St. Patrick’s Day may be over, but it seems like everyone around me is still going green – environmentally green, that is.

I’ve always been concerned with historical preservation, an interest I carry over to many of my handbags. So, it seems natural for me to find ways to preserve the environment as well. With Spring Break and summer travel on the horizon, I’ve been looking for ways to make my trips a bit greener.

Planet Green has some excellent ideas for making Spring Break and summer travel green and easy. With a little bit of planning, you can reduce the environmental impact of your vacation by packing less, using green products, renting a greener hybrid car and eating locally grown foods.

If you are planning a fairly traditional spring break or summer vacation, you can do your part and buy green sunscreen, green clothing, green tents and even organic cocktails. If you are traveling, try choosing a green city such as New York or San Francisco that offers environmentally friendly entertainment.

A trip to San Francisco can include using public transportation, eating organic and vegan foods and visiting state and national parks.

Like San Francisco, New York offers public transportation and green restaurants. It also has several certified environmentally hotels, including the Benjamin that was renovated and Ecotel certified in 1999.

Many other U.S. cities, including Denver, Dallas, Fort Meyers, Detroit and Philadelphia have environmentally sound offerings for residents and tourists who want to have some fun while staying green.

If you want to take it a step farther – or greener, as the case may be – you could join a growing group of people who are planning alternative Spring Breaks and summer vacations during which they volunteer either at home or abroad rather than consuming and polluting.

Depending on your time and your pocketbook, a green vacation could be volunteering at your local food bank, building homes for Habitat for Humanity, painting houses on a Navajo reservation or planting trees in Mexico.

I’m still in the planning and dreaming stages, but wherever I go on my next vacation I want it to be green.

I’ve been reading a bit more about the best Irish pubs in America since it’s getting so close to St. Patrick’s Day! I‘ve read about a lot of really great-sounding pubs this week and I‘m sure all of them will be having special events for St. Patty‘s Day!

This year, Kell’s Irish Pub in Portland, Oregon is putting on a 4-day Irish Festival in honor of St. Patty’s Day. Kell’s is going all out with music, dancers, and traditional Irish food. Kell’s regular pub menu features a taste of Ireland, including Shepherd’s pie, fish and chips and Guinness.

If you happen to be in Atlanta, Georgia over St. Patrick’s Day, be sure to check out the St. Patty’s Day block party at Limerick Junction. For Irishmen at heart, this Irish pub offers year-round Irish charm with a selection of beer and lager, “pub grub” and Irish entertainment.

Cat’s Eye Pub in Baltimore, Maryland, is another truly authentic Irish pub in America. Located in the historical Fell’s Point area of Baltimore, this pub’s been sharing the luck of the Irish with Irishmen of all nationalities for more than 30 years. From the sounds of it Cat’s Eye is the best party in Baltimore whether it’s St. Patrick’s Day or not.

And, leave it to the Irish to create a true neighborhood pub smack in the middle of a coastal tourist town. The Poet and the Patriot opened in Santa Cruz, CA in 1982 and has been spreading Irish cheer ever since. Owner Chris Matthews makes an effort to educate his customers about the history of his beloved Ireland while pouring glasses of Guinness, Murphy’s and Smithwick.

I know I can’t visit all these pubs this St. Patty’s Day, but it sure would be fun to try. If you manage to pop into one of these or another great Irish pub this St. Patty’s Day, post a comment and let me know where you went and what you thought of it.

Since St. Patty’s Day is this month I thought I’d get together a list of some of the best pubs in America so we can all celebrate!

When thinking about the Irish in America, what better place to start out than Boston, with a pub on every corner and a leprechaun on its basketball team’s logo? It’s certainly hard to choose, but I’ve been told the best of the best in Boston is Doyle’s Café on Washington street. Doyle’s has hosted local Irish politicians for more than a century.

New York City is another bastion of Irish heritage. In a city the size of New York it may take more than one pub. Stop in at Paddy Reilly’s Music on the weekend for some Celtic rock and a pint of Guinness. If you’re looking to celebrate amidst a bit of history, check out McSorley’s Old Ale House, which just celebrated it’s 155^th birthday. New York City hosts annual St. Patrick’s Day pub crawl, so if you’re in the city for St. Patty’s day be sure to check it out!

In Chicago, where everyone is Irish on March 17, Emmitt’s Irish Pub and Eatery is the place to see and be seen. Featured in movies including ‘Backdraft’, ‘Uncle Buck’, ‘Ocean’s 11’ and ‘Ocean’s 12.’ Emmitt’s has overcome it’s location’s sordid past to become the most popular Irish pub in the windy city.

And Irish pubs aren’t a commodity limited to the East Coast. The Dubliner in San Francisco is a good old fashioned pub with friendly barkeeps and good Irish coffee and ale. It’s also one of the few places in the Bay Area that sells the West Coast’s Irish newspaper the Irish Herald.

Down south at McGuire’s Irish Pub in Pensacola, Florida, Irishmen of all nationalities sign dollar bills and pin them to the ceiling in tribute to Molly, the waitress who pinned her first $1 tip to the back of the bar. McGuire’s is housed in an old firehouse and boasts a turn of the century New York City aura.

I’ve also been checking out St. Patrick’s Day events across the nation so I‘ll have somewhere to wear all that green. Every pub in the world, of course, will be celebrating with Irish music, dancing and beer and most large cities are having parades.

Here in Denver, Colorado, we’ll kick off the holiday the Saturday before with the biggest St. Patrick’s Day parade west of the Mississippi with more than 200 floats and 10,000 marchers. The parade features floats, marchers, step-dancers, bands and bagpipes.

Wonder which U.S. city has the largest parade in the nation? It’s New York City, where the city’s Irish population shows it’s pride by marching up 5^th Street clan by clan. Every year the archbishop of New York reviews the all-marcher parade from the steps of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The New York City St. Patrick’s Day parade has been around since Irishmen living in New York organized it in 1762 – fourteen years before the Declaration of Independence was signed! Of course, with New York City’s huge Irish population, one parade just isn’t enough – more than 15 boroughs, including Queens and Brooklyn, host their own parades.

If St. Patty‘s Day ever catches me in the deep south I‘ll head to New Orleans, Louisiana – the city that has a parade for everything. The Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Day Committee expects this year‘s St. Patrick‘s Day Parade to be the largest it’s ever had. In New Orleans, parade participants start with a special Mass, then march up Magazine street dressed in formal attire. What could be better than well-dressed Irishmen for a St. Patty’s Day bash?

Though the parades are the public display of Irish spirit in the U.S., the parades are just the beginning. It all ends in a pub full of Irishmen and lovers of all things Irish wearing and honoring Ireland’s patron saint with drink and song.

So, when I visit a place I look for out of the way places that will bring back or create memories that will last a lifetime.  And hopefully inspire me to make a new bag!  When I’m not traveling, I spend a lot of time daydreaming about where I’d like to go.

This month, I’m thinking about visiting Missouri, with it’s beautiful scenery and fascinating history. You can learn why Charles Lindberg named his plane “The Spirit of St. Louis” and all about the 1904 World’s Fair at the Missouri History Museum in St. Louis.

Every visit to Missouri, of course, must include a trip to see the Gateway Arch. I like to sit and look at this magnificent wonder, which is the tallest national monument in the U.S. And a trip to the top, via tram, gives you a view like no other of the Show Me State.

Once, I’ve learned a little history and checked out the most popular tourist attraction. (Did you know that about 1 million people visit the top of the Arch each year?) I like to find some natural wonders. It’s not hard in Missouri, with the Ozark Mountains and lush foliage. But, to see the best plants in the state, I visit the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis. This year, the garden, the nation’s oldest botanical garden in continuous operation, celebrates is sesquicentennial anniversary. In addition to being an oasis in the city of St. Louis, the National Historic Landmark is a center for research and science education.

Another site I’d like to see in Missouri is a little off the beaten path and outside the big city. The Ralph Foster Museum in Point Lookout, Missouri is known locally as “the Smithsonian of the Ozarks.” This unique museum boasts novelties of Ozark culture such as the 1921 Oldsmobile truck used in the original Beverly Hillbillies TV series and a display of wood stumps from local trees.

There’s so much to do and see in Missouri, I’ll have to find time to do it all!

Have a nice trip.  Or a nice time thinking about where you’d like to go!

We want to hear from you!  What kind of information are you looking for–travel or fashion?  Unfortunately we didn’t get the kind of response we were looking for last time we asked, so we’re going trying it again.

Here at Star50 we love to talk about the quirky, the kitsch, and the undiscovered but we also love to discuss fashion.  I mean, who doesn’t love to talk handbags, hats, shoes, and makeup, right?

So give it to us straight.  We created a survey on www.constantcontact.com

http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e2fzz171fq76t5vh/start

Let us know how we can help you have a better, happy-feel-good experience with us; whether its shopping on our site our reading this blog,  give me the chance to do it right.

Thanks and enjoy the trip!

Amity

The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year behind Christmas. The association estimates that women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines.

So how do you feel when all the chocolate is eaten and the cards thrown in the trash? I don’t know about you, but I feel a serious let down by all the V-Day hoopla. The key is how to make these kinds of traditions more personal and valuable on an everyday level.

Of course, you can always make something for your loved one but to connect on a deeper level try the following with your special someone this coming Valentines Day:

1. Focus on your partner: Instead of stressing about ‘the day’. Share all the reasons why you chose him or her.

2. Under-promise and over-deliver: In a nutshell, call before coming or going; hold door open, and use words to express your feelings

3. Tune in to your loved one’s moods. Expressing empathy by identifying with another’s experience can take you a lot farther than just a nod and a glass of wine.

4. Sticky Please! Love notes are a sure way to inspire a loving connection every day of the year.

5. Plan together a special trip, night out on the town or night in, whatever you choose. The anticipation of what’s to come makes way for connectedness, excitement and intimacy.

6. Remember to make every day count for yourself and your loved ones. We’d like to know what you all are planning to do for your sweetheart, Valentines Day and any other day.

You’re responses will be posted below and one lucky Starlet will win our Missouri Creve Coeur. Don’t be left broken-hearted, and one bag short of a romantic interlude.

Until next time enjoy the trip,

Amity

February is especially cold here in Colorado. For me, it’s even too cold to attempt a drive to the mountains. It’s a sad day when I’m not interested in being outside. If you haven’t heard, Colorado has some of the best skiing in the world and its right here in my backyard.

From Denver, you’re within a 3 hours drive of at least 5 ski areas that boast beautiful powder, fabulous food and Colorado charm.

One of my favorite destinations because of its simple, authentic mountain flair is only a quick hour and a half up Loveland pass and over the continental divide, where you’ll drop down into Winter Park; a true rocky mountain ski town that blows chilling temperatures all winter long.

The ski area of Winter Park is nestled right off of I-40. You also have the option of taking the famed http://www.skitrain.com/winter.html from Downtown Denver’s Union Station; starting this February 6^th, Thursdays-Sundays, the Train boards at 6:30 am. You arrive, slope-side, at 9:30am. Enjoy the day and jump back on the train at 4:30pm, fully exhausted but satisfied.

If downhill isn’t you’re thing, head out and through the town of Winter Park about 10 minutes and visit Devil’s Thumb Ranch and Spa http://www.devilsthumbranch.com/ . 5000 acres of sprawling lands and views, take your breath away. Consider resting up in one of their lovely cabins and soak those tired feet of yours in their special buttermilk bliss soak.

Take advantage of the Ranch’s February Sweetheart Special. Offered through 2/28/09.

For more about getting to and from Winter Park, check out http://www.skiwinterpark.com/index.htm

Until next time, Enjoy the trip!

Amity

]]> http://star50.wordpress.com/2009/02/03/colorado-charm/feed/ 0 Star 50 http://star50.wordpress.com/2009/01/30/taking-stock-of-all-things-good/ http://star50.wordpress.com/2009/01/30/taking-stock-of-all-things-good/#comments Fri, 30 Jan 2009 22:01:07 +0000 star50 http://star50.wordpress.com/?p=43 ]]>

Can you believe the year we just finished? Incredible. I have to admit, there’s a part of me that’s still stuck in the muck. I’ve had a hard time getting going. Granted I’ve experienced a lot of change these last few months: Selling our house, purchasing a new abode, having a new baby (a little girl) and keeping my business alive. Ya think that I could pull it together!

Yet, as this winter wizard blows his storms,  it’s pushed out the stresses and has given me the opportunity to nest. We’re in our new house; getting settled into the routine with our newest addition, and I’ve carved out time in the wee-hours between nursing and potty training to set a course. Maybe it’s the new guy in our higher office or just a new life in my arms, I feel good. It’s the notion that ultimately, my business will benefit from all this chaos.

Here are some of the things I’m doing this year:

1. Re-establishing contact with you, dear reader on this very blog. I’ve let it slide, but no more. Once a week, I’m shooting for Mondays,  I’ll be posting on Fabulous Destinations; Quick Tips for Travel Girls and Fun Facts about the states you love.
2. Make myself and Star50 more available: Follow us Twitter, Facebook and Stylehive. From here, you’ll receive updates on Purse Parties, Events, Special Promotions, Designer tips and choices
3. Complete the Star50 Handbag line; we have 8-10 states left. I’m making them count. Look for our end-of-year contest. We need your help to create the Star50 National Handbag
4. It’s not just about accessories: This is the best part for me. We are not the sum of our accoutrements. Check out our expanded community section on our site that explains all.

With purposeful and open intention, Star50 is going to be a bright star in the sky for 2009.

What’s your state of mind?

Until next week, enjoy the trip!

Amity

Hello all.

We’re having some internal discussions about our blog. We love sharing our thoughts and experiences about traveling in the States and know many of you look forward to reading our posts. But some of us who enjoy fashion always have questions and thoughts about how to create our signature look. We survey our budgets while we study fun new trends and classic wardrobe pieces – how do we pull them all together to fit our individual styles?

Our question to you: Would you like to see more travel posts or fashion posts? Should we concentrate on one or the other? Please send us your thoughts – we want to get this show back on the road!