Post Script

Whitefish Bay going greener

Last fall, we blogged about a new organic baby boutique opening on-line, created and owned by a Whitefish Bay mom.Bella & Boo was born out of necessity, since Kate Agarwal's youngest child had allergic skin reactions to the chemicals in conventional baby clothing. Once she figured out what the problem was, Agarwal felt compelled to help other families and so launched her site.

 Now, there's another e-boutique in town, also launched in Whitefish Bay, also selling organic ware. Is there something in the bay's water? The Basic Shop offers organic cottons, natural candles, soaps, reusable totes and more.

Just don't tell our staff nutritionist ...

At Outpost, we have our very own nutritionist, Judy Mayer, who guides owners, customers and staffers through our stores, gently revealing the yays and nays of healthy eating. And of course, there is her Simply Health column every month in the Exchange. Judy does not like it when we eat bad things, or at least too much of a bad thing. And Judy is no fan of too much salt.

So she will probably shake her finger at us for this post. Even the title of this gorgeous, indulgent, recipe-filled, sumptuous foodie blog will make Judy cross: It's called Not Without Salt.

*ducks*

But check it out if you're looking for a last-minute delicious dish for the holidays. Poached pears anyone?

Gluten free and oh-so charming

 The lady behind this blog and cookbook is Lori Andrews, a disarming Canadian on Flickr, with her memorable moniker, The 10 Cent Designer. Andrews is an interior designer with flair, a sock monkey-maker with a love of whimsy, and a lover of the outdoors. She also enjoys eating well and has put together a beautifully-photographed gluten-free cookbook that's on our wish list (please Santa?) and no doubt many others.

There are less whimsical reasons behind Andrews' diet, as she explains on her blog: "I lived with IBS and migraines for years. Fed up with my doctor's prescription pad, I decided to take my health into my own hands. I have adopted a gluten-free, caffeine free, refined sugar-free, healthy diet. Gluten free for the migraines and bad stuff free for the IBS. I want to share my fav recipes and products with you. We purchase organic vegetables, oils, spices, fruits, berries, nuts, etc., and grass-fed red meat. I don't get migraines anymore. This is a bacon-free blog." 

See? Told you she is charming.

Buy the book at Blurb, and read Andrews' foodie blog here. If you're a fan of the interior design stuff, follow her tweets, too! 

Googling for good

 If you switch your homepage to ecosearch.org, you will have the power of Google at your fingertips as usual, but you'll be making a difference every time you search. The site donates 100% of its revenues (generated by ad sales) to green nonprofits such as the Sierra Club and the Rainforest Alliance.

Being good was never so easy.

Social media for good

Social media is around for good - and it's a good thing.  

Two notable campaigns we noticed on Facebook this week:

Chase Community Giving: Become a fan of this page and you can vote for your local charity to receive a piece of the $5 million donation that's up for grabs.

The Girl Effect: You can join George Clooney, Hillary Clinton and Oprah in support of this marvelous group that is spreading the word about charities that empower girls in developing countries - the best way, they say, of improving the economic health of poorer nations. Empower a girl, change the world. Sounds good to us.

And, as these things go, the Girl Effect web site led us to Global Giving; perhaps the easiest way we've seen of donating or organizing a fun-raiser.

Local and lovely! (Husbands, partners, boyfriends ... take note)

Milwaukee purse-maker extraordinaire, Jennifer Ladd, has a beautiful collection on Etsy.com and we just couldn't help mentioning it. It's the season of shopping, after all, and we love it when we find someone local to support while buying scrumptious presents for the ladies in our lives.

 And while you're at it, browse Etsy for other Milwaukee creatives!

A Thanksgiving recipe with 27,648 followers

The pioneer woman cooks!

The pioneer woman writes a foodie blog.

The pioneer woman has followers. 

The pioneer woman has enough followers for a small colony. This blog post alone has garnered 27,648 comments (and counting).So we're jumping on the pioneer woman's bandwagon and linking. Here.

Fend off the Monday blahs ...

... with a lunchbreak dip into a delicious foodie blog. This one is full of sumptuous recipes, exquisitely photographed, and written by a woman who is no stranger to gluten-free baking and the joys of farm-fresh ingredients.

In her own words: "I am Aran, a Basque ex-pat living in the US since 1998, and this is Cannelle Et Vanille, my baby, my blank canvas for creating anything and everything sweet that comes out of my heart.

Why the name Cannelle Et Vanille? Because those are the smells and tastes of my childhood and this blog is very much filled with nostalgia."

Cannelle Et Vanille has received press from the UK Times Online, BBC's Olive Magazine, Saveur.com, RealSimple.com and many other blogs.

Grocery shopping? Click here first

If you haven't been to GoodGuide.com, you might want to click through. 

PC Magazine placed it in the Top 100 Web Sites of 2009. Crunchies 2008 called it the "startup most likely to make the world a better place." And TechCrunch named it one of the best startups of 2008.

In a nutshell, you can check GoodGuide ratings on food and products you buy regularly, checking ingredients and safety ratings as well as the philanthropic and environmental impact of the manufacturer. You can create a favorites list and an avoid list.

To test it out, we clicked on the top-rated baby products. We look at baby food, specifically carrots. In one screen, we were able to see that the nutritional value of the chosen brand was above average, the ingredients were, quite simply, carrots and water, and the company scored high on philanthropic contributions, but had been cited for violating the Clean Water Act. We were also able to see a closeup view of the product's nutritional label.

You can also browse for the best-rated products in any given category, and you can download GoodGuide's  free iPhone App so you can get this information on the spot, in the grocery store aisle. Here's what the marketing team at GoodGuide has to say about it: "Get instant access to over 70,000 products and ratings at your fingertips. Check a product, see top-rated products in a category,and access your personalized favorites list to quickly find safe and healthy products."

GoodGuide.com also runs the latest news stories, from health scares to FDA updates and a few fun features to lighten the mood here and there.

GoodGuide also has a blog, and can be followed on Twitter.

TGIF. For some of us.

For many of us, Friday means the weekend is upon us. Time to catch up or relax. 

For others, it means work. And if you're in the restaurant business, it means hard work. 

We stumbled upon this delightful foodie blog that reveals a fascinating journal of the first few weeks of restaurant ownership, stores delightful recipes in its archives, and offers beautiful photography throughout.

If you're lucky enough to have a weekend, pull up a laptop tomorrow and enjoy Orangette.