I love local business and one stop my pal Amanda Leesburg said I had to visit was the Re-Inspiration store in Atlanta.  The store is exactly what you think it is:  Items that were once commonly discarded are reinterpreted, recycled and upcycled into beautiful new things for sale.   Let’s take a look inside!

Greeting you at the door…. a very very friendly cat.

An interesting “living” table made from recycled wood.  I could see this on a covered porch.

Gift bows made from the pages of magazines.

Candles made inside sawed off wine bottles.    I think they’d look better with the labels peeled off…. and maybe beautiful French champagne bottles?

And old license plates “scrabbled” together to spell out new words.   Welcome!

Details:

http://www.reinspirationstore.com/

591 North Highland Ave. NE
Atlanta, GA 30307 | 404.352.1971

Well, I do like a locally made, eco-friendly find when I do come across one and I think I found one on my quick trip to Atlanta, Georgia last week.   They are called Man Cans.   As in CANS recycled into candle containers with “manly” scents for the candles like “campfire” and “dirt.”

The line was started by 14-year-old Hart Main who basically wondered why there weren’t candles with more “manly” scents.    So the line with a heart started like this:  They buy soup in cans from the grocery store, donate the soup to a local food bank/shelter where the soup is eaten, collect the old cans and recycle them into candles.   And then they use the proceeds from the sale of the candles to buy more food.  To date, Man Cans has donated over 17,000 meals through this enterprise.

I picked up two candles in the CampFire scent because it really smells like a wood burning stove when you light them.   Just a great idea!

Other scents for sale include everything from Bacon to Grandpa’s Pipe to GunPowder and even SawDust.  You can see the whole lineup here:  http://man-cans.com/index.php?route=product/productall/

If you’re going to buy candles, why not get ones that have a unique POV, give back and are eco-friendly, too?   And at just $9 a candle, it’s not a bad price either.

Spent the weekend in beautiful Atlanta, GA doing some local TV and radio appearances, making store visits at local  HomeGoods and TJ Maxx stores and catching up with my friends at Simmons Bedding Company to discuss our new Beautyrest Elements bed in a box currently in stores.

On Saturday, I stopped by the CNN studios to share my tips how to extend the life of your food before tossing it in the trash.   Did you know that the average American household wastes about $600 a year by tossing food away?  Here are my tips how to stop the madness (video below, too):

• Prevent Spoilage in the First Place. Raw meat, poultry and seafood should never be placed on the top shelf of the refrigerator, since bacteria can drip down and contaminate fruits and vegetables.   Don’t place eggs on the side of the refrigerator door where the plastic egg trays normally are; it does not get cold enough to keep them stable.     Many fruits emit ethylene, an odorless gas that quickens the ripening process.  Keep these fruits separate from other fruits and vegetables to extend the shelf life of your produce.  Keep apples, cantaloupes, bananas, tomatoes, avocadoes, peaches, pears, plums and nectarines away from all other produce.

• Freeze it to Save Food and Energy. A packed freezer is the best way to keep the biggest energy hog in the home the most efficient; frozen food needs less energy to stay frozen and it helps keep the freezer at the optimal temperature more efficiently. Dip food in water and then place inside a freezer bag; the ice coating creates an extra layer of protection that prevents freezer burn.  Hot foods (soups, sauces) should be cooled at room temperature, then placed in the refrigerator to chill even more and then eventually placed in the freezer will encourage a better freeze.   Never refreeze foods that have thawed; freeze does not kill bacteria.

• Moldy to Meals. Foods that have natural mold origins are safe to eat if there is small bacterial growth.  Mold on hard cheese, cheese made with mold (like a blue cheese) and cured meats and salami are safe to eat if you cut out at least 1” from the moldy spot.    Mold on cooked foods, leftovers, soft cheese, and produce should not only be thrown away, but should not be “smelled” for safety; breathing in mold can cause respiratory problems

• Rescue Dying Food. Wilted celery can be revived by cutting the bottom off and placing the stalks in a cup of cold water with a splash of white vinegar.   Soft cucumbers are terrible for crudite, but OK to cook into a vegetable mash.  Green potatoes just need to be peeled and used as normal.    No time to make banana bread from overripe bananas?  Slice, freeze and dip in chocolate for a quick treat.  Stale bread can be sprayed with water and re-baked in the oven.

• Stop Overbuying. Make a list of what you need and stick to it.  Make a list of what you toss away and vow to never buy it again.  Don’t “try” new foods at warehouse stores; only buy items you know your family frequently eats and loves in bulk. Avoid using coupons on food products you’re unsure of, especially if it’s for a discount when buying multiples of that item; you’re not saving money if you don’t eat it.  Don’t be afraid of a half-empty fridge; if you need something, food delivery services often come to your home and most of us live near major supermarkets that are easy to get in and out of.

• Smartly Use Coupons. We all try to do small things everyday to help the environment, but did you know your good deeds can also be rewarded?    The website www.recyclebank.com is a free site where members who pledge to use less energy, learn how to increase their green activities or simply recycle more earn points that they can use for grocery store coupons on brands you buy every day.      An average person can save around $100 a year off their grocery bill by downloading money-saving coupons like $2 off any Kashi product, $1 off any two Stonyfield yogurts and $2 off any Kiss my Face product.     Time these coupons to sales in stores and you can often get items for free.       SAVINGS:  $133.

I’m in Atlanta today on a press tour, making appearances on local television and also on CNN tomorrow morning to share tips how to save on organic groceries when shopping at your local supermarket.   I’m having so much fun, but looking forward to getting home before I leave again for the West Coast.

While down here, I visited some local stores selling our line of Danny Seo eco-friendly home products.  If you haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, I hope you’ll visit stores like TJ Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods to see them!  We’ve worked hard to create high quality, truly eco-friendly and well priced products that I felt were missing in the marketplace.

In stores now include our everyday frying pan that is non-stick, dishwasher safe and free of PTFE and PFOA chemicals that we know we should all avoid.    Don’t you love the colorful choices and fun leaf pattern?   And they are just $9.99!

We have two styles of our stainless steel recycling bins in stores now:  this one I love because it’s a dual compartment bin with pedals that you push with your feet and up pops the lid so you can drop in your recyclables.    At home, one side is for my curbside recycling and the other is for my paper recycling.

Our kitchen composter is also now in stores and is $16.99.   It’s stainless steel and features a tight fitting lid with an integrated carbon filter to absorb odors.    I love this mini composter because it makes composting easy, attractive and foolproof.

And our ceramic knives are JUST hitting stores on the West Coast (and will work their way across the country to the East Coast).   Love these.     Ceramic is fantastic because the blades do not get dull and keep a great, sharp edge when you use them.   It’s what Japanese chefs use and it’s changed the way I cook.     Don’t you love the the handles?  Do you see a fish or a shark?  I say shark…..

Happy Friday All!    See you next week.

Over the weekend, I was in Toronto to appear on The Shopping Channel (their largest TV shopping channel up north) to help launch my favorite 100% preservative-free skin care line called Boscia.

I’ve always loved the at-home shopping channels because it’s a direct way to talk to viewers/shoppers are home not only about some amazing products, but to really tell them how to use them, what to to look for in stores and to teach a little bit about the importance of using more natural, organic and gentler products.

Here’s a pic of me on-set ready to go on….

Our green room sign where we pretty much spend the day since we’re on every few hours.   No point in going back to the hotel if you only have  an hour or so to spare!

Guess who else was there!    She was amazing….even bringing us a box of donuts as a welcome gift.

Once on-air, it’s my job to talk about each product, the mission of the company, why the individual Boscia product is so revolutionary and most importantly how to use it when you get it home.   It’s a LOT of information, but fortunately as a real avid fan of the brand, all of this information is embedded in my head already!

Our model wearing the famous Boscia “black mask.”  It’s full of rich mineral-based clays and natural botanicals that goes onto your face like a thick paste, but dries on your face  like a giant pore strip.  You literally PEEL it off your face to detoxify every little pore on your face.   It’s incredible.    Sure, you look silly, but it works!

And as you can see…I have no shame when it comes to demo-ing products on air.     Wearing the black mask!

We’ll be back in Canada in April.  I’ll also be bringing Boscia to HSN later this year, so stay tuned in the United States for our big launch then.

And if you haven’t entered yet, scroll down to enter to wine 2 tubes of the Boscia black  mask!  Just leave a comment to enter!