Eco Fashion Friday Feature: Baby Its COLD Outside!

Good morning readers! As I write this in my semi-warm home office (temp set at 64 during the day to conserve) it is only twenty two degrees outside. Of course with a thirteen mile per hour wind speed, what we call the wind chill, brings the temperature into single digits. Holy crow that’s cold!

New England in December tends to usually hover in the 30’s - 40’s during the day but this is extreme temperatures even for late winter like February. Brrr!

Because I write from home and do not want to crank the heat (so I can not only save those precious natural resources but a little bit of cash in my wallet as well), I thought it would be fitting to do a nice feature on some of the Green items that could keep me warm and toasty during extreme situations like this!

Fingerless gloves -- Nothing beats this item for a person who types all the time. They keep the majority of the hand warm while the fingers are still free to bang away on the keyboard. I found this pair from Etsy seller AnnyMay made out of renewable bamboo fiber. Very chic!

Shawl -- Again, something bulky like a blanket with sleeves is not always practical. Sure they are lovely while on the sofa relaxing but during the day when I just have a slight chill and want something warm on my shoulders I’d rather reach for this organic cotton shawl from Enuwbe. The piece can be used all year long -- use it as a belt around a sleeveless sundress in summer & when the temps drop at night it’s a cozy little shawl again.

Hat -- What was that statistic our moms used to tell us? Something about losing 40% of our body heat through our heads? Well I don’t know if the number was that high or not but when I wear a hat, I do feel warmer. This braided wool hat from quarks would certainly help retain the heat through use of natural fabrics, and the vintage flowers just give it a cutsie touch the UPS delivery man can appreciate.

Warm & cozy socks -- You can ask Matt, even when it is in the seventies out my hands, nose and feet are perpetually cold so its no surprise that I am drawn to wool booties. These versatile slipper socks are made by OfftheHooks and are constructed from what once was a sweater. They suggest wearing a pair of socks under them for added warmth. Now we’re talking!

Warm and comfy sweats -- I admit it, most of my indoor wardrobe consists of sweatpants and hoodies. Don’t put me on that TLC show though, it generally isn’t what I wear out. But these eco-fabric pants by branchhandmade in organic cotton/recycled poly/natural rayon are so cute I might be tempted to do so! Or maybe I’ll just wear them in my chair next to the window; since they’re available in black they can soak up all the passive solar rays of the sun.

How are you staying warm this winter?

Thinking Nothing but Healthy Thoughts

The tissues I received as the BBGG door prize were timely indeed, I have caught my first cold like something in well over two years and it has definitely knocked me out. It is difficult for a go-go gal like me to do nothing more than watch cheesy movies all day, to lie on my sofa and simply take care of myself. Sometimes the body has its own way of telling us to slow down however so today I am taking the hint.

I have been thinking all day about the ways I could tie my illness into an environmentally significant post -- touch on one of the comments I received regarding cloth hankies, the benefits of orange juice on the immune system or how I reduced my carbon footprint by not surfing the internet all day -- but in the end I want to do exactly what I have been advising friends and family that have caught various illnesses recently -- think healthy thoughts.

The power of our minds is just that, powerful. We have the ability to heal ourselves, acquire the things we want and do the things we want to do by focusing on them and allowing them to come to fruition. I am a firm believer in mind over matter and I imagine this is one of the main reasons why I have been exposed to many sick people this winter but have not yet caught anything myself; I live each day with the knowledge that I am simply a healthy person. This time I must laugh at the irony; my cold comes after literally a week of working from home, being exposed to virtually no one let alone a crop of sick people. As I lay here and type now I am visualizing myself up and around, starting yoga for the first time in a long time and enjoying swim class this upcoming Friday morning.

To see myself as healthy, breathing well and feeling no aches in my muscles makes me happy, it makes me feel like myself. With that feeling comes the knowledge that my body will do its best to cycle through this sickness and expel it quickly. I will do what I can to assist it by staying hydrated with juice, tea and water, eating bowlfuls of soup and taking it slow and steady so as not to aggravate any residual germs into a relapse. Then I will be again the person I know I am, healthy and happy.