Friday, April 22, 2011

la ville fertile: urban gardens in paris



a wonderful exhibit on at the palais chaillot right across from le tour eiffel. questions the use of space in the urban landscape. and ponders the reality of living in an green urban jungle one day.


one of patrick blanc's masterpieces. this one is at the musee du quai branly.


a garden design by burle marx, one of the most renowned landscape architects, famouse for his design along the copacabana beach in brazil.







spring blooms at the large botanical garden right in the heart of the city.


the viaduct converted into a lush green walkway. la promenade plantee, from appx the bastille to gare du lyon and further.
lovely plantings along the rue de roisers in the marais (the place to go for a good street falafel)
by the gare du nord station. another PB masterpiece

Saturday, April 2, 2011

enough sleep, plenty of water, and laughter (ok, and just a few organic beauty products)



today i'm going on a bit of a tangent to share with you the contents of my toiletry kit, specially equipped for these 4 months in india. they are nearly all organic, natural and made from plants. i dont usually do advertising here on the blog, but i am really happy with these products and from what i know support the businesses who make them. i admit that i went on a bit of a splurge to create this kit before i left the states, but sometimes when you're really far from home some organic beauty/health products really do the trick to revitalize and rejuvenate. the kit does include a few items that i've picked up here.

but, no matter what, i truly believe the best cosmetics/medicines are enough sleep, plenty of water, and laughter.

here we go!

dental care: we use rupam's one drop only tooth gel made with himalayan rock salt, miracle soap flower essences, myrhh, peppermint, spearmint, clove, cinnamon and anise oil. you really only need one drop and this small bottle has lasted us 9 months so far. rupam makes her herbal products in sonoma and can be found at the grand lake farmer's market on saturdays. i always carry around some cloves and some cardamom pods as they are the best mouth freshener after a meal and also work great for motion sickness or nausea. these tea tree cinnamon toothpicks are also super refreshing and helpful when eating out or an the go.
hair care: shikakai (Acacia concinna) is an amazing plant whose seed pods are dried and ground up to make wonderful hair powder that leaves your hair feeling luxurious and smooth! everyother day i use our tried and true dr. bronner's miracle soap. nothing beats his fair trade, organic, castille soap. we like the unscented baby-mild kind. if you haven't seen the documentary on him, i highly recommend it-- what a guy! i picked up this cute wooden comb at the local pharmacy here.
health: could not live without these 5 little bottles! from the left: rainbow grocery's home blend multivitamin and mineral with green superfoods & whole food concentrates (1 a day!), source naturals wellness herbal resistance liquid - 1 dropperful a day for prevention, several during times of imbalance, wellness fizz - i take this before long crowded bus or train journeys, and finally two great tinctures made by wishgarden herbs - these have been so helpful. the serious cough soother also works great for sore throats and the digestive-ease has been the perfect antidote to questionable street food.

weleda: "in harmony with nature and the human being since 1921" is a great swiss company whose name comes from the name of the celtic goddess of wisdom and healing and whose practices are based on rudolph steiner. they make amazing body care products. i believe they also make homeopathic medicines, but have yet to try those. the wild rose eye cream on the far right is probably the biggest splurge on this page, but it smells so beautiful and is really refreshing. i dab on a bit every night before i go to sleep. skin food in the middle is a lotion that i swear by, it is made from all organic sunflower seed oil, pansy, biodynamic calendula and rosemary this stuff is to die for. and my wild rose deodorant helps combat the sticky heat in addition to being a soothing scent.

my cosmetics: josie maran argan (Argania spinosa) oil stick, Tatcha Japanese blotting papers made in the 300 year old geisha tradition of 100% Abaca (Musa textillis) with specks of gold, Julie Hewitt organic Camellia Balm (i use it as lip balm and eye balm), RGB nail polish - formeldehyde, toulene and DPB Free!!! and tokyo Milk solid perfume scented with rose, geranium and hyacinth (this is the one product listed here that i am unsure of).

mosquito repellent: certainly among the two most critical products. i love both of these all natural repellents that i picked up here. i think it's always best to use whats available locally to combat the local mosquitoes. the citronella balm is made by last forest herbal products and the Collibri roll-on is made in Auroville from lemongrass, vetiver and a blend of other herbs.

miscellaneous: blum naturals organic chamomile towelettes are so refreshing after an overnight train journey or to fold up over your eyes after along day in the dust and pollution of the city, couldn't live without natracare's organic cotton, biodegradable, perfume and chemical free tampons, aveeno naturals sunblock, and cleanwell's organic anti-bacterial spray made from thyme and oregano oils.

sources:
bay area, usa- pharmaca integrative pharmacy, herringbone at erica tanov, rainbow grocery, rupam's apothecary, berkeley bowl

chennai, india - econut, restore, naturally auroville