Natalie Portman can't be satisfied merely being a gorgeous, well-respected, fabulous actress with a Harvard education, and a penchant for thoughtful film roles.  No.  She has to go above and beyond, and prove herself one of those integrity-heavy people, who practice what they preach.  Harumph.

Ms. Portman is a known humanitarian/environmentalist/vegan, who has recently partnered with Te Casan to collaborate on vegan/animal-friendly footwear.

"Dazzling, playful, elegant and free of animal products, each shoe exudes the starlet’s own personal style. All of Portman’s proceeds will be donated to the Nature Conservancy, a non profit that works tirelessly to protect ecologically fragile lands and bodies of water."

As this endeavour involves shoes, and lovely, chic ones at that, I am fully supportive.  But please don't try to take my cheeseburger away.

I adore shoes, and if fashionable alternatives to leather and suede are made readily available, I will be the first in line to buy them.  My Stella McCartneys actually say "vegetarian shoe" on the sole, which is perplexing as I didn't think shoes ate anything at all.  But I digress.  Provide me with a viable alternative, and I'll take baby steps - in the fabulous shoes - toward being more of a conscious consumer.

I told you I've switched to using flourescent lightbulbs, right?

We are all about Girlfriend Getaways, and yet still have time and energy to support important charities.  You can enjoy yourselves and support others all at the same time!

Holiday Golightly is supporting the 17th Annual Evening Under the Stars gala. 

Organized by:  Daughters of Charity & Elizabeth Ann Seton Board

When:  Saturday, April 26, 2008

Where:  Austin, TX 

The funds raised from the Gala will benefit Seton McCarthy, Seton Kozmetsky and Seton Topfer Community Health Centers. These centers provide health care services to low income, uninsured families all over Austin.

This year the fun will include:

• a silent and live auction, and
  
• a raffle for a pair of diamond earrings!
• music from Robert Earl Keen and the Derailers

Many thanks to the Elizabeth Ann Seton Board for all of their hard work in helping those who are trying to help themselves! 

If you are in, or close to Austin, and would like to attend, CLICK HERE for more information. 

Who loves a charity event - WE DO!  WE DO!

(Ed. note:  there will be no cheerleading at this function.)

Are you in Seattle?  No?  Around Seattle?  No?  How is that sunny weather where you are? 

Whatever.  We're not envious.  We have THIS to look forward to: 

Women's Funding Alliance Event - Art of Dining

Thursday, April 17, 2008

5:00pm-9:30pm

Jonas Jensen Studios in Fremont

155 N. 35th St., Seattle, WA  98103

"Join us for the delightfully fun dinner and auction with a great purpose! Each year, some of our area's most celebrated female chefs come together to provide us with an elegant multi-course dinner. The auction features artwork from many local female artists, great travel packages..." (AHEM)..."select wines, interesting cultural outings, and other unique opportunities that you will only see at WFA's auction!"

All proceeds benefit Women's Funding Alliance.  The Women's Funding Alliance is a non-profit organization that promotes justice, health and opportunities by funding agencies serving women and girls in Puget Sound, in the following ways:

    * Strengthening and supporting 33 diverse agencies through strategic funding and capacity building.
    * Educating and engaging the community by articulating the underlying issues affecting women and girls and giving voice to our funded agencies.
    * Advancing philanthropy by providing opportunities for individuals and organizations to create positive social change for women and girls.

Much of the work of the Women's Funding Alliance is focused on providing funding to agencies and individuals. 

Have a great night out with like-minded peers, and leave with the satisfaction of knowing you are helping to change the lives of under-served women and girls.

Click HERE to be a part of the festivities!

This is slightly different than our typical "On Our Radar" fodder.  The girlfriends who are doing the getaway (of sorts) are on a mission.

Bendingo featured a story about four Australian women who have turned a girlfriend getaway into an annual giving getaway: 

"Four girlfriends have taken it upon themselves to hand over some donations with a difference.

They take old bras, lipsticks, children's and baby clothes for Balinese women with them on their now annual girlfriend getaway to Ubud.

Ann O'Connor and her sister Maureen, along with two girlfriends from Melbourne and Sydney, took around 80 kilograms of donations on their last trip.

Ms O'Connor takes the allowed seven kilograms of hand luggage for her own use and packs her 20 kilograms of stowaway luggage full of donations."

We LOVE this idea, and not just because it involves an annual trip to Bali.  If you have any stories like this, PLEASE share!

Email us at "holiday@holidaygolightly.com"

In lieu of a girlfriend giveaway getaway, you can also do some donating-good here:

Dress For Success

StyleWorks 

Oh, yeah, I've heard.  We're supposed to be calling them "goals" now -- not "resolutions".  Whatever.  "Goals" doesn't work as a verb.

Whatever you call them, there's pressure to make some changes at this time of year.  And most of us (admit it!) have fitness or weight loss goals on that list.  And I know we all have "make the world a better place" on there too, right?  (You know - just like we wish for world peace whenever we blow out our birthday candles?)

Well, hey, we're all busy people!  How do we achieve those, do our jobs, be good daughters/moms/partners/friends, AND floss our teeth? 

Double up!  Make your workouts HELP others, by choosing an event which donates proceeds to charity and you'll be able to cross two things off your list at once.  And you be less likely to slack, because you won't just be letting yourself down - you'd be letting others down.  (I know, I know ... Oprah says we shouldn't treat ourselves like that ... we're working on that one too.  But having others rely on me does make me more reliable!)

And while we're at it, let's triple up!  Or, heck, we're overacheivers, quadruple up ... or, well, however many you want to.  I can't really count in "-ples" after four...

Use this as an opportunity to see those girlfriends you miss, and sign up as a team!  You can even make a girlfriend getaway weekend out of it by scheduling it in some new city you've been meaning to discover.  Let us help!

Our first recommendation is Cycle for Survival, a team cycling event that benefits lifesaving cancer research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.  The event, founded by our girlfriend Jen Goodman Linn, raises funds for so-called "orphan cancers", that don't get the same attention or funding as the bigger well-known cancers do.

• Sign up to join the event live in New York at Equinox on January 25th, 2009.
• Or create a satellite team and cycle simultaneously with people around the country that day.
• Or, if you can't join the cycling, consider donating.  (At least you can cross one thing off your list!)

And hey ... if you're lucky, maybe you'll end up with some of these guys in your room. 

Did I remember to put THAT on my list?...