I was fortunate to get my first Envirosax bag (above) from a blog win.  I am even more fortunate to remember to bring my bags with me.  This one is always with me. It folds down to pretty much nothing, fits perfectly in my bag, or even my back pocket, and unfolds to hold so much, sometimes it can be heavy!  But unlike plastic, it doesn’t rip or fall apart. I have some other larger bags that don’t fold down, and they live in the trunk of the car, and sometimes, I forget them.

I am always surprized by cashiers when they are shocked that I brought my own bag.  Really? I mean how hard is it to bring your own bags?  I bring them everywhere for everything.  I brought them to Target with me once, and the person in line before me remarked about how I was a better person than her because I wasn’t going home with a Target bag. (I was at Target the Saturday after Black Friday, and so sad to see not one single person brought their own bag.  And, Target wasn’t reminding people to bring their own bags.  Isn’t it the responsibility of us all to not use these plastic bags anymore?)  It’s not that hard, and there are so many great options out there.

Check out the new prints at Envirosax.  Their Botanica line, from their Graphics Series:

From their site:

Inspired by the world’s rainforests, the BOTANICA® Series offers five new fun, fresh graphic prints. “I once lived on damaged rainforest land and spent years regenerating the area to its former beauty,” said Belinda David-Tooze, founder of Envirosax, “after much success with this project, I was moved to design BOTANICA™ and bring attention to the dire urgency of rainforest conservation. Once BOTANICA goes on sale, we will be encouraging customers to use our website to learn more about a rainforest in their region.”

BOTANICA™ is available for retail sale on www.envirosax.com now, right in time for the holiday season. Like other Envirosax bags, BOTANICA™ bags are lightweight, portable, sturdy, and of course, stylish. Each bag holds the equivalent of two supermarket bags and fits snugly on your shoulder. Individual bags are $8.50, and a pouch of the 5-bag series is $37.95.

So – go do it the right way.  No more plastic/paper disposable bags.  Go support the environment and bring your own bags.  If you don’t sew, these are great bags, and they look so great, and make you look cool, shouting out that you are stylishly saving the planet, a bag at a time.  You can stay up to date and follow their blog.

or delicate wall adornments

or cushions.

I’m glad someone out there is making those nasty plastic bags pretty.  I’m glad they won’t be in the landfill and can still be useful.  I think the organic shapes are very pretty, I’ve always been inspired by lace, so delicate and carefully made.

Thanks to designers block for introducing me to Laura Marsden.

From the super creative Droog.  They are designed so you can add your own rags and clothes.  I also love Come A Little Bit Closer Bench, Nest House, Do Hit Chair, and check out their Labs, very cool.

Now that we live in the country, we have room for gardens, and we grow lots of our own veggies each season. Not only does it feel good for the soul, it’s so good for our bodies and our environment. There’s no fuel spent to deliver or pick up the food, we bond over gardening and are so proud of our harvest. For what we can’t grow, we purchase a share of our CSA. It won’t start until July, as we have a small growing window in New England, but knowing that the food is grown organically, locally and with the kind hands of our friendly farmers, makes it even more delicious.

Every day we are more and more conscious of our health and our environment and have known that the well being of each is dependent upon each other. We strive to eat as local as possible, choose things from the super market that are in season, and make as much as our own food as we have time for.

I’ve just started reading food blogs. I probably started cooking in the late 90s, after moving to Seattle and having a kitchen that we could cook in. I’m not a “natural” cook, but I am really, really interested and I’m always looking to learn more. One of my favorite blogs is Bitten, the NYTimes food blog. Mark Bittman, the blog’s author has recently spoken at TED. I think you should stop and listen. It’s 20 minutes, maybe listen one night while cooking dinner. I think it’s important.

Please make sure you know where your food comes from and the how the choices you make impact your body and the global environment. Please Eat Repsonsibly.