Perfect gift for the green diva! Save Your World‘s personal care products are infused with yerba mate and aloe vera, scented with essential oils, and carry the message of “1 Product=1 Acre of Rainforest Saved for One Year”, meaning that for every product you buy, you are helping to protect one acre of rainforest. The Save Your World Project is partnering with Conservation International and the Government of Guyana Forestry Commission to protect land that would otherwise be sold to logging or mining companies. Save Your World is also a Fair Trade company.
Their all-natural products don’t contain any parabens or sodium lauryl sulfate, are not tested on animals, are made from biodegradable materials and ingredients, and are packaged with recycled or recyclable materials. Being as crazy about lip balm as I am, I can’t wait to try their new line Save Your Lips. I’ve been trying to use all-natural lip balms with no petroleum ever since I realized smearing oil on my lips can’t be good.
Each year, ABC Home & Planet Foundation introduces its Gifts of Compassion, which present a way to honor friends and family by giving gifts that are meaningful to the world as well. Over 20 different gifts are offered, and this year the Foundation has made Clusters of Compassion available, which allows one to purchase smaller versions of the Gifts of Compassion in bundles of five or more at a reduced price. Each gift is represented by a personalized certificate in a vintage silk sari envelope and includes a photograph showing the gift’s impact.
This holiday season, Gifts of Compassion also includes new gifts to benefit and provide relief in Africa. The gifts feature organizations led by women who aim to create positive, lasting change in Africa: Eve Ensler and V-Day; Green Belt Movement by Nobel Peace Laureate Professor Wangari Maathai; and Grammy award winner Angelique Kidjo’s Batonga Foundation. Along with these gifts, ABC Home will be featuring a five-week installation to celebrate the art, culture, spirit and vision of Africa and the work being done by these organizations.
Help to create a new home for a family displaced by Hurricane Katrina with Architecture for Humanity; provide learning tools for an after-school center for underprivileged children with the Greyston Foundation; help a Kenyan child orphaned by HIV/AIDS with the Patrick Chege Memorial Orphanage; and more.
Empowerment
Help fund a children’s theater program that aims to empower children from low-income, minority communities in NYC with Children’s Theater Company; offer one year of tutoring and mentoring to a young girl in Africa with Kidjo’s Batonga Foundation; donate to help a farmer in rural India develop an organic farm using indigenous farming techniques with Navdanya; and more.
Planet Protection
Plant 50 trees to support sustainable development and women’s empowerment with Maathai’s The Green Belt Movement International; preserve two acres of valuable Peruvian rainforest and help indigenous communities be self-sufficient with Rainforest Action Network; provide an organic cotton farmer in India with a cow which makes it possible for the farm to be bio-dynamic, with Chetna Organic; plus several other options.
Healing
Provide a Tibetan woman with tools for a healthy pregnancy and safe delivery with One H.E.A.R.T.; give one year of education to a survivor of war and sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo with Ensler’s V-Day; provide bed nets to protect eight pregnant women and their unborn children from malaria in Africa with Malaria No More; and more.
Animal Compassion
Give a home, medical care and rehabilitation to a stray, neglected or injured dog or cat with NY Pet-I-Care; protect polar bear cubs from extinction due to global warming with National Resources Defense Council.
ABC Home & Planet Foundation carefully reviews all of the organizations featured in Gifts of Compassion to ensure that the money truly goes to support the intended cause, and the gifts are 100% tax deductible.
By dovetailing methods from Laos and France, Soie de Lune uses only the finest silks and natural dyes to create exquisite hand-woven stoles. Equally gorgeous whether one is breezing through airport security or enjoying a glass of Cabernet during a night on the town, these are perfect for any traveling diva.
Multiply, the world’s fifth largest independent social network geared towards private networking with a member’s real life friends and family, recently launched photo finishing services that enable their members and users to create fast, easy and elegant photo books, calendars, cards and prints.
To help celebrate their launch, they are giving Tango Diva readers a free photo book. By simply entering a discount code TNGDVA01, the first 100 readers to respond will get a free book as a keepsake for themselves or as a gift for a loved one. (you will be responsible for $7 shipping and handling).
A Free Photo Book!
Cool, right? Check them out and get your free photo book.
Chloe & Jane is an eco-conscious skincare line focused on using all-natural ingredients and recyclable packaging. It was started by two girlfriends looking for a way to bring the spa experience into everyday life, and all I can say is I think I’m going to love this stuff! And right now, Chloe & Jane is offering 20% off to readers of Tango Diva. Any of their products would make a great gift for the girl on your list who craves terrific, affordably-priced products from a conscientious company. The collection retails from $12-$26 and is available online.
Now really, did you think that I could do all that I do without a life coach?
I refuse to row up that river of denial like so many others – I face my fear, dive into my soul – and call my therapist!
Well, she is so good that she got her own radio show. So, if you don’t have the time to get to her office in Marin or spend the $200 an hour she charges, you can call into her show on Monday, December 22. But you have to register first!
Here are the details:
NEW! Ask Jane Radio Show
To be on the show or to send her your relationship question, e-mail your relationship question or issue to Jane@JaneStraus.com. Include your daytime phone number(s). Someone from the show will contact you.
Your anonymity will be preserved on air.
You can use Jane’s help if:
- You feel like you can’t—or shouldn’t—go on with the way things are.
- You have had enough pain in your relationship over secrets and lies, money and power, the vicious cycle of breaking up and making up.
- You wish you could forgive and forget but you’re stuck in resentment.
The first show will be taped on December 22.
Be sure to tune into Ask Jane, Saturdays, 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM PST, Green 960 AM or go to www.green960.com to listen online beginning January 3, 2009.
Once again my New Year’s Resolutions (like many peeps) will start off with:
#1. Lose Weight.
#2. Save $$$$
You’re on your own for #1 but I’ve got a great way to kick-start #2. ( Scroll down for an unbelievable offering on Jan. 14th.)
The eighth annual Dine About Town San Francisco returns Jan. 15-31, 2009. Diners may select from more than 100 Bay Area restaurants, each offering prix-fixe lunches for an incredible $21.95 and/or dinners for $34.95, exclusive of tax and gratuity. Dates and times of participation vary by restaurant. A la carte menus will also be available. The tempting Dine About Town list just came out on the San Francisco Web site and you’ll want to be sure to check it twice. Some good ones that I’ve got my eye on are the newish Epic Roast House ( normally a wallet-buster), a special lunch cruise aboard the Hornblower, or at Luce, with Chef Dominique Crenn, who Esquire magazine named Chef of the Year 2008.
Reservations are encouraged and may be made online through a partnership with OpenTable.com. American Express is the preferred method of payment for Dine About Town. Information is also available by calling 415-391-2000.
And now, for the Best Dining Deal of 2009…
Try before you buy, have a good time and support a good cause. On Jan. 14 you’ll be able to meet Dine About Town featured chefs at a launch party in The Cellar at Macy’s Union Square beginning at 6 p.m. With a $20 donation to Meals On Wheels, guests will receive 10 “tasting tickets” to sample offerings from Cafe Andree; Campton Place Restaurant; Chez Papa Resto; Colibri Mexican Bistro; Daffodil; Fish & Farm; First Crush Restaurant, Wine Bar & Lounge; Level III; Market Street Grill; Roots; and XYZ, as well as meet Dine About Town featured chefs. The evening also includes a cooking demonstration by Jake des Voignes, executive chef at Fish & Farm, moderated by “the tablehopper” Marcia Gagliardi and author of Foodie 411, a weekly insider’s blog on the SFCVB’s food and wine micro-site TasteSF. Legendary American wines from the Napa Valley will be poured and guests will receive a keepsake ‘Only in San Francisco’ wine glass. But hurry– Space is limited and reservations are required by Jan. 11.
Great deal for 2009 vacations! If you missed the December 17 deadline for the 35% discount, don’t worry. Book by February 17, 2009 and get 25% off houseboat rentals from Lake Powell Resorts and Marinas during peak season (blackout dates=July 17-August 17, 2009). This early bird special is valid on Voyager, Navigator, Adventurer and Discovery XL class houseboats, plus early bird renters get 50% off all powerboat rentals. Anyone who has never been to Lake Powell should definitely take advantage of this, and if you have been, it’s a great time to go again!
I know you’re first thought is “Pardon me?” Ireland’s coffee is a well-kept secret. The locals say “If you haven’t tasted an Irish coffee in Ireland, you haven’t tasted any Irish coffee.” A tea drinker for over a decade, I’ve recently become fond of coffee (though it hasn’t replaced my morning cuppa), so this is rather interesting to me. Irish coffee is originated in the town of Foynes and caught on fast. The current top 4 places for a cup of Irish joe are:
Brazen Head-Dublin
Jack Meades-Waterford
Durty Nelly’s-Bunratty
Crown Bar-Belfast
If you’re like me, you’ve been wanting to visit Ireland for some time, and now we’re both armed with the important information. Check out Travel Solutions Ireland for awesome tours.
Take a steam train through the Arctic Circle with travel writer Paul Theroux from June 13-26, 2009. The Trans-Siberian Railways and Exeter International have partnered up to offer this incredible journey, which is sure to be memorable, especially since you’ll be traveling by train.
The trip begins with a city tour of Moscow on June 13, and once on the train you’ll visit such places as Pavlovsk, St. Petersburg, Pskov, Novgorod, Petrozavodsk, Kola Peninsula, Murmansk, Nikel, Archangel, Vologda, and Uglich before returning to Moscow at the end of the tour. You’ll spend two nights in Moscow at the Marriott Aurora, and 11 nights aboard the Trans-Siberian Express.
The trip has limited space and prices start at $12,795 per person, based on double occupancy. For more information on The Arctic Circle by Steam Train Journey with Paul Theroux click here.
