Living With Green Music

Green-leaning musicians have been on the forefront of the environmental movement since its inception. From staging benefit concerts, rx to converting tour buses to biodiesel fuel, buy cialis to creating solar recording studios, creative eco-conscious musicians have been reducing their impact on the planet.

My son is a musician, and I’ve been trying to infuse eco-friendly elements into the space where he plays music. I find when I design a living space, it’s best to go back to green basics – reduce, reuse and recycle. Check out how to recycle guitar strings, make a headboard from album covers or find eco-friendly soundproofing: CLICK HERE FOR MORE

Main photo credit: via 2Modern

Do You Live in A Slow Home? Take the Test...

"Simplicity means the achievement of maximum effect with minimum means." ~ Albert Einstein What is a Slow Home? Think of a Slow Home as you would think about Slow Food. Or, thumb think about the opposite of Slow Food – processed food. That would equate a fast home to be a standardized, hospital homogenous, hospital wasteful home that is not advantageous for the environment or healthy for our bodies. The interiors and exteriors of Slow Homes tread lightly. They are simple to live in, designed with intention, and a benefit to the environment.

Take the Slow Home Test to find out if your home is fast or slow. CLICK HERE FOR MORE (and to find out why I need to slow up even more)

Credit: J. Morgan Puett via Desire To Inspire

The After It's Over, It's Over Party

The fall started to settle in without me. This signaled a slide into procrastination mode as I tried to fend off the eventual – the end of summer. I should have seen the slow down coming. I'm prone to this affliction without much prompting, and I can usually detect the signs. But, the triple whammy of my son going back to school, some deadlines creeping dangerously close, and the cooler temperatures (seasonal transitions are always a challenge - when others are zipping up boots, I'm still wearing flip flops), I started to succumb to the let down. Until...I heard a Ben Taylor song (yes, James' son), After It's Over. The song is obviously a love song, but those three words stuck in my head repeatedly, and now I'm putting on my socks and pushing away any lingering summer melancholy because – after it's over, it's over. I have almost no regrets about this past summer, except for maybe not growing out my bangs sooner – it was just too hot for bangs. Anyway, in the fading light of the last few weeks, I stumbled upon three food-related party discoveries. They made me smile away any persistent seasonal blues and think about throwing a party to help smooth the transition of summer into fall.

Cheese Cake

Out of the ordinary parties don't just happen in summer, and this cake is no ordinary cheese cake. Taking cheese to a whole new level, this cake is ripe for some autumnal inspiration and fall fruit.

Camera Cake

My daughter's boyfriend, who coincidentally hails from the same island as Ben Taylor, is an amazing photographer. His birthday is September 11th, which has become a difficult date to have been born on. This cake would surely give him the honor every birthday deserves. Hmm, do you think this could be made with whole wheat cake flour? And...is it a Nikon or a Canon he uses?!?!

Q Tonic

If you indulge in quintessential summer drinks, a fine gin and tonic can make a summer evening superior. If  G+T's are not your thing, Q Tonic might change your mind this fall. Most tonic water is sweetened beyond recognition with high fructose corn syrup or "corn sugar" (it's been rebranded), and packaged in generic containers. Q Tonic is a whole other breed of tonic that is sweetened with organic agave, has 60% fewer calories than regular tonic water and contains no corn syrup/sugar. You can find it in most health food stores. I've found I can even keep the beautifully designed bottles out of the recycling bin by refilling the bottles with our own freshly squeezed pear juice.

Don't let the end of summer get you down, the fall party has just begun. How do you transition from one season to another?

Credits: Cheese Cake – A Cup Of Jo, Q Tonic - Q Tonic, Camera Cakes - Freshome

Can Green Design Save The World?

Inhabitat is one of the top environmental blogs in the world. Their mission is simple, “Green Design is Good Design ~ Good Design is Green Design.” Inhabitat also believes, “Green Design Will Save The World.” I follow Inhabitat daily, and want to thank them for choosing an idea from an econesting post. Their post titled: Time Flies With the Recycled Aluminum Epigram Clock via econesting displays on Inhabitat's front page today.

Inhabitat is a top notch “green” blog that continues to provide innovative ideas, while provoking the cautionary green vs. sustainable issue. They share a frustration that I also have about considering “green design” as a new category in the field. Is “green design” separate from good design? Inhabitat doesn’t think so:

“We believe that all design should be inherently “Green”. Good design is not about color, style or trends – but instead about thoughtfully considering the user, the experience, the social context and the impact of an object on the surrounding environment. No design can be considered good design unless it at least attempts to address some of these concerns.”

I am pleased Inhabitat picked up A Clock With a Conscience (and a mother's gush), for the same reasons I chose the witty Epigram Clock. It encompasses all that is good about design: It is thoughtful and cleverly designed, with a nod towards environmental impact (the clock contains up to 70% recycled content), and it was created within the social context of giving back (a percentage of the proceeds goes directly to the International Rescue Committee, an organization that responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives). The clock also represents what all design should – form, function and style.

What do you believe constitutes good design? Are you in agreement that green design can save the world?