Laundry Day

It was laundry day today, a common ritual in a house with a little boy who sweats in or soils every garment almost instantly. The only difference in today's laundry routine was that I decided that the woven wicker basket I use as a hamper in my closet needs to retire to life as, well, a basket, and it's time to purchase a real hamper. And what better distraction from house chores, than online shopping?!? Well, I fell in love with a lidded, woven model and then saw the price tag: $120!! It's a hamper, not a handbag! So, I decided that today's post should run down the best hampers I proceeded to uncover, all of which are under 20 bucks.


Natural bohemian vibe, for any age: Daisy Crunch Can by Umbra $19.99


The look of a woven material, without the price: Square Resin Hamper by Honey Can Do $19.99


Soft colors, clean lines: Shake Up Hamper by Homz $19.98


For a hip nursery or dorm room: Camo Bongo Bag by Redmon $14.99


Natural canvas and warm wood: Wooden X-Frame Hamper with lidded canvas bag by Honey Can Do $18.97


For those who like to keep darks and lights separate at all times: Aluminum Frame Double Hamper by Whitmor $19.99


Something for every kid's taste: Tiddliwinks' Hamper Collection $19.99

New kitchen tools that are planet-friendly and FUN

Your kids get to play all day with fun, colorful toys that delight their senses. Why can't you have the same fun while being eco-conscious and getting three square meals on the table every day?? Now, you can!! Feast your eyes on this new collection of kitchen tools made from "an innovative recycled wood and plastic blend that can be recycled" by Boston Warehouse. The grater and pizza wheel are my personal favorites from the 10-piece collection. Play on!!

http://www.kitchenkapers.com/the-greens.html

Green Home Bible for 2011 "Planet Home" is out now..

If greening your home is a highly prioritized intention for the New Year, educating yourself is an first essential step. A fellow writer, Alexandra Zissu, has collaborated with Seventh Generation cofounder Jeffrey Hollender to bring you Planet Home. This invaluable guide to living consciously in your home and on our planet can be used as either a comprehensive intro to green living or as an updated refresher course for those who have gone astray or just want to learn more. I already live in a toxin-free home and tread as lightly on Mother Earth as possible, but my evolution is dependent on keeping myself educated and inspired, especially as information, society and our planet changes every single day. Luckily for me, both "read more" and "go greenER" are both on my list of New Years Resolutions. Thanks to Planet Home, I'll be able to accomplish both at once.

To purchase, click here: Planet Home

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Dear Friends, Family & Blog Followers,

I hope that 2011 is off to a inspired, joyous start for each and every one of you. While I'm not much of a Hallmark holiday girl myself, I do cherish the turning of the calendar each year as a time to celebrate the accomplishments of the passing year, create my intentions for the months ahead and proceed forward with refreshed purpose and inspiration. My first moments of 2011 were spent in Pennsylvania with my son, my beloved parents, and my aunt and her husband, led in celebration by my five year old whose fervor for staying awake till midnight and "partying down" put all of us old people to shame. But it was a beautiful reminder of my need to appreciate and rejoice in each little moment, like my son so innocently and naturally does. Streamers, noisemakers and hats he insisted on to ring in the New Year may not be an appropriate addition to daily life, but the sentiment of enjoyment and gratitude can still be the same (and who says I can't bang pots and cheer on the inside?!).

In the spirit of the New Year, I wanted to announce the official launch of my business Baby Green and its new website http://babygreendesign.net/ Baby Green has been in incubation stages since I closed down re:place last year and has now been officially birthed, signifying the first baby step toward my calling of transformative design, home detoxification, organizing and educating.....alongside my renewed pursuit of expression through the written word (personally through this blog and commercially through all my awesome writing clients). Please forward the website link to anyone you know who needs some greening or organizing as the New Year unfolds (I'm offering sizable New Year's Resolution discounts right now!).....peaceful, purged, well-organized spaces like those below are an invaluable foundation for transformation in all areas of life.






2010 brought about profound change for me personally and professionally and I embrace the start of 2011 for all the continued evolution it will bring and all the beautiful people I will be able to share it with. (Insert confetti poppers and noisemakers here.)

With love and gratitude,

Amanda

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!

Dear Friends & Family,

A pre-holiday mega-bug got the best of me this week, but I mustered up just enough energy to decorate our miniature artificial tree and make Christmas cookies for all the neighbors with my son Ryder. He begged for a "real" tree but ultimately bestowed his love on our little tree-in-a-box and announced that the only "early Christmas present" he wanted before heading off to his father's was that I feel better. True Christmas spirit, I'd say.

I am creating this Christmas morning post to wish all of our dear friends and families a merry, joyous holiday and to share a few of my favorite "alternative" trees, not to take anything away from the real cut trees that a majority of you have standing proudly in your living rooms, but to celebrate a year of slow but strong environmental changes, the true Christmas spirit that is measured in our hearts, not in decorations, and a beautiful, bright future ahead.

With all my love,

Amanda

It's a wrap.

The holiday season seems to sneak up out of nowhere each year. Weren't my son and I tumbling around in the Long Island surf not so very long ago? In an effort to sooth my denial/shock/resistance/astonishment and because a bunch of fellow parents have suggested I do so, I am embracing the season by posting a variety of green holiday tips over the coming weeks. No grinch in this house (although if I do recall correctly, he was a lively shade of green himself!).

With Chanukkah already underway and Santa Wish Lists in final draft stage, gift giving season is no doubt upon us. I am personally anti-gift wrap, favoring discarded newspapers, magazines and fabric scraps when an outer wrapping is a must. More often than not, I just hand over a gift with a smile. This year, however, I bought some recycled paper from a fundraiser at my son's school that was even printed with non-toxic inks. Friends and relatives will certainly be shocked to receive wrapped gifts from me! This inspired me to post my Top 3 favorite earth-friendly holiday gift wrap finds, giving us all a chance to green this wasteful tradition at long last!




http://www.greendepot.com/greendepot/product.asp?prod_name=Recyled+Paper+Gift+Wrap&pf_id=WNW&dept_id=42200&s_id=0&




http://www.greenfieldpaper.com/asccustompages/products.asp?fav=0&fpage=1&categoryID=19&productID=220&cartID=1039357330




http://www.containerstore.com/shop/giftWrapWonderland/holidayGiftPackaging/giftWrap?utm_medium=feed&productId=10026364&utm_source=google_products&sku=10050497

(Belated) Thanksgiving Post

Hello all,

Recently, busy days have amassed into busy weeks and before I knew it, the numbers 12/01/10 were screaming at me from my brightly lit blackberry screen this morning. Really, how is it December already?!? Barring the fact that I haven't posted anything here for weeks, I had the best intentions of composing a Thanksgiving post full of appropriate gratitude and sentiment. But I was too busy enjoying Thanksgiving, and all the family and events that went along with it!! My son and I played, ate, rested and bonded for a sweet four-day stretch in LaPorte, Pennsylvania with more than a dozen other members of my sizable family.

The holiday highlights included:
my mother's corn pudding and turkey soup
my brothers rescuing me from the mud
never having to spend a minute worrying about my son
a woman who gave me $20 that God told her to give me at a gas station on the way to PA
the outpouring of remote help from my parents, friends and family when Ryder and I blew a tire on the way home on Sunday (not a good time or day to seek automotive help in rural Pennsylvania)
long walks in the brisk mountain air (when I wasn't sinking into mud!)
very restful nights of sleep
an "Oh Hell" victory
a constant feeling of gratitude for my family

To me, Thanksgiving is rooted in a story from our history books that I don't believe 100%. But regardless of my opinion on the conventional account of what happened on these shores centuries ago, I still cherish the time to stop and be present to all that I am thankful for, filling up on just as much gratitude as I do turkey.

I hope everyone had an equally beautiful, gratitude-filled holiday. I will resume Baby Green posts soon. Till then, I leave you with a few images of the big rescue efforts: my brothers pulling me out of the mud, my son comforting me as we both laughed it off and my brothers pulling my sneakers out of the mud (I was prepared to leave them behind forever!!).

xx,
Amanda

Stand Up. (A few of the cutest children's bookends out there)

I was recently faced with the task of sourcing several pairs of unique, fun, modern bookends for a kids' room I'm designing, an endeavor that was more fun and challenging than I had expected. While I have a few pairs of bookends myself that I depend on to support a few groupings of prized tomes, I can't recall specifically seeking them out. Perhaps good bookends just happen to good people?

So I set out to match my wonderful, charming client with equally wonderful, charming bookends. Google was no help, turning up 100's of bookends.com type sites, with one bookend more blah than the next. But etsy (and ebay of course) were very fruitful and below are a few of the cutest from my search, mostly handmade or environmentally responsible in some way (but it's enough that they just support a love for reading in our little ones):



http://www.etsy.com/listing/60672172/personality-metal-bookends-book-stand?ref=sr_gallery_1&ga_search_query=metal+bookend&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&order=&includes%5B0%5D=tags&includes%5B1%5D=title&filter%5B0%5D=handmade



http://www.etsy.com/listing/58647368/softi-bookends-blue-ellies?ref=sr_gallery_2&ga_search_query=softi+bookend&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&order=&includes%5B0%5D=tags&includes%5B1%5D=title&filter%5B0%5D=handmade



http://www.etsy.com/listing/61320308/natural-persimmons-tree-bookends-read-me?ref=sr_gallery_1&ga_search_query=persimmon+bookend&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&order=&includes%5B0%5D=tags&includes%5B1%5D=title&filter%5B0%5D=handmade



http://www.etsy.com/listing/54402812/bird-on-a-branch-petit-feed-sack-pillow?ref=sr_gallery_1&ga_search_query=bird+on+a+branch+bookend&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&order=&includes%5B0%5D=tags&includes%5B1%5D=title&filter%5B0%5D=handmade



http://www.etsy.com/listing/55592936/1-woodland-bird-stack-forest-animal?ref=sr_gallery_6&ga_search_query=bookends+wood+birds&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&order=&includes%5B0%5D=tags&includes%5B1%5D=title&filter%5B0%5D=handmade

Bedroom Liberation

As daylight-saving time ushers in colder, shorter days and the inevitable long winter ahead, I know I'll be spending more time daydreaming about warm tropical escapes and more decorating dollars creating such a respite in my own home - sans the flight time and baggage fees - infusing little feelings of vacation into the spaces that surround me every day. With my desktop's wallpaper set to a scene of cerulean waves lapping a white sand beach, I hit the internet for some inspiration and landed on these island-inspired master and guest bedrooms all featuring exotic, whimsical or serene ways to bring tropical living to your home. Aaaaaahhhh.....



Photo credit: Deborah Whitlaw Llewellyn
For more info: http://www.coastalliving.com/homes/decorating/cozy-spaces-00400000027791/page29.html



Photo credit: Deborah Whitlaw Llewellyn
For more info: http://www.coastalliving.com/homes/decorating/our-fifteen-prettiest-island-rooms-00400000062990/



Photo credit: Jean Allsop
For more info: http://www.coastalliving.com/homes/beach-style-beachy-boho-interiors-00400000048816/



Photo credit: Troy Campbell
For more info: http://www.coastalliving.com/homes/beach-style-restort-glam-interiors-00400000048772/page2.html



Photo credit: Amanda Moore
New York City loft designed by yours truly



Photo credit: Chad Lukaszewski
Water Mill, NY beach home designed by Laura Newton & Amanda Moore

Gnaw in peace....

Attention parents of teething babies!!

This is the cutest wooden teething ring set I've ever seen, made of sustainably harvested cherry and finished in nontoxic beeswax. Plus, it's made in the USA and comes in a biodegradable drawstring jute bag. If you have a child growing in her first chompers, please send me your mailing address so I have an excuse to buy a set!

Peace, Love, Drool set available from Land of Nod; click below for their rather impressive assortment (for a big box retailer) of eco-friendly children's products (I'm also especially fond of all the art supplies they carry from Clementine Art).

http://www.landofnod.com/eco-friendly/toys-gifts/1

Rest Assured

(My little angel, now 5 years old, sleeping in organic pureness since Day One.)

I have watched my son buzzing around the playground countless times, daydreaming of ways to bottle his energy. I would certainly be rich if I could. If there are other parents out there working on this, email me and perhaps we can partner up. ;)

I know his vitality is partly contributed to the rock solid sleep he gets each night, his uninterrupted sweaty slumber that reinvigorates him to meet each new day of toddlerhood full of zest (sleep he gets while I'm up finishing the dishes, paying bills, or preparing for the next day or the hours I rise before him to get a half day's work in...all leaving me with about the same amount of total energy that he possesses in his elbow alone).

But during the hours that I do sleep, I rest a lot more soundly knowing how safe, pure, and natural the bed is that stages his dreamtime renewal, from the all-natural mattress to the organic cotton bedding. Since he was a tiny newborn, he has rarely slept on anything but the purest cotton, wool or bamboo. And not only do I believe these conscious choices are better for him, greatly contributing to his peaceful rest, but they are also for the health of the planet that he will spend his all his waking and sleeping hours on.

A few scary facts: the world's conventional cotton crops, grown in over 80 countries, consume roughly 25% of the insecticides used on our planet and are responsible for roughly 10% of the pesticides released into our air. Many insecticides and pesticides are highly toxic and 5 of the top 9 types used contain probable carcinogens. It is believed that in the 1990's, nearly 50% of Egyptian Cotton workers suffered from chronic pesticide poisoning, including neurological and vision disorders.

Don't know any Egyptian Cotton workers personally? Well, a significant number of crops are dusted domestically affecting our air, national water supplies and ecosystems, even those that are nowhere near a cotton field. The toxic growing process permeates every single production stage, no doubt winding up in the end product: the actual pillowcase you rest your head on every night.

While conventional cotton still undoubtedly dominates the bedding market, there are more non-toxic, organic choices than ever for your little one's room, a remarkable improvement from the sleepless nights of my 3rd trimester when I surfed the internet finding little more than boring, solid natural, baby pink, and powder blue organic cotton crib sheets. Now what's best for our children and the earth can now also be the focal point of a pretty stylish boudoir.

The folks at Q Collection Junior have been leaders in the organic baby market for years now and their Animal Crib Set (available in Sweet Lime, shown, or Cardamom) is the perfect marriage of adorable design and truly authentic eco-friendliness.

http://www.qcollectionjunior.com/product/6011-ANSW/Animali-Crib-Set---Sweet-Lime.html

To ensure a restful night's sleep for your littlest night owl, Honeyami's Night Owl Organic Crib Set is free of toxins as well as frilly design: clean, serene, yet playful pale blue owls and blue-on-white patterns are a unique eco-friendly design statement.

http://www.modernnursery.com/itemsDetail.cfm/NightOwlOrganicCribSet/0/item_num/HNY-CS-OWl/pcid/9/cid/216

I love the ease of purchasing a crib set, but as a decorator I tended to mix and match, a la carte, when purchasing my son's bedding. This was also a result of budget, the fact that I didn't use a cribskirt and paired all the sheeting up with a solid white bumper cover over an organic cotton bumper insert. So I stocked my son's dresser drawers full of fitted sheets; with diaper leaks and drool, we needed back-ups for the back-ups. Nowadays, there are just as many bedding 'separates' as there are cute sets. Here are a few of my favorites, miles away from the boring organic cotton solids of yesteryear.....

>

Giggle's Better Basics Line would have saved me many nights of sleepless prenatal web surfing. This simple, crisp stripe (available in blue, shown, as well as pink and orange) could be incorporated into virtually any color palette and design style.

http://www.giggle.com/p/24230/Fitted-Stripe-Crib-Sheet---Blue-Organic-Cotton.aspx?s=1&keyword=organic+stripe+sheet

As a longtime fan of Serena & Lily's bedding, I am thrilled to see an infusion of organic cotton crib bedding and textiles-by-the-yard into their line, all in the design-friendly patterns and colors their collections are infamous for.

http://www.laylagrayce.com/Products/Serena-and-Lily-Nursery-Basics-Crib-Sheet-Spring-Green-Florentine__SL1234.aspx?affid=GP

Geometric lines of chocolate and a lighter mocha hue live in contemporary harmony on the DwellStudio Zig Zag Chocolate Organic Fitted Crib Sheet.

http://www.modernnursery.com/itemsDetail.cfm/item_num/DW-OCS-ZZC

As children grow into energetic tots, safe and restful sleep remains just as vital, so I'm pleased to find adorable modern options in the eco-friendly twin size bedding category too.....

Pixel Organics adhere to relentless organic standards for children's apparel, which they have carried over into these cheery, abstract Stalk of Wheat sheet coordinates.

http://www.pixelorganics.com/catalog/10/43

The gender-neutral design and vibrant color palette of the De-Vine Collection is a versatile, organic choice from mass market retailer Pottery Barn.

http://www.pbteen.com/products/de-vine-organic-sheet-set/?catalogId=77&bnrid=3780801&cm_ven=Shopping&cm_cat=Google%20Base&cm_pla=Feed&cm_ite=Google%20Base

My son knows that sunsets are my favorite things; I'll pull over the car and pause in their beauty on a regular basis. What better way to end your child's day than by snuggling under this beautiful abstract sunset print from Amenity Home?

http://www.amenityhome.com/kids/bedding/sunset-kids-organic-bedding-orage.html

Yellow Fever

After testing nearly a dozen paint colors for the front door of my beach house last summer, my son, Ryder, and I decided on a bright acid yellow to contrast our house's crisp white exterior. I thought this was a big surprise for me because I typically don't like yellow. There's not a stitch of it in my closet and its interior application conjures up images in my mind of a buttery hue on the walls of a country style family room.  Blah. 

But that's just denial talking, Amanda.  Used in a fresh way, it's a jolt of sunshine, can be modern and even serene, is timeless and of course fun.....and is finally getting my recognition.

The walls of my son's first room were a pale greenish yellow.  How could I overlook that? Search google images for "yellow baby room" and the very first query result is a room I designed over four years ago for a client featuring a bold combination of magenta and yellow (bottom image above).

Oh, Yellow, I've been using you all along....I'm sorry I never gave you enough credit.  

And now, upon arrival home every day, even on a gloomy winter afternoon, my own front door makes me smile from the inside out and so do the other inspiring nursery images featured here.  

Infinite Bliss

Although I'm not a practicing Buddhist myself, I have always been inspired by the religion's wisdoms, practices and symbols. And now, apparently, so is the home decor industry. One common Buddhist symbol - and also my favorite - known as the Endless Knot, Eternal Knot, or Infinity Knot is popping up on everything from bed sheets to wallpaper, enforcing the idea that everything is indeed connected.

"The endless knot (Skt. shrivatsa; Tib. dpal be'u) is a closed, graphic ornament composed of right-angled, intertwined lines. It overlaps without a beginning or an end, symbolising the Buddha's endless wisdom and compassion. It indicates continuity as the underlying reality of existence. It is conjectured that it may have evolved from an ancient naga symbol with two stylized snakes

The intertwining of lines represents how all phenomena are conjoined and yoked together as a closed cycle of cause and effect. Thus the whole composition is a pattern that is closed on in itself with no gaps, leading to a representational form of great simplicity and fully balanced harmony." (excerpt from www.religionfacts.com)

To bring harmony into your home, check out a few of my favorite interior treasures that feature this poignant symbolism:

A Madeline Weinrib cotton rug in a pale celedon holds a special place in the front room of my Long Beach cottage, giving me a daily visual reminder of the universal interconnectedness that the Infinity Knot represents. It came in a rainbow of colors for a modern twist on the ancient imagery, but unfortunately appears to be discontinued (glad I got mine when I did!).

Even though I purged most of my jewelry in recent years, the simplicity of the turqoise and silver pendant above has given it a high-ranking spot on my birthday wish list.
http://www.overstock.com/Worldstock/Sterling-Silver-Endless-Knot-Turquoise-Pendant-Nepal/3703426/product.html

The raw patina of hand-crafted copper medicine plates in 8", 10" or 14" squares is an appropriate medium for enduring Buddhist wisdom.
http://www.interiormall.com/cat/nsample.asp?ID=159352&t=3391


The printed grasscloth above from Stark Wallcoverings (available through designers) marries the beautiful raw texture of natural grasses and the geometric lines of the symbol. This paper could adorn four walls or perhaps just the back surface of an open shelf.

The classic embroidery of Serena & Lily's new Gobi sheeting collection is an elegant representation of the Knot.
www.serenaandlily.com

Years before getting a tattoo of my son's name, the only other body art I've ever considered was an ethereal representation of this very symbol. My eventual rug purchase was much less painful and far more representative of the simple ways I like to bring spirituality into my home decor, but no less reverent of the truth embodied by the Infinity Knot. Next, I want the necklace and the sheets. Understanding that the very concept of desire is anti-Buddhist, I guess I'll have to work on that in another life!

Mom Magazine - "Your $1000 Nursery" by Amanda Moore