The best of EcoSalon’s stories this week.

We’ve all heard junk food press releases describing their latest innovation as a taste of “real food” – but how often is this justified? Anna Brones checks out the facts behind some of the tallest stories in fast food marketing.

Art is meant to provoke – but when it reminds us of some of modern history’s most tragic events, does it instruct or offend?

How much can we trust other people when it comes to steering our own love lives? We look at 25 genuine pieces of advice given to single people.

Thursday was International Women’s Day – and to celebrate it, we looked at 11 memorable stories about and inspired by women and 30 images of women activists over the last 100 years.

We also gave you 20 Pickup Lines For Knitters to add a little sexy to your next fiber-infused fest.

The post The Friday 5: Tell Us A Story Edition appeared first on EcoSalon.

The top stories of the week at EcoSalon.

All that cash spent on campaigning against clean energy – and it’s a lot. Here are 8 things we could buy with all that money.

We can’t stop pinning other people’s design discoveries (and more) to our boards on Pinterest, the latest craze in social media – and since we want to share the pin-love, check out our 25 favorite Pinterest boards.

If you’re hunting for your next big buy in self-help literature, The Insider’s Guide has a few suggestions: they’re not real, mind you, but…give it time.

Incapable of grabbing more than a few winks of shut-eye at the moment? Try out these 20 foods that help you sleep better.

Finally, if you’re searching for the mojo to get that body you always dreamed of, any of these 30 inspirational quotes about health and fitness will light a fire within!

The post The Friday 5: Acquiring Edition appeared first on EcoSalon.

The top stories of the week at EcoSalon.

Remember that thing people used to do with pens and paper? Managing Editor Amy DuFault ponders the joy of the written word.

If getting “back to basics” for you means “the shape you were in before the traditional Christmas bloat-fest,” here are 20 foods to skim that unwanted belly fat right off you.

For ex-prisoners keen to reconnect with the outside world, the California Reentry & Insight Garden Programs in San Quentin show how sustainability can lead the way for rehabilitation.

When water is an increasingly precious global commodity, how can the water-guzzling clothing industry respond? Writer Kestrel Jenkins looks at fashion outlets swimming against the mainstream current.

And if you’re waiting impatiently for spring to have sprung, feast your eyes on these 30 gorgeous photos of farming & agriculture.

The post The Friday 5: Back To Basics Edition appeared first on EcoSalon.

The top stories of the week at EcoSalon.

Want to give your body’s fat-burning mechanisms a kick-start? We suggest 20 foods to boost your metabolism to new heights.

Or pehaps you need a burst of adrenaline? Gather inspiration from these 25 photos of thrill-seeking women.

Spotlighting the tiny unsung heroes of our biological systems, we praise Lactobacilli, Mycorrhizal fungi and more.

And turning to the inner workings of your home – why not decorate it with fashionable bicycles (the chic way to gad about for over a century)?

And if that’s left you feeling super-empowered, check out our 40 quotes on feminism for more inspiration.

The post The Friday 5: Inner Workings Edition appeared first on EcoSalon.

The top stories of the week at EcoSalon.

This week, we’re fascinated by big, big furniture and the attraction of simple, hearty, unfussy one-pot meals. All we really want to be doing is warming our feet by the fire with a good book (maybe one of these). Oh, and reminding people that just because it’s cold it doesn’t mean global warming is nonsense. That, too.

We admired the beauty of the 11.6 million square miles of our planet called Africa, in 40 gorgeous photos.

We pondered some of history’s most famous quotes on living small.

Finally, since those posts probably kept you so busy that your Facebook Wall went to hell in a digital handbasket, our editor has a handy and completely sincere guide for turning your unacceptably messy real life into a cascade of Facebook likes. Tell your friends.

The post The Friday 5: Scaled-Up, Scaled-Down Version appeared first on EcoSalon.

The top stories of the week at EcoSalon.

We looked at 40 inspirational quotes on new beginnings…

…which you might need if you’re seeing any of these 10 signs a relationship is faltering.

A new year, a new food obsession – and Anna Brones suggests it should be tacos.

When the winter weather is playing havoc with your tresses, here’s how to fight back.

Finally, if you’re looking for a new green habit for the year, how about taking someone else’s trash in?

The post The Friday 5: New Beginnings appeared first on EcoSalon.

A weekly round up of EcoSalon’s top stories.

It’s been a week of mindfulness and bigheartedness here at EcoSalon, as we looked at:

Jonathan Harris and his happiness project, Balloons For Bhutan.

Passports with Purpose, a travel blogging fundraiser aimed at raising $80k to build two libraries for children in Zambia (Newsflash: they’ve done it!).

30 famous quotes to bring you firmly into the present, where you belong.

Seven of the really, really bad kind of do-gooders….

And in preparation for next week’s Xmas-fest, we gave you 11 DIY alternatives to traditional Christmas trees.

The post The Friday 5: Do-Good, Feel-Good Edition appeared first on EcoSalon.

A weekly round up of EcoSalon’s top stories.

Not everything has to be so cold and barren in the cold winter months. Take jewelry for example, channel winter’s warm and fuzzy friends by wearing an animal talisman that will have you feeling like one of the pack. In A Walk on Winter’s Wild Side With Animal Themed Jewelry, we’ll warm your heart with stylish options.

Warm your kitchen with savory aromas with EcoSalon Recipes:10 Best Vegetarian Soups and watch how many friends come knocking on your door for dinner.

Three seasons a year your skin is hydrated, healthy, promoting dappled and rosy cheeks. But when Old Man Winter starts to blow, your skin turns into a leper’s, forcing you to moisturize night and day. Night is okay but daytime dry skin mixed with makeup is the pits and you need back-up help. In High Definition: Tinted Moisturizer for the Dry Months, Green Beauty Team founder Kristen Arnett tells you which products to buy and how to make a good tinted moisturizer at home.

Berlin winters are cold and dark but the mood is anything but somber with communal saunas and free-flowing beer. In From an Ex-Pat…With Love, columnist Abigail Wick gives us a first hand account of life as an ex-pat enjoying her own time in Berlin.

Oh Brad Pitt, you’re so sexy and know so much about cutting utilities down. Which is why in Brad Pitt Talks Utilities + 14 Ways To Cut Cold Weather Costs we are smitten by his grin enough to really listen.

The post The Friday 5: Winter Sort of Blows Edition appeared first on EcoSalon.

Don’t feel like shopping? Read these favorites from EcoSalon instead.

20 Unusual Uses for Coffee: Never feel guilty for needing your caffeine fix again. Coffee is useful!

We all have a story behind the piece in our closet we love most. Perfumier Amanda Walker wears a power necklace that gets her through every challenge. In this week’s Closet Stories, we learn about how the power within might start with the power we wear.

So you want to be a femme fatale like Rita Hayworth? Just start slapping men across the face and include plenty of pouting. This week’s Women in Film: How To Be a Femme Fatale shows how to do it best.

Dreams are vital, but there are times when you just have to let go. In Danielle LaPorte’s Find a New Target for Your Long-Unfulfilled Dream: A Love Story we learn how to do just that.

Speaking of jewelry imbued with powers, we were elated to read about peacock feathers as a “protective amulet against psychic attack.” In Rowena Ritchie’s piece on Alkemie’s Peacock Feather Necklace, we learn that the peacock feather is said to safe guard calm energy in every environment. Does this include the mall?

The post The Friday 5: Screw You Black Friday Edition appeared first on EcoSalon.

Getting you ready mentally, emotionally and physically for your upcoming Thanksgiving feast.

You’re going to be in the kitchen a lot this upcoming week peeling, sauteing, basting and baking your way to a rounded Thanksgiving meal, so you’d better have something inspiring to work to. Try out our 8tracks playlist titled Rocking Out In The Kitchen: Songs to Cook To and dinner will be ready in no time.

In-laws joining you for dinner this year? An estranged brother? Well, time to bulk up on courage and backbone. In The Grand Pep Talk: Decide to Rise (Refer to This When in Doubt, or Sick & Tired), Danielle LaPorte, cheerleader for the soul weary, will have you receiving people with open arms.

Wine? Whatever. Maybe you can try something different this Thanksgiving with the refreshing taste of Kombucha. In Foodie Underground: Should Kombucha be Your Party Drink? we give you three recipes to surprise your family and friends with and a way to avoid alcohol bravery talk which is always bad at family gatherings.

What are you going to wear for Thanksgiving? Have you really thought it through? How many bowls of mixed nuts, chocolate covered cherries, double helpings of organic turkey (or Tofurkey) do you think you’ll eat? I bet a lot. Best to plan ahead with stylish, stretchable clothing to acommodate your temporary lax good eating habits. In Looking Good, Downward Dog, we give you some fashion forward yoga clothing options that will take you from a tryptophan heavy dinner, straight to bed.

Hostess gifts anyone? Well, if you’ve got the week off, have fun with a little DIY with One Woman’s Trash is Another Woman’s Treasure. Writer Sofie Sausser will have you making presents that for real, you’ll be inspired to do.

The post The Friday 5: Get Ready for Thanksgiving Edition appeared first on EcoSalon.