Winner! Organic Sugar Scrub Giveaway!

Congrats to Kirstin A. from NYC! She's the winner of an Artistic AYA Organic Sugar Scrub. Kirstin selected the fabulous Organic Cotton Poppyseed scrub.

To view the selections, visit http://www.organicallyhappy.com/m21/Artistic-AYA/index.html.

Giveaway! Win one of Artistic AYA Organic Body Scrubs

Last night I was using one of Artistic AYA's organic sugar scrubs (I love the black sesame rose), and thought it was time to share the magic and give away some scrubs to lucky readers. These amazing scrubs are brought to you by Organically Happy from DC-based (local for us) artist and designer, Dana Ayanna Greaves. Artistic AYA Sugar scrubs are packed with an exotic recipe of organic ingredients and essential oils that produce powerful results.

“Artistic AYA Sugar comes from my love of art, theater, and experimentation. From the intense aroma to the texture, I’ve created a sensory experience in a jar” ~Ayanna.

The organic sugar scrubs (100ml) are handmade and come in: Black Sesame Rose, Cotton Poppyseed, and Sweet Coconut.

Featured on NBC's Today Show and Lucky magazine (July 2008)

"...ingredients and scents that not only leave the skin clean and smooth but also evoke a sensory response." -DC Magazine

GIVEAWAY! WIN ONE OF THESE SCRUBS!
We're giving away one scrub of the winners choice (a $30 value). To enter, send me an email (debra@organicallyhappy.com).

Want extra credit? Earn up to 3 more entries:
-Subscribe to my blog.
-Follow me on Twitter (debrasb).
-Blog about this giveaway or OrganicallyHappy.com on your blog.
If you do any of these, be sure to let me know in your entry email/tweet!

I'll announce the winner on Monday, Nov. 24 so stay tuned.

Hey Green--Time to Lose the Granola Edge

Why must the green movement continue to present itself as fringe? Sure, for years the greenies have been mostly the granola crunchers. But now that the rest of the world is finally catching on, Green is still presenting itself as only for the hardcore.

An example, you say? No better example can be had than the food area at the Green Festival in DC. Green Festival open to all, lots of cool stuff--and great, 100% vegan food?? Must Green be synonymous with mystery-TVP loaf and soy cheese? My parents came to the festival--as it is I have a challenging time convincing my dad to do Green anytime. But lunch--this was a true deal breaker. When we hit the spinach cheese lasagna that wasn't, lunch was over before it started. No way was he gonna eat that--he ended up with fruit (note: it was delicious!).

Of course there were options and plenty we could find--but why set an unattainable expectation that everyone Green should eat vegan? There are many green farmers and dairies out there, in fact several were exhibitors! It's time to show the world that it isn't a huge sacrifice to go green, it can be easy changes that make a big difference. Sure, the serious devotees may always do more. But don't turn off those that are harder to convert. TVP has a way of doing that.

Green Festivus for the Rest of Us!

The DC Green Festival was this past weekend, and it was just wonderful. I didn't see nearly as much as I would have liked--the place was packed and there was so much great stuff. It was just amazing. My 5-year old was in heaven with all of the kids programs. He is now on a personal mission to build a rain barrel. It must be decorated.

OrganicallyHappy.com represented well with a packed booth and lots of great organic, chemical-free products. I was so amazed at the response to what we're trying to do. There is definitely a need and appreciation for chemical-free, organic products and companies like us showing a commitment to the products. Our focus on microproducers also seemed to be a big deal for folks. Here's what got people talking:

Adara Coconut Oil
People just loved this! It's just pure organic coconut oil with essential oils to fragrance, and it feels so nice on the skin.

Artistic AYA Sugar Scrubs
These are handmade by a DC artist and come in yummy flavors. Attendees wanted to support the local talent, and enjoy these special treats.

Eco-Listening
There seemed to be a huge desire for meditation music and learning CDs.

Raw Gaia--the living ingredient line
People were very intrigued by this hip, raw line. They cold-press everything, so none of the ingredients are heat treated. Great stuff like their Raw Chocolate Face Mask.

Trevarno Organic Skincare--good for troubled skin
Many folks popped into the booth looking for solutions for eczema, extremely dry skin, and needing something soothing. This line was perfect--there is nothing in here except great ingredients.

Other items were popular, but these were some of the hits. I'd love to hear what you need so that we can work to include it in the store.

The Race is On!

In this digital age, there's a group for everything. Startupnation.com is having a contest for the top 100 home-based businesses this year. OrganicallyHappy.com is entered and hoping to win! If you have a chance, click here to vote (once a day!): http://www.startupnation.com/homebased100/contestant/2230/index.php

Your support is appreciated. Gotta help the little guy!!

Time to Zoodle, Baby!

Hip hip hurray! www.ZoodlEarth.com is finally here. This is a brand-spankin' new social networking site for the greenies out there. I love the blend of YouTube and Myspace features. I hear there are plans to release a consumer carbon credit trading program in the next month or so. This is incredible, I can't wait!!

And now it's the monkeys!

So, now Bill Nye the Science Guy has a show on Planet Green. I gotta say--I do think that his ol' buddy Ed Begley Jr. likely called in a few favors to hook him up, but in any case he's got his thing happening. Earlier this week, he ran a piece about the effect of sodium laurel sulfates (SLS) on the orangutans of the world.

Not surprisingly, no one he asked knew what the heck he was talking about. It turns out that not only is SLS a major toxin that is in almost all conventional beauty and body care products, but it's based from palm oil (who knew?). So what, you ask? Apparently the world's dependence on palm oil has caused major rain forest teardown which is replaced with palm plantations. The orangutans that live in the rainforest normally end up losing their food sources, so they eat off of the palm plantations. You could guess that the plantation owners don't love that, so they end up killing the orangutans. So, if the toxicity of this junk isn't enough for us, we are also killing monkeys--and of course no one wants that!!

Why is SLS so appealing? In the quest for great products to feature on www.OrganicallyHappy.com, we have found tons of great items sans SLS, sans cocamidopropyl betaine and other chemical yuck. My latest fave? Eden's Kiss Anti-Aging Facial Balm. Obviously my days of using department store products are over, so I was thrilled to find this gem. Made by hand in California, this balm is very rich but isn't greasy on my skin at all. I definitely feel dewy! And I didn't kill any monkeys to get that way.