Gifts with Humanity, Redefines Shopping

I stumbled onto the Gifts with Humanity website, it is great for those that can afford to shop for a good cause. All items found in this site are made from fair trade standards. I did some research, and I learned that fair trade is a system of exchange that promotes better trading conditions in developing countries.The Paris wallet, is beautiful and made completely from recycled plastic bags! It can be used as a wallet or an evening clutch. It's versatile, and most importantly, the production of these wallets fights against poverty in rural parts of India!
I say that it is quite the worthy purchase, I'm looking forward to upgrading my wallet after my mini vacation to Islands of Adventure in Orlando.
Till then!

Quote of the day: "The essential thing is not knowledge, but character." Joseph Le Conte

Conflict-Free Diamonds, Beatiful and Pure...

Today is my bestie's birthday, and I've been thinking very hard about what to get her on her special day. I was searching online for eco-friendly jewelry and found Brilliant Earth and to my surprise they only sell diamonds that are conflict free!

Blood diamonds are very controversial because they are mined in war zones like Africa, and are sold to finance war related activities. Sometimes beautiful things come with a price, and so purchasing non-conflict diamonds ensures that no one was hurt or harmed in the process.  A total win-win situation!

Brilliant Earth was created by a couple, Beth Gerstein and Eric Grossberg, through a marriage proposal, the fiance was looking for conflict-free diamonds for the engagement ring, and found it very difficult. Their mission is to use socially and ethically mined gems, and environmentally responsible gold and platinum. As they say, essentially providing luxury with a conscience!

My other bestie is getting married soon, and she opted to get an artist designed ring than rather that investing in diamond ring, her reasons for that was that diamonds were dirty. And I can totally respect her views, and so when I stumbled onto this website, I was instantly drawn to it.

So for anyone that loves diamond jewelry as I do, take a look at Brilliant Earth, and make your contribution in supporting conflict free jewelry.

Once in a while...you just got to share!

I found this video of this adorable puppy snoring!

This One is Dedicated To Our Animal Companions!

Those that are close to me know that I'm an animal fanatic. I have two lovely dogs that I call pups because they will forever be my babies. Jelly is the red Min Pin, and Mickie is the Maltese. It wasn't till 2004 when I learned how important it is to adopt animals rather than buying them from breeders. In 2006, I was lucky enough to adopt Mickie from a distressed owner that traveled too much to keep up with her dog. Fortunately, she cared enough to find Mickie a new home than rather sending him to the pound.

It is very common for pet owners to find themselves incapable of caring for their fury companions and then seek to relieve their duties by simply dropping them off at a pet shelter. But what many don't know is that these shelters are overwhelmed with the number of animals dropped off and if these animals are not adopted by a certain date, they are euthanized. It is a very sad ending because these animals have no say in whether they get to live or die which is unfortunate because it is not up to their will to live a life of pain due to human self-centeredness. I want to thank my very good friend, you know who you are,  for teaching me how important it is to adopt.

So I'm writing this because in this economy many pet owners have found themselves incapable of sustaining a family along with their fury pets. So before sending them to a shelter, I want to present options that give our fury companions a second chance for happiness.

A list of no-kill shelters can be found in the following link listed by states.
http://www.greenpeople.org/humanesociety.htm

If you live in the Miami Dade county area, please drop off you fury friends at the Humane Society of Greater Miami located in North Miami Beach located at

Soffer and Fine Adoption Center
16101 W. Dixie Highway
North Miami Beach, FL 33160
Phone: 305-696-0800

If you live in Ft. Lauderdale, Abandoned Pet Rescue, is a non-profit organization that help place abandoned pets in good homes.

If you live in Lauderhill, check out Kaz's Corner Pet Rescue. Click here for their website

And, if you are in Plantation, please check out the Get A Life Pet Rescue.

For pet owners that find a home for their pets not using the services through a non-profit shelter, please make sure that your pets are placed in good homes, and follow up with the adoptive parents. Stress to the adoptees that if they ever find themselves unable to care for their adopted pets to do their research before dropping them off at just any shelter.

I will leave you with pictures of the babies that have brought an unmeasurable amount happiness and laughter to my family and friends.

Lil' Jelly

Jelly @age 6!

Mickie after grooming

Sibling Love!

Can't go wrong with Recycled Fashion!

For the fashionistas out there, I'm sure you have heard of or seen Sex and the City. In the last movie, Samantha was sporting a very bright, silvery bag. That bag was in fact made out of recycled candy wrappers! Check out www.ecoist.com for their best selling bags.

Ever wanted to turn your old dresses into new garments with a modern twist? I read this article of Marissa Lynch, who was inspired by the movie Julie & Julia, set out to make a new dress for 365 days using thrift store finds. Turning ugly dresses into new ones is no easy task, Marissa first posted her blog of the November 2009, click here to visit her website. Check out my favorites on Day 256 and 248!

Before

After

Trash Pile in the Pacific, size of Texas!

There is currently a trash pile in the Pacific Ocean comparable to twice the size of Texas! Most people are not aware of how destructive plastic wastes has become to our environment.

This plastic soup as oceanographers call it, is toxic to marine life and to those living near the shore.  The trash vortex is a result of 15+ years of trash disposal, which continues to grow at alarming rates. Affecting birds, fish, dolphins, turtles, and many more marine animals.

By far the most destructive type of plastic found in the Pacific are all the plastic rings found in plastic bottles. This plastic is not recycle because most companies do not care for it, and due to its material content does not allow for proper recycling.

Plastic rings that keep your beer cans together, becomes a death sentence for animals. It's very sad to see how human contribution has affected so many defenseless animals.

So what can you do to help? The good news is there are plenty of things you can do!

If you feel passionate for wild life, the first step can be to minimize your consumption of bottled water and bottled soda. Not only will is spare the life of a precious little animal, it will help keep your pockets fat and happy.

Purchase a reusable water bottle, my family and boyfriend all have reusable bottles from Swiss makers, Sigg. Check their website for one of a kind bottles that are designed beautifully to express your sense of style!

http://mysigg.com/

Hey BP, you are useless.

Okay, so it's been a while since I've kept up with this blog, but I've just become a bit more enraged because BP just simply can careless of the impacts of oil on the wildlife in the Gulf.

In the midst of all the public blunders which include comments such as the "small people" or"i just want my life back" or Tony Hayward participating in a yacht race with his son in the Isle of Wight in Europe, BP ought to change their name from British Petroleum to Being Pretentious. Or at least it seems that way, since BP decided to use 50 millions dollars to launch TV ad campaign and radio ads on their continued efforts to clean up the Gulf. Hmm... sounds promising, why not use that money to ACTUALLY clean up the oil spill.  Doesn't seem that complicated.

The blunders just show how disinterested BP is in their efforts to clean up their own mess. Instead the importance lies in reassuring their stockholders that they have everything under control. Or as Hayward would say very modestly that in comparison, what is a little dispersant or oil in the Gulf of Mexico, it is a very big ocean after all. Let me tell you, now that Tony Hayward, is a bright cookie. 

So when is this going to end, because I'm very modestly tired of reading about their public blunders, I just want to hear that the spill has been contained and the animals are now safe.

Really FU BP!

Thanks to my bestie for feeling so passionate about this as I do!

Hey BP, here a finger for you! Oh yeah and here's a result for your so called 10 year research program of the effects of crude oil on the marine environment! Oil in the ocean = death of marine organisms (such as sperm whales and dolphins). It was reported that sperm whales like to hang around the area where the spill occurred, so these animals swim to the surface to breathe and can inhale crude oil into their lungs that can have a negative effect on their survival.

Sperm whales as well as other whales, dolphins, and sharks, that are large marine animals have long gestation periods, meaning they do not reproduce often and when they do they only have a small litter. The population of sperm whales are reportedly low,  at risk of being extinct and will likely suffer from the mess BP has created.

So when the heck is BP going to stop the leak? Another month from now? Well I guess they are too busy stonewalling, with so much time invested in pledging money for a research program, who has time to plug the damn hole as our President Obama said.

Maybe the CEO's fantastic idea of pumping huge amounts of mud and cement will work? It only took them like 36+ days to think of that brilliant idea. Oh and if it doesn't work with mud and cement, they will try to pump junk into the hole with material like golf balls, pieces of tire, and pieces of rope. Hmmm.... that sounds really re-assuring.

Video Released of the Toxic Soup of Crude Oil and Dispersant In The Water

http://news.yahoo.com/video/u-s-15749625#video=20009724

36 Days Later and W.H intervenes!

It's been more than a month since the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and yet BP continue to move at snail pace to clean up the mess. Not to mention the chemicals used to clean the rocky shores are extremely harmful to the touch and can cause lung damage. Why is BP still in charge of this clean up? Better yet, why isn't our government stepping in to save the wildlife and the livelihoods of those that are depended on the Gulf to make ends meet? Hotels have had to shut down their private beaches due to oil washed up from the Gulf.

Day 36, and the White House finally has decided to intervene. This is clear that BP has been under representing the severity of the oil spill. This spill is potentially more severe than the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska in 1989! The Valdez spill reportedly released 10.8 million gallons of crude oil, scientists believe the oil spill in the Gulf could be estimated up to 12 million gallons.

So while BP is focused on pledging 500 million dollars to a 10 year independent research program on the effects of crude oil on the marine environment, the Congress will be quadrupling the gas tax to 0.32 cents a barrel to pay for the clean up. It is projected to bring in 11 billions dollars for the next decade.

Is this really enough though?