What Can You Recycle?
To my beloved children, Despite the fact that you have lived in my house for most/all of your lives, during which time I have consistently demonstrated effective recycling behavior, there seems to be some residual confusion about what you can can and cannot recycle. It’s complicated, I get it. From the time you were small, the a profusion of different materials has exploded exponentially and therefore you were required to continuously improve on your knowledge. This is a problem for all of us — that’s why we have that giant plastic trash slick in the middle of the ocean and microplastics in our fish. And it’s why so many people…
Bluedot: LA’s Westside Thrift Store Hotspots
I first started thrifting in high school because it was the most affordable way to shop on a minimum-wage budget. My favorite store was Aardvark in Venice, where the racks were full of vintage items — floral dresses from the fifties and cashmere crewnecks with just the tiniest moth holes that could be fixed with a needle and thread. We weren’t thinking about it then, but thrifting is seriously sustainable.
Trader Joe’s Sustainable Skincare Anti-Aging Night Hydration Routine
Oh, aging. I’m 52 and, for a while there, it was like my skin was perpetually in Palm Springs — dry and desiccated no matter what I put on it. But I recently developed a quick-and-easy, Trader Joe’s sustainable skincare, anti-aging night hydration routine that really does work wonders — and together, these three products cost less than $25!
Abortion Decision: Will Morning-After Pills Be Banned Next?
New research published in JAMA shows a massive increase in demand for abortion pills after the Dobbs decision — will the morning-after pill be banned next? I tracked some of this in a new essay for Northwest Review. Super proud to be included in one of the oldest and most prestigious literary journals in the country – they ran Ken Kesey’s first story in 1957!
Mommy Greenest Loves: Ocean + Main
I recently featured LA-based sustainable fashion innovator Ocean + Main in the newsletter. The sustainable fashion innovator crafts limited-edition clothing in inclusive sizes, often from upcycled sources and just released its annual sustainability report and launched a #preloved program. Nope, this is not sponsored but yes I am OBSESSED.
Perfect Skin Doesn’t Exist – Inclusive Beauty Does
I’ve been a big fan of JUNOCO ever since I discovered their plant-based squalene, which delivers a shark-friendly, vegan and natural twist on one of skincare’s favorite ingredients. But their recent #ToBeHuman campaign — which recently popped up on a San Francisco street to prove that perfect skin doesn’t exist (but inclusive beauty does) — made me a fan for life.
Is Your Toilet Paper Dirty?
What’s in your bathroom cupboard? If you’re buying toilet paper made by Procter & Gamble, that purchase contributes to the destruction of rainforests in Canada and Indonesia — one million acres of which are razed every year to make what you’re flushing. Every day ONE MILLION TREES are cut down to make TP!
Writing About Congratulations…
Time erodes friendships — some strengthen and some dissolve. I recently published an essay — What I Wrote Was Congratulations What I Meant to Say Was — about the weird false intimacy that is perpetuated through social media, the historical context that often shadows it, and the words we can no longer say.