Tomorrow I head out for a week in Hawaii, where I plan on spending a lot of time in the sun drinking. I'm packing some vitamin B, Ola Loa, and will be downing a lot of water while I'm there to stay hydrated, but in case of emergency I've also stuffed noneco stuff called Solpadeine in my bag.
Seriously, this stuff is ridiculous. It's basically Tylenol and caffeine, and for some reason they only sell it in the UK (meaning I stock up when visiting friends in London), but it works like nothing else.
-Toshio...off to finish packing...
Seriously, this stuff is ridiculous. It's basically Tylenol and caffeine, and for some reason they only sell it in the UK (meaning I stock up when visiting friends in London), but it works like nothing else.
-Toshio...off to finish packing...
For Christmas this year, I did the Good Biter Thing (GBT?) - I made a list of what I wanted for Christmas.
Clearly, there were many things on the list that were a bit of a stretch:
But some things were more manageable...like my plea for funky napkin rings.
Mom came through with flying colors - gorgeous, festive, red-beaded rings - a perfect blend with golds and browns. I didn't have the heart to tell her about today's tip - to admit that I also needed eclectic, mismatched, bizarre rings so that I could use them during the Christmas holiday and let my guests have individual ring designs so that they could save their almost-unused napkins for reuse. The red rings were just too perfect to tarnish with additional conversation/requests.
The way I see it? Great addition to the Christmas wish list for next year.
-Heather...off to admire a Christmas gift of garden art made from old oil drums...
Next year, I challenge you to rethink the poinsettia as a gift. Biodegradable though they may be, they usually come in plastic pots that aren't always recyclable, and most people just let them die after the holidays. Try another just-as-festive plant for some variety.
-Toshio...off to water our Hanukkah bush...
-Toshio...off to water our Hanukkah bush...
Yesterday, I attempted to spend a $50 gift card at Crate and Barrel I received earlier in the year. After browsing through 4-way bottle openers, purple martini glasses, and Christmas-themed throw pillows for about an hour, I finally just admitted that I neither needed nor wanted anything on any of the three vast floors.
Then the CFL went on! I realized that I could use it to get the teapot on my mom's Christmas wish list. Gift: found. Fifty dollars I would have spent on gift sans card: still in bank account.
It won't work with every gift card, but if you don't want anything for yourself, and you don't want to swap or regift the card itself per today's tip, consider using it to buy something that someone you love needs or desires.
-Jenifer Morgan...off to spend my art-store credit on my nephew...
Then the CFL went on! I realized that I could use it to get the teapot on my mom's Christmas wish list. Gift: found. Fifty dollars I would have spent on gift sans card: still in bank account.
It won't work with every gift card, but if you don't want anything for yourself, and you don't want to swap or regift the card itself per today's tip, consider using it to buy something that someone you love needs or desires.
-Jenifer Morgan...off to spend my art-store credit on my nephew...
Christmas, 1970s and 1980s. I probably had a bow in my hair. My (2.5 years older) brother was probably wearing some sort of Michael Jordan-worship gear. Mom was probably frazzled, up to her eyeballs in wrapping paper and cookie dough and turkey grease.
But every year, during the holidays, we'd make cookie cutter sugar cookies using the recipe from the old original Betty Crocker cookbook (not all that eco, but the recipe is below, and they are still the best you'll ever taste).
I always loved baking and decorating cookies each year. I adored using Red Hots as the clappers for the bells. Loved putting those really hard silver BB-style decorations on the points of the stars, wondering if I'd break my tooth on them when it came time to eat them. Reveled in mixing the most-likely-poisonous food coloring into the frosting and watching those initial striped swirls streak through the creamy whiteness.
My Michael-Jordan-worshiping brother? Not so much his thing. In fact, we eventually banned him from cookie decorating (which was his aim all along) after he decided to mix all the colors together and make all of his cookies a mud-like grayish brown color. Brown stockings and sleighs and stars and trees?
Somehow just not as tasty.
-Heather...off to make some rum balls, heavy on the rum...
Recipes from Betty Crocker New Picture Cookbook [copyright date has disappeared], typed as written.
Ethel's Sugar Cookies
Butter Icing [For extra richness, add 1 egg yolk.]
But every year, during the holidays, we'd make cookie cutter sugar cookies using the recipe from the old original Betty Crocker cookbook (not all that eco, but the recipe is below, and they are still the best you'll ever taste).
I always loved baking and decorating cookies each year. I adored using Red Hots as the clappers for the bells. Loved putting those really hard silver BB-style decorations on the points of the stars, wondering if I'd break my tooth on them when it came time to eat them. Reveled in mixing the most-likely-poisonous food coloring into the frosting and watching those initial striped swirls streak through the creamy whiteness.
My Michael-Jordan-worshiping brother? Not so much his thing. In fact, we eventually banned him from cookie decorating (which was his aim all along) after he decided to mix all the colors together and make all of his cookies a mud-like grayish brown color. Brown stockings and sleighs and stars and trees?
Somehow just not as tasty.
-Heather...off to make some rum balls, heavy on the rum...
Recipes from Betty Crocker New Picture Cookbook [copyright date has disappeared], typed as written.
Ethel's Sugar Cookies
- ¾ C. shortening [part butter]
- 1 C. sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla (Mom and I like to use ¼ tsp almond instead)
- 2 ½ C. Gold Medal Flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
Butter Icing [For extra richness, add 1 egg yolk.]
- 1/3 cup soft butter
- 3 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
- about 3 tbsp. cream
- 1 ½ tsp. vanilla
There's a matchbox in my bathroom, right next to the candle that sits on the toilet tank for...ambiance. After researching this tip, I checked the back of the box and, sure enough, it says Made in India.
Unfortunately, the Indian match industry has a bad rep for unfair labor practices. Finding an American brand isn't tough, so until matchboxes start carrying the fair-trade label, buy U.S.-made when you can.
-Toshio...off to spread some ambiance...
Unfortunately, the Indian match industry has a bad rep for unfair labor practices. Finding an American brand isn't tough, so until matchboxes start carrying the fair-trade label, buy U.S.-made when you can.
-Toshio...off to spread some ambiance...
When I was in Venice last year, I escaped the millions of littering, rude fellow tourists and the resulting apathetic, run-down Italians by spending a lot of time in incredibly overpriced and relatively deserted traditional Venetian costume shops. (Sounds fun so far, huh?) But really, despite it all, I had a great time trying on fanciful dresses and masks and capes. And hats-one of which I ended up buying (see photo). I had the hat shipped home, due to its delicacy and awkward size (and did a bit of carbon offsetting on my return). I love it and will keep it long past the time when people start wondering if I'll ever arrive at a costume party as something other than an eighteenth-century militia dandy.
And although the supercute hats in our tip today don't really require one, I thought I'd mention a few eco-hat box options out there, in case you have a giant, feathered number that needs storing like mine does. First check out eBay for truly unique vintage options. If you want cheap and basic, the Container Store has a set of three made from recycled fiberboard. And if you want to have a hand in designing your own, Sarah's Hat Boxes makes cute round fabric-covered versions from recycled chipboard and nontoxic adhesives.
-Jenifer Morgan...off to put a lid on it...
Kernel popcorn is great: There's less packaging, it generally tastes better, and it's sort of fun watching the kernels pop and expand into a form ten times their original size.
The thing is, sticking a prepackaged bag in the microwave is so easy compared to using an electric popper or the stovetop method - and sometimes I play that big, lazy American whose religion is convenience, to a T. So when I heard the nation's biggest popcorn producer is dropping diacetyl from all its products, I felt a mix of excitement and guilt, because I know it'll make me that much more inclined, when I'm feeling lazy, to just pop a prepackaged bag in the electromagnetic radiation machine (aka microwave) and be done with it.
But thanks to new Biter team member Hanah, we found there's a middle ground - microwave popcorn made using stuff you already have:
What You'll Need
-Toshio...off to zap some kernels...
The thing is, sticking a prepackaged bag in the microwave is so easy compared to using an electric popper or the stovetop method - and sometimes I play that big, lazy American whose religion is convenience, to a T. So when I heard the nation's biggest popcorn producer is dropping diacetyl from all its products, I felt a mix of excitement and guilt, because I know it'll make me that much more inclined, when I'm feeling lazy, to just pop a prepackaged bag in the electromagnetic radiation machine (aka microwave) and be done with it.
But thanks to new Biter team member Hanah, we found there's a middle ground - microwave popcorn made using stuff you already have:
What You'll Need
- 1/2-cup unpopped popcorn
- 2-3 tbsp melted butter
- Salt to taste
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
- Paper lunch bag
- Large bowl
- Pour the popcorn in the paper bag and fold the top of the bag twice, so it's closed.
- Put the bag in the microwave and cook on high for 2-3 min, or 'til the pops are 5 sec apart.
- Take the bag out and pour the popcorn into a bowl and drizzle it with butter, then toss it with salt and nutritional yeast, as desired.
-Toshio...off to zap some kernels...
When we wrote our first yoga mat tip in mid-2005, I felt a little like a fraud, since I had JUST swapped out my trusty old PVC mat for a jute eco version. Fact was, my old, off-gassing mat was like a security blanket - an old friend that had taken me through my yoga life for years and years, seeing me through hatha in LA, ashtanga in London and vinyasa teacher training in NYC. Truth be told, I was loathe to give it up. (Complete truth be told, I still have it, and use it for my home practice on occasion. It just gives off good vibes alongside the carcinogenic gases.)
I didn't love the new jute mat in the same way, and in a fit of largess, ended up leaving it at a villa in Bellagio, Italy last year, figuring it would give good yoga karma to hapless travelers to Lake Como. (Isn't that always the case when you replace something you worshipped with a new version? The replacement stands no chance.) However, yoga mat #3 has since fared much better in my esteem. I lovelovelove the Jade Harmony rubber mats. A little heavy, but VERY sticky, and I feel like my current blue baddie is gonna last me for ages.
I'm still not sure I'll ever love it as much as my ripped up, worn out, PVC-laden original, though. It's just like childhood love drama and the occasional initial drag on a cigarette when a little tipsy...not at all healthy, but sure as hell feels good.
-Heather... off to do a little down dog...
I didn't love the new jute mat in the same way, and in a fit of largess, ended up leaving it at a villa in Bellagio, Italy last year, figuring it would give good yoga karma to hapless travelers to Lake Como. (Isn't that always the case when you replace something you worshipped with a new version? The replacement stands no chance.) However, yoga mat #3 has since fared much better in my esteem. I lovelovelove the Jade Harmony rubber mats. A little heavy, but VERY sticky, and I feel like my current blue baddie is gonna last me for ages.
I'm still not sure I'll ever love it as much as my ripped up, worn out, PVC-laden original, though. It's just like childhood love drama and the occasional initial drag on a cigarette when a little tipsy...not at all healthy, but sure as hell feels good.
-Heather... off to do a little down dog...
While pasty-white, Cheeto-munching little Jimmy really should get outside once in a while before his legs atrophy, in general I don't think people play enough games. Especially now, when there are great gaming systems that get people off the couch and interacting - namely, the remarkably entertaining Nintendo Wii, where you stand up and move around to invoke game action (I've actually broken a sweat playing tennis and bowling). There are also fun games available that exercise memory (BrainAge), and almost all games, including retro arcade games (hello, Pac Man!), are great for improving hand-eye coordination.
Queue one up if you're stranded indoors with the fam during the holidays - if for no other reason than to prove (once again) that you're the clever/agile/coordinated one.
-Jenifer Morgan...off to bowl another strike!...
Queue one up if you're stranded indoors with the fam during the holidays - if for no other reason than to prove (once again) that you're the clever/agile/coordinated one.
-Jenifer Morgan...off to bowl another strike!...
I'm not terribly train-proficient. In fact, unless I'm traveling in a foreign country or running around a specific corridor on the East Coast, I have to admit to having a truly inadequate approach to train travel.
Never was this more apparent than when I learned about the California Coaster. For those who don't know, the California Coaster is a train that runs between San Diego and Oceanside, CA. Back in my mid-20s, I lived in LA for a couple of years and used to drive down to San Diego quite often to visit my family. During that drive, I often saw quaint, cute little signs for "Coaster." For whatever reason, I never really paid attention to where I saw the signs, I just remember noticing them and thinking: "Huh. Weird name for a town."
It took many years, and many, many trips before it occurred to me that the "town" of Coaster , CA, seemed to span many, many miles between OC and SD. Thus, one day, I arrived in San Diego and asked my sister-in-law what the deal with Coaster was and why there were so many exits to get to it.
Needless to say, Krista laughed at me.
Next time I need to get up the coast from SD? I'm heading to Coaster, CA.
-Heather...off to revel in the fact that I am not traveling during the holidays for the first time in 17 years...
Never was this more apparent than when I learned about the California Coaster. For those who don't know, the California Coaster is a train that runs between San Diego and Oceanside, CA. Back in my mid-20s, I lived in LA for a couple of years and used to drive down to San Diego quite often to visit my family. During that drive, I often saw quaint, cute little signs for "Coaster." For whatever reason, I never really paid attention to where I saw the signs, I just remember noticing them and thinking: "Huh. Weird name for a town."
It took many years, and many, many trips before it occurred to me that the "town" of Coaster , CA, seemed to span many, many miles between OC and SD. Thus, one day, I arrived in San Diego and asked my sister-in-law what the deal with Coaster was and why there were so many exits to get to it.
Needless to say, Krista laughed at me.
Next time I need to get up the coast from SD? I'm heading to Coaster, CA.
-Heather...off to revel in the fact that I am not traveling during the holidays for the first time in 17 years...
Shakespeare anticipated my existence when he wrote that, or at least I liked to think so when I increased page margins and font sizing on essays and papers back at school. My MO is to keep all communications short and sweet.
The only time I tend to get verbose is when I've had a few too many to drink. Recently this happened over a few Square One Vodka cocktails. Tasty, organic, U.S.-produced vodka makes me chatty to the point where I could probably talk your ear off about any subject...Word margins, for instance. Good thing, then, that I'm stone-cold sober as I write this.
-Toshio...off to sit in silence...
The only time I tend to get verbose is when I've had a few too many to drink. Recently this happened over a few Square One Vodka cocktails. Tasty, organic, U.S.-produced vodka makes me chatty to the point where I could probably talk your ear off about any subject...Word margins, for instance. Good thing, then, that I'm stone-cold sober as I write this.
-Toshio...off to sit in silence...
Only recently did I eat my first nonorganic pine nut. Growing up, the fam and I would gather pinion pine nuts in the Eastern Sierras every fall, just like some furry creatures we know, take 'em home, put 'em in a pan, and dash ‘em in the oven as fast as we...could.
Even if you can't forage for them on your own, I recommend roasting some in the oven while you queue up Christopher Guest's Best in Show to enjoy the best nut-referencing screenwriting in Hollywood history, namely a scene with the character Harlan Pepper of Pine Nut, CA.
-Jenifer Morgan...off to pick a peck of pine nuts...
Even if you can't forage for them on your own, I recommend roasting some in the oven while you queue up Christopher Guest's Best in Show to enjoy the best nut-referencing screenwriting in Hollywood history, namely a scene with the character Harlan Pepper of Pine Nut, CA.
-Jenifer Morgan...off to pick a peck of pine nuts...
I fought it for years. I never wanted to become a slave to mobile technology, so I not only resisted getting a PDA, I avoided even having a laptop. Those were days when I satisfied my obsessive need to plan by using sweet little personal planners from places like the Met Museum or the Chicago Institute of Art...
Clearly, those days are over. Between my Treo and my laptop and my exchange server, I'm almost never disconnected from the Internet, let alone my email, phone, or digital calendar. In fact, if it's not in my Outlook calendar, I'm probably not showing up for it.
So I find it fascinating that I am spending a great deal of time these days with people who seem to be a throwback to a previous time - planning their days in paper notebooks and scrawled on old-fashioned calendars and whiteboards. Now, this would seem much more romanticized to me if these weren't also the same people who were slavishly devoted to their iPhones and Blackberrys (hmmm... do you even change that to a "berries" if it's a brand name?), texting more in a few hours than I do in a week.
What's your game? You live your life with little pop-up phone notifications reminding you to go to yoga, or do you plot it all out on paper?
-Heather...off to schedule a meeting in my calendar (complete with an alarm notification)...
Clearly, those days are over. Between my Treo and my laptop and my exchange server, I'm almost never disconnected from the Internet, let alone my email, phone, or digital calendar. In fact, if it's not in my Outlook calendar, I'm probably not showing up for it.
So I find it fascinating that I am spending a great deal of time these days with people who seem to be a throwback to a previous time - planning their days in paper notebooks and scrawled on old-fashioned calendars and whiteboards. Now, this would seem much more romanticized to me if these weren't also the same people who were slavishly devoted to their iPhones and Blackberrys (hmmm... do you even change that to a "berries" if it's a brand name?), texting more in a few hours than I do in a week.
What's your game? You live your life with little pop-up phone notifications reminding you to go to yoga, or do you plot it all out on paper?
-Heather...off to schedule a meeting in my calendar (complete with an alarm notification)...
Until recently, I never really invested in high-quality snow gear - I just patched and pieced together unfashionable hand-me-down ski sweaters and jackets, layered on plain cotton socks (lots), and threw a few mismatched hat-glove-scarf combinations over the top.
And although I now have a great, ventilated ski jacket, a pair of ultrainsulating socks, and waterproof gloves - all of which make spending time outside that much more comfortable - at the end of the day, as long as you're warm enough, don't worry about what you wear, just get outside and play.
There's no better way to celebrate the fight against global warming than taking a snow day.
-Jenifer Morgan...off to go walkin' in a winter wonderland...
And although I now have a great, ventilated ski jacket, a pair of ultrainsulating socks, and waterproof gloves - all of which make spending time outside that much more comfortable - at the end of the day, as long as you're warm enough, don't worry about what you wear, just get outside and play.
There's no better way to celebrate the fight against global warming than taking a snow day.
-Jenifer Morgan...off to go walkin' in a winter wonderland...
I’m getting presents for my parents, bro, and sis (I’d tell you exactly what, but a couple of them have been known to read this blog), and we always send gifts to my preteen cousins in ME, but the rest of my extended family just donates to a cause one of us selects instead of exchanging material gifts. This year, it’s Avondale House, a non-profit my aunt in Houston is involved with that benefits autistic kids. No word from the higher-ups (Grandma and Grandpa) whose turn it will be next year, but hot damn, does it make this whole Christmas thing easier.
-Toshio...off to write my holiday cards...
-Toshio...off to write my holiday cards...
Last New Year’s, my neighbor (about whom I know almost nothing) rang our doorbell and handed over an exceptionally generous, completely unexpected gift: two Baccarat crystal champagne flutes. (My jaw is still dropping.) Let me tell you, if you are so inclined as to give a stranger an incredibly expensive gift this season, that’s the way to go…in fact, if all you need is the stranger part, I’m happy to volunteer.
-Jenifer Morgan…off to run my finger ’round the rims…
A few things are so cool that they're untouchable (Elliott Smith, skin-tight jeans, free food...), but the fact is we can't guarantee that the goods recommended in today's tip will still be derision-proof by the time your hipster giftee tears off the recycled wrapping paper later this month. Whatever happens, our picks were pretty cool on Dec 5th, 2007 - we will totally stand by that.
-Toshio...off to ride my (non-fixed gear) bike home...
-Toshio...off to ride my (non-fixed gear) bike home...
Baggage. We've all got some...the curious thing is so many people take incredible pains to take it with them wherever they go, literally. Behold, the weekender who couldn't decide which pair of shoes to take, so packed four pair instead of one. Who feel the need for a full-size salon-to-go, with hair dryers, brushes, and curling irons. Who has two days in Paris, but instead of tearing out the guide-book pages that apply, packs the entire book, full of detailed information about places they won't have a millisecond to consider.
What's the D? I admit that it's a perhaps sad point of pride that I can pack a month's necessities in a day pack and tidy carry on while maintaining a certain element of luxury and comfort in transit. But the fact is that less stuff, better stuff is an important aspect of living a greener life, and it absolutely translates to travel gear, whether you consider yourself jet-set or not. Bring clothes and shoes that go everywhere, a few hair pins to wrangle errant locks of hair, and figure out how to access travel info you need online at your hotel.
You'll suddenly have room for all kinds of little items that will truly ease the stress of your journey - a 2-oz lavender-geranium beeswax travel candle, for example.
Have any personal travel essentials you want to share? Tell us in the blog - and safe holiday travels!
-Jenifer Morgan...off to avoid claiming my baggage in public...
What's the D? I admit that it's a perhaps sad point of pride that I can pack a month's necessities in a day pack and tidy carry on while maintaining a certain element of luxury and comfort in transit. But the fact is that less stuff, better stuff is an important aspect of living a greener life, and it absolutely translates to travel gear, whether you consider yourself jet-set or not. Bring clothes and shoes that go everywhere, a few hair pins to wrangle errant locks of hair, and figure out how to access travel info you need online at your hotel.
You'll suddenly have room for all kinds of little items that will truly ease the stress of your journey - a 2-oz lavender-geranium beeswax travel candle, for example.
Have any personal travel essentials you want to share? Tell us in the blog - and safe holiday travels!
-Jenifer Morgan...off to avoid claiming my baggage in public...
My perfect nephew, Quinn, came to stay with me over the Thanksgiving break (his parents came, too, but they didn't give me nearly as many baby breath sloppy kisses, so they don't rank quite as high in my esteem). It was the first time Quinn and his mom had seen my house, and since said house is decidedly un-child-friendly, I was a bit nervous. Would he pull over my glass end tables and cut up his perfect alabaster skin? Would my hardwood floors conk his head and knees? Would my sharp-clawed cat get to his Sinatra-blue eyes? And then even if he did manage to travel the pitfalls of my 100 year old house - what would he DO there? I don't have any toys. No cars to vroom-vroom, no stuffed animals or balls or even books that might keep a 16 month-old occupied for 5 minutes or so. Should I go buy books and games and trucks that beep?
Oh puhlease. Quinn did just what kids the world over do. He played. He ran and he played. He played with the cat (no scratching), he ran up and down the hall, loving the slidey-ness of the wood floors (not too much conking). He kept me company while I baked pumpkin bread and Thanksgiving side dishes, his little butt scooting on the kitchen floor, while he beat a cake pan with a wooden spoon.
And suddenly, I saw the world through his eyes - the newness of a place he'd never been, the noise of a makeshift drumset, the loud purr of a kitty. And you know what? That world is pretty damn good.
These little folks? They don't need all the "stuff" we think they do. Hell, at this age, they are never going to remember the things you get them - these items that end up in basement corners and landfills in a matter of years. Until Quinn will remember opening the present, he's gonna get three kinds of gifts from me: money for college, books to read before sleep, and donations to save the world so that he will always have places to run around.
-Heather... off to adopt a penguin...
PHOTO ALBUMS
