With Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and a host of other gift-giving holidays coming up, there is the inevitable stress of trying to find special presents for everyone while sticking to a budget.

This year my budget is small, and because I don’t want to be the lame gift giver, I plan on making some quality presents for my loved ones.  Beauty never goes out of style so I have found several do-it-yourself recipes for beauty treats that will benefit the body.  Not only will they help to save some money, the ingredients are all natural! (more…)

The holidays are quickly approaching. You know what that means: it’s prime shopping time! I always get a bit panicky this time of year because I never know what to give to people. But, this year is different – I discovered a trendy gift that’s perfect for anyone: a cute, reusable shopping bag!

These days, there are so many different styles that I’ll be able to find one for everyone – whether they’re conservative soccer moms, trendy hipsters or free-spirited bohemian types.

There are some super-cute bags around – and they aren’t that expensive. Even Anya Hindmarch’s highly-coveted “I’m Not a Plastic Bag” bag is only around $15. Most of the bags at www.ecobags.com are well under $10.

You can even get sets that add up to less than $2 a bag. So, instead of the bag being the main present, I could stuff it with it with a bunch of green goodies – like Bare Escentual’s all-natural Buxom Babes Diamond Lips lip gloss set that’s on sale at Sephora for $22, or one of those lovely organic-source brushes we talked about recently.

So, fun! So, trendy! So many possibilities! Plus, it’s a gift I can feel really good about giving.

I also just found out that San Francisco recently banned the use of plastic bags entirely. This YouTube video talks a little bit about how it has affected grocery store owners, consumers and how it has cut down on garbage. Check it out! It might make you want to switch out stockings for reusable shopping bags, too!