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Author Archive | Jennie Lyon

An Ocean in Motion.

November 16, 2009 4

Who doesn’t love the ocean? If you live near an ocean and can visit anytime that you like, you are lucky. We lived in Southern Florida for five years and our favorite part, bar none about Florida, the ocean. We spent almost every single weekend that we lived there at the beach. I don’t think that a weekend went by that we weren’t at the beach at least one of the days. The ocean is so calming, so beautiful and so exciting, we had endless hours of free fun at the beach. This is the one major thing that we miss now that we live in Colorado. On our recent ten day stay at the beach in Southern Florida, we had a blast. It was so fun to play in the warm waves of the ocean and watching Eben learn how to snorkel was amazing. He has zero fear of the ocean and wanted to spend every moment in the water. We built huge sand castles, collected seashells, dived through the waves and watched the fish.

Eben enjoyed picking up and observing the jellyfish that washed up on shore. {unfortunately, deceased}

It was a lovely trip that only secured the fact that we will be visiting the beach every year from now on.

Do you live near an ocean? a beach? which one?
Do you enjoy your time at the beach?

Enjoy.
xo.

Book: Green Chic Tips and Giveaway

November 16, 2009 17

I recently received a copy of “Green Chic: Saving the Earth in Style” by Christie Matheson. It is a fun little green book that is packed full of fabulous ways you can save the planet while being fabulous at the same time. The chapters are divided into groups covering everything from food and wine to travel and cosmetics. This is a great resource for anyone looking for practical ideas that can help you sustain the environment and be fabulous at the same time.

To get you started, here are 3 simple ways that you can go green in style today:

  1. When shopping, toss small purchases like lipstick (or in my case, lip balm) into your purse and let the store keep the shopping bag.
  2. Take slightly shorter showers, try timing how long you are in the shower, and if you are spending 10-15+ minutes in there, make it a priority to spend less time. Shorter showers are also better for your skin and hair, since hot water is so drying.
  3. Unplug the chargers – when plugged in, a charger draws energy even if its not being used. When you unplug your cell phone, PDA, iPod, laptop, digital camera, etc; unplug the charger as well.
Make your day Green Chic and don’t forget to leave a comment for your chance to win your own copy!

Earth Friendly Etsy: Retro Whale Plantable Cards Giveaway

November 15, 2009 23

Have you been looking for a great source of sustainable greeting cards or the perfect favor for your wedding or garden party? Look not further, check out these great plantable cards from Retro Whale. Each card is made from recycled paper that is embedded with wildflower seeds. These cards come complete with planting instructions, an envelope and is packaged in a 100% biodegradable clear bag. You can write your own personalized message inside and 10% of the proceeds go directly to a charity.

One lucky reader will win a set of plantable cards from Retro Whale. 

To Enter:

Then, leave a comment below for each that you do.

Contest ends March 25th @ 12am EST. Winner will be chosen at random and announced the following day.

Good Luck! 

* Update: Winner:: Evelyn. Congratulations.

Green Community:: Gumbo Limbo Nature Center

November 15, 2009 6

As you probably already know, last week my family went on a 1o day beach vacation to Palm Beach, Florida. We had a fabulous and relaxing vacation that we enjoyed very much. One of our favorite things to do when we are visiting Florida is stop by and visit our favorite nature centers. {We lived in Southern Florida for five years and visited our local nature center on a very regular basis.} It is a great way to spend an afternoon and supporting a cause that is very near and dear to our hearts is very fun and a great way to learn something new.
One of our favorite nature centers is Gumbo Limbo. Gumbo Limbo Environmental Complex is a cooperative venture between the City of Boca Raton, Palm Beach County School District, Florida Atlantic University and Gumbo Limbo Nature Center. The Environmental Complex is designed to provide marine and coastal environmental education for the community through classes, workshops, field trips and research. My favorite programs are the turtle walk and hatching release program. There is so much to see at Gumbo Limbo and it is so much fun to visit. You can donate to these fabulous Gumbo Limbo programs here.


On this trip, Jayson, Eben and I had a blast visiting Gumbo Limbo’s four large marine tanks and enjoyed watching the sea turtles, giant lobster, bonnet head sharks, stingrays and numerous fish. There is also a large outdoor area where you can observe tortoises and butterflies. We were also fortunate enough to be allowed inside the Florida Atlantic University building to observe sea turtle hatchlings that were a part of their gender studies program. {The Leatherback Sea Turtle hatchlings are tethered to keep them from running into the side of the pool, over and over again, usually causing death.} You can see the tethered Sea Leatherback Turtle hatchlings swimming here.

We love to support the local nature centers in our area and look forward to doing so in each new place that we visit on vacation.

Do you support your local nature center?
Which are your favorites?
Enjoy.

Fab Green Find: Tilvee Giveaway!

November 14, 2009 34

Being the rough and tumble boy that he is, Eben gets a lot of cuts, scratches and scraps. He is also prone to eczema on his face and arms. This leaves his skin looking less than fabulous and he is not a fan of having lotions or creams rubbed on his face or body and usually yells that it burns and runs away to wipe it off.

We received a package from Tilvee {Eco Ethical Skin Care} that contained a Kid’s Mandarin Remedy Balm {for Eben} and an Antioxidant Facial Bar {for myself}. I was very excited to try the Kid’s Mandarin Remedy Balm on Eben since he had recently scraped his shoulder at the pool and burned his arm on a lantern while we were camping. {Boys.} He also had a small patch of eczema on his cheek. After his bath, I rubbed the balm into all three areas, first off, no yelling…Eben actually giggled and told me I was tickling him. {Much better.} The eczema on his cheek was gone in the morning and the shoulder scrap, being the older wound of the two looked a lot better, the burn on his arm was slightly smaller and the redness was gone.

Jayson loved the Mandarin Remedy Balm as well, he gets horribly dry, cracked hands and used the balm, even after I told him it was for Eben only. {Men.} He loved it and wanted it for himself, he said his hands felt a lot better the next day and they did look clearer than they have been in weeks.

I used the Antioxidant Facial Bar for 3 weeks and love that it doesn’t have an overpowering scent and the bar lasts FOREVER. I have been using it for 2 weeks and I would say, it should last a couple more and I didn’t have any new breakouts or dryness while using it. Also, it is a steal right now at only $7.19.

Tilvee was founded by Botanist and organic chemist Kristie McNamara in Morrison, Colorado. I love Colorado Companies! With Tilvee Kristie has created a socially and environmentally responsible company that offers luxurious, safe, innovative organic products. Kristie is passionate about green business practices, consumer education and being involved in the community of Eco conscious individuals and businesses. Tilvee products are made using only ingredients that support sustainable organic and fair trade culture. Tilvee contains NO petrochemicals, synthetic fragrances, chemicals, parabens, sulfates or phthlates.

I also love that Tilvee uses only green packaging (glass jars and recycled packaging), has an Eco friendly solar powered office, uses mineral paper and environmentally friendly printing, does no animal testing and has a full ingredient disclosure list. Tilvee also has a fabulous recipe section where you can learn to make your own masques. I will definitely be doing this.

Would you like to give Tilvee a try? Kristie has been so lovely to offer ONE of my wonderful readers a Mandarin Remedy Balm to try out for yourself or on your children.
How to Enter

1. Subscribe to Sweet Greens (if you haven’t already) and click confirm in the email confirmation from Feedburner.
2. Visit Tilvee and leave me a comment telling me which product you would love to try?  

Additional Entries
Leave a comment for each of the things that you do

Rules for Entry
  • Please leave a way for me to contact you if you win
  • Contest ends August 7th @ 12am EST. Winner will be chosen at random using a random number generator and will be announced the following day. (I will announce the winner, if I do not hear from you within 72 business hours, I will pick another winner.)
  • You must leave a comment telling me which item you love in order to qualify.
Good Luck and Enjoy.

*UPDATE: WINNER: #25 Linda. Congratulations and thank you to everyone who participated.

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