thanks. Lost

yeah mans, very nice

i love P hilton

I think I have Paris beat! 3 CHICKS Go Green in Venice Beach, CA Monica / Leah / Mary = 3 girls living in bohemian Venice Beach which is known to be an artsy community at the beach and although it is in Los Angeles - it doesn't feel like it. Here we wear flip flops and go out casual. We surf and rollerblade and because our toes are in the sand quite often, we tend to be aware of our environment. The gaggle of girls lives in 2 original 1940's bungalows only 900 sq ft in size and on a small lot. I guess you can say that are in close proximity makes it communal but we love each others company and sharing is one way to have a small footprint! Being a greenie for 15 + years, I have always tried to do what I can to lessen my footprint and the girls (M&L) are stoked to learn more. We make it a point to bike ride around our neighborhood, to the store, to visit friends and even to our local bars. We like to think of ourselves as conscious b/c we recycle, have an organic garden and carry our own sassy canvas re-usable canvas bags when we shop at the local FM (Farmer's Market). But one day I wanted to do more and decided it was great to have a Green Lifestyle but I wanted us to be in Green homes too! I Greened both of our small bungalow homes and Discovery Channel documented the process for their new home makeover show "Greenovate" on the 1st ever Green Network - PLANET GREEN to air in Sept. (planetgreen.discovery.com/) Over the next 3 months, I found myself going into Green Guru Mode, figuring how to recycle as much as possible and having to source green materials for our bungalows. We kept all of the materials we could (re-used our kitchen cabinets, refinished the original hardwood floors rather than buying new, refinished furniture and fireplace mantels instead of throwing them into the landfill. Going green doesn't mean brining in a bunch of new "Green Bling" but keeping what you can and making it better! I spent 3 months researching products to be sure they are safe and eco-friendly. We also did a lot of the work ourselves so we know the products 1st and because we used them and know they are safe. I painted with No VOC clay paints, stripped the fireplace with eco stripper, stained furniture with all natural wood stains and sealers. I worked with our contractor Travis Bobbitt to educate him and his team be sure he was using all Green sealers, adhesives and thinking in a new way -- construction can be green. Leah and Mary pitched in too and painted their living room with fabulous Pink clay paint and stripped their closets. We rolled up our sleeves and got dirty! I feel it is only fair to share the info I gleaned from 600 hours of research with you. The more homework I did, the more I found Green washing. It seems as if everyone is on the bandwagon and preaching to be "good for the environment" but you gotta ask the hard questions (isn't there a No VOC paint rather than just low VOC? is the manufacturing of these products green? what chemicals are in each product? is the packaging wasteful? can I find it locally? how can 3 people save on precious resources like water and energy in already small houses? There are many solutions for all types of budgets. Here is what I found .... Our GREEN MAKEOVER was pretty extensive but each part is important and you can do it in steps and within your own budget. OVERALL, we managed to offset 90% our energy with Solar PV (DWP offered rebates so check with your provider). We saved thousands of gallons of water with high performance - 1.6 gal ultra low flow toilets, shower heads, faucets and new drip irrigation (anyone can do this!) . We saved 30% energy with our tank less water heaters and installing a new Cool roof. PLASTIC is one of my pet peeves. I surf and am constantly pulling out plastic bags from the ocean. (See my site www.adoptafarmersmarket.com) so we purified our water with a whole house system saving thousands of plastic bottles and removed chemicals like chlorine from our drinking water and showering! I did my best to only use 100% green products from installing recycled glass counters and tiles to green strippers to paints. As far as old appliances that were removed - we recycled them and donated to Habitat for Humanity (www.habitat.org/). When it came to final touches, lighting, furnishings and products – we found the best of the best in Green. Each step of our makeover is detailed below! EXTERIOR: Well known Sustainable Architect, Bernardo Charca worked on our Green Remodel project as our Green Architectural Expert. He worked closely with Dinyari Cool Roof and Solar City 28KW Solar Panel system installation. We were focused on offsetting all of our energy for both houses but needed to be safe when working with original 1940’s construction. Bernardo is well known for lifting original and building a modern 1st floor living space such as his Convertible Deuce and Loop House: www.AiArch.com Owner, Buck Dinyari was our expert for our new “Cool Roof” installation....