Electric Bicycles for Eco Friendly Commuting

Reef Electric Bike : I love this.

Commute Green Style 

With the holidays over, it's back to work, and one company, Reef in Australia is making sure that Australia is doing it in Eco friendly style. I'm talking about their brand of earth friendly, transport, the electric bicycle. I really couldn't believe it at first, but it's true--someone I know online actually rides one and commutes to and from work every day.  I was like what?

The Stingray Electric Bicycle runs you $32/month or $1899 in full. 

The Reasons and Benefits of Electric Bicycles

The need arose when Reef realized it costs over $6000 per year to drive a car in Australia (In the USA, try twice that with gas, insurance, emissions, repairs, and payments!) They wanted an eco friendly and sustainable form of transport and wanted to reduce carbon emissions. Most of their bikes will hold a charge for at least 50 Kilometers, and go up to 25KMH, and of course, no license required!  Yes, you can ride them in the rain (amazing, right?)   Lithium batteries recharge in about 4-6 hours after your long ride.

These bikes reduce carbon emissions, decrease use of fuel and gas and is a super low cost of commuting.  Bikes last forever, and the company stands behind their product often given a full bumper-to-bumper bike warranty for a year and even up to three on the frames!

$1499 for the Pearl, comes in male or female versions.

You Can Afford Them 

ReefBrand bikes range in price but most are 1/10 the price you may pay for a new economy car. Sure, you could "charge your ride" onto your credit card and pay it off in no time--but even better, you can work out a payment plan with the company!  Take for instance the tricycle Escape which I pictured first in this article, may only cost you $39 a month.  Wow. No six year car payments here.

The bike above, "The Pearl", has a built in USB charger so while on the go, you can charge your phone or tablet. Is that crazy or what?

The Australians are lucky, it's mostly free shipping anywhere in Australia. My question is, when can I get one?

The Video Says It All 

I had a good laugh watching this Youtube video while everyone else was stuck in traffic, the biker just coasts by...



Find out more on their website, Reef.

A Rustic Nostalgic Rake Barware Holder for Our New Year's Champagne Flutes!

Happy New Year Everyone! To ring in the new year, I wanted to do something fun for our New Year's champagne flutes. I've had this old, rustic rake head that I picked up at my mother-in-law's home. I think it was her father Joe's, whom my husband was named after "Joe". He had passed away years ago, and thus I wanted to do something special with his old trusty rake. With a little online research, I discovered this awesome idea of transforming your old rake head into a wine glass or champagne flute holder which has beautifully added some country, homespun flair to our kitchen!

This rustic barware holder is very easy to put up; just hammer a couple nails in the wall and it looks fabulous! Our rake head has a little bit of rust and wear, but that just adds to the rustic appeal! Now we have a nostalgic family memento to cherish that is upcycled, functional, and decorative! Cheers!

This blog article was contributed by the Etsy Recylcer's Guild Team Captain Jessica of Eco-Friendly Freckles.

Coffee Talk : Go Organic with Kona

Organic Kona Coffee Beans 

There's a lot of responsibility in living green by checking out where you are obtaining your coffee. Many people think that coffee with the label "Fair Trade" is the only kind to buy. You must investigate further as labels can sometimes be misleading.

You have to also look for private and family owned and operated businesses when purchasing your coffee. For instance, take organic gourmet coffee grown in Kona, Hawaii. Some may think that even though Kona is technically under a larger label, larger labels are bad news. Not so. Upon further investigation it is part of high elevation coffee from family-owned coffee estates, hand-picked, and expertly roasted organic beans!

Kona won this award in May 2012.

Coffee doesn't get any better (or fresher) than that!  It's no wonder they have won awards from their coffee grown in a high elevation island of Hawaii.

You can check them out at  OrganicKonaCoffee.com