Here’s my latest article for The Green Girls.  Enjoy!

I’m in a total jewelry state of mind this season.  Typically for Summer, I keep the jewelry to a minimum… big hoop earrings, maybe a bangle or two.  But this time around is different – I want bold, statement-y jewelry and I want lots of it!  Whether you opt for a simple sundress or a vintage kaftan, jewelry that packs a punch will take your look to the next level!

The taqua nut from South American rain forests is a fantastic, sustainable & chic material that lots of savvy jewelry designers… and here are some of my favorite pieces!

Also by Mui Chic are these super gorge statement rings of naturally-dyed Taqua.  What a way to finish an outfit, right?

And don’t forget the wrists!  Stack these bracelets, or wear alone… they’re instant chic with any ensemble from a tank top and cut offs to your favorite Summer dress.  From Left: Tawa by Mui Chic, Shilsol Bay by Green Diva and Kandi by Mui Chic.

My latest article for The Green Girls:

It’s not that I’m not a fan of “mainstream” fashion, but overall I do find “eco-fashion” a lot more interesting – the risk-taking designers, always evolving textiles and heightening profile of the industry in general.

That being said, I am a sucker for a classic design… a Chanel suit (vintage, of course), a Halston gown and definitely the Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dress.  I’ve had a crush on that silhouette since my mother wore a handful of them in the 70s.  There’s something about DVF’s style that is unparalleled.  With her design, she has mastered the combination of bold patterns, clean designs and a flattering cuts… but to me, more important than that, she is the greatest example of an incredible & independent, easy-elegance and exotic-though-still-urbane lifestyle look.

She’s a lot to live up to… but it’s certainly fun trying!

My latest article for The Green Girls…

I recently learned that controversial writer (Henry & June), erotica advocate and elegant bohemian Anais Nin lived in my neighborhood, with husband Rupert Pole, for about 20 years beginning in 1962.  She helped design her hill-perched Silver Lake getaway home with architect Eric Lloyd Wright (grandson of Frank Lloyd Wright).

Interior shots of Anain Nin’s Silver Lake home

The Pole (& Nin) Residence by Eric Lloyd Wright

Needless to say, I’m now officially obsessed with the house and it’s feminine take on early 60s Modern architecture.  Nin’s decor style is not dissimilar to my own… nods to Japanese style and Chinoiserie, ethnic textiles and mixing clean, mod pieces with organic, natural-y furniture and classically refined American & French staples.  So, there aren’t many tasks I enjoy more than searching for new (& old) goodies that work for the likes of Ms. Nin.

Reclaimed wood print block panel at CB2

Art Deco box

The Kalafornia Lounger by WhyrHymer at Green With Glamour

Vintage Curtis Jere lamp

Reclaimed Oriental rug made from 100% recycled plastic bottles

Anais Nin at home in Silver Lake

I don’t know what you have planned for Saturday afternoon… but I know where I’ll be.  As a “guru” for The Green Girls, I’m always included on such great invite lists – and their events are always the perfect combination of fun, thoughtfulness and great information.

Join us on Saturday, December 12th for The Green Girls Holiday Spectacular Event at The Strawberry House in Encino Hills!
The Green Girls are celebrating the holidays with a spectacular event that gives back to our community. Join us for The Green Girls Holiday Spectacular Event & Food Drive for the local Los Angeles shelter. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the non profit organization, Green Wave

LIMITED TO 100 GUESTS

To me, animal prints (not skins) never go out of style!  I do love to spice up an ensemble with a leopard cardigan or some zebra ballet flats, but the boost in chic-ness these pieces can deliver to a fashion look… can easily be acheived in the home as well!

I’ve always been a big fan of Areaware’s animal pillows… I have a bird and a squirrel living comfortably side by side in my Living Room at home, but this Leopard number is just stunning!  Of 100% Organic Cotton with poly fill & made in Brooklyn, this big kitty will make a seriously chic statement wherever you chose to let him or her prowl!

Whatever your design M.O…. from the sleekest of Modern to the most tasteful Traditional, a zebra print is a perfect fit!  This super-soft recycled cotton throw from In2Green, not only adds some serious style to your space, but will keep you oh-so-cozy on a chilly day.  More colors available (and makes the perfect gift!).

To me, animal prints (not skins) never go out of style!  I do love to spice up an ensemble with a leopard cardigan or some zebra ballet flats, but the boost in chic-ness these pieces can deliver to a fashion look… can easily be acheived in the home as well!

I’ve always been a big fan of Areaware’s animal pillows… I have a bird and a squirrel living comfortably side by side in my Living Room at home, but this Leopard number is just stunning!  Of 100% Organic Cotton with poly fill & made in Brooklyn, this big kitty will make a seriously chic statement wherever you chose to let him or her prowl!

Whatever your design M.O…. from the sleekest of Modern to the most tasteful Traditional, a zebra print is a perfect fit!  This super-soft recycled cotton throw from In2Green, not only adds some serious style to your space, but will keep you oh-so-cozy on a chilly day.  More colors available (and makes the perfect gift!).

One of my favorite side projects is writing a weekly article on “green” home design for The Green Girls.  In fact, I’ve been named one of their “gurus”.  Totally flattering, right?  Well, on Saturday June 27th the 1 year anniversary party for this stellar blog goes down at the only LA “green” night club, Ecco Ultra Lounge… and you’re welcome to join us! Here’s the scoop:

Who: TheGreenGirls.com was launched June 28th 2008 by founder Apple Levy.  Inspired by the concept of bringing together people of all shades of green who are making a difference.

Live DJ Performance by celebrity DJ: Rob Patterson from KORN

What: TheGreenGirls.com has experienced tremendous growth in the last year & the 1st year mark is cause for big, green celebration.  Join TheGreenGirls.com as they celebrate their first year anniversary.

When: Saturday, June 27th 2009 9:30 p.m. – 1:30 a.m.

That’s right… that’s me lower, center.  Hi!

Where:
Ecco Ultra Lounge
1640 N Cahuenga Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 464-2065

How: ONLINE RSVP ONLY (Drink Tickets will NOT be available at the venue)

** Must be 21 & over

TheGreenGirls.com loves to party for a good cause & the 1st year bash is no exception!  A portion of the event’s proceeds will benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, a cause that Apple Levy is personally involved with.

 
Invite list includes the Green Girl Editors (Gurus), Green business professionals, network of greenies, celebrities, PR firms, TGG audience, readers & individuals interested in helping our environment.

This is a night to party and have fun. You must dress to impress!

Organic Filip Vodka, Reed’s Non alcoholic drinks & POM Wonderful 100% Juice are provided to The Green Girls guests! (Max 200 RSVP)

One of my favorite side projects is writing a weekly article on “green” home design for The Green Girls.  In fact, I’ve been named one of their “gurus”.  Totally flattering, right?  Well, on Saturday June 27th the 1 year anniversary party for this stellar blog goes down at the only LA “green” night club, Ecco Ultra Lounge… and you’re welcome to join us! Here’s the scoop:

Who: TheGreenGirls.com was launched June 28th 2008 by founder Apple Levy.  Inspired by the concept of bringing together people of all shades of green who are making a difference.

Live DJ Performance by celebrity DJ: Rob Patterson from KORN

What: TheGreenGirls.com has experienced tremendous growth in the last year & the 1st year mark is cause for big, green celebration.  Join TheGreenGirls.com as they celebrate their first year anniversary.

When: Saturday, June 27th 2009 9:30 p.m. – 1:30 a.m.

That’s right… that’s me lower, center.  Hi!

Where:
Ecco Ultra Lounge
1640 N Cahuenga Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 464-2065

How: ONLINE RSVP ONLY (Drink Tickets will NOT be available at the venue)

** Must be 21 & over

TheGreenGirls.com loves to party for a good cause & the 1st year bash is no exception!  A portion of the event’s proceeds will benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, a cause that Apple Levy is personally involved with.

 
Invite list includes the Green Girl Editors (Gurus), Green business professionals, network of greenies, celebrities, PR firms, TGG audience, readers & individuals interested in helping our environment.

This is a night to party and have fun. You must dress to impress!

Organic Filip Vodka, Reed’s Non alcoholic drinks & POM Wonderful 100% Juice are provided to The Green Girls guests! (Max 200 RSVP)

 I don’t mind telling you – I like breakfast in bed.  Nothing feels more lazy and luxurious than watching an old movie and sharing a tray, topped with mimosas, Gimme Lean, tofu scramble & toasted bread, with my husband on a lazy Sunday.  And I take my bed & my bedding quite seriously… I don’t get to spend a whole lot of time in my bed, so when I do – it had better be good, right?  I’ve been sleeping on organic cotton and/or bamboo bedding for a couple of years now and it just feels right.  Soft and chemical-free, sustainable sheets can’t be beat!  But now that our bedding is a couple of years old, it’s getting ready to make the move from our bed to an animal rescue (btw… they also take old towels, blankets & coats – find one near you and keep a pooch or kitty comfortable).  So, I find myself happily shopping for some new sheets.

Amy Butler is a recent discovery.  Her first line for Wellspun (and available as of early June at Bed Bath & Beyond – believe it or not) is playful & grown up at the same time.  Bright colors, certified organic cottons and modern floral motifs make Amy’s bedding that kind of bedding that adds an instant finished feel to a room. Take an all white room, add some Amy Butler bedding… and you’re done!

And then there’s Rubie Green!  The pieces are fresh & fun, but they SO remind me of my childhood days spent in Lily Pulitzer frocks running around my grandparent’s Florida house.  Also, 100% organic cotton and also 100% d-i-v-i-n-e!

 Photo & Rubie Green 411 thanks to great design blog,  Green Your Decor!

Now GO… sleep, drink champagne, devour a DVD and enjoy all of the amazing things a “green” bed can be!

This is Deana’s latest post for The Green Girls.

 I don’t mind telling you – I like breakfast in bed.  Nothing feels more lazy and luxurious than watching an old movie and sharing a tray, topped with mimosas, Gimme Lean, tofu scramble & toasted bread, with my husband on a lazy Sunday.  And I take my bed & my bedding quite seriously… I don’t get to spend a whole lot of time in my bed, so when I do – it had better be good, right?  I’ve been sleeping on organic cotton and/or bamboo bedding for a couple of years now and it just feels right.  Soft and chemical-free, sustainable sheets can’t be beat!  But now that our bedding is a couple of years old, it’s getting ready to make the move from our bed to an animal rescue (btw… they also take old towels, blankets & coats – find one near you and keep a pooch or kitty comfortable).  So, I find myself happily shopping for some new sheets.

Amy Butler is a recent discovery.  Her first line for Wellspun (and available as of early June at Bed Bath & Beyond – believe it or not) is playful & grown up at the same time.  Bright colors, certified organic cottons and modern floral motifs make Amy’s bedding that kind of bedding that adds an instant finished feel to a room. Take an all white room, add some Amy Butler bedding… and you’re done!

And then there’s Rubie Green!  The pieces are fresh & fun, but they SO remind me of my childhood days spent in Lily Pulitzer frocks running around my grandparent’s Florida house.  Also, 100% organic cotton and also 100% d-i-v-i-n-e!

 Photo & Rubie Green 411 thanks to great design blog,  Green Your Decor!

Now GO… sleep, drink champagne, devour a DVD and enjoy all of the amazing things a “green” bed can be!

This is Deana’s latest post for The Green Girls.

Here’s Deana’s latest article for The Green Girls…

I have to admit… I’m not a big Wal-mart shopper.  I try to stay away from big, bargain-y, corporate stores (I’m currently working on weening myself off of Target – which is harder than it looks).  Anyway, I couldn’t even tell you if I have a local Walmart, but I digress.  I am very interested in businesses that work to help the planet’s condition – as I run one myself – and I remember reading a couple of years back (in The Wal-mart Effect by Charles Fishman. I didn’t read the whole book, just excerpts.) that by accident Wal-mart had made one of the most influential “green” business decisions of the 1990’s.  You see, in the mid 90s, one of the corporate big brains over at Wal-mart had decided to do away with deodorant boxes.  Remember those… pretty much every mainstream deodorant roller came in a glossy cardboard box!  Well Wal-mart realized they could cut costs & merchandise more by doing away with said boxes.  Their high level corporate greed/good business sense ending up saving a little bit of our planet.  As Fisher says, “Millions of trees were not cut down, acres of cardboard were not manufactured only to be discarded, 1 billion deodorant boxes didn’t end up in landfills each year.”  Well, good for them I thought… but as I considered them to be doing so much other “bad”, I made note & moved on.

Let’s move forward over a decade to the present, shall we?  I’m reading a favorite blog of mine, Green your Decor, just the other day and she’s talking about all of this lovely, FSC-certified wood  patio furniture and recycled glass tableware that she just bought at Wal-mart. Um… what?  So, I check out her selections and they’re not bad… not mind-blowing, but decent-looking basics that could definitely work as core pieces in a stellar outdoor situation.

Ok, then I go to Walmart.com and head for the “search” function (This is a common practice of mine. I often go to”big” websites – from Target to Neiman Marcus – and search the words “recycled”, “organic”, “bamboo”, you get the idea).  Let me 1st say, searching their site for the word “organic” proved to be confusing. It brings up a whole “shop earth-friendly” page riddled with ads for Clorox’s new “green” campaign & whatever “helpful” thing Tide detergent might be doing right now, but once you carefully sift through their kind of overzealous propoganda… you can find some decent items.  And whether Wal-mart is doing this a a marketing ploy and not because they love the planet the way we do (which I am convinced is the case), the bottom line is they are bringing sustainable goods to a major market that probably wasn’t looking for them.  It’s got to end up doing some good, right?  But as always, please be mindful of where your products are made – and the conditions in which the people who make your favorite goodies work.

Here’s Deana’s latest article for The Green Girls…

I have to admit… I’m not a big Wal-mart shopper.  I try to stay away from big, bargain-y, corporate stores (I’m currently working on weening myself off of Target – which is harder than it looks).  Anyway, I couldn’t even tell you if I have a local Walmart, but I digress.  I am very interested in businesses that work to help the planet’s condition – as I run one myself – and I remember reading a couple of years back (in The Wal-mart Effect by Charles Fishman. I didn’t read the whole book, just excerpts.) that by accident Wal-mart had made one of the most influential “green” business decisions of the 1990’s.  You see, in the mid 90s, one of the corporate big brains over at Wal-mart had decided to do away with deodorant boxes.  Remember those… pretty much every mainstream deodorant roller came in a glossy cardboard box!  Well Wal-mart realized they could cut costs & merchandise more by doing away with said boxes.  Their high level corporate greed/good business sense ending up saving a little bit of our planet.  As Fisher says, “Millions of trees were not cut down, acres of cardboard were not manufactured only to be discarded, 1 billion deodorant boxes didn’t end up in landfills each year.”  Well, good for them I thought… but as I considered them to be doing so much other “bad”, I made note & moved on.

Let’s move forward over a decade to the present, shall we?  I’m reading a favorite blog of mine, Green your Decor, just the other day and she’s talking about all of this lovely, FSC-certified wood  patio furniture and recycled glass tableware that she just bought at Wal-mart. Um… what?  So, I check out her selections and they’re not bad… not mind-blowing, but decent-looking basics that could definitely work as core pieces in a stellar outdoor situation.

Ok, then I go to Walmart.com and head for the “search” function (This is a common practice of mine. I often go to”big” websites – from Target to Neiman Marcus – and search the words “recycled”, “organic”, “bamboo”, you get the idea).  Let me 1st say, searching their site for the word “organic” proved to be confusing. It brings up a whole “shop earth-friendly” page riddled with ads for Clorox’s new “green” campaign & whatever “helpful” thing Tide detergent might be doing right now, but once you carefully sift through their kind of overzealous propoganda… you can find some decent items.  And whether Wal-mart is doing this a a marketing ploy and not because they love the planet the way we do (which I am convinced is the case), the bottom line is they are bringing sustainable goods to a major market that probably wasn’t looking for them.  It’s got to end up doing some good, right?  But as always, please be mindful of where your products are made – and the conditions in which the people who make your favorite goodies work.