Dough Ray Me So Fa La Tea......

I have found the best green play dough and paint for children that will keep mother's happy and children busy for hours. The organic play dough by over the Rain Dough (love the name!) is 100% plant based coloring, 80% organic ingredients and comes in six kid friendly flavors: Berry Pink Peachy Peach, Cinnamon Brown, Lemony Yellow, Vanilly White and Purpley Grape. I found it on http://www.ecostylebaby.com/. The natural finger paints for kids is derived from vegetable dyes and has no VOC's petro chemicals or other harmful ingredients. Now we just need eco friendly glue!

Let's Get Trashed!!

I love this compact little island that holds all things trashy!! Let me break down some of the fantabulous features Trashy has: A free standing kitchen island with optional butcher block top and towel bar, while housed inside are drawers for waste, bags, recycling , compost and a spot for hazardous waste such as CFL bulbs and batteries. It is made from sustainable materials and I feel a must in any home. Visit http://www.gettrashy.com/

The Grass is Greener on the Other Side!

Tired of begging and pleading with your lawn to grow, or using horrible pesticides and heaps of water to care for it (which is totally bad for the environment). Weep no more there's a new type of grass in town. Eco-Lawn...it's drought resistant, requires little or no mowing and no fertilizer is needed. You can find it at http://www.wildflowerfarm.com/. Make your life easier and tell your old lawn to sod off!

Don't Get Your Knickers in a Knot!!

Don't you just hate when you dry stuff in the dryer and they come out all twisted and knotted. Well there is a simple solution to that wee little problem, use a clothesline. The Toronto Hydro is giving away free clotheslines in their "Take a Load off Toronto and Let it all Hang Out" initiative. The event will take place at any Costco, The Home Depot, Walmart and Zellers store locations in Toronto between 10am and 5pm on these dates: April 26th/27th at Walmart and Zellers, May 3rd/4th at Costco Home Depot and Walmart May 10th/11th at Costco Home Depot and Walmart. Their will also be great discounts on CFL's and Cold Water detergent.

Now you may be wondering why the heck would I hang my clothes outside....that's old school. It's the environment dummy! and any small step helps.

Green Footprint of the Month: Return to Sender!!!

Address unknown. No such number, no such zone! (okay I got a little carried away with Elvis).Want to stop annoying junk mail, visit http://www.greendimes.com/ they stop those unwanted catalogs. You know the one with all the nic nac's and chachkas you'd find in your grannies house! How about those credit card offers.....u know the ones you most definitely don't need check http://www.optoutprescreen.com/. If you just want to remove yourself from mailing lists altogether than visit http://www.dmaconsumers.org/. Now isn't that a great step in the right direction. Just imagine how many trees will be saved once they get the message.

Let's Get this Party Started Right!

Once again I have done it, in the midst of surfing green website I found this great little eco party site http://www.greenpartygoods.com/. Perfect timing because my daughter's birthday is coming up and I want to greenify it. On this site I found bamboo ware dinner plates Cornware utensils and plates....giving a whole new meaning to corning ware. There are biodegradable and forest friendly napkins and felt has never felt so good since it is made as party hats, party bags and birthday banners. Yippe! let's start having paperless parties!

Green Eggs and Ham!

It looks like Dr Seuss knew what he was talking about way back when because anything green is all the rage now especially green restaurants. I found this article on the http://www.nytimes.com/ that excited me. "Going out to Eat, But Staying Green." It discusses how restaurants in New York have stepped up their effort to go green. The Gusto Grilled Organics in Greenwich Village is certified as organic and their construction complies with standards set by the U.S. Green Building Council. At Birdbath organic bakery their new location in Battery Park City will be outfitted with planted herbs on the roof to help with air quality and insulate the store. The inside of the store will be made from recycled materials and they use bicycle powered rickshaws. The Pain Quotidien (my favorite place!) has been using organic ingredients for years but they also has a composting plant in Queens (how greentastic!). In Park Slope the Oko frozen yogurt shop uses sunflower seeds in their walls and counters, while their awning has solar panels. This is a wonderful step in the right direction, if all restaurants took that small green step to compost their waste just imagine how much we could keep out of landfills.

Dirty Word of the Month: That's Bull%$#!

Bisphenol Aka BPA: Is an endocrine disruptor, it acts like a hormone in the body influencing gene behavior ( jigga who!). The chemical is known to leach out of plastic baby bottles and sports water containers and found in the resin that lines many food cans ( jigga what!). Through extensive experiments on rodents it is found that breast cancer, chromosomal damage, birth defects, prostate cancer and two types of diabetes resulted. Yikes! baby bottles wrong on so many levels. Thank goodness for born free and glass baby bottles.

Ooh La La! C'est Magnifique!

Planning a green wedding or an Earth Day celebration, than http://www.vertcatering.com/ is perfect for you. This green catering company with a french flair encourages organic and naturally grown food choices. The excess food is composted and recycled on site and they drive and environmentally friendly auto share. I love it! plus their menu is tres chic!

Bikers Needed!

I was on http://www.treehugger.com/ and I saw something that had me shouting "I want one! I want one! Are you ready for this......a folding bike, yes I know that they have been around for a while but now there are so many models. It's compact enough to fit in your closet. WOW! I can picture it now Manolo's, Jimmy, Christian Louboutin and my folding bike! Bring on the bike brigade I'm ready to burn some rubber.

Visit http://www.citizenbike.com/ their bikes are really affordable and for a mid priced bike visit http://www.dhon.com/.

C is for Cookie.....It's good enough for me!

And also the planet apparently! How cute is the "Love the Planet Cookie Tin by http://www.organicstyle.com/. These delightful cookie are USDA Certified Organic and come in a reusable tin. Yum! Yum!...... What a great Earth Day gift!

Sittin Pretty!

I was just on my guilty little pleasure http://www.fashionista.com/ and something really exciting is happening in Southern California from April 15th through May 4th. Elle is sending a bio diesel fueled eco salon bus, that will make one day stops in different location to celebrate their Green May Issue. They will offer mini -make overs, beauty treatments and goody bags with eco-friendly beauty products. What a greentastic idea! To find a location visit http://www.fashionista.com/.

ABC....it easy as 123!!

Teaching your little one their ABC's just became a whole lot greener and very exciting. I found two great ideas on my favorite website ecofabulous. Something Old and Something New! Remember those wooden alphabet blocks you had as a kid well now they are sustainable. Carved out of basswood and printed with non-toxic ink, the Uncle Goose Alphabet blocks work hard to minimize waste in production and packaging while following strident guidelines. What's the coolest thing every toddler today is rockin in the playground? T-Shirts with sayings that they most likely can't read, so now why not teach them their abc's with http://www.biome5.com/ brilliant Alphabet Project T-Shirts. Available in 100% certified organic cotton with animals that match the featured letter and packaged in biodegradable green film bags. This spring your baby or toddler will be the hit of the playground set!

Spring Has Finally Sprung!!!

With the snow melting and the temperature rising a smidge, it's time to throw open those windows and get a little spring cleaning done. Here is a little list of the Good the Bad and the Ugly of spring cleaning. The Good-now there are plenty of ecofriendly cleaners on the market that will have your house shinning like the top of the Chrysler building......Seventh Generation, Ecover, Biokleen, and Solay Simple to name a few. The Bad-the old stuff and the ingredients found in them such as ammonia-poisonous, irritating to respiratory passage when inhaled and when mixed with bleach it produces a potentially fatal gas. Butyl Cellosolve/Ethylene glycol nonbutyl ether which is a synthetic solvent common in all-purpose, window and other types of cleaners. It has been shown to damage the nervous system and bone marrow as well as kidneys and liver. Jeez!!!! and for everyone who loves the super duper clean effect of bleach, well it's a major irritant and pollutes our earth. Fragrance- ahhh! such a deceptive word but BEWARE it often contains phthalates-a chemical linked to reproductive abnormalities, liver cancer in lab animals and asthma in children. Look for organic essential oils instead. The Ugly- spring cleaning doesn't have to be ugly, once you start using products free from harmful ingredients for your family and the environment!

Boo Hoo!

Now the munchkin is sick....new posts coming soon! Sheesh! A mothers work is never done.

Off the "Beeten" Path!!

In my local community newsletter I found a writeup on a new organic shop- The Beet Organic Cafe and Market located in the Junction at 2945 Dundas St. They offer organic meals, select organic groceries and produce. They take the shop local think global approach to their produce (love it!)while their menu is designed to caters to various dietary needs. Suitable for vegetarian, vegan-gluten and dairy free diets. Their take away cutlery is 100% biodegradable and the furniture is environmental friendly made from sunflower seed husks and recycled paper.The Beet mission-to provide delicious nourishing foods of the highest quality, while reducing their ecological footprint. Now that's something that cant be "beet"!