Academia to Asana

As a graduate student and instructor I am often on campus for long days and then head to the studio either before or after to either take or teach a yoga class. Since I take public transportation, hauling around an extra bag full of clothes to change into-no matter how small they are- is an extra inconvenience.  The outfits above are perfect for days that I am just a Spanish student and then head to or from the studio. The shoes are vegan, the tank top and jacket are from Nordstrom, the tunic and leggings are Beyond Yoga-one of my favorite new brands, and the jewelry is recycled and/or eco-friendly.

Academia to Asana by cloch1 featuring a balcony bra

 
 This set I made with working and then heading to the studio, the seafoam tank and two tunics are from Lole's eco-line. The stirup leggings are Beyond Yoga, and the orange tank is from Nordstrom.The tote WANT LES ESSENTIELS DE LA VIE Olive Green Slub O'hare Shopper Tote is a bit pricey for me at around $450, but a girl can dream. The boots are the eco-friendly Coclico



The grey sweaters are great layering pieces that I can wear with Jeans or pants to work and only have to tote around the crops. The V-neck is Alo and the cowl neck is by Unity both at Nordstroms. Likewise, the leggings and three colored tanks are from there are well, the pink and leopard one are zella. The black heart-opener tank is from Beyond Yoga (link above).  The booties can be found at Eco-Conscious website and are also vegan. The duffle bag is recycled and from Etsy, the black sleek bag is Boticca, and the cosmetic bag or wash bag is Ecoalf Californi. The earrings are also from Etsy and the watch is the Sprout cork strap watch from JCPenny.


The best part about a lot of these clothes-besides how cute they are- is that they are from Nordstroms meaning they will go on sale, may be available at The Rack, and they have a great return policy. I have also had amazing customer service with Lole as well. 
 

My study break shopping trip to Click: Nature Inspired / Nature Friendly

It is just too nice out to sit inside and read unclassified CIA documents or classic Spanish lit, so I made a homemade pumpkin coffee, grabbed my bike, and headed down the street with the intention of buying a broom (we only have a little hand one-- it is not cutting it) and a wall calendar.

I came home with neither, but I did score a great pair of flats at Click Shoes on Southport for 50% off. They are having a fall sale. Lauren, the buyer for the store, is amazing and does a great job filling the store with amazing pieces like the Matisse booties and the Bella Dahl tunic above. I wanted to integrate these pieces with some of the Eco-friendly finds from earlier this week.

Both the pieces from click have their own pro's:
  
Matisse boots, according to Lauren, last forever and hold up really well. Investing in quality pieces that do not need to be replaced is an environmentally friendly way to shop since in a year or six months from now you won't be tossing them out and replacing them.

The Bella Dahl tunic is made in the USA, and although I couldn't find any information on the cotton they use it's always great to support companies that make their products here.

Inspired by my study break shopping trip to Click: Nature Inspired / Nature Friendly by cloch1 featuring matisse shoes

Avant garde dress / Topshop black pants / Matisse shoes / Melissa Joy Manning diamond earrings / Brown glasses / Clare Vivier - Madeleine Petit

New York Fashion Week: Crazy Beautiful World- keep it that way with eco-friendly fashion

Dress / STELLA McCARTNEY synthetic shoes / STELLA McCARTNEY handbag / STELLA McCARTNEY faux snakeskin handbag / Clare Vivier real leather handbag, $215 / Melissa Joy Manning clear stud earrings / STELLA McCARTNEY sunglasses / La Tropezienne 5"

Inspired by MBFW I want to do a post dedicated to designers that practice Eco-friendly and sustainable production. Not all earth friendly clothing is hippie-wear, you can find high end designer pieces. The fashion industry, for the most part, is not sustainable as is but a lot of companies are working to change that.

 Major clothing companies such as Zara and H&M are designing eco-conscious lines at an affordable price; BUT if I could splurge here are the designers I would shop:

       Clare Vivier- she does beautiful leather bags that use eco-friendly materials in the preparation and production of the bags.

       Honest by- they have amazing everything, on their website you can select various criteria                     for the products. i.e. - vegan, eco-friendly production, etc.

       Melissa Joy Manning- creates beautiful jewelry with gemstones and practices sustainable production as well.

       Shop Ethica- is one of my favorite shops I found while researching this blog. Great bags, clothes, and accessories; the colors and patterns used by the company are super fun.

      Coclico- beautiful shoes and boots made with sustainability in mind.


Link to information about second set of pictures

Throwback Thursdays: sustainable gifts for bridesmaids

 I was inspired to do this post after coming across FashionABLE's website and mission- http://livefashionable.com/ . Their products are beautiful and I have always loved this type of shop/company's products with their exotic yet classic style and the greater impact on the women of the world. While in Boulder this past month I came across MomentuM, a small boutique of fair trade/ sustainably made products located on the east end of Pearl St. I loved the Sari quilts and scarves (below), another favorite was the salve by alaffia also below)--which I should have bought the first time I went because they are closed on Mondays and I never made it back, my hands are still trying to recover from the dry mountain air. 


                     


For our wedding it was really important to me that I get my bridesmaids gifts that they could use again (cliche I know), and that the money I spent would go to a good cause. I ended up with a traditional gift set for the girls- a bag for the day to carry their stuff in, comfy shoes to dance in, and their jewelry. Although traditional, each gift gave back or supported  a local artist. NOLAbead did all the jewelry and it is beautiful (check out her shop on etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop/NOLAbead).

bridesmaid gifts by cloch1 featuring toms flats

TOMS footwear / TOMS flat, $54 / TOMS KIDS Hot Pink Toms Classic Tiny Glitter, $40 / FEED 1 Bag - FBAG001 / Turquoise Bridesmaids Bracelet Beaded Wrap Bracelet by NOLAbead,
*earrings are not by nolabead but are along the same line- I don't have a pic of just the earrings she did
*fashionAble product photo from http://emilymaynard.com/blog/here-i-come-ethiopia/ 
* MomentuM photos  http://ourmomentum.com/products_bath_body.html

Family Roadtrip: Here's to not getting HANGRY

Family Roadtrip by cloch1 featuring james perse

Topshop sweat shirt / H&M shirt top, $9.19 / James Perse / American Apparel / TOMS shoes, $63 / DENY Designs Anderson Design Group Chicago Shower Curtain / Lug Snuz Sac U Blanket Pillow / Sony Over-the-Ear Headphones (MDRZX300IP/B) / Studio Pant II *No Liner / Matthew Justin Rupp Society6


Practically every summer my family loads up the car and we hit the road to visit our family in Montana. The drive from Chicago to Butte, MT has taken us as long as 26 hours and as little as 22...thats a lot of time to make great memories, but it is also just a lot of time. With about 29 years of practice I have the ride preparation down, one of my greatest challenges this year is the food!! I am a mostly plant based eater, my sister is gluten free and soy free. Oh, and have I mentioned that we get HANGRY--- super crabby when hungry-- so it is essential that we prepare appropriate food to tie us over between stops.

Two Day Road Trip Survival:
  Clothing:

• AVOID white (trust me)
• Two pairs of comfy pants
• Layering tops that are easy on/easy off in case you are the driver--overhead removal is highly frowned     upon
• Easy on/off shoes-- sometimes there is little coordination (mid nap) or time (post large coffee) to slip the shoes on once you stop
• socks to put on your feet in the car

Activities:

• something to do with my hands like Knitting
• ipad (I get carsick when reading in the car but I always seem to try)
• ipod/adaptor to listen to in the car because there are a lot of areas without any radio between Chitown and Butte
• headphones for when you need to feel like you are alone instead of in a six by six box with four other people
• camera to capture any beautiful sunsets, animals, or great pictures of your trip along the way
• PILLOW and BLANKET- I love my Lug because it is small and supersoft

Food:

• Grapes and other fruit that you can munch on to healthily pass the time (berries are more dangerous because if you drop one and sit on it your pants are done, especially if this berry is a piece of chocolate :/ )
• popcorn--stove top popped with a little salt
• chia seed puddings
• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 1 cup milk (any kind, I use any non-moo milk)
• a little bit of coco and or fruit you choose
• in a blender combine the milk and coco (or fruit) and mix well
• combine the chia seeds and the liquid and let sit at least 15 minutes
• this makes a pretty good size batch and I like to divide it up between small tupperwares for either a sweet treat or breakfast
• Date Balls
• 1/2 c rolled oats
• 1/2 c pepitas (aka raw pumpkin seeds)
• 1/2 c walnuts or pecans
• 1/2 coconut flakes
• pinch of salt
• splash of vanilla
• about 25 pitted dates (depends on the size so check the consistency throughout the date-ing process)
• place all the dry ingredients in the food processor (not dates or vanilla) and grind up
• add the vanilla and pulse a few more times
• through the feeder tube add the dates one by one- test the texture as you go, you want to be able to roll the mixture into balls
• remove the blade and roll the mixture into small balls
• place in freezer and keep frozen
• Energy balls- hits the sweet tooth and includes protein
• 1c rolled oats (gf)
• 1/2 c coconut flakes
• 3/4 c peanut butter
• 1/2 c honey
• 1 t, vanilla
• 1/4 t. cinnamon
• handful of chocolate chips - vegan for me, regular for my sister 
• mix all in a big bowl and then roll into balls, feel free to add nuts or other seeds
• great refrigerated

• 3 ingredient cookies- I have seen these all over the web
• 2 ripe bananas
• handful of rolled oats
• add-ins (chocolate chips, nuts, coconut, cinnamon)
• mash up the bananas
• toss in the oats
• add one or two at most add-ins
• scoop into little cookies and bake for 15 minutes at 350 (place cookies on parchment paper or sillpat mat)

• trailmix- I love monkey buisness from Trader Joe's or Diet Delite from Whole Foods
• Kombucha tea--- maybe dangerous if you are not planning a stop anytime soon
• Lots of WATER-- I love my Hydroflask because if I fill it in WI, fall asleep with my water bottle in the sun, and wake up in SD I know my water will still be COLD (cold for 24 hours and hot for 12)! It also frees up room in the ice-chest for all the yummy snacks!

This year it is just my mom, sister, and I driving out--- here's to not getting HANGRY at each other!