Sweet little guy. I came across this photo a few weeks ago and was instantly taken with his whole aura; the smile, the style, his tiny little fingers. After a bit of digging I traced him back to a non-profit site called Planeterra. Among their many projects he is the face of one that sponsors surgical centers in remote areas of Tibet (which has one of the highest rates of blindness in the world). I admit I felt a little guilty for admiring his fashion sense: organic, authentic, and real, but I was ultimately happy to have stumbled on such a great site.
Like this:
It just so happened that yesterday I had the chance to join a friend for a fundraiser to benefit the Pollinator Pathway at The Corson Building. Now when I say join-a-friend I mean we stopped in briefly before I had to head to work, so…we missed the auction, the music, the food, and the booze. (Sigh.) But still, I had a lovely time taking everything in, and my first visit to The Corson Building was wonderful! The grounds, the restored building, the amazing kitchen, and all of the original vintage touches just made me really happy. I promise, I really did try to take some pictures, but if you could only see the state of my phone you’d understand there really is no way I could take anything that resembles much of a photo. I don’t have any proof of the awesomeness that the picnic was, but nevertheless, the cause is one that I think about often.
Here’s a little note about the Pollinator Pathway:
Pollinating insects are in crisis, with populations plummeting across the U.S. The work that these tiny animals do to sustain plants and food crops– usually working out-of-sight and out-of-mind– is critical to not just their survival but our own.
The Pollinator Pathway is a plan to provide an urban model of support to the foundation of the food web. With a mile-long series of gardens in planting strips along Seattle’s Columbia Street, the project establishes a corridor between the two green spaces bookending the project-Seattle University’s campus at 12th, and Nora’s Woods at 29th.
Awesome, right! I really miss the time I would spend at the SF Food Bank, so lately I’ve been looking for the right volunteer opportunity. I was really excited to see this sweet little project yesterday, even if for just a short while. If you’re interested in donating your time or some funds click here for more info.
[Image via]
My, my it has been a while! Lots going on, but before I get into excuses and stories I figured I’d start with this…a selfless AND fashionable note about one of my favorite designers and his work to help famine victims in Somalia.
I felt compelled and inspired to post when I heard that Thakoon was releasing a limited edition scarf with 100% of the proceeds going to aid Somalia. The lightweight scarf, a Masai-print straight from his autumn collection, is available now on his site. With the beautiful bright colors and plaid print it’s the perfect accessory for fall, but more importantly every penny will be donated to help the people (and especially the children) of Somalia. This has been on my mind with each meal I eat, so I was moved by the generosity in this offering.
Thakoon’s Somalia scarf available at Thakoon.com for $250.
[image via Thakoon.com]
It’s been a long time since I just sat and watched. After the perfect walk on a perfect Seattle night, I came home last night and just looked out my big living room window. In the most not creepy way possible, I watched the people across the way to see how they lived, I looked up at the stars for the first time in a long time. No TV, no laptop, no phone. Just my trusty Chopin station on Pandora and the light coming from the streetlight below. It was relaxing and therapeutic. This video by Dominic Boudreault sums it all up for me. So beautiful.
[Video by Dominic Boudreault. Music is "Time" by Hans Zimmer. (Gorgeous!)]
To keep me sane and help deal with all of the changes in my life I have started listening to guided meditations from Bodhipaksa, Guided Meditations: For Calmness, Awareness, and Love. I’m still only a few days in, but I was genuinely stunned at how effective and euphoric meditation is. I’ve always had a hard time turning my brain off at night, and I thought I lacked the discipline to make meditation worth trying, but listening to Bodhipaksa’s soothing voice and instructions made it so easy and relaxing. As a former skeptic (on my part, not on the practice overall) I just thought I’d share with you in case you were looking to feel centered.
[Available on iTunes and Amazon. Image via Amazon.]
Please excuse my long absence, dear friends. I’ve been preparing for some big and exciting changes while also trying to make sense of the sad state of our world. I have much to be thankful for, but I also want to be respectful to those who have lost so much. I’m reminded that I use this small space to share healthful and happy things, and while I think posting on fashion and extravagances is not appropriate at this point, I’m sure we can slowly ease back into things. Thank you for sticking it out with me.
[image via weheartit]
Please keep the people of Japan in your thoughts. Living in earthquake country we often make light of the possibility of “the next big one” but it’s scenes like this that remind us that we are indeed at the mercy of our living planet, and that we are all thisclose to needing help and compassion from others.
Please take a moment to help our friends in Japan. Today we are all Japanese.
American Red Cross donation form
http://www.guardian.co.uk/video/embed
Uncontacted Amazon Tribe: First ever aerial footage from Survival International on Vimeo.
I have been consumed by this video since I saw it last week, and it only becomes more haunting and sinking when you realize that it’s not a movie trailer, but an attempt to save some of the last uncontacted tribes in the world. This new footage was shot in an attempt to convince the Peruvian government that uncontacted tribes do, in fact, exist and are in danger of losing everything because of illegal logging and mining. Captured by a high-powered lens from 1 km away, Jose Carlos Meirelles hopes to use this footage to show Peru’s president that these tribes are not made up and are in need of preservation.
“They should be free to choose whether to make contact or not.”
Amazing work by Mr. Meirelles of FUNAI, a government agency that works to protect indigenous people of Brazil.
Visit http://www.uncontactedtribes.org
At the end of this year there will meet and then exceed 7 billion people living on our planet. This three-minute, no nonsense typography video from National Geographic kick starts a seven part, year-long series on global population.
In this time of resolutions and crash diet beginnings it seems we often forget to think about the world outside of ourselves. If you take a second to think about it, I mean really think about it, the New Year is a very selfish time. Just on the heels of time when we’re all guilty of overindulging, it seems the meaning of resolutions has gone right out the window with the true holiday spirit. As much of a humbug as that makes me sound I really hope to use this time to think about my place in this world as 1 out of 7 billion and think about the message of balance.
Amazing!
Five year old Aidan is battling Leukemia and undergoing chemotherapy, but he’s also quite the artist and has an Etsy shop filled with pictures of his monster drawings. Purchasing one of his pictures helps contribute money toward his medical bills!
I’m glad to see there’s a note on his page that deliveries will take 6-8 weeks, due to the response.
Sweet, Aidan. Sending lots of love and monster-inspiration your way!
- Visit his Etsy shop.
- Visit his Zazzle page. (I’m loving the purple monster tee!)
