ESCAPE TO SHAPE was founded in 2006 to provide luxurious vacations that combine comfort, culture and fitness at exceptional destinations around the world, while respecting the environment along the way.  A traveling spa, the locations change throughout the year and provide guests the opportunity to discover a new history, people, food and natural wonders of various cultures while toning the body and meeting new friends along the way.  Additionally, Escape To Shape selects Eco-friendly accommodations, while never compromising on luxury along the way.

Each week-long trip is $3000 and includes a double-occupancy room, daily yoga, hikes, cooking classes, Pilate’s, cultural excursions and activities, meals, and transportation. There are a only a couple of trips left for this year, but trips to Brazil, Morocco, Russia, Burning Man, Sicily, and Columbia are scheduled throughout 2010.  Click here for more information.

Image credit: Sxc.hu

Post from: Pretty by Nature

Project Green Search is looking for a women to enter a different sort of model search. They are looking for the next “‘it girl’ for the Green Revolution.”  The winner of Project Green Searchwill be a representative or “brand ambassador” for companies who produce eco-friendly, sustainable products.

The contest is open to girls 17 and older who are not yet signed to a modeling agency.

There are no height or size requirements for entrants. Canidates must be serious about their “professionalism, environmental awareness and social responsibility.” 

Entrants must be available to be in L.A. throughout the week of November 2-8, 2009.  For more information, click here.

Here’s a partial list of prizes that the winner will receive:

*A professional photography session with fashion photographer Courtney Dailey, complete with organic make-up and sustainable designer clothing.
*An 20 piece Eco-Fashion wardrobe.
*A natural and organic beauty shopping spree at Future Natural.
*Features, articles and covers in publications including Coco Eco Magazine, Organic Spa Magazine, Peppermint Magazine, E The Environmental Magazine, Chenille Magazine, Electrifying Times, Route 66 Pulse, and more tear sheets to build a portfolio.
*Guidance and introductions by LOHAS to sustainable beauty, fashion and other companies.
*A one year stint as the face of Project Green Search.

Be sure to enter before October 11, 2009. Good luck!

Image credit: Michelle Smith

Post from: Pretty by Nature

The first style blog that I ever visited was What I Wore Today.

Kasmira, of What I Wore Today,  blogs about her daily fashion choices. She works in downtown Cincinnati, takes part in local theater productions and events, so she shares a good balance of both work-wear and fun-wear.

Kasmira takes part in clothing swaps and shops regularly at secondhand shops.

 A recent post talks about her admiration for what she calls “dead old ladies” clothing – dresses, slips, clothes with a vintage feel and look. Her post “Secondhand Raspberry”  features something she calls a “secretary” dress.

Take a look  at the post and let me know what you think.  Do you think of something in this style as a “secretary” dress, because that’s the same reaction that I always have. I’m not sure where the idea came from.

Another thing that Kasmira does is she re-purposes clothing. She was once a Marine and has reworked her uniform skirt to a point where if she didn’t tell you it was her uniform, you’d never know. She offers short tutorials on cropping pants, second-hand shopping, over-dyeing denim, and how to swap clothes with a group.

I’ve enjoyed checking out Kasmira’s outfits for the past year and a half, during which time she went from a mid-length redhead to a short-coiffed blond. I don’t always go bold with my choices, but I enjoy the inspiration I get from someone who does.

Image credit: What I Wore Today

Post from: Pretty by Nature

In the next year I am planning some changes. I’d like to move to another area, an area that doesn’t get as hot, so the mountains or the ocean are the directions I’m thinking about. I want to do more with my photography side business and I’d love to go back to school.

I already wear SPF every day, but I’d like to take it a step further and make a point of wearing a hat when I’m exercising outside, something I haven’t done as much as I should. Although, I do wear a hat when I float on the creek.

I want to get back into a regular running routine, one that I can manage, because I know that it’s the form of exercise that truly works the best for me. I want to make yoga a regular part of my life again, because a loss of flexibilty is the first step toward becoming truly old. I don’t mind being older, but I do not ever want to be old.

Blue Canoe Organic Yoga Top

And I’m going to color my hair. I have been going the natural route or the highlight route, but I think it’s time to get rid of these grays. I want to blend, not change my color. I spend too much time in the pool and my highlights are suffering for it.  Also, who has time for constant grow-out maintenance?  I’m looking for something simple to use and to maintain.

If you happen to be reading this on your birthday, then happy birthday to you, too!

Creek image: Michelle Smith
Yoga top image: Blue Canoe Organic
Hair color image: Light Mountain Natural Color & Conditioner

Post from: Pretty by Nature

I found a website today 2000 Dollar Wedding. It’s written by a woman who shares how she and her fiance (now husband) were able to enjoy their wedding “in a budget-minded, hand-crafted, eco-friendly way.”  The couple lists their complete cost breakdown  – their wedding cost less than $2000 – and offers advice on how to plan your own celebration. Lots of links to tutorials, lots of photos – really a delightful blog.

Etsy Wedding shares “offbeat finds for the eclectic bride.”  Finding exactly what you are looking for at Etsy can be tricky.  New items are added constantly and sifting through what is offered can be time-consuming. Etsy Wedding takes all the work out of it for you. Find links to vintage dresses, jewelry and more.

If you’ve got the time and the inclination to do the work yourself, you might want to take a look at DIY Bride where they offer “crafty wedding goodness from scratch.”  Included are do-it-yourself projects for invitations, flowers, bath and body care, favors, and decorations. Plus tips on planning and registeries, recession-proofing your wedding.

Image credit: Chase Your Bliss Photography

Post from: Pretty by Nature

Vintage dresses are a romantic touch, in addition to being green, because they represent the glamour of days gone by, perhaps a simpler time, and traditional values.  They are unique and while not cheap, they are priced well below the gowns that are produced today. That’s something to keep in mind when planning your overall wedding budget.

First up is a 1910’s Antique Vintage Breathtaking Edwardian Titanic White Mixed-Lace Couture Sheer Wedding Tea-Dress. The dress has lovely detailed lace and a matching camisole. It’s a tea-length dress. It is in excellent condition.

This next dress is incredible. 1930’s Antique Vintage Beaded Crepe Femme Fatale Bias-Cut Puff-Sleeve Wedding Gown Dress.  I would absolutely love to be married in this dress. The feminine cut of the dress, the bead work, the bodice with the darts…Oh, wow. What a dress. The back buttons and has a key-hole opening. It’s made of crepe and the beading is copper sequin and glass in the Art-Deco style. 

Image credit: Timeless Vixen Vintage’s shop at Etsy.com

Post from: Pretty by Nature

Check out their cute new kicks for Earth-lovers here.

The new Keds Green Label Sneakers feature 100% Organic Cotton, non-toxic inks and dyes, recycled rubber, shoelaces that are free of PVC and made completely from recycled PET (water bottles), recycled insoles, and the shoe eyelets are free from nickel.  By using organic and recycled materials, Keds is able to reduce their carbon footprint.  Their mission is stylish sustainability.

The latest in sustainable footwear, the Keds Green Label sneakers come in classic white, black, and green. The Willow Lace Up is available in sizes 5-11 in a standard width.  Click herefor purchase information.  Keds offers free shipping on orders that are $75 and over.

In addition, Keds is working with the Arbor Day Foundation to plant trees in order to help offset carbon emissions.Keds will plant one tree for every pair of their new Green Label sneakers sold this year.  For more information, click here.

If you’d like to win a pair of Keds Green Label Willow Lace Ups of your own, then leave a comment on this post telling me what you like best about the new Green Label shoe. Fashion? Sustainability?  Both?  I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Personally, I’d say that any product that features recycled materials is exciting to me – especially when it makes use of plastic water bottles. I’m picking up a pair in black (watch for my review very soon). 

I’ll announce the shoe winner in a few days. Good luck!

*Please note that the Keds Green Label shoe giveaway is for residents of the United States.

Image credit: Keds.com

Post from: Pretty by Nature

The Green Beauty Guide: Your Essential Resource to Organic and Natural Skin Care, Hair Care, Makeup, and Fragrances, by Julie Gabriel, a registered nutritional expert, explains how the products we use on our body are really no different from the food we eat. If we are uncomfortable with the idea of ingesting chemicals, why are we okay with putting them on our skin or on the skin of our family members?

The Green Beauty Guide advises which ingredients to avoid, how to shop for green beauty products without going broke, how to make natural beauty products of your own, as well as what is meant by words like “natural,” “organic,” “biodynamic,” and “hypoallergenic.” 

Stop wasting your money on products that don’t work or can ultimately harm you.  Use Julie Gabriel’s Green Beauty Guide to focus your search on only the products you truly need and will use.

If you’d like the chance to read this book for yourself, then you are in luck because I’ve got 5 copies available for giveaway. 

To enter, please leave a comment sharing what you do in terms of your own green beauty regime.  I’ll chose random commenters and announce the winners in a few days.

Good Luck!

*The Green Beauty book giveaway is open to residents of the United States only.

Image credit: Barnes and Noble.com

Post from: Pretty by Nature

Chic: This cute reusable gift wrap set has pretty reversible prints with attached ribbons. They fit a bunch of box sizes, too. The set has tree coordinating wraps.

Green: Instead of wasting trees on something you’ll crumple up and throw away, you’re buying gift wrap that you can really use forever.

Buy:Plum Creek Mercantile-, $32

Post from: Pretty by Nature

The global Make Cars Green campaign is an ambitious 10-point plan to steer drivers towards more environmentally-friendly habits, including checking tyre pressure regularly and reduce loads. The campaign builds on the principles by the FIA Make Cars Green declaration, together with Bridgestone, and outlines how policy makers, industry and consumers can all play a constructive role in the future.

But with the current economic downturn, isn’t it too little too late? Many of the concepts are obvious to anyone reading Treehugger, but hopefully, they will use clever PR strategies to quickly get everyone else onboard as well.

Here’s the deal. Automakers aren’t doing so well. They’re doing pretty terribly in fact. But as far as I can tell, the green movement is almost strengthened by the economy. Green is also a way to save money.

And like I said last week, any effort is somewhat worthwhile, I think the burden on big companies is heavier than the everyday person.

On one hand, anyone that has seen Who Killed the Electric Car knows about the failure of automakers in being green, but on the other hand, I’m happy they try at all.

My question is: Can green save carmakers? With the New Green Deal from President-elect Obama, do we all believe that eco-friendly can save the economy?

Post from: Pretty by Nature