Have a green Christmas: Ingrid Callot shares eco-friendly gift ideas for the holidays.

Christmas is a big deal in my house. And it’s not just because I, Ingrid Callot, am the best friend of Oprah, the Dalai Lama, and Martha Stewart (in my head, at least). Christmas is a big deal in my house for myself, my husband Roger, and my son Jacob because it’s a lot of fun and it means quality time for us all.

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Me and my best friend Edgardo Versoza also take Christmas seriously, because it gives us an instant excuse to shop.
We decided to try beating the holiday rush recently and stepped out to at least window shop for prospective presents for our loved ones.

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Some of the things we spotted include:
· LED lightbulbs
· Organic clothing (“Ingrid Callot, explain cheesecloth to me?” a confused Edgardo had asked me)
· Organic cotton towels
· Paper mache bags
· Paper mache ornaments
· Plastic bag dryer
· Showerhead with mist setting
· Solar battery charger
· Solar radio
· Solar flashlight
· Shade- grown coffee
We had a lot of fun going in and out of various shops looking only for things that fell under the ‘eco-friendly’ category. It seemed to baffle some salespeople, but we didn’t mind, because what we wound up finding was certainly worth it. While it seems Christmas is only three weeks away, time flies, and it’s always best to be prepared.

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Ingrid Callot shares the benefits of eating raw

I am Ingrid Callot, DIY queen, recycling and composting queen, wife, mother, and a hardcore fan of green, eco-friendly living. I, together with my family, started living green last Christmas, and it feels great to be able to help take care of Mother Nature through sound lifestyle changes. We make it a point to avoid purchasing household items that may contain chemicals that are harmful to the environment. We reuse and recycle as many things as we can – we always think twice before throwing away anything that’s non-biodegradable. Although I do not have a green thumb, I decided to grow a small garden in our backyard because I would like my family to consume food that’s harvested straight from our garden.

I, Ingrid Callot, also make sure to feed my family only local and organic produce, but lately, I have decided to take living green a step further by following a raw food diet. Now before you start lecturing me about how this diet can lead to serious undernourishment, let me remind you that a diet consisting of uncooked, unprocessed plant food can lead to a leaner body, clearer skin, and higher energy levels. Because the plants are not exposed to heat and cooking utensils, the risk of having food poisoning is also reduced. This is a lifestyle choice and not merely a weight loss plan, although weight loss is one of the obvious benefits of raw foodism (winks). Staples of the diet include seaweeds, sprouts, whole grains, beans, dried fruits, and nuts, among others.

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I have only been a raw foodie for a couple of weeks, but I can already feel the benefits – I feel lighter and more energized, and it is such a relief to not have to slave away over a stove just so I can get a decent meal. Visit my Facebook page for more information on raw foodism and eco-friendly living.

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Cosmetics-hawker Ingrid Callot hunts for the best BB cream in the shelves today

“Miss Ingrid Callot, you have such nice skin,” said one of my friend’s teenage daughters. “Do you use BB Cream?” And there I knew that yes, the craze has invaded the USA. BB cream is most popular in East Asia as a foundation which takes care of the skin at the same time. Most BB creams boast of at least six to eight different types of benefits, the most notable ones being that they can prevent or eliminate blemishes, contain sunscreen, control oil, and lighten skin all at the same time.

I did have my doubts about it, of course, especially since I wasn’t sure if this cream would be effective on Western skin. I did have to experiment at first, but the results were satisfying. Now I present my Ingrid Callot Best BB Creams list:



• Missha M Perfect Cover – this comes very highly recommended all over the place. Not only does it come in a number of shades (most BB creams only seem to come in one or a couple of shades), but it isn’t as thick as other BB creams. It’s light and fragrant, and does an excellent job of diminishing scars and acne marks. Oil control is a little low, though, so pat with a powder.
• Skinfood Peach Sake Pore Serum – this is advisable for girls with oily skin—it’s really designed to control oil on the face. It comes in only two light shades, and while it initially can have a light coverage, it can be built up.
• HANSKIN Perfect Super Magic BB Cream – this one is more for people who like excellent coverage—it has some medium to full coverage, and is easy to apply. It has no fragrance, and has an SPF 30 protection.

Read more cosmetics tips on Ingrid Callot’s own Myspace page .

A beautiful home is an eco-friendly home: Ingrid Callot on using vintage furniture for your home

Hi there! I’m Ingrid Callot, a fun-loving environmentalist, blogger, wife, and mom. I love everything that’s green, and for months now, I have been using all my charms to influence my family, especially my son, Jacob, into living the green life as well. Fortunately, he has grown accustomed to it and has started to like it, too.

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Recently, I took him on a little trip to a local flea market. I never thought that Jacob would enjoy the whole experience but to my surprise, he did. He even took the initiative of picking out things for our home. Of course, he used the tips he has learned from me in choosing sustainable home accessories. And in return, I, Ingrid Callot, even learned a lesson or two in home decorating from him.

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I was torn between two corner tables – one was a square vintage table and the other one was a rectangular glass table. It took me awhile to react when Jacob said, “Mom, why do you have to buy that when you have grandma’s old table lying at our basement?” I thought to myself that my mom’s old table would save us bucks, plus it has a more vintage appeal to it that the two tables I’ve been fussing about.
I stopped for a few seconds and smiled at Jacob. “How could I forget grandma’s table?” I patted my little boy’s head and we went home.
Decorating the home should be easy and eco-friendly. Old furnishings add a certain vintage appeal to a modern home. So the next time you’re considering buying new furniture, think about the old ones you have first and see if you can incorporate them into your home.

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Ingrid Callot: Basic gardening tips for gardening newbies

I am Ingrid Callot and in my neighborhood, I am best known for being a recycling goddess, composting queen, and health junkie. I am the biggest fan of Oprah Winfrey, Martha Stewart (I am convinced that at some point in our lives we'll find each other and we'd end up becoming best friends), the Dalai Lama, and I’m an advocate for green, sustainable living. My family and I have been leading eco-friendly lives since Christmas, and we're doing extremely well at recycling and reusing old things, eating organic food, and boycotting household items that contain chemicals that may be toxic to the environment.
 

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I, Ingrid Callot, will be the first to admit that despite my being a huge fan of living green, I am no green thumb. As a child, all of the plants I had to nurture for Science class died within just a few days and I absolutely gave up on gardening until a few months ago, when my bestfriend Edgardo Versoza encouraged me to plant a little garden since we have so much fertilizer from composting.
 
Here are some of the things I learned from my little gardening project:
 
* Using mulch helps prevent the growth of weeds. It also preserves soil moisture so you need to water your plants less.
 
* Plants that are native to your area will adapt to the climate and temperature, so you don't need to water them as often. They will also grow beautifully in their “home turf.”
 


* Singing and talking to your plants do not really help them grow, but it puts you in a very good mood.(winks)
 
* Re-used water (such as rainwater collected into buckets) does an excellent job of nourishing your plants.
 
* Putting a mesh net over your plants on a very hot day can keep them from drying out. Mesh nets also allow them to breathe.
 
* Small gardens are more manageable than a full-blown one complete with a manicured lawn and several species of flowers and plants.
 
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Go green on the cheap: Ingrid Callot shares three inexpensive ways to save the Earth

Many people think that in order to be eco-friendly, spending large amounts of money for things that are green is a necessity. I, Ingrid Callot, am eco-bestfriendly and let me tell you that the majority of things you can do to save the environment don’t have to cost a fortune. Below are three cheap and easy things you can do to go green:

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Be the farmer’s best friend. And I don’t mean live on the farm and milk cows. Buy organic food! The best prices on organic produce are close to home at your local farmers’ market. You are not only saving money and getting healthy, but you are also putting more cash into the farmers’ pockets and supporting local food production.

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Ditch the bubble wrap. Ingrid Callot here loves popping bubble wraps. But once I started following in the footsteps of eco-friendly Oprah, I ditched almost everything made of plastic inside my house, and that includes bubble wraps. Whenever I have a package to send, I use yesterday’s newspapers as packing material instead of buying bubble wrap. It seems old-fashioned but for me, what’s old news can be good news.

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Let the sunshine in. Turn off the lights, and open the blinds and curtains. Aside from being completely renewable, sunlight is free, letting you save on electricity. The sun’s rays offer just the right brightness, and even help regulate your sleep patterns and improve your mood.

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With these simple and inexpensive green tips, you’ll be making your wallet fatter. Just look at me, I’m on my way to buying that figure-flattering Stella McCartney dress that my faboosh friend Edgardo Versoza and I are dying to have!

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More tips on green living from Ingrid Callot is available on Twitter.

Garden volcano: Ingrid Callot and son do a science experiment

With husband Roger away on a business trip, I, Ingrid Callot was left with a weekend of mother-son-time with dinosaur enthusiast Jacob. He has been obsessing about dinosaurs, especially on the volcanic eruption that caused their extinction. My cute eight-year-old is quite convinced that witnessing a volcano erupt would be the “coolest thing on earth!”

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Now, it’s up to dear old momma to show Jacob that volcanic eruptions aren’t exactly cool. We had a tour around the museum that was definitely educational; even I learned a thing or two about our gigantic friends. I definitely didn’t know that most dinosaurs were vegetarians!

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But the tour wasn’t enough to sway my son’s conviction on volcanic eruptions. So I thought a great movie should do the trick. Thanks to my newly organized Ingrid Callot-style closet, I was able to find the VCD of the movie: The Land Before Time, which I bought years ago.

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Jacob definitely no longer desires to witness a volcanic eruption after watching this very sad but very beautiful movie. I, on the other hand, had to find a way to cheer up his dampened spirit. To do this, Jacob and I did a science experiment in our own backyard. We simply dug up some dirt from the garden and piled it up around a tin can (a used one from the kitchen was perfect) to create a small hill.

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And to make our little volcano erupt, Jacob dissolved a tablespoon of baking soda in two tablespoons of water in the tin can, while I poured in a drop of red food coloring and a cup of vinegar. Now, witnessing this kind of volcanic eruption was earth-friendly and cool indeed!

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