It’s been a long, long week folks.

Free School Issues:

So, I’ve been absent once again, although for good reason this time. My son’s school, The Village Free School is facing a possible closure. It’s been a little frantic, to say the least. If Cedar’s school shuts down, Cedar’s going to be extremely upset, plus his dad and I will be back to unschooling full time which will cut into our schedules considerably. It’s a little bit of a mess.

No more school!:

Lately I’ve written a lot of posts in the anti-school series. I know some readers have liked these posts, but it may be somewhat annoying to those of you who come up here for eco-minded tips. That in mind, I’m going to keep my school rants elsewhere. I’ve moved most of the unschooling posts to a new home base – Learning Without Labels. If you did like the unschooling and Free School tips, then feel free to head over there. If not, no worries, I’ll keep the green tips rolling in right here.

The Dark Side of Chocolate:

I haven’t said much about Valentine’s Day here, mainly because we’re not THAT into it. It’s okay, but not a major holiday for us. Still, if you’d like to make smart ethical choices this Valentine’s Day, then Green American can help you out. Right now they’ve got their Dark Side of Chocolate Home Screening Kit available for purchase. At $6 this is a bargain and includes…

• 1 Dark Side of Chocolate DVD
• 1 Guide to Fair Trade
• Materials for background information
• Questions for discussion
• Valentine template to send to Hershey CEO

They’ve also got the goods on how you can send a sweet Valentine to Hershey CEO David West. The Valentine explains why you won’t be purchasing Hershey’s candies this year, or at any time, unless they make the switch to Fair Trade. Download a PDF Valentine Postcard, or design your own and send it to…

The Hershey Company
Attn: David West, CEO
100 Crystal A Drive
Hershey, PA 17003

Acorns!

Acorns are always fun, but you know what’s even more fun? ACORN OWLS! If you’re looking for the most adorable craft ever, well, you can’t beat Acorn Owls.

Yeah, I figured after the less happy news above some cute owls were in order.

Hope everyone is having an awesome week.

I just saw these Drawstring Bags over at My Bella Love’s Etsy shop and they’re so flipping swoon worthy. These tiny drawstring bags are the perfect thing for Valentine’s Day treats, birthday favor bags, and so much more. Plus of course you can reuse them over and over. AND these are totally affordable. It was hard to choose my favorite bag designs (all of them are so darn cute), so I grabbed some that I think would work well for Valentine’s Day.

Bags are handmade and sized for small items like jewelry, hair clips, candy, bridesmaid gifts, dried lavender, soaps, bath salts, gift cards, small travel items, and such. The satin ribbon drawstring is heat treated so it will not fray.

The only downside of these bags is they’re not made with eco-friendly material (i.e. such as organic cotton and such), but when it comes to reusable bags I tend to bend a little on materials. In my opinion the benefits of a reusable bag vs. say plastic bags or paper party bags outweighs material used to make the bags. For example, I’d rather see someone carry a plain cotton reusable grocery tote than use a million plastic bags.

The above said, I also get the argument for sustainable materials. If you only want treat bags made with sustainable materials check out Re-Usable Organic Cotton Printed Produce & Gift Bags.

If you like the bags above you can see all the Drawstring Bag goodness over at My Bella Love; so many cute designs you will flip! Oh and bags come in sets of two or as singles.