Author: Stef McDonald

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Flowers: Throw and Grow ‘Em


Three cheers for a friend’s blossoming venture: Flower Bomber. You can buy a package of 20 flower bombs–ping pong ball-sized balls of wildflower seeds and organic compost–on Etsy (we’re both members of Team EcoEtsy). Then, fire away! The idea is to throw and grow them in vacant lots or other places that could use some pretty flowers; you can read the manifesto of the Green Guerrilla on the blog. So far, I’ve put one of the seed balls in a clay pot and am already seeing some sprouts (pictured). The rest will be distributed this weekend in less obvious spots.

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Photo: Moon Over the Cemetery


Photo taken at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Songs in my head: all from Angus & Julia Stone, who performed at the Masonic Lodge on the cemetery grounds last night. Someone else in the audience already posted this clip.

And another:

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Oil Spill Reaction Online


I saw on Facebook that some friends had joined a group calling for the use of BP executives to plug the hole–and then I heard about this fake BP Twitter account that tackles the subject of the oil spill with razor-sharp satire (we’ll see how long it’s up before BP takes it down–betting they’ll be able to stop this faster than the mess they made in our seas). Of course, it’s an environmental tragedy that is breaking our hearts–but sometimes you’ve gotta use humor to deal with news this bad. Oh, and it also feels good to do something to support those environmental organizations that work tirelessly to protect our seas. (Here in LA, we salute Heal the Bay and Surfrider.)–Stef McDonald

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Staple: Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta

For a friend’s birthday dinner last week, I was asked to bring bruschetta–simple and easy. But I wanted spectacular, so I used heirloom tomatoes.

Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta

Ingredients:

French bread baguette

4-5 ripe heirloom tomatoes

One red onion

2-3 garlic cloves

Handful of basil leaves

Olive oil

Fresh lemon juice

Salt and pepper

Other fresh herbs optional (I use lemon verbena)

Preparation:

Chop tomatoes, separating the tomato chunks from the seeds (most of the seeds, anyway).

Chop red onion.

Toss tomatoes, onion, basil in bowl and dress with olive oil and lemon juice (2 parts olive oil to one part lemon juice). Add sea salt and fresh black pepper. Chill 15 minutes or more.

Drizzle slices of a baguette with olive oil and grill or toast. While still warm, rub toast pieces with halved garlic cloves.

Top toast pieces with the tomato mixture before serving. Top with extra pieces of basil (and lemon verbena).

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Jack Johnson’s Concert to Clean the Beach


Another reason to love Jack Johnson: he’s performing a free concert on the Santa Monica Pier to help Heal the Bay, a kick-ass organization that works to keep our sea and seaside clean in Los Angeles. It’s billed as a “Concert To Clean The Beach” and that’s how you get your ticket to see him perform on the pier — by participating in a beach clean-up organized by Heal the Bay a few days before the concert.

UPDATE: It was great. Not sure how long this will be live, but the concert was streamed live and can be seen here.
http://www.ustream.tv/flash/video/7191740

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Eco Tip: Skip the Gift Packaging


I spoke with a friend earlier who complained about the fact that she has her second baby shower to attend in a month. First, let’s get this out of the way: Babies are great! Hoorah for babies! But baby showers? Uggh. She described the last one as being particularly painful, as her friend spent two hours opening gifts.

Here’s an idea for anyone planning a baby shower: ditch the wrapping and unwrapping. First of all, all that packaging is wasteful. Even if you argue that a little bit of yellow tissue paper isn’t going to take up too much room in a landfill, how about the fact that watching someone open gifts is boring? Finally, the mom-to-be would be much happier to spend quality time talking to her friends in the last weeks before the arrival of the all-consuming bundle of joy. Why not two hours of karaoke instead?

It’s easy: Ask guests to bring gifts unwrapped and place them on a table or area of a room that’s cleared to display them. You can supply index cards for the guests to write their names and place them on or next to their gifts (on the back of the card, ask for a description of the gift; this will also help the mom-to-be when she’s writing out thank-you notes). This way, guests can be free to check out the gifts and “ooh” and “ah” all they want about that adorable onesie or stuffed piglet. (Photo: my niece Lucy when she was a baby, simply because this post called for a photo of a cute baby.)

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Oil Spill Horror: Taking Action

If you’re like us, you’ve read about the oil spill and felt bad about it, but maybe you have stopped short of looking at too many images or reading deep into how terrible it really is. Take a look at these photos from the Boston Globe. It’s horrible. So what can we do? Wind power, people! Read about it and put in your two-cents and write to Congress, asking for a change. –Stef McDonald

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Summer Beauty: Lipstick with SPF



I’m fine going without makeup, but I always like something on my lips. It can be straight-up shea butter for a bit of moisture, but I generally go for something with a little color (or a lot–sometimes an occasion calls for smokin’ hot red). This serves me well during summer or long stretches outdoors any time of the year, as lips need sun protection just like the rest of our exposed parts.

Before choosing any personal care product, I first consult the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep website, which rates products for safety and lists their ingredients. (Don’t know the site? Get to it. You know you end up ingesting most of your lipstick, so it’s really in your best interest to know what’s inside the tube.)

The group puts out an annual report on the safety of sun protection products, including a listing of sun balms with SPF. The best-rated lipstick (3 out of 10, on a scale that deems 0 harmless and 10 hazardous) is from Jane Iredale, a line that produces makeup without the nasty chemicals found in so many other brands. The company is also a signer of the Compact for Safe Cosmetics, having pledged to meet the guidelines set by the non-profit group.

I try to choose only products with 0-2 scores but can live with a 3 for some pretty lip color. My new spring/summer color is Jane Iredale’s PureMoist Lipcolour SPF18 in C.J. Like most lipsticks, it looks darker in the tube than it does on your lips. This one is pink with a hint of coral and reminds me of that pinkish, sherbert-like color you see in a sunset, like the clouds behind the palm trees in this photo.

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Hitting the Right Bottle: Perfume



I’ve loved perfume since I was a little kid. In chronological order, I wore Love’s Baby Soft, L’Air du Temps, Eternity, Flowers—then, well, then I went wild and crazy and divided my devotion among a collection of dozens of fragrances. I visited perfume blogs and ordered samples, always searching for magic in a bottle. I never left the house without a spritz or dab of something.

So when I learned a few years ago about the dangers that lurked in those bottles—to find out that something that smelled so good could be so, well, bad—it was disheartening. I’m sure a lot of others are feeling as dismayed after reading a report released this week from the fine folks at the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics: “Not So Sexy: The Health Risks of Secret Chemicals in Fragrance.” In short: the news stinks. Testing shows that popular perfumes are filled with chemicals that can hurt you and/or the environment. Oh, and some of those toxins aren’t even listed on the ingredients labels. (I’ve published a blog post on the topic at the Care2 site.)

So here’s the thing. No one likes to hear that something they enjoy is dangerous. I don’t like to be a Debbie-Downer, but I believe it’s important to be informed and pay attention to this report—and to try to lobby for change in the industry. Loopholes in the law to let companies hide ingredients from labels? Come on—there’s nothing acceptable about that.

But if there’s nothing enjoyable about telling someone that the perfume they love contains hidden toxins, there’s something delightful about talking up the alternatives out there. When I was faced with giving up my own beloved perfumes (ouch, it really hurt), I went on a mission to find scents I could wear without sacrificing my health. I had low expectations and resigned myself to settle for safe but second-best.

Boy, was I wrong. I started with pure essential oils, followed by blends. Then, when I worked at a website about green living, I had the pleasure of writing a story about Mandy Aftel, a perfumer who makes fragrances out of pure essential oils for her Aftelier line; she wrote a book on the subject that I’d recommend to anyone with an interest in perfume: Essence and Alchemy: A Natural History of Perfume. Her passion for the art of perfumery is impressive and she is committed to creating only scents from pure sources—nothing artificial, nothing toxic. Spending time with her in her Berkeley studio (pictured, photos of her studio) was an absolute treat. I recall speaking to her about a recent hike and describing the smell of the wet fir when she pulled “Fig” off the shelf for me. Bingo. (It has become my go-to scent.)

I am now devoted to Aftel’s scents, along with others from perfume makers who don’t use nasty chemicals or hide what they use in their creations—so I can smell pretty without worrying about what my skin is absorbing. (Consult the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep website for results of personal care products they test, including perfumes.) Best of all, I don’t miss anything I gave up.