Eco-Friendly Shopping

Eco-friendly shopping… great excuse to buy more clothes! Go Green! We see it everywhere. It’s plastered all over the media and in the mouths of very prominent people and of course the celebrities. I’ve noticed the way in which this message has affected my own behaviors, newly acquired habits, and pet peeves. It is fascinating to me how these go-green messages have made their way into my subconscious.

Anyways… I got really excited when I was shopping at Hipster in Great Neck and my new cute dress was put into an “eco-friendly” or reusable shopping bag.Most likely this will become the norm… I love this!

Waldbaums, A&P, SuperFresh, The Food Emporium, Farmer Jack, and Sav-A-Center all offer reusable bags from the the Elizabeth Haub Foundation (all made of recyclable & environmentally friendly materials.) Trader Joe’s, and Stop &Shop also offer reusable bags for a small fee.

Bitten: Simply for all Women

Sarah Jessica Parker joined forces with Steve & Barry’s to launch Bitten, a new clothing line. And of course, the uncontrollable shopoholic genes sent me running. It was hard to play nice with the overwhelming crowd of women tearing through the racks and messing up the t-shirt tables that were probably once very organized (Steve & Barry’s retail employees God bless you!). After spending plenty of time coming up with new ways to hold multiple amounts of clothing at once and then trying it all on in the dressing room all I can say is that I am definitely in love! 

 The whole thing is absolutely genius. Pair simple, chic, clean, affordable, and upscale looking clothing with Parker, best know for her role as Carrie in Sex and the City character and no doubt most women will be – Bitten by this line!

The clothing reminds me of Urban Apparel, but better and a hell of a lot cheaper (everything is under $20!) and stylish too. Bitten also doesn’t discriminate in the size department. Sizes start very small and go up to 20. Both the prices and sizes make Parker’s line truly for all women.

What I like most about this line, aside from the crazy prices, is that for the most part the styles are so simple that it allows for individuality and creativity.It is easy to make a plain t-shirt or any other article of clothing your own if paired with any accessory from a trendy belt or interesting piece of jewelry.

For me Bitten makes sense because I love accessories (They also offer funky jewelry and hats). Parker’s clothes also make me feel sexy and powerful- that’s why the whole Carrie-thing works so great here.

Am I simply a product of our culture, the media, or just really good marketing?I am not sure, but I do know that the whole concept of Bitten is a very common and stellar marketing tactic. I hate fact that I love it, but cant help it.

 

Happy as a Clam- Mojitos, Poems, Fire Island, and Port Jefferson

I am trying to get this blog started and I keep hitting a wall. The two blogs I had in 04 were  started with the sole purpose of publishing my poetry. I have re-entered the blogosphere with a new purpose- to get a little more creative and talk about life.

Today I am meeting with a playwright and novelist to discuss the poetry I will be reading at my first public reading out in Oceanside, Long Island.  I haven’t decided if I am nervous or not, but I am happy to release some of my emotions and thoughts in a public way(and also a reason for this blog).

So what about the weekend? I started this weekend bartending at Plum, a local Greek Bar and Restaurant. The regular crowd got more wrecked than usuall and after lots of napkin throwing, shots, shaken with a few “O-pah!’s” I managed to get out of there alive.  At Plum one of the drinks they are known for or we do extremely well is the mojito-regular, berry,strawberry, coconut, and orange. Thirsty? 

(In a second post I’ll provide a little recipe so you can make this one at home and a short poem I am supposed to read at this upcoming reading- comment please… I am starving for feedback!) 

 Saturday I spent the day and night at Ocean Beach, Fire Island. This is probably my favorite place to be. I believe we each have our own little “heavens on Earth.” Ocean Beach is mine. I can walk from the bay to the ocean in minutes, swim, eat good seafood, and drink well. The day was pretty perfect. I got to the beach around 12:30, bumped into one of my very good friends visiting from VA, had some great mussels and wine at Cast Away’s, heard live music at the Sand Bar, danced at the Mermaid, and managed to find my way back to the mainland by 11:30.

Sunday a girlfriend and I went up to the north shore of Long Island- Port Jefferson(pictured above). The streets were peaceful. We found some great American Indian Jewelry and a tapas bar with authentic spanish food for a future venture. They also have several seafood restaurants, great places to shop, and awesome candy and ice cream shops. The night-life is also great.. can’t wait to get out there this summer.

If you’re ever on the island these are a couple of great places to visit.

This was definately an action packed weekend full of my favorite things- poems, mojitos, Fire Island, and some good seafood!.

From Queens, to the south shore, up to the north shore and back again to Queens.

So happy happy Monday! I have come back to reality, back to work, an extremely hot apartment, and got this blog off the ground as well!

C. E. Zachary