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With all the wild prints and crazy accessories I’ve been throwing your way the last month, I decided to tone things down a bit and feature a neutral color that will work with all that spice in your wardrobe. SO this week’s fashion porn is sponsored by the color GRAY!

Softer than black, gray is an easy-to-wear neutral that you can wear with everything (especially purple!). Cozy gray sweaters spell out comfort for me. Just imagine yourself sitting by a warm fire with a cup of hot cocoa. Mmmm, pass the marshmallows!

Gray will also have you complimenting the beautiful shades of autumn and can work for a lazy Saturday or a more exciting Saturday night. Lots of lovely gray items are textured and you can even find some patterns if you need some more excitement in your wardrobe.

Sold on gray for fall yet? If you’re not, these 15 items are sure to do it.

Did you do your part to celebrate Earth Day this year? Maybe you showered with your man to conserve water or skipped the cardboard sleeve on your Starbucks to reduce paper waste. As for me, I went to a showing of DisneyNature’s new documentary film, Earth.

If you are into the kind of documentaries that make you feel incredibly guilty for living a lifestyle full of gas guzzling cars, 30 minute hot showers and an “ignorance is bliss” attitude, then this movie is not for you! Going in, I expected a deep-voiced narrator (most-likely Morgan Freeman) to describe how keeping my laptop charger plugged in is contributing to the deaths of adorable, innocent baby polar bears, but was pleasantly surprised at the opposite.

This film didn’t make me feel like a bag of crap for living in a world of consumerism. There was no finger pointing and guilt tripping here! However, the gorgeous views from around the world (and the stories of amazing animals) did make me think twice about not recycling my Red Bull. Instead of laying it on thick about the importance of what humans can do to help the planet, the narrator takes the viewer on a trip around the globe to educate you on the things we forget even exist.

Did you know that the Rainforest makes up only 3% of our land mass, but contributes more than 50% of our Earth’s oxygen? Not only did that fact blow my mind, but it inspired me to spend a Saturday not hungover in bed, but outside planting a garden instead.

But the facts and information presented were nothing compared to the film’s photography; I have never seen ocean water so crystal clear or trees so lushly green. Imagine what it would be like to take a helicopter tour over Hawaii and you can get an idea of what watching this movie was like. I especially loved the time lapsed sequences when you could watch a flower bloom in seconds and see an entire continent turn green with growth. My mouth hung open in awe at what our planet can do!

Oh, and the animals!  Watching the baby polar bears play in the snow had my heart melting along with the ice caps; and nothing is cuter than a furry little butt (as long as it’s on an animal and not my man).

The OCD bird who was obsessed with cleaning up his nest to attract a female had me cracking up in my seat. I barely know any guys who would go to the trouble of picking up a sock, let alone scour his room to spic-and-span standards! Those “chicks” in the forest have it made! When you’re not laughing at the birds, you’ll be rooting for several animal families as they run from predators and risk their lives in search of food and shelter. After learning that elephants trek for over a month just to find a drink of water, you’ll never hear me complain about a 3 mile run again (well, maybe).

If you haven’t gone to see this film yet, I am urging you to run out and buy a ticket. This is one documentary that is anything but boring and won’t have you feeling guilty when you do have to print out that 10 page essay or go for a drive. You’ll be cracking up at the animals, mouthing “WOW” at the gorgeous sights and become inspired to do your part to keep our world as beautiful as it has always been.

Don’t forget to stay for the ending credits! You can catch a hilarious blooper of the filmmakers crashing into a tree in their hot-air balloon. High comedy, I promise!

With the advent of summer upon us, I decided it was high time I was no longer a sex on the beach virgin. I grabbed my manfriend (chuckle chuckle, Carrie Bradshaw) and headed to the shore.

It was a perfect night for just being at the beach, let alone hooking up. Full moon, light breeze and crashing waves. Very romance novel. So boyfriend and I wandered along the beach until we found a secluded(ish) spot.

When we got there, however, I found that I could have done with some good advice before embarking on this adventure. So for all you beach bunny virgins out there contemplating some sea-side action, here is what I wish my experienced girlfriends had told me:

Bring a Flashlight: Luckily for us, the moon was enormous and lit our way pretty well. I happen to be completely blind in the smallest amount of darkness, though, and was petrified of stepping on baby sea turtles. If it’s even semi-cloudy out, a small light should help you navigate.

Don’t forget the blanket! And make it a big one. For a girl who considers a hotel without room service roughing it, I felt surprisingly one with nature. This may have had to do with the stray grains of sand making themselves uncomfortable in my back/chest/butt/eyeballs. I also got considerably less kisses on my neck (my favorite!) because boyfriend kept coming up with mouthfuls of sand.

Consider bringing some “accessories”: The al fresco factor of beach boinking is definitely a plus. I felt so free (cheesy, I know); but while all that open air and exposure to the elements felt g-r-e-a-t when we were cooling off afterwards, it made things a little difficult to get going. Luckily, boyfriend thought ahead to bring lube. This also might help if you are nervous about being caught/ arrested for lewd behavior, leading to distraction. It’s always good to bring back up!

Get creative! Boyfriend luh-huvved the “versatility” it allowed him in positioning. This was a factor I hadn’t even considered, but he said that the consistency of the sand gave him a ton of freedom in his movement, and made everything newer and more comfortable. Next time we get the chance for some S on the B, I plan on capitalizing on my old sand castle building skills. Feel free to dig, mound and pile the sand under your blanket to create new positions– it’s like mother nature’s response to the liberator.

Enjoy the, um, scenery. Now I’m not suggesting you tune out your partner to listen to the breeze, or attempt to synchronize your orgasm with crashing waves (although that would be impressively symbolic), just appreciate the added element it adds to the act. The beach is so gorgeous at night and is practically tailor made for good good lovin’. So get out there and embrace your inner nature goddess; your lucky beach mate will thank you!

I’ll be the first one to admit that once a band wrongs my tastes musically; it’s kind of hard for them to undo that first impression. I mean, I believe in artists progressing and changing. In fact, I believe that if your art is static on any level…you may not be an artist.

After all, the idea is to CREATE, not to continually replicate. So for the bands who I hear and think, “OH GOD, I hate this…“, I do genuinely want for them to eventually appeal to me. It’s just that a lot of bands get set in their ways and begin to define themselves by the genres they have been shoved into.

However, more and more bands have been walking gracefully into my corridors of forgiveness these days. And THRICE is one of them.

I’ll admit that I was never crazy about Thrice before. When a friend told me last spring that she’d be on tour with the band in the fall…I couldn’t think of any song in particular that I knew, but I remembered not liking them. She elevated my hopes slightly by telling me the band would be releasing a 4 disc set starting in the fall called The Alchemy Index.

Apparently, it was supposed to have been well on its way to being a brave and creative endeavor from the group even at that point, so I was eager to hear it. In the mean time, I became addicted to singer Dustin Kensrue‘s solo cd. It made me WANT to love the upcoming Thrice release.

And now that I finally have heard it, there is not one part of me that doesn’t love it–well, the two discs that have been released already, that is. The set is split up into the four elements of nature: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water.

Fire and Water have been released and are winning Thrice first time fans everywhere… including myself. They could have gone terribly wrong with their theme, but instead… they’ve gotten it pretty right on.

The songs from the Water disc are very hypnotizing and calm. From peaceful to sad, it’s hard to explain why the songs FEEL like they would be on the water disc…but you would understand if you heard. And the same goes for the Fire disc. It’s fierce and destructive in the most beautiful way possible.

Kudos to Thrice for going above and beyond so far on this release. For any of you who are interested, PARTICULARLY those of you who haven’t liked Thrice before, I urge you to check it out. They’ve got tons of tracks here: Myspace.com/thrice.

Listen, and enjoy!

Living green is getting more and more popular, not to mention much easier. There are tons of organic choices lining supermarkets, pharmacies, even clothing stores.

But how do you even know what to pick while you’re cruising through the aisles? You want to help out Mom Nature, of course, but you don’t want your wallet to go the way the polar ice caps are going. Here are five of the best methods to save earth and your money, a little bit at a time.

5) Always always buy your fruit and veggies organic: It’s healthier for you, and since it’s gotten so popular, it’s just the same price, and sometimes cheaper. If you can, try to buy local produce; it supports your local farms and sometimes you can even see where it’s grown, if you live nearby. (Quickie tip: while you’re shopping, just bring a backpack or a canvas bag instead of wasting the paper and plastic bags at the store.)

4) Speaking of organic, don’t forget to buy your soaps organic too:I suggest Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps. They come in quite a few amazing scents (I love the peppermint), and the liquid soaps are AMAZINGLY versatile. You can use it for soap, laundry detergent, and even shampoo – and they come in big enough and affordable enough containers for you to be able to do so.

3) While we’re on the topic of staying so fresh, so clean, here are three especially great energy and money saving laundry tips: For one, cold water for all your clothes. It saves the energy that’s needed to heat the water, and it’s especially good for colors that run and/or fade, as well as wool. See? Your mom knew what she was talking about.

For another, there are cold water versions of most of your favorite name brand detergents that don’t run very expensive and you can sometimes even find them on sale.

It will also save you a lot of money and save everyone else a lot of energy to airdry your clothing. Just pick up a rack and tada! – dry clothing while you sleep. (Or at least as long as you should be sleeping. I know you’re really up watching Project Runway and American Idol.)

2) Oh, and did you know that you can get organic clothing too: I mean, I knew, but it’s insanely popular now, and insanely easy to find! One of my favorite brands is the Life Is Good stuff; I have about three or four of their shirts, and they’re easily some of my most comfortable clothing. Any clothing you get that says “organic” somewhere on the label, you’re set.

1) We all know that it’s all well and good to say this stuff, but it’s one thing to say it and another to do it: That’s why there are all kinds of pledges and promises you can make. One of my favorites is the Yahoo! Green Pledge. They have a ton of things you can do right there, and you can go hardcore or just take it smooth and work your way up. The best part is that it tells you just how much you lowered your carbon emissions, and who doesn’t like a to have a little friendly competition to see who can save the most? I save 1.01 tons of carbon a year. Bet you can’t beat that. (Seriously, I dare you.)

I know just as well as the next chick that it’s hard to devote to any sort of green living. It seems pretty much impossible at first (“There’s no WAY I can live without styrofoam carryout containers, are you serious?!“), but a little bit at a time makes a hell of a lot more difference than you’d think.