Grumble:
Advertising billboards not only litter our minds but also our streets.  A bit too dramatic? 

Sure, sometimes billboards are worth it all because they’re uber sexy -- you remember Marky Marky's Calvin Klein billboard from the 80s and “Smith” from Sex and the City's!  Absolutely heart palpitating.  But, sometimes billboards are just… well, advertising that’s going to have a short run and then wind up in the landfill.  Like I said, litter, rubbish, garbage.

Goodness:
Thanks to the gurus at Green Guru, that would-be billboard waste is now fodder for bag, wallets, goggle straps and pouches.  Here's how it works... it's pretty dang simple.

Still pretty simple!

Go:
Surf on over to Green Guru and check out their RAD Billboard Series surfboard bag and small deluxe messenger bag which only cost $100 each.  They’re loaded with cool colors and no two are alike because none of US are alike…  not even Octomom’s spawn.

They also have hemp bags which are majorly on sale right now, so buy up if you’re crunchy.

If you are related to Darth Vader, then perhaps the Blow Out Series is more your speed?  As the name would suggest, these pouches, straps, wallets and bags are made of black rubber from bomber truck and tractor inner tubes, so you know they can withstand some SERIOUS abuse.  The Vulcar bag is $150, but suffice it to say, you’ll never wear it out, so it should last you a lifetime!  The wallet is only $25.

Why should you care?  Because lIfe starts to happen when the rubber meets the road... so get livin'.



Tracy Metro (and yes, Metro IS her real name!) is a TV host who was eco-chic before eco and chic were even hyphenated! Wanna learn more about this eco-conut? Grab a fare card and go for a ride at www.tracymetro.com
 

Grumble:
You hate spending the $7 just to get one pair of pants cleaned.  I feel you.  But, you have to spend the dough to get those gorgeous crepe slacks dry cleaned; otherwise, they’ll get all crapped up rendering them utterly unfashionable.  This dilemma begs the question:  why spend so much money on your clothing if you’re not going to take care of it… Boy, it seems as if your Mother just showed up.  Nag, nag, nag.

Goodness:
You’ve decided it IS in fact worth the money to dry clean those gorgeous trousers, but now you just can’t bear the thought of all of the senseless plastic used in the packaging of said dry cleaning.  Good girl!

Let’s think about it for a minute. 

Your clothing gets magically cleaned, then hung up on the cleaner’s clean carousel, then put into your clean car and then into your clean closet.  Does it REALLY need a hermitically sealed plastic bag for the trip home from the C-L-E-A-N-E-R-S?  I thought not.  And so did Dry Greening, my personal favorite NON-plastic, dry cleaning bag.

Go:
Buy your own Dry Greening bag for $4.99!  $4.99, people!  Come on, how can you NOT?!  While I don’t own 2 of them (yet!), here’s what I recommend you do.  Keep one bag in your closet to collect all of your dry cleaning items.  Then, when full take it to the cleaners and leave it with them to cover up those duds once they’re cleaned.  While you’re there dropping off the dirty stuff, pick up the clean stuff which is already living in your other Dry Greening bag.  Voila.  You're a genius.

I promise you that people will begin to ask about your bag thus starting a dry cleaning (er, greening) revolution, in your area.  Oh, and while you’re at it, return those wire hangers to the dry cleaners, so they can reuse them.  As Mommy Dearest said, “No more wire hangers!” and as Tracy Metro said, “No more plastic bags!”


Tracy Metro (and yes, Metro IS her real name!) is a TV host who was eco-chic before eco and chic were even hyphenated! Wanna learn more about this eco-conut? Grab a fare card and go for a ride at www.tracymetro.com
 

Grumble:
With the sudden celebrity deaths over the last week, it’s just good to be alive and well, huh?!? Suddenly, that cold sore, those backed up bills and the annoying flat tire seems awfully trite because THANKFULLY you’re above ground.

Goodness:
With that, here are a few great, green products that will help you channel your inner Farah Fawcett, Billy Mays and Michael Jackson.  We’ll miss you all… especially the unintelligible David Letterman interviews, the overly loud selling of basic cleaning solutions and… well, the nose.

Go:
In honor of Farah Fawcett, here are 3 FAB 70s style headscarves in case you’re having a bad hair day (or worse, chemo!)   Lym & D’s website isn’t up quite yet, but you CAN buy these scarves at Fred Segal in Santa Monica, CA though they are quite pricey at $265 each.  Paying homage to the late, great Farah ain’t cheap, but Charlie says you’re worth it, angel.

In honor of Billy Mays (yeah, I included him in here.  Sue me!)  Here are a few green cleaning products that not only do I actually use, but ones that I really like!  Eco-Me’s cleaning solution is perhaps the B-E-S-T smelling cleaning product out there.  In fact, my house currently wafts with their yummy aroma.  If you’re just getting into chemical free cleaning products, this is a great way to start because they provide the components for you to make your own solutions.  Pick up their  Eco-Me Home Kit for $26 and get cleaning!

Here’s what’s in the kit:
Eco-Me All Purpose Spray Cleaner
Eco-Me Wood Polish Spray Cleaner
Eco-Me Scrub Cleanser

** They also have personal care products though I've never tried them... well, not yet at least!

For that pile of laundry that’s mounting in the corner, try getting rid of your liquid detergent and pick up an Official Greenwash Ball.  You toss the ball in the washing machine and simply add water!  No chemicals, no nothing!  I feel like I’m doing good for the planet, but still have some regular old detergent on hand when my duds are uber dirty.  You can pick this ball up all over the place such as Bed, Bath & Beyond, Whole Foods and of course the Official Greenwash Ball’s site.

In honor of my first crush, Michael Jackson (that was before I knew he was gay!), I’d like to draw attention to our (intact) noses.  People, the nose is the body’s filter for all things bad (and I’m not just talking about the funny stuff from the 80s that people put up their noses!).  Ever come home from a run in the city and blow your nose only to find gobs of black shoot in the tissue?  I rest my case.  It’s dirty up there and deserves to be clean as a whistle!

So, why not treat the nose right and do a little preemptive clean out with the neti pot.  For $13, you can buy your very out neti pot at iherb.com.  As you can clean out your nasal passageway you can tell all those icky bits to "Beat It!"


Tracy Metro (and yes, Metro IS her real name!) is a TV host who was eco-chic before eco and chic were even hyphenated! Wanna learn more about this eco-conut? Grab a fare card and go for a ride at www.tracymetro.com

 

Mother Nature is calling. Who says you have to pay the same price for your moisturizer as you do for your jeans. Drugstores have a bounty of inexpensive beauty products with ingredients from nature like extracts that help fight wrinkles, smooth skin and exfoliate to the ever growing green movement where companies kick parabens, sulfates and petrochemicals to the curb.  And they get the job done right. From the extracts to being organic to eco packaging there are an abundance of brands that are giving you what’s found outdoors or should I say in some cases saving the outdoors.

Vickery & Clarke Jojoba and Vitamin E Facial Scrub
It’s 94% natural. Jojoba is a natural exfoliator and Vitamin E is an antioxidant that helps fight signs of anti-aging. No animal testing or animal raw ingredients. Paraben-free, propylene glycol-free, petrolatum-free. Also free of sodium lauryl sulfates and sodium laureth sulfates.
$4.99

http://www.cvs.com

Burt’s Bees Body Wash
It’s 100% Natural. Wake up in the morning with an invigorating buzz. Get an intense clean with this body wash that washes away dirt and odor, leaving skin refreshed. All-natural coconut, sunflower and citrus oils clean skin while cypress and fir oils energize for skin that looks, smells, and feels its natural best. pH Balanced. Sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate free. Paraben free. Phthalate free. Not tested on animals. Burt’s Bees is gathering a faithful following beyond the crunchy, granola set.
$7.99

http://www.cvs.com

Almay Pure Blends Blush and Bronzer
Hypoallergenic and it’s 98.2% natural. Paraben-free, talc-free plus the packaging is eco-friendly, made from an average of 45% recycled materials. Contains extracts from antioxidants Lotus, Acai, Orchid, Papaya and Viola as well as Vitamin C-rich Citrus Juno (Yuzu - Japanese Orange) Peel
$11.99

http://www.cvs.com


Korres Materia Herba 3 in 1 Cleansing Emulsion
Its multitasking, certified organic formula is gentle enough to use on the delicate eye area without causing irritation. Infusions of almond oil, witch hazel, and calendula and ruscus extracts leave the skin feeling healthy, smooth, and radiant.
What it’s formulated WITHOUT, duh, just about anything you recognize as a chemical:
- Parabens
- Sulfates
- Synthetic Fragrances
- Synthetic Dyes
- Petro-Chemicals
- Phthalates
$27

http://www.sephora.com

Alba Botanica Sugar Cane Body Polish
It’s 94% certified organic ingredients. Sunflower oil, sugar cane, macadamia nut oil and honey are just a few of the 100% completely vegetarian ingredients. No animal testing. Plus the signature ingredient: Sugar cane contains enzymes that are extremely rich in beneficial alpha hydroxy acids while tropical nut oils provide skin soothing emollients to lift away surface impurities and infuse skin with healing nutrients.
$10.95

http://www.albabotanica.com

Naturally Upper Canada Warm Honey Nectar Body Butter
No parabens, mineral oils and synthetic dyes. Made with honey, horse chestnut, cocoa seed butter, and Shea butter. A thick, but luxurious spread for your body.
$13

http://www.uppercanadasoap.com

 

Grumble:

You feel like a swine flu infected -- well, swine.  You're a sniffly, achey, feverish and just plain grody mess.  If only you could keep "down," Grandma Gerty's chicken soup...

But, since you can't (and Grandma Gerty went out when with the Reagan administration), you'll have to suffer through with Auntie Tracy's flu remedy.  Besides, mine has way fewer calories!

Goodness:

Immediately recruit a loved one to A) provide extreme amounts of sympathy (does not need to be real), and  B) pamper you as if you were the Queen of Sheeba.

Go:

Instruct your recruit to rub your little piggies with some Perfect Organics organic mint chocolate or hazelnut coffee shea butter (sounds good enough to eat, I know!).  You'll feel cared for without the concern of infecting them with your nastiness. 

On the other hand, if wallowing in your own funk is more your style, then have your honey run you a hot bath with Perfect Organics' grapefruit, lavender, coconut or mandarin, rose, coconut bath therapy.  While the real live shrink is not included with the bath therapy, if your cohort hangs with you while you soak, you'll feel much better.  Guaranteed.

As a last resort, if even YOU can't stand the sight of your tissue chaffed Rudolph nose, perhaps you ought to consider matching your cheeks and lips to your red nose with Perfect Organics vegan lip and cheek shimmer. 

 Why?  Because vanity doesn't dig on swine.

 Tracy Metro (and yes, Metro IS her real name!) is a TV host who was eco-chic before eco and chic were even hyphenated! Wanna learn more about this eco-conut? Grab a fare card and go for a ride at www.tracymetro.com

Grumble:
1.You just got a pedi, your toes are still wet and you can’t wear real shoes or you’ll ruin the new paint job.  
2.You just had the doc remove that horrendous bunion on the side of your foot and you, quite literally, can’t wear real shoes.  
3.You just walked the entire Javits Convention Center tradeshow floor, your dogs are BARKING and you can’t wear real shoes or your feet will fall off.

Goodness:
No need to fret little piggies!  90210 podiatrist, Dr. Sylvie created Planet Flops which just so happen to be some of the cushiest, cutest and most natural flip flops on the… well, planet!  Flops are made in Brazil from remarkably soft yet durable natural rubber and are baked under the warm Brazilian sun.  Think about it people, Brazil is known for their thong bikinis, so it stands to reason that their thong flip flops are pretty hot, too!

Go:
Hop on an American Airlines flight to Brazil… better yet, skip on over to Planet Flops and jump on board with every man, woman and child in BH who are wearing Flops.  I bet Donna Martin will be wearing a pair, soon -- and, you don't want to be left out of the cool crowd.

Tracy Metro (and yes, Metro IS her real name!) is a TV host who was eco-chic before eco and chic were even hyphenated! Wanna learn more about this eco-conut? Grab a fare card and go for a ride at www.tracymetro.com

 

Grumble:
I’m beginning to see a correlation between Mother Nature and your actual Mother!  Indulge me for a moment.

Mother nature brought your ass into this world (or so some would believe)… and your Momma did, too!  Mother Nature often controls what you can do, where you can go… and Mommy Dearest does, too!  Mother Nature’s sunlight and cock-a-doodle-do-ing is your alarm clock in the morning… and your Mummy hollering (from down the hall) for you to wake your ass up before you miss the school bus is your alarm clock, too!

I rest my case.  Mother Nature and your Mother are forever intertwined.

Goodness:
Do some good for the planet this Earth Day (which is EVERY day) and for your Mother!   Pick up the phone and call her… it wouldn’t kill you to take a few minutes and tell her you love her.  Then, after she’s done nosing around in your life, tell her you’ve dedicated a tree to honor her, your Mother(nature). 

She’ll sniffle…  you’ll get brownie points -- which will come back in spades when your birthday rolls around.

Go:
Cock-a-doodle-do yourself over to TreerPeople.org and, for as little at 25 bucks, you will get a certificate to frame that says you’re a good little sapling.

Now, if you really want to bond with Mother Nature, GET INVOLVED with Tree People's tree plantings, tree care events or simply volunteer your time with the outreach team.

Sometimes it just feels good to get your hands dirty.

Tracy Metro (and yes, Metro IS her real name!) is a TV host who was eco-chic before eco and chic were even hyphenated! Wanna learn more about this eco-conut? Grab a fare card and go for a ride at www.tracymetro.com

 

Grumble:
You’re either:
A)    hunched over that damned computer all f’n day, 
B)    handing free-weights to your clients at the butt crack of dawn,
C)    craning your neck just to make eye-contact with that cute guy on the N/R,
D)    all of the above.

Either way, you’re in pain and your bod needs some serious lovin’.

Goodness:
Melissa Graves to the rescue.  Well, not Melissa in person (though she IS a massage therapist), but her Wellness Bags to the rescue!  Wellness WHAT?  Yeah, bags -- but not tea bags, or handbags or even under-the-eye bags… these are a creative twist on rice bags that can be heated in the microwave or cooled in the fridge/freezer and applied to any aching body part!

Melissa hand-makes each Wellness Bag with reclaimed designer material, in Pasadena, California.

Go:
Her chic heat therapy Wellness Bags are simply exploding around Los Angeles in many places including Whole Foods, Fred Segal and of course, All Shades of Green; however, if you live in other parts of the this great land of ours you can get your very own mobile rice patty for about $50 by dropping by www.grasshopper510.com. 

Just think, now you can have your rice without all the carbs!

Tracy Metro (and yes, Metro IS her real name!) is a TV host who was eco-chic before eco and chic were even hyphenated! Wanna learn more about this eco-conut? Grab a fare card and go for a ride at www.tracymetro.com
 

Grumble:
When I say rain, rain go away, unfortunately I’m talking about the rainFOREST!  Uh oh.  When we destroy the rainforest, we displace indigenous people, animals and native species not to mention screw up our climate (but there’s no such thing as global warming)!!!!!!  Did you know that the Amazon rainforest works like an awesome air conditioner that cools down the temperature of the ENTIRE world by a few degrees Celsius?!  Now, ya know!

Goodness:
Purchase an Andira Rain Tee 100% organic t-shirt designed by youth living in endangered rain forests (in Central and South America) and a child living with environmental destruction receives a tree to replace one that has been destroyed. 

Go:
Grab a hold of your vine and swing on over to www.thegreenloop.com to help save the rainforest one tee at a time!  You can even buy your little monkey a tee and show them how  getting a little winds up giving a little, too.

Tracy Metro (and yes, Metro IS her real name!) is a TV host who was eco-chic before eco and chic were even hyphenated! Wanna learn more about this eco-conut? Grab a fare card and go for a ride at www.tracymetro.com

Grumble:
Thank goodness the campaigning is O-V-E-R and Obama’s in office. Phew. All’s good in the world, right? Well, not so fast my democratic friends. Remember all the months of seeing those McCain/Palin posters stuck in your neighbor’s yard and the Obama/Biden bumper stickers in a pile at your dry cleaners just waiting to be stuck on said bumper? What about the trash bags loaded with voter registration forms and the mess of soda cans thanks to the thirsty volunteers? Yup, all of that waste is… well, waste!

 

Grumble:
Ever feel like you’ve come to the end of the Internet?  You’ve shopped all darn day and seen the same stuff again and again and again; nothing’s inspiring and everything a bore.  I ask: where did all the creativity go, Bill Gates?

Grumble:
You’re a consumptive A-Hole who still drinks coffee from a disposable paper cup. Ugh.  Are you sure I can’t convince you to use a cute reusable coffee mug? I know it’s not as if there aren’t a zillion cute ones from which to choose! 

Fine. You won’t relent? But will you, at the very least, do away with using those silly, wasteful java jackets… for me?!

 

Macchiato your way over to Bentwood and order up a coffee cuff.  While the cuff isn’t exactly uber cheap at about $70, you can rationalize buying it because it serves two purposes… yeah, I know you do it all in the name of recycling. 

 

Grumble:
You packed on the pounds over the holidays. OK, truth be told it wasn’t only over the holidays it was during 2008’s entire last quarter that the poundage kept piling on (damn economy)! Life’s hard sometimes, I know and Ben & Jerry’s is oh so good. Aye there’s the rub, people. There’s the rub – and I’m not talking about the one your pantyhose are making between your thighs. By the way, who even wears hose these days?! I digress… 

Grumble:
Let’s face it, holiday shopping is a pain in the tuchas (for all of you non-Yiddish speakers out there: butt, tush, arse, hiney, rear). Honestly, it just doesn’t matter if you’re shopping for eco-gifts or trying to be economical with your shopping; it’s all stressful and can make this part of the year loathsome for many.    What? Me -- hate shopping? Someone quick… check my temperature!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grumble:
So I’m going to a Winter Wonderland themed party this weekend. FYI, this blogger loves nothing more than getting dressed up for a party, but I ask you: what in the hell does one wear to a Winter Wonderland party? An Ice Capades skating dress, a onesie snow suit complete with mittens and Sherpa hat or go as a Sugar Plum Fairy in sparkles from head to toe? Serious question here: would wearing the wedding dress again be too much? It is white, after all!

Seriously, this is SO Winter Wonderland… white, flow-y, sparkly! Annatarian dresses (wedding and others) are all one-of-a-kind and made from vintage and remnant fabrics. They also use eco-tech fabrics like bamboo, organic cotton, peace silk and many others. They’ll even use your sentimental pieces of clothing and jewelry (like: your mother's own wedding dress and grandmother's pearl necklace) when making a dress for you. Something old, something new, something borrowed, something GREEN! 

Grumble:
Oh the weather outside is frightful… here on the East Coast, at least! This LA girl is visiting Washington DC for a few festivities and just NOT used to this kind of chill, so it’s gotten me in the mood to bundle up from head to toe. But come on, a puffy parka does not say Prada even though it’s merely one letter off… and out of order… er, whatever! So, the question is: how does one look FAB without being frumpy or frigid?