cutting back on oil

in the wake of both earth day and the oil spill in the gulf of mexico, we wanted to share a few helpful tips for things you can do to cut back on oil usage in your everyday life.  sure you might have heard it before, but it never hurts to have it top of mind…

replace your light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) or even cutting-edge light emitting diodes (LEDs). turn off lights and other devices when they’re not needed. candles are great at night!

eliminate electronics that sleep on a standby setting – they continue to pull a current even when “turned off.” AC adapters on many power cables pull current too, so those should be taken out of the wall when not in use. your best bet is a “smart” power strip, or a power strip that can be turned off at night.

when looking for new appliances, seek out the most energy-efficient models, and charge your MP3 player, laptop, PDA, cell phone, and camera with a portable solar charger.

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keep your house cool with natural ventilation instead of air conditioning as much as possible. use in-room, ceiling, or whole-house fans to move air throughout the house. blocking sunlight during hot hours of the day can also help.

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clothes driers gobble up a lot of power, so line drying can be a great energy saver.

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buy locally grown food, or if you have a garden, grow your own. transport uses oil.

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whenever you can, walk, bike, use public transportation or carpool. i am guilty of this just as much as anyone, but it is so, so important!

have a wonderful weekend :)

click on images for source.

upcoming show at free people brooklyn!

marit larsen is a norwegian singer/songwriter about to embark on her initial solo US tour, but first she will be stopping by free people’s backyard in brooklyn to play a little show on friday may 14!  back in norway she’s a big star, having been one half of the late 90’s duo M2M, and now having a rather solid solo career over there.  she’s adorable and we’re stoked to have her come play for us – stay tuned, we’ll have an interview with marit and more info on the show coming up!

for now, check out her myspace page here.

all about atlanta

with parents like john taylor (duran duran’s bass player) and amanda de cadenet (photographer who currently dates nick valensi of the strokes) it would be impossible for atlanta de cadenet to NOT be cool, but she’s making a name for herself on her own with her funky style and party-going lifestyle.  atlanta is all over fashion blogs and the cobrasnake and its easy to see why-  her magnetic personality comes across in every photo of her.  this is a girl who is comfortable in her own skin, knows how to let loose and isn’t afraid to show her quirky side – a real free spirit.

whether she’s wearing girly florals and crochet or boyish tees and mixed prints, she always looks amazing and like she’s having the time of her life!

see our picks inspired by atlanta here.

thursday poll – edition 92

one of our favorite trends for spring and summer are crossbody bags! they’re the perfect size and definitely a music festival necessity. which of these crossbodies is your bag?

croft crossbody:

leather basket weave bag:
leather basket weave bag

lexi crossbody:
lexi crossbody

perforated bow crossbody:
perforated bow crossbody

screwed chain clutch:
screwed chain clutch

suede medecine bag:
suede medecine bag


the winner of last week’s short poll was the denim carpenter short with 27% of the vote!

home sweet home – episode 2 preview!

for the second episode of home sweet home we paid a visit to one of our most inspirational fp girls – our creative director.  now, before we went to her place i was told what it looked like, but if i hadn’t known i’m sure i would have thought we were lost when we pulled up out front.  she lives in a large, renovated garage that it is by far one of the coolest spaces i have ever seen.   like a geode, it appears a little rough on the outside but crack it open and the beauty inside will take your breath away…i could have spent an entire day exploring the treasures that abound throughout her home – it is full of trinkets that she has picked up throughout her travels and i can only imagine the stories that lie behind each tiny detail.

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in her words…

“i always love places that are not so pretty on the outside. i like to surprise people with the interiors. don’t judge a book by its cover.

when i was little my father lived in key west, florida. i went to visit him and was surprised to see his house was hardly painted and looked kind of haunted. i said, “daddy! you live here!?” and then when he brought me inside it was quite nice. he told me back in the day it was a way to deter the tax collectors from knocking on your door. so now i just surprise my friends and they say the same thing – “you live here!?”

what sold her on this place?

“it was the big cast iron beams! i saw great potential in the ceiling.”

it took quite a bit of work to transform the space into what it is now – and lucky for us, she has pictures of the progress. read on for many more photos, and stay tuned for the video coming later today!

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A Music Monday

26th April Phoenix live @ the Constitution Hall. We headed there straight after work. A road trip from Philly to Washington to go and see a band that I’ve been lusting over for quite some time now – Phoenix.

An amazing soundtrack was played while driving there as my eyes striped the America land passing by. America is new to me so it doesn’t take much to intrigue me eyes. Both sight and sound senses were tickled during this trip.

Washington is a nice place full of profoundness. The Venue where Phoenix was playing ( DAR Constitution Hall) was to, a place of great character.

We were second row from the front which equals great photo opportunity; I could almost smell Thomas Mars!!!

 They played a number of my favorite songs including 1901 and Too Young, which I was reminded, was played in the film Lost in Translation and Shallow Hal

 The atmosphere was great and I had a blast, not bad for a Monday night, work night.

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The evening finished with everyone being invited onto the stage, yes that’s right the entire hall was crawling forward to join them on the stage.

Phoenix sure knows how to make their fans happy!!!

Stay tuned for more free people gig reviews in the future we plan to go to many during the summer months.

(Phoenix photo credit – Nathan Kula)