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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 of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World Reporting from Casa Madrona in Sausalito California A Restaurant Review           ...

By Maria Danova, translator & musicologist, contributor to project AWE "The Secret of the Magic Flute: Western Music & Esotericism"  ...in my pieces the musicians usually...

By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article entitled “Fragrance Chemicals and the Scent of Suspicion,” the fragrance industry has been keeping vital chemical information from the public. The article says two recent reports, one by the EWG and one by Women’s Voices for the Earth, have caused a stir amongst researchers, environmental groups, consumers, and industry legislation. These reports reveal that on the label of any given personal care product, bottle of perfume, or cleaning agent the word “fragrance” is loaded with unknown meaning. Manufacturers have used this one word, a nondescript listing among the other ingredients, as a catch-all to legally mask the dozen-or-more chemicals not actually listed.

By: Linsley Oaks, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant Propaganda can do good when properly executed.  I vividly remember a cartoon aired on Sesame Street circa 1985. ...

By Nancy Chuda, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World I took a break over the holidays and went to Florida to visit family and friends. I packed light. And I was glad I did, having discovered a true treasure: A prestigious consignment store called Circa Vintage in Tequesta, Florida (near Jupiter) in The Village Shops on U.S. Highway 1. It’s an upscale, glamorous consignment boutique of current designer and vintage fashions – and shoppers are flocking to it! If you’re in the area you won't want miss it. Fortunately, you don't have to fly all the way to Jupiter -- you can shop here online. Owner Carol Wright was just twelve when she recognized that collecting old dresses could someday bring in green – which in the world of high-end vintage means big money.

By Tatyana Rocha, LuxEco Marketing Assistant At around 8:30 am PST on September 2, 2010, an oil rig caught on fire approximately 90 miles south of Vermilion Bay near the Louisiana coast. No one was killed during the explosion and all 13 crew members are accounted for, with one minor injury.

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World When you walk in the doors of the Brown Butter...

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.

Admittedly, I am not very traditional. The concept of the "bride's day" makes me cringe and a large wedding honestly frightens me on many levels, particularly because of the excess and waste. What is particularly difficult is finding a location for an eco-friendly wedding, particularly if you have a large family.

“As a group, it's our intention with this album to create songs with a message of compassion and hope,” said Newton-John. “They are for anyone facing a time of challenge in their life, whether it is grieving a loss - or on the journey to health and recovery.”

By Nicole Boreham, LuxEco Marketing Assistant There are many important questions deriving from the Sixties. What is the legacy of the Sixties? What has changed? What aspects of the Sixties are important to maintain and preserve for future generations? What has really changed? How can we learn from the mistakes of the past?

Reposted from Give Me Mora May 27, 2015 It’s been awhile since we released a Man or Woman on the Rise, and that’s because I...

By: Leslie Harris, Interior Designer, Leslie Harris Interior Design and LuxEco Advocate With as much time as we spend in our homes these days, we want to create a home that is a retreat, that is what we speak to, but we want our retreat to be safe so this is definitely going to be an option. Certainly they don’t have to take it all the way to major extremes, but they can do little things that will make a huge difference in their health, their design and in the environment.

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World Oh! How I miss the "eggs!"     I'm so blue...

By Nancy and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World There are reasons why you should care and support the California Rangeland...

Vegan and non-vegan chocoholics can all huddle around the campfire with this easy chocolate recipe for Vegan Smores. By Nancy Chuda, Co-founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEcoLiving.com and Healthy Child Healthy World I have so many fond memories of being huddled around a beach bonfire, making smores with friends and family. There were never enough ingredients or coat hangars to go around. But if you are like me you will want to treat your friends to a new twist on an old delectable standard with delicious vegan smores. With this easy chocolate recipe for vegan smores, you will win the favor of every chocoholic!

By: Molly Cimikoski, Editorial Assistant Last week, LuxEco Living was lucky enough to be graced with a phone interview from New York Times bestselling author,...

For 20 years, Lauren Vidal remains true to the uniqueness of its creations and gives the contemporary woman her own image, focusing on overlays creating purely light styles punctuated by unstructured volumes.

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World Solvang California, Buttonwood Farm Winery and Vineyard Step out of...

In Tom Shadyac's Film "I Am," he poses a solution to a battered world: Compassion- It will right whats wrong with the world. By Nancy Chuda c0-founder and Editor-in-Chief LuxEco Living and Healthy Child Healthy World As a society we are not immune to disasters-- not in the face of mother nature who rules. Man does not have dominion over nature. But what man instinctively has is the desire to help those in need. Having compassion is the only way we will survive through disaster and hardship.

By: Nina Montée Karp, Executive Producer & Director, The Path of Wellness & Healing and LuxEco Advocate The reality is harsh: 1 in 8 of our mothers, daughters, sisters and friends will hear the words “You have breast cancer” at some time in their lives. In fact, every 3 minutes in the US, a new woman is given this frightening diagnosis and as many as 25% of these women will ultimately die of that disease. The figures are startling, but here is, perhaps, the most surprising number of all: Only 10% of women with breast cancer have a family predisposition to get it. In other words, 90% of all breast cancers are provoked not by inherited genes, but by environmental triggers. This is critically important because it means that in up to 90% of cases, breast cancer may be preventable!

By Margret Debanne, Art Historian and LuxEco Advocate With yesterday's naming of SANAA Partners as winner of the Pritzker Prize for Architecture, Kazuyo Sejima has...

By: Leslie Harris, Interior Designer, Leslie Harris Interior Design and LuxEco Advocate I believe that every home should be a sanctuary and that upon entering it one should immediately feel physically and emotionally protected. What I first noticed upon entering Jim and Nancy Chudas Green Home to select a room to design for an upcoming feature in Los Angeles Magazine was that it had all of those qualities even in the construction phase.

By Nancy Chuda and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and co-founders of Healthy Child Healthy World   Experience ultimate green luxury, fine dining, the spa...

By Jessica Borges, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant As I sit in a cozy coffee shop with the soy latte I was once enjoying, I suddenly wish I had opted for skim milk instead. With my laptop fired up, I stumble upon a website revealing the numerous dangers of what most deem to be a healthy part of one’s diet: soy. Praised for its reputation as a good source of protein while being low in saturated fats, soy is a popular choice for many. What the soy latte orderers of the world aren’t aware of, are the many underlying health risks that come with heavy or long-term use of this popular coffee supplement.

A book review by Nancy Chuda, Co-founder of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World of Luka And The Fire of Life, Salman Rushdie, Random House Jim and I were treated to a magical evening: time spent listening to Salman Rushdie in person at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, in Little Tokyo in downtown Los Angeles. Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie or Urdu sael main rvdi/ is a British Indian novelist and essayist. He achieved notability with his second novel, Midnight Children (1981), which won the Booker Prize in 1981. Most of his fiction is set on the Indian subcontinent and his style is classified as magical realism mixed with historical fiction. One theme that has captivated readers is the connections he weaves between Eastern and Western worlds.

Nutritional Facts can easily help shape your Figure: How to get vegetables in that breakfast Cereal. By Brooke Rewa, LuxEco Editorial Assistant Pulfoods is bringing us a healthy breakfast that both parents and kids can get behind; Crunchfuls cereal. Made from beans and lentils this cereal is the perfect way to sneak in a full serving of vegetables first thing in the morning. With 4 grams of protein and only 3 grams of sugar this gluten-free, natural product is a great alternative to processed, sugary breakfast cereals.

...I Wish For Safe Toys Tonight! My last trip to Toys R' Us was disturbing on several levels.  Not having kids of my own, I...

By Alanna Brown, a LuxEcoLiving Advocate, creator of Brown House Online, and author of Moonpennies The gatekeepers are gone. The agent, the editor, the lawyer,...

By Wendy Ross Kaplan, LuxEcoLiving Advocate The term “gluten-free” is becoming more mainstream these days, when a trip to the grocery store can be rewarded with more healthy choices for shoppers. But before the 1960’s, only nutritionists and a handful of health nuts knew what gluten free meant. Nowadays, “gluten-free” has almost a cult following of otherwise regular folks seeking better health benefits and those suffering from diagnosed celiac disease, its varying manifestations and debilitating effects.

by Linsley Oaks, LuxEco Editorial Assistant Tree houses might not just be for little Tommy anymore in the near future.  If you have 3 minutes, check...

Empathy and Compassion in the Wake of Japan's Tsunami Crisis By: Marc Ian Barasch, author of The Compassionate Life and Founder/Director, Green World Campaign The aerial shots...

Organic grape farmers feel they are getting the short end of the stick when it comes to the current labeling of organic wines. By Brooke Rewa, LuxEco Editorial Assistant Organic shopping can be confusing. Organic wine shopping, even more so. Many of us don't have time to stop and read every ingredient on the products we are looking to purchase at the grocery store. This is why we look for known "stamps of approval." The biggest stamp we look for when shopping organic is that of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA sets very high standards for what can be labeled certified organic; which is why we as consumers trust them. They have taken these standards to new levels in the wine industry and it could be doing more harm than good for the world of organics. When perusing your local grocer for an organic wine you will find two different labels; one clearly labeled certified organic and one labeled "made with organic grapes". This is where things get confusing and where organic grape farmers get upset. In order to be labeled certified organic by the USDA wine must be made from 100% organic grapes and contain no added sulfites. Sulfites occur naturally when grapes are fermented to make wine, it is impossible for any wine to be completely sulfite-free. Wine makers have been adding sulfites for centuries. Sulfur protects wine from oxidizing, allows for a longer shelf life and prevents unwanted organisms from growing in th

By Bethany Colson, Managing Editor of LuxEcoLiving.com According to the US government, One third of all children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives; many others will face chronic obesity-related health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and asthma. A recent study put the health care costs of obesity-related diseases at $147 billion per year. With rates having tripled over the last three decades and with millions effected and the percentage of obese or overweight children at or above 30% in 30 states, the childhood obesity epidemic shows no slowing in site... YET. Enter First Lady Michelle Obama. The Goal: Through nutrition education, healthy food alternatives, physical fitness and a coordinated effort between public, private and non-private sector, the challenge of childhood obesity will be solved within a generation so that children born today will reach adulthood at a healthy weight.