Occasionally, I like to post things that I just plain want – whether or not they fit my style, budget, or even my ever-changing mood.  Ergo, the semi-regular To Covet: a category that shows one thing that I’ve been coveting, be it eco-, socio- or independently-friendly. First thing first: Gilt has a new “Gifts” section, and I [...]

Finally: after much trepidation and a little help from my friends at Nature of Beauty, I got the chance to try all natural makeup. As most of you know, I have rosacea, which means that along with all the usual makeup issues – clumping mascara, smearing eyeshadow, lipstick in the “I’m almost thirty” creases around [...]

The Heavyweights Edited by Dramatis Personae Fashion’s getting heavier– and I’m not just talking about the rise of supermodels like Crystal Renn. This week we’ve got meaty posts covering ethical topics like the sustainability of bamboo at Awakened Aesthetic while Bonne-Vie covers the the implications of buying items made in China. We’ve got not 1–not [...]

My sense of fashion has been wandering lately.  Like a rogue traveler, it can’t seem to stay in one place: I’ve been pairing my feminine, frilly things with deconstructed jeans, my Grecian dresses with motorcycle boots.  It’s an experimental phase that has brought some of my most neglected pieces to the forefront as I put them together in [...]

I’m trying to stay away from making regular “sample sale” posts, because as more and more companies go green, more of them offer their items up to places like Gilt, Beyond the Rack, Ideeli and Hautelook…and if I posted about all of the sustainable sales those sites provide, that’s all I’d post. However, when I [...]

When I was little, I never got into my mom’s makeup, or even her daytime clothes.  Instead, I went straight for the silk, the classic pumps, the vintage jewelry.  At my grandmother’s house, I’d run my fingers over the heirloom lingerie, handed down from generation to generation, treasured by every woman that received it.  While [...]

I have a love-hate relationship with nail polish.  My entire day-to-day life is predicated on the use of my hands: I take dictation at work, I do dishes at home, and between my time with the dog and my time taking out with my friends, I wash my hands a lot. And I just do [...]

Keeping up with the Joneses used to mean buying the newest, most expensive car and parking it next to your immaculately-manicured lawn.  Now it means getting a hybrid and building a compost bin. But the idea of sustainable living – the basics of it – is not new.  The hippies were doing it in the [...]

We’ve had a mellow winter, here in Seattle: temperatures in the forties, temperamental cloud cover, and not a speck of snow to be seen.  While some of my friends think this is a sign of early spring, I know better: the northwest is known for pulling the rug out from under you just when you [...]

When I am faced with something upsetting, I don’t depress or crawl into a hole.  I ramp up; I stress out; I panic. My brain is very, very good to me, however, because every time the winds change and I start to get anxious, I gravitate to calming influences.  I’m drawn to colors that flatter my mood [...]