Volunteer Vacations

Although not for everyone, more and more couples are taking volunteer honeymoons. Even if you are not interested in going on a volunteer trip for your wedding, you might be interested in taking a volunteer vacation at some point in the next few years. If so - I recommend checking out some of the amazing opportunities recommended in "Volunteer Vacations: Short-Term Adventures That Will Benefit You and Others."

That Buzz in Your Ear May Be Green Noise - New York Times

Yesterday Gail wrote in asking me about how to ensure you find eco-friendly products. Today I read an article from last week's New York Times describing the feeling of "burnout" people seeking environmentally friendly choices sometimes feel.

Click here to read "That Buzz in Your Ear May Be Green Noise"

This article offers some good resources to help you prioritize. I also recommend the book Hey Mr. Green - which tackles many of little questions about which choices are best for daily living.

Love, Honor, Leave No Carbon Footprint

Today's New York Times had a nice article on green honeymoons today. Click here to check it out.

Green Gardening

Summer is here and gardens in CT are in full bloom. If you find yourself struggling with bugs and weeds every summer - before you reach for the usual arsenal of chemicals consider some of the many highly effective organic and natural alternatives. For a good primer on the how to of organic gardening try Burpee : The Complete Vegetable & Herb Gardener : A Guide to Growing Your Garden Organically. For a more sophisticated guide to insect and disease control check out The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control: A Complete Problem-Solving Guide to Keeping Your Garden and Yard Healthy Without Chemicals.



To find organic seeds and saplings click here.

Green Chic: Saving the Earth in Style

Christie Matheson, the author of Green Chic, is a veteran writer. Her work has appeared in Body & Soul, Glamour, Shape, Boston, San Francisco, Yoga Journal, and The Boston Globe Magazine. She is also the author of four books (listed below) and an accomplished photographer.

in Green Chic, Christie offers fun practical tips for living a greener life. As the author of Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash, Elizabeth Royte, wrote: "Matheson slyly steers us toward consumer goods and services that minimize our earth-stomping human footprint. She's brave enough to say 'buy less of everything,' and even the politically fraught 'buy nothing.' Matheson's genius is to make this seem not only doable, but fun."

This is a great book to buy for yourself or as a gift for a friend.

Check out Christie's other books:

The Busy Brides Essential Wedding Checklists

Worried you will forget something? Why reinvent the wheel?

"The Busy Bride's Essential Wedding Checklists vastly outdoes its competition with attention to detail, complete question lists, more realistic suggestions and presenting topics to the bride in the order in which she will need them."

Made for the 21st Century (the age of online planning)everything you need to do and more in one little book.

Name Change Kit

Many people (men and women) today change their names when they get married. Whether one or both of you is making a change, you will quickly discover it is a royal "pain in the patoot," as my mother would say. It can also be time consuming and costly. Newlyweds run into the most trouble when they try to use an old passport and a new name on their honeymoon - but there are many documents that need updating (like your social security card) that can easily slip your mind or fall off the bottom of your to do list.

When I got married I decided, for a number of reasons that I will not go into here, to take my husband's last name but to retain my maiden name, Harrison, for work. When six months had passed and I had made very little headway, I ordered The Ultimate Name Change Kit and was very pleased with the package. It is green because it saves you hours of thinking and internet surfing, is available as a PDF download and is tailored to your state. In addition to providing all the forms you need it also gives you a complete check list of all of the people and places you will need to contact about the switch as well as a step by step guide with very helpful tips (like make 10 copies of your marriage license right off the bat).

You can click on the image above to order your kit today.

Green Investing

We can all see which way the winds of the economy are blowing and the time to invest in renewable energy has arrived. If you want a basic primer on investment tools and green options I recommend Socially Responsible Investing, by Ami Domini. If you are more interested in green stocks - try Green Investing.

Anti-Bride Guides

One reader who bought the Offbeat Bride recommends another "alternative wedding" book - the Anti-Bride Guide:

"Into a sea of pearl white and pale blue comes the hot pink and orange Anti-Bride Guide. The perfect book for anyone alienated by the high-brow wedding industry, this practical guide fills a huge gap in the wedding planner market. A riot to read and filled with sassy illustrations, each chapter offers up fabulous advice and unusual ideas for those brides looking for more than the standard fare. Hundreds of fantastic tips give great insider advice on how to deal with any and all wedding eventualities (lipstick stain on dress, caterer from hell, wedding day breakout). A handy planner and resource guide keeps the bride on track, and tabbed chapters have pockets for stuffing brochures and clippings. For the bride who wants her wedding her way, this is the ultimate guide. " - Amazon

Now the Anti-Bride Guide has additional books to cover every aspect of the big day.

50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth

This is a new twist on an old favorite. This time...

"The authors have teamed up with 50 of America's top environmental groups, including The Natural Resources Defense Council, the National Wildlife Federation, and Rainforest Action Network. Each group has chosen one issue and provided a simple, step-by-step program that will empower you and your family to become citizen activists in the fight to save the Earth.

It's easy to get started. Just pick one!
Fight global warming "one city at a time" with the Sierra Club's Cool Cities Campaign
Roll up your sleeves and save an endangered species with the Wilderness Society
Protect coral reefs and create a marine reserve with Seacology
Get your congregation excited about protecting God's creations with Interfaith Power and Light
Invite songbirds into your neighborhood with the National Audubon Society"

This book is a great one to have around the house or to give to a niece, nephew or child.

How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

Mark Bittman writes "The Minimalist" column for The New York Times. My father swears by his recipes -which are reliably easy and delicious. If you plan to cook for your wedding or just want easy recipes to give your caterer consider picking these up.

To Buy or Not to Buy Organic by Cindy Burke

This book as gotten excellent reviews. It was written by journalist and former chef Cindy Burke. She distills some of the politics of the organic food movement and reviews key terms like organic, local, sustainable and grass-fed. She also tells you what to buy and what not to buy. Good for those of us who like answers.

Red Sky at Morning by Gus Speth

This book, written by the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies' dean Gus Speath is a roadmap for global action on climate change. As one Amazon review wrote:

"This book deserves ten stars. It is more important than the sacrosanct Silent Spring. It is impossible to overstate this book's importance."

Raising Baby Green by Alan Greene

I have bought this book for several friends - it is easy to read and has lots of practical advice for expecting and seasoned mothers alike. If you or the person you are thinking of buying this book for are also interested in making your own baby food - I recommend the The Petit Appetit Cookbook by Lisa Barnes.

The Creative Jewish Wedding Book: A Hands-On Guide to New & Old Traditions, Ceremonies & Celebrations

I used this book for my wedding and thought it was very helpful - particularly in thinking about the ceremony. It has lots of how to projects and creative ideas that would work well for Jewish and non-Jewish weddings alike.

It offers(quoted form Amazon):
- Insights and reflections from a broad range of couples who have created their own distinctive weddings
- Practical hands-on techniques and ideas for creating many of the ritual objects connected to a Jewish wedding from designing your own ketubah, to making paper for invitations, to fashioning the chuppah
- How to express your spiritual life and values through your ceremony
- An up-to-date guide to wedding resources in the Jewish world

Cell Phone Recycling

Do you plan to get a new iPhone? Or have an old phone you just don't need? You can look up cell phone recycling centers in your area by clicking here.

Wool Remains Cool

Click here to read the article about why wool and silk products are sustainable choices.

Kosher Cooking

If you want to have a kosher wedding reception and you are thinking about cooking some of the food yourself, or just want ideas to give your caterer, consider picking up one of the following contemporary kosher cookbooks.

1. Kosher By Design Entertains: Fabulous Recipes For Parties And Every Day
"Building on her popular Kosher by Design, Fishbein leads readers through an array of extremely doable kosher options, covering finger foods to main dishes to desserts, while giving suggestions for organizing a menu, decorating a table and serving foods. International offerings like Pesce Arrabbiatta, Moroccan Short Ribs, and Caribbean Jerk Chicken appear alongside variations on familiar classics, such as Mexican Gefilte Fish, Strawberry Apple Kugel, and Mexican Brisket. The author is hip to trendy food items such as edamame, olive tapenade, fennel and porcini mushrooms, reinforcing this cookbook's value: yes, every dish is kosher, but far from old-fashioned. "



2. Quick & Kosher - Recipes From The Bride Who Knew Nothing
"This is the hilarious story of Jamie Geller, a spunky young TV exec who came into marriage and kosher cooking without knowing a spatula from a saucepan. Determined to master cooking, yet pressed for time, she was dismayed to find that most cookbooks consider an hour of preparation time quick, and presumed more culinary skill than many of us have. So Jamie set out to compile her own special collection of quick and easy recipes and Quick & Kosher is the result of her quest. This one-of-a-kind cookbook contains more than 160 recipes requiring no more than 15 minutes to prepare, 120 full-color photos, clear step-by-step instructions, reliable prep and cooking times, tips and techniques, and advice on pairing wines with various dishes. Recipes range from traditional to exotic, and are well indexed and cross-referenced."


3. Hip Kosher: 175 Easy-to-Prepare Recipes for Today's Kosher Cooks
"This book is a great find - from fun recipes filled with loads of learning made easy. I look forward to flipping through the pages and finding a new recipe to try - they've all been hits with our friends so far. Easy to follow - definitely well tested - and they all paste the taste test of top notch food! Thank you, Ms. Ronnie Fein, for bringing this book to us!" - AS.R. Crow

Lisa Rainwater and Andy Mele

Look -another green wedding in the Times! Click here to read the article about how these two environmental activists fell in love.

Lisa Rainwater is the policy director for Riverkeeper and Andy Mele was the executive director of Clearwater. He also wrote a book about the impact of boating on water quality:



Click here to read more about their wedding.