Lifestyle

There is only one place in Nairobi... The Hemingways is historic. The grounds are magnificent and the view of Ngong Hills from your terrace translates the love and passion that Karen Blixen held for the land she so dearly loved.

By Zhenya Gershman artist, art historian, educator and contributing author to LuxEcoLiving I “met” my parents not long after they first fell in love.  I...

By Amanda Nisenson, LuxEco Advocate “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” This Robert Frost quote has stayed with me from the first day I heard it in eighth grade English class. It has continued to serve as a metaphor throughout my evolving journey as an artist. My road less traveled is calling me in new directions. I need to keep the faith and know the opportunities will come in order for me to reach my goal. It is the relationship and connection with the audience that drives my performance, inspiring hope through music and bringing joy through song. “Operatunity” is about transformation through music. Our journeys, no matter how difficult, must be accepted as life is accepted. I am grateful for my “gifts”, and for the chance to help others find joy in the moment.

By Nancy and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World Luxury for Less. The most beautiful authentic jewelry, custom designed, one...

By Nancy Chuda founder and editor-in-chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World. Do drop in when in San Luis Obispo. Visit the...

By Nancy and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World A Restaurant Review: S.Y. Kitchen is a dream come true! We...

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of HealthyChild Healthy World Santa Ynez California Courtesy of Jeremy Ball A Magical Night! Tales from...

Introduction by Nancy Chuda Founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and Co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World. If you haven't had a chance to...

I'm not going to drop into the expected female rhetoric as to why Hillary...I will leave that to Gloria Steinem and all of her predecessors who paved the way for this act of liberation at a time when our world needs to heal more than ever.

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World To B or not to B at the Four Seasons...

By Mary Elizabeth Williams-Villano, LuxEco Editorial Assistant and author of the Resplendent Repurposing series Even wonder what really goes on behind the scenes at your local thrift store? About how your donations are used -- are they really helping people? How the charity decides what to charge? What happens to the stuff that doesn't sell? And just how Green an operation is it, anyhow? I got an inside peek into the operation of what is perhaps the best-stocked, best-run chain of thrift stores in the greater Los Angeles area when I spoke with executives of the National Council of Jewish Women, Los Angeles at the Fairfax Avenue headquarters.

By Nancy and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World Gardening is my therapy " A garden to walk in and immensity to...

Forrest Gump may have been on to something when he compared life to chocolates. You really never know what you’re gonna get in a box of chocolates, do you? The truth behind chocolate is more bitter than sweet. The Ivory Coast produces 40% of the world's chocolate, and it just so happens to also be notorious for this little thing called child slavery. Children, both local and from other third world countries, are sold to farms in this area where they are physically abused while working in risky and inhumane conditions. Some children are sold into the trade by parents who are tricked into believing their children will have better lives at the farm. Others are trafficked, stolen from their families, lured by the promise of…chocolate. In these farms they are forced to work 60 hour weeks with little or no food (depending on their performance on the field). These children lose their fundamental human rights when they enter these farms and “modern” society turns a blind eye to the atrocities. Every time we buy a box of chocolate that is not fair trade stamped, we (often unknowingly) endorse child slavery.

By Nancy Chuda founder of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World "There is a fountain of youth; it is your mind, your talents, the creativity...

By Nancy Chuda, Founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEco Living and Founder of Healthy Child Healthy World While amping up for this year's Natural Products Expo in Anaheim, CA and getting the LuxEco team ready for our "Green Light" Initiative in which we search out and highlight the best natural, organic and eco-friendly products that the Green Movement has to offer, I can't help but to reflect on the evolving nature of "GREEN." Jim and I attended the first Natural Products Expo in Anaheim, CA almost two decades ago... and it was far from gluten-free. We were young, energetic, and held an undying faith that our world was unnaturally occurring; wearing Birkenstock and eating jerky we found our tribe. Or did we? back then, fair-trade was a hearty handshake.

We were treated to the culinary talents of a genius! We had literally just returned from the land of Alain Ducasse, Provence France, where we had been seated for an array of tasting menus, literally, for days and nights, by his top chefs... our taste buds had been spoiled fresh until we met chef Jeremy Tummel... my oh my!

By Sahar Ghaffari, LuxEco Editorial Assistant There’s a new trend in hair fashion that’s sexy, earthy, and may actually be easier on your pocket book. It’s called ombre, which in French means shaded or graduated in tone. The look involves darker roots which gradually become lighter as you go down the hair; giving a natural, sun-kissed look.

It's no secret that when plants are harvested for their life sustaining and nutritional qualities that every part of the plant that can be used is.......Of the various plants that serve multiple purposes, the nutmeg plant is the only plant that yields not just one, but two spices.

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World I lost a very close friend. She was and remains...

It's a jewel of a hideaway in the confines of one of the wealthiest locations in all the world...   Palm Beach Florida. What The...

She's not a purist. She's a magician. Kit Kemp is one of the most talented designers in the world today.Step into any of her Firmdale properties in the UK or fly "over the pond" and land in the heart of Soho New York at the stellar Crosby and you are in for a life changing experience that takes luxury living and staycations to new heights.

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World The Citizen Hotel in Sacramento is a dog friendly,...

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World "If you aren't living on the edge, you're taking up...

By Kammie Daniels, LuxEco Editorial Assistant When Nancy Chuda, Founder of LuxEcoLiving accepted an invitation to interview Salman Rushdie and review his new children's book, Luca and The Fire Of Life, she asked if I would cover an event celebrating Laurie David's new cookbook, The Family Dinner. It’s not every day I get to dust off my shiny black heels and drive out to lovely Bel-Air to mingle with Los Angeles’ rich and famous. Who knew I would wind up right next to Tom Hanks when I arrived, never mind moments later having the beloved Hollywood actor playfully popping his head into my camera lens. What an amazing start to the night. I felt honored to be in attendance, amidst prominent supporters taking every opportunity to congratulate Laurie David on her debut cookbook, The Family Dinner.

By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant You are terrified and frantic. You cram yourself, with six other women, into a three-foot by four-foot bathroom in...

By Kerin Van Hoosear, LuxEco Editorial Assistant and author of Season Cooking with Kerin In a country where childhood obesity rates have more than tripled in the last thirty years, it is refreshing to see teachers like Mark Wagner combat that statistical nightmare. As head of the Organic Garden Club at Palmquist Elementary School in Oceanside, Calif., he’s getting kids excited about gardening and eating right. “I really wanted to promote nutrition awareness. That was my main goal,” Wagner says. When he arrived at Palmquist four years ago, the school garden was a fenced-in patch of waist-high weeds. Now it’s filled with ground crops and fruit trees that the students are not just excited to grow, but to eat as well.

Santa Barbara County Los Alamos- Bell Street Farm LuxEcoLiving photo credits Mozy into town... you've arrived in Los Alamos where you will discover a three block...

By: Joanna Bateman, Luxeco Editorial Assistant I’m a mid-west girl who recently moved west to California to spread my wings and fly. And if it weren’t for this past August, I’d be one stressed-out-Sally in the big sea of crazy known as Los Angeles. I needed to ground myself so that I didn’t float away in La La land. I needed Yoga camp!

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World National Chocolate Chip Day Today is National Chocolate Chip Day! It's...

By: Molly Rovero LuxEco Editorial Assistant A recent report created for North Carolina’s Waste Awareness & Reduction Network (NC WARN) was titled “ Solar and...

By Nancy and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World Carmel by the Sea  at The Carmel Country Inn   Like the candy, Carmel...

By Nancy Chuda, Founder and Editor-in-Chief and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World Set amidst the blinding snow storms and cold of Wyoming's high country, LIME CREEK is a Faulkneresque glimpse into the lives of a family of people committed to solidarity, simplicity, and a respect for life. The story centers around Spencer Davis and his sons. Henry captures the intimacy and connectedness of their harsh outer lives that draw them even closer together as they all bear witness to the eternal cycles of life and death; where the reveries of innocence trumpet the hard edges of experience.

By Nancy Chuda Founder and Editor-in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World As 2011 comes to an end, I feel a...

By: Annie Huang, LuxEco Living Marketing Assistant Lighting of the Christmas tree is certainly an event that is embraced in major cities around the world. But what is more inspiring besides being part of these events, is to know that Brisbane Council put in a lot of effort in preserving the energy by adapting solar power to the shindy. Not only that, this tree has earned its name as the World's Largest Solar Powered Christmas Tree! So after learning from Jessica about the importance of having live pine trees at home, it's only another step to explore the implementation of solar energy at your residents. What a party it would be for your family and guests if they could bath in nature from your homes this Christmas!

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World LuxEcoLiving's founders Nancy and James Chuda with Journey   It's...