CRAVE CRUSH the urban girl's blog to all that you CRAVE

Baby Boutiques & Mama Marts – Where to get all things KID!

June 9, 2010 by Jessica C. | Comments (0)

Summer is officially HERE! It’s time for family picnics and beach escapes, trips to the zoo and weekends by the coast. Cruise local kid’s shops and outfit your little ones in the latest and greatest! While you’re at it, grab a few things to make your life easier – the perfectly-pocketed diaper bag, anyone? How about attention-grabbing toys to keep tots occupied on long road trips? And if you’re expecting, you don’t have to go far to find fanciful furniture and decor for your new nursery!

The Little Red Barn & Baby Cakes
baby-cakes.net

Expecting? Well you can expect the best in baby interiors from both The Little Red Barn and Baby Cakes (run by the same owners)! These two charming baby boutiques specialize in helping you create the perfect, one-of-a-kind space for your perfect one-of-a-kind kid! Check out popular furniture lines Little Castle Gliders and Bratt Decor and cover them with custom 100% cotton bedding. Complete your nursery or big-kid bedroom with your choice of fun or fanciful lamps and lights, sturdy, kid-friendly throw rugs and unique wall decor! Contact The Little Red Barn or Baby Cakes today for your complimentary fabric swatches to help you choose the perfect look!

Right Bank Babies
rightbankbabies.com

Head to Right Bank Babies for kiddie couture and fun baby fashion! Ellen Uzarowicz and the Right Bank Babies team believe that children’s fashion should reflect the way children live – with wild abandon! Fancy clothes aren’t saved for fancy ocassions at Right Bank Babies…instead put your princesses in jeans and a satiny, frilly frock. Embrace color, texture and pattern by layering skirts, dresses and cardigans. And dress your little men in stripes and checks, vests and button downs…all in light, breezy, breathable cottons. Childhood is about having FUN – have FUN with what your kids wear at Right Bank Babies!

Weego Baby
weegobaby.com

Jessica Richter’s Weego Baby in Santa Monica is a one-stop-shop for all your baby and toddler needs! Choose crib, rocker and changing table for baby, and high chair, bunk bed and sippy cups for older brothers and sisters. Then snag a darling hand-knitted doll, an eco-conscious toy recycling truck (made, itself, of 100% recycled milk jugs!), and a bedtime story or two. And don’t leave Weego Baby without a bedtime CD…our favorite? Lullaby Renditions of AC/DC!

Celebrate Earth Day April 22

April 12, 2010 by Melisa M. | Comments (0)

Earth Day is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment, held on April 22. It is celebrated in many countries and has been receiving added attention in current years with the newfound popularity of going green and our increased consciousness of how we are harming the planet. As active motivated women, we, here at CRAVE, think Earth day is a wonderful chance to help women discover new ways to help our earth and conserve it for generations to come. The Nature Conservancy has some wonderful tips to do just that, pertaining to activities a lot of women deal with in their everyday lives.

Use reusable totes

You can help save oceans when you use reusable shopping bags instead of plastic bags. Sure, it’s a small step — but it can make a big difference in the health of our oceans. Unfortunately, 90 percent of the debris that washes up from our oceans are man-made and shouldn’t be there. Most of it has – unfortunately – come to be expected: derelict fishing equipment, disposable plastic bottles, plastic bags, cigarette butts, bits of unidentifiable plastic, Styrofoam. To help encourage others, share where you take reusable bags or where you’ve found your favorite tote.

Eat food

Just like you, conservationists, fishermen, chefs and consumers are working together to find new ways of living off our oceans and waters while keeping nature healthy. In a day and age when many of us “harvest” most of our meals by filling a grocery cart or skimming a menu, it can be easy to overlook nature’s role in putting food on our tables. This is especially true when it comes to seafood. For centuries, the oceans’ bounty seemed inexhaustible. Now, as scientists unravel the intricate relationships between fish and the vast lands below the water’s surface, we’re gaining a clearer picture of how humans have altered our oceans’ ability to provide for us. The Conservancy is tackling the problems by working with communities to restore degraded habitats and rebuild depleted fisheries. But sustainability also depends on how fish are brought to market. A service called FishPhone is Blue Ocean’s sustainable seafood text messaging service that instantly puts sustainable seafood information at your fingertips. To find out about your seafood choice, text 30644 with the message FISH and the name of the fish in question. They’ll text you back with their assessment and better alternatives to fish with significant environmental concerns.

Green your gardening

Even while you’re gardening in your very own backyard, you can make a big difference in the health of the ocean. Fertilizers and other chemicals used in conventional gardening are washed into watersheds and eventually to sea, where they can harm coral reefs and other marine life. To help cut back on pollution, go native! Native plants require much less water and fertilizer than non-native plants do. Make your own compost! Composting kitchen scraps is a great way to create (free!) all-natural fertilizer. Set your mower to a cutting height of 2”-3” — which will eliminate undesirable weedy plants. Don’t rake your clippings; leave them behind as fertilizer. You can even try square-foot gardening. This method uses 90% less water and 95% fewer seeds than a traditional backyard garden and requires no chemicals!

You can find all the details on these tips and plenty more at earthday.nature.org

Do It Yourself Design Inspirations We CRAVE

March 22, 2010 by Lilla | Comments (0)

Spring is finally just around the corner. We are gearing up to do all our regular spring cleaning tasks – flip mattresses, wash curtains, and finally organize our junk drawers. One of the highlights of spring is rebirth and getting a new lease on life . Well, how about doing the same for your home or an old piece of furniture? Small changes are sure to make a large difference in any home! We love to turn to designspongeonline.com for inspiration and really love the before & after posts. Check out some of our favorite makeovers:

• From gloomy kitchen to apple green colored charmer
• From boring and granny-like rocking chair to modern rockin’ chic
• From an apartment that belongs in a Golden Girls flashback to a place that Carrie Bradshaw can call home!

Do you have any home DIYs plans for spring?

Interview with Rachel Winokur of eTTa designs

March 12, 2010 by Megan S. | Comments (0)

We love decorating and shopping, which means that being an interior designer would be a fabulous job! Interior Designer Rachel Winokur, owner of interior design boutique eTTa designs does this and more. Her firm showed us how eco-friendly design could fit any budget and style for both commercial and residential projects like the eco-friendly nail salon, Mani Pedi Cutie they recently planned. We spoke with Rachel and learned about incorporating eco-friendly design as much as possible to help preserve our beautiful environment. Read on for her perspective, and click here to check out her website!

What makes a beautiful home?

For me, a beautiful home means more than just beautiful aesthetics.  It means a home that’s inviting, comfortable, relaxing, balanced and functional with stunning design elements, both visually and to the touch.

In what ways do you practice living green? Why is living green important to you?

I promote living green with my clients by first looking for eco-friendly and sustainable design solutions as long as it satisfies the client’s needs like look/feel, function, budget, and timeframe.  I also live green myself whether it’s recycling, minimizing electricity, reducing water usage, re-purposing furnishings I already own vs. replacing, multi-functional items (like a sofa console that’s also a desk), printing my business cards on recycled paper with non-toxic ink, or speaking to groups educating them about ‘green’ design.  Living green especially makes sense since my middle name is Carson, and thus named after Rachel Carson, the Naturalist and author of Silent Spring, which essentially started the environmental movement!

What is your indulgence?

I love beautiful and sumptuous fabrics and could be drawn to them by color, texture and pattern.  A great way to inexpensively indulge in fabrics is to add lots of toss pillows on a bed or sofa since most toss pillows only require about a yard to make
.or even less if you use a plain fabric on the back side!

What has been your most fulfilling project?

I just completed decorating a room pro bono at a new family shelter in LA for Upward Bound House.  It feels so good to be part of a solution to eradicate homelessness and to provide a shelter that not only will be safe, but also beautiful, inviting, comfortable and special.  In addition, it was accomplished by the collaboration of at least 50 vendors and individuals who donated their product, talents, and time to decorating this room. 

What do you CRAVE? In business? In life?

I crave dining at Gjelina in Venice, chai with soy, dark chocolate, fresh organic produce from local farms, the beach and ocean (I love to sail and surf!), skiing, beautiful fabrics, fresh flowers and plants, and enjoying time connecting with friends and family in a properly appointed space topped off with candles, proper lighting, scents, and music through a good sound system.

Find Your Inner Peace

March 10, 2010 by Nicole S. | Comments (0)

Living in such a bustling city, it sometimes feels like all we are ever doing is trying to keep up with our own schedules. Make it a point to try to slow your life down a bit for a change.  Going through the motions can start to feel robotic, but if you take the time to contemplate your life and your goals you will feel not only more focused but more at peace with where you are now. At CRAVE we believe that there are many different ways to find peace, whether it’s practicing yoga, getting pampered, or re-arranging your living space. Check out our picks for the best places and ways to add a little more zen to your life.

Still Yoga  

At Still Yoga owned Erika Glass, you can practice Anusara Yoga. Anusara means “flowing with grace” or “to follow your heart”, and it is heart-oriented and spiritually inspiring. Erika opened her stuiod with the purpose of creating a place for positive change and health in the community, which sounds to us like a great mission statement. Your body, mind and conscience will thank you for visiting this sustainable studio. Sounds like a great way to start down the path of  finding more peace in your life. Click.

The Painted Nail

Definitely a way to experience some Hollywood glamour, The Painted Nail owned by Katie Cazorla creates an exclusive vibe so that you will feel spoiled and pampered. They offer a VIP mani/pedi cabana which features massage chairs and flat screen TVs so you can feel like a celeb for the day. Beautiful lavender walls and plush, living room style chairs certainly fall under our definition of finding inner peace. Click.

Feng Shui Living

Want to find balance and peace in your life but don’t know where to start? How about letting LA based fen shui expert Jayme Barrett increase the harmony in your abode. Jayme describes feng shui as a practical tool that can have a multitude of positive benefits which can, “restore your health and vitality, create a beautiful and peaceful environment, jump start your career or business, and find your purpose in life”. Still recovering from a bad living situation you had in the past? The art of feng shui can even “cleanse energy from past partner or roommate”. Release control of your current arrangements and allow this ancient art to let the positive energy flow. Click.

Tips to Jump Start Your Spring Cleaning

February 24, 2010 by Nicole S. | Comments (0)

March is right around the corner, and it’s about this time when New Year’s goals and resolutions fall by the way side as the reality and craziness of the year crank into full swing. With March approaching this also means spring is coming and it’s time for spring cleaning, rearranging and reorganization. At this point in the year it might be handy to have some tips and tricks to help you reorganize for the spring keep you organized in the coming months. So for this week’s “best of” we bring to you the Best of Organization Tips – from a couple of LA’s pro organizers. We hope you walk away with skills to help you achieve functional organization and improve efficiency and “butt-kicking” ability!

dClutterfly

Owner Tracy McCubbin  knows it is easy to get overwhelmed by the clutter in our home or offfice. She has set out on a mission to help you see through your chaos and maintain a more organized environment. She sent us these great tips to jump start your spring cleaning:

-Before you start attacking your closet, know where you plan to donate and give the stuff you don’t want to.  It makes it easier to part with something if you know where it’s going. 

-Just because you paid a lot of money for something doesn’t mean it’s worth keeping.  If you’ve had an article of clothing, pair of shoe, purse for two years and haven’t worn them then chances are you aren’t going to. Accept that it was a mistake and let it go.

-Shoes don’t go from uncomfortable to comfortable.  If they hurt when you bought them, they are going to continue to hurt!

-Keep clothes for the life you live and not the life you think you live.  Everything in your closet should make you happy, not make you feel bad about yourself.  Embrace your style and get rid of the clothes that don’t work.

Want more from tips from Tracy? Click here.

Operation Organization

Owner Katrina Cameron is dedicated to creating positive change in your life, and helping you organize your residential or commercial space. Some of the useful tips from her website include:

-Choose materials that will match your space

-If possible, purchase containers to be on display, in the same color scheme as your current furnishings or accent hardware.

-Color-coordinate when possible, especially when it comes to  your closet.  A closet organized by color will help you save time when deciding what to wear.

-Less is more: The less stuff out in the open you can see, the better.

-Take the time to decorate every room in the house, they all could use a little TLC.

Want more tips from Katrina? Click here.

Home is Wherever You Hang Your Hat

February 23, 2010 by Lynn Edwards | Comments (0)

For those of you who have read my Rachel Ray blog you know I’m culinarily challenged, but love those food shows. I’m equally as inept at home design & dĂ©cor but I love me some Design on a Dime (although I don’t actual DO either). I love the word “home.” I grew up in a small rambler with seven people, one bathroom and no dishwasher, but it was home. My Dad still lives there and it’s amazing how it feels sleeping in that house. It’s awesome when we all go home with our families, the bathroom line is just a little longer now with 23 people. After college I became a vagabond and lived all over the world, followed by 18 years as an army spouse. The Army has this cute little sign that says “Home is where the Army sends you.”

Needless to say, my “home” has been a stinky room the size of a closet, a grass hut in the middle of a rice paddy, an apartment on the 75th floor, a condo near a strip mall, a large sprawling tudor style, and approximately 5000 hotel rooms. I love all that cool stuff you get for your home when you get married but I made a critical mistake and had a really small wedding. Turns out I received three place settings of my formal china. When we’d have another couple over the fourth person had to eat off a plastic power ranger plate. I’m so home dĂ©cor challenged I have lived for months with no pictures on the wall, have gone 20+ years without buying window treatments and I don’t have more than two bath towels the same color. When people ask me what “theme” I have decorated my homes I answer with a mid-modern century “pot pourri”.

As a joke one year my friends bought me an entire set of holiday plates. I now have salt & pepper shakers with snowmen on them
so stinking cool! I think chicks that wear hats are fashion forward stars, those with holiday-themed china are domestic goddesses
.now I’m one. There are some staples I love that seem to make a house a luxurious home…a million pillows on your bed & lots of thread count sheets, a system to organize your plastic wear & lids, real flowers on your kitchen island, and that’s living. Oh, and whoever invented that electric fire place switch needs a raise
big time! I love huge tubs but have spent little time in them. The time I did spend was usually jockeying around to get comfortable around all those hot wheels in there with me. I did build a water feature on my deck once. I loved it, yeah for Lowe’s. I looked like a landscape architect genius just by putting part A into part B and firing up the hose. It was great to fall asleep to but it made me have to get up and pee all night long.

Oprah says make your home an oasis
take a look around and think about what you can do to make your house a little more “homey”
even if it’s just a $2 apple pie scented candle.

Put a Spring in Your Step with these Hot Colors

February 22, 2010 by Madeline C. | Comments (0)

When we think of spring we think of pastels and floral prints, but those just seem a little too passĂ© and boring. What will you be wearing this spring to spice up your wardrobe? Here are some of the color trends that you won’t want to miss out on. Pick up a few bright accessories that are both trendy and timeless.

Turquoise – We’re pretty sure this is on EVERYONE’S hot-list, along with other aqua-colored hues. This vibrant color turns every outfit up a notch, making you just exude that cool confident aura that will make you the center of attention. Splurge on a Jamie Joseph brightly colored stone ring. We love this Sea Blue Chalcedony Ring for a beautiful eye-catcher.

Light Pink – More specifically, champagnes and corals are two “light pinks” that won’t have you gagging on pastel and cotton candy. Champagne is the closest you can get to a nice neutral color while adding a little pop! And for coral, try some of Cara Lyndon’s hairpins, we recommend Coral Wheel . Whether your hair color is light or dark, this feminine flair will turn heads.

Yellow – In every shade and size. Add a dash here or there or a big bright bag to have everyone around you smiling. Evoking sunshine and happiness, everyone could stand to integrate this cheerful color into their wardrobe or even their home. Try a bright throw pillow to add to your living room, we like the yellow Gloria pillow from Henry Road. The great thing about throw pillows is, when spring is over, you can just throw them back into the closet until spring comes again!