<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"><channel><atom:link href="http://bellaandboo.com/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=6633&amp;Type=RSS20" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /><title>Bella and Boo Blog</title><description>Kate Agarwal and Elle Fausel are the mother-daughter duo behind Bella &amp; Boo, a socially-conscious online boutique based in Whitefish Bay, WI.</description><link>http://bellaandboo.com/</link><lastBuildDate>Fri, 25 May 2012 13:06:17 GMT</lastBuildDate><docs>http://backend.userland.com/rss</docs><generator>RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/</generator><item><title>Three Big Myths about Vegetarianism</title><description>&lt;strong&gt;Myth:&amp;nbsp; Vegetarianism is a modern concept.&amp;nbsp;  &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although some people may think it&amp;rsquo;s a rather new-age, hippie or
contemporary trend, vegetarianism has actually been around for thousands
of years.&amp;nbsp; Yes, you read that correctly&amp;mdash;&lt;em&gt;thousands of years&lt;/em&gt;.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;em&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Pythagoras&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span&gt;, the Greek philosopher and mathematician, is thought to be the father of vegetarianism.&amp;nbsp; Born in 580 BC, Pythagoras believed that animals possessed an individual soul, which made humans and animals much more alike than different.&amp;nbsp; Respect for and non-violence towards animals were the main reasons behind &lt;em&gt;Pythagoreanism, &lt;/em&gt;or &lt;em&gt;the non-consumption of meat or fish&lt;/em&gt;, according to Wikipedia.&amp;nbsp; The term &lt;em&gt;vegetarianism&lt;/em&gt; did not come into play until the nineteenth century.&amp;nbsp; This concept was practiced widely in the ancient Greek civilization.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Jainism&lt;/em&gt; is one of the oldest religions in India, dating back to as early as the 9th
Century BC, and is still practiced today.&amp;nbsp; One of the main principles
of the Jain religion is also that of non-violence towards animals and a peaceful
coexistence between all living beings.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Jains are strict vegetarians.&amp;nbsp; Like Pythagoreans, Jains
also believe that every animal has a soul, and that we should regard
every living being as we do ourselves, harming no one and being kind to
all living things.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Myth:&amp;nbsp; One cannot live&amp;mdash;and thrive&amp;mdash;on a vegetarian diet. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Not only does eating a vegetarian diet give your spirit a bit of a
boost, knowing that you are not contributing to the suffering or death
of animals, it is also incredibly healthy and delicious.&amp;nbsp; Let&amp;rsquo;s tackle
that spiritual aspect.&amp;nbsp; There is something incredibly freeing and
lovely about eating a vegetarian diet.&amp;nbsp; What is it exactly, you might
wonder?&amp;nbsp; A sense of peace?&amp;nbsp; Celebrating our interconnectedness as
sentient beings here on Earth?&amp;nbsp; Living in harmony with nature?&amp;nbsp; It&amp;rsquo;s all
of the above and more. &amp;nbsp;There is a lightness of spirit and incredible
joy to be found when we consider ourselves to be equals to (not dominators of) all of the other inhabitants of this planet.&amp;nbsp; Are our
fellow Earthlings any less deserving of a happy existence than we?&amp;nbsp;  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
We have all heard the old adage, &lt;em&gt;you are what you eat&lt;/em&gt;.&amp;nbsp; What does that
mean for us if we eat the flesh of dead animals whose last moments of
life were spent in absolute terror as they faced the slaughterhouse
conveyor belt?&amp;nbsp; These are living, breathing, thinking and feeling
creatures whose lives we create and destroy at our own will.&amp;nbsp; And why,
when there is an abundance of other food sources available to us?&amp;nbsp; If
slaughterhouses had glass walls and we were forced to face the reality
of how ground beef really came to be, there would be millions of
overnight vegetarians.&amp;nbsp; Many people don&amp;rsquo;t give much thought to how that
meat ends up on their plate.&amp;nbsp; Jeremy Betham said it best in 1789 in his
&lt;em&gt;Introduction to the Principles of Morals &amp;amp; Legislation&lt;/em&gt;, &amp;ldquo;The
question is not, Can they (animals) &lt;strong&gt;reason&lt;/strong&gt;? &amp;nbsp;Can they &lt;strong&gt;talk&lt;/strong&gt;? &amp;nbsp;But, Can they &lt;strong&gt;suffer&lt;/strong&gt;?&amp;rdquo;&amp;nbsp;
Yes.&amp;nbsp; And oh how they suffer at human hands, by the millions, every
day. &amp;nbsp;For those interested in learning how meat is made, here is a &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Inside-a-Slaughterhouse-Video"&gt;video&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; from investigative reporter, Lisa Ling, going behind the scenes of the nation&amp;rsquo;s biggest slaughterhouse, Cargill.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Myth:&amp;nbsp; Vegetarians don&amp;rsquo;t get enough protein.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The truth of the matter is that we don&amp;rsquo;t need nearly as much protein as
the meat and dairy industries would have us believe.&amp;nbsp; In addition,
chances are that vegetarians already eat enough protein without even
trying!&amp;nbsp; Nutritionist Heather Lounsbury dispels the protein myth in a really great &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2010/07/dispelling-the-myth-vegetarians-do-get-enough-protein/"&gt;article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;.&amp;nbsp;
Research has shown that eating a diet of whole grains, vegetables,
fruits, nuts and legumes is actually a very healthy way to live.&amp;nbsp; The
facts are out there.&amp;nbsp; If you need more proof that you can live happily
and be very healthy on a vegetarian diet, here is another great &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.vegetarian-nutrition.info/updates/vegetarian_diets_health_benefits.php"&gt;read&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; by Dr. Winston Craig.&amp;nbsp; It is a fact.&amp;nbsp; We do not need to eat animals in order to live a
healthy life.&amp;nbsp; There are plenty of plant-based food choices available.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Famous Vegetarians: &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Leonardo da Vinci &lt;br /&gt;
Leo Tolstoy &lt;br /&gt;
George Bernard Shaw &lt;br /&gt;
Mahatma Gandhi &lt;br /&gt;
Albert Einstein &lt;br /&gt;
The Beatles &lt;br /&gt;
And I had to mention this one&amp;mdash;Milwaukee Brewer, Prince Fielder.&amp;nbsp;  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://vegan.wikia.com/wiki/Famous_Vegans_and_Vegetarians#Famous_Vegetarians_in_History"&gt;list of vegetarians in history&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;is long and fun to read.&amp;nbsp; Perhaps one day you might add your name to that list?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
</description><link>http://bellaandboo.com/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=6633&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=198451&amp;ObjectType=56&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fbellaandboo.com%252f_blog%252fBella_and_Boo_Blog%252fpost%252fThree_Big_Myths_about_Vegetarianism%252f</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://bellaandboo.com/_blog/Bella_and_Boo_Blog/post/Three_Big_Myths_about_Vegetarianism/</guid><pubDate>Sat, 20 Aug 2011 16:09:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Beware the Rubber Ducky!</title><description>&lt;div class="main_text"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;It is 6 A.M: What is your toxin level?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We wake up, get out of bed, and put on our robe and slippers.&amp;nbsp; We
answer nature&amp;rsquo;s call, brush our teeth, head into the kitchen for some
freshly brewed coffee or tea, grab the paper or the laptop and sit down
at the table. Ten minutes have passed since we woke. Exactly how many
toxins have we been exposed to?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Bed &amp;ndash; How was the mattress made? Were chemical glues or
    adhesives used? Was it sprayed with a fire retardant? What about the
    memory foam? What exactly is foam made of, anyway? &lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Sheets &amp;ndash; Was the cotton used to make them grown organically (grown without pesticides) and manufactured without chemicals? &lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;PJ&amp;rsquo;s &amp;ndash; (see sheets)&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Toilet paper &amp;ndash; Were dyes used to make it a special color? Was it processed with chemicals?&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Toothpaste &amp;ndash; According to eHow.com, conventional toothpastes are
    often made with ingredients such as propylene glycol and titanium
    dioxide. Propylene glycol is an ingredient found in airplane deicing
    fluid, and titanium dioxide can be found in paints.&amp;nbsp; Have you looked at
    the ingredients in your toothpaste, ever?&amp;nbsp; &lt;em&gt;Why &lt;/em&gt;are we brushing our teeth with toxic chemicals?&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Coffee maker &amp;ndash; Most coffee makers are constructed with plastic.&amp;nbsp;
    According to an April 2010 article in Time Magazine by Bryan Walsh, &lt;em&gt;The Perils of Plastic,&lt;/em&gt;
    chemicals like biphenyl A (BPA) and phthalates, which are key
    ingredients in modern plastics, may disrupt the delicate endocrine
    system, leading to developmental problems. Several health issues on the
    rise that could have a chemical connection are:&amp;nbsp; Obesity, diabetes,
    autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. &lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Tea and Coffee &amp;ndash; Is the tea/coffee organic? What chemicals were used
    in the processing of that one coveted cup which has become part of our
    sacred morning ritual? &lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Coffee cup &amp;ndash; (See coffee maker)&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Newspaper &amp;ndash; Inks, dyes and chemicals in the newsprint could be harmful.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Chemicals breathed in and absorbed through our skin are lurking
in places we may not have considered. In the book, &amp;ldquo;Slow Death by Rubber
Duck: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things,&amp;rdquo; authors Rick Smith and
Bruce &lt;span id="RadESpellError_7" class="RadEWrongWord"&gt;Lourie&lt;/span&gt; show us exactly how prevalent toxins are, even in something
as innocent as the old standard rubber duck.&amp;nbsp; We learn as we go along,
don&amp;rsquo;t we?&amp;nbsp; Sixty plus years ago, when plastic wrap, polypropylene and
the like were invented, they were touted as miracle products that would
revolutionize the world.&amp;nbsp; Most of us can agree that plastic &lt;em&gt;has&lt;/em&gt;
changed the world.&amp;nbsp; But some say plastic has poisoned the world and has
made us all sick (planet Earth included).&amp;nbsp; Others say it has enabled us
to create some pretty amazing inventions.&amp;nbsp; We agree with all of the
above.&amp;nbsp; There are many important safety products which are made from
plastic:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Seat belts&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Bike helmets&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Infant car seats&amp;nbsp; &lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Plumbing piping&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Ball point pens&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Condoms&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Shoe soles&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Look around your home. Can you imagine life without them? Count
the items you can see that are made with plastic. Plastic has indeed
changed the world and brought us millions of incredible and useful
products, but at what cost?&amp;nbsp; Our health is suffering because of
plastic.&amp;nbsp; Chemicals leach from plastic containers into our food and
drink, chemicals from the plastic-made playground equipment leaches into
our children&amp;rsquo;s skin as they play.&amp;nbsp; We haven&amp;rsquo;t even begun to touch on
the environmental toll.&amp;nbsp; The manufacturing process is extremely
polluting and utilizes precious fossil fuels.&amp;nbsp; Plastic sits in
landfills. It does not decompose.&amp;nbsp; Discarded plastic, (beverage bottles,
car tires, children&amp;rsquo;s toys and more), older than you and I, are
floating in our lakes and oceans right now.&amp;nbsp; Yes, thank goodness we
learn as we go.&amp;nbsp; There is much work to be done.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Concerned about toxins and plastic? Here are some ideas:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Use less plastic &amp;ndash; Purchase reusable bags (&lt;span id="RadESpellError_8" class="RadEWrongWord"&gt;baggies&lt;/span&gt;, shopping totes, etc)&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Use glass or stainless steel for food&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Purchase organic teas, coffees, food (watch for an upcoming &lt;span id="RadESpellError_9" class="RadEWrongWord"&gt;blog&lt;/span&gt; on the best items to buy organic)&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Try organic toothpaste or make your own (Search online for recipes)&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Buy organic bedding (&lt;a href="http://bellaandboo.com"&gt;Bella &amp;amp; Boo &lt;span id="RadESpellError_10" class="RadEWrongWord"&gt;Organics&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; has amazing baby blankets, toys and more!)&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Use natural cleaning products&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Stay aware and alert.&amp;nbsp; Become a toxin cop!&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;br /&gt;
    &lt;img alt="" height="269" width="269" src="/productimages/small/duck.jpg" style="border: 0pt none;" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
</description><link>http://bellaandboo.com/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=6633&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=196660&amp;ObjectType=56&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fbellaandboo.com%252f_blog%252fBella_and_Boo_Blog%252fpost%252fBeware_the_Rubber_Ducky!%252f</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://bellaandboo.com/_blog/Bella_and_Boo_Blog/post/Beware_the_Rubber_Ducky!/</guid><pubDate>Sat, 04 Jun 2011 19:41:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>What's Your Bag?</title><description>&lt;span style="font-family: calibri; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: small;"&gt;
&lt;p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="color: #0000ff;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 13px;" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;by Elle Fausel&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What&amp;rsquo;s Your Bag?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We used to say this, back in the day. &amp;ldquo;What&amp;rsquo;s your bag?&amp;rdquo; What we meant was, &amp;ldquo;What&amp;rsquo;s up with you?" (We were so cool in the 70s!).&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Thirty years later, we&amp;rsquo;re saying it again. &amp;ldquo;What&amp;rsquo;s your bag?&amp;rdquo; But now, we&amp;rsquo;re saying it and we are not smiling. Plastic bags. They are everywhere...tangled in trees, caught in bushes, and blowing across the park. They plug up sewers and saturate landfills.&amp;nbsp; Plastic bags do more than spoil the landscape. They kill. According to the Earth Resource Foundation, plastic bags have been found inside the bellies of ocean fish, sea turtles and other animals, across the globe. Plastic is harmful to produce &amp;ndash; mostly made of polyethylene - more commonly known as polythene.&amp;nbsp; Plastic bags are said to take up to 1,000 years to decompose on land and 450 years in water. What&amp;rsquo;s your bag?&amp;nbsp; Consider other options!&amp;nbsp;Many forward-thinking companies sell totes that are environmentally friendly.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Make an Eco-Friendly Lunch&lt;/strong&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Did you know there are also smart alternatives to plastic sandwich baggies that are not just good for the planet but economical too?&amp;nbsp; Reusable lunch gear is great for your family's budget. You can purchase a set of stainless steel lunch containers or washable fabric pouches and forever eliminate that 1,000 count box of sandwich baggies from your shopping list. Try Snack Taxis, reusable, washable, portable &amp;ldquo;bags&amp;rdquo; that work for smaller items like carrot sticks, grapes, nuts, chips, even fruit.&amp;nbsp; LunchBots are also great and come in several sizes and colors.&amp;nbsp;Search online. One small change can make a big difference.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;To summarize: &amp;nbsp;Tips for avoiding the &amp;ldquo;bag&amp;rdquo; and making an earth-friendly lunch.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Wrap food in a clean, cotton cloth (This works for grapes, nuts, and things that won&amp;rsquo;t dry out)&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Use a glass or metal container&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Utilize BPA-free containers (&lt;em&gt;Just Say No&lt;/em&gt; to harmful plastic)&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Purchase Snack Taxis and other people-made &lt;a href="http://bellaandboo.com/_catalog_77292/Gear" rel="nofollow"&gt;reusable lunch gear&lt;/a&gt;!&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;img alt="" width="255" height="255" style="border: 0pt;" src="/productimages/Lemonbag2.jpg" /&gt; &lt;span style="font-family: calibri; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: small;"&gt;
&lt;p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: tahoma; color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;
</description><link>http://bellaandboo.com/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=6633&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=194790&amp;ObjectType=56&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fbellaandboo.com%252f_blog%252fBella_and_Boo_Blog%252fpost%252fWhat's_Your_Bag%252f</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://bellaandboo.com/_blog/Bella_and_Boo_Blog/post/What's_Your_Bag/</guid><pubDate>Mon, 16 May 2011 17:31:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Chicago's Green Metropolis Fair</title><description>We're so excited to be headed to the Green Metropolis Fair in Chicago tomorrow at the Irish American Heritage Center (&lt;span class="contact-info"&gt;4626 N. Knox) &lt;/span&gt;and even more excited to be a sponsor of this wonderful event!&amp;nbsp; It will be a fabulous day with great food, fun activities for the family, film screenings, discussions on composting and CSAs and loads of eco-friendly vendors selling their wares.&amp;nbsp; Please stop by and say hello and do some green-minded shopping!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Here is a link to more info:&amp;nbsp; http://www.greenmetropolisfair.com/&lt;br /&gt;
</description><link>http://bellaandboo.com/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=6633&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=188739&amp;ObjectType=56&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fbellaandboo.com%252f_blog%252fBella_and_Boo_Blog%252fpost%252fChicago's_Green_Metropolis_Fair%252f</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://bellaandboo.com/_blog/Bella_and_Boo_Blog/post/Chicago's_Green_Metropolis_Fair/</guid><pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2011 20:08:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Holiday Open House</title><description>Bella &amp;amp; Boo, Milwaukee's eco-friendly family shop, is having a Holiday Open House this Friday, November 19 from 5-8 and YOU are invited!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
There will be special open house specials, prizes, organic wine
and chocolate, and plenty of Holiday cheer!  Stop by and shop our great
selection of wholesome children's toys, adorable organic baby basics,
children's clothing, fabulous books, eco-friendly gear, fair trade gifts for mom and more.  Here's a great opportunity to
see, touch and feel our products up close and find great gifts for the
people on your Holiday shopping list!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Hope you can join us.&amp;nbsp; Please RSVP Here: &lt;a href="http://www.facebook.com/#%21/event.php?eid=113970578664009" bedd1baf4d="true"&gt;http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=113970578664009&lt;/a&gt; or contact us at &lt;a href="mailto:info@bellaandboo.com"&gt;info@bellaandboo.com&lt;/a&gt; for more info.&amp;nbsp;
</description><link>http://bellaandboo.com/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=6633&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=167608&amp;ObjectType=56&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fbellaandboo.com%252f_blog%252fBella_and_Boo_Blog%252fpost%252fHoliday_Open_House%252f</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://bellaandboo.com/_blog/Bella_and_Boo_Blog/post/Holiday_Open_House/</guid><pubDate>Wed, 17 Nov 2010 12:51:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Shopping Ethically and Being an Enlightened Consumer</title><description>Pause for a moment and consider this:&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Every single purchase you make has either a direct or indirect impact on the environment, human welfare and animal welfare.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It's true.&amp;nbsp; One way to shop more ethically or to be a more conscious consumer is to ask yourself these questions before making a purchase:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Was the product grown locally or did it travel thousands of miles to get to me?&amp;nbsp; Who made this product?&amp;nbsp; Were they treated fairly and given a decent, livable wage?&amp;nbsp; What is the impact on the environment from the manufacturing of this product?&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I know, it's not one of the most pleasant topics of conversation but it is important to stop and think about how every purchase we make has an impact on someone, somewhere and most importantly, on the planet that our children will one day inherit.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
What are some ways you can be a more conscious consumer?&amp;nbsp; It's easier than you might think.&amp;nbsp; According to Shererazade Goldsmith, author of &lt;em&gt;A Slice of Organic Life&lt;/em&gt;, here are some simple ideas:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Buy Organic&lt;/strong&gt;.&amp;nbsp; Commercial farmers can legally use up to 450 different pesticides.&amp;nbsp; Pesticides might make your apples look beautiful and spotless but they can be detrimental to your health (not to mention the environment and wildlife).&amp;nbsp; Conventional cotton farming is responsible for 25% of the world's total pesticide use.&amp;nbsp; That is a sobering statistic.&amp;nbsp; Organic foods and organic cotton are safer, healthier and better for the environment.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Buy Local&lt;/strong&gt;.&amp;nbsp; Support your local economy and reduce the miles your food and products travel to reach you.&amp;nbsp; Eating bananas and kiwi in the middle of winter might seem pretty sweet, but consider the carbon footprint made from transporting those imported fruits to your supermarket.&amp;nbsp; Eating locally grown foods that are in season is healthier and also beneficial to the farmers in your community who depend on your purchases for their livelihood.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Buy Fair Trade&lt;/strong&gt;.&amp;nbsp; The term "Fair Trade" means that the product you purchase was made by someone who was paid a fair, livable wage.&amp;nbsp; Consider for a moment why that $6 t-shirt is selling for such a low price.&amp;nbsp; It probably cost pennies to manufacture and was made in a factory with poor working conditions and unfair labor practices.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Reduce Waste&lt;/strong&gt;.&amp;nbsp; One easy way to do this is to buy in bulk.&amp;nbsp; It is often more economical to buy items in bulk and it also requires less packaging--one big pack of something uses less packaging than two smaller packs of the same item.&amp;nbsp; Choose products made with recycled packaging, use your own bags when choosing your fruits and veggies at the grocery store (or buy them loose) and avoid using plastic baggies when packing your child's lunch.&amp;nbsp; There are so many reusable food containers on the market these days, there is really no excuse.&amp;nbsp; My personal favorite are &lt;span class="RadEWrongWord" id="RadESpellError_2"&gt;LunchBots&lt;/span&gt;.&amp;nbsp; You can check them out here:&amp;nbsp; &lt;a href="http://bellaandboo.com/_catalog_77292/Gear"&gt;&lt;span class="RadEWrongWord" id="RadESpellError_3"&gt;http&lt;/span&gt;://&lt;span class="RadEWrongWord" id="RadESpellError_4"&gt;bellaandboo&lt;/span&gt;.com/_catalog_77292/Gear&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Recycle&lt;/strong&gt;.&amp;nbsp; Donate unwanted clothing, books, toys and household items (and anything else, for that matter) to a thrift shop or church.&amp;nbsp; Reuse glass jars and empty containers for something else instead of tossing them out.&amp;nbsp; Consider compost--the ultimate type of recycling.&amp;nbsp; Use your food scraps and used paper products to create beneficial and nutrient-rich "liquid gold" plant food for your garden.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Reuse&lt;/strong&gt;.&amp;nbsp; Install a rain barrel to collect rainwater from your &lt;span class="RadEWrongWord" id="RadESpellError_5"&gt;downspouts&lt;/span&gt;.&amp;nbsp; You can use the rainwater to nourish your plants, backyard garden and fill your bird bath.&amp;nbsp; Rain barrels also save money because you use less water from the household tap.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
By pausing to consider how each purchase we make has an impact on the environment, on other people and animals, by making kind choices that benefit our local economy and by recycling and reusing our products, we are being more conscious consumers and ethical shoppers.&amp;nbsp; And it feels good too!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
There is a movement of &lt;em&gt;enlightened consumerism&lt;/em&gt; underway....will you join?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Peace and &lt;span class="RadEWrongWord" id="RadESpellError_6"&gt;Wellness&lt;/span&gt;,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kate&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class="RadEWrongWord" id="RadESpellError_7"&gt;bellaandboo&lt;/span&gt;.com&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;img alt="" width="250" height="245" src="/images/new logo.jpg" style="border: 0pt none;" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
</description><link>http://bellaandboo.com/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=6633&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=138809&amp;ObjectType=56&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fbellaandboo.com%252f_blog%252fBella_and_Boo_Blog%252fpost%252fShopping_Ethically_and_Being_a_Conscious_Consumer%252f</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://bellaandboo.com/_blog/Bella_and_Boo_Blog/post/Shopping_Ethically_and_Being_a_Conscious_Consumer/</guid><pubDate>Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:26:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>You Must Learn to Walk Before You Can Run</title><description>&lt;link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CELLABE%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List" /&gt;
&lt;link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CELLABE%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData" /&gt;
&lt;link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CELLABE%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping" /&gt;&lt;!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;&lt;xml&gt;
 &lt;w:WordDocument&gt;
  &lt;w:View&gt;Normal&lt;/w:View&gt;
  &lt;w:Zoom&gt;0&lt;/w:Zoom&gt;
  &lt;w:TrackMoves/&gt;
  &lt;w:TrackFormatting/&gt;
  &lt;w:PunctuationKerning/&gt;
  &lt;w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/&gt;
  &lt;w:SaveIfXMLInvalid&gt;false&lt;/w:SaveIfXMLInvalid&gt;
  &lt;w:IgnoreMixedContent&gt;false&lt;/w:IgnoreMixedContent&gt;
  &lt;w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText&gt;false&lt;/w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText&gt;
  &lt;w:DoNotPromoteQF/&gt;
  &lt;w:LidThemeOther&gt;EN-US&lt;/w:LidThemeOther&gt;
  &lt;w:LidThemeAsian&gt;X-NONE&lt;/w:LidThemeAsian&gt;
  &lt;w:LidThemeComplexScript&gt;X-NONE&lt;/w:LidThemeComplexScript&gt;
  &lt;w:Compatibility&gt;
   &lt;w:BreakWrappedTables/&gt;
   &lt;w:SnapToGridInCell/&gt;
   &lt;w:WrapTextWithPunct/&gt;
   &lt;w:UseAsianBreakRules/&gt;
   &lt;w:DontGrowAutofit/&gt;
   &lt;w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/&gt;
   &lt;w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/&gt;
   &lt;w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/&gt;
   &lt;w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/&gt;
   &lt;w:Word11KerningPairs/&gt;
   &lt;w:CachedColBalance/&gt;
  &lt;/w:Compatibility&gt;
  &lt;w:BrowserLevel&gt;MicrosoftInternetExplorer4&lt;/w:BrowserLevel&gt;
  &lt;m:mathPr&gt;
   &lt;m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/&gt;
   &lt;m:brkBin m:val="before"/&gt;
   &lt;m:brkBinSub m:val="&amp;#45;-"/&gt;
   &lt;m:smallFrac m:val="off"/&gt;
   &lt;m:dispDef/&gt;
   &lt;m:lMargin m:val="0"/&gt;
   &lt;m:rMargin m:val="0"/&gt;
   &lt;m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/&gt;
   &lt;m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/&gt;
   &lt;m:intLim m:val="subSup"/&gt;
   &lt;m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/&gt;
  &lt;/m:mathPr&gt;&lt;/w:WordDocument&gt;
&lt;/xml&gt;&lt;![endif]--&gt;&lt;!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;&lt;xml&gt;
 &lt;w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
  DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
  LatentStyleCount="267"&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/&gt;
 &lt;/w:LatentStyles&gt;
&lt;/xml&gt;&lt;![endif]--&gt;
&lt;style&gt;
    &lt;!--
 /* Font Definitions */
 @font-face
	{font-family:"Cambria Math";
	panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
	mso-font-charset:1;
	mso-generic-font-family:roman;
	mso-font-format:other;
	mso-font-pitch:variable;
	mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;}
@font-face
	{font-family:Calibri;
	panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;
	mso-font-charset:0;
	mso-generic-font-family:swiss;
	mso-font-pitch:variable;
	mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;}
 /* Style Definitions */
 p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
	{mso-style-unhide:no;
	mso-style-qformat:yes;
	mso-style-parent:"";
	margin-top:0in;
	margin-right:0in;
	margin-bottom:10.0pt;
	margin-left:0in;
	line-height:115%;
	mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
	font-size:11.0pt;
	font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
	mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
	mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
	mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
	mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
	mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
	mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
	mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
	mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
.MsoChpDefault
	{mso-style-type:export-only;
	mso-default-props:yes;
	mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
	mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
	mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
	mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
	mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
	mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
	mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
	mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
.MsoPapDefault
	{mso-style-type:export-only;
	margin-bottom:10.0pt;
	line-height:115%;}
@page Section1
	{size:8.5in 11.0in;
	margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;
	mso-header-margin:.5in;
	mso-footer-margin:.5in;
	mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
	{page:Section1;}
--&gt;
&lt;/style&gt;
&lt;!--[if gte mso 10]&gt;
&lt;style&gt;
 /* Style Definitions */
 table.MsoNormalTable
	{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
	mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
	mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
	mso-style-noshow:yes;
	mso-style-priority:99;
	mso-style-qformat:yes;
	mso-style-parent:"";
	mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
	mso-para-margin-top:0in;
	mso-para-margin-right:0in;
	mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
	mso-para-margin-left:0in;
	line-height:115%;
	mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
	font-size:11.0pt;
	font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
	mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
	mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
	mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
	mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
	mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
	mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
&lt;/style&gt;
&lt;![endif]--&gt;&lt;!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;&lt;xml&gt;
 &lt;o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026"/&gt;
&lt;/xml&gt;&lt;![endif]--&gt;&lt;!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;&lt;xml&gt;
 &lt;o:shapelayout v:ext="edit"&gt;
  &lt;o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1"/&gt;
 &lt;/o:shapelayout&gt;&lt;/xml&gt;&lt;![endif]--&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;calibri&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;After
30 days of eating a mostly vegan diet, I have realized that it is harder than
it seems to completely give up dairy products. Do you want to know the food
that I had the hardest time living without?&amp;nbsp; Cheese.&amp;nbsp; Not surprising
though, as I was born and raised in Wisconsin and have eaten cheese practically
on a weekly basis since childhood.&amp;nbsp; Ice cream was hard to give up, but in
the end, cheese was the first thing I caved on.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Here's what I decided:&amp;nbsp; I agree wholeheartedly about the numerous benefits
of a vegan diet.&amp;nbsp; I love the fact that as a vegan you are actually saving
lives by not consuming animal products.&amp;nbsp; I love the fact that by being
vegan you tread lighter on the earth and are living a more eco-friendly
existence.&amp;nbsp; I also love the fact that a vegan diet is super healthy and is
wonderful for your body, mind and spirit.&amp;nbsp; The most important thing that I
decided while on this journey though was that I would be kind to &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;me&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;,
and forgive myself if I gave in and indulged in an ice cream cone or a bite of
my husband's gooey macaroni-n-cheese.&amp;nbsp; I found it difficult to quit dairy
products cold-turkey and instead realize now that a smarter way of becoming
vegan is to ease into it.&amp;nbsp; I have 33 years of dairy product "programming"
that I am rebelling against!&amp;nbsp; This transition will take a little bit of
time.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
If you are considering going vegan, here is my advice: gradually adjust your
diet to eliminate animals products.&amp;nbsp; You will have a much higher success
rate than if you abruptly stop consuming them.&amp;nbsp; Changing a lifetime of
eating habits takes time, resolve and determination. Just as going vegetarian
was a huge lifestyle change for me many years ago, going vegan is a huge
lifestyle change too.&amp;nbsp; Be kind to yourself as you go on your vegan
journey. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
By the way, I do still feel A M A Z I N G and am eating about a 95% animal-free
diet.&amp;nbsp; I have more energy that ever before.&amp;nbsp; I feel lighter, happier
and even a little less foggy.&amp;nbsp; I've increased my whole grains, legumes,
vegetables and greens and have made a really conscious effort to stay away from
junk and processed foods ridden with chemicals.&amp;nbsp; My body is getting
stronger, healthier and I feel an fabulous overall sense of well-being.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Peace &amp;amp; Wellness,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kate &lt;br /&gt;
Bella &amp;amp; Boo&lt;br /&gt;
http://bellaandboo.com&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;img alt="" width="308" height="303" style="border: 0pt none;" src="/images/new logo.jpg" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;!--[endif]--&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
</description><link>http://bellaandboo.com/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=6633&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=138798&amp;ObjectType=56&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fbellaandboo.com%252f_blog%252fBella_and_Boo_Blog%252fpost%252fYou_Must_Learn_to_Walk_Before_You_Can_Run%252f</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://bellaandboo.com/_blog/Bella_and_Boo_Blog/post/You_Must_Learn_to_Walk_Before_You_Can_Run/</guid><pubDate>Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:26:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>The Kindest Thing You Can Do</title><description>&lt;img alt="" src="file:///C:/Users/ELLABE~1/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-8.png" /&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="file:///C:/Users/ELLABE~1/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-9.png" /&gt;
&lt;link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CELLABE%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" /&gt;
&lt;link rel="themeData" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CELLABE%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" /&gt;
&lt;link rel="colorSchemeMapping" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CELLABE%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" /&gt;&lt;!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;&lt;xml&gt;
 &lt;w:WordDocument&gt;
  &lt;w:View&gt;Normal&lt;/w:View&gt;
  &lt;w:Zoom&gt;0&lt;/w:Zoom&gt;
  &lt;w:TrackMoves/&gt;
  &lt;w:TrackFormatting/&gt;
  &lt;w:PunctuationKerning/&gt;
  &lt;w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/&gt;
  &lt;w:SaveIfXMLInvalid&gt;false&lt;/w:SaveIfXMLInvalid&gt;
  &lt;w:IgnoreMixedContent&gt;false&lt;/w:IgnoreMixedContent&gt;
  &lt;w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText&gt;false&lt;/w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText&gt;
  &lt;w:DoNotPromoteQF/&gt;
  &lt;w:LidThemeOther&gt;EN-US&lt;/w:LidThemeOther&gt;
  &lt;w:LidThemeAsian&gt;X-NONE&lt;/w:LidThemeAsian&gt;
  &lt;w:LidThemeComplexScript&gt;X-NONE&lt;/w:LidThemeComplexScript&gt;
  &lt;w:Compatibility&gt;
   &lt;w:BreakWrappedTables/&gt;
   &lt;w:SnapToGridInCell/&gt;
   &lt;w:WrapTextWithPunct/&gt;
   &lt;w:UseAsianBreakRules/&gt;
   &lt;w:DontGrowAutofit/&gt;
   &lt;w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/&gt;
   &lt;w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/&gt;
   &lt;w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/&gt;
   &lt;w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/&gt;
   &lt;w:Word11KerningPairs/&gt;
   &lt;w:CachedColBalance/&gt;
  &lt;/w:Compatibility&gt;
  &lt;m:mathPr&gt;
   &lt;m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/&gt;
   &lt;m:brkBin m:val="before"/&gt;
   &lt;m:brkBinSub m:val="&amp;#45;-"/&gt;
   &lt;m:smallFrac m:val="off"/&gt;
   &lt;m:dispDef/&gt;
   &lt;m:lMargin m:val="0"/&gt;
   &lt;m:rMargin m:val="0"/&gt;
   &lt;m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/&gt;
   &lt;m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/&gt;
   &lt;m:intLim m:val="subSup"/&gt;
   &lt;m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/&gt;
  &lt;/m:mathPr&gt;&lt;/w:WordDocument&gt;
&lt;/xml&gt;&lt;![endif]--&gt;&lt;!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;&lt;xml&gt;
 &lt;w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
  DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
  LatentStyleCount="267"&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/&gt;
  &lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/&gt;
 &lt;/w:LatentStyles&gt;
&lt;/xml&gt;&lt;![endif]--&gt;
&lt;style&gt;
    &lt;!--
 /* Font Definitions */
 @font-face
	{font-family:"Cambria Math";
	panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
	mso-font-charset:1;
	mso-generic-font-family:roman;
	mso-font-format:other;
	mso-font-pitch:variable;
	mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;}
@font-face
	{font-family:Calibri;
	panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;
	mso-font-charset:0;
	mso-generic-font-family:swiss;
	mso-font-pitch:variable;
	mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;}
 /* Style Definitions */
 p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
	{mso-style-unhide:no;
	mso-style-qformat:yes;
	mso-style-parent:"";
	margin-top:0in;
	margin-right:0in;
	margin-bottom:10.0pt;
	margin-left:0in;
	line-height:115%;
	mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
	font-size:11.0pt;
	font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
	mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
	mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
	mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
	mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
	mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
	mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
	mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
	mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
.MsoChpDefault
	{mso-style-type:export-only;
	mso-default-props:yes;
	mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
	mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
	mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
	mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
	mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
	mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
	mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
	mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
.MsoPapDefault
	{mso-style-type:export-only;
	margin-bottom:10.0pt;
	line-height:115%;}
@page Section1
	{size:8.5in 11.0in;
	margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;
	mso-header-margin:.5in;
	mso-footer-margin:.5in;
	mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
	{page:Section1;}
--&gt;
&lt;/style&gt;
&lt;!--[if gte mso 10]&gt;
&lt;style&gt;
 /* Style Definitions */
 table.MsoNormalTable
	{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
	mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
	mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
	mso-style-noshow:yes;
	mso-style-priority:99;
	mso-style-qformat:yes;
	mso-style-parent:"";
	mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
	mso-para-margin-top:0in;
	mso-para-margin-right:0in;
	mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
	mso-para-margin-left:0in;
	line-height:115%;
	mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
	font-size:11.0pt;
	font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
	mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
	mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
	mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
	mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
	mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
	mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
&lt;/style&gt;
&lt;![endif]--&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;I
just finished reading The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone and I am
INSPIRED!&amp;nbsp; This book opened my eyes to the evils of the dairy and meat
industries and explained the health benefits of eating a meat-free and
dairy-free diet.&amp;nbsp; Backed by doctors and scientific studies, adopting a
vegan lifestyle is not only great for your body and mind, it has wonderful
benefits for the planet as well.&amp;nbsp; Did you know that (aside from being
cruel) factory farming is one of the most polluting industries in the world? Whether
you are an environmentalist, caring conservationist or just a regular person
looking to make a difference in the world, going vegan is one easy thing we can
all do to make a positive impact on our planet. How fabulous is that?&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I decided to give it a try a few weeks ago and am thrilled to say it is easier
than I thought it would be.&amp;nbsp; It's been 2 weeks since I became vegan and I
feel fantastic!&amp;nbsp; My skin cleared up, I shed those last few pounds that
have been hanging around since the birth of my youngest child and I feel
absolutely amazing.&amp;nbsp; Best of all, I feel really great knowing that I am
making a difference in the world.&amp;nbsp; Aside from the huge personal benefits
of living a vegan lifestyle, think of all the lives I'll save this year by not
eating meat and dairy!&amp;nbsp; Check out The Kind Diet.&amp;nbsp; It's filled with
great healthy recipes and a step by step plan on how to transition to a vegan
diet.&amp;nbsp; If I can do it, anyone can.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I feel A M A Z I N G.&amp;nbsp; You can too!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Peace,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kate&lt;br /&gt;
bellaandboo.com&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;img alt="" src="file:///C:/Users/ELLABE~1/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-10.png" /&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/book.jpg" style="border: 0pt none;" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;img alt="" width="278" height="274" src="/images/new logo.jpg" style="border: 0pt none;" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
</description><link>http://bellaandboo.com/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=6633&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=126535&amp;ObjectType=56&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fbellaandboo.com%252f_blog%252fBella_and_Boo_Blog%252fpost%252fThe_Kindest_Thing_You_Can_Do%252f</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://bellaandboo.com/_blog/Bella_and_Boo_Blog/post/The_Kindest_Thing_You_Can_Do/</guid><pubDate>Sun, 02 May 2010 11:41:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>3 Easy Ways to Live Greener</title><description>&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 18px;"&gt;1.&lt;/span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;span style="font-size: 18px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Use a Stainless Steel Reusable Bottle&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt; instead of buying single use cans, bottles and throw away drinks.&amp;nbsp; There are many kinds of reusable bottles on the market today. Tin is weak and will dent and scratch easily.&amp;nbsp; If you want a long lasting, safe and strong reusable bottle, get one made with 18/8 food grade stainless steel.&amp;nbsp; Klean Kanteen is a great brand that pioneered the whole "reusable bottle" idea and makes there's only with 18/8 stainless steel.&amp;nbsp; Bella &amp;amp; Boo carries a variety of sizes of them from toddler sippy cups to large 40oz bottles.&amp;nbsp; You can view them in our Gear section here:&amp;nbsp; &lt;a href="http://"&gt;http://bellaandboo.businesscatalyst.com/_catalog_77292/Gear&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;img alt="" width="85" height="188" src="../productimages/27ozblue.jpg" style="border: 0pt none;" /&gt;&lt;img alt="" width="94" height="210" src="/productimages/40ozblack.jpg" style="border: 0pt none;" /&gt;&lt;img alt="" width="102" height="182" src="/productimages/KKSippy.jpg" style="border: 0pt none;" /&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="file:///C:/Users/ELLABE~1/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-5.png" /&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="file:///C:/Users/ELLABE~1/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-6.png" /&gt;&lt;img alt="" width="102" height="183" src="../productimages/kksippyblue.jpg" style="border: 0pt none;" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 18px;"&gt;2.&lt;/span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;span style="font-size: 18px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Use Reusable Bags When Shopping&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/span&gt;and save a tree and help the earth.&amp;nbsp; Forget paper bags or polluting plastic bags that the store may provide, bring your own and save a few more pounds of trash from ending up in a landfill.&amp;nbsp; Envirosax is a company that makes stylish reusable bags for kids and adults.&amp;nbsp; Why not use a reusable bag for that next trip to the library or grandma's house?&amp;nbsp; Check out Bella &amp;amp; Boo's collection of cute reusable bags in our Gear section here:&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://"&gt;http://bellaandboo.businesscatalyst.com/_catalog_77292/Gear&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;img alt="" width="119" height="119" src="/productimages/dogbag1.jpg" style="border: 0pt none;" /&gt;&lt;img alt="" width="129" height="129" src="/productimages/flowerpower.jpg" style="border: 0pt none;" /&gt;&lt;img alt="" width="125" height="125" src="/productimages/bohembag1.jpg" style="border: 0pt none;" /&gt;&lt;img alt="" width="129" height="129" src="/productimages/bohembag3.jpg" style="border: 0pt none;" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 18px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3.&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 18px;"&gt;Pack Lunches with Safe, Reusable Stainless Steel Containers&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; like those from LunchBots. Skip the plastic baggies, which don't biodegrade in landfills, and send your kids to school with a fun reusable container that you know is safe and good for them.&amp;nbsp; Made from food grade stainless steel and washes easily in the top shelf of your dishwasher.&amp;nbsp; Bella &amp;amp; Boo carries a variety of sizes from our smallest "Pico" toddler snack size to our largest "Eco" size.&amp;nbsp; By packing food in reusable containers you are doing the planet some good (and saving some money as well--bye bye baggies!).&amp;nbsp; See Bella &amp;amp; Boo's reusable lunch containers here:&amp;nbsp; &lt;a href="http://"&gt;http://bellaandboo.businesscatalyst.com/_catalog_77292/Gear&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;img alt="" width="250" height="180" src="/productimages/Uno 3.jpg" style="border: 0pt none;" /&gt;&lt;img alt="" width="270" height="182" src="/productimages/eco05-large.jpg" style="border: 0pt none;" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Here's to making more healthy and eco-friendly choices in the New Year! Drop us a line at Bella &amp;amp; Boo or enter your comments below and tell us what you're doing to be more green.&amp;nbsp; &lt;a href="http://"&gt;http://bellaandboo.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Peace and Wellness, &lt;br /&gt;
Kate &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;img alt="" width="196" height="192" src="/productimages/logo.jpg" style="border: 0pt none;" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;bellaandboo.com&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
</description><link>http://bellaandboo.com/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=6633&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=115228&amp;ObjectType=56&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fbellaandboo.com%252f_blog%252fBella_and_Boo_Blog%252fpost%252fNatural_Tips_for_New_Babies%252f</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://bellaandboo.com/_blog/Bella_and_Boo_Blog/post/Natural_Tips_for_New_Babies/</guid><pubDate>Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:26:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>"Bella &amp; Boo Mobile" Makes Debut</title><description>Yes, we have officially done it.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
We've taken the minivan and had some wonderful graphics of the Bella &amp;amp; Boo logo and company info installed on it by a locally-owned franchise of FASTSIGNS in Glendale.&amp;nbsp; This FASTSIGNS shop has been owned and operated by Robert Schmit for the last 19 years.&amp;nbsp; Robb prides himself in his company's top notch customer service, and boy did he come through for us.&amp;nbsp; His professionalism, kindness and sincerity is unmatched.&amp;nbsp; Working with staff member Becky Wells from start to finish on our project was a complete joy.&amp;nbsp; Becky was very friendly and courteous but most of all, she knows her stuff!&amp;nbsp; She walked us through the ins and outs of the design process, answered a zillion questions from me and always had a smile.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A big thank you to Robb and Becky who made our vehicle graphics purchase a truly wonderful experience. If any of you Bella &amp;amp; Boo fans or Blog readers are in need of car graphics, window decals, signs, cards and just about anything else in the realm of signage, please give them a call at (414) 963-4980 or email them at 88@fastsigns.com. They are located at 5318 N. Port Washington Road in Glendale.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;img alt="" src="/images/Fastsigns picture.jpg" style="border: 0pt none;" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
And if you see the Bella &amp;amp; Boo Mobile out on the town, give us a wave!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
All the Best, &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kate&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="" height="266" width="269" src="/images/new logo.jpg" style="border: 0pt none;" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
</description><link>http://bellaandboo.com/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=6633&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=114290&amp;ObjectType=56&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fbellaandboo.com%252f_blog%252fBella_and_Boo_Blog%252fpost%252fBella_Boo_Mobile_Makes_Debut%252f</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://bellaandboo.com/_blog/Bella_and_Boo_Blog/post/Bella_Boo_Mobile_Makes_Debut/</guid><pubDate>Mon, 03 May 2010 14:36:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful...</title><description>...but here at Bella &amp;amp; Boo things are so delightful!&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I have several new products to tell you about that will keep your little ones warm and toasty on these cold January days.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I've partnered with a great company called Midori Bamboo who makes the most beautiful and luxuriously soft bamboo blankets with satin trim.&amp;nbsp; These are the SOFTEST and sweetest blankets I have ever touched.&amp;nbsp; They have quickly become a favorite in our family.&amp;nbsp; Who knew Bamboo could be so incredibly soft? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;img alt="" src="/productimages/ReceivingBlanketsAll_New.jpg" style="border: 0pt none;" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Just in time for those cold winter days are these wonderful infant gowns by Kate Quinn.&amp;nbsp; They have the cutest handmitts sewn in to protect baby and keep her little hands warm.&amp;nbsp; These 100% organic cotton gowns make diaper changing a snap (and we know how many diapers one can go through during those first few months!).&amp;nbsp; Available in the brightest and coolest colors, you can shop with confidence knowing that you are getting a top quality product that is pure and safe for your family.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;img alt="" src="/productimages/snugglesack3_New.jpg" style="border: 0pt none;" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Another new product we're carrying is organic denim jeans for older babies, sizes 12-18 mo and 18-24 mo.&amp;nbsp; These jeans are eco-friendly, hypoallergenic and great for sensitive skin because they are made from 50% bamboo and 50% organic cotton, by Midori Bamboo.&amp;nbsp; We are also carrying bibs from Midori in our Gear section that come in three different colors.&amp;nbsp; These bibs are super soft and machine washable.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;img alt="" src="/productimages/jeans.jpg" style="border: 0pt none;" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Here at Bella &amp;amp; Boo our heart goes out to those in Haiti who are dealing with the aftermath of the earthquake that hit the region earlier this week. 5% of every sale in January will be donated to the Red Cross to provide humanitarian relief to those in need.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Peace,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kate&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
bellaandboo.com&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="/productimages/logo.jpg" style="border: 0pt none;" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
</description><link>http://bellaandboo.com/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=6633&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=113282&amp;ObjectType=56&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fbellaandboo.com%252f_blog%252fBella_and_Boo_Blog%252fpost%252fOh_the_weather_outside_is_frightful%252f</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://bellaandboo.com/_blog/Bella_and_Boo_Blog/post/Oh_the_weather_outside_is_frightful/</guid><pubDate>Fri, 30 Apr 2010 21:00:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Happy New Year from Bella &amp; Boo</title><description>&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;"&gt;The thermometer outside my window reads 2 degrees!&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2010 has sure come in with a bang.&amp;nbsp; Here at Bella &amp;amp; Boo we have the perfect blanket to keep your little one toasty warm this winter.&amp;nbsp; We carry a super soft organic fleece blanket with a silk ruffle trim from a company called Robbie Adrian.&amp;nbsp; These blankets are not only beautiful, they are perfect for snuggling up with your baby or toddler while rocking, reading a story or tucking them in bed. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
One of the reasons I decided to carry these blankets in my shop, besides the fact that the organic fleece they use is high quality and made in the USA, is because of the gorgeous silk ruffle trim that each blanket has. I remember when I was a little girl, my favorite blanket of all time was one with white satin trim, because I loved to rub the soft satin between my fingers. It was soothing and comforting to me. I think many children love the feel of soft fabric or satin between their fingers.&amp;nbsp; With these gorgeous blankets, instead of polyester "satin," the ruffle trim is 100% SILK.&amp;nbsp; What could be better than that?&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The funny thing is I see the same "blankie love" in my own children.&amp;nbsp; My 2 year old has a favorite blanket that she insists on sleeping on top of each night (but leaving a corner untucked so that she can hold it between her fingers).&amp;nbsp; My six year old still has her favorite blanket with the satin trim that she too sleeps with every night. (shhhhh...she'd kill me if she knew this got out).&amp;nbsp; ;)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Our Organic Fleece &amp;amp; Silk Blankets come in two sizes and are in stock and ready to ship today:&amp;nbsp; a large 31"x37" size and a small 10"x12" "lovie" size.&amp;nbsp; You can seem them both at http://bellaandboo.com/_catalog_77367/Bedding&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="file:///C:/Users/DEFAUL~1.000/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-1.png" /&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="/productimages/robbieadrianblanket2.jpg" style="border: 0pt none;" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;"&gt;From all of us at Bella &amp;amp; Boo, Wishing you a Happy New Year filled with love, peace and happiness.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Stay Warm!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kate&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
www.bellaandboo.com&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;img alt="" style="border: 0pt none;" src="/logo.jpg" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
</description><link>http://bellaandboo.com/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=6633&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=110635&amp;ObjectType=56&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fbellaandboo.com%252f_blog%252fBella_and_Boo_Blog%252fpost%252fHappy_New_Year_from_Bella_Boo%252f</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://bellaandboo.com/_blog/Bella_and_Boo_Blog/post/Happy_New_Year_from_Bella_Boo/</guid><pubDate>Fri, 30 Apr 2010 21:00:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Bella &amp; Boo Adds Exciting New Products!</title><description>&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;img alt="" style="border: 0pt none;" src="../images/067sept09.jpg" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;I am so excited to tell you about some new products that we added today! They are the cutest soft soled baby shoes from a company called Isabooties and come in many adorable styles for girls and boys sizes 3 months to 18 months. The best part about these baby shoes is that they are 100% cruelty-free and animal-free! They are made from super soft breathable Ultrasuede&amp;reg; fabric with durable Toughtek&amp;reg; soles that are non-slip, similar to others on the market that you may have seen. These baby shoes are the best of the best though because they are eco-friendly, pediatrician recommended and machine washable.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Pair them with a soft organic fleece and silk blanket from Bella &amp;amp; Boo and you have one very lovely baby gift!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="file:///C:/Users/ELLABE~1/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-3.png" /&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="file:///C:/Users/ELLABE~1/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-4.png" /&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="/productimages/anchors_away_415_New.jpg" style="border: 0pt none;" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
See them for yourself by copying and pasting this link into your browser:&lt;br /&gt;
http://www.bellaandboo.com/_catalog_77284/Clothing &lt;br /&gt;
(and scroll down to the bottom)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As always, we are always on the lookout for high quality, natural and safe products for your little ones and will send periodic announcements when new products are added.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
May the New Year bring peace, much happiness, kindness and goodwill for all in our world.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kate&lt;br /&gt;
bellaandboo.com&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
</description><link>http://bellaandboo.com/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=6633&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=110113&amp;ObjectType=56&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fbellaandboo.com%252f_blog%252fBella_and_Boo_Blog%252fpost%252fExciting_New_Products_Added_Today!%252f</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://bellaandboo.com/_blog/Bella_and_Boo_Blog/post/Exciting_New_Products_Added_Today!/</guid><pubDate>Fri, 30 Apr 2010 21:00:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Welcome to Bella &amp; Boo!</title><description>&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/067sept09.jpg" style="border: 0pt none;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
Hello!&amp;nbsp; I am very excited to announce the opening of my new shop, Bella
&amp;amp; Boo!&amp;nbsp; I have put together a great selection of eco-friendly,
natural and organic products for you and your family.&amp;nbsp; I am passionate
about providing you with pure and natural products for your children
that are free of harmful chemicals, plastics or dyes. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
My daughter Ella was the inspiration behind this endeavor.&amp;nbsp; As a baby
with sensitive skin, we found that she would break out in rashes when
wearing conventional baby clothing.&amp;nbsp; After tons of research and months
later, I discovered that she was reacting to the chemicals in the
clothing she was wearing.&amp;nbsp; After making the switch to organic cotton
clothing, her rashes disappeared within days.&amp;nbsp; At that point, my family
made a fundamental decision to change the way we live, scrutinize the
products we buy more carefully and become more informed about the clothing
and toys we purchase for our children.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
You will not find any plastic toys or cheap mass-produced products sold
here.&amp;nbsp; Bella &amp;amp; Boo only works with manufacturers who share our
vision for a cleaner, safer more natural world and who make products
that are safe, pure and good for children.&amp;nbsp; What you will find
are clothes that are colorful and fun, yet organic, completely safe
and non-toxic.&amp;nbsp; Bella &amp;amp; Boo also carries soft organic plush toys,
old fashioned eco-friendly wooden toys, luxurious organic blankets, as well as reusable gear like stainless steel water bottles,
reusable lunch containers and earth-friendly items for the whole family.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
We are thrilled to
be able to provide you with high quality, pure, natural and organic
products for you and your family.&amp;nbsp; Check us out, drop us a line, tell us what you think!&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kate&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
bellaandboo.com&lt;br /&gt;
</description><link>http://bellaandboo.com/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=6633&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=103051&amp;ObjectType=56&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fbellaandboo.com%252f_blog%252fBella_and_Boo_Blog%252fpost%252fWelcome_to_Bella_Boo!%252f</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://bellaandboo.com/_blog/Bella_and_Boo_Blog/post/Welcome_to_Bella_Boo!/</guid><pubDate>Fri, 30 Apr 2010 21:00:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Blog</title><description>This item has no description. Follow link to view item.</description><link>http://bellaandboo.com/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=6633&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=3765836&amp;ObjectType=1&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fbellaandboo.com%252f%252fblog</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://bellaandboo.com//blog</guid><pubDate>Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:47:00 GMT</pubDate></item></channel></rss>
