Blog Posts by The Succulent Wife

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 line that was all natural, contained NO chemicals, toxins, parabens or artificial anything. After researching for my own daughters I thought I would share some great lines that I discovered.

Good for You GirlsGood for you Girls - A natural skin care line specifically designed for young girls. All the products are 100% vegan and are not tested on animals. They are made with the purest organic ingredients that are beneficial and nurturing for all skin types. Good for

By Tara Riceberg, Guest Contributor - Party Planning & Entertaining

It is often believed that the success of a party depends upon the host. This is not entirely true. A great event is a combination of an inspired host and a considerate guest. As Labor Day approaches and the NFL kicks off the fall party season, here are some simple rules to ensure that you'll be a fantastic guest.

1. RSVP Quickly
There is nothing more aggravating to a hostess than to track down her invited guests so see whether or not they are attending. Remember, the hostess has to plan a menu, purchase food, and set the tables. She needs a head count. The only thing worse than not replying, is replying yes and then not attending. How rude!

2. Plus One Etiquette
Traditionally, you could only bring a plus one if your hostess addressed the invitation envelope to you and a guest. If there is no mention of a guest on the envelope, then it is inappropriate to ask to bring someone. If you discover you have a last minute visitor in town or perhaps are in a new relationship, it is better to ring up the host and with regret decline their invitation as you now have a plus one situation. This then allows her to invite your guest or say that you will be missed but invited to the next event.

With today's technology, there are several websites that offer paperless invitations that allow you to click on how many guests you intend to bring. You absolutely must let your hostess know ahead of time who you are bringing so she can plan accordingly. Showing up with uninvited guests is the ultimate no-no!Sweat girls

3. Life of the Party
If you're too tired, stressed or moody to be social, then you'll never be the life of the party. Guests will feel your bad energy. So stay home! Better to call your hostess and excuse yourself from the evening (and risk being called a flake) than show up in a dull mood. The success of a party depends as much on you as on lots of yummy food and drink.

4. Arrive Promptly
A well-organized hostess has planned out the timing of her party. By arriving late, you will throw off her schedule and disturb the rhythm of the party.

5. Bring a Gift
Your host has carefully crafted a guest list, planned an evening, prepped her

Pig of the Month ClubWhen Anne-Marie's family and mine got together in Chicago earlier this summer, Pig of the Month offered to supply us with an evening of BBQ bliss. Bliss it was! The ribs arrived already cooked and frozen. We simply defrosted them overnight in the fridge. The next day we set the table and put on the barbeque. The precooked ribs and artichokes were placed on the hot grill and within minutes the dinner was ready. We were sent a choice of Get Lei'd Hawaiian and Love Me Tender The King of Memphis barbeque sauces. I love the subtle sweetness of the Get Lei'd Hawaiian, but my husband preferred the slight hickory taste of The King of Memphis. Add this to Anne-Marie's lemon-y, grilled artichokes (recipe below), a tossed green salad and you're in for scrump-ti-ly-cious meal.

Ribs & Sauce from Pig of the Month Club

Pig of the Month offers a variety of choices for a monthly club packages but it's also possible to purchase on an ad-hoc basis with any custom order (check out the pulled pork!). If you are having the gang over

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 own tees or to purposely mismatch his bright socks, he always managed to find a creative way to express his style (this mom is soooooo grateful that he didn't explore the "emo" or goth styles).

Stance Socks

But thankfully, fashion for young boys and men seems to - finally - be getting more creative. For instance, take these Stance socks. Coordinating but not necessarily matching (some come in "pairs" of 3), they are perfect for the young person looking to infuse a little individuality and

By Jennifer Urezzio, Contributor - Spiritual Affairs

The concept of meditation has been integrated into the mass consciousness. Now, science is proving the benefits of meditation that the mystics have been talking about for ages. Some of those benefits are:

• increased blood flow and slower heart rate
• increased brain function and focus
• improved memory
• decrease in stress hormones
• lower blood pressure
• reversal of aging process (this one alone is a reason to take up meditation)
• increased productivity

You (and I was like this) tried meditation once and fell into one of these categories:

• my mind just doesn't stop going
• my "to-do" list has too many things on it already
• I feel silly sitting there and it's uncomfortable

Meditations by ChiaralilyThis sacred practice is the time for you to be with you and your higher power. It is the time (and it doesn't have to be 20 minutes) for you to just be without any pretense or façade. It creates the opportunity for you to connect with that deep inner peace inside of you and trust me, it's there!

Take it from someone who knows, meditation doesn't have to be something on your "to-do" list. It doesn't have to be a "should" that if you don't set the time aside and do it, you feel guilty. It can be fun, relaxing and fit into your everyday life.

You can start off small in your practice of meditation and find something that fits into your life. As you practice you will find that you have more space and time to set aside to spend with you.

I'm an action junkie, so meditation was not a natural state for me. I find that when I allow myself to be, my whole world becomes easier. Here are a couple of suggestions to get you started:

Campaign for Safe CosmeticsWould you choose to put lead in your lipstick? Not a single one of us would, I'm sure.

My favorite consumer advocate, Annie Leonard (we mentioned her Story of Stuff video here) has created yet another engaging video to alert us to the untold problems of chemicals in our personal care products. Sure, we are now more educated about the nastiness of Parabens and Phthalates but ingredients such as these are but a few of the potentially harmful chemicals present in our lotions and potions. And although we could actively search out "natural" products, we are still trusting blindly on what the manufacturers choose to indicate on their labels. That is because there is no safety cosmetic standard so, any company can claim that their product is herbal, natural or organic - whether it is or not - as there is no legal definition for these terms. Watch this video for more details:

What to do? The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has made is very easy for its followers to take action. See this

Last week we wrote about some very cool back to school bags for everyone from preschoolers to the college bound teenager. Now it is all about the lunches. It is important to get the right accessories to make lunchpail lunches something to really look forward to when the lunch bell strikes. A new study has reported that if lunches are above 40 degrees for more than two hours, the lunch should be thrown away. It also states that the insulated bags does not guarantee the lunch will still be cold when ready to consume. Let's keep this in mind when shopping for lunch products. In the past we have mentioned some great finds in our Waste Free Lunch Supplies and a great eco-friendly lunchbox, Yubo. Here are some more ideas:

Contain This Perfect Sandwich Container	Perfect Sandwich - Keeps your wet ingredients (meat, lettuce, cheese) sealed and chilled in a water tight compartment and away from the bread until it is time to assemble them for lunch. The Perfect Sandwich guarantees that the sandwich will stay at a safe temperature to consume with its PerfectChill cooling pack. Buy from ContainThis for $19.99
Fit & Fresh Lunch on the Go	Lunch on the Go - Just like Perfect Sandwich, this set comes with a removable ice pack and will keep all your entrees and snacks cool and fresh for hours. Buy from Fit & Fresh for $9.99.
Black & Blum Lunch Pot

We love to support companies that do great work here and abroad. By now, we are all now quite familiar with (and wearing) Toms Shoes and we love the great work the company does around the world (Did you know that Toms does eyewear now, under the same One-for-One principle). In fact, we wrote about them three years ago already. Here are some other shoe companies that also do great work in their own way, whether it is helping the environment, fighting poverty or helping women.

For the Young Ones

Chooze ShoesChooze Shoes - Here are some perfect back-to-school shoes (up to size 5) that will not only give your child a great, comfortable and fun pair of shoes for school but also helps fight poverty. Like LittleMissMatched Socks, Chooze Shoes' left shoe is slightly different than the right one. When my son was younger, he always wore different colored shoe laces in his running shoes. My young daughters always mismatch their flip flops. I love seeing their sense of individuality and creativity and how they express it with what they wear. These shoes naturally allow children to think outside the (shoe) box and be individuals. Plus they are 100% free of any animal byproduct and made with colorful cotton fabrics. I love them! And just as important, if not more so, at the end of every year the company invests 100 % of its profits in anti-poverty programs, in the form of small business loans to women to help them emerge from extreme poverty. Chooze Shoes believes in "a hand-up rather than a hand-out." To check out their complete line of adorable boys and girls shoes go to their website Choozeshoes.com where you can purchase a pair for $48.00.

For Women

Sseko SandalsSseko Sandals - These sandals are a modern, simplified version of the Gladiator sandal. They have unique interchangeable design in over 30 different designs and colors. The company was started by a young journalism