SARK is a best-selling author and artist, with over fifteen titles in print and well over two million books sold.  If you haven’t read any of her books - have you been hiding under a rock?  Her sisterspeak, heart liftingly delicious prose, and bright imaginative imagery has lifted us out of many a hard time and crap mood here at GGA HQ.   Lucky Chloé Jo (GirlieGirl Army Founder) had a chance to interview her at The Ivy Terrace, a completely precious NYC B&B she and her partner Jacquelyn were staying with.  Joshua Katcher of The Discerning Brute and I got serious with SARK about masculinity, dream reaching, and what free indulgences the world has to offer us.

SARK has been teaching and leading extraordinary workshops for over twenty years. She is a transformational role model offering inspiration and guidance to people in their process of living more powerfully and authentically, and being more actively creative on a daily basis.   We hope her words push you to live your creative dreams and make ‘em real- cuz they sure did for us.

This is the second video segment featuring the Girlie Brute Duo!  Enjoy!

Yet another reason to fall in heartsville with SARK;

SARK is the founder and CEO of Planet SARK, a thriving business that creates innovative products and services to support empowered living. Call her on the Inspiration Line at 415.546.3742 or visit http://www.planetsark.com. We highly recomend reading ALL her books! They are perfect for summer dreaming!

What did you do TODAY to further your creative dream?  Lettuce know in the comments section below;

What is a Hipsterlebrity you ask?  Most likely they are not on E! every night and rarely in the tabloid rags, but you know who they are.  They can get a table at the hottest restaurant, but probably wouldn’t be caught dead there. They have beards, tattoos, wear vintage, and most likely rock a plant-based diet.  Some Hipsterlebrities you may know (just so we are clear on the type): Natalie Portman, Karen O, Zoe Deschanel, Justin Theroux, anyone in a (real) rock indie band.. ya catch our drift.

You either want to gawk at their laissez faire/ dreamy fashion sense, sleep with them, or have them model your newest line of tee shirts… whatever your flavor, go holla at this rare breed this Friday in Los Angeles at our friend Laban Pheidias event at his 2headedhorse Headquarters in Echo Park. Start out the night by watching  “Whale Wars,” see tons of amazing “opa” inspired art, dance to live music by Rocco Deluca, El Douje, and the Petrojvic Blasting Company, hang out in the gypsy wagon (yep, a real one), drink some vodka transphusions, and eat some vegan eastern european grub (it’s a real deal potluck, so cook n’ dress to impress!) Opa!

Guest Bloggin’ Vegan Blond Bombshell Marisa Miller-Wolfson of Kind Green Planet gives us her list of the ultimate must-try veg recipes and cookbooks. Carnivores, don’t be afraid to try something new. Your taste buds (and families health) can thank us later.

I heard once that the average family only has eleven meals in their repertoire. Really? Only eleven? But when you first start to transition to a more plant-based lifestyle, eleven can seem like a lot. Where do you even start? What cookbooks are the best? Within the cookbooks, what recipes are the best? If you’re going to put in all the time, effort, and money, you wanna know that it’ll be worth it in the end. Obviously, taste is a matter of, well, taste, but some recipes I’ve found to be tried and true in taste tests with vegans and omnivores alike. The following recipes I’ve either tested out myself or my friends have raved about:

You cannot go to a vegan potluck without someone bringing a dish from this comprehensive must-have cookbook by vegan cookbook icons Isa Chandra Moscowitz and Terry Hope Romero. Vegonomicon is not only truly beautiful (coffee table book lovely!), it’s a fantastic Hostess Gift. Favorites include: Spicy Tempeh and Broccoli Rabe with Rotelle, Seitan Piccata with Olives and Green Beans, Chickpea Cutlets, Hot Sauce Glazed Tempeh, Basil Cilantro Pesto, and Chewy Chocolate-Raspberry Cookies.

Vegan Vengeance was Isa Chandra Moscowitz’s first cookbook. It has sold more than 50,000 copies, which for a vegan cookbook ‘aint bad! You can see pictures of dishes that fans have posted online. Favorite recipes include Apple Pie Crumb Cake Muffins, Strawberry Shortcake, and Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Pancakes.

I put a cupcake carrier on my wedding registry just so that I could I bring Moscowitz and Romero’s cupcakes en masse to parties and picnics. Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World spawned a cute New York times article about Moscowitz. Favorites include Chocolate Mint Cupcakes, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes, and Crimson Velveteen Cupcakes with Old-Fashioned Velvet Icing.

We just got given the Candle Cafe Cookbook by some of my husband’s animal law students, and I’m kicking myself for not having gotten it sooner. I’ve only tried the Ginger-Miso Stir-Fry and the Spicy Soba Noodle Stir-fry, but they’re amazing. Not surprising from the owners of my all-time favorite restaurant, Candle 79!

If you went vegan in the past ten years, you will own a copy of at least one cookbook by Tanya Barnard and Sarah Kramer. My favorite remains their first, How It All Vegan. My friends never seem to get sick of me bringing Oi-vey! Mock Chopped Liver to every party I ever attend (or at least they never tell me so!) My standard dinner party dish, the Classic Spinach Lasagna, is always a hit.

You Won’t Believe It’s Vegan! is a staple in our house. I don’t know what I’d do during CSA harvest season without the Dark Green Salad and the Roasted Tomato, Basil and Corn Salad. The Eggless Tofu Salad and the Love Bowl fill my belly with love and yumminess. The Sun-Dried Tomato Pate Leaf Wraps make a tasty, healthy snack.

I’m quickly running out of room here, so I’ll just mention a few more favorites: Almond Ginger Pate from Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen; Smoky South American Seitan Stew with Coconut-Infused Quinoa from Grub (not all recipes are vegan); Kale and Kraut Sandwiches from Vegan Vittles; Lentil Soup from The Moosewood Cookbook (not all recipes are vegan); Buffalo Tofu “Chicken” Wings from The Vegan Soulfood Guide To the Galaxy; and Chocolate Chip Cookies from Vive le Vegan!: Simple, Delectable Recipes for the Everyday Vegan Family. Want a bigger list of cookbooks? Dang, you are ambitious! Check out a big list of recipes and cookbooks here. You can’t expand your repertoire unless you try new recipes! Consider it an investment in your health. You can get great deals on eco-friendlier used versions at regular online retailers or borrow copies from your local library for free. Another option is visiting the cookbook author’s websites for online recipes.

Have your own favorite cookbook recipes or vegan/ healthy cooking site? Don’t keep them to yourself–lettuce know! Leave a comment below.

Marisa Miller Wolfson is the Outreach Director for Kind Green Planet, a nonprofit dedicated to teaching people about healthy, humane, eco-friendly living. She’s currently in post-production for her documentary about veganism and is co-drafting a city council resolution to lower NYC’s global warming “foodprint.” She also loves coaching people on plant-based living through Vegan at Heart, a free email mentoring program for treehuggers, animal lovers, and health nuts who consider themselves vegans at heart but not necessarily in practice.

Have a business or website you are trying to grow? Mazel tov….don’t we all.. Don’t have the cash to hire a Marketing Team, Publicist, and invest in Staff? We asked Web Designer and Art Director to stars (he also happened to design this here site,) Jeremy Davis, to tell us what is worth spending dough on - and what to get free. This one is for all those gals who email us on the reg asking how to get eyes on their new sites. “Take your passion, and make it happen!”

Here are the top 5 ways to get eyes on your website and keep people coming back for more.

1. You really do get what you pay for.

Look, nobody wants to spend all their money on a website, I get it. I have been in this business long enough, heard all the wheeler dealers trying to cut every corner they possible can, and see them wind up with a cheap pile of crap for a website that hurts them more then it helps. And guess what, ten times out of ten, they end up getting a redesign within a year and spending more then they would have in the first place. You have to think of your site as the ultimate advertisement for your business available to potential clients/opportunities 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year….you get the point. There is no form of media that can compete with a well designed, well built site. You want your visitors to have as positive and easy experience that they can when coming to your site. And the experience and expertise of a well established firm or individual designer will enable your users to have this experience and it will pay for itself 10 times over. So don’t be such a cheap ass, if you care about your business/blog/adult singles site, then do your research and be willing to pay the experts what they deserve. You will thank me in the long run. Heads up: A beautiful site WILL cost you upwards of 2G’s. Don’t plan on spending anything less. A really fancy site with an elaborate back end will cost you upwards of 10G’s. Put the money aside and invest.  {EDITORS NOTE: We highly recommend working with Jeremy!  He was a pleasure to work with and his creativity is beyond the pale.)

An example of a beautifully designed site

2. Join all social networking sites you can.

There are billions of people on social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace, and microblog sites like Twitter. You can and should use all of these FREE sites (free being the operative word), with access to  millions of individuals, to get your site seen and your voice heard. Stay involved and be active with groups and networks that you share interests with. Throw your url in, or links to various areas of your site whenever appropriate. Be careful to not overkill it - that will have the opposite effect of what you’re trying to accomplish and turn folks off. In general, social networking will get you way more exposure then advertising and cost you nothing. Also, offer to do link exchanges or banner exchanges with your new found web friends. It’s another free way to get your site exposed to another audience. Offer to aggregate content (that means you may link to one of their articles, and they may link to one of yours) to bring new eyes to your page.

3. Network and socialize, even if it goes against your nature.

This was always a tough one for me. Being a naturally introverted person, it was hard for me to break out of my comfort zone and walk away from the computer every now and then to have ACTUAL HUMAN INTERACTION.  Go to parties, bars, dinners, sporting events, benefits, casinos, gay black Jews for Jesus mixes, WHATEVER, just get out there and talk to people. Shake a few hands, smile, always ask about them and show interest in what they have to say.  Think like a Politician.  If you talk too much about yourself, you can end up turning someone off. Let them ask about you and what you do before you shove it down their throats. Always make sure to be armed to the teeth with business cards (another area I recommend you don’t skimp on). You don’t have to be the life of the party, but it is a fact that people tend to invest in people more then they invest in a product. I’m not just talking about money, I’m talking about time, interest, word of mouth, etc. If you’ve made an impression on someone, they are bound to pass that on, and new interest in your site is inevitable. And one more thing which I cant stress enough: Follow up follow up follow up. Make sure you get their card or email, and as soon as you can send them a short email saying how nice it was to meet them with a “lets have drinks or lunch” message. People generally want to give business (and support) people they like. So look cool/ presentable/ interesting so people want to know you, be nice/ funny/ smart/ attentive and the rest will come easily.

An unforgettable and well-designed business card is key.

4. Avoid the bells and whistles of the 90’s style flash sites.
Back to websites for a minute, ‘cuz they are really that important! Forget the flashy movies, drop the audio soundtrack, and get rid of the 2 minutes site loads which rarely hold a persons interest anymore. Content and usability is King! Stay current, stay active and stay fresh when it comes to your site design. If you’ve ever heard the music industry line “don’t bore us, get us to the chorus,” now would be time to apply that free knowledge. Your site should be accessible to anyone and everyone. Clean, scan-able and professional designs will always beat out the over graphic flash sites that dominated the web for the last 5-10 years. We live in an age of information and everyone wants that information now. Nobody wants to site and wait for your cute little intro animation to load, those are a thing of the past. Nobody wants to listen to thumping techno music while they’re trying to read your blog about gut busters. Drop anything that doesn’t need to be there. Make your content as easy to find as possible. Basically, your site should be idiot proof. Also, make sure your site is search engine optimized (SEO). This includes proper meta tags in your html, and registering your site with as many search engines as possible, using the most accurate keywords and site description you can. Learn more about SEO here.

5. Get your visitors involved.

Allow people to comment on your content. Commenting gives people the platform to be heard, and the more they have the ability to be involved, the more involved they will be. By encouraging people to comment and discuss the content you’re presenting, you will learn what they like and (more often!) don’t like. Think of it as a focus group without being a focus group…and without having to pay for it, of course. People want to participate; the web is no longer a spectator sport.

Have additional questions on something regarding blowing up your website? Leave ‘em in the comments section below and I’ll check in and respond.

Jeremy Davis is an award winning Art Director for Code and Theory. He has directed and designed sites like thedailybeast.com, ESPN’s Fantasy football hall of fame, DrPepper.com, Brant Publications, Black Book Magazine, Vice Mag (vbs.tv), MTV, VH1, Comcast, Comedycentral.com and many others. You may be able to convince him to design your site. Contact him at thelord@lordjdavis.com.

Guest Blogger Louise J. Schnaier is a Psychotherapist and the Director of International Adoption at Spence-Chapin.   We also happen to think she’s an angel.  Louise blew us away with her simple request; please forgo buying me (or yourself) a cocktail this weekend, and save a child’s life.  Showing us how simple (and how cheap) it can be to save the life of a child, and hearing about Louise’s deep  life long commitment to bettering the lives of children, Internationally, moved us deeply.  And we are sure (knowing the sappy, kind hearted divas you all are), you will want to help rally the troops for Louise GirlieGirlArmy style!

Cocktails with the girls for my birthday. Check. A box of Babycakes cupcakes to celebrate the day at the office.  Check.  Thoughtful little gifts from my sisters and the kids down South.  Check.  A bottle of wine and fireworks at the beach.  Check.  It’s what I always look forward to as my birthday approaches.

But not this year, please.

In just a few weeks I’ll be celebrating another birthday.  And I’ve asked my family and friends to help me celebrate my many blessings by helping to make a small difference in the lives of children I’ve met in central Africa.

I’m hoping you might do the same, knowing the compassionate Glamazons that you all are.

You see, I’ve had the good fortune of working in adoption for the past 15 years — most recently as the Director of International Adoption for an adoption agency in NYC called Spence-Chapin.  Over 100 years old, Spence-Chapin’s mission has remained the same.   We are guided by the belief that every child deserves the love of a family.  Many children will grow up in institutions, orphanages and even the streets despite our efforts.   In response, the agency supports humanitarian work directed at ensuring that children have every opportunity to reach their potential in the face of often grim conditions throughout the world.

Louise holds a baby in need in the Congo

During the past 5 years I have had the amazing and often heartbreaking opportunity to visit children living in orphanages without the love and security of families. I have witnessed the tragic effects of poverty, disease, institutionalization and loneliness. I’ve had children climb into my arms with the trust, innocence and love that kids inherently possess and felt the pain of having to put them down and walk away with the task of finding homes for some, and the awareness that most will live out their lives as a family of one.

Although I have been touched by each and every child, I’ve been uniquely moved by the realities of life for children in Africa. I’ve visited Uganda, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where I met some of the young victims of political unrest, inadequate infrastructure, illness and death. I’ve seen things that would otherwise be unimaginable and that have changed my life, and how I see the world.

This past Thanksgiving I traveled to the DRC for the second time to visit children living in orphanages.  In my experience, malnutrition is a given.  The level of chronic malnutrition, a condition that can result in increased susceptibility for disease, compromised physical and mental development and even death is devastating.  Diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV, typhoid and malaria permeate society wherever you look. All of these conditions can be improved, prevented and treated with little effort, but the meager resources available make this unlikely.

According to the World Health Organization, malaria is an epidemic in the DRC where it is possibly the leading cause of childhood casualty, accounting for estimates as high 25-30% of deaths. As with any disease, prevention is the best treatment. Treated mosquito nets are often successful in preventing the transmission of malaria through mosquito bites that frequently occur at night when its victims are asleep. The cost of a net is only about $10, a small amount that makes a huge difference.

Shocked by the realization that so much could be done with so little, I’ve kicked off a project by contributing $10 in honor of each of my 7 nieces and nephews. I invite you to do the same in honor of your children, nieces/nephews, and loved ones with the comfort of knowing that they will wake up tomorrow morning healthy, loved and with enough food to eat.  If you don’t have anyone else to honor, my birthday is right around the corner!  Skip that overpriced Mojito tonight and have wine at home instead, and donate the $10 or $20 you would have spent on a drink or two to this crucial project.

A minimum donation of $25 can go a long way to purchase mosquito nets, food, or medical care for children in the DRC.  100% of the funds will go directly to this cause.

Donations can be made to this project in 2 ways. You can send a check, payable to Spence-Chapin, to: Spence-Chapin 410 East 92nd Street New York, NY 10128 Attn: Eric Alterman   Or donate through the Spence-Chapin website here.  Please be sure to note “DRC Aid” on the memo line of the check or on the donation form. On behalf of the children in the DRC and all of us at Spence-Chapin I thank you.

Louise Schnaier is the Director of International Adoption at Spence-Chapin Services to Families and Children and has worked in the field of adoption for over 15 years. She holds a BA in Sociology, Elementary and Special Education from Rutgers University and an MSW from the University of Maryland. Louise has also worked as a psychotherapist; coordinator of mental health services to children after 9/11; as well as volunteer emergency medical technician, crisis responder and provider of support to children with cancer. She’s been known to flirt shamelessly with puppies and babies, and is passionate about making a difference in the lives of children. She lives in Brooklyn.