CasaSugar

How-To: Be the Hostess With the Eco Mostess

CasaSugar — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:00:38 -0700

Want to learn how to make your Summer soirees a little more eco friendly? Elizabeth Rogers, the best-selling author of The Green Book, recently gave me some tips for throwing parties that won't negatively impact the planet. So many times when we're busy organizing a backyard bash or a big dinner party, we forget the impact that all of our disposable cups and plastic party favors can have on the environment. But not to fear! Just because you're keeping the earth in mind doesn't mean that your party has to be any less fun. In fact, it can be even more so - and these tips are even budget friendly! Elizabeth recommends that, "While preparing for your party, stop by a local swap meet or thrift store for fun vintage items you can reuse all summer long."

Want to hear Elizabeth's smart entertaining tips? Then read more.

Instead of running through dozens of plastic cups and paper plates, vintage glass-wear and dishes found at swap meets, will add a unique touch to your dinner party. Using dishes already in existence instead of buying brand new ones or disposable is 100% eco friendly. Plus they can be reused all summer long, saving you upwards of $100 in disposable paper, plastic and Styrofoam products.
Approximately 70 million bottles of water are drunk in America everyday and, because petroleum is used to manufacture these bottles, the impact on the environment is significant. For your party use vintage glass pitchers filled with filtered water. My favorite is PUR because it adds an extra level of filtration, so it has a crisp taste. Your guests will love the vintage feel, and you’ll be saving yourself the cost of buying all those plastic water bottles.
Vintage tablecloths and napkins, found on your swap meet excursion, are a more fashionable way to set your table than paper or plastic throw-away table covers. Antique lace will lend a summery elegance to your party, and after a quick spin through the washing machine it will be ready for your next soiree. Paper napkins and paper towels are two of the reasons paper waste in the US has jumped from 30 million tons to 84 million tons a year since the '60s. So, as well as being more durable, cloth napkins will prevent your party from ending in the trash.
Centerpieces are a sophisticated finishing touch, when decorating for your party. Instead of buying cut flowers that travel in gas-guzzling cooler trucks, and will be wilted and gone before the end of the week, potted plants are a beautiful alternative. Potted orchids require little care and will look stunning in your home after the party has ended. The cost of purchasing several potted plants for your table tends to be less than purchasing bouquets of cut flowers from a florist or the grocery store, plus the flowers will be ready to shine again at your next party.
Light your party with soy candles in Mason jars. You’ll save on electricity, plus soy candles don’t emit carbon or smoke as they burn and purchasing soy candles supports soy farmers. Mason jars, have been used for canning since the 1850’s and these antique glass jars can be purchased for a few dollars at local flee markets. The soft candlelight will lend a charming Midsummer Night’s Eve quality to the evening.

For more excellent tips, as well as to learn more about Elizabeth and The Green Book, check out her website.

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Casa Verde: Cameron Diaz on Going Green

CasaSugar — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 03:50:46 -0700

Cameron Diaz has written the foreword for The Green Book (2007, Three Rivers Press), a new book on the importance of living an environmental lifestyle. I certainly agree that we should try to live as sustainably as possible, for our sake as well as that of our children. Let's see what Cameron has to say.

"I never got into the environmental movement [before] because I really didn't connect to what was being said and how it was being said. I'm a selfish American. I don't want to give it all up. But at the same time, I found that I was already practicing the basics, everything from recycling to composting to saving energy to hybrid cars. I had been pursuing those things myself without knowing that they were part of the movement. Then I started listening more closely to what was being said because I was looking for a way in. I wanted to do more than what I was doing just for myself. I wanted to help other people do more. ..."

To hear more from Cameron, just read more
"Look at how long it's taken us to create what we have today and all we've done efficiency-wise, product-wise, and quality-wise-all of the things that we as Americans gain comfort in and expect to have available to us. We're doing pretty well. We're in a good place. It's an exciting time to be alive. We can figure out how to maintain our lifestyles and the health of the planet if we do it right. And that's what I want. I don't want to be running around barefoot, pushing my car like Barney Rubble. I don't want to go back to the Stone Age. I just want to maintain what we have for a long period of time-forever. How nice would that be? I'm very selfish."

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Share Your Thanksgiving Vignettes!

CasaSugar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:15:46 -0800

I hope by now you've joined my new group Lovely Little Vignettes, which is the place to share photos of the small vignettes you create in your home, or those you see online or at a friend's home. There were some great Halloween decorating vignettes shared in the group, but now I'm anxious to see your more autumnal and Thanksgiving-related vignettes! (If you're not sure what I mean by vignettes, this slideshow should make it clear.)
So, show me what you got! Be it some art books on your coffee table or your arrangement of green cachepots on your windowsill, I want to see all of your beautiful photographs of the little details throughout your home.

Source: Flickr User bangli 1

Let's See Your Lovely Little Vignettes!

CasaSugar — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:00:29 -0800

I hope by now you've joined my new group Lovely Little Vignettes, which is the place to share photos of the small vignettes you create in your home, or those you see online or at a friend's home. If you're not sure what I mean by vignettes, this slideshow should make it clear.
So, show me what you got! Be it some art books on your coffee table or your arrangement of green cachepots on your windowsill, I want to see all of your beautiful photographs of the little details throughout your home.

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Casa Verde: Sleeping Naked Is Green

CasaSugar — Tue, 05 May 2009 07:00:00 -0700

I know that some of you out there are pretty cynical about living green. One woman who decided to challenge her cynicism is National Post journalist Vanessa Farquharson. Vanessa started the blog Green As a Thistle, and chronicled a year in the life of an eco makeover. Each day for an entire calendar year she made one positive environmental change until after 365 days, she'd added that number of environmental changes to her daily routine. She stopped using her dishwasher, unplugged her refrigerator, and sold her car. As she writes on her blog, "It was a gruelling year, but in the end, it proved that being an environmentalist doesn't necessarily mean being a smug hippie, nor does it have to mean compromising aesthetic values or good wine."

Vanessa also wrote a book about her adventures in eco living, called Sleeping Naked Is Green: How an Eco-Cynic Unplugged Her Fridge, Sold Her Car, and Found Love in 366 Days. While I haven't yet read the book (it hasn't been released yet) I did follow Vanessa's blog regularly during her eco challenge, and can confidently report that her writing is inspiring and engaging.

Want to get started on eco-fying your home? Get some tips from Vanessa, during a video home tour, when you read more.

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Link Time!

CasaSugar — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:00:48 -0800

I adore these ceramic bowls used as sinks. - AT:SF
Take me to this beautiful farmhouse in Tuscany. - Style Files
America's tallest tower is going green. - UnBeige
Tour Facebook's ubercool offices. - Design Milk
Turn your book into a clock! - Craftzine
Check out the chandeliers of Versailles. - NotCot

Let's See Your Lovely Little Vignettes!

CasaSugar — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:00:18 -0700

I hope by now you've joined my new group Lovely Little Vignettes, which is the place to share photos of the small vignettes you create in your home, or those you see online or at a friend's home. If you're not sure what I mean by vignettes, this slideshow should make it clear.
So, show me what you got! Be it some art books on your coffee table or your arrangement of green cachepots on your windowsill, I want to see all of your beautiful photographs of the little details throughout your home.

Source: Flickr User Michael Francis McCarthy

Let's See Your Lovely Little Vignettes!

CasaSugar — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 07:00:59 -0700

I hope by now you've joined my new group Lovely Little Vignettes, which is the place to share photos of the small vignettes you create in your home, or those you see online or at a friend's home. If you're not sure what I mean by vignettes, this slideshow should make it clear. So, show me what you got! Be it some art books on your coffee table or your arrangement of green cachepots on your windowsill, I want to see all of your beautiful photographs of the little details throughout your home.

Source

Link Time!

CasaSugar — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:00:32 -0700

Hutton Wilkinson debuts a book about his mentor Tony Duquette. - Vanity Fair
I'm aching over this lust-worthy velvet fabric. - AT:NY
Line your staircase with a vertical garden. - AT:SF
Danny Seo talks about greening your windows. - Daily Danny
Michelle Kaufmann sells prefab housing designs to Blu Homes. - UnBeige

Photos courtesy of Abrams

Sale Alert: Chronicle Books Friends and Family Summer Sale

CasaSugar — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 05:30:41 -0700

You've got friends in high places. Now through Aug. 5, Chronicle Books is treating its pals (you) to some sweet discounts on Summer reading. Just enter the code FRIENDS at checkout and you'll get 35 percent off all titles, and free shipping. Chronicle has a great selection of art and design books, as well as lifestyle/home books. Want suggestions before you buy? Read my reviews on Chronicle's titles Mexicasa, To Each His Home, Stencil 101, Home Sewn, Handmade Hellos, and Squeaky Green.