The days are getting shorter, colder, grayer. Besides overloading on vitamin D supplements, some of these sunny-daily-quotes-by-subscription might infuse you with all the energy you would need to spruce up your spirits. Here are some of my favorites…

School and routine are starting again. Time to educate our children on new environmental practices too. Some stats to get us motivated from WasteFreeLunches.org: “it has been estimated that on average a school-age child using a disposable lunch generates 67 pounds of waste per school year. That equates to 18,760 pounds of lunch waste for just one elementary school”.
This guide brings cool ideas to help us convert to easy & convenient litter-free meals:

It’s official. The mustache has made a comeback. This was confirmed when I saw the mustache “bumper sticker” on my son’s Facebook page. But now, they come in applications other than just facial adornment. Some are wearable, some decorative, some simply amusing, but the ‘stashes are eve.ry.where in all shapes and sizes. If you’re yearning for mustache wearing here are a few fun ideas:

The Succulent Wife’s Marketplace on 1000 Markets proposes an all-seasons, all-occasions (nearly!) gift guide featuring the work of wonderfully talented artisans. 1000 Markets is a recently launched online marketplace that connects artisan shops with appreciative shoppers. Here, HANDMADE is the operative word for products in dozens of categories. Please come in to see our picks for truly beautiful, original and meaningful gift ideas.

Welcome to the Succulent Wife’s Mother’s Day Gift Guide on 1000Markets. We are excited to be featuring some wonderful hand-picked, could-not-be-more-perfect gift ideas for mom. We have something in every price range, but the true value of these handcrafted items comes from the imbedded passion of their creators. Please come in and take a look!

You are NOT still using the store’s plastic or paper bags, ARE YOU? We didn’t think so. We also thought that you might actually need MORE reusable shopping bags because, now, you take them with you everywhere, right? Guilt trip aside, we all know how damaging plastic bags are for our environment and that paper bags deplete precious resources. Just in case you need more info, some great articles on the subject are listed at the end of the article.

Yoga feels good, does us good, helps us look good.  What’s not to love? So, to start the year off just right, I thought that I should offer some motivation to make yoga even more appealing… by introducing some of my favorite indie suppliers of yoga accessories. Yoga is perhaps the most rewarding and stress-free way to achieve physical – and mental – fitness. And, why not practice yoga in style to feel and look extra fabulous?

We know. Choosing the perfect gift is stressful. But as of this moment, you may prepare to exhale a healthy sigh of relief as you thumb through the pages of our fab gift guides. We not only feature truly unique items- made or sold by independent artist, designers and shops, no less – but we are guessing that you will also enjoy the novel shopping format.