In the five years since we launched THE FAMILY GROOVE, we've seen the parenting industry grow to epic proportions. It's been scrutinized, analyzed, categorized, fetishized, storied, fabled, dressed up, knocked down, revitalized, (very well) capitalized and made into an actual institution—much like what happened to the concept of childhood  in the '50s. One of the coolest things that's come out of all of this (well, you know, other than the rise of THE FAMLY GROOVE, if we do say so ourselves) is the slow but steady greening of said parenting industry-cum-institution. For a while all that was green defaulted into the hands of the upper middle/upper class folks (back when there was an upper middle class) because it was so dang expensive. But slowly yet surely, green gear and goodies for all have made their way into the marketplace, thanks to savvy companies like My Little Green Shop, amongst others. My Little Green Shop nails where green is going in its tagline: An Affordable Eco-Friendly Lifestyle Boutique. Here, the eco-chic shop's owner Lili Meier talks about the business borne of  a desire to style her own life with safe, non-toxic items for her family. THE FAMILY GROOVE: Why did you start your business? Lili Meier: I always wanted my own business but for years I didn’t know what kind of business I’d really enjoy. After having my first baby, I knew I wanted to have a business that offered parents the kinds of products that I wanted to buy for my own little one, namely safe, non-toxic items that are less harmful to the environment than what’s generally on the market. TFG: Tell us about the name. LM: My Little Green Shop conveys what we offer: products that are eco-friendly and environmentally sustainable (ie organic clothing, tons of BPA and phthalate-free products, etc). We’re always expanding our inventory though, so I kind of wish the name were “My Big Green Shop.” TFG: What makes My Little Green Shop stand out? LM: A few things. We look for the cutest, most modern and stylish eco-friendly products and we are constantly adding new inventory, so we offer hundreds of items. We try to find locally made products as much as possible and we also offer fair trade products. What’s important to us is what’s in the products we carry and how environmentally sustainable the manufacturing process is of what we carry. Our facebook page and blog, My Little Green Blog, offer regular giveaways and lots of informative health and parenting articles. We offer customer loyalty Reward Points, which translate into savings for our customers. Finally, with proceeds we regularly donate to charities. TFG: What's your proudest moment as a business owner? LM: Part of our business plan is to regularly give to charities in order to give back to our community and as a way to teach our children to be socially responsible. Our hope is that they’ll realize how fortunate they are and that they’ll want to help out those less fortunate. In December last year we donated 5 percent of proceeds to our local Food Bank Society. Explaining that to our little son and having him personally hand the check to the food bank representative were very proud moments for me. TFG: What's new for the season? LM: In the next few weeks, we’re getting in lots new items: gorgeous bamboo nursing covers, BPA-free dish sets for kids, organic herbal bath and body products for moms and babies, sweet ponchos for little girls, new lunch sacks, and new rain coat styles. For more from My Little Green Shop, go to www.mylittlegreenshop.com.  

What do we love more than a sale? A whopper of sale! Just in time for your cheery holiday tidings and gift-giving, Classic Communication, your elegant-meets-hip online stationery go-to shop, is offering  three big ways to save. Hit a Hi Note: Save up to a 41% on all blind embossed folded notes correspondence notes. Now $24.95 for 50 and $9.95 for each additional 50 and $9.95 with return address (if desired) on all quantities. Make Memo-ries: Save up to 43% on most tablets and memos—just $19.95 with holder. (We LOVE the tablets!) Talk Ship: Free Shipping with a $30.00 purchase. Redeem with coupon code fship1. Whopper. We told you.

I often write notes—to myself, to my kids' teachers, to my man. Most of the time they are information or to-do driven but every now again they are sweet and sentimental.  My preferred (by default) medium of communication was sticky notes until I got an email from Classic Communications about their personalized memo pads and tablets. I just love them! They so spoke to me. I got the Family Arch Memo Square design pictured here with the family name in the foreground and the family members' names around the border. It is the little things in life that make this girl happy these days and I have to tell you that I am so excited to start using my memo pad. They are making me feel together and proper and official. I am also excited because they make excellent teacher, housewarming, new-marriage, new-baby and thank-you gifts. Seriously, I used to get this excited about shoes. My how parenthood and the economy have changed my perspective! Now I am excited to send correspondences to my son's school's headmaster on a nice-looking piece of paper and to write little love notes, ever-so-loving framed by my family members' names, to my daughter for her lunchbox. The funny thing is I don't really mind that my new focus is so functional and practical because these memo pads kind of make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside—like I am a mom and we are a family and taking care of them, on all levels, is my job and it's a cool one. (Lots of ands there—I know.) Note-to-self: I think you're finally getting this hazy, crazy, mysterious, magical thing called parenthood. Way to go! Yup! And it only took me five-plus years to get to that point. For more noteworthy items, go to www.classicommunication.com

In today's tech-saturated, busy-busy, go-go-go, text-you-later world, etiquette and the "proper" way to do things is verging on being extinct—and that just plain stinks. Politeness, gentility, graciousness, consideration, care, attention to detail—these are (or should be) the hallmarks of a modern society. The good, old-fashioned pendulum of proper has swung way far out into left field. I do hope it returns to the middle soon. Today's life and times has given rise to a flood of evolution in so many facets of our lives, but a few areas are indeed suffering the fate of devolution—and that is not a good look for any of us. End soap box rant here. I got some stellar etiquette tips in my inbox today, courtesy of Barbara Patinkin and her stationery go-to site ClassicCommunication.com. Barbara is working with Syndi Seid, a leading authority on social etiquette and protocol (I love that kind of stuff!) and owner of AdvancedEtiquette.com. Here are a few top tips from Syndi: 1. Miss is used for girls, ages 18 years old and younger. A Miss then becomes a Ms. 2. Master is used for boys, ages fourteen years old and younger. (I find that very few peeps use this one.) 3. When using a Jr. or a Sr., there is no comma after their name, as in Mr. John Smith Jr. For more tips, go to www.AdvancedEtiquette.com/blog. For the finest stationery, note cards, announcements and more, go to www.ClassicCommunication.com. Barbara is offering free shipping from August 13 to August 31.

Whether it's thank-you notes, invitations or cards, the art of communicating remains best availed on paper.

I've actually been wanting to start writing letters to my kids—like in a series for posterity's sake. I really want to do that. I am a bit embarrassed to say that, despite my provincial Bostian heritage, my adherence to the customary, the proper, the right thing to do has gone the way of the quill pen. Princess Diana used to write people notes after meeting with them. I would love to be the kind of person that did that; the kind of person who went that extra mile. (Heck, I'd like to be the kind of person who meets people at all—in person, beyond of a quick hello out of my open car window while idling on the drop-off/pick-up queue or my weekly pilgrimage to Whole Foods.) So why is it that words on paper in good, old-fashioned ink seem much more thoughtful and meaningful than their typed facsimiles? Well, for starters, unless you've got white-out (which Mike Nesmith's mom invented—love that factoid), you've got to think about what you are going to say before you write it. Think about what you are going to say? Novel, eh? Then you've got to write out a whole note without any mistakes, read it over (because there is no autocorrect), seal it up, address the envelope, affix a stamp to that envelope, go to post office or mailbox and send it in the mail. (Or you can just leave it in your mailbox for your mail carrier to take but that hedged the drama I was going for.) Writing a letter takes real live effort. Remember effort? Yeah, it's the one without the delete key. So the next time you want to speak your mind, open your heart and bare a little bit of your soul, consider putting pen to paper. Semi-awkward segue into... ClassicCommunication.com is offering free envelope printing through July 30th. The site and its owner, Barbara, a serial entrepreneur whose energy and passion for her business are palpable and infectious, actually inspired this post. The concept of classic communication is the very antithesis of all the tweeting (aka screaming over one another), texting, blogging and boring we all engage in ad nauseum—and that is exactly what we all could use right about now.