Finally, I've got an enviro and people-friendly yoga mat! It's ruddy, it's pretty, and it matched a beautiful yoga bag -- made by a local company in Venice, Calif., called Kismet that rescues vintage saris and recycles them into gorgeous products, made under fair trade conditions by women in rural India.

Last night our house guests sat at the kitchen table trying to check themselves in for their early morning flight. Everything went fine until they got to the seat selection phase. These four travelers found exactly one seat available on the plane. One. This is crazy, of course, but overbooking isn't' exactly new. We made all kinds of jokes about who had to be back at work first, but ultimately, the only thing to do was to leave it until they arrived at the airport at five this morning.

Motivated by Kalyn Denny's "If You Have Ripe Tomatoes and Fresh Basil, It's Time for Caprese Salad" post, I decided to start a balcony tomato garden!

In the ‘She-didn't-see-this-coming?' category, Gwyneth Paltrow was recently slammed by PETA for modeling fur in ads for Tod's, an Italian maker of fashion accessories. Paltrow, a proclaimed vegetarian, is known for her green, holistic lifestyle and close friendship with staunch animal-rights designer, Stella McCartney, yet she is fronting the autumn collection of fur-lined boots and bags for Tod's. Tricky, no? As an aspiring vegetarian, I'm befuddled. Can V-Folks have it both ways?

The frugal blogs do more than pinch pennies. They make us think, twice, about our personal spending habits, getting our financial lives in order, living well (and well) within our means. Frugality is a life maxim, some times from necessity, many times by conviction.

Get clean, save the rainforest. That's the message eco personal-care company Save Your World's sending out. Buy any shampoo, lotion, soap, or other pampering product -- all paraben-free, vegan, and made with fair trade ingredients -- and you'll save at least one acre of the Guyana rainforest in South America.

Right after my post about an organic cotton top that didn't fit right, a pretty one that fits perfectly arrived in the mail!

I'm speaking tomorrow at the Writing for Change Conference in San Francisco about "Changeblogging: How to Create Positive Change With Your Blog." The conference is for nonfiction writers who want to write books that will create positive change, "from the personal to the planetary." I've been creating a list of changemaker authors who have blogs. The blogs could have been created as a platform for a particular book, evolved into a book, or simply be a part of the author's overall web presence.

You might best know Maggie's Functional Organics for its organic socks and tights, available at Whole Foods and many eco clothing stores. But this green company makes more than just footwear. In fact, you could dress yourself up entirely in Maggie's, thanks to Maggie's organic cami-and-shorts set (left).

So it's back to school for the kiddoes, soon if not already. And what's for lunch? Lunch boxes and brown bags are so 2005, now it's all about the bento box, the coolest lunch carrier for kids, teachers and anyone who takes a lunch to work. So let's take a quick lesson in bento.

What do empty toilet paper rolls, plastic shopping bags, old cordoroy pants have in common with a call to ban PVC?  They are all part of the second Carnival of Green Crafts. This new carnival is alternately hosted at Crafting a Green World and other blogs. Submissions right now will be part of the  August 21st carnival at CAGW then the party moves over to Whip Up.

This year's BlogHer Conference was greener than ever, thanks in large part to Zwaggle's recycling our shwag (pic below). Post-conference, I asked if you had suggestions about how we could make BlogHer Conferences even greener -- and got some v. innovative ideas! The conclusion I've drawn from those ideas is twofold: