Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Green

I did not simply buy Taylor Swift‘s junior release, Speak Now, I bought the special edition double-disc bonanza (exclusively available at Target). Call me a sap for all things cute and small and innocent, as Swift purports to be. We know she’s not nearly that pristine—she dated “Dear John” Mayer for Pete’s sake! “Better Than Revenge” is a ripoff of Paramore’s “Misery Business” and “Mean”—about her personal and professional critics—is a bit bratty. And yet, I am completely charmed by the way her evocative storytelling makes me feel like I’m sixteen and blindly in love again (even though Taylor herself is pushing 21).

Needless to say, thanks to her latest release, my obsession with all things Swizzle has risen to new heights. Thus, while skimming various sites for Taylor-related content—quotes on the inspiration behind her latest album and the like—I stumbled across this post on Valentine’s Day, in which Taylor starred (quite horribly, despite her cuteness, I might add) alongside Taylor (Lautner that is, whom she briefly dated and the wrote this song about).

Though I did not know this when the film was released, oh, 9 months ago, Valentine’s Day was touted as the first movie with an entirely green set, with reusable set pieces, solar-powered lighting and hybrid vehicles. The sunny Los Angeles set also allowed for the use of solar generators, said star Ashton Kutcher. Distributer Warner Bros. says that the entire team’s efforts reduced the amount of carbon dioxide emissions by 67 metric tons!

Smell So Fresh, So Green

Saplings! I’m sorry I’ve been away for so long. You know the theory that sea salt soothes the young straight to sleep? Applies to the old, too, or at least the slightly older. Spending my days at the Jersey Shore – but far from the Snookis and Situations – I’ve been selfishly soaking up the sun. Blame my frivolity on youth, a spontaneous trip to Quebec, Taylor Swift (the video for “Mine” is adorable) – the summer has kept me away from you all, but I’m still solidly green.

Of course, you could credit my return to the school books and teacher’s dirty looks that accompany September. Back on board and now in grad school (!) at Tisch, I walk around campus and am reminded of the countless hours I spent on this blog. I read through the posts now and get nostalgic for real school when teachers gave me grades and midterm report cards and, aw, you know? Now, I all I have to do is read (essentially), plus two papers per class, which has its benefits. I get more sleep, more than four hours regularly. It also has the effect of making me feel like a bum, which is why I am back to blogging, waxing poetic on all things green with a touch of sparkle.

And since I’ve been such a stinker (hey, no Garden Stater can avoid the Jersey Shore stench entirely), I thought I’d start off September with an eco-friendly stank, complements of Ms. Donna Karan. It’s called pureDKNY and it’s oh-so-green.

To explain, the bottle is made from recycled glass. Likewise, the packaging is being constructed in a carbon neutral facility, which means that the energy is 100 percent reusable. And for all you animal lovers out there – I have a cuddly couple myself, including a sappy golden retriever, Linus, and a sarcastic grey tabby, Lucy – DKNY scents (including the apple-scented Be Delicious) are never tested on our furry friends.

More importantly, the “drop of vanilla” extract used in pureDKNY comes from a fair trade farm in Uganda. The facility promotes safe working conditions for its farmers – 60 percent of which are women – and fair wages. Congress could learn a thing or two from this model of efficiency, eco-consciousness and care, no?

Let’s leave it here for now. Missed you all like I miss sand between my toes.

XO, The Green Gamine