herbiehancock

okay, this is going to be my good deed for the week - sharing with you the importance of laughter and then {hopefully!} making you laugh right here, right now.  what an important cause! first of all, isn't laughing weird? think about it, when you like something so much, and it pleases you in such a specifically delightful way, you shake and convulse and noise comes out of your throat {and sometimes nose}. weird! but i'm so glad we can laugh because it's absolutely positively good for you, physically, mentally and emotionally.  some studies even suggest that laughter increases your life span.  woo-hoo!  a therapist friend of mine teaches laughter yoga, which i can't wait to try one of these days.  do any of you practice this?  if you have never seen laughter yoga you must check out this hilarious and informative clip .  how can life get you down when you face it with a little laughter? here are some fun facts about laughing:  * laughter releases an...

lately i've been noticing all sorts of random acts of kindness going on around me.  it began with the bake sale as i watched how many of you found ways to support the cause, and since then it has felt as though my eyes have been opened! i am a firm believer that we are changed by the things which hold our attention.  of course i know all too well how easy it is to get caught up in our worries, stresses, fears, and confusion in life, so i wanted to take a minute right here on my blog to focus on the positive.  i hope this can be a great reminder to both you and me that there is a whole lot of good in the world, and that we too can help spread hope, cheer, and peace to the people around us. so i want to give a great big shout-out to: * the girl on sunset who picked up a plastic bottle on the sidewalk and put it in the recycling. * the guy at trader joe's who offered to hold the elderly woman's basket while we waited in line. * the neighbor lady down the street who stopped b...

well our bake sale is over now.  a whole lot of hard work, time, energy, and love went into the making of our fundraiser and i am so excited to say that it was a HUGE success!  we were able to raise $480 for the pablove foundation , after just a few hours.  it was a gorgeous day and we were in the perfect spot {thanks to our hosts vacation vinyl } to meet tons of neighbors out and about.  the good people of silver lake definitely came through and bought up just about everything {which was a huge task - we had so much food!}.   brandi and i really can't thank you all enough for your support - whether you baked, came out to help us saturday, or spread the word on twitter, your blogs, and facebook .  we had so many bloggers and non-bloggers alike supporting us, and the baked goods were A-mazing, definitely treats we were proud to sell for our good cause.  we could not have done it without all of you!  { l-r: amanda , me, brandi , erin } the good new...

it's almost here!   this is our final week before our big blogger bake sale to benefit the pablove foundation . here are the specifics : date : this saturday, june 4 time : beginning at 11:30am till around 3ish {or whenever we sell out} where : just outside vacation vinyl at sunset junction   don't live in silver lake? how about make a day of it!  there are tons of great stuff all within a couple blocks of where we'll be selling sweet treats for a good cause: + the incredible silver lake farmers market, +  intelligentsia coffee {where you're sure to run into a favorite musician}, +  pazzo gelato with dozens of flavors, +  the spice station where you can get any sort of tea or cooking spices your little heart desires, +  reform school {pretty much the renegade craft fair in shop form}, + our fantastic hosts, vacation vinyl , with an amazing selection of records, +  the cheese store {ooooh so good}, and dozens more restaurants, cafes, specialty...

that's right, only two more weeks until our bake sale!    i wanted to take a moment to introduce you all to the fantastic charity we will be supporting through our sales -> the pablove foundation .  if you've ever been to sunset junction in silver lake {intelligentsia anyone?}, than you're probably familiar with this beautiful pablove mural  scrolled along the dangerbird record  label's building.   pablove was started a couple years ago by jeff castelaz and his wife jo ann thrailkill {jeff is the ceo & co-founder of dangerbird records, the label for amazing bands such as silversun pickups, sea wolf, & hot hot heat, to name a few}.  jeff & jo ann were mom & dad to little pablo, a brave boy who passed away at the early age of 6 from a rare form of cancer.  in response to their tragic experience, jeff & jo ann decided they wanted to do something to help other children with cancer, and thus the pabl...

i first read about levi's waterless jeans a couple month's ago on eva's blog, four leaf clover , and i am so excited to finally share it with you all!  levi's jeans have dedicated themselves to not only conserve water through a revolutionary waterless washing process in their factory, but to also provide clean drinking water to people living in impoverished areas.  through their new manufacturing techniques {which you can learn more about on their website }, they are able to save about 28-96% of their regular water usage during the manufacturing of their  jeans {depending on the product}.  that translates into a savings of 16 million liters of  water during manufacturing this spring alone!    but levi's can't conserve water all on their own.  in an effort to help conserve water after their jeans have found a home in your closet, they've created a campaign encouraging all of us to care for our jeans in sustainable ways.  and might i...

over the weekend, we spent a few hours exploring unique LA , a handmade extravaganza similar to the renegade craft fairs.  we found several amazing booths selling products which make the world a better place {other than looking really cute}, and i had to share one of my favorites: seed bombs!  common studio  is a local {to los angeles} design studio, which came up with this brilliant idea to spread plant life in urban areas.  it's a young idea {it was just started last year}, but has already caught on by people all over the world. it's not surprising either, seed bombs are some of the coolest things ever!  it's such a beautiful concept to add some nature to your neighborhood, an empty lot, and the ghetto -- to literally bomb life in an otherwise cement-filled area!  what's even more beautiful?  common studio employs homeless men and women to hand-rolled each seed bomb, thereby providing opportunities to help people get back on their feet. you can ...

what's better than sharing all sorts of ideas for making the world a better place?  actually making the world a better place together !  today i bring you some news that i'm super excited about! brandi {from not your average ordinary } and i are teaming up to put good deeds into action. on june 4 , we will be hosting a bake sale for charity here in los angeles, and everyone is invited! of course i know many of you don't live nearby, which is totally sad! you will be missed, but maybe you can host a charity blogger meetup in your neck of the woods?... { photo } more details to follow soon, but for now, we need your help with one thing: finding a location . here's what we are looking for: - a gallery, cute shop, or cafe that has some extra space for a table full of treats. - a location that would be happy to give us permission to host our bake sale on their property {owning or knowing an owner of a gallery/shop is preferred}. - a location in the LA area that is well-k...

okay, so we all probably know paul rudd as the dreamy funny man from clueless , friends , anchorman , and i love you man , just to name a few.  lately, however, he's been doing something much more serious, selfless, and incredibly beautiful. a couple weeks ago was paul rudd's birthday, but instead of throwing a party, he decided to give his birthday to the american cancer society.  that's right, he gave up his birthday in honor of his father {who died from cancer} and everyone else who is affected by cancer every day.   instead of spending money on him, paul rudd asked everyone he knew, including his fans, to donate to the american cancer society in the amount of the donator's age.  so if you're 20, donate $20, and if you're 48, donate $48, etc.   how amazing is that?!   if you would like to donate to the cause, head over to paul rudd's crowdrise page and click donate. and i would like to encourage all of us to consider taking on paul's challenge to g...

so how is everyone doing with those good deeds out there? i don't know about you, but some weeks i feel totally inspired to help other people in about a million different ways, while other weeks i think "jilkemnr people yotreqwnoxf help tpugvbar good."   so what do you do when you want to make the world a better place, but you're a total incoherent mess?  don't worry, the internet has a solution for you - randomactsofkindness.org to be specific. { you can buy this print in the sweet etsy store heidiburton } random acts of kindness has all sorts of ideas for do-goodery, true life tales of charity, and other kindness-focused resources to get you inspired.  so head over, get in the spirit of spreading some love, and go make a difference in someone's life today.  and who knows? maybe we'll see one of your stories on random acts of kindness one day soon, providing heaps of inspiration for some other blogger and her readers! *** while we're on the topic o...

anyone planning on buying anything this month?  if so, check out the shops participating in handmade with a purpose . over 30 etsy & blog shops have joined handmade with a purpose in donating their sales profits to a charity of their choice during the month of april.  here's what they have to say: handmade with purpose  is about: acknowledging creativity. using our creativity to produce handmade goods. selling our handmade goods for a profit. taking our profit and giving back to our communities,  those less fortunate, & those in need. isn't that wonderful?!  so if you are looking for a gift, or something new in your life, check out the shops and do a little good for the world with your purchases.  you can also donate directly to the different charities if you feel inclined. but hurry, it all ends april 30.   find out which shops are participating, as well as the charity to which each shop is giving, by scrolling through handmade with a pu...

tomorrow, april 5, toms shoes is challenging you {and anyone you can finagle into joining you}, to participate in one day without shoes .  every day millions of children go barefoot around the world, trekking long miles, and suffering injuries and infections which could be avoided with a simple pair of shoes. many of these children don't have access to shoes, however, something which we greatly take for granted in the developed world.   but wait, there's hope! toms shoes is working hard to bring free shoes to children of the world, and you can help!  in addition to purchasing toms shoes for yourself {which will provide one free pair of shoes to a child in need}, you can also join in the challenge to spend the entire day tomorrow {or however long you can, even 15 minute counts!} experiencing your daily routine... barefoot {gasp!}. now i know what you're thinking - oh the horrors of running around town barefoot {trust me, i know how hard this ...

hey remember this gal?   if not, please let me share with you one of my favorite things that ever happened in blogland.   the uniform project was started by sheena matheiken, a regular working girl who pledged to spend an entire year wearing one little black dress, while still creating a unique look each day, and without buying anything new.  the point in doing this was not to draw attention to herself, but to the fact that we can be sustainably responsible, and still look really great!  she also used the challenge as a fundraiser for the akanksha foundation, a non-profit dedicated to bringing education to children living in the slums of india. in the end, she was able to raise over $100,000 for the kids!!  i absolutely loved checking out her outfit each morning and i think she was rather successful at pulling off unique looks with so little.  i've included a few of my favorites in this post, but you can also check out all the other outfits here . sheena e...

let's face it, there have been horrible things happening all over the world lately.  japan, libya, yemen, even my own neighborhood.  a friend of mine lived in yemen for many years {he's now in syria} and his tweets about what his friends are going through and the dangers they face are powerful and heartbreaking, to say the least.  i still haven't heard if my friends from japan have found all of their relatives and friends yet.  we're all still holding our breaths for the workers {and the world, really} regarding the overheating nuclear plant, and now we are involved with the fighting in libya.  plus, there's been a dramatic increase in crime where i'm living.  sheesh!  thinking about what a turbulent past week it has been for the world makes me wonder, was this an especially bad week for everyone? are the legends of the supermoon true? or is this a perfectly average amount of world problems and i'm just paying more attention right now {by the way, ever...

i had a different good deeds post all ready to go, but after the devastating tsunami i couldn't think of anything more important right now than encouraging all of us to help our friends in japan.   i'm sure you've all seen the incredibly heart-wrenching footage and photos of the devastation - of freighter ships sitting in the middle of neighborhoods which are now empty of houses , of cars piled upon cars, and houses piled upon houses.  i'm sure you've been reading about the nuclear crises and radiation exposure, of rescue efforts in the freezing cold, of a rising death toll, of entire cities and their citizens missing, and now, volcano activity in the southern part of the country. {photos from sfgate } i keep thinking, it could just as easily be us.  earthquakes and tsunamis always hit close to home for me since i live in california.  when the earthquake struck haiti, it was easy to tell myself a lot of the destruction was due to insufficient building codes, which w...

this week's good deed is coming to you from one of my dear friends here in los angeles, and is a cause which is very close to my heart.  the hatred and prejudice which gay, lesbian, & transgender people regularly experience was recently brought to the world's attention when multiple young people committed suicide in reaction to their awful experiences. in response, thousands of it gets better  videos immediately sprung up, telling people to hang in there, that life really does get easier.  i loved seeing how many people rallied to support their fellow men & women, and we are so lucky to live in a place where it DOES get better . but what if it didn't?  what if you were living in a culture and a country where, instead of getting better, it got worse?   what if you had to keep who you were a secret because if anyone found out you were gay, you would be publicly stoned and mutilated in the streets while the entire city rejoiced?  and what if there was ...

as i'm sure many of you in the united states have heard, the house of representatives just voted to ban planned parenthood from all federal funding, and it is now headed to the senate.  i try to keep politics off my blog since it's such an enraging issue in so many ways, but i just couldn't let this one slip by.  how absurd is it that the government is taking away funding from one of the best organizations our country has?!  how can they care so little about the one in five women who receives health services from planned parenthood for a wide range of health issues?!  90% of the health care provided for women, children, and even men, at planned parenthood is for birth control, prenatal care, cancer screenings, hiv screenings, and educational services, to name a few.  if this bill gets passed, these vital and affordable services will be removed from public access.   of all the stupid, selfish, corrupt things our government does, this has got to be...

several years ago i was not in a very happy place.  while i loved everything that was happening in my personal life, majority of my days were spent working at a job that was not at all right for me.  it was a 9-5 office job, full of gossiping co-workers and a high-stress boss.  i had just come from being a kindergarten teacher, mind you, so i was used to singing, dancing, coloring, & creating entire universes out of blocks.  being in that soul-sucking desk job made me feel completely lost!  i can't remember exactly how it happened, but somehow i found the 29-day giving challenge , and i was quite intrigued.  could i really give something away every day for an entire month?  would i really have the energy to think outside of myself a little each day?  after all, i was spending a very large amount of time throwing myself a pity party.  ultimately, i decided that i needed something a little extreme to bring more purpose and growth to my lif...

today's good deed is pretty simple and probably pretty obvious:  show someone some LOVE! it's not rocket science, but it is life changing...  a hug, a compliment, a gift, an act of service, or some undivided, quality time and attention, ...all are great ways to share the love! { photo } i'm not sure how it happened, but our culture tends to focus on love as being most important when shared between romantic partners, but that's just not true! there are so many types of love in life - family, best friends, our passions & interests, and love for ourselves, to name a few.  so even though valentine's day has become just another commercialized holiday, let's use it as a reminder of ALL the various types of love you have in your life. celebrate them, thank the universe for them, and make your appreciation for those people known.  don't forget to share the love with yourself too!  we can really only properly love and accept love from others when we first know ho...