[Green Thursdays] Pretty Bikes

I never rode a bike in LA, but moving to London and travelling around Europe, I have begun to understand the appeal of it. It's fast, easy, and people look adorable riding bikes. In addition, Barclays Cycle Hire has over 315 docking stations all over Central London; you pop in your card and you can rent a bike for the day and return it to any docking station. Although I like those bikes, I'm thinking when I return to the States, I'd like to invest in something a little less... blue? branded? and something a little more... me? cute? cream? with a basket and a puppy?

Biking provides exercise, eco-friendly transportation and fun - what more could one ask for?

Here are my wishlist bikes...

Velorbis Studine Classic Ladies Bicycle - $1259
In my defense, I did say this was a wishlist bicycle. The website says this is the perfect bike to get to and from university. Since I plan on being a student for the rest of my life, this bike seems pretty fitting. It's lightweight, upright, with an aluminum frame with enclosed gears.


Bowery Lane Bicycle Bronks Raw - $595
This bike is bare steel with a clear coat finish and features the a leather saddle, sustainable cork handles, chain guard, fenders, kick stand, rear rack and hand-crafted wooden crate. In addition, Bowery Lane produces the bikes "conscious of [their] impact on the country, the environment and the local community."

Elizabeth Edwards 1949-2010

A fantastic piece in honor of Elizabeth Edwards, who passed away today.

http://www.doublex.com/blog/xxfactor/brave-elizabeth.

[Scissors + Glue] Sustainable Holiday Gift Packaging

Welcome to Part 1 of 3 in the series of sustainable, homemade holiday gifting! This installment is all about packaging your gifts with thrift store finds. (Read Part 2 here)

This Christmas, I plan to give a lot of my friends and co-workers gifts from my kitchen. This is not only because I'm totally broke, but also because I'm pretty awesome with an oven, measuring cups, and a mixer. I'm tired of buying people DVDs they lose or don't really want.

The problem for me is not thinking of unique recipes, but thinking of unique ways to package said recipes using sustainable materials. All that wasted wrapping paper and all those torn-up boxes really creep me out. 

I'm here to the rescue (as per usual) with some thrift store packaging finds.  

Baskets (I am adding my own ribbon to each basket like so)

Tins  + currogated cardbook makes the best mix-and-match packaging. See more details from Martha Stewart online. I don't recommend buying from the sites listed though. I think you're more resourceful than that.

Jars. This hot cocoa gift idea is from Sunset. Homemade granola, bark, etc. would also work great in recycled jars.

Refurbished bread pans + a little wrapping paper and ribbon. Check out this one on The Crafter's File Box. I found quite a few bread pans at my local thrift store. 

CD Sleeves. I LOVE this idea. And now all my co-workers can expect cookies for the holiday season. Check out this example from Intimate Weddings or this example from Martha Stewart.

There are TONS of other packaging finds at your local thrift store. I challenge you to use ALL recycled materials to package your gifts this year. You'll be rewarded with smug, self-satisfaction and the admiration of all your jealous (and now totally guilty) friends and relatives. 

[Get Involved Tuesdays] The Wide World of WWOOFing

I lived here for free for 4 weeks

For those who don't know, WWOOF stands for Willing Workers on Organic Farms. And if you don't know what it stands for, you're also missing out on a world of opportunity to learn how to milk goats.

Well, not just to milk goats. You're also missing out staying with families all over the world, taking care of their animals, plants, children, or whatever else you feel like doing, and learning about sustainability, farming, design, crafts, cooking, and secret recipes for Devonshire apple cake.

I WWOOFed my way around New Zealand for about 5 months, working four hours per day in exchange for a place to live and free meals. I stayed on the beach, near the mountains, and in the middle of nowhere and spent virtually no money.

Get involved in WWOOFing and give back to family farms who supply us with so much happiness with their wares at farmer's markets and specialty stores. It only costs about $40 to join each country's network (or join the US one because that's probably the best deal in terms of sheer volume of experiences) and that fee gets you access to all the farm resources you need.

WWOOFing tips and tricks after the break!

[Music Monday] British Radio Hits

Since I've moved to London, I've become addicted to Xfm, which is a British radio station. You can stream it online and I essentially listen to it whenever I'm in the library. And I'm in the library at least 8 hours a day. So I listen to it a lot.

This is a list of the song's they've played recently that I'm now addicted to and some of the matching videos

radiohead - fake plastic trees

Frankie and the Heartstrings - Ungrateful

florence and the machine - heavy in your arms

the xx - VCR

mumford and sons – rollaway your stone, the cave

show me the light – mystery jets

dandy warhols – bohemian like you

carl barat – run with the boys

biffy clyro – mountains

[News] Afghanistan's Not-So-Giant Leap for Womankind

Credit: Yuri Cortez/Getty Images (from the Chronicle)

After reading Gayle Tzemach Lemmon's article in the Huffington Post about the recent ABC News poll in Afghanistan, I'm not left amazed or flabbergasted. I'm just scratching my head.

See, I had read this article in the San Francisco Chronicle in September, and I find it hard to believe that the ABC News poll reflects any substantial change in the way women are treated in certain areas and by certain groups in the Middle East. Maybe people think women have a chance at equality, but that means very little will ever be done about it.

[Repost] from STFU, Conservatives

What does this tell you?

[Girl Crush] NeNe Leakes

NeNe Leakes is far from perfect, but doesn't that make you love her even more? Here are 5 reasons why she's one hot lady. 


1. She always says what's on her mind. 

2. She once made her own chocolates and gave them away in Brentwood.

3. She's proud of her body (even if she did get plastic surgery this season of Real Housewives, she did it for herself and no one else). 

"I'm a size 10. I could be a size 8 if i wanted to, but i'm effin hungry," - NeNe

4. She knows she's fabulous. 

 "I’m one hell of a woman, and I am nobody’s fool." - Nene

5. She works for a living, like the rest of us. 

[Things We Adore Sunday]

1. This quote from Hilary Clinton:

"MODERATOR 1: Okay. Which designers do you prefer?
SECRETARY CLINTON: What designers of clothes?
MODERATOR 1: Yes.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Would you ever ask a man that question? (Laughter.) (Applause.)
MODERATOR 1: Probably not. Probably not. (Applause.)"

source

2. vintage collections: fabrics, photographs, teacups


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3. This cottage



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Books that Changed My Life

Some are predictable, some are random. But they made me who I am.

Macbeth - My first Shakespearean play, read in my fourth grade class. And yes it was unabridged. My teacher was insane, but that early life challenge made high school and college literature a breeze. The complexity of the characters, the balance between sympathy and hatred never ceases to amaze me. Tragic and haunting, I will never enjoy another play as much as I enjoy Macbeth

I am Charlotte Simmons - Tom Wolfe's dissection of the word fuck inspired my undergraduate thesis. Biting and realistic, my years in college seem to reflect the ups and downs of Charlotte Simmons, except a little less cool.

Life of Pi - Raised in a biracial and thus, bicultural family, my feelings toward religion were always apathetic. My mom is Sikh, by dad was raised Christian until he decided he was atheist. Anywho, LIfe of Pi, in addition to be extremely poetic and yet approachable, catalyzed my thoughts on spirituality.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Just an effing gorgeous book. Within pages, it would bring me to the extreme of emotions - happiness to grief in just sentences. A book of mourning, politics and modern world. Love it.

Little Women - I read it every year and every year, I relate to a different sister. Idyllic and yet relatable.

The Great Gatsby - I want to write like Fitzgerald. All his work is perfection.

The Blue Sweater - Inspired me to work for NGOs for the rest of my life. Gave me a blueprint of opportunities around the world and affirmed my desires to help others.

Slaughterhouse-5 - Dealing with trauma and the resulting emotions. Comforting in its craziness.

Favorite writers: Edgar Allen Poe, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Sylvia Plath, Maxine Hong Kingston, Jane Austen

In other news, I love this print from Vol. 25.