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While you may be on vacation, most people still like to stay connected to the technological world. That means that most people bring a plethora of electronics with them, usually including a Blackberry/iPhone/cellphone, an iPod of some sort, and a GPS. But to keep all these devices working you need three different chargers. And if you’re going overseas, then you also need adapters! To solve these problems, we have one simple product: the Solio Classic Solar charger. A little larger than an iPhone, the charger features adapters for all your electronics. Open the panels and let the charger sit in the sun for a few hours to charge it’s battery, then plug your devices in to the charger overnight to charge your devices.

Of course you’re going to need something to carry your charger and devices in. FEED sells a tote that is perfect for summer and betters poverty stricken areas of Guatemala. Produced in collaboration with Nest, an organization that helps provide work for female artisans, proceeds from the totes go towards feeding 3 Guatemalan children for a year courtesy of UNICEF. But the FEED Guatemala Ikat Tote bags’ bright colors and prints are cute enough to sell out on style standards alone.

A guarantee of almost any vacation is a certain amount of walking. Thus, you need a shoe that is comfy, cute, and eco-friendly. The Tantan sandal by Simple Shoes is our pick for a vacation must. With a molded sole made of recycled tires and natural rubber, the Tantan is durable, comfortable, and supportive, ideal for a walking sandal. The upper part of the shoe is made of leather produced through environmentally friendly tanning processes. But the multiple straps and leather are reminiscent of the gladiator sandals that are still quite on trend.

By now, you’re anticipating that you’re going to need coffee to keep you going during all this walking and charging of electronics. While you may not bring your reusable coffee mug on vacation, there is an ingenious accessory that is both cute and functional. Called the cozy/cuff, it’s made from either leather or felt, and can be worn as a bracelet until you need it to be a coffee cozy. We like the leather SKINNY SNAP version because it looks more like a leather cuff when worn.

We think a bird house is a great idea as a gift for a nature-loving friend, and with our eco-friendly suggestions for the garden both big and small, you’re sure to find the perfect one. And while you’re at it, why not buy some other birdy accessories to go with them? Despite the snow dumps we’ve been experiencing lately, spring is around the corner. No better time to have birds on the brain.

A HOME FOR YOUR BIRDS

Clockwise from top left: Ceramic Gourd Birdhouse from Terrain, $48 – fired at high temperatures to ensure durability, this is one gourd that should last a lifetime. Palatial Birdhouse, Cherry, from Anthropologie, $34. Eco-friendly Bird and Berry Birdhouse, $14.99 from World Market. Time and Again Birdhouse, Grey Pagoda, from Anthropologie, $58 – made from recycled woods and tins. Doorknob Birdhouse from Terrain, $98 – made from salvaged wood and vintage found doorknobs. J. Schatz Egg Bird House from Grounded, $135.

BIRDS FOR YOUR HOME

Clockwise from top left: Little Modern Birds Pillow by Chakra Pennywhistle, $50 on Etsy – made from 100% organic cotton twill. Dolan Geiman Bluebird Box Print, $650 on  pre=”on “>Nimli – digital reproductions of  class=”hiddenSpellError” pre=”of “>Geiman’s original artworks created with formaldehyde free, recycled wood panels and printed with Non-VOC and solvent-free inks. Coaster Birds n’ Trees set, $23, on Lekker – made out of non-toxic silicone by Modern Twist, a percentage of the proceeds goes to environmentally & socially conscious organizations. Bird Trivet on Terrain, $12 – made from a single piece of reclaimed pine board. k studio Bird Pillow on Design Public, $110. Balanced Design Flannel/Felt Bird’s Feet Pillow, $164 on 2Modern.

FEED THE BIRDS

Clockwise from top left: Birds Choice Oriole Feeder from The Backyard Bird Company, $32.95 – made from recycled plastic. Handthrown Stoneware Chickadee Feeder, $24.99, The Backyard Bird Shop. Window-Mounted Birdfeeder, $18, A+R Store – perfect for the small or urban garden. Seed Trumpet Birdfeeder, Pillar Blue, $38.18 – made from recycled glass. Habita Pot de Creme Hummingbird Feeder, Folklore Blue Leaf, $34.95 on The Backyard Bird Shop. Natural Birdhouse on Terrain, $52. Eva Solo Bird Table, $205, on Grounded – place this bird feeder wherever your heart desires, no tree’s necessary for this baby.

Well, if you’re like us (and can’t tell your fennel from your celery, let alone whether it’s local or in season), you need some help. First and foremost, scope out your local farmer’s market and snoop around – it’s full of your very own resident experts, so don’t be afraid to quiz them on the subject!

Here are three other easy steps you can take to get your local on.

Step 1: Know Your Seasons

Seasonal Calendars will help you keep track of what's local, when.

First things first, whether you’re an aspiring gardener or just an ignorant consumer, you need to know what’s local when. One of the best ways to keep in the know and ahead of the curve are these fabulous 2010 calendars that feature seasonal produce every month.

From Left to Right: For you Californians, a handy-dandy notebook calendar from KrankPress on Etsy ($20); A free (!) printable calendar from the Cottage Industrialist; A fabulous 2010 calendar ($24) also available as a poster ($20) – and even a tea towel! ($12) – from Claudia G. Pearson on Etsy.

Step 2: Use Technology

As you might have guessed, as there is for seemingly everything these days, there’s an App for being a locavore too. Two of our favorites are the Locavore and  GoodGuide iPhone Apps. Locavore, $2.99 on iTunes, lets you know what’s local in your state, pulls up both Wikipedia links and Epicurious recipes, and alerts you to local Farmers’ Markets. GoodGuide scans the barcode of the object you’re picking up at the grocery store and lets you know its health, environmental, and social performance (in other words, how much  – or little – the earth and its inhabitants were harmed in the making of this product).

If you’ve yet to jump on the iPhone bandwagon, there’s also some handy Web Sites you can check out, like Epicurious’ interactive Seasonal Ingredient Map and Sustainable Table, which has information on Famers’ Markets and Food Co-ops, Shopping Guides, and more.

Step 3: Cook Smart!

For help cooking seasonal, local ingredients, check out these cookbooks.

Of course, most Chefs  wised up to the local food movement way before the average layperson – so why not take some of their excellent advice (and their excellent recipes too)! There are tons of great options out there, but we’re digging these five.

Clockwise from top left: I am almost always hungry by Lora Zarubin, a cookbook with “30 seasonal menus” and “unique insights into the subtleties of seasonal entertaining.” $20.53 on Amazon.com; Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America’s Farmers’ Markets, by Deborah Madison. $17.16 on Amazon.com; Super Natural Cooking: 5 Delicious Ways to Incorporate Whole and Natural Foods into Your Cooking. $12 on Walmart.com; Clean Food: A Seasonal Guide to Eating Close to the Source, $19.80 on Amazon.com;  Lucid Food: Cooking for an Eco-Conscious Life, $18 from Barnes & Noble.

Well, my fellow greeniacs – why not let your environmental and ethical compass guide you? Check out this guide to buying eco-friendly laptops, and refer to our picks for the trendiest and greenest laptops you should be using in 2010.

Sony Vaio W, $450.

With a plastic casing made from recycled CDs, a carrying-case from old water bottles, and an exclusively digital manual, the Vaio W (premiered at CES 2010 last week) is a mini notebook with a lot of green power. The device has not only gotten high ratings from Energy Star 5.0 and EPEAT, but it also has a 10.1 inch LED screen (which uses less energy than an LCD screen) and 7 hours of battery life. At $450, this may not be a lap top for the technologically inclined, but it’s definitely a great fit for a person for whom portability, durability, and eco-friendliness are key.

Read More {CNet}
Read More {Ecofriend}
Read More {Inhabitat}
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Apple’s Macbook Air, $1,499.

An oldy, but a goody. The Macbook Air may have been on the scene since 2008, but it remains one of the few high-performance, environmentally sound laptops on the market. Rated as the Greenest Ultraportable by LapTop Mag, the Macbook Air not only offers all the goodies you except from an Apple computer, but it also has environmental chops to spare. It’s energy-efficient, it’s recyclable, it’s manufacturing is almost toxin-free, and…it’s a Mac. Enough said.

Read More {Apple}

Read More {LapTop}

Asus Bamboo Series, $999 (Rumored)

While Asus premiered a brand new, environmentally friendly laptop at CES this year… it was… well, it was hot pink.

And while we love our Barbie colors as much as the next gal, we’re still really digging the stylish sophistication and renewable nature of Asus’ Bamboo Series, which has now been amped up with Intel’s latest Core i5  processors. Plus, randomly enough, it’s the first netbook to “have survived the unforgiving conditions of snow-capped Qomolangma Peak, which stands at a staggering height of 8,848 meters (29,028 feet).” Yup, I’m a PC and I’m made from kick-ass, snow-defeating bamboo. Take that Mac.

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Read More {SlashGear}

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Read More {3BL Media}

Toshiba Portégé M750, $1, 499

This one swivels. Cooooooool.

Ok, ok. Beyond its cool, swivveling netbook to tablet capabilities and an LED backlit display – this bad boy has its fair share of Eco-friendly badges of honor. Toshiba came in as the #3 Greenest Electronic Company of 2009 (according to Green Peace’s Rankings) – and the Portege is one of the companies eco-friendliest (reaching EPEAT’s Gold Standard). If you’re looking for the greenest tablet of the land – or just one which sounds more like a briefcase than a computer – look no further than the Portégé.

Read More {Toshiba}
Read More {GreenPeace}

And so, courtesy of the paper specialists at Oh So Beautiful Paper, I present to you three of the loveliest, eco-friendliest calendars for 2010! All are made from recycled paper and have gorgeous visual style – just the way to bring the new year in right.

$29 Letterpress Calendar from Albertine Press.

$23 Eco-Chic Desk Calendar from See Jane Work.

$34 Deluxe Wall Calendar from SusyJack*

We think there’s nothing that says cool, retro style more than a cruiser (can’t you just envision yourself in a 50s style dress, cycling down country paths on one of these babies?). Here are three favorites that we’ve found – but don’t forget, you can usually get great deals on vintage inspired bikes on Ebay, Craigslist, and Overstock.com.

The “LOVE” Cruiser, $169, from Chubby’s One Stop Cruiser Shop

The sixthreezero Cruiser, $235, in cream and blue from BeachBikes.com.

Electra Gigi Cruiser, $579, available at Harbor Country Bike.

Vintage Dress on Pass the Baton

Pass the Baton, a Japanese store and online shopping site, recognizes that every item in your household has a story and that buying recycled goods – one of the easiest things you can do to be green – should be about more than the exchange of goods. It should be about personal connection. Every item in the store, and on the online shop, has its own snippet of history provided by the seller (who also has a biography listed).

South American Mirror on Pass the Baton