Eco-Chick · The modern girl's guide to living green & fabulous.

Simplicity at Its Best with Wintertime Nudes

The depths of winter always make me want to pare down and cozy up. We need to wear more layers, but as the bright colors and patterns of the holiday season are washed away, and a New Year is born, we look to cleanse, restructure, and repurpose. Dressing in neutral tones is an easy way to visually achieve the clarity and purpose of beginnings.

More than ever before, I want everything in my closet (and my life) to matter, to be truly useful, to function at its highest purpose. These nude pieces will layer beautifully now, and will pair wonderfully with whatever colors and patterns are coming in 2012. With classic shapes and beautiful, sustainable fabrics, each of these pieces will find years of wear.

Clockwise from bottom left: Camilla Norrback Renate Bag Norwegian Wood wheat earrings, Priti Nail polish in water soldier, Camilla Norrback Jonas cardigan, and Vivienne Westwood Anglomania pumps for Melissa Plastic Dreams, all available from Kaight Boutique.

Many thanks to Michelle Legro for showing me some serious Photoshop skills (and just generally being awesome).

Examine Your Foodprint: Resolve to Waste Less in 2012

Sometimes someone’s words really stick with you, whether it be a card, a conversation, a piece of sage advice, or even a tweet. A message that strikes a chord is rare in a time when there’s no shortage of opinions and no shortage of mediums with which to share them. In between our consumption of copious e-mails, texts, posts, tweets and videos, meaningful messages are few and far between.

That’s why you have to appreciate the gems when you see or hear ‘em.

I felt the weight of Maryam Henein’s words recently when she said this to me, “I think that we’re living in a time when we have an opportunity to raise our consciousness. When  people talk about 2012, it’s not really about the end of the world. I believe it to be the end of certain systems in place. Whether it’s big pharma, factory farming, etc., it’s all connected. These are outdated models that need to collapse. ”

Long after our conversation, I thought about Maryam’s thoughts on a changing landscape — the “systems” in place that aren’t lifting Americans up and the old ways we’re still doing things that are just so wrong.

I wondered: What’s the one thing we all have in common that we can change?
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10 Simple Ways to Reuse That Gift Wrap this Holiday!

I don’t know about you but I find much of the traditional gift wrap sold in stores to be – how to say this – tacky. But what’s even tackier is all of the waste that’s created from people opening up a gift, crumbling the paper into a ball and then tossing it in the trash.

You’re better than that.

Since you’ll likely be given gifts wrapped in a number of ways, many of which won’t be green, keep these very practical and easy ideas in mind for re-purposing the gift wrap you’re given this season.

1.) Store the wrapping paper and re-use it. You can iron out any kinks on low heat.

2.) If it’s crumbled beyond repair, keep it anyway! You can just shred it and use it as the filler in gift bags.
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Heroines for the Planet: Vanishing of the Bees Director Maryam Henein

Vanishing of the Bees began as a small research project for Maryam Henein and her friend, and co-director, George Langworthy when they learned that bees were mysteriously vanishing en masse worldwide. Since one in every three bites a human takes is pollinated by honeybees, the bees’ disappearance was deeply troubling.

Soon the honeybee would become Maryam’s raison d’etre.

She was 29 when a few steps changed her life, and eventually led her to the bees. Working as an investigative journalist in Los Angeles, Maryam was hit by an SUV in a crosswalk.  She suffered a torn rotator cuff, five broken ribs, a broken tailbone and L-1, and she had a metal rod and two screws placed in her fractured left femur.

The pain and suffering from the accident sent Maryam down a winding path to self-discovery. She developed a passion for nutrition, alternative healing and organic food, all of which cleared her mind and helped heal her body. This diet overhaul and renewed sense of self through nutrition became so important that she considered studying it. But then something magical started happening that sent her on a different trajectory: honeybees began flying into her world.

In those days before making the film, Maryam dedicated herself to a voracious study of honeybees, researching Colony Collapse Disorder, the phenomenon which explains the bees vanishing, and any and all books about bees she could get her hands on.  Right as she and George began recognizing how dire the plight of the bees was, honeybees starting physically appearing in Maryam’s life. A honeybee hitched a ride on her windshield for miles one morning. And one week later, while driving down a busy street, Maryam drove through a swarm of bees.
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Happy Winter Solstice!

As we officially enter the Winter season and move into longer, brighter days from here on out, many of us celebrate the changing light and mood.

I love to have a quiet dinner with my loved ones and talk about the year past – and make plans for the coming year. What do you do to recognize the solstice?