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Author Archive | Jennie Lyon

Ask Sweet Greens: Teacher Gifts

May 24, 2010 0
Ask Sweet Greens Question:
Hi Sweet Greens. I’m looking for Eco friendly teacher gift ideas that won’t break the bank. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks for your help. Nicole W.
Sweet Greens Answer:
Yay! Nicole, great question. Can you believe the end of the school year is already here? Eben and I decided to pick Eco friendly teacher gifts that would be something that the teacher would actually enjoy and use inside and outside of school. We decided on Burt’s Bees products because we love and use the products in our own home and the packaging is fantastic. We purchased the Nourishing Body Gift Set for his homeroom teacher and the Brown Baggin’ It With Burt Gift Sets for his other teachers. The Brown Baggin’ it With Burt Gift Set was on sale at Whole Foods for $10. You can find more Burt’s Bees gift sets here.
If you are looking for something homemade, why not make a flower pot carrier from an upcycled drink caddy full of beautiful summer flowers that the teacher can enjoy all summer long.
How about you lovely readers, do you give end of year teacher gifts?
What type of gifts do you give? Homemade? Store bought? Eco friendly?

Have a Lovely Green Weekend

May 21, 2010 0

Tonight, we are headed to Boulder for a little shopping, strolling and a late dinner. I love to visit Boulder because it is such an Eco friendly town with tons of great local shops and restaurants. I am looking forward to a low key evening, just hanging out with my boys. Especially now that it is warming up and the sun is out!

We have zero plans for Saturday or Sunday, which is nice for a change. I think we may ride our bicycles to the library or farmer’s market. We also want to plant the other 2 raised garden beds that we haven’t planted yet. Eben’s bed is doing great, (see the pictures below) everything that he planted is popping up. He loves to take the watering can to water it and checks on it every day after school. I can’t wait until he can start to harvest the goodies.

Eben’s last day of school is May 27th, which is coming up so fast! My goal for early next week is to sit down with my calendar and make decisions as to what fun activities Eben and I want to conquer this summer. I have a huge list of cool things to try and fun places to explore. This will be the first summer in a long time that I am not enrolling Eben in his summer gardening camp. Instead, I have decided to work super early each morning, completing all of my work before he wakes up. I really want to soak up every second of fun with him, he is 9 now, and the days of him wanting to spend all summer with me are limited, no?  And we have several family road trips, getaways and even a 10 day vacation already on our summer schedule, so setting a schedule of fun things to do is a must!

Have you started to make summer plans yet? Do you like a fun packed summer? Or do you like to sit back relax and let things flow? Do you have special activities that you do with your kids? Are you going on vacation this summer? Where to?

How is your garden growing? What did you plant? Do you still need to finish planting like us?

Have a lovely green weekend and I will chat with you Monday.

P.S. Don’t forget to enter all of the giveaways, if you haven’t already!

Tree Parlor: Handmade Collection for Pets: Saddle Wags {Giveaway}

May 21, 2010 0

Do you walk your dog? Of course you do, right? If you are like me, you need a way to carry your keys, cell phone and doggie bags when you are out an about. This is why you need a Saddle Wags, well that and the fact that they are super cute, right?

Tree Parlor in Greenville, S.C. makes the sweetest upcycled Saddle Wags for your pup. Tree Parlor also has a fantastic handmade collection of goodies for your pets. At Tree Parlor you will find the cutest dog collars, leashes and winter coats! My favorite item however are the Saddle Wags. Each Saddle Wags is made using 100% recycled cotton t-shirts, which makes them soft and stretchy. Which is good, since Lilly (my English Bulldog pictured below) is a little chubby.

Doesn’t Lilly look adorable in her green ‘Saddle Wags’? Wouldn’t your best friend look adorable in a Saddle Wags too? Tree Parlor is giving one of my readers a custom Saddle Wags in your choice of colors. How fantastic is that? And just in time for summer. Run over to Tree Parlor check out their fantastic pet collection and leave a comment to enter to win!

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A huge thank you to Tree Parlor for hosting this lovely giveaway.

Giveaway ends June 11th @ 12am EST.

*UPDATE: WINNER:: Congratulations Amanda. Enjoy your Saddle Wags!

Flora Grubb: Succulent Gardens And Terrariums

May 20, 2010 4

I am in love with the succulent gardens and terrariums designed by Flora Grubb. Aren’t they fantastic? I want the succulent terrariums hanging all throughout my home and the succulent gardens on all of my tables. Perfection.

How about you lovely readers, do you love succulents like I do?
Would you hang a succulent terrarium in your home or on your patio?

Are you a Locavore? How Does Your Meal Impact the Environment?

May 19, 2010 3

When choosing the foods that your family consumes, do you purchase foods that are locally grown and produced? If not, have you considered, where your food comes from? How far it has to travel to reach your dinner table? Or, what type of impact that food will have on the environment or the health of your family?

Choosing to eat locally grown and produced foods can have a huge positive impact on your community, your health and the environment.

Why?

When you become a locavore (someone who eats locally grown and produced foods), you choose foods that are locally grown and produced from venues such as your local farmer’s markets, co-ops, CSA programs, local grocery stores, restaurants or by growing your own.

By becoming a locavore you avoid purchasing foods that are shipped long distances, consuming enormous amounts of fossil fuels and generating massive amounts of C02 emissions. Also, in order to transport foods long distances, it is often picked before it has ripened and then processed in factories to artificially ripen it with preservatives and irradiation. Neither of these processes are healthy for you or the environment.

When you choose to become a locavore, you have more control over the impact that your food has on the environment, your community and the health of your family.

Just think of the positive impact we could all have if, we gave up our huge lawns and planted a family food garden instead. Not only would our gardens grow but so would our relationship with the Earth and our communities.

Need more help becoming a locavore, you can get the Locavore app for your iPhone, which can help you find food that is in season where you live, find your local farmer’s market and much more.

Are you a locavore? How do you eat and live locally?

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