Antiques...

I had an amazing day working in my mom's antiques store yesterday. I got to see first hand how community members support small business - and vice versa! Read all about it in my post over on the Green Phone Booth: Antiques Aren't Just For Grandma Anymore.

Green Friday

If you're in the Denver area and feel the itch to do some shopping today, I'll be helping out at my mom's store ~Patina Antiques & Home~ in Littleton (voted #1 Antique Store in Denver, 2009 by the Denver A-list). Swing by and pick up some previously loved items for your home or as Christmas gifts. There's something for everyone. AND she's offering 15% off of one item today!

Black Friday...

If you still feel that urge to do a little shopping on Black Friday, but would like to do it in an eco-friendly way, visit Celebrate Green for a list of companies that sell green gifts (Nubius Organics, Kids Konserve). You'll find 50% off coupon codes there!

A new giveaway from Citizenpip!

I just realized that I've been remiss in picking a winner for this giveaway. I'll blame it on the mad rush of the holidays and having had sick kids. If you haven't yet left a comment, please do so this week. I'll pick a winner this Friday so you can sit at home and relax on Black Friday and still possible win something!

And don't forget that Citizenpip is giving a free gift to Greenhab readers (see below).
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I'm so excited to announce a new giveaway, discounts, and charitable donations all from Citizenpip!

Macy's been using her Citizenpip Soup-to-Nuts kit since she started school in August and we're both loving it. We haven't had any leaks thus far and I regularly use the small containers for drippy things like yogurt and applesauce. One of the lunchroom attendants even commented that Macy always has the cutest containers.

With Christmas right around the corner (seriously, how is it TWO months away already???) Citizenpip lunch gear is the gift that keeps on giving! Not only will one of their lunch systems be used practically every day, but every time it's used, the recipient will be making a difference for the environment.

From now through 12/31/09, Citizenpip is offering Greenhab readers the following:

A free gift: Receive a free fork+spoon set with every order over $50 (before tax and shipping). Just add a fork+spoon to your shopping cart and use coupon code: GreenhabGIVES

A giveaway for one lucky reader: Citizenpip will give away one Square Meal kit to a Greenhab reader in the continental US. (Just leave a comment here!)

A gift to the environment: Citizenpip will plant one tree in partnership with Trees for the Future for every $10 spent.

And lastly, Citizenpip will donate $300 to one of the following organizations...

• Trees for the Future
• Environmental Working Group
• Healthy Child Healthy World

...on behalf of the blog with the most coupon codes redeemed between 11/1/09 and 12/31/09.

To make your Christmas shopping easier than ever, Citizenpip kits will arrive beautifully packaged with white cotton ribbon in a recycled white box. Customers can include a gift message and even pre-order gifts for a later ship date.

MoonStar Minus Politics

A year or so ago I "met" (online that is) a woman named Jeska on the Living Simple & Green board that I lead over at iVillage. Since then, she and her family have downsized their belongings, bought an RV, and they're currently making their way around the US while unschooling their kids and exploring all that America has to offer.

Can I tell you how jealous inspired I am? I would absolutely love to do this with my kids when they're just a bit older and able to appreciate and learn from the experience. There's so much of the US that I've never seen; so many historical places and beautiful sights; so many things the kids could learn.

I think I'm going to plant this seed in Mr. Greenhab's head.

Anyway, you can follow Jeska's blog, MoonStar Minus Politics, here~ http://jeskav79.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!

Laissez {CRAFT?} Faire

You know what we need these days? A good old-fashioned sewing circle....or crafting circle. I was sitting here thinking about all the things I still need to make for Christmas (because, you know, thinking about it is so much easier than actually doing it) and, since my sewing machine is in the shop, looking at tons of other peoples' ideas.

My problem (as I see it this afternoon at least) is that there are just too many good ideas out there and too little time, plus I just can't actually do all of these things. Like, um, cooking which is really not my strength.

I've decided the solution is a free craft fair. You make whatever your specialty is, then you trade with your group of friends for whatever they've made. You probably have to do this with friends rather than just a group of people you don't know and trust. You don't want to get stuck with a bunch 'o crap, ya know?

I can whip out a lot of things on the sewing machine - bags, purses, scarves, aprons -but I could really use some handmade soaps, or maybe beaded jewelry...things like that. Wouldn't it be nice to just trade?

Someone remind me of this idea next year. And remind me to invite this person...

Green the Season: Gifts that Give More

I'm trying to make as many gifts as possible this year because I think that gifts made by hand with thoughtfulness and love mean so much more. But there are some gifts I found online last year that put mine to shame and those are the Gifts that Give More by Global Girlfriend.

Global Girlfriend has tons of great products on their website from Recycled Rice Bag Totes made by women in Cambodia to Beaded Bracelets made in Bali, every product has a story. But the very best things on their website are not "things" at all, it's the Gifts that Give More section where your donation will do anything from fighting poverty to protecting the environment. Here are just a few examples~

For $10 you can...
Give books to US children in need
Help Fund a Natural Birth Center in Tibet

For $15 you can...
Supply clean water to a school in Tanzania
Send clean childbirth kits to 3rd world mothers
In parts of the world where sterile, reliable medical equipment is simply unattainable for pregnant women living in poverty, every birth carries an increased risk of infection and eventual maternal death, or even the death of the baby. For women in poverty-stricken areas served by Partners In Health (PIH), access to simple, clean childbirth equipment can literally mean the difference between life and death.

For $17, you can send a child to school in Guatemala.

For $20 you can Purchase a high efficiency stove for Darfur refugees.

For $25 you can provide crisis aid for flood survivors in India.

For $40 you can...
Buy a female goat for a Rwandan family ($60 for a male/female pair)
Pay a teacher's salary in Afghanistan

For $50 you can liberate girls from indentured servitude in Nepal
In the Dang District in western Nepal, many indigenous families from the Tharu ethnic group subsist as farm laborers. Unable to make ends meet, they have been forced into a desperate trade -- selling their daughters to work far from home as bonded servants in private homes or as dishwashers in tea houses. Some of these children are as young as six.

For $100 you can cover the cost of heating a classroom in Afghanistan for an entire winter.

You can also contribute as little as $1.00 (and as much as you'd like) to causes like women's health, children's health or fighting world hunger.

I can't think of a better gift to give someone this year. One that doesn't cause a lot of manufacturing, create much waste (unless you count the goat waste that is!), end up in the Goodwill pile or back of the closet, yet it helps the end recipient in ways we can't even begin to imagine.