Life Goes Retrograde
By Bernadette Bowman, Comedienne and LuxEco Advocate who writes the LIFE GOES RETROGRADE series.
Fire! Aim! Ready!
Or as Willie Wonka would say, “Strike that. ...
The Fess Parker Wine Country Inn and Spa in Los Olivos California is the...
By Nancy and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World
Step into paradise. Once you enter the Fess Parker Inn...
As TSCA Collapses, Penelope Jagessar Chaffer and Her “Toxic Baby” Fight Back
By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
"Isn't it wonderful that none of us need wait a moment before starting to change the world," Penelope Jagessar Chaffer quoted from the Diary of Anne Frank after Nancy Chuda (Healthy Child Healthy World and LuxEco co-founder) presented her with the HCHW Moms-on-a-Mission honor for inspiration Wednesday night. Penelope is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and the first black female director to receive a BAFTA award nomination. Above all, however, she is a mother, proven by her dedication to complete her most recent documentary, Toxic Baby, despite the adversity that arose in the process. In accord with Anne Frank’s legacy, she waited not a moment before embarking on her five-year journey to make this film and thus start to change the world, one mother at a time.
Le Meurice Paris is # 1:LuxEcoLiving’s Best Hotels in the World Series
By James and Nancy Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World
What a dream! We spent our Midnight in Paris and every waking...
Quit Fracking Around with Our Children’s Health
What the Frac? Pollution from the use of thousands of chemicals to derive natural gas from shale is threatening the health of our children...
Reflecting on The Home Within Us
By: Leslie Harris, Interior Designer, Leslie Harris Interior Design and LuxEco Advocate
As I wind down for the year I find myself thinking about a book called The Home Within Us and how much that says about my design philosophy. Everything I approach as a designer lies first and foremost in the feeling of comfort, well being, creating a place of safety and sanctuary. Problem solving, space planning, furniture and color selection comes later but it is driven by these things.
Getting a Good Book Review Without a Hundred-Dollar Bribe
By Alanna Brown, a LuxEcoLiving Advocate, creator of Brown House Online, and author of Moonpennies
John Locke broke an independent publishing record in 2011. He...
Africa’s Development: How We Can Help
By Galen Crawley's, author of A Path To Survival Against All Odds and LuxEco Advocate
In 1979, the British colonization of Zimbabwe came to an end under Ian Smith. After sustained social unrest, the ZANU party, led by Robert Mugabe, came to power. Initially, there was a pervading sense of optimism as this charismatic, highly intelligent individual began to educate the country. In the 1980’s, the economy was growing and Zimbabwe was the breadbasket of Africa.
Unfortunately, what began as a democracy became a dictatorship. During the 90’s the Zimbabwe spiraled into decline. At the beginning of the millennium, the Land Reform Programme was initiated. The white farmers, who fueled the economy with their tobacco and food production, were brutally kicked out. It was the beginning of mass starvation, hyper-inflation, and when the diamond fields were found, murder and torture.
The Farm Effect: Are you allergic to nature?
By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World
Get outdoors and enjoy the breeze it's good for you
I...
In Defense of Plastic Bags? Say What?
by Linsley Oaks, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
Green is in and it is here to stay. Eco-friendly products have blossomed on the fashion scene and are...
Cleaning Doesn’t Have to be Toxic
By Jessica Borges, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant
I recently moved into a new apartment, and with that came a massive scrub down of both old digs and new. My roommates and I spent hours cleaning the old place after moving everything out, but the products we used were hardly eco or health-friendly. When scrubbing the Comet-filled bathroom tub, the smell was so overwhelming that I nearly passed out. While cleaning bathrooms isn’t normally an enjoyable task, it doesn't have to be one that puts people’s health and safety at risk.
Joanna Staniszkis Creates Fine Art Fashions Spun From Cocoons
By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World
"All that is authentic and true to one’s...
Green Business Networking: Fifth Annual Event!
Green Business Networking Proudly Celebrates Fifth Year, With... You?
It's hard to believe, but tomorrow's mixer will also be our FIFTH anniversary! Time flies...
A Manifesto For Change
By Nancy Chuda, Co-Founder of Healthy Child Healthy World and Founder of LuxEco Living
Seth Godin is my hero. His book, Tribes has become my...
A Taste of Yosemite: Best Culinary Experience California Gold
The Taste of Yosemite offers more than just gourmet delights
Berti Borrell Designs a Green Hat to Envy
By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World
Have you ever had a center stage moment when you...
Eight Great Benefits Of Walking
By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
I came across this MSN health article on walking and, as an avid walker myself (I walk an average of 12 miles per week), I had to share what I learned. Regular brisk walking can do wonders for your health, and it’s so simple! No gym fees, nowhere to drive to, no certain time to be at that aerobics class. You can just walk out the door at your favorite time of day, pop in a set of headphones, and tour the neighborhood. Research shows there are 8 incredible benefits to this type of moderate exercise.
Hatha Yoga in America
Hatha Yoga in America
By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant
What do you know about your local history? What stories lay within the paths you...
If I Could
Hands by Guido Daniele
Hands by Guido Daniele
By Florence "Flip" Ross, LuxEcoLiving Advocate and Contributor
If I could bring the planet Earth, back to its natural beauty
If I could sing its praise, and make the world assume its duty
If I could make the industries clean up their foul pollution
Our air, our water, would be clean, and would be the solution
If I could force our corporations to help clean up our planet
Gross National Happiness: The 10 Principles
By Nancy Chuda Founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEco Living and Healthy Child Healthy World
President Obama's State of the Union address did not include what I consider the essential principles for living a vibrant and healthy life... Nine objectives for sustainable living which nurture and foster human happiness, more importantly, make time to enjoy life.
1. psychological well-being
2. physical health
3. time or work-life balance
4. social connection and community vitality
5. education
6. access to arts, culture and recreation
7. environmental quality and access to nature
8. good governance
9. material well-being
The Hotel Collection: How to find the best sheets for the best nights sleep
By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World
LuxEcoLiving Hotel Le Meurice Paris the Salvador Dali...
No More Stinky Rose Water: Buy Orchids and Let the Love Last
By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World
I've been fascinated by the long lasting power of orchids....
WATCH: Oprah and Olivia Sing: I Still Call Australia Home
By Nancy Chuda Founder of LuxEco Living and Healthy Child Healthy World
For those of you who have never been to the land down under, Australia, why not consider visiting Olivia Newton-John's homeland in 2011.
I have been blessed with Olivia's friendship for nearly forty years and have traveled with her throughout this magnificent country many times. We gave birth to our daughters, Chloe and Colette in 1986, (six weeks apart) it wasn't too long after that we boarded Qantas Airlines loaded down with car seats, bottles and prams, hoping sleep would be a safe refuge while in flight. Thirteen hours. No way!
Nancy’s Organic Kitchen: Lazy Days of Summer for the Best Burgers
Heats on. Temperatures are soaring. Dinner time is a challenge and so is the clean up. But what's easy, delicious and always a favorite? In our home it's a good old American burger with melted cheddar cheese.
Right Downstream
By Lush Huxley, Editorial Assistant
Beth Nielsen Chapman is one such songwriter who has succeeded in the competitive field of modern music. You may not have heard of her, but her resume is stacked (as they say). She’s written for the likes of Willie Nelson, Elton John, and Mary Carpenter, and performed with country crooners Emmylou Harris and Bonnie Raitt.
Remember the Faith Hill song “This Kiss?” Yeah, she wrote that too. Beth’s very well respected and established among the songwriting community in Nashville, TN, where she makes her home.
Her story is an unconventional one. In the 70s, Beth was being lauded among record company big shots as one of the songwriting world’s up-and-comers. Around 1979, her song “If I’d Only Known” appeared next to Bob Dylan’s “Slow Train” in the “Singles to Watch” section of industry magazines across the country. However, when her record failed to meet the expectations of the label, the big money people pulled the plug on her publishing deal. Perceiving her musical career as virtually terminated, Chapman entered a new chapter of her life as domesticated mother and housewife. But the songwriting bug stayed with her.
No more oil drilling in our oceans. Please!
By Florence "Flip" Ross, LuxEco Advocate
As I sit here, and gaze proudly at all my "going green" products, I feel I am doing something...
My 10 Re-Commandments
By Zhenya Gershman, Artist, Educator and LuxEco Advocate
1. The true deadly sin is not to make art
2. The only taboo in art is bad art
3....
Out of Sight, Out of Mind
By: Linsley Oaks, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant
Modern Western man (and woman) has evolved into a very private creature. We no longer roam large territories...
Blackberry: Is Green The Next Move In Their Playbook?
By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
At the March 2010 CeBIT, the world’s leading tradeshow in the digital industry, Global eSustainability Initiative (GESI) announced an important new member. Research in Motion, which makes Blackberry, will be joining the organization. That’s right, Blackberry is changing its color…to Green. The widely popular smart-phone maker has come under recent scrutiny for its practices, or lack thereof, regarding sustainability. One Greenpeace report stated, “the Blackberry Pearl, which lost a lot of points in the life cycle criteria and for poor energy efficiency, and did not even meet the Energy Star standard.”
Restoring New Mexico’s Natural Gas Fields
By: Will Lana, Green Investor and LuxEco Advocate
If you find yourself traveling in the Four Corners region of Northwestern New Mexico you’ll see many...
The Chuda’s Green Dream Home is a Hot Property
By Nancy and James Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founders of Healthy Child Healthy World. Contributing editorial from Bethany Colson, Assitant Managing...
rstBrands In Style In Harmony With The Environment:LuxEcoLiving’s Pick for Best Outdoor Furniture
rstBrands offers a variety of sustainable handmade outdoor furniture and utilizes one of the most important sun shields in the development of their products. The patented Sunbrella fabrics who I might add made environmental responsibility a priority decades before the "green" movement.
Louisiana’s Barataria Bay Suffers From BP Oil Spill
By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
The iconic Barataria Bay, a Gulf of Mexico bay located in southeastern Louisiana, is being destroyed by oil still gushing from the Deepwater Horizon blowout. The formerly thriving estuary, rich with virgin cypress trees and an array of wildlife, has been known historically—as the site of an original colony—and literarily—as depicted by Kate Chopin in “The Awakening.” It is beloved by its inhabitants, who knew it, not so long ago, as some of the best fishing in the region.
A tribute to Nora Ephron: Why I don’t feel bad about my neck
By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Health World
Getting older. It's not easy.
Nora always found a way to...
History reveals orchids are orchidellic
By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World
Orchids can be orchidellic
Santa Barbara International Orchid Show
And...













