terra plana, veg dyed boots
Someday…
I want these…
February 7th, 2010
Bare Naked Lip Balm
February 5th, 2010
So with all this chilly, rainy weather I have to constantly make sure I have 3 things on me at all times. My wallet, my phone and lip balm. In the past I would buy any lip balm I could get my hands on, searching for relief and comfort. skinnyskinny’s organic Bare Naked Lip Balm is by far the most comfortable wearing and healing lip balm that I have ever worn. It’s not waxy and has a matte finish, which is a great find! Plus with no color or added scents, all you have to think about is how naturally your lips are being healed and protected. Also, did you know that most of skinnyskinny’s products are vegan, and all of the products are cruelty-free. Your lips and animals will thank you!
Featured Products: Organic Real Cocoa Soap & Organic Rose Almond Soap
February 3rd, 2010We’ve blogged about sending organic flowers to your Valentine, but what about sending an organic bouquet of a different sort? How about a nice bouquet of Organic Rose & Almond Soap. It’s filled with lots of rose petals (ie, instant romance!) and it’s so nicely scented that it’s bound to make so-and-so forgive you for most of your idiosyncratic ways. Most of them, anyway. The point being that a rose is a rose is a rose. You can find them here:
Organic Rose Almond Soap
Or, how about sending some delicious organic chocolates? We’ve got that…in soap. Our Organic Real Cocoa Soap is excellent. It’s filled with lots of unrefined organic cocoa butter that makes this soap smell like real true cocoa, not a sugary sweet dessert. It’s remarkably gentle and moisturizing, too. Plus, no one will gain any weight from this chocolate. Find it here:
Organic Real Cocoa Soap
So, get to romancing and appreciating…skinnyskinny makes it easy.
Happiness in a cracked sidewalk
February 2nd, 2010“I especially like the ones (flowers) that grow through cracks in the sidewalk. Those ones are fighters. They’ve tenaciously pushed through all that concrete and brought a little life and color to an unexpected place.” 
Book Review- Diary of a Bad Year by JM Coetzee
February 1st, 2010
I got this book a week or so ago from my new favorite (used!) bookstore, BookThugNation. I had gotten this along with several others…how can you not buy a lot of books when they are so good and used and cheap?
This is the first book that I’ve read by Coetzee, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2003, and I am smitten. The book is thoroughly engaging on so many levels so I never felt as if I was settling for less than an incredibly good book. First, the premise…the main part of the book is told by a narrator who happens to be an author. This author has been asked to contribute to a book that will be called Strong Opinions. This gives the narrator the freedom to talk about anything he chooses, from torture to political systems to photography to birds. The observations are astute and direct without ever seeming to be dogmatic. The ‘Strong Opinions’ take up the top 1/3 to 1/2 of each page.
Below the section of strong opinions is the section that is the author’s personal voice. This is more of his day-to-day interactions, although most of this section is made up of his thoughts and conversations with a woman from his building complex that he has hired to be the typist for his Strong Opinions.
The third and bottom section is reserved for Anya, the typist. This section is made up of her observations, either of what she is typing or of the author. This section is often filled with her conversations and disagreements with her boyfriend.
It’s a fascinating structure for a book and the sections have their own speed to them. There is the high-minded section at the top of the page that requires more concentration which plays off of the quicker reads of the lower sections. The tension that forms by constantly trying to decide which way to read to read the book (by finishing a page or a section first) is a unique and welcome feeling in reading. So often, I’ve found that books completely neglect conceptual aspects of the reading experience and settle for a linear narrative. This may sound like an annoying feature in a book but it seemed to me to mirror real life in the way that it is sometimes easier to focus on such weighty topics of morals and ethics, but one still has the daily life to lead. The two lower sections of the pages were like brief escapes from seriousness, but because those sections were often discussing the top section, I could also see the interplay between personal/private, individual/society, and so on. It was fascinating without being overly stylized or flashy.
I loved the book and this apparently isn’t even one of Coetzee’s best books. I highly recommend it and look forward to reading his others.
Organic Valentine’s Day flowers!
January 31st, 2010Many consumers cradling their colorful bouquets don’t realize that close to 70% of cut flowers sold in the USA are grown overseas, where growing conditions are better, but labor is cheaper and pesticide regulation is more lax.
So think about sending organic flowers to your sweetie this Valentine’s Day, or the day after, or for a birthday, etc.
Lovely New Products from skinnyskinny!
January 16th, 2010skinnyskinny is happy to announce the arrival of a few new organic and eco-friendly products:
Handmade wood soap dish
This is one of our new soap dishes, made by hand from salvaged and reclaimed hardwoods. Each is unique and one-of-a kind. Get yours here.
Next, we have two new additions to our organic potpourri family. First up is Lemon, Lime and Ginger (which you can buy here):
organic lemon lime and ginger potpourri
And next, we have Organic Orange and Fennel potpourri, available here.
Organic Orange and Fennel potpourri
So, what do you all think?
10,641 square miles of rubble
January 15th, 2010There is nothing I can add about the cataclysmic event that has all but destroyed our Caribbean neighbor that hasn’t already been said. Yet to speak of anything else seems, well, in bad taste.
So I’ll reserve my ramblings for my next post.
Everyone can do something-
January 15th, 2010As the devastation in Haiti continues, we can all pitch in to help. And tomorrow, we can do the same. And the day after that and for every day after that until our help is no longer needed. Just do something.
Restraint of Pen and Wallet
January 13th, 2010(Note: I’d like to introduce Brian Bellanca as a guest blogger here. He’s my husband and nemesis. I’m clearly kidding about the nemesis part. So, welcome…)
I’d like to think that I’ve mastered the art of not saying (or typing) every word that pops into my chaotic brain. “Like to” being the operative phrase. Just as self- editing isn’t always a foolproof method for avoiding bad or gratuitous prose, curbing spending habits will alone also often yield baleful results.
Enter the “Pennies” iphone app, an accounting tool well worth the $2.99 pricetag (get it here). Just spent a dollar on a cup of java? Less than 10 user-friendly seconds later, and bingo! You’ve got a permanent record to reference later on. You can set a budget and your expenses are broken down by categories. It’s amazing how quickly one can get separated from their hard-earned cash in this town (NYC).
Ever find yourself staring incredulously into the void that is your wallet wondering if you’d lost a twenty spot? Happens to me all the time. Where does it go? Keeping company with those lost socks from my dryer perhaps? Doubtful. Hard to argue the facts when they’re staring you in the face in tiny black sans-serif type on your smartphone.
My budding relationship with “Pennies” is but a week old but so far so great. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes. By the way, the screenshot of the app is from Flikr, not my personal phone. Just thought I’d mention that. I don’t spend $223 a day, not today anyway.
