We love our local co-op. Every month they publish an amazing newsletter that is full of fresh articles and ideas that inspire us to “live green”. When I read their December cover list called “Celebrate the Eco Way”, I knew I had to share it with Mable’s readers. Enjoy and have a wonderful green holiday season!

“During the holiday season we tend, as a whole, to consume more. And, in doing so we create more… waste, that is. The following is a short list of ideas to help you reduce, reuse and recycle this season.

• Purchase living gifts such as house plants, garden seeds or potted trees that can be transplanted in the spring.
• Reduce waste by offering homemade food items or personal services as gifts. Baking cookies or preparing a meal a week for someone who would appreciate the help are two examples.
• Reuse holiday wrapping: use old maps or pages from newspaper comics for wrapping gifts.
• Reuse good quality, nearly new items as gifts or as donations to less fortunate individuals and families. Local charities can help distribute these items.
• If your celebration calls for a Christmas tree, compensate for the harvest of your tree; arrange to plant a new tree in your yard or neighborhood next spring.
• Give gifts that promote eco friendly life style changes. For example: cloth napkins and tablecloths, cloth or string shopping bags, a compost bin, gift certificates to resale shops, lunch boxes, reusable or biodegradable picnic plates, cups and utensils, recycling bins, or any gift made from recycled materials.

To preserve the spirit of giving, don’t try to give too much. Less “stuff” means less waste and a healthier environment for everyone.”

Article courtesy of San Diego’s organic and vegetarian Ocean Beach People’s Co-op.

Taged as: baking, charity, DIY, eco friendly, gift idea, green gift idea, holiday, holistic, homemade, kitchen, nature, one of a kind, organic, solar, top Christmas gift, wellness

For an easy way to find out how old someone is, just ask them how they spent Saturday mornings as a kid. If it involved heaping bowls of fluorescent colored cereal and watching cartoons about otherworldly creatures at 6AM… you’ve found yourself an 80’s child. Both Sean and I spent untold hours parked in front of our television screens, watching with equal amounts of awe and laughter as epic battles were waged between our heroes. Is it any wonder we gravitate towards 80’s t-shirts?

Sprite covered
Rainbow Brite shirt

Freaky Mumm Ra
Thundercats shirt

Candy covered
Care Bears shirt

The characters were usually cloaked in goofy outfits and had funny sounding names, but they all has a pretty serious mission; Rainbow Brite and the Care Bears kept vitality and love in the world, GI Joe was battling global “terrorists”, the ThunderCats prevented an ancient mummy from controlling the planet, and He-Man and She-Ra were defending the entire universe. We never watched the animated offerings from Lucas, but the Star Wars movies were so influential for us and that plot also involved protecting the galactic from evil. 80s kids were definitely presented with some mature themes and we loved it.

Ninja Turtle
costume shirt

Nobody puts Baby
in a Corner shirt

Darth Vader
costume shirt

Of course the 80’s were also influenced by the Me Generation mindset so we also ended up with fantastically silly or mundane plot lines. The Ninja Turtles were kind of a hybrid, as they fought off potentially multidimensional domination by evil, but they also used surfer slang and ate ice-cream topped pizza. (Which, by the way, is absolutely delicious. Thank you TMNT for prompting me to try that back in the late 80’s.) And then we’ve got a boatload of movies like Dirty Dancing where the drama stems from coming of age and a simple need to dance. Goonies, Ghostbusters, and Back to the Future were also some “heavy” 80s movie offerings that tickled our imaginations as well as funny bones. It was an amazing time for media and for just being a kid.

All things considered, I’m really grateful that I got to spend my adolescence in the polarized yet magical decade of the 80’s. How about you, fellow 80’s children?

Ghostbusters
costume t-shirt

Delorean Back To The Future shirt

Goonies shirt

RELATED: 80s Clothing for Women, 80s Clothing for Men, our main 80s Clothes Store, and Vintage Metal Lunchboxes

Taged as: 1980s, fashion, funny, gift idea, kid friendly, sweets, t shirt, under $25, vintage

It’s a new month and that means another awesome vintage store shall take the spot light. I hope you all added last month’s hot vintage seller, Filthy Gorgeous Vintage, to your favorite eBay sellers list so you can stay up-to-date with their latest auctions.

This month Blue Bird Apparel is Mable’s featured Hot Vintage Clothing Store and is always rockin’ the vintage styles from the 40’s to 80’s.

Blue Bird Apparel operates out of Rhode Island and currently has some killer vintage coats and sweaters definitely worth checking out. They add over 50 recycled vintage pieces to the store weekly so be sure to add them to your eBay favorite sellers list so you don’t miss out on anything.

Below is a sneak peak of some hot auctions going on right now from Blue Bird Apparel.

 

Vintage 30S 40S Deco
Black Persian Lamb & Mink
Fur Coat

Vintage 80s New Wave
Leopard Print Fur Fleece
Jacket

Vintage Sweet Black Lace
Tea Party Babydoll Dress

Taged as: accessories, eBay, eco friendly, fashion, indie, one of a kind, recycled, retro, unique, vintage

With less than 10 days left until Halloween, it’s time for the costume rush. The sooner you buy the better chance you have for getting the actual costume you want, in your actual size. Plus there are some great deals out there right now, so get your Halloween costume today!

Get 10% off your order $50+ at Buy Costumes. Automatically get FREE Shipping on orders $65+
Coupon Code: ZOMBIE50
Expires: October 31st

Buy One Get One 50% off at Spirit Halloween
Coupon Code: none needed
Expires: October 27th

Get 10% off your order $75+ or save 15% off your order $100+ at Extreme Halloween & Annie’s Costumes
Coupon Code: 10CJ or 15CJ
Expires: October 24th

Find the coolest costumes by using the search function in our Halloween Costumes section or simply browse the top costumes for 2008.

Taged as: coupon, discount, Halloween, sale

Sometimes having too many options can be a little overwhelming, but when entering the Pink Quartz Minerals shop I feel like a kid in a candy store! Doree is a one woman DIY powerhouse who makes a variety of all natural makeup, but she always makes time to create any item to your exact specifications. What color do you want that lip balm? How opaque do you want the color? Want to add a flavor? An all natural sweetener? How about customizing the label with any text you want? Even cooler, these options are standard and there is never an extra charge for them. I have been loving my marshmallow flavored, stevia sweetened, deep rose lip balm for months and I’m actually excited to order a few more.

As someone who really doesn’t wear much makeup - usually some tinted lip balm or mineral foundation - my affinity for Pink Quartz Minerals might seem surprising. Keep in mind though that I’m a really particular shopper; I always know just what I want… and what I don’t want.

Unlike most products out there, all of Doree’s handmade goodies are safe for your eyes, lips, skin, and face, which says a lot about how “natural” they really are. The ingredients consist of only 6 minerals (except the lip balms of course), and there are never any preservatives, chemicals, or animal-based ingredients. Everything is vegan friendly, and truly hypoallergenic and non-comedogenic. I was visiting family recently and took a peek at the ingredients on my little sister’s sparkly lip balm set. Talk about night and day! There was a huge list of chemicals and it was petroleum based, too. Yuck! What bums me out is that makeup containing dangerous, junky ingredients is standard. Thank goodness for businesses like Pink Quartz Minerals who have integrity and create only safe and exquisite makeup items.

I also had the pleasure of trying the mineral foundation and the fabulous vegan kabuki brush. Both are amazing! I bought the sample kit to find the perfect shade for me, but you can also have a color custom blended. I’ve been asked so many times “Are you wearing makeup? Your skin looks so nice.” Could there be a better testimonial? During the visit to see my family, my mom tried the kabuki brush and could not stop raving. “It’s so much softer than the expensive one I bought and doesn’t shed all over the place either”. Since she doesn’t stop by this blog too often I’ll let you guys know that I’m going to order her a brush and sample kit, too

Unless you’re madly in love with your makeup and can identify all the ingredients on the label, I really encourage you to try some of the lovely handmade products from Pink Quartz Minerals. They’re safe, affordable, and bring out your natural beauty so you’ll look and feel like a million bucks.

Taged as: custom, DIY, eco friendly, Etsy, handmade, sexy, under $25, under $50, vegan