Recycling Is A Beautiful Thing In California

This post is sponsored by Arrowhead Waters. All opinions are my own.

2.8 BILLION plastic bottles ended up in California landfills in 2011.  I want to share this post to do my part and spread the word: recycle MORE!  Recycling saves resources and reduces environmental impact.

Our family recycles. We just do.  It something that we have done since we were kids.  It is something that our child is growing up doing.

I would love to hear about your recycling efforts and to see some of your craftiness with recycled art! I'm hoping that you will share! I'd love some ideas on crafting projects that I can do with our preschool aged son!

I would much rather see plastic bottles transformed into these pretty pieces vs. a landfill full of plastic bottles! I am not crafty (yet - I am a work in progress) but I am inspired by the creativity of these Etsy artists!

Photo source: Arrowhead  ReBorn Bottle on Facebook 

Recycling is one of the easiest and most beneficial ways we can all help the environment. Sadly, only about 30% of PET plastic bottles get recycled. For recycling to work, we all have to do our part.

Photo source: Arrowhead  ReBorn Bottle on Facebook 

To learn a more about Arrowhead's recycling initiatives please visit the Arrowhead Facebook page. I hope that you will help to spread the word and commit to recycling more!  I invite you to take a moment to watch this behind the scenes video.

 

Many of you are not in California, how does your state fare in regards to recycling?



Bulldozers push around piles of trash at San Diego's Miramar Landfill.
Photo Credit: Katie Orr | kpbs.org



BabbaCo: Escape The Indoor Blues With Awesome Adventures

Before I tell you all about the wonders of BabbaCo and their BabbaBox I wanted to make a little confession: I am NOT a crafty Momma (Not YET. I'm a work in progress).  I find so many projects on Pinterest but I don't pin them because I KNOW that I do not have the time or energy to pull these "easy" crafts together.  I work full time and race home each day to be with my little one.  I can't imagine rushing all over town to purchase goodies from the craft store!  Thanks to BabbaBoxes - I don't HAVE to.  EVERYTHING that I need is included.  Right down to scissors, glue, and markers!

Each month, the BabbaBox is delivered right to your door and features activities organized around a theme that kids age 3-7 will love. All you need to do is open up the box and enjoy!

I dread the winter blues - especially when colds are common and it is usually dark and a bit chilly outdoors by the time my husband & I get home from work.  Being cooped up is NO FUN.


During the workday our son is usually indoors with his Grandma.  He enjoys watching PBS, has many learning toys, his beloved train sets, and his very own tablet loaded with learning apps.  But even with those things I like to introduce him to hands on projects that encourage imaginative play. DIY crafts, kid friendly recipes, and countless other FUN projects and experiments!

I love having BabbaCo projects that the little one can do with his Grandma while my husband and I are at work!  They BOTH can have fun creating together!  Instructions are always included and are very easy to follow.  As I mentioned earlier: all of the items that you need are included in the box!

BabbaCo Story Materials

If you are looking for a fun solution to the indoor blues check out February's BabbaBox which theme is: “My Amazing Adventures”.

BabbaCo Puppet People

Here are the details on what you’ll find inside your “My Amazing Adventures” BabbaBox:

Make an adorable photo magnet of your kids and have it sent to your home – absolutely free – thanks to BabbaCo's special partnership with Shutterfly!

Star in adventures to outerspace, the jungle - anywhere your imagination takes you - in a storybook you create and get to can keep.

Using your personalized magnet from Shutterfly, cut out adventure costumes you get to color, make puppets that can play out your stories.

Read “Henry's Amazing Imagination” - a sweet story about a mouse whose imagination is so great that his friends begin to wonder if he's fibbing! See how his teacher helps him harness his ideas into stories to share.

Download a free copy of DinoBoy Adventures App - It's a "choose your own" adventure story for the preschool set!

Here are a couple of photos from a BabbaBox that we purchased last year (and one of our FAVORITES):

• Sign up for BabbaCo’s Newsletter (FREE) and you are entered to win a great prize package: Annual Membership to the BabbaBox ($240 value) AND a $50 Gift Card from Shutterfly.

• BabbaCo is running a very special “Cure to the Indoor Blues” offer right now: 33% ($10) Off the 1st month of a new Monthly or Annual Subscription!  Just use the Coupon Code: FEB33 at checkout.

I invite you to take a moment to learn even MORE about BabbaCo by watching this informative video.

  

This sponsored post is made possible by our friends at BabbaCo.  All opinions expressed here are my own.

Art and Fashion Collide Event at Andaz Salon San Diego

Another exciting event happening in San Diego! For all of my fashion blogger friends still buzzing from the recent FWSD runway show - here is ANOTHER awesome opportunity to see the art of fashion! This time: Menswear! We will be treated to an added BONUS: FINE ARTS, wine, and fun social event held at an amazing venue! I hope to see you there!

The Art and Fashion Collide Event is presented by Andaz San Diego on October 18, 2012.  The event will feature artist Heidi Thompson as well as a fashion show by Maceoo Menswear. For More Information about the event Call 619.814.2060

Excerpt from the Andaz San Diego Calendar of Events:

Art and Fashion Collide. Beginning at 6 p.m. on Thursday, October 18, innovative San Diego art will coincide with a display of stylish creativity in Andaz’ Ivy Wine Bar and Ivy Nightclub.

Fashion and art aficionados are invited to peruse an intriguing display of contemporary abstract art from featured artist Heidi Thompson, courtesy of art critic, collector and acclaimed art dealer Alexander Salazar. Following this art show, guests can take in the cutting-edge stylings of local menswear designer Maceoo during a fashion show in the hotel’s renowned Ivy Nightclub.

At 6 p.m. guests will begin their evening with a welcome from Alexander Salazar complemented by an inspiring art display. Between 6 and 7 p.m., guests will also be able to enjoy hosted drinks in the Ivy Wine Bar.

At 7 p.m., guests will venture into the chic Ivy Nightclub to enjoy the talent and originality of Maceoo, an impressive line of menswear designed by Mehdi Raad. Based in San Diego, Maceoo is an artistically-created clothing line inspired by the cultural and social experiences of its designer; pieces are intended to act as an extension of the body, simultaneously embodying sensuality and sophistication.

Andaz Salon is a series of dedicated events held at esteemed Andaz hotels across the nation, including Andaz San Diego. These occasions, sought after by each cities’ most influential residents, offer opportunities for locals and visitors to engage in unique social experiences under the guidance of knowledgeable event hosts. From fine art exhibits to wine and cheese immersions, and local musical acts to informative culinary demonstrations, guests of Andaz Salon events experience the local scene through the eyes of leading cultural arbiters.

Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own.

Vincent van Gogh: "I'd like to show by my work what such an eccentric, such a nobody, has in his heart"

How a genius feels: "I'm a nonentity, an eccentric, an unpleasant person"

March 30th is the birthday of Vincent van Gogh, born in Holland in 1853, a famous painter and also great letter-writer. His letters were lively, engaging, and passionate; they also frequently reflect his struggles with bipolar disorder.

He wrote: "What am I in the eyes of most people — a nonentity, an eccentric, or an unpleasant person — somebody who has no position in society and will never have; in short, the lowest of the low. All right, then — even if that were absolutely true, then I should one day like to show by my work what such an eccentric, such a nobody, has in his heart."

He wrote thousands of letters to his brother Theo over the course of his life. Theo's widow published the van Gogh's letters to her husband in 1913.

Doctors' Day in a high-risk profession: suicide rate of U.S. doctors is one per day

This quote serves as a good reminder how people with depression may have an altered perception of themselves. March 30 is also National Doctors' Day in the U.S. Other countries celebrate Doctors' Day on different dates.

More than a quarter of primary care doctors reported being "burnt out." The United States loses the equivalent of at least one entire medical school class (approximately 400 physicians) each year to suicide.

In other words, 300-400 doctors in the United States kill themselves every year, or roughly 1 per day. Male doctors have suicide rates 1.4 times that of the general population, while female doctors have twice the rate of depression and 2.3 times the suicide rate when compared with women who are not physicians.

A conversation could save a life: "Are you OK?" Day

Hugh Jackman shows his support for R U OK?Day, a national day of action in Australia that aims to prevent suicide by encouraging people to connect with colleagues, friends and loved ones and ask simply: "Are you OK?" This may help your medical colleagues too:



References

Writer's Almanac. NPR, 2012.
High-risk profession: Suicide rate of U.S. doctors is one per day
Help for Today's Tense, Frustrated Doctors. Medscape, 2009.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/710904
Doctors have higher rates of suicide than the general population: 40% higher for male doctors, 130% for female doctors http://goo.gl/ckTm
R U OK? Day
Image source: Vincent van Gogh's 1890 painting At Eternity's Gate. Wikipedia, public domain.

Interrupted Life: Incarcerated Mothers in the United States - From Awearness

Originally posted at the AWEARNESS blog.

I'm not usually an art person. It's not that I don't like art -- it's that I don't usually get it. But last week I went to the last day of Rickie Solinger's Interrupted Life: Incarcerated Mothers in the United States: A Traveling Public Art Exhibition. Almost immediately I was in tears.

The first piece I stood in front of was a list of rules that incarcerated women must adhere to during visitation or else their visitation rights will be revoked. It was breathtaking to see all the rules etched into glass in black and white. It was overwhelming. And I knew this is why I waited until the last minute to see the exhibit. If I had gone earlier, I might have found myself obsessing over the pieces day after day.

Read the rest over at AWEARNESS...