by: ss_shopgirl

Don’t panic! You don’t have to resort to making your own “coupon book” for Mom just yet — there are still some great last-minute Mother’s Day gift ideas around…

I’ve included my favorite ones below:

Red Envelope – Choose Next Business Day	Ross-Simons – Order by May 8th
Organic Bouquet – These were voted #1 by Smart Money!	Brookstone – Order by May 8th
Harry & David – Order by May 8th	Amazing Clubs – Order anytime – most shipments are actually sent at end of month but they’ll notify Mom of her gift on Mother’s Day via email!

by: ss_shopgirl
Need a great gift idea for a child? Or for a young-at-heart grown up? Check out the latest in Webkinz — the cute and cuddly plush toys that have gotten so popular lately. Not only are they adorable, but they come with a special Feature Code that allows you entry into the exciting Webkinz world, where you can also have a virtual Webkinz. It’s like Cabbage Patch Kids, only cuter!

Check out the latest round of Webkinz:

Tiger Snake Webkinz	Black Cat Webkinz
Reindeer Webkinz	Charcoal Cat Webkinz
Love Frog Webkinz	Yellow Lab Webkinz

By: ss_shopgirl

In the mood to upgrade your t-shirt collection? It’s spring, so as you’re cleaning out the ol’ ‘drobe, make sure to replenish with some stylish, fun t-shirts — like those at Indieshirts.com. Their t-shirts are not only affordable (less than $20!) but you can get them on organic cotton with a variety of cool designs (see above) AND you can even customize it with your own message! AND shipping is only $2.50. What are you waiting for? Get your tee on…

By: ss_shopgirl

If you’re still searching for a great Mother’s Day present, don’t worry, you still have time to order online. And if you’re looking for something especially unique, beautiful, and affordable, check out Gorjana Jewelry.

Besides having a beautiful and intuitive site, Gorjana Jewelry has been worn by celebrities from Lindsay Lohan to Cindy Crawford. If the celebrity endorsement doesn’t sell you, just take a look at the jewelry itself – it’s delicate, classy, and made with pure gold, silver, or fine briolette stones.

Plus, Gorjana Jewelry is offering a limited time 20% off discount to all Shopping Vine readers – just enter coupon code SHOPPINGVINE at their checkout. Hurry! The offer ends next Monday!

Eden Necklace 14K Gold $130	Petal Necklace 14K Gold $95
Grecian Gem Earrings 14K Gold $120	Bali Arc Hoop 14K Gold $115
Flutter Ring Sterling Silver $135	G Circle Ring $110
G Ring Cuff 14K	G Bangles Sterling Silver $132

by: ss_shopgirl

I don’t know about you, but there are only so many times you can order roses for your mom on Mother’s Day without feeling guilty about it. I mean, they’re beautiful and all, but what can Mom do with roses?

So you can imagine my surprise when I came across the Organic Bouquet web site — an eco-friendly online flower shop that specializes in selling organic flowers and plants — and loved every single rose bouquet on the site!

How could you not? With names like Peaches and Cream, Majestic Sunset, and Chartreuse, it’s hard not to be intrigued. The colors are phenomenal, a definite departure from the red rose bouquet standby. And for a limited time, they’re giving away a free “Organic Mint in a Bag” with every rose bouquet purchase. Hurry though — offer ends this Friday!

Peaches and Cream Rose Bouquet	Chartreuse Roses
Majestic Sunset Roses	Lavender Roses
Aphrodite Roses	Impulse Roses

By: ss_shopgirl

Bag Stor Grocery Bag Storage by Jokari

It’s the last day of Earth Week on The Shopping Vine, so I decided to save the most important shopping tip for today. If you’ve already read about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch then you know the impact that plastics have on our environment. So today’s eco-friendly shopping tip is:

Cut down on the amount of plastics you use

When shopping at the grocery store or the mall, opt for paper bags or no bag at all if you can — and if you can’t, make sure to save up your plastic bags (I like the handy Bag Stor pictured above for storing my plastic bags in the kitchen. And it’s affordable!) then recycle them at the grocery store. You can recycle Type 2 and Type 4 plastic bags. Not sure what that means? Here’s the breakdown from www.care2.com:

1 Polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE)
Used to make soft drink, water, sports drink, ketchup, and salad dressing bottles, and peanut butter, pickle, jelly and jam jars.
GOOD: Not known to leach any chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer or disrupting hormones.

2 High density polyethylene (HDPE)
Milk, water, and juice bottles, yogurt and margarine tubs, cereal box liners, and grocery, trash, and retail bags.
GOOD: Not known to leach any chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer or disrupting hormones.

3 Polyvinyl chloride (V or PVC)
Most cling-wrapped meats, cheeses, and other foods sold in delicatessens and groceries are wrapped in PVC.
BAD: To soften into its flexible form, manufacturers add “plasticizers” during production. Traces of these chemicals can leach out of PVC when in contact with foods. According to the National Institutes of Health, di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), commonly found in PVC, is a suspected human carcinogen.

4 Low-density polyethylene (LDPE)
Some bread and frozen food bags and squeezable bottles.
OK: Not known to leach any chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer or disrupting hormones, but not as widely recycled as #1 or #2.

5 Polypropylene (PP)
Some ketchup bottles and yogurt and margarine tubs.
OK: Hazardous during production, but not known to leach any chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer or disrupting hormones. Not as widely recycled as #1 and #2.

6 Polystyrene (PS)
Foam insulation and also for hard applications (e.g. cups, some toys)
BAD: Benzene (material used in production) is a known human carcinogen. Butadiene and styrene (the basic building block of the plastic) are suspected carcinogens. Energy intensive and poor recycling.

7 Other (usually polycarbonate)
Baby bottles, microwave ovenware, eating utensils, plastic coating for metal cans
BAD: Made with biphenyl-A, a chemical invented in the 1930s in search for synthetic estrogens. A hormone disruptor. Simulates the action of estrogen when tested in human breast cancer studies. Can leach into food as product ages.

By: ss_shopgirl

BareMinerals SPF 15 Foundation

The natural accompaniment to wearing eco-friendly clothing is to purchase eco-friendly cosmetics. So my shopping tip for today is:
 Buy eco-friendly and natural beauty products

Not only are organic and eco-friendly products great for your skin and body, they also look great too! One of the most popular natural cosmetics out there is the Bare Escentuals line of mineral products. The powder is amazing — does a better job than those heavy concealers and foundations, yet has no additives or irritants and is light on your skin!

I also love Burt’s Bees natural beauty products, Kiss My Face (their olive oil soap is amazing!) and Origins also has a relatively new Organics line that I love too.

By: ss_shopgirl

Organic Cotton Vintage Tee from Target $9.99

Hopefully your interest in eco-friendly products hasn’t fizzled out now that Earth Day has come and gone (hence the “Earth Week” on The Shopping Vine). So besides changing your light bulbs to CFLs and composting your kitchen scraps — there are actually more exciting-sounding things you can do to help reduce your impact on the environment.

So today’s eco-friendly shopping tip is going to be my favorite:
Shop for organic clothing!

And contrary to popular belief, buying organic clothing and beauty products does not have to be pricey. Sierra Trading Post has a really affordable Aventura line of organic clothing, as well as Target, and Gaiam (great for yoga clothing). If you don’t mind shelling out a few more green bucks for the environment (and great fashion!) check out the fantastic Edun line of clothing from Ali Hewson and Bono (yes, the Bono!).

 Why shop for organic clothing?

The short answer is that conventional cotton uses tons of chemicals and pesticides — roughly one-third of a pound for just one T-shirt (and you can imagine how unhealthy it is to have that on your body anyway) while organic cotton doesn’t use any chemicals. Need more convincing about why to go organic? Check out Organic.org’s Top 10 Reasons to Support Organic in the 21st Century.

By: ss_shopgirl

Happy Earth Day!! If you haven’t already participated in an Earth Day event, read the top ten ways to celebrate Earth Day, or banished plastic bags by using one of these stylish grocery bag alternatives, it’s not too late to start with today’s eco-friendly shopping tip: Compost your kitchen scraps to naturally enrich your soil.

Not only is composting simple, it cuts down on the cost of buying fertilizer. (And cuts down on the amount of food in the trash can!) Here are some quick tips on how to get started on composting as well as my recommendation for a great composter.

Do you compost? Please share your tips with us.

Until tomorrow…

Earth Machine Composter