Just 'cause it's fun, silly... and got a beat!

Plus could this technically be considered eco-friendly too? The box looks like an old wooden box that would otherwise be thrown away, and it looks like you could use a couple balloon you've already gotten laying around... ;)

Either way, a fun video I got from my big brother G... Enjoy...



Here's hoping you're having a great weekend! Oh and Happy UN Climate Change Conference Eve!

xo,

ej

October Giveaway Winner

I'm back... And the October Giveaway Winner is... jennifer57

who re-used costumes from last year! Congratulations jennifer57! And thanks for being green this Halloween!

The special mystery prize? Well I decided to ask what your favourite ecojot is, so that I could surprise the winner with their preferred Ecojot treat! So jennifer57, you're going to receive some "dog ecoprints!"

Please excuse the delay of this post everyone 0:) I didn't have steady access to interweb while in NYC. But now I'm back to my semi-regular ;D blogging schedule. And what would my blog be without a video here and there?

Something upbeat, happy and randomly awesome....

Pearl and the Beard - Will Smith Medley from Goddamn Cobras Collective on Vimeo.

Happy Thursday!

xo,
ej

Thankful for poutine, pie, and most of all young people who are making the world a better place.

How was your weekend? Mine was filled with lots of food. Sunday was a full turkey dinner with many sides. And then on (Canadian) Thanksgiving Monday, a twist on the Canadian part. Jamie made a pumpkin pie and I had poutine.... That's right... Pie + Poutine = Canadian Thanksgiving, at least for Jamie, Simon and I. Ok, we had zucchini-blue cheese quiche too... Yeah can you say clogged arteries for Thanksgiving? Lol 0;D

For those of you who don't know what poutine is... It's my favourite 100% French Canadian delicacy... French fries topped with brown gravy and fresh cheese curds. It originated from Quebec, and I was very happy to discover that my local grocery store sells cheese curds!

I don't have any pics, as we rather gluttonous and so we didn't take any, but there's a shot of our more traditional Thanksgiving dinner. I love that I am fortunate enough to celebrate two Thanksgivings again this year... Canadian and American :) I'll be in Connecticut again this year with my family!

So I have no way of seamlessly segueing in to this, so I will just dive right into it... My brother G told me about this awesome story on BBC yesterday, that I can't not share... "The 'youngest'headmaster in the world..."

"Around the world millions of children are not getting a proper education because their families are too poor to afford to send them to school. In India, one schoolboy is trying to change that. In the first report in the BBC's Hunger to Learn series, Damian Grammaticas meets Babar Ali, whose remarkable education project is transforming the lives of hundreds of poor children.

At 16 years old, Babar Ali must be the youngest headmaster in the world. He's a teenager who is in charge of teaching hundreds of students in his family's backyard, where he runs classes for poor children from his village. "

There are a couple videos, and the full article here. The story is just so inspiring! It reminds us where there is a will, there is a way.

And it makes me so excited about the ways in which together with ecojot, we are working towards encouraging education and helping others all the time... And as I said in a project we're doing in 2010! So be sure to stay tuned ;)

Meanwhile, check out some photos I received from Lisa, the Development and Program Director of Teens Turning Green, one of the many awesome causes ecojot supports...

"Students are working diligently on projects greening their schools and planning some terrific events and more students are joining us weekly." - Lisa

I am thankful there are young people out there close to home and abroad, who have a desire to make a difference! Kudos.

xo,

ej

Romantic Shorts Thursday... Plus keeping the "Planet in Focus!"

As you may or may not know, I am a bit of a hopeless romantic... I rarely like admitting it but I really enjoy romantic comedies... I recently saw "The Proposal" starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds and totally enjoyed it 0;)

But I also enjoy shorts, and so of course I have a particular fondness for sweet, cute, mushy shorts... Signs below was a short sent to me by my friend Johnson a while back, and I hadn't realized until today when I went searching for it here on my blog that I haven't shared it... The characters aren't exactly environmentally friendly with their paper-use, but it's still super cute and worth the share...

Signs from Kevin Ferguson on Vimeo.

Then there's "Struck" which my brother G posted on his Facebook profile recently... Another great short by Director Taron Lexton, Screenplay by Milena Ferreira and produced by her husband Nathan Lorch. Full info on their website StrucktheFilm.com. Turns out it has done a full film festival circuit and one many accolades!

Struck from weian zhou on Vimeo.

Clearly both male characters are "struck!" I hope you enjoy!

Speaking of films, I gotta make a plug for "Planet in Focus," Canada's preeminent international environmental film and video festival! It start's Wednesday, October 21st and goes on until Sunday, October 25th. Venues include Royal Cinema, Innis College, Bata Shoe Museum, Festival Box Office, the ROM, and the Gardiner Museum.

And I am excited to say that Ecojot will be attending the Eco Exchange, on the last two days of the film fest, Saturday and Sunday, October 24 and 25! So mark your calendars, watch some ecoFILMS and stop by and say hello at the Eco Exchange... I'll have jellybellies, buttons and a free Ecojot raffle... Plus some Ecojot journals for purchase!

Tickets are $10 each, $8 for students and seniors and a pass for the whole festival is only $100... That's cheaper than seeing a movie on a regular night out ;)

Happy Thursday! Hope you enjoyed the shorts!

xo,
ej

2 ECOfashionably awesome ideas: ThredUp and The Uniform Project.

Wow, my 176th post... And I have 50 Google followers... This is reason to celebrate! I am celebrating with a cup of hot tea. It's a bit on the cool side in my apartment. It's definitely autumn here in Toronto.

Thank you to all those who've opened their pocketbooks to donate to the victims of Typhoon Ondoy. Mother Nature continues to hit Southeast Asia hard, most recently with an earthquake in Indonesia. *Sigh* just yet another reminder why we need to take good care of our Mother Earth, she's clearly hurting and we need to take note.

So speaking of being ECOconscious I came across two very clever fashionably sustainable ideas...

One called ThredUp "Like Netflix for Clothes" according to the online newsletter UrbanDaddy. The concept is simple...

People change.

You grow. And before you know it, things just don't fit anymore.

Yes, we're talking about that relationship of utmost importance: the one you have with your clothes. And when that relationship goes sour (as it sometimes does), you'll need a mess-free way to breakup.

As usual, look to the Internet…

Introducing ThredUp.com, a first-of-its-kind service devoted to helping you get rid of the clothes you don't want anymore, and just maybe, getting some new threads to replace them, in beta now.

In a nutshell: Think webwide clothing swap. From what I gathered it's only available in the US. But being a big fan of clothing swaps, I think this is one ECOfabulous way of exchanging your threads for gently used ones with the very slim chance of running into the previous owner. What do you think?

The second fashionably clever idea that is not only sustainable but philanthropic! The Uniform Project. This one was passed on to me courtesy of my brother G. Thanks for forwarding this along G!

I love this idea. I grew up attending a few schools requiring uniforms, and I quite frankly preferred it. I love clothes, but I also love sleeping in, and deciding what to wear can be such a drag in the morning.

So here's the scoop, starting May 2009, Sheena the author of the year long blog will "wear one dress for one year as an exercise in sustainable fashion."

Here’s how it works: There are 7 identical dresses, one for each day of the week. Every day I will reinvent the dress with layers, accessories and all kinds of accouterments, the majority of which will be vintage, hand-made, or hand-me-down goodies. Think of it as wearing a daily uniform with enough creative license to make it look like I just crawled out of the Marquis de Sade's boudoir.

The Uniform Project is also a year-long fundraiser for the Akanksha Foundation, a grassroots movement that is revolutionizing education in India. At the end of the year, all contributions will go toward Akanksha’s School Project to fund uniforms and other educational expenses for children living in Indian slums.

I think this is an awesome idea. Plus, I've already found myself scrolling back to May 2009 to see all the very clever ways Sheena has worm this adorable dress. I love how you can visit every day and rate what she's wearing. In fact, the Uniform Project is at their sixth-month mark... And they have raised over $27,000! I will definitely be contributing to this somehow... I wonder if she'll take paper donations?

Speaking of philanthropy... I am currently in the midst of working with Mark of Ecojot on an amazing cause starting 2010, that I cannot wait to tell you more about. All I can say is... It'll be one more awesome reason to feel good about owning an Ecojot!

Here's a peek of Day 1 to today, Day 154 of The Uniform Project...

Kudos, Sheena for this awesome project! I look forward to staying tuned on all the awesome ways you wear your year-long uniform. Is it just me, or do you want to own this dress too?

xo,

ej