mipmup.

2008 election endorsements.

if i learned anything during the last election, it is that we must never take our votes for granted. to that end, for the first time in my blogging history, i've created an endorsement sidebar. i encourage you to take the time to research the candidates, your state and local measures and even to watch the (yawn) judicial candidates' statements/interviews. an excellent resource to accomplish all of this in one fell swoop is smartvoter.org.

election day is tuesday, 4 november.

happy voting!

wear your vote on...your feet?

these new shoes by toms let your feet do the talking with your political party's design. best worn within the next 21 days, if possible! $45 (and yes, they're available in republican and even a "split decision" design as well.)

toms gives a pair of shoes to a needy child with every purchase, so you can feel good about your purchase despite these unsettling economic times.

image credit: toms.

free fair trade chocolate for halloween, but hurry!

buying fair trade chocolate is important to me and i'm especially aware of it this month because of halloween. i was excited to learn about "reverse trick-or-treating," an event sponsored by global exchange, an international human rights organization. the program offers free fair trade chocolates with a card that outlines the issues affecting the cocoa industry (child labor and poverty to name two). the kiddos can then hand "reverse trick-or-treat" and hand out the chocolates to your neighbors on halloween. the deadline for individuals to register is tomorrow, 13 october.

if you're interested in learning more about how to make halloween a bit happier with fair trade chocolate, vegan candy and just what to do with all that leftover candy, please see my related post "halloween: treats only, please."

support the vote + handmade: get a free nikki mcclure poster.

what better way to show your support (and ensure your house/car doesn't get egged/keyed) than displaying a "non-denominational" vote poster? one of my favorite sites that offers handmade products, buyolympia.com, is giving away 10,000 "vote" posters by artist nikki mcclure. even better? they're printed on recycled newsprint!

order your free poster (including free shipping) here. (hurry, last time they went through their stock in four days!)

after the read: my top five green ideas for magazine recycling.

i have guilt about magazines. i love them, but feel like i'm not doing the environment any good by reading them. i always think to myself, "i'm sure this information is online, right?" oftentimes, i succumb to temptation and greedily snatch up a few at the check-out line. (or even worse, i actually subscribed to "us" with a gift card this year!) here are some ways i reduce the waste - and my guilt:

1. reuse. i give magazines to my mom, who then passes them along to the other family members.
2. donate. when my dad was in the hospital for an extended length of time, i could never get enough magazines read to take my mind off of worrying. pop by your local hospital waiting room and drop-off a stack of (preferably current) mags. you can do the same at your local hair or nail salon, car wash or university cafeteria.
3. recycle. sometimes my magazines are too old to give away or donate (hello "martha stewart" from 2001), so they are recycled. i feel pretty good about recycling, since ..."recycled paper saves 60%  of the energy needed to make new paper," according to earth 911.
4. craft. do something crafty with those mags. i like this easy 10-minute idea from apartment therapy that creates little tables using magazines.
5. wrap. use cool ads from magazines to wrap gifts. you can also use your paper shredder to create  filler for gift boxes and packing material for shipping.

orla kiely comes home.

wowwaweewah. orla kiely now has a line of home furnishings! from large to small, accessories for the home and for the arm, they do it all! available at heal's, in - ahem - the uk. now how's about that dollar again?

shown: orla kiely cork easy chair pear print in poppy, £995.

image credit: heal's.