See those clumps of dirt in the below satellite image taken from the sky over our new President Barack Obama’s inauguration ceremony?

Those are us. Speckles of dirt and ultimately just dust in the wind. Puts things into perspective doesn’t it?

Source:: Via

This watch, designed by Rolf Sachs, for Fortis makes me smile. It must be the delightful combination of chalkboard, chalk, hand written numbers and its child-like quality that make me want to go to Fortis’s website and add it to my shopping cart. Maybe it’s about tapping into the creative side of grown-ups.

Either way, I was curious about the inspiration behind the design and discovered that the concept emerged from a shop window the Rolf designed for London department store Selfridges, shown below.

Rolf shares, “I am always in search of the new.” Me too and I’m inspired.

There is the mechanical aspect of the inner workings of numbers mixed with human nature, while tapping into the creative side of a child. A nice recipe. As reported on Fortis’s news page, “Chalk is transitory, waking the childhood memories in everybody - leading from the sterile to the human.” Interesting.

A very cool watch. I’m tempted. There are a limited edition of 999; very auspicious indeed. That would be seriously good for my shui.

For purchase info, go here: www.fortis-watch.dea

In planning my own wedding this year, I was astounded at the amount of money generated by the wedding industry and the average amount of waste produced for that special day.

In looking for ways to green my own wedding (without breaking my bank), I was astounded yet again by the lack of information that was available to brides searching for ways to reduce their impact on the environment.

And so, in an effort to ensure that no bride need be frustrated again by the lack of environmentally friendly wedding advice available to her, The Green Bride - a resource for green wedding tips, information on trailblazing local companies, designers and wedding service providers that are committed to reducing waste - was born.

The Green Bride will debut right here on Planet Pink n’ Green. Check back frequently for sustainable wedding tips and resources all in one place. It doesn’t matter what stage you are at in planning for your big day. Whether your wedding is seven months or seven days away, I’m here to help you be an earth conscious bride. Tips will include things like where to purchase recycled paper invitations, where to buy carbon offsets (and what it means) when arranging for wedding travel and/or your honeymoon, vendor contact info and real life inspiring stories that will support you on your wedding journey.

I encourage you to leave comments here, share your own personal story (to support other green brides) and ask lots of questions.

To get you started, I have listed below some simple, affordable (and often free) tips on how to reduce wedding cake waste.

Congratulations and happy wedding planning adventures!

For gorgeous cakes with no waste try ‘Edible Flowers’:

Before you run out to pick those flowers however, please be aware of the following:

1. When using edible flowers, use only flowers that have been organically grown, un-sprayed and not grown by a roadside.
2. If you can’t pick the flowers the day of the wedding, store them (except for chicory) on plates in your fridge with a bit of water.
3. Be sure to research any allergens or risks associated with using any edible plant as well as which parts of the plant are edible before using in any dish.

Some types of edible flowers:

1. Chicory- These pale lavender-blue daisy-like flowers have very fragile petals and grow almost directly off of the main stems. You can pick entire stems a day in advance if needed, and store them in water. Pick them off the main stem carefully just before placing on the cake. They open around noon. Spicy bitter taste.

1. Lavender: Even if the lavender blooms aren’t opened, the un-bloomed bud clusters look like purple-blue braid, making an attractive edging or accent. Perfumed taste.

1. Nasturtium: These come in all warm colors from cream to burgundy, the most common being orange and yellow. Peppery taste.

1. Oregano: Clusters of tiny pink flowers clusters on burgundy stems.

1. Marjoram: is the same, only less pink. Spicy taste.

1. Pansy: has a wide range of colors, from purple and yellow; to pink, darkrose and purple; to midnight blue. Fragile petals, so don’t pick them and dump them in a bag, or they’ll get crushed. Semi-sweet taste.

1. Rose: Wide range of colors, mostly in the warm spectrum; use buds for a traditional look, and watch for aphids. Mildly sweet taste.

To view a complete chart of edible flowers and for information on how to use them in different dishes, visit: homecooking.about.com/library/weekly/blflowers.htm.

Self love…it feels a bit dirty. So close to selfish you might hate your Self, and yet slightly daring because you don’t want to admit to others that treating your Self to some mocha latte is endless fun. Where do I get self love out of some shoelaces, you ask?

It just so happens that I am lucky enough to own magical shoelaces, which have this deep yearning to come untied every couple of blocks. One person suggested that I buy less fickle laces to solve this annoyance, and then just the other day I went into a panic thinking that my walking buddy will find a new partner if I keep tying my shoes so much.

Nevertheless, I am trudging onward with my unraveling shoelaces, and for my steadfast loyalty, I was given a brief moment of insight. As I bent down to tie my shoe on the way to the post office, my mind flashed back to a kindergartner I met during summer camp. This lovely urchin never tied her shoes for herself. First I was aghast, and then like Nancy Drew had to get to the bottom of the shoelace mystery. Now looking back I see that perhaps her shoelace non-compliance may have been an innocent request for love and affection, but at the time I felt it was my duty to show her the beauty of self-reliance.

Above: Tranquility: Beth Hemmila: green tourmaline, sterling and fine silver.

I spent that whole summer watching her learn to tie her shoes, deliriously cheerleading her efforts. While I was tying my shoes the other day, it dawned on me why I got so fired up and desperately wanted share this moment of complete and utter freedom when you tie your own shoes. Bending down to tie your shoes, to recognize a moment of caring for your own person, is an incredible act of self love. Only you and only you alone can know what you need, and only you have that power of instantaneously fulfilling your need simply by acknowledging that it exists.

I have found that one of my deepest needs is for tranquility, and every day I gift myself moments of peace and calm to fill ‘er up. Just the act of recognizing wanting tranquility sometimes opens up space for it to happen. Like noticing my shoes need to be tied. Seeing when things come undone gives me the chance to be aware of what I need in that moment and the opportunity to experience the power of self love.

Oh, sweet little lady bug, thank-you for being so adorable and helping to heal our planet.

Okay, so you get it right? I’m completely enamored with the lady bug. Aren’t we all?. After I heard this eco-news on Treehugger, about an event last year,  I went all mushy, gushy…

“The Coalition of Environmentally Conscious Growers, a partnership of farmers dedicated to the continuance of sustainable farming practices, is making this Earth Day (April 22nd!) memorable for a group of 4th graders in Oregon. They’ll be working together with them to release tens of thousands of ladybugs in a bid to help these kids better understand that there are natural alternatives to chemical pesticides.”

That’s 250,000 to be exact. How beautiful. Anyone wanna go hang out with the ladies?

For more information on what The Coalition of Environmentally Conscious Growers are doing for this Earth Day visit their website here: 1.