If you are new to the world of decor and design inspiration, or just need some new outlets to eat up more of your free time, we have a delicious roundup of some of our favorite decorating blogs to get you started. Make certain to clear your schedule for the time being, because you are going to be occupied for a long time catching up with these sites. Pretty soon, these sites will become your regular haunts.

No matter what your living arrangements are–from a tiny house to penthouse–getting inspired to decorate from your favorite decorating blogs is the cornerstone of the decor and DIY design world. Before the Internet, decor and design junkies had to find their inspiration at the hands of the latest issues of the big design and decor magazines, but these days inspiration is more immediate. Thank goodness!

Home decor, design, and DIY inspiration are just a click away no matter your personal style and taste!

Drool-worthy Decorating Blogs

1. A Beautiful Mess – Run by sisters Elsie Larson and Emma Chapman, A Beautiful Mess blends a lovely mix of decor, food, fashion, and DIY that will keep you occupied for a long time.

2. Brit + Co – This site features a heady mix of all kinds of lifestyle topics including DIY and decor. The site boasts that it connects readers with makers, designers, chefs, and inventors to build a community of creativity.

3. City Farmhouse – City Farmhouse combines the sensibility of a city home with the practicality of a more suburban location. It’s a charming take on the journey of making a stylish home that doesn’t break the bank.

4. Nesting Place – Nesting proves that renters don’t have to sacrifice style–it’s possible to create a wonderfully decorous space and comfortable space even when you don’t own your own home.

5. SF Girl By Bay – After ten years, Victoria Smith’s blog continues to be one of the best and more inspiring design and decorating blogs around. This is an original tastemaker’s blog.

6. The Makerista – This blog provides a practical approach to how to decorate your space in a thoughtful and stylish way.

7. La Dolce Vita – Looking for someplace to just look at the pretty pictures? Look no further than this site run by a couple of interior decorators. It’s less of a practical how-to for us everyday folks and more of a fantasy of how we would decorate when we win the lottery!

Related on EcoSalon

10 Best Natural Beauty Blogs
Top 10 Best Green & Organic Beauty Blogs
The New Green Voices: The 5 Best Green Fashion Blogs

Beautiful Terrace Image via Shutterstock

The post 7 Drool-Worthy Decorating Blogs You Simply Must Read appeared first on EcoSalon.

A fresh and hearty salad that’s easily packable for lunch. 

I recently discovered food blog Happy Yolks, and it quickly made its way onto my list of favorites. With beautiful photography and believers in the value of good food, Happy Yolks embodies our own EcoSalon values about eating. As they put it, “Be kind to your body, be kind to the earth, be kind to everyone you meet – you never know who is fighting a hard battle.”

Kelsey of Happy Yolks was kind enough to share her recipe for Mixed Bean Salad with us for today’s Sunday Recipe, a fresh mix of beans and greens that is easy to take along to a dinner party or a picnic, or simply just for lunch.

Mixed Bean Salad 

• 6 cups soaked and cooked beans
• 6-8 stalks celery
• 1 cup thinly sliced red onion
• 1 head watercress
• 3 lemons
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• salt/pepper to taste

The post Sunday Recipe: Mixed Bean Salad appeared first on EcoSalon.

Your guide to discovering new beats that put you ahead of the game making personal playlists.

In today’s music industry, there’s a lot to keep up with, and as much as we love them, Pandora, Spotify and your personal iTunes on shuffle just can’t do it all. That said, we pulled together a list of 25 of our favorite music sites, our go-to sources for finding new tunes, streaming our favorite mixes and above all, staying ahead on our playlists. Just keep in mind that if you’re tempted to spend half your day perusing new music, don’t blame it on us.

A New Band A Day

The name says it all. Whether you like the bands or not is up to you, but fortunately there’s a new one every single day so you’re bound to discover something.

All Scandinavian

If you know anything about the music world, you’ll know that there’s a lot of creativity coming out of Scandinavia right now. Miike Snow, Lykke Li, Sigur Rós – they all have Nordic roots. All Scandinavian is the place to keep up with the big names as well as all of the smaller ones that you would otherwise only catch at festivals like Roskilde.

Aquarium Drunkard

Based in Los Angeles, Aquarium Drunkard is an eclectic mix that “bridges the gap between contemporary indie with vintage garage, psych, folk, country, New Orleans funk, r&b, soul and everything that falls in between.” That means it’s diverse, different and certainly worth your time.

La Blogothèque

A beautiful combination of music and videos, this French website has an appealing layout and the kind of content that will make you stick around for hours. Certainly not your average music blog, this site feels more like a high end lifestyle magazine.

The Chuckness

Chuck, The Chuckness’ namesake, knows his stuff when it comes to good, upbeat music, and this site should certainly make it onto your list of sites to check regularly. Chuck and his team also started featuring a bi-weekly mixtape called The Fortnight, mixed by a guy out of Boston named DJ Rob. It’s worth checking out and keeping an eye out for.

DML.fm

If you need workout mixes and danceable tracks, look no further. Don’t have time to sort through all the posts? For a quick fix there’s a list of top 10 tracks on the main page, which, thanks to a music-savvy readership, is always full of good music. The site offers plenty of the featured tracks for download, which means that even without internet access at your next party, you can still work your DJ skills.

The Fader

The Fader is actually an entire lifestyle magazine, but they have their finger on the pulse of the music scene and do a good job of pulling together everything from hip-hop to Caribbean.

Fighting Musical Ignorance

Electronic, indie, hip hop and dance, it’s all here. These guys know their party remixes, and if you’re in need of a good mashup should be your #1 source. They also know a thing or two about making playlists, and make them available for download, which is perfect for when you need a rocking set but are too tired to pull something together yourself.

Find New Jams

The concept for Find New Jams is simple: press play and listen. The site sticks to party, hip-hop, mashups and rock, and the platform allows you to vote on your favorite songs. Don’t expect commentary, this site is simply a “click and listen” kind of place, but it’s known for having some of the freshest tracks available, particularly when it comes to the sort of music that deserves to be blasted on loud speakers.

I Guess I am Floating

If The Phoenix called this site an “…uber-hip indie blawg.” you know if has to be good. I Guess I Am Floating always has the kind of music that you can listen to no matter what mood you’re in.

The Kollection

Intended for a younger crowd, this site is actually run by a bunch of savvy and music-loving college students, but you would never know it. It’s a professional operation that looks slick and has a good mix of music from various genres, from indie to dubstep. The commentary is smart and we keep an eye on it on a daily basis.

Hype Machine

Need a new morning routine? Brew your coffee and go immediately to Hype Machine. Hype Machine is one of the premiere music sites out there, more like a consortium of good music blogs and all of the tracks that they feature. The Popular list changes on a daily basis and one minute you can find yourself listening to Brazilian samba and the next a folky blues tune. You can bookmark your favorites and the songs continue playing while you navigate the site. And did we mention the Hype Machine Top 8 playlists that are released every Monday? If you can only commit to an hour a week of getting caught up on the latest and greatest in music, start here.

HypeTrak

Daily updated news and features makes this a go-to blog of music lovers of all kinds. One day Wiz Khalifa, the next, a Feist remix. The site also has an entire section devoted to music videos.

Indie Shuffle

Indie Shuffle is a huge collection of independent music of all genres. The San Francisco-based site’s music player is very user friendly, and every track that is posted has recommended similar artists, making it easy to know what you’re going to get and also encouraging you to discover new gems. Can’t decide where to hit play? Just hit the shuffle button and you’ll end up with a random track from Indie Shuffle’s extensive library. A must for anyone that’s trying to break out of their usual music tastes.

The Music Ninja

The Music Ninja’s About page says it all. “With one simple goal, to only feature the best music we come across, we have swiftly infiltrated the ears and minds of Ke$ha fans and permanently set them on the path to better, more fulfilling music.” So no auto-tune and no overly poppy bass lines. Your ears will thank you.

NPR Music

And you thought they only did Talk of the Nation and Fresh Air. NPR is very on top of their game when it comes to music. Song of the Day is a good way to kick off your morning, and because they’re a larger media brand, they also have a wide variety of album previews that you can listen to.

Pitchfork

You can barely call yourself a music lover if Pitchfork isn’t on your reading list. Album reviews, new tracks and even music festivals, this site has it all. They also have music lists that go as far back as the 1960s, in the event you’re looking to beef up your music knowledge.

Remix86

Dance. Party. That’s all there is to it when it comes to Remix86. Now you know, go forth and enjoy yourself.

SoundCloud

Soundcloud is the darling of artists and producers as it allows you to easily upload your music. But even if you’re not a musician, you should be using Soundcloud. Follow artists and producers, share your own stuff, keep track of all of your favorites and see what others have been listening to.

Stereogum

A well-respected industry blog, Stereogum was at the forefront of the music blog world from the beginning. That means that you can expect bigger releases alongside unknown artists just making it onto the scene. It’s also an excellent source for music news as well as Stereogum’s famous lists, with everything from The 20 Best Indie Madonna Covers to Bon Iver’s 5 Favorite Hip-Hop Lyrics.

Sunset in the Rearview

What would you be listening to on a roadtrip, driving cross country and appreciating the sunset reflecting in your rearview mirror as you head east? Probably something that would be featured on Sunset in the Rearview. It’s all indie rock and hip hop, and the main draw of this site is all of its daily features like Womp Wednesday and Friday at Five.

This Song is Sick

If you’re looking for a “this song is incredible!” reaction from your friends, here is where you will find it. It’s a lot of electro, but there’s a also a good chill section to offset the dance party selection.

We All Want Someone to Shout For

“Genres don’t exist here. Only good music does.” New York-based, We All Want Someone to Shout For sticks to its mantra, which means you get a diverse grab bag that you’re sure to love. Much of the featured content is available for download.

We Are Hunted

Take Pandora, add a little more Euro beats, indie rock and fresh DJs from the dance floor, a curated list of the day’s 99 most popular songs based on blogs and social media activity and you get a taste of what We Are Hunted has to offer. Type in the name of your favorite group or musician and the site immediately pulls up a grid of related artists, 75% of which you probably have never heard of. You can make your own playlists and embed them on blogs and share them on social networks, that way you can prove to your friends that you really are up on what’s new on the music scene.

8tracks

Where would we be without 8tracks? Think back to the days when you spent hours making mixtapes. Well, now there’s a website and an app for that. We’re even doing it. You can search for playlists based on artist or genre and you can stream them on your computer or your phone. Crowd-sourced internet radio that’s always full of good surprises.

Image: lamda_X

The post An A to Z List of Where to Go When iTunes Doesn’t Cut It appeared first on EcoSalon.

Come on, pin a little.

There’s nothing quite like a good inspiration board pinned with memorable quotes, tears from magazines, friends’ recipes, and pictures, but we live in the digital age, where we’re constantly finding inspiration that we can’t physically put anywhere (well, not without printing paper). Which is why we’re Pinterest fans. The online pinboard allows us to find and share daily inspiration, across a variety of categories. You can see what we’re currently looking to for creative inspiration by following us.

Where do we go to find new designs, recipes or just a good daily quote? We’ve rounded up some of our favorite Pinterest users and boards that the EcoSalon team follows for daily inspiration.

Fashion & Style

Crosby Noricks: Colorful, edgy and modern.

Fashion by Lisa in Love: A good eye out of Portland, Oregon.

Style Stalking by Melanie Bender: A collection of inspiring street style.

Dressed by Jessica Steeber: We would wear every single thing on here.

Jewelry by Erin Duffey: From simple to intricate.

Fashion by Elouise McGill: Classic and feminine styles.

Sasha Duerr: Textiles and colors that we can’t get enough of.

HonestlyWTF: Colorful and edgy designs, as well as some top notch DIY.

Tiger: Tiger is a blogger at Elle Decor Sweden, and she certainly has an eye for style.

sfgirlbybay: Bohemian modern style from San Francisco.

Shelter

Interiors by Arch Daily: A diverse selection of clean and modern spaces.

Habitats by nd+: All kinds of interiors and living spaces.

Smarchitecture by Myan Duong: Examples of smart design from around the world.

Frida Ramstedt: Frida runs the top Scandinavian decor blog Trendenser and has a great collection of everything Nordic.

Design Milk: A look into the inspiration behind one of our favorite design blogs.

Food

Big Girls Small Kitchen: BGSK is one of our favorite blogs, and it’s no surprise that their Pinterest page is just as inspiring for cooking a good meal.

Heidi Swanson: Author of 101cookbooks, Heidi keeps an excellent collection of everything that fuels her recipes.

Synapse: For any lover of food porn.

Food52: Simple, straightforward but beautiful food from a community of food lovers.

Gilt Taste: From the brains behind the online resource for gourmet and artisan goods.

Gastronomista: Films, infographics and art that all incorporate a culinary element.

A little of everything

Traveling Green: A wonderful collection of outdoor landscapes, nature photography and global pursuits.

Holstee: The conscious lifestyle goods brand has a great collection of quotes, gorgeous bicycles and images to fuel your wanderlust.

Caitlin Bristol: Green inspiration, from fashionable reusable bags to outdoor eating.

PortlandiaTV: What can we say? They’re good at “putting a bird on it.”

The post Daily Inspiration: 25 Pinterests We Love appeared first on EcoSalon.

We know what you’ll be making for brunch today. 

Welcome to Sunday Brunch, a new weekly series that’s bringing you inventive and delicious brunch recipes from our favorite food blogs around the web. Today, it’s Sour Cream Pecan Crumb Cake from Turntable Kitchen in the oven. And since Turntable Kitchen is known for pairing music with food, they even made us a special brunch playlist to serve up with this recipe.

Sour Cream Pecan Crumb Coffee Cakes
Adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking
*Serves a crowd

The cake:

• 3 1/2 cups of flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 2 sticks of butter, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 1/4 cups of sugar
• 1 16-ounce package of sour cream
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

The chocolate cinnamon swirl:

• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

The pecan crumb:

• 3/4 cup of flour
• 3/4 cup of brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 3/4 cup of roughly chopped, toasted pecans
• 6 tablespoons of cold butter (unsalted), diced into small cubes

1. Start by making the pecan crumb topping by putting all of the ingredients, save the butter, into a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Add the butter, pulsing until fully incorporated. Chill in the refrigerator while you make the cake.

2. Whisk the sugar, cocoa powder and cinnamon in a small bowl to combine to make the swirl.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and butter a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

4. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

5. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter until smooth and light. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy.

6. Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure to beat well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl to make sure all of the ingredients are mixed.

7. Beat in the sour cream and vanilla. Next, beat in the dry mix in three additions (don’t over mix the batter).

8. Pour about 1/3 of the cake batter into the pan, spreading it evenly. Top with half of the chocolate-cinnamon swirl mixture.

9. Pour another third of the batter and top with the rest of the chocolate-cinnamon swirl mixture.

10. Pour in the rest of the batter, smoothing it evenly. Sprinkle with the crumb topping.

11. Bake for about 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

12. Once cool, cut into crowd-serving-sized squares or rectangles.

*Note: if you are using a smaller pan, you should keep in mind that the cake will take much longer to cook (up to an hour and forty five minutes). To make sure you don’t burn the crumb topping, make a foil tent and cover the pan while you bake.

Sunday Brunch is an ongoing series featuring brunch recipes from some of our favorite food blogs around the web. New recipes every Sunday, so that you’re ensured a gourmet weekend. Bon appetit!

The post Sunday Brunch: Sour Cream Pecan Crumb Coffee Cakes appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnFive of our favorite foodie blogs involving everything from music to local produce.

It happens to all of us: the kitchen routine. You’re tired and uninspired and what happens? Your meal, at best, becomes a bowl of sauteed greens. Not that there’s anything with a bit of chard and kale thrown together in the frying pan, but sometimes we all need a little kick in the pants when it comes to cooking. Fortunately there’s the internet, and it has been helping foodies for years.

So go ahead, fuel your culinary prowess and overall food presentation with these 5 blogs:

1. Turntable Kitchen

What should you listen to at your next dinner party? Turntable Kitchen has the answer. It’s a food blog with a musical twist, pairing meals with music. Every recipe they have has a song to go with it, and they even do monthly mixes, which are sure to get the creative kitchen juices flowing.

2. Simply Breakfast

If visual inspiration is all you’re looking for, Simply Breakfast is the place to find it. Jennifer Causey documents her morning meals and keeps things, well, simple, by only posting a photo of what found its way onto the breakfast table. No titles, no recipes, just good old fashion food photography, sure to get your brain going for what to serve tomorrow morning.

3. Foodzie

You know that bored sigh you let out when you look in your refrigerator and everything seems the same? You can cut that out with the help of Foodzie, an online marketplace that lets you buy food directly from small passionate food producers and growers. Track down producers by region with the help of the Foodzie map or spend some time perusing the ample amounts of various artisanal products.

4. Kokblog

Kokblog is a personal favorite – a combo of recipes and amazing food illustrations – that never fails to inspire. The most recent example: Swedish Sticky Chocolate Cake. A Scandinavian classic, I had been looking for the ultimate recipe for a while, when Johanna Kindvall’s version showed up. Thanks to almond meal instead of flour and my own addition of cardamom, it’s a recipe to be reckoned with.

5. Big Girls Small Kitchen

I have a personal affinity for this site since the name pretty much sums up my own culinary experience. If you’re pressed for time and money, this site is for you, as it’s all about simple and inexpensive meals that are still fun and creative. Love.

Happy cooking!

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s weekly column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground, discovering what’s new and different in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to the culinary avant garde.

Image: Kokblog

The post Foodie Underground: 5 Best Foodie Blogs appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnThanks to the internet, there’s a blog for every kind of food, no matter how weird.

The only thing more important to a foodie than a kitchen is the internet. How else are you going to showcase all of your favorite food porn shots that you take at dinner every night? But just like with anything on the internet, it’s easy to go too far. Fortunately that means entertainment for the rest of us, and if you’re really lucky, maybe even some weird food inspiration. Here are our top 10 picks of weird food blogs, enjoy!

1. Scandybars

“Like a blog in a candy store,” this blog is almost a scientific collection of candy. It features the photos of cross sections of various candy bars, making you think of your favorite $0.99 overly sugary chocolate fix in a whole new way.

2. Scanwiches

The cross section fad continues, this time with scanwiches. Some look grosser than others (hint: hotdogs), but you never know what might just turn into the inspiration for tomorrow’s lunch.

3. F*ck You Yelper

As helpful as Yelp can be, crowd sourcing food reviews inevitably leads to a fair amount of moronic opinions. Thankfully F*ck You Yelper has them all rounded up in one place, sure to amuse anyone that’s ever questioned the future of society after spending a little too much time perusing Yelp comments.

4. The Bacon Show

Disclaimer: there are a lot of bacon blogs out there. But this one is one of the most extensive, currently claiming over 2000 recipes. And they stick true to their motto of, “One Bacon Recipe, Everyday, Forever.” So if you’re as obsessed with bacon as every other internet user, check it out.

5. Airline Meals

There’s no getting around it: traveling is fun but airplane food is not. Just because you got yourself on an international flight and don’t have to pay $10 for a dry and scratchy turkey – wait, is that actually turkey?? – sandwich, does not mean you’re going to get a satisfying meal. If you’re stuck in economy, all you can do is hope that your meal will be interesting enough to photograph and pop onto Airline Meals, which has a stunning archive of all kinds of meals served to the mile high club.

6. What the F*ck Should I Make for Dinner?

Tired? Feeling a drought of culinary creativity? Take that negative energy and make your way over to What the F*ck Should I Make for Dinner, a site that gives some simple and humorous suggestions on what you should be serving. Don’t expect any recipes, but at least you’re getting some advice, which we all know the internet is always good for.

7. This is Why You’re Fat

An internet sensation, This is Why You’re Fat is the epitome of weird food blogs. Feel bad about your diet lately? A quick scan through some of these photos will get you back to carrot sticks and hummus in no time.

8. Hipster Food

A quality food blog whose name is intended to be tongue-in-cheek. It’s actually a vegan food blog with creative recipes and hipster enough that they don’t capitalize the first letter of a sentence. Even if you have a vegan vendetta, you should still probably check it out.

9. Cutest Food

If you’re like me and have a cupcake aversion, consider yourself warned: this blog is sweet, saccharin, and mostly pink. Think panda cupcakes and waffles with multicolored heart shaped sprinkles. Le sigh.

10. Paula Deen Riding Things

What can we say, the iconic sugar, butter and fried queen photoshopped onto various images is hilarious. Almost as great as Paula’s actual website.

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s weekly column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground, discovering what’s new and different in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to the culinary avant garde.

Images: Cutest Food, Scandybars, Scanwiches,F*ck You Yelper, Natalie Dee, Airline Meals, What the F*ck Should I Make for Dinner, This is Why You’re Fat, Hipster Food, Cutest Food, Paula Deen Riding Things

The post Foodie Underground: Top 10 Oddest Food and Foodie Blogs appeared first on EcoSalon.

Welcome to cub web publishing 101, the course for literary teens who go one further than Facebook to flex their writing muscles via blogs devoted to pop culture, fashion and eco activism. Green teen blogging is the new black. But just like the sport of crew, it takes time away from homework. You have to want to get your strokes from more than a bunch of A’s on a card. Meet a few of the new breed.

While most high school freshman call it a day after trudging through the mixed cauldron of Macbeth, ancient Rome and conjugating Spanish verbs, It’s Getting Hot in Here contributor Shadia Fayne Wood blogs about climate justice. At fifteen, she joined the World Summit on Sustainable Development – joining efforts to create the Official Youth Energy Policy Statement. She now helps coordinate a global youth journalism network, Project Survival Media and while keeping a personalblog and pursuing a freelance photography sideline.

At Teens Turning Green, founded in Marin County, CA., concerned teens from around the globe blog to further the goal of  eliminating toxic chemicals from individual lives. Part of the joy is using the art of writing to effect change.

Its co-founder, Erin Schrode, got her start as a “sustainability prodigy” at the website and it led to awards, testimony before lawmakers and paid writing gigs by the time she was sixteen. Now, at nineteen, she is a guest blogger on Dr. Greene and other sites, and has a healthy TTG cosmetic line promoted by Whole Foods.

“They become experts and have something to share, and that is why they are blogging and articulating their perspectives,” says Judi Shill, Shrode’s mom and co-founder of the site. Shill finds blogging isn’t always an entree into journalism but is a sign of the times of how teens today communicate. Still, she admits some of the writing is “extraordinary” – and you can tell who is taking it further.

Taking it further might require the kind of chutzpah displayed by freelance teen reporter, Daniel Wetter, a member of the Scholastic Press Corps who often reports on eco issues. The upstart also has a passion for sports and covered the winter Olympics at fourteen, despite not having proper credentials. That’s the makings of a network sports writer – no shrinking violet in the locker room! “Every day has a new story to cover which is why I love journalism,” he says, and proves it by seeking out stories in his Sacramento community and working for his school paper, The Growler.

And then, in a league of her own, is fashion force Tavi Gevinson. The 14-year-old haute couture devotee, who also covers second hand shopping, has been writing the consumption blog, Style Rookie, since she was eleven. Next stop, a collaboration with Sassy creator Jane Pratt to produce a new teen publication for what Gevinson calls “wallflowery teenage girls.” A profile on the suburban Chicagoan in The New Yorker, points out bloggers have only recently become important in the world of fashion (our own Amy DuFault has the green niche covered), and that Tavi at fourteen is already an old pro who adeptly navigates her away around the backstage of shows, as well as on the web.

“In seventh grade, I’d come home from school and take an outfit picture, post it, write a little bit about it, and write a little bit about the day,” Tavi told the magazine. “Now, I want to write more article-y things.”

Gevinson is able to crossover from silly to serious because luminaries such as Karl Lagerfeld believe the idiosyncratic, four-foot-ten chronicler has something to say, her fresh eye not “ruined by zillions of bad collections.”

Fresh perspective is nurtured at enrichment workshops for kid writers, such as ones held at 826 Valencia, founded by author Dave Eggers and educator, Ninive Calegari. Stanford University’s EPGY (Education Program for Gifted Youth) urges creative wordsmiths to leap into fountains on the Stanford campus and leave anonymous poems on random  bikes.   Lekha School of Writing in San Jose, CA., circumvents the red tape of publishing houses with an adjunct service of publishing works completed by its best students. Some make it into bookstores before the kid has a driver’s license.

Meanwhile, savvy school teachers also play a vital role in prompting talented writers to journey beyond the classroom to reach a wider audience, even if it means a letter to the editor of a local newspaper.

“If students write for an audience of one teacher, they often don’t feel motivated,” says Paul Totah, educator and Director of Communications at Saint Ignatius college Preparatory in San Francisco. “Real world publishing is the best way to inspire good writing.”

Totah, like many of the most insightful instructors, is a former writer who has been in the trenches.

“Whenever I applied for a job as a writer, no one cared what college I went to or what grades or SAT scores I received,” shares Totah. “They looked at my writing portfolio and hired me because of the quality of the writing. Students know they are judged by how well they write anything, from emails to memos to sticky notes, and that concise, powerful prose will serve them in whatever they pursue.”

Edgy and current prose also serves them when selling “article-y things”, catching the eyes of avid Tweeters. But beware of early burn out. It’s a tempting, yet tangled, word wide web we weave, a seemingly endless one at that. The advantage of publishing early comes with a requisite of restraint. Otherwise, prodigies like the Tavi Gevinsons of the world could slide dangerously into child star Lindsay Lohan territory, and risk being washed up before experience and wisdom takes their art to new heights.

Images: Extra Ketchup;  It’s Getting Hot in Here; The Style Rookie; Erin Schrode; Lekha Publishing

The post Published Before 15 appeared first on EcoSalon.

So, what’s on the menu? Now that the chaos of the traditional November feast is but a faint memory, is your menu already lined with dishes fit for a photograph and waiting to flirt with your palate? Admittedly, it may be a little too soon (do you still have leftovers lingering in the fridge?) to write the menu for your next gathering, but the following will give you one more thing (resource) to be grateful for.

What Katie Ate is a blog chronicling the culinary adventures of food stylist and photographer Katie Quinn Davies. Now, I realize that recreating the delicious recipes sprinkled around her blog will undoubtedly not be quite as poetically photogenic, but your taste buds will be just as pleased (you can always eat with your eyes closed).

Ms. Davies’ blog is undeniably one of the most aesthetically lovely places of online real estate, yet it’s laced with pragmatic recipes and confections that allow you to get knee deep in ingredients, baking, and sautéing. What Katie Ate is located in Australia, so there is a touch of the southern hemisphere in her foodie addiction.

Next time you need to consult a cookbook for recipes, peruse the pages of What Katie Ate.

So, what’s on the menu?

(All images by Katie Quinn Davies from What Katie Ate.)

The post What’s On the Menu? appeared first on EcoSalon.

As many of you know, here at EcoSalon, we often emphasize the point that sustainable travel is not just about carbon offsets and packing lighter. Sustainable travel is about conscious travel, and thinking about your next adventure with a holistic approach; everything from where you go and who you stay with, to what tour operators you use and how you get around town. Ultimately, sustainable travel is also about making sure that as travelers we’re doing our best to ensure that the places we want to explore stick around for other people to enjoy them as well, and that means traveling in a manner that’s environmentally, humanly and culturally conscious.

There are a lot of great resources out there on sustainable travel and eco tourism to help guide you in your quest to be a more conscious traveler, with everything from general travel guides to specific listings of sustainable destinations. We’ve rounded up our favorite top 10.

1. Sustainable Travel International – This is the eco traveler’s go-to resource for all things related to sustainable travel. They run an excellent and informative blog that keeps you up to speed on the latest developments in the eco tourism world, and their Eco Directory lets you search travel and tourism providers that have been vetted for their commitment to sustainable practices.

2. Matador – The world’s largest independent magazine, Matador offers a wealth of information to those looking to travel off the beaten path. The articles here are succinct, savvy and are all focused on travel that benefits both the traveler and the local communities. Check out Matador Change which boasts a variety of green travel tips as well as voluntourism organization profiles.

3. Intelligent Travel – National Geographic’s Intelligent Travel blog isn’t specifically green focused, but with the traditional National Geographic attitude it features articles, profiles and tips that all fall under the category of conscious travel, with travel dispatches everywhere from New York City’s High Line to ancient rainforests in Australia.

4. Why Go EcoTourism – Part of the Bootsnall consortium of travel blogs, Why Go EcoTourism is a great place to start your eco travel research. You can easily navigate through various modes of accommodation, including eco lodges and farm stays, and get tips on other eco travel resources like books and guides.

5. Green Traveller – A UK-based site, Green Traveller offers advice on everything from cargo ship travel to staying in treehouses. It’s a well-respected site that’s been mentioned by other travel media like Conde Nast and Rough Guides.

6. Go Green Travel Green – Co-founded by travel savvy ladies Kimberly and Elizabeth Sanberg, Go Green Travel Green features the latest and greatest in green travel gear and tips. They’ve also got a great section on Green Travel 101 for those still a little unsure on the Who, What, Where and Why of it all.

7. HelpEx – If you’re looking to add a stay at an organic farm, or do some volunteer work on your next trip, HelpEx provides a great community of farms, B&Bs, and even sailboats that invites volunteer helpers to stay with them short-term in exchange for food and accommodation. An excellent way to experience a new place if you’re a fan of slow travel and truly taking part in a local community.

8. The Guardian Green Travel – The Guardian’s section committed to green travel offers a wealth of advice, and includes features on up and coming destinations along with highlighting those spots you just thought couldn’t get any more interesting.

9. Seat 61 – If taking the train enters into any of your travel plans, make sure to consult Seat 61. In the online travel community, this is the one and only site to go to when it comes to researching train travel in other countries. The site covers in detail train travel in almost every country that trains exist, including links to train travel companies, tourism boards and tips on buying tickets.

10. Traveling Greener – Traveling Greener is a blog inspired by green travel news and trends, so it’s jam packed with the latest and greatest in green travel information. Check out Traveling Greener’s Twitter feed too which always has links to interesting articles and tidbits.

Image: Gianni D

The post 10 of the Best Travel and Tourism Sites appeared first on EcoSalon.