Until I discovered someecards.com some months ago, I had been feeling very sad about the sorry selection of ecards (Please. No. Not another teddy bear, rainbow, balloons and cheezy platitudes). But, admittedly, someecards are perhaps a wee bit too irreverent to be appropriate for everyone and every occasion.
This is where VerveCards.com comes in: colorfully designed and clever with a great choice of very “appropriate” ecards when that is required. Nancy, co-founder of VerveCards, apparently as appalled as I by the dismal choice of reasonably decent ecards ( I know, it’s just totally outreageous!), actually did something about it. Her moment [...]

Susie Lennox, one of the founders of Yes® Pure Intimacy, worked in the pharmaceutical industry for years. She was having an issue supporting products that could actually do more harm to people than help them. So, she and a colleague decided to quit and create a new company with integrity. The product they created was a Certified Organic lubricant.
I loved discovering Susie’s sense of humor as I listened to her story. Just the name of the website Yes!Yes!Yes!.org shows it. On a serious note, I loved what she had to say about this product. Currently, Yes comes either as an [...]

We’ve been hacked into. Again… No worries, our site is safe for you to visit. But in order to secure it, we had to restore every.single.freekin.file. Thanks to my web master extraordinaire, Matt Rochow, the restoration process is almost complete.
So, please pardon our appearance as tweaks and retrieval of files  is still going on. A few pages and functions are still looking rickety in the process.
Thanks for your patience!

Jewelry (it’s cliché, but never, ever passé) is always a great gift to give a women but it is even better when it comes with a message.  Kathy Bransfield necklaces are a lovely combination of beauty and inspiration. Most of her pieces flip open to reveal a hand-stamped quote that can be held as a personal amulet to the wearer.
One of her pendants would be particularly perfect for Mother’s Day. It reads “My friend, My inspiration, My mother”.  What mother would not want this one!  Or what about a pendant saying “I love you” in Braille.  Kathy also creates pendants [...]

This painful recession has brought its own gift: a new awareness and consciousness about the things we buy. Indie was becoming important before, but its meaning is doubled now as we make efforts for unique, meaningful, made-by-a-real-somebody purchases. Here are some of my favorite shops that offer finds in those categories. Perfect online destinations for gift shopping for Mother’s Day:
I don’t need to mention – again – that I am a huge fan of Cambria Cove, the best and most beautiful gift catalog around. So much to choose from here, but I would immediately recommend the iPouch wallet, which I [...]

If your mom is like mine, she might need a little diversion from the habitual “mommy” gift that is usually a piece of jewelry, a luxurious scented candle, a spa getaway… Not that these things aren’t absolutely lovely, but here’s another idea, just in case Mom happens to be an art lover or simply needs a break from the bling thing.
How about some adornment for… her walls (home, office, cottage?). I mean, a hand-picked, original piece of art that will make her think of you every time she looks at it. There are some great online galleries where otherwise unknown [...]

I was introduced to Laura through my friend, Bernadette. Laura was wearing the most stunning sterling silver wrist cuff. She told me that she is actually the artist who made it. This woman has talent! Years ago (I am not to say how many), Laura enrolled in the oldest engraving school in the country in Pennsylvania. The school was established in the 1850′s and, until it closed its doors a few years ago, kept the integrity of teaching engraving the old fashion way, meaning no machines. Sadly, there are now only a handful of hand-engravers left in the States.
Taking a [...]

I know. Earth Day this, Earth Day that. Are we done yet? Unfortunately, I’m still in on the subject and am determined on fitting in one more Green, Earth-Friendly product line before the end of the week. Because I looooove it: the Sun & Earth brand of  home cleaning products. I first learned of this company through Alice.com, my now go-to source for all household product shopping. I was looking for alternatives to the usual natural cleaning product and the Sun & Earth brand popped up so I gave it a try, first with the fabric softener. I was so [...]

 
 
I write a lot about companies that do good things for our earth. I’m always thrilled to find a new one and am comforted by the idea of “good” companies, big and small, actively engaged in making Earth a better, safer, greener place.  As individuals we can also make small changes for the good of our planet. Here are a few ideas…

I have truly discovered the perfect sunscreen for everyone in my family. KineSYS. I love the microspray applicator. It makes the sunscreen so easy to apply as it prevents the sunscreen from overspraying and it helps provide an all over, uniform application. It is also fast drying and has no slippery oil or thick pasty feel to it. You hear people say in the promo video that it feels like air. It’s true!
Inevitably my girls will rub their eyes right after I apply sunscreen on them. With this product line, there are no more screams from sunscreen in their eyes. [...]