In the great new Sun-Sentinel blog The Skinny, there's a post about keeping kid-sized dishes (even after they've outgrown Dora or Superman or whatever) because they are great for portion control.

This reminds me a post we did here last December on these great rice bowls from Utsuwa.com.

A set of 5 small porcelain rice bowls similar to these is only $18 (snooze ya lose, back in December they were $12!), and they are the perfect portion size for pasta, veggies, cereal, ice cream, you name it. (My kids use them at just about every meal.) Yes, they're porcelian...but we've used them for more than a year and haven't broken one yet.

And aren't they pretty? An added advantage: now the kids don't fight over who gets what character-themed plate. (Of course, they do fight over the color. sigh.)

-- K.V.W.

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This is a product Elle Woods of Legally Blonde would kill to have -- a vacuum with a great reputation in her fave color.

The bagless Dyson DC07 Pink, which cleans with cyclone technology and is certified asthma friendly according ot the Asthma and Alllergy Foundation of America, sells for $399 exclusively at Target. And $40 from the sale of each one will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Too bad Elle didn't have one of these in the movie.

C.V.S.

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It's almost that time to start thinking about Halloween costumes.

If you've got a little one who doesn't like to get dressed in a bulky outfit, the Super Hero shirts and detachable capes from Little Capers are pretty darn cute. The company was created by two college friends. One of them had a son who, along with his friends, was obsessed with being a superhero. Figuring there was a better option than clipping a dishtowel to his shirt or the commercial polyester pajamas, a idea, and company, was born.

There are some great categories in Little Capers. Our fave: The Peace Hero. Oh, and they come in short and long sleeves. Great for our muggy-hot SoFla Halloweens.

On a personal note: After years of buying elaborate costumes for my kids (had lots of luck from Lilly's Kids), I have put a mandate that this year they must come up with their own creations, or recycle something from the past. For 5-year-old Jayan, no problem. He will, for the third year in a row, be some kind of super hero, and has a whole collection to pick from. Last year he was Dash from the Incredibles. Before that, Batman, and before that Superman. (I believe he also has a hand-me-down Hulk.) 8-year-old Priya wants to be Hannah Montana. I did let her buy a long blond "Hannah" wig from Claire's. The rest will come from her existing wardrobe. (Apparently that means leggings, mini skirt, a long sleeve layered tee, some kind of belt and hoop earrings. (Just as I was wondering why in the world she wants to dress like the teen pop star, I had flashbacks to my own Madonna Halloween costume in the early 80s.)

-- K.V.W

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When I walked into the new Crate & Barrel Homestore in Boca Raton's Town Center this morning at 10 a.m., sales clerks were still "fluffing" as designers like to call it. They were putting vases in place and correcting some of the rearranging that more than 1,200 guests created the night before at the opening party for C&B's best customers.

This is the largest C&B in Florida with 33,443 square feet and the only one that sells furniture. Most C&B stores are about 12,000 square feet.

After checking out the furniture on the second floor, I chatted with CEO Gordon Segal, a likable guy with that Midwestern ease that can be disarming to some of the pretentious folks in the East.

Gordon and his wife, Carole, started the company almost 45 years ago with $17,000 and a dream. It's called Crate & Barrel because after they spent $10,000 on merchandise, they only had $7,000 left to prepare the store. Money ran out before they could buy display cases so they used the crates and barrels their imported wares came in.

Gordon and I walked the store and chatted about how they do business. Here's the buzz from the top:

Tableware items turn over four times a year with each season. After the season is over, you can find the goods reduced at the company's Sawgrass Mills outlet store in Sunrise. Right now, you'll find the summer goods on sale at the outlet.

If you see something you like in the "in stock" upholstery pieces, it can be delivered with a week.

Steamer bar cabinet

All the furniture is specially designed for C&B, including stuff like the Kyoto bamboo topped table of layered bamboo by designer Maria Yee ($1,399), the Steamer bar cabinet ($999) and the Gentry floor mirror ($1,199), which has a MDF frame that looks like woven leather.

C.V.S.

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Saw these pink tennis balls available at Publix yesterday. Not sure how much of a donation Wilson makes to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, but what a fun way to bring your pink support onto the court. You can also get them online here.

- K.V.W

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Is it just me or are restaurants getting darker, making it almost impossible to read the menu and see the bill?

I found a cool looking solution while shopping at Office Depot this past weekend. The Pocket Magnifier with LED LIght looks great, stores easily in your purse and cost only $9.99. It slides open to provide the light and a 3X magnification. The manufacturer, Great Point Light claims it will provide 30 hours of light on two replaceable CR1130 lithium batteries (included).

I'ts available in opaques in black, cherry, bubblegum and blueberry and translucents in cherry, bubblegum, blueberry and plum. No more eye strain, especially for Baby Boomers.
C.V.S.

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Our team's tennis season has started (I play weekly in a Broward league) and this year's uniform is anything black and white. Haven't refreshed my tennis wardrobe in several years, so I headed over to Match Point Tennis on east Oakland Park Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale for a little look-see.

Oh my, it was heavenly. If you watched any of this year's US Open, you've seen how fashion forward tenniswear has come. Serena's black A-line with a pink bow accent. Maria's fab red Nike "evening"' dress. (Too bad she lost so early and didn't get to wear it much!)

Anyway, the choices are endless, the fabrics are amazing and Match Point has a great selection. I fell in love with this black outfit [YOC tank &skirt] by Adidas (I did get it for 10 percent off, but still pretty pricey) and also bought an Adidas white tee (it has great cutouts and cap sleeves) from an even more marked-down sale rack.

Should keep me styled all season, which goes till next May. (Let's hope my game will be as dazzling.)

--K.V.W.

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Forgot to post this last week. It comes from Rod Hagwood's The Fabulous Report which appears in the Sun-Sentinel's Sunday Lifestyle section, and profiles an inventive local company RetroActif, which makes cool bags and the like out of recycled products.

Is your love of accessorizing destroying the planet?

A bit dramatic yes, but the "green" crusade of recycling and minimal carbon imprints isn’t exactly known for restraint.

And neither is Monica and Ziad Shuman of Pembroke Pines. The couple scours South Florida looking for PVC banners - often used to promote special events, festivals and concerts - that they can recycle into handbags and other accessories in a line called RetroActif.

"We get them from everywhere," said Ziad. "Often the manufacturer lets us know. The people at 3A Banners have been very kind."

The husband and wife got the idea about a year and a half ago, when Monica was looking for something to do while caring for their son, who is now three.

"Now we’re in 40 stores from Hawaii to Belgium," said Ziad. "It’s been amazing. In San Francisco a friend helped us with the market and so now northern California is great for us. We also have a friend in Barcelona doing it there. It’s becoming popular in the U.S. more and more. With a little help from our friends, we’ve been getting a snowball effect. Canada is a market for us because of a friend in Montreal helping us. The same for Europe."

To find store locations or to order online, go to retroactif.net. The line of handbags, totes, hobos, messenger bags, hats and cosmetic cases retail between $15 and $64.

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Crate & Barrel fans are going to go ballistic! We're getting a super sized C&B in Boca!

Count me in. I have been going to Crate & Barrel since I discovered the original store in Chicago in the 1980s. This store, which is 33,443 square feet on two floors, is the first C&B in Florida to carry furniture. You'll find housewares on the first floor and furniture on the second.

The store opens at 10 a.m. Sept. 25. It's located at the Terrace at Town Center in Boca, between Nordstrom's and Bloomingdale's. See you there!
C.V.S.

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Looking to replace your favorite scent?

Check out FragranceNet.com, for an enourmous selection and some good discount prices.

While there, do a search for "Pink" and you'll find a whole list of fragrances that help give back during the month of October, when the online perfume purveyor is donating 25 percent of proceeds to the Breast Cancer Research.

Among the pink selections: Pink Sugar from Aquolina for under $22; Ice Pink from Carolina Herrara for under $17; Tartine et Chocolate Pink from Givenchy for under $30 and Inferno Paradiso Pink from Benetton for under $22.

--K.V.W.

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If there's one thing a good shopper learns it's this: Buy it when you see it.

I have been looking for years for a replacement for my peep toe heels and finally found them at coldwatercreek.com. These satin dress pumps with patent leather 3-inch heels were a reasonable $69 and good quality.

I never considered ordering shoes through the mail, but Coldwater Creek allows you to return anything you buy by mail at one of their stores. (There's one at The Galleria in Fort Lauderdale and at Wellington Green in Wellington.)

Another bonus: Tear out the discount cards you can find in women's magazines and you can save $25 for every $100 you spend in the stores, online and in the catalog.

C.V.S.

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Holy smokes! Just got wind of this coupon site: retailmenot.com

Had I heard it about the other day when I ordered my Nine West sandals (see blog entry below), I could have gotten $10 off and saved the $7 shipping cost by using codes O7VIP and VISA07.

Definitely worth trying on your next online shopping adventure. Thanks to my colleague Vanessa Cordo for telling us about it.

- K.V.W.

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Summer is over (Autumn officially begins next Sunday) and, while it is never really over here in South Florida, there is one thing that signals the end: All those sandals you coveted the past few months are probably on sale!

My most fave (and most used) pair this summer was the Nine West Twinstars thong sandal in black patent. Bought them in May for $65 and have worn them practically every weekend since. Nothing like patent leather and cork heals to deal with summer rain -- love it! These are the kind of shoes that are so comforable and stylish that you wish you had bought them in other colors.

So it dawned on me recently to check ninewest.com. Sure enough, I found a pair in my size for half price ($29.99).

This pair is yellow patent leather -- a sunny reminder of summer to get me through fall and winter.

-- K.V.W.

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As October nears, we are starting to be inundated with pink, that is, products geared to promote Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Shop-o-matic will occasionally feature items that we deem especially cool and that donate significant proceeds to a noteworthy cause. (You'd be surprised at the number of so-called "pink" merchandise that doesn't actually contribute -- or does so minimally -- to the cause but takes advantage of the marketing campaign behind it.)

So let's begin...

Love this Michael Stars tee from Olive and Bettes (my all-time fave store in NYC).

Love the "I believe in a cure..." slogan and the "one size fits most" Michael Stars tees really do usually have a great fit.

Oh, and all proceeds of this shirt go to Woman At Risk, a program at Columbia University Medical Center.

K.V.W.

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Surprise. Surprise. The folks at Wal-Mart have injected themselves with some style genes. (For you shopping snobs, I know it's hard to believe.) I was shocked when I saw an ad for elegant bedding from Springmaid in a Wal-Mart ad in Domino magazine.

I couldn't find the comforter set in the ad on the Wal-Mart Web site, but it did have this Lauryn Sateen Duvet Set, which includes duvet cover with matching shams on 350-thread count sateen. Prices range from $44.96-$64.96.

The cool thing about www.wal-mart.com is the fact that customers rate the products for price, expectations, features and appearance. You may want to read them before you buy.

C.V.S.

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Just drove to Weston on 595 this morning and saw a billboard for Ikea.

Also saw their parking lot full of cars.

Soon, people, soon.

Yay!

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One of the biggest complaints I get from readers is that all the furniture they see in stores looks alike. But that's because they are typically shopping the big chains.

Want your decor to take some chances? Try shopping some of the individually owned shops where the owners aren't afraid to stock some unusual merchandise.

Be sure to ask some questions and you may be surprised how much service you get that isn't advertised. Some offer free design service. Others will allow you to take the product home on approval for a few days so you can decided whether it really fits in your decor. The owner may ask you to leave a check or a credit card number and only put it through if you decide you want to keep the merchandise.

Remember, don't be afraid to ask. You may be surprised at what you get.

C.V.S.

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Check out the Sun-Sentinel's parenting blog transParent today to find out about the cute kids co. Alex and Jett. Its specialty is personalized tees -- very original and cute.

K.V.W.

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This week's Divine Find as seen in Sunday's Sun-Sentinel:

HOMELAND USA FURNITURE

420 E. Oakland Park Blvd., Wilton Manors; 954-564-3334; Hours: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Homelandusa.com.

Owner: Mario Marchiani

Wow factor: The ordinary outside appearance and the shop’s name can be misleading. This is a prime destination for interior designers and those looking for home furnishings that are chic, contemporary and customized. About 70 percent of the merchandise in this 7,800-square-foot store comes from Brazil, but there are also unusual items from China and the Philippines. Free interior design advice is available and so is customized furniture. (Arrival time is 10-12 weeks for most items.)

Editor’s picks : Faves include a stunning 7-foot-high chair with high vertical reeds as its back ($1,300) that would look fabulous in pairs in a loft; a 78-inch-tall floor lamp from the Philippines made of mango leaves and resin with a woven base ($1,000); an 11-by-2.6-foot runner from New Zealand created in bright swirls of color ($300); a glass and wood coffee table that features treated wood from demolished homes in Brazil ($2,000); and a round light sculpture on a frame ($1,900).

Design for less : Most items are higher end, but you can find some bargains, including a wooden box for playing cards topped with a hand holding cards made of stainless steel ($30), S-shaped candles with tops that look like they are filled with coconut ($25 and $65); and framed stainless steel art of bananas and asparagus ($180).

Trivia: In October and November, a container shipment from Brazil will arrive with small decorative items from $20-$100.
- C.V.S.

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If you love perfume bottles, here' s a keeper: Badgley and Mischka's new scent, Fluers de Nuit (Flowers of the Night) comes in a gorgeous bottle etched with a brocade pattern.

Full disclosure: I have not smelled the scent, but it's described as "white floral with notes of magnolia and night-blooming jasmine." Apparently the design duo was inspired while on a trip in India, where they were in a moon garden which had night-blooming flowers that are pollinated by night butterflies.

The whole idea sounds lovely. But seriously, the bottle puts it over the top.

Fleurs de Nuit will be available in October for a limitied time. It comes in one size, a 3.4-oz. eau de parfum spray, for $90. Get it at Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's.

-- K.V.W.

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Anyone who loves traditional decor goes for toiles.

Rekindle your fond memories of the Big Easy with a French toile based on original sketches by Bryan Batt and Tom Cianfichi, owners of the home and gift boutique Hazelnut New Orleans. Although the toiles were introduced four years ago when the shop opened, the Katrina tragedy disaster has invigorated sales.

Toiles typically depict bucolic scenes and women in flowing dresses, but this one shows New Orleans scenes such as the St. Charles streetcar, the Vieux Carre and St. Louis Cathedral. It is available in five color combinations: the traditional magnolia (ecru/black), café au lait (tan/chocolate brown), claret (ecru/red), delphine (ecru/blue), and palmetto (ecru/green).

The products, made of a cotton and linen blend, range from throw pillows ($120 each) and photo frames ($45 each) to shower curtains ($180) and shams ($68) with duvet cover ($212). -C.V.S.

To order, see www.hazelnutneworleans .com .

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Check out this fashion info-graphic I found on usatoday.com.

They asked GQ creative director Jim Moore to name five timeless fashion pieces for men that transcend time and trends. As you click on each basic piece -- Levi's 501 jeans, a Brooks Brothers button-down, Rayban Aviators, Converse hightops and a Ralph Lauren gray flannel suit (something we can obviously do without here in SoFla..) -- you get suggestions of items to pair with that piece. And it tells you the price and where to get it.

They are pretty basic style tips, but then again, for the guy who doesn't have a fashion clue, it' s a good place to start.

K.V.W.

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I am one of those gals that dresses for the seasons, even though we don't have seasons in South Florida. (88 degrees in September? No problem. My office's airconditioning makes boots and sweaters very plausible.)

That said, one thing I miss about living in a cold climate is the ritual of buying a winter coat. I lived in Delaware for 5 years and Chicago and Cleveland before that. So, over the course of ten years I had plenty of coats. (Yes, honey, coat styles do go out of fashion!) My all-time fave: a black and white plaid wool swing coat that I bought on major sale at a boutique in Lewes, Delaware. A distant second: The puffy blue ski jacket that got me through several snowy Ohio winters.

Of course, no need for coats in sunny SoFla, but i just found something that might appease my coat fixation. The new Snowmass Stevie bag from Kate Spade looks so wintry chic. How fun to carry it around and pair it with... flip flops!

-- K.V.W.

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A little bit of retro, a little bit of bohemian, and a whole lot of everything in between, Babygirl Boutique (babygirlboutique.com) offers a huge selection of clothing styles in everyday basics.

But they also have an extensive a huge dress selection for fancy events.

Need a Halloween costume? They’ve got plenty of those, too. Whether you dream of being a fairy princess or something slightly more risque, there’s guaranteed to be something that suits your style.

One of the best parts about the site is ease of navigation. If the retro look is your thing you can narrow your selection down to just that style. Or just view pieces by a if you crave threads by a specific designer you can view just their pieces. You also can cast a wide net, searching by category: skirts, shoes, shirts & tops, etc.

Prices range from extremely affordable to more upscale (think: dropping $180 on for a handbag).

Our picks include:
Red stretch jersey polka-dot-print retro day dress with gathered bust ($39.95). (This is the dress shown at left.)
Rockabilly cherries velveteen corduroy low-waisted short shorts ($39.95).
Leg Avenue five-piece Rainbow Brite costume ($29.95).

(This info comes from the Sun-Sentinel's wire service)

-- K.V.W.

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Check out our latest Divine Find -- it appeared in Sunday's Sun-Sentinel.

MUSHKA

180 NE 39th St., Buena Vista Building, Miami; open by appointment and 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on the second Saturday of every month for the neighborhood gallery walk; www.mushkadesigns.com

Owner: Sarah Wilson

Wow factor: Discovering this tiny glass-walled shop on the second floor of a Design District building feels almost magical. Inside, display cases are loaded with the hand-made designs of the 27-year-old Wilson, whose work is clearly inspired by the natural world. Almost all of the metal in her designs has an oxidized or brushed finish.

Editor’s picks: In the Blossom collection check out the sterling bud vine necklace ($97) and earrings ($95) — part Japanese, part old-fashioned feminine. Her new Love Tags (starting at $120) are miniature dog tags that can be customized with the names of your children or with Wilson’s ready-made endearments: doll face, cupcake and love bug. Sterling pendants from her Earth collection ($45 to $300) feature a bit of nature dangling from a chain. The Antique Earth collection includes a striking piece inspired by a ginkgo leaf and fabricated in red brass ($72-$147).

Design for less: Many pieces are less than $50. But almost everything can be made in sterling silver, red brass, bronze or 14-karat gold. Wilson rarely used precious stones.

Trivia: Mushka is the nickname given to Wilson by her Polish-speaking grandmother. It means “little fly.”

--J.T.

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OK, I know most of you were boating, picnicking and having a heck of a lot of fun doing Labor Day weekend. Not me. Call it dedication. I was at Baer's in Boca Raton learning about the new collection from Better Homes & Gardens and Universal Furniture. (Read about it Sept. 15 in the Home & Garden section.)

Anyhow, while I was there, I chatted with Ira Baer about the ads that seem to be emphasizing lower prices. As we all know, the downturn in home sales has also slowed furniture buying. Baer told me that manufacturers are giving stores incentives on price so they can pass some savings on to the consumer. This is similar to what the auto manufacturers do to help move cars in a slow market. Stores are also trying to move out old product to make room for the new styles shown at the March High Point Market.

My advice: Now is a good time to go shopping for furniture bargains.

C.V.S.

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Here's a good deal this month from marthastewartflowers.com:

Order one dozen blue irises ($39.99) between September 1 and September 29 and you get a second dozen free. (A bouquet of irises really does look better when you have as many stems as possible. This picture shows 30 stems.)

The irises will be sent in a single box to the same recipient address.

K.V.W.

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A true shopper shops whenever or wherever he or she can. That's what happened recently while I was on jury duty in Palm Beach County. The judge gave us plenty of time for a lunch break, and a fellow juror and I stopped in Z Gallerie, one of my favorite stores on Clematis Street in West Palm Beach. The store also has branches in Mizner Park, Palm Beach Gardens and the Shops at Sunset Place in South Miami.

One of the items that caught my eye was this table lamp made of miniature ivory coconut sticks. It's available in 12 inch and 17-inch diameters. It pricey -- $109 and $149. But it's sure to be a conversation piece. Don't you think?
C.V.S.

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The latest issue of Blueprint magazine has inspired me to get my closet sweater shelves in order. They suggest using these $13 plastic clothing dividers from stacksandstacks.com.

My colleague Angie suggested these would also be great to organize magazines. You could also do towels and sheets in the linen closet.

-K.V.W.

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I have been giving Pediped shoes as baby gifts for the last year.

They are made of ultra supple leather and are soft soled, which enables babies to feel the ground beneath them as they learn to walk and develop foot strength as they grasp with their little toes. (They were even recognized this year in Consumer Reports' 2007 Best Baby Products guide, as one of the top recommendations for flexible children’s footwear.)

All that good stuff aside, they come in the most adorable styles. The latest one to catch my eye: The Ethan. The camouflage design is meant to be for boys, but we all have a sassy little girl in our lives who could carry the look.

If you go to the Pediped site, you'll see they are temporarily out of stock (told ya they were hot!) but go here for the store locator. By the way, you get free shipping if you order two or more pairs from the website.

K.V.W.

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... even more so when the money goes to a cause. Lean Cuisine, for the second year, is selling lunch totes to support the Susan G. Komen for the Cure fund.
The insulated totes come in three styles and are $9.95, which includes shipping. Half of that goes to Komen.
And if this is anything like last year's sale, they'll sell out in a flash, so hurry!
-- G.G.S.

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Love this yoga tank, from the new company BuddhiWear Organics.

I'm not a yoga expert by any means, but I do know that the Savasana is the best part of the yoga class. It comes at the end and is generally known as the "corpse pose." Basically you lie down and let your entire body sink in the ground. And you breathe and relax (and try not to fall asleep.)

So, it would be funny to walk into a class wearing this.

There are other cute slogans ("Powered by Om" and "Tree Hugger") and all the tees are made of soft organic cotton. (There's also a line of baby and toddler wear.) The company is commited to being entirely eco- and green-friendly.

-- K.V.W.

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