as well.)

The Better World Club, an eco-oriented auto club, offers free carbon offsets on two domestic and one international flight each year to members who book plane tickets through its in-house travel agency. Nonmembers worldwide can purchase offsets-$11 for a domestic flight and $22 for an international flight.

Plant trees. The United Kingdom-based Future Forests, plants trees in more than 80 forests throughout the world. A global flight calculator determines how many trees you need to plant to offset a flight - two trees, for example, for a New York-to-London round trip, or $30�as a part of the CarbonNeutral flight program.

Well, I'm off to ponder the climate change effect of bovine flatulence.

Cheers, Jen

I'm a complete sucker for anything green and growing. In fact, as the token schizophrenic amongst my group of friends, one of my personalities actually owns a rooftop gardening company. (I say that with a healthy dose of self-deprecation and a complete awareness of how hyperbolic that statement is. I've really only got about four projects to do this summer and haven't even gotten my web site up yet). Regardless, I tend to like green and growing things, and playing in the dirt, even if I still can't stand to have it under my fingernails.

In the thick of summer, my garden is overflowing with flowers that I can cut and bring indoors to brighten my tiny dining room. I grow cosmos and roses and tall yarrows and echinacea and dahlias - all things that make me feel better for knowing I brought them to life. But during other times of the year, as I walk by my corner deli, I�m sorely tempted by the hothouse roses and lilies and tulips that spill out of buckets and onto the sidewalks - and I find myself coming up with reasons to buy them. "Well, I MIGHT have Chad over for dinner on Friday" (Chad couldn't care less about flowers, let's be honest); "Mom is coming to town" (in 4 weeks - well after the flowers would have died); or my personal favorite "I deserve them for [fill in blank with some made-up success like: going to yoga 5 times this week, or not emailing my ex-boyfriend, or managing to meditate for more than 5 minutes yesterday]."

As time passed (and I realized that blue daisies really don't exist in nature), I started to become a little more clued into the idea that these hothouse flowers just might carry a few bad byproducts with them; namely, pesticides and dyes.

Now, don't get me wrong - flowers are one of the greatest joys on earth, and we need to have them as much as possible. Moms absolutely must have them on Mother's Day, so I hope you sent some to yours.

But there are better ways than grabbing them from the corner deli or ordering them from your conventional florist. Find an organic florist, shop at local farmers' markets for locally grown flowers that are in season, or check out www.organicbouquet.com. Believe it or not, if you seek it out, you can find better alternatives at better prices. (And if you send your favorite Internet florist an email saying that you would like to see them offering organics, you never know when offers from them just might start popping up in your inbox...).

In any case - enjoy nature. Bring it indoors with you. Don't deny yourself (especially at this time of year) the amazing beauty exploding all around you. Just take a few little steps toward making that a more sustainable habit.

So this morning (gorgeous day in Brooklyn), I woke up early (a touch jetlagged from a recent trip to London), had my green tea (imported from China but prchased at my local neighborhood tea shop), and organic steel cut oats (from the local health food store) with unpasteurized raspberry honey (from Maine). Threw down my mat and did yoga, talked to the parents on the cell phone for an hour, went to the farmers market and bought plants for my rooftop garden, and then played in the dirt while listening to my iTunes at top volume (I highly recommend Luna's song "Chinatown"). Tonight, I plan to take the subway three stops into the city and drink copious amounts of Italian wine while eating great, locally-grown produce with friends at one of my favorite restaurants. If I don't get too tipsy, I'll even take the subway home.

So all in all, in this city of lights and bustle, I would seem to epitomize healthy and local living (with a good dose of wine thrown in for good measure).

But if I wanted to dig a little deeper (and let's be honest, generally I don't), my so-called world-and-self-saving healthy day is fraught with contradiction. I mean, how much fuel went into getting that tea to me? What are the air pollution ramifications of my recent flight to London (aside from a slightly annoying tinge of jetlag)? How much chemical fertilizer is in those plants that I bought? How much water did it take to grow them? Let's not even think about the PVC in the yoga mat or the amount of petroleum I "drink" each week as I toss back Italian wines...

Honestly, if I really sat down and thought about what my lifestyle might be doing to the world and the people in it, I'd probably crawl back under the covers (most likely sewn in China, and God only knows what is in my mattress) and wait for Armageddon.

But I don't. Each day, I get up, try to be good, try to buy locally, try to eat in season. I give money and time to charity; I teach yoga to beginners, I get the CEO at my consulting gig to recycle paper at least. And then I eat fois gras (v bad) but don't eat strawberries in the winter (v good). My entire life is sort of like a Big Mac with a side of organic broccoli.

I guess we could all just throw up our hands and say "Look, we have gotten to this place, this time in history, where we live a certain lifestyle. And if the planet can't sustain that, there's nothing we can do. We can't exactly go back to living off the land and bartering chickens."

And that would be right - in a way. But there is a shift occurring - a sea change in this time and space - and daily, we are finding ways to be more sustainable, to live off this planet and next to our neighbors in a way that not only doesn't hurt, but might actually help. We are so technologically savvy and think-tank brilliant at this moment in time, that we are discovering ways to make it possible to live glorious, gorgeous high-end lives without ruining the possibility of that for future generations. My God, if we can figure out a way to give a man an 8-hour erection, it stands to reason that we are smart enough to find a way to feed everyone on the planet without poisoning it.

But how do you and I -conscious and conscientious- make a difference? How do we figure out all the ways we can live our day to day lives with the least negative impact? I don't have 40 hours a week to devote to charity, and I like my NY lifestyle too much to go live in a yurt, wear only hemp and eat nuts I gather in the forest.

Well, for one, I can put my money where my mouth is. And by taking tiny steps toward sustainability, I can make a difference. Maybe this week, it's switching from petroleum laundry detergent to all-natural. Perhaps last week it was telling a friend about my farmers' market. Maybe next week I'll have a local Long Island wine instead of a bottle of Barbera d Alba...

Whatever it is, it's a step. A tiny bite off the bigger apple. And maybe, just maybe, if I add all those tiny bites up over time I'll get to a seed - a new starting point for something pure and whole and healthy and ultimately better for the world.

And if not - well, I'm going to go out swinging -- a glass of Chianti in one hand, organic flowers in the other.

-Heather... off to grill a burger...

We are pleased you are here! We are ready to dish about each other, our environmental indiscretions, and our favorite tips that make the planet (and us, personally) happy. Enjoy!

Cheers, Heather & Jen - co-founders, Idealbite.com