A Thoughtful (and Green) Mother's Day

I am a lucky mom.

Not only do I have loving, talented, amazing, capable daughters who make me laugh hysterically; and a supportive, caring, wonderful, devoted husband who also makes me laugh hysterically; I got great gifts today as well.

Beccah, the art major, and former Cards by Cath employee (she made hundreds and hundreds of cards for my little handmade card business), made this lovely paper crafted nosegay all by hand (no chipboard or die cuts here folks, this is sheer Beccah):

Each flower is cut out by hand, layered, and secured together with a brad that doubles as the center of the flower. She created dimension in the nosegay by cleverly attaching each bloom to a different length of wire so that it looks like a three-dimensional bouquet.

Thoughtful, touching, beautiful, remarkable...a treasure. Thanks, Boops!

Earlier this past week, Nicole asked me what I'd like for Mother's Day. Something that I just haven't gotten around to getting is a reusable bag that I could take to the mall, or Barnes & Noble, or Target when I shop. I have reusable bags that I take to the grocery store:

I have 5 of these babies. I picked them up at my grocery store for a buck a pop. Each time I go in, the cashier gives me 5 cents off my purchase for each bag I use. But it's so not about the savings. It's about the fact that we use 1 million plastic bags per minute. According to reusablebags.com:

[Once] single-use bags made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) are...brought into existence to tote your purchases, they'll accumulate and persist on our planet for up to 1,000 years.

and

According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. An estimated 12 million barrels of oil is required to make that many plastic bags.

and

The average family accumulates 60 plastic bags in only four trips to the grocery store.

That's what that's all about. Not to mention what these bags do to animal populations (particularly sea turtles and other marine animals) who mistake them for food.

(This counter really puts it into perspective!)

So, I'm doing my part on the grocery store end. But what about other shopping that I do? Call me self-conscious (or is it vain?), but I'm not really wanting to take my bright green Harmon's reusable bag to Eddie Bauer or Barnes & Noble. I certainly don't want to take it into a competitor's grocery store, like my local Super Target.

Thus, my request to Nicole.

When she arrived at our home today for our Mother's Day festivities, she just couldn't wait to show me this:

A trendy, roomy, durable, moxie fab reusable bag...that she made from scratch with the help of one of her bestest friends in the whole wide world, Deborah. It is fully lined, made with heavy, canvas-like fabric, with reinforced seams, and sturdy straps. And did I mention roomy? This puppy is as roomy as roomy gets. It measures 13 1/2" wide by 14 1/2" tall by 7 1/2" deep. When I shot it for this photo, I got two shoe boxes in it with plenty of room to spare.

I will be one stylin' green shopper next time I go out on the town.

You likey? Nicole is currently accepting orders for these trendy totes that will enable you to be oh so kind to Mother Nature. Just shoot me an e-mail and I'll hook you up. The totes are available in a variety of colors and patterns, and trust me, are extremely well-constructed.

No more wasteful shopping bags for me! I'll take this striped delight and load it up with all my prizes, taking another baby step towards green, with a little bit of help from one of my two sweet girls.

P.S. ...and it matches my recycled polka-dot shoes!