Fueling My Coffee Addiction!

I know it is CRAZY expensive, but I love it...

Jura Imprezza C5

My Uncle and his brother both had them and when we got it, I haven't been able to look at a Peet's the same way again.  Love, love, love these machines.

jura.com

Reusable Shopping Bags

So I am very proud to say that I have not taken a shopping bag from a retailer or grocery store since November!  I have a TON of reusable bags that were given away at conferences I attended, as well as some that I have purchased, but they are all very stiff and bulky, so I wanted to find one of those cute nylon bags that can fold into a neat little pouch and not take up too much room in my purse.  A quick search found at least three major producers of just such a bag:

Baggu

Baggu ( www.baggu.com ) $9.00 per single bag

Chico Bag

Chico Bag ( www.chicobag.com ) $5.99 per single "Original" bag

Flip & Tumble

Flip & Tumble (www.flipandtumble.com ) $10.00 per single "24-7" bag

I like the look of all of them, especially the Flip & Tumble two-tone option.  What really disturbs me is that all of them, including bags made by Reusit ( www.reusit.com ), are all manufactured in China.  All of the websites that I visited made a point of saying that they only deal with "Fair Trade/Fair Wage" companies, but I still wish they were made domestically.

New favorite in the kitchen!

I first read about these pans in Bon Appetite magazine - and they are truly GREAT!  I received one for Christmas and ran out to buy the other two sizes they come in. 

The Bialetti Aeternum nonstick  pans come in 8", 10.5" and 12" - you can buy the sets online, or separately.  Last I checked they are sold out at their website bialettishop.com, but you can get them at Bed Bath & Beyond bedbathandbeyond.com .

The finish is PFOA, PTFE and Cadium free.  The release is amazing, and clean-up couldn't be easier.  I have made eggs and fried bacon in mine so far.  The white interior makes it a bit difficult to see that your egg whites are cooked properly, but I'm sure with experience, this will not be a real issue.  The picture on the packaging shows some very nicely browned scallops - I haven't tried getting to really caramelize anything yet, but my bacon didn't crisp the way it would in a traditional skillet.

Everyone I know is going to get a set of these next holiday season!

Doing good in Oakland

I came across this item in last Sunday's newspaper. 

Oakland Animal Services is waiving adoption fees for dogs, cats, and rabbits who have been at the shelter for more than 60 day.  If you are thinking about giving a wonderful animal a forever home this season, please consider your local rescue organization!

Thanks and Happy Holidays!

Holiday Shopping - Punjammies!

I came across a site which sells the most adorable "Punjammies".

LOVE all the patterns and had the hardest time deciding which to buy - I think both my sister and my aunt would love them - but I have all of their Christmas gifts purchased for this year, so I decided to buy a pair for myself and see how the fit is, and then go back and buy more!

Punjammies are sold by International Princess Project ( intlprincess.org ) and the description on the website reads:

PUNJAMMIES™ are made by women in India rescued from forced prostitution seeking to rebuild their lives. Proceeds from the sales of PUNJAMMIES™ provide fair-trade wages, savings accounts, and holistic recovery care.

The Capri style runs about $35 and if you use the promotional code: SHAREHOPE - you get free shipping during the month of December.

I love the mission statement of this company and I am really looking forward to receiving my Punjammies!  I'll keep you posted when the arrive - 

Share Hope this Holiday Season!

Holiday Shopping - Part Two

Yesterday I mentioned how difficult it was to find things not produced in the USA while Christmas shopping.

I came across an item on the ABC News website about how, if every American spent just $64 this holiday season on gifts manufactured in the United States, it would generate 200,000 jobs here at home!

abcnews.go.com/WN/MadeInAmerica/

You can go here and find peoples suggestions about places to shop and products to buy that have been Made In America.  You can even post where you have spent your $64 this season.

So far this season I have bought the following products "Made in America":
Drinking glasses from World Market ($28)
Paint supplies for craft projects from Orchard Supply Hardware ($40)

I know this doesn't really count as "Made in America", but at least it didn't end up in a landfill, and I didn't buy something from overseas - in fact, the mirrors were both produced in the USA in the mid-60's!

Mirrors, toys and books from Goodwill ($36)

I'll post the finished Goodwill and paint projects at a future date.

Let me know if there are any Local Purchases you have made and want to share!

Holiday Shopping

I have been out shopping the past few days just for some little odds and ends to add to my Christmas decorations - and possibly gifts.  What has really disturbed me is the lack of American made products for sale in the stores I visited:

Paper Source - I don't think ANYTHING was made in the USA - every item I picked up had been made in China

Sur la Table - Had great things that I would have loved to buy - a garlic rocker from Joseph Joseph, double-walled glassware from Bodum and an electric hand mixer from Cuisinart... all made in China

Pier1 - I know that "Imports" is part of their name, and I was able to find some candles and decorative tiles  (Vietnam) which I did purchase

It got me to thinking about trying to be more "local" in all of my spending - but the harsh reality is that some things that you want are only made overseas (my Silhouette SD machine for one).

I'm not saying that you shouldn't buy items made in other countries, just that if you have a choice, I believe it best to purchase those locally produced.

Reuse Shopping Bags

I was at Whole Foods the other day and saw the cutest reuse holiday shopping bag

www.wholefoodsmarket.com/holidays/giving/betterbag.php

I thought "What a great idea to use the bag for Christmas wrapping rather than the conventional roll wrap I have used in the past.  You could also load individually wrapped presents into the bag to deliver to families, rather than use large plastic (or paper) shoppers from retail stores.

I was so disappointed to see that they are actually made in China!  On the Whole Foods website, they are all about "Caring about communities and the environment" "Seek supplier partnerships that share their concern for social responsibility and the environment"  "Work with supply partners in eliminating all unnecessary production and distribution costs to ensure the best possible price".

Which brings up the question about the 80% recycled material that goes into making the bag: Where are those recyclables coming from?  China? the United States?

Well, I don't know about you, but if you can afford to shop at "Whole Paycheck", I'm sure you wouldn't mind spending another 25 cents on a reuse shopping bag if it could be made, if not in the United States, at least on this continent, and not imported from a country half way around the world!

Just saying... I love the idea of their "Better Bag" - but I hate the fact that it comes all the way from China.

Plastic Bags: Reduce-Reuse-Recycle

I have decided to make a conscious effort to use as few plastic bags as possible from here on out.

 It disturbs me greatly when I go into the garage and see the huge (plastic) Crate & Barrel bag that holds all the other plastic bags our household has collected over the past months.  It is estimated that over 1 trillion plastic bags are given out to consumers every year - over 1 million per minute!

But it isn't enough to say all plastic bags should be banned - What I think is needed is a shift away from a "Use and Toss" mentality.  Paper bags or compostable plastic require more more raw materials per bag in the manufacturing process which means a higher consumption of raw materials, greater energy in bag manufacturing and greater fuel use in the transportation of the finished product.

One reusable bag takes approximately the same amount of resources to make as 28 plastic or 8 paper bags.

When we do use a plastic bag, it is vitally important that we dispose of it properly - the best (and easiest for me) would be to bring your clean, dry bags to a plastic bag recycling bin.  Almost every grocery store in my area has one out front.  The most difficult thing for me is remembering to bring them.  Since my Crate and Barrel bag is too large to fit through the recycling bin opening, I have decided to fill my daily newspaper plastic bag with as many of the other, collected plastic bags as I can and keep them in the trunk of my car, so that when I go to the grocery store, I'll have a neat bunch to drop off!

If we simply put the used plastic bags into the trash (as my garbage collection company recommends), the plastic can then take up to 1000 years to degrade in a landfill.  When plastics breakdown, they don't biodegrade, they photodegrade - break down into smaller fragments which soak up toxins.  They then contaminate soil, waterways, and animals upon digestion.  This makes the proper recycling of plastic bags that much more important.

I am going to see how many days I can go without taking a single plastic back from a store - Safeway, Target, H&M... I already brought my own sack to the Harvest Fair & Festival yesterday and was able to refuse shopping bags from three vendors who offered them.

Let me know if you have any ideas for recycling used plastic in the home - I have seen some clever DIY projects that I'll try and share in the coming months.

Saving the planet one plastic bag at a time!