Gardens Opens in West Village Today

Austin import Gardens opened their doors this morning in the former Octane space in West Village. The verdict: my new favorite store. Sure they have garden implements, seeds, and spades, but they also have Mariage Frères teas; Geodesis room sprays, candles, and diffusers; Wiseman House chocolates; Olivina lotions; burled teak pieces; furniture; jade bowls; canned pickles; coffee table books; the list goes on. And on. It’s a one-stop shopper’s dream come true. I now understand how the Austin store has created such a faithful following. Flower lovers: They have the prettiest Rembrandt amaryllises blooming now. You heard it here first; this garden won’t be a secret for long.

Beautify Your Bed

I’ve already given you a number of Valentine’s Day options. But guess what? My love for you never ends, people. I just received word from Blanc de Chine–they have started allowing custom orders. So even though we think it highly unlikely that you won’t find lots to purchase from the variety of silk bedding options, faux-fur throws, matching pillows, and cashmere throws, now you can do your own thing. And just in time for V-Day.

Gardening for Fitness

I know, you can’t open a magazine this time of year without learning about a new way to get fit - we’re always looking for something easier than diet and exercise. But, here’s a new one that actually makes sense - doing everyday chores like gardening the right way can actually make you fit. Maybe you, but not me - I have a black thumb. It even gives a calorie burning chart, chopping logs for an hour - fast - will burn 1098.5 calories. Don’t cut off an arm or leg, that’s a bad way to lose weight.

Green Dallas

Since I am always surfing for websites with environmental news, you can imagine my utter delight when I stumbled upon GreenDallas.net. Created by our very own city staff, I am told it is the first of its kind in the country. Never underestimate the dedication of our Office of Environmental Quality. We love you Laura Fiffick (Director).

EPA Ranks Dallas #1 for Sustainable Energy Use

The EPA’s latest ranking of local governments shows that Dallas uses more sustainable energy (wind, solar, etc…) than any other registered local government entity. Wow. Perhaps even more impressively, Dallas ranks #9 on the national list, ABOVE THE EPA! This list includes everything from Fortune 500 corporations to government agencies.
According to the EPA, the City of Dallas’ green power purchase of nearly 334 million (kWh) is equivalent to avoiding the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of nearly 48,000 passenger vehicles per year, or is the equivalent amount of electricity needed to power nearly 33,000 average American homes annually. Nice.

RE: Room Service Closing

What sweetens this sad story is visions of shopping at the new Room Service scratch and dent and one-of-a-kind because anything from this store in any condition is simply fabulous! This from proprietor Ann Fox:

(more…)