Yaba Daba Doo! and Lunch

by Michelle Hadley-Ambord

Like Fred Flintstone, I eagerly await the whistle that blows at high noon and signals my lunchtime break. Okay, so the whistle might only exist in my head, and it sounds more like the grumblings of my stomach than a stone-aged lunch bell. Still, who can deny the needs of the belly?

I think that we can all be grown-ups and admit that packing a lunch is friendlier to the environment, our wallets, and our waistlines than eating out.



But only an act of heaven can inspire me to get it together enough to prepare a lunch that my very refined tastes (read: I've been eating sugary treats and restaurant-prepared junk food for so long that I need some seriously tasty home-cooked options to wean me off my addiction) can tolerate.

So it was written, and so it shall be: etsy's The Patty Pan Shop brings divine inspiration in the form of a ridiculously cute lunchbox that makes packing a lunch seem anything but a chore. Her creations come in a variety of fun designs and cater to the crowd that prefers a lunchbox more akin to a purse...



as well as those who would rather kick it old school like they did in fifth grade with the rugged lunch sack...



Made with insulated lining, they'll keep the cold things chilly and the hot things, well, hot.



Lest we forget the icing on the proverbial cake, The Patty Pan Shop also makes coordinating snack bags for gold fishes, carrot sticks, or pre-historic rocks--you know, whatever you like to munch on when your blood sugar starts to plummet.



If I got one of these for Christmas (hint, hint), I'd just have to cook up something to pack inside of it. Any suggestions?

For the Starbucks Fans

As much as I try to fight off my Starbucks addiction, I just can't seem to go a day without delighting in their spicy Chai Tea Lattes or their cheerily seasonal Peppermint Mochas. I'm sure that each drink packs some unholy number of calories, but what Michelle doesn't know won't hurt her. I hope.



Although I invested in a reusable mug to check my contribution to landfill pollution, I must confess that it's not always with me when the Starbucks cravings take over. (Might have something to do with the fact that it's not always clean.) If nothing else, I can at least stash a cute cup cozy in my bag so I don't have to use one of the cup sleeves that Starbucks provides. The downside: they're so adorable that they make me want to get a Starbucks just so I can enjoy how utterly fabulous they look on my cup!

Some of my favorite options, courtesy of etsy's talented:

Green Pockets makes brightly-colored, mod-looking cup sleeves out of vintage fabrics. I love the button embellishments.



Stitchella, featured in Scout Magazine, creates cup cozies with merino wool and prints trendy images like bicycles or sparrows on them using non-toxic ink.



I already bought four cup cozies at Jenco13's BOGO sale as stocking stuffers. Hers are crocheted from a machine-washable yarn and come in a variety of extremely attractive colors. The hubby mentioned today that the Country Rose-colored cozy that I claimed for myself (and tested on a Peppermint Mocha) coordinated with Starbucks' holiday cup.



For a couple extra bucks, you can add buttons or a fun flower to your cozy.



While you're picking out your own cup cozy, you may as well stock up on Christmas gifts for friends and co-workers. In the meantime, I have my eye on a ceramic travel mug by A Piece by Denise.



Maybe if I had this purple beauty, I wouldn't forget to bring it with me. But then what would I do with my cup cozy?

Before you stock up at Target, try Etsy!

You're running low on cotton pads for your daily beauty routine (if you run out, you might be sleeping in your eye make-up), and your kitchen floor has started to look a bit sketchy ever since you ran out of Swiffer pads. Time for a trip to Target, you think. But wait--before you rummage for your keys, you might consider etsy, the hippest online shopping resource around.

Etsy brings you handmade goods from talented individuals around the country who would otherwise go unnoticed. Case in point: Picnic Basket Crafts, an eco-friendly etsy shop that offers "Down to Earth Decadence," sells eco-conscious alternatives to the round cotton pads that you probably use to remove your make-up and apply face toner on a daily basis. As if the waste wasn't problem enough, standard cotton pads--unlike their organic cousins--are made from cotton that's treated with toxic chemicals.

Picnic Basket Crafts offers cotton rounds made from materials like bamboo or flannel. Usually sold by the dozen, they are machine-washable. Since they're so small, you can toss them in with whatever load you happen to be doing next. As an added bonus, bamboo is anti-microbial--a perfect characteristic for anything you're putting on your face. While they cost more than a pack of disposable cotton rounds (Approximately $11 for a pack of twelve), you'll save in the end if you take care of them and use them for years to come.



While you're at it, you can pick up some reusable Dry or Damp Mopping Pads to Fit Your Standard Swiffer Sweeper. You just soak your pad with your cleaner of choice (hopefully it's eco-friendly and non-toxic) and attach it to your Swiffer sweeper.

Becoming the Bag Lady

I'm a huge fan of classics, and that tendency pays off when going green: classics never go out of style, so you can use them forever without adding to the waste piling up in our city dumps.

As far as reusable bags go, the Chico bag is a classic. I have the original design in a cheery bright green:



I also scored a free, limited edition bag for Sophie Uliano's Gorgeously Green:



But if you want to go really green with your Chico bag, I highly recommend purchasing the CHICOBAG ORIGINAL REPETE, which uses 99 percent recycled content.



It comes in a range of gorgeous, earthy colors that remind me of autumn in Pennsylvania where I attended college. The best part is that, like its sister, the Original CHICOBAG, it folds up into itself so you can stuff it into your purse and never be without your reusable bag. It also sports a carabiner that you can use to clip it onto your key ring. No excuse to forget your Chicobag now!



My goal is to claim 4 or 5 of these beauties so I'll always have enough bags for my weekly trip to the Claremont Village Artisans and Farmers Market!