Well, summer has officially arrived and with it I think it’s safe to say we are in the full swing of wedding season. I went to an absolutely gorgeous wedding this past weekend and was delighted to find an Envirosax reusable shopping bag filled with goodies hanging from the door knob of our hotel room. Small eco-friendly ideas like this are such a breath of fresh air at weddings! Another sweet idea? Today I stumbled upon the Wonderful Graffiti Wedding site (by way of CasaSugar) and fell in love with the site’s customizable (and easily removable) wall transfers. How lovely and earth-friendly it would be to put one beautifully designed menu on a wall in your venue rather than printing out individual menu cards! Available here for $72. — Meg D.

Read more of Meg’s tips for stylish, green living at her blog, Style Saves the World.

See any mites on this rose bush? You can’t in person, either. But you should have seen it a week ago when there were nearly more mites per square inch than plant. I’m trying to get away from using chemicals in the yard, so I did a search online, including our trusty source What’s That Bug?, for non-toxic pest control. What I ended up doing was cobbling together an application based on advice from several sites: equal parts biodegradable dishwashing soap and vegetable oil diluted with about three times the amount of water. We spritzed the heck out of the plants — with me thinking, I confess, that it probably wouldn’t work. Well, it did. Immediately! Our roses and rose-of-sharon plants are mite-free without any damage to the leaves or flowers that we can see. Plus one for green gardening! –Mary T.

I’ve been ooohing and ahhhing over the ikat organic bedding on the Pottery Barn site for ages now, and it looks like all of my, ahem, strategic procrastination has finally paid off…the bedding is finally on sale! The queen duvet cover is now a whopping 50% off–a steal at $49.99. I went for the red option pictured above. I’m usually all about the blues and greens, but I think this red/orange combo is really going to add a lot of cheer and style to our master bedroom which has camel-colored walls. Can’t wait to share the results! (If red isn’t your thing, the bedding comes in shades of blue and a green/yellow combo as well.) –Meg D.

Read more of Meg’s tips for stylish, green living at her blog, Style Saves the World.

When last we left you, my amateur-beekeeper husband Chad was gleefully exclaiming, “I see larvae!” after peeking in on his hive. Well, that success may have gone to his head, or perhaps he was bitten by some bizarre beekeeping bug, because now we have THREE hives. No, the bees didn’t just multiply like mad. Rather, Chad decided he needed more bees. At first he told me was ordering ONE more hive, but he “mistakenly” messed up the order and we got two. Hmpf. There is some rationale to this: the plan is to make slight variations in each hive, so we can learn which techniques work best. Each one has a different type of “foundation” which allows the bees to build and construct the honeycomb. So now we have three hives and about eighteen thousand bees (and counting!). Hopefully, by the end of fall, we’ll have about a hundred pounds of honey. Stay tuned! — Angela M.

The folks at Chronicle Books were kind enough to let us post this ‘lil excerpt from the book Eco Dog: Healthy Living for Your Pet. It’s written by Corbett Marshall and Jim Deskevich, the talents behind Variegated textiles, and must-visit store in Catskill, NY.

There are many flea products on the market that are made from chemicals intended to kill the pests in your pet’s coat. This may seem like an easy and effective option, but remember that chemicals toxic enough to kill fleas are not going to be healthy for your pet. Putting these chemicals directly on your dog’s coat — the easiest place for him to ingest them — just doesn’t make sense. We offer an alternative, in the form of powdered herbs meant to repel the fleas, while being harmless to your dog.

Ingredients
Eucalyptus, Rosemary, Lavender, Fennel, Yellow Dock, Pennyroyal

How To
One: Combine as many of the powdered herbs you can find.
Two: Mix together equal parts of each herb in a shaker-top jar.
Three: Brush your pet’s coat backward with your hand or a comb while sprinkling the powder onto the base of the hairs. Apply sparingly, paying special attention to the neck, back, and belly.
Four: Put your pet outside for a little while afterward, so his pets escape into your yard, not our carpet.

For more great eco-friendly pet tips, pick up a copy of Eco Dog. You’ll even find a few craft ideas (like tote bags) in their for you, too.!

photo by Aimee Herring

I pride myself on digging up the green alternative for just about every home-related item out there, but boy am I stumped on the subject of outdoor dinnerware. I’m hunting for some good-looking, unbreakable, earth-friendly plates and glasses. Though there seem to be lots of great additions to the disposable/compostable outdoor dinnerware market (Bambu’s Veneerware, for example), the pickings for reusable, eco-friendly outdoor dinnerware are sadly slim. I’d like to steer clear of plastics because the idea of chemicals leaching into my food makes me lose my appetite pronto. So far, the closest I’ve been able to find is this attractive Crate and Barrel bamboo dinnerware…it won’t go in the dishwasher, but I suppose I can live with that. And I’ve had no luck finding eco-friendly glasses that aren’t made with plastic. Any bright green ideas out there? –Meg D.

Read more of Meg’s tips for stylish, green living at her blog, Style Saves the World.

For $65, you can exude both style and comfort. The Coffee Cuff from Veer, which we first spotted at The Bedlam of Beefy, is a black walnut veneer cuff that doubles as a coffee cozy when you get your caffeine fix. We love the look — on the wrist or the cup!

So I’ll admit I’ve always kinda thought of the lazy susan as a fairly dated home accessory…I don’t know a single person who actually has one on her dining table. But after spotting this handsome susan made with reclaimed oak wine barrel wood on Vivaterra’s website, I’m starting to sing a different tune. I love how it manages to look both elegant and rustic, modern and farmhouse. How cool would it be to throw an Indian or Mexican dinner party with all sorts of fun, fresh spices in little piles on this Lazy Susan at the center of the table? Plus, it’s customizable - print it with the happy couple’s wedding date and it would make a great wedding or anniversary gift! Available here for $129 ($149 customized). Whuddya think — is it time to bring the lazy susan back? — Meg D.

Read more of Meg’s tips for stylish, green living at her blog, Style Saves the World.

I saw these Umbra Artala trash cans in person over the weekend and the designs hooked me right away — more great-looking garbage cans like these, please. The fact that they’re labeled “biodegradable” I actually found a bit puzzling. The Artala cans are made of plastic designed to “break down into a powder” in a landfill, but of course — that still leaves plastic powder behind. But if it’s a good-looking and very reasonably priced (Just $16.) waste bin you want, you may want to keep the Artala can around for awhile anyway. –Mary T.

P.S. Check this New York Times article for more “ready to rot” home designs.

I read about La-Z-Boy’s new EcoComfort line on Sprig.com the other day, and even though I don’t consider myself a La-Z-Girl, per se, I was pretty stoked. I still get such a thrill reading about big companies like La-Z-Boy that are starting to take green measures–in this case, the La-Z-Boy cushions are soy-based and biodegradable (traditional foam cushions aren’t) and upholstered with eco-friendly fabrics. (I wonder about the wood frame, though–What kind of wood? Is it sustainably harvested?) Green measures aside though, I can’t really decide whether I’d want a La-Z-Boy of my very own. I do like the crisp, art deco-y vibe of the fabric…but something about the curve of the chair arms reads a little doctor’s waiting room to me. What do you think? Would you bring this EcoComfort La-Z-Boy home? (They’ll be available at the end of May, around $899). — Meg D.

Read more of Meg’s tips for stylish, green living at her blog, Style Saves the World.