Good Charma
Perk up your wardrobe this season with one simple accessory, a scarf from good charma’s Wish 4 Peace line,goodcharma.com. The scarves, designed with a Balinese influence, offer pretty, punchy prints that home in on peace, love and goodness. Check out Fab Mama’s favorites: Red Buddha, Grass Green Skull and Coffee Owl. The company also offers plenty of funky jewelry made mostly of charms meant to bring their bearer good fortune. Good charma’s Wish 4 Peace scarves range from $85-$110. Everyone needs a little “om”-inspired look in their life.
Bike and stroll
Trips around the city with your little one just got a little easier, thanks to Taga’s multifunctional vehicle. Part bike, part stroller, this Dutch-made three-wheeled carrier bike is quite brilliant. Switching from bike to stroller is fairly simple and takes about 20 seconds, even with a napping child. Taga, tagabikes.com, allows you to take a ride with your little one through the local park, where the forward-facing kid seat makes it perfect for pointing out the flora and fauna, then go shopping downtown.
The seat comes with a five-point harness, front safety bar and head cushion and weighs about 45 pounds. Although this bike is a little on the pricey side, $1,495, you can think about it as an investment item.
Taga is ideal for kids 6 months to 6 years. Once your kids grow out of the seat, you can add on a shopping basket, $229, which is perfect for visits to the market. There are currently seven add-ons, ranging in price from $15 to $629, including a wagon seat, car seat adapter and an additional seat for a second child.
Get ready to be the envy of the neighborhood.
Leave the whining, head to the wine-ing
With back-to-school season in full swing, you deserve a break, and so do your gal pals. Walk away from the whining and head to the InterContinental Hotel for serious studying at ENO-Versity, enowinerooms.com. There you’ll have lessons on the complex flavors of different wines and examine firsthand the art of savoring fine chocolates and cheeses. It’s tough work and you’re just the woman to do it.
The cheeses and chocolates are regional, while most of the wines are from small productions, chosen by ENO’s senior wine director, Scott Harney. On Sept. 13, Harney will offer Harvest Time! ENO-Versity, which covers wine making. As you learn what it takes to get the wine from the grape vine to your glass, you and your gal pals will make your own blend of red wine. The class is $35 and begins at 7 p.m. Reservations are required.
ENO-Versity classes take place once a month and tend to fill up. If you can’t make the class, stop by and make up your own mini-lesson plan with wine, cheese and chocolate, or ask about future classes. Who knows, even your honey might enjoy this place.
Get Enlightened
It’s not often you buy a candle that smells wonderful, is good for the environment and helps local women. But thanks to two women who believe in helping women break the cycle of poverty, now you can. Three years ago Stephanie Wernet, a mom of two, teamed up with Joan Pikus and created Bright Endeavors, brightendeavors.org, a social enterprise company that creates spa candle tins, eco-friendly candles and custom gifts under its Dreambean line.
Each year, the program works with inner- city and homeless women and mothers who want to better their lives.
“Our hope would be that they would have a renewed or new sense of self and … accomplishment,” says Wernet of the program. “We thought that could be the foundation for the next step for them-with the ultimate goal to be finding permanent employment.”
The candles in the Recycled Bottle Collection are made from vegetable waxes, mainly soy, and are poured into reclaimed wine, beer and soda bottles. The eco-candles are available for $12-$45.
