Monthly Archives: April 2011
Self-Sustaining Communities…
| April 29, 2011 | Posted by Lauren Moss under Guest Bloggers, Inspiration, Sustainable Living |
HAPPY BELATED EARTH DAY!
I thought I’d take a slightly different approach for today’s post and look at sustainability from a perspective beyond that of the built environment, in order to look more comprehensively at the related issues of social equity, community and economics, that, in conjunction with environment, make up the Triple Bottom Line.
Understandably, as green-minded individuals, we often focus on a specific issue that we’re passionate about, whether it be historical preservation, renewable energy, conservation, permaculture, water quality, you name it… Complex as it may seem, when any or all of these elements are addressed in relation to one another, the potential synergies could (and often do) create unique opportunities for collaborative, cross-disciplinary efforts.
What got me thinking about the value of collaboration in social and cultural contexts last week was a TED talk by farmer, social innovator, and former fusion physicist, Marcin Jakubowski, describing open source ecology (leveraging knowledge and information in the most effective way possible, through open source communications) as a means to stimulate economy and enable community-building. This concept of empowering people to live self-sufficiently through the open framework of shared knowledge really struck a chord with me on a number of levels.
The implications of implementing an open source approach to social, economic, and environmental issues are almost infinite. In theory, this philosophy applied in any given context can enable and enrich lives, improve communities, and protect natural resources. So, it seems as though the movement toward an open source way of living aligns pretty well with the many components of a sustainable lifestyle.
Personally, I’ve learned so much beyond the realm of architecture, thanks to the diverse talents, knowledge and skills of many like-minded colleagues and friends. In fact, the varying viewpoints and interests represented here at Inspired Design Daily exemplify another community type- a regional, web-based collaborative network of knowledge, support and common interests that, for me, has been a great source of insight, advice, and of course, inspiration.
Whether it’s attempting to grow my green thumb, finding the life-work balance or learning how to shop responsibly and creatively, I’ve come to the basic conclusion that a local living economy is possible, and there’s great human potential from the shared ideas and capabilities inherent in each of us.
Cheers! Lauren
Spotlight on Humble Ceramics
| April 28, 2011 | Posted by Linsi Brownson under accessories, art, fresh finds, redefine home |
I hit the jackpot a few weeks ago when I stumbled upon a new favorite blog called AtHomeAtHome written by LA Based photographer Laure Joliet. Her blog is filled with inspirational images and she likes to write about local so-cal artists and designers.
On this particular day that I found Laure’s blog she had featured the up-and-coming Humble Ceramics. It was love at first sight for me and I knew I had to have these in our store. As luck would have it, artist and generally lovely lady Delphine was happy to oblige and we headed up to her Brentwood studio to see the collection.
In person these babies shock and amaze. The texture, the color, the weight! Each piece in the collection I fell in love with is made with granite, so they look and feel amazing.
As Delphine described, the clay has a life of it’s own and you never know what it will do in the kiln. So while the shape and size can be predetermined, opening the kiln is like taking a look at your newborn…always a surprise and you’re guaranteed to love it instantly.
These aren’t quite ready to launch at Redefine Home yet, but I promise we’ll have them up soon. Since they’re all one of a kind it’s best to grab while you can. And if you just can’t wait, shoot me an email and I’ll send you pictures of the collection we have in store.
Homemade Coconut Rose Sunscreen
| April 20, 2011 | Posted by Morgan G under Body, do-it-yourself, Guest Bloggers, Inspiration, Sustainable Living |
Not sure if it’s the science geek or Narcissist in me, but I’ve always worried about the sun’s ability to overdo it’s thang on my face. When I was in middle school, I starting wearing a daily moisturizer with SPF 15 and when I graduated to high school, I graduated to SPF 30. Then, college rolled around and, in my organic chemistry and microbio classes (I’m telling you, I was cool), I started to freak out about the crazy-ass chemicals I had been slathering on my face in the name of health prevention for the past ten years.
Well, it’s been another five (or so) of trying out safer versions of blocks and screens and learning about ingredients and I’ve finally found what I’ve been looking for…in my own kitchen. I really hope you love this recipe for Coconut Rose Sunscreen as much as I do…
You’ll need coconut oil, shea butter, jojoba (or sesame or grapeseed) oil, aloe vera gel, zinc oxide, beeswax and rose essential oil. Where the heck can I get all of this stuff? I snagged all of my goodies at Soap Goods, with the exception of the rose essential oil, which is from Aveda, and the aloe vera gel, which was from the cabinet under my Hubs’ bathroom sink.
We’re going to walk through this first, then a recipe with exact measurements will follow. I simply want you to get the concept first, mostly because it’s pretty dang easy, and tossing in a bunch of numbers at the outset can be distracting.
First, you’re going to mix your jojoba and coconut oils together. You’ll get a mostly-clear oil, with a hint of yellow. Grab your bottle of essential oil and add quite a few drops. Mix well.
Meanwhile, melt the shea butter on the stove.
Once it’s melted, add it to your oil mixture and mix well.
Now it’s time to add the active ingredient, zinc oxide. This is a bright white powder, the kind that can leave a ghostly white film on your skin if too much is added to the product. It can also get chalky if not blended well, so you’re going to add just a bit at a time, stirring until dissolved before adding the next little bit.
The next step is to add aloe vera gel. The picture below is totally deceptive, because what I really do, is take the amount the recipe calls for and dilute it with equal parts water. If you added the gel as is, it would be really hard for it to blend well with the mixture because, at this point:
a. the mixture is warm or even hot
b. the aloe vera gel is cool
Do some pre-work by performing the dilution step and you’ll get a nice consistency in the end. And, speaking of consistency, once the aloe vera gel is added, you’re going to discover that you have a super drippy ‘sunscreen’ on your hands. It’s needs a thickener, and we’re gonna use beeswax.
Add the melted beeswax – like the zinc oxide – just a bit at a time. This way, you’ll control how thin or think you want your screen. Keep both bowls warm as this makes it much easier to blend. Here’s what you’ll have after this step.
It will still have a milky consistency at this point, but it’s also still hot. Let it sit overnight and, here’s what you’ll have:
The next step is to put the sunscreen in the container of your choice. It’s best to use a dark (not clear) container to avoid interaction with the sun. I never bring mine out of the house, so I keep it in a small mason jar in a cabinet. When summer beach days come, I’ll switch it to a container like the orange squeeze bottle below so I can bring it with me.
Coconut Rose Sunscreen Recipe, makes 4oz.
4 T. coconut oil
2 T. melted shea butter
1 t. jojoba oil
25-30 drops rose essential oil
1 t. aloe vera gel diluted well with 1 t. water
3 t. zinc oxide
1 1/2 – 2 t. melted beeswax
Is anybody wondering what kind of SPF we’ve wound up with here? So was I. Some snooping on the web left me with only a suggestion of what we could have with this recipe. A sunblock maker published a table given to him by his zinc oxide supplier. The table said product with 5% zinc oxide would have SPF 2-5, 10% would result in SPF 6-11, 15% would result in 12-19 and 25% would result in SPF 20 or greater.
Doing some math, it seems like this would be about an SPF 15. Again, this table is floating around and I’m not sure about it’s accuracy.
Thanks so much Linsi for having me over today! Much love and, yes, sunshine. Morgan
Everydaycation
| April 18, 2011 | Posted by Linsi Brownson under Body, Have Fun, Inspiration, inspired life series |
Last weekend I got a much needed mini-holiday in San Diego after making a customer delivery. On this impromptu trip I sat by the pool (which overlooked the ocean), ordered a fruity drink and caught up on my magazine reading. We walked the boardwalk, did a little shopping, ate great food and even got to spend time with old friends. It was everything I could have asked for, all crammed into 48 hours.
But that almost never happens. Time and money are precious commodities. You can’t be on vacation all the time, and after spending some time in a true beach town I realized I wouldn’t want to be. But the idea of an easier, more relaxing life is rather appealing to me (and, duh, to everyone) and I intend to get me a little summa that.
So I’m proposing the concept of an EveryDayCation – ways to add a little bit o’ the good life into your daily practices.
1. Move your breakfast/coffee/yoga routine outside. Like any good tropical getaway, a little fresh air and sunshine on your patio will do wonders for your disposition. You may not have the luxury of crashing waves and seagull sounds, but taking in your local nature will help you appreciate where you live.
2. Drive with your windows down. Similar to No.1, fresh air = freedom. On the way to work turn up a good song and hang your arm out the window. Sunroof? Yep, crack that too. Once you hit the freeway, keep 2 windows cracked so you maintain airflow and don’t get that loud sucking pressure. Do this always and you’ll be happier in your car.
3. Get a daily spa treatment. At home, of course. My favorites are body brushing, moisturizing my cuticles and feet (with a mini massage), applying a hair or face mask. Lighting candles in every room you spend time make life seem luxurious. Just make sure they’re soy or beeswax candles! For a great book on non-toxic and easy to make beauty and home products, this is my favorite: Do It Gorgeously, by Sophie Uliano. It’s in my Amazon Inspired Library collection and is the perfect inspiration for an eco-chic life.
4. Declare a household wide stay-in-bed hour. Pick a morning (I like Sundays) and request that everyone stay put for an hour after waking up. Grab a magazine, book or your breakfast and head back to bed. Or make it a family hour and pile the kids in your bed to watch cartoons together.
5. Practice your vacation attitude. Most of us are different people when on holiday. We’re a little more go-with-the-flow, a little easier to please. Nothing seems like that big of a deal and we’re certainly not on a time crunch (except maybe to make our massage appointment). All in all happier, less stressed out. Sort of like Office Space, train (not hypnotize) yourself to starting taking things less seriously. You’d be surprised how quickly your brain will pick up on this new attitude and run with it like you’ve been a zen master your whole life.
Footnote: I’d like to officially declare myself the inventor of the word everydaycation 
So feel free to add this to your vocabulary and practice it often.
JCrew-Inspired Wardrobe for $50
| April 12, 2011 | Posted by Nicole L. under Inspiration |
by Nicole Longstreath, writer of smartmouthblog.com
I’ll let you in on a secret: I’m a shameless cheapskate.
Ooh, just writing that makes me cringe, but it’s true. I bring my own snacks to movies, I skip pedicures and root touch-ups for way too long and I’m not tipping anyone whose asking for it in a tip jar. Sorry, waiters and hairdressers only get my extra 20%.
But what’s really embarrassing is that I used to put off new clothing because I couldn’t stomach the prices. I like quality, but it’s not cheap. Inevitably, I was putting off buying anything nice and new until I got my holiday bonus; the rest of the year I was shopping at Target and TJMaxx.
I didn’t like shopping at these discount places when I wasn’t spending bonus-money; the clothing was usually made so poorly and it was usually pretty generic. But, like I said, I’m a cheapskate. So I continued this pattern of buying once, maybe twice, a year at JCrew and the rest of the year I bought disposable clothing.
You can imagine that I was pretty unhappy with my wardrobe. I was trying put together a mix of high-quality pieces and bland, cheaply-made pieces and it just wasn’t working.
Not to mention, I had some mixed feelings about the clothing trade and how it’s fraught with un-sustainability and exploitation. So, at the end of last year, I made a resolution that I was only going getting my clothing secondhand. At the time, I never thought my local Goodwill would be my best resource for used clothing.
Surprisingly, thrift stores has been the best thing that ever happened to me and my wardrobe. Let’s just say that I’ve developed a secret system for shopping at thrift stores which can be overwhelming. Here’s a hint: those are the best ones because many people don’t want to deal with the hassle.
Anyway, last week when I saw that Inspired Design Daily’s editor, Linsi, was lusting after some Summer-y JCrew duds I thought to myself, “I’ll bet we can do something like this for $50.” It turns out, I was right.
"Toss it in the card, edit later." Total at checkout: $43.66
On a Saturday morning, Linsi and I hit my favorite Goodwill location and came up with 2 purses, 2 skirts, 1 pair of shorts, 2 tops and a belt for $46. Here’s a sample of what we found:
Our shopping trip started off well when we found this mauve-ish, purplely-gray sweater. I knew it was a color that would work well with her hair and skin – and she’s pretty sure she’ll be sporting this top on a frequent basis. It’s a basic and will definitely go with most everything.
You can’t get much more JCrew than rolled khaki shorts, a thick belt and camp shirt – I’d say we nailed this one.
I have to wonder, did she practice that pose on the left before our shopping trip? She already had the necklace and shoes, but we found this gorgeous eggplant short-sleeve knit peasant shirt and a skirt in lightweight corduroy.
Linsi picked up a mini, JCrew-inspired wardrobe for about 10% of what she would have spent at the boutique for new items. All the items she took home were of good quality and in great condition. She gets a new look but, because she shopped at her local Goodwill, she’s supporting her local community and keeping unwanted clothing out of landfills.
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