Hey Seattle, tonight is Crave Green! Crave Green is a eco-friendly party hosted by several local Seattle businesses. You can shop sustainable products, get an organic facial and sip on some organic wine!  The proceeds will support the Women's Funding Alliance.  Find out more details on the event here.  Will any of you be attending? 

I love Seattle, where else can you green your haircut in honor of Earth Day?  The Gary Manuel Aveda Institute on first avenue is offering $25 hair cuts or wax (suggested donation amounts) TODAY to raise funds for the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance.  The Puget Sound Keeper Alliance is a local nonprofit dedicated to keeping our waters clean by stopping pollution from entering the Puget Sound.  If you are looking for a pre wedding cut or just need a haircut or a wax head on down there!

Earth day is just a few weeks away (Thursday, April 22nd); have you given any thought to how you will celebrate it this year?  Pike Brewing Co is offering an amazing Earth Day Dinner which sounds almost too good to pass up.  In order to support the Chefs Collaborative and raise awareness on sustainable eating, they are offering a

3 course Prix Earth Day Menu for only $30

And because it is a brewery you can also do a beer pairing with your food for only $5 more! The menu includes an appetizer, entree and dessert and has options such as Bristol Bay Salmon, Roast Beef Tenderloin from Olympia, and chocolate truffles from a local chocolatier.  Sustainable eating for a decent price while promoting the local Seattle economy? Sounds like a great way to celebrate to me!

I am so excited to share with you Seattle's very first Cupcake Camp!  So what is a Cupcake Camp exactly and how can all you green brides benefit from it? Well just think of it is a really big cake tasting! It is a completely volunteer run event brought to you by our very talented Seattle cupcake experts at Bella Cupcake Couture. You can participate in the Cupcake Camp Seattle a number of ways:

• bake or buy cupcakes to donate
• come to eat cupcakes!
• help raise money for a good cause
  

There will be activities such as baking competitions, cupcake wrapper decorating and cupcake eating!  The best part is that it is FREE and all donations will go towards Hope Heart Institute. 

This event is a great way to find inspiration for your own wedding while raising money for a good cause!  Find out more details on the event here.

When: Saturday, April 10, 2010 11am-2pm

Where: 415 Westlake, Seattle, WA

With Valentine's day coming up this weekend I thought it would be great to share some ideas on how to green your Valentine's day.  While Valentine's day is a widely commercial holiday, with decorations and chocolate heart candy boxes displayed immediately after Christmas it is also a great day to celebrate your relationship with minimal impact to the environment. 

Some stats: According to the American Greetings Corporation, Valentine's day is the second largest card sending holiday of the year with over a billion valentines being sent globally.  In addition, over 36 million heart shaped chocolate boxes are sold each year.  Green Living Tips estimates that a billion cards laid out across the world would stretch around the world 5 times!  That seems like a lot of trees to cut down for a card you will read only a few times and most likely throw away within a week or two.

What you can do:

• Make dinner at home using locally grown food and celebrate with local wine
• Ask your fiance to buy you a potted plant or house plant instead of cut flowers
  
• Buy fair-trade or organic chocolate instead
• Send an e-card! (They have some great designs)
• Do something together instead of buying each other a gift.  Get a massage, go wine tasting together, book a night at a local hotel, go see a play or turn off your phones, TV, internet etc and just enjoy one another!
  

Image courtesy of Alex Original Handbags