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

There is nothing like a back-to-school article to state that [...]

 
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 [...]

Throughout the pages of The Succulent Wife, you will see numerous articles about companies and products that contribute to making this planet a better place to live on. Whether it is about helping the environment or about helping each other, we are always passionate about sharing their stories.

Thus, this Gift Guide is near and dear to us. The ideas shared here show us that we can all be conscious shoppers, make our gift recipient happy and, all at the same time, also greatly impact the life of someone less fortunate. It becomes a win-win for everyone. And it’s so easy [...]

 
This is the time of year when celebrations should all be about family. Getting together and enjoying each others company.
In searching out the best gift picks to give to a family as a whole, we were looking for ideas that would celebrate the family unit, its values or that would encourage family members to come together to have fun…together.
Here then are some of our favorite gift ideas for the entire family. Enjoy!

iPad Game Changer – This is a game board for an iPad, that brings interactive animation and sound to a traditional board game making it fun for the entire [...]

Teens and tweens, are some of the hardest people to buy for. That is, unless you buy them the latest and greatest tech gadget… But wait! There are other gift ideas that do not start with the letter ‘i’.
We have put together this great list of gift ideas that will suit teens from the college student, the high school student and the even the tweens, who flipflop between Spongebob Squarepants and Selena Gomaz and Justin Beiber…

Boombox Pillow – What better way to update the look of their room than with accessories. This line of pillows gives the room a clear [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
Need that clever gift idea under $10? How about one at just $5? Fiverr is the perfect place to look for stocking stuffers, Secret Santa gifts, humorous office gift exchange and any gift on which you do not want to spend more than $5.00. It’s also a great spot for the young ones in the family to find a little thoughtful or funny gift (most Fiverr ideas are personalized) for their siblings, parents or best friends.
That’s right! Fiverr is a site where people are selling ‘whatever’ (and I do mean whatever) for $5.00. Each gig [...]

If you are a parent, this is probably the most important film you can watch with your family all year. Get together tonight (Oct 20), because there is a broadcast premiere of Miss Representation on Oprah’s OWN channel at 9:00pm EDT (local channel finder).
“Miss Representation” is a film AND a call-to-action campaign to empower girls and young women to fight the limiting labels and hypersexualized expectations that mainstream media has pushed onto us, having us believe that these disparaging images are the “normal” way to view women.
This is certain to be a very powerful film and young men and boys [...]

The school year has barely begun and the stress is already palpable. You feel it too? Especially if you have a high-schooler and most especially if that kid is a junior; ACTs, SATs and trying to keep those grades up for college admissions. Oh, the stress indeed. And, we’re not sure whether parents stress out more than the kids themselves, but we know that a good tutor could help overcome learning humps.
And then, just the thought of finding the right tutor with the right credentials compounds the general level of anxiety. How much can you trust the advertising flyer posted [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
When I attended MORE magazine’s Reinvention Convention this last June and heard Dr. Will Kirby speak about healthy skin (I wrote about this in an article, Ageless Skin De-Mystified), it had me wonder when I should start teaching my girls about skin care. And, are there any products out there, besides acne products and sunblock (did you notice how far we have come since the days of calling it suntan lotion?), that would help encourage tweens (between 8 and 12 years old) to start caring for their skin? I was, of course, looking for a [...]

By Anne-Marie Kovacs, Chief Wife
I have both a son and a daughter (Lucky me. One of each and I was done!). Needless to say that my daughter has always been – way – more fun to shop for than my son. Boys’ clothing is so predictable and… boring. My son has always enjoyed “clowning around” with his personal style. In his early teen years he was trying hard to discover and differentiate his own fashion style from the same-same sea of cargo shorts, board shoes and logo’d tees. Whether it was to wear a neon pink striped beanie, stencil his [...]