By Anne-Marie Kovacs, Chief Wife
I’m a wannabe locavore (that means eating locally produced food all year round). But, living in the Midwest, it’s just not practical. I need food with color all year round, not just in the summer.
With farmers’ market season rolling in, I can play the locavore part  - for a few short months at least. I get ambitious strolling down the market, poking fruit and veggies and asking questions on how to prepare obscure produce such as garlic scapes or salsify. All this freshness is so tempting that I invariably stock my basket with much more than my family can [...]

You could say we’re a little obsessed with water bottles. We’ve mentioned the huge environmental problem caused by disposable water bottles several times (too many to count, but here’s a favorite post on that subject) and we’ve proposed some pretty sexy water bottles too (here’s our favorite post on that). Though we see more and more people carrying their own refillable water bottle, we’re still seeing way to many single-us bottles in people’s hands…
So, to honor Earth Day, let us bring to your attention even more choices of covetable, multi-functional REUSABLE water bottles. But first, we’d be remiss if we didn’t [...]

The Succulent Wives are taking a little (very little) time off this summer. While we are still actively working on bringing you new content and ideas every week, we have also decided to bring back some of our favorite posts from the archives, those that are still timely, relevant, useful and that deserve to be revisited. Thanks for allowing us to recharge. We promise that we will be coming back with more new ideas and recommendations for cool stuff than you’ll know what to do with…
 
By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
With summer time here it never hurts to mention protection for our [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
Sending mom a Mother’s Day card and/or a bouquet of flowers is a simple way to say that you are thinking of her – particularly if you live far away. Postcarden cleverly combines the beauty of flora with a greeting card creating a simple and inexpensive way to show how much you love your mama.
These pop-out cards transform into mini-living gardens and are available in three designs: Botanical, City and Backyard. Your mom will open and unfold the card, water it and sprinkle the enclosed edible cress seeds onto the damp paper. Within a few [...]

With the mild winter we have had in most of the country this year, it doesn’t augur well for those of us who are not so crazy about insect life. Mosquitoes? Great way to ruin an evening.
And, we’ve all tried the ol’ citronella candles, but only with inconsistent and poor to moderate success. And no, we wouldn’t even dream of using toxic products just to products ourselves against… mosquitoes. But ha!, here’s something new and natural to keep those biters away, and like me, you had probably never heard about this: Andiroba oil!
The Andiroba is a tall Amazonian rainforest tree [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
When a company’s motto is “Nothing wasted. Everything gained“, you know that they take a serious stand on green living.
Preserve makes stylish, high performance, eco-friendly products for the home – from personal care to tableware to kitchen products – all at a reasonable price. All their products have innovative designs, bold colors, are eco-chic AND 100% recycled.
Preserve only uses #5 plastics for recycling. Many communities do not recycle #5 plastics so Preserve partnered with Whole Food Markets to create a Gimme 5 bin (#5 plastic containers) at each of their stores making it easier to [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
As you know The Succulent Wife’s team loves a good story. And there’s even more to love with a company that has a motto that goes “Every day we strive to turn discarded items into beautifully designed and functional products”.
Rewined Candles is the brain child of Adam Fetsch. When Adam worked as a sommelier in a popular local restaurant in Charleston, SC, he observed cases and cases of bottles just being discarded. Not recycled in any way, shape or form. Just simply thrown out in the trash. Seeing beauty in the wasted bottles, he came [...]

Eeeeek! Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and you just realized that you still have a few people you need to buy for!! No need to panic. Here are some great ideas that keep on giving up to a full year (although monthly, three, six and nine month subscriptions are also available) – showing them that you did not forget them after all. Whether you put a card under the tree of send them an e-card from afar, these gifts will thrill anyone on your list. And, p.s. you may just want to treat yourself! We’re totally ok with that.

 
Not Another Bill [...]

 
Last but most certainly not least is our final Gift Guide for the season: The Stocking Stuffer Gift Guide. For many, stockings are the best part of Christmas. Don’t you love finding those little gems for each member of your family, especially those that do not cost a fortune?
Here are some great finds to fill everyone’s stockings:

 
FOR HER

 
Hopscotch Necklace – Do not let the price fool you. This chunky geometric wooden bead necklace would be a stylish complement to a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Buy from Fleet Collection. $16.00

 
Password Book – If she is anything like me, I [...]

Beatrice Holiday has the cutest bike accessories for the biking fashionista and the biking commuter.
We love the matching seat covers and handlebar bikebags that will have you truly be stylin’ as you will be wheelin’. The unique handlebar bag also converts into a beautiful and functional shoulder bag, to keep all your valuables safe, on and off the bike. All are made with vintage upholstery fabrics that suits the look of a beach cruiser, but would also fit on the handlebar of a Baby Stroller, making this also a great gift for new moms.
Beatrice Holiday also designs a stylish line [...]