Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String

Method Bathroom Cleaner

I've slowly been going green for, oh, decades now, but for the longest time, I wouldn't give up my Tilex bathroom cleaner. My loyalty goes back to college days when the bathroom was so disgusting that you wanted to blast the crap out of it with the most toxic stuff out there. But those days are gone, and the bathrooms in our house are only mildly gross (5-year-old boys often miss the bowl). So it was finally time to green my bathroom cleaning, and a coupon for a Method product sealed the deal. However, I still wasn't convinced a non-toxic product would actually get rid of the soap scum and mold that quickly grows in the crevices of our limestone shower. The first thing I noticed when using Method's Bathroom Cleaner was the delicious eucalyptus-mint scent--it made me want to lick the walls. And that's when I realized: my nostrils weren't burning! I wasn't light-headed! The plant-based, non-toxic formula dissolves soap scum just as well as Tilex (maybe even better because now I don't rush the job to get away from the noxious fumes). $5.49

Migoga Marble Run

My son purchased this building set a few months ago using Christmas money from Great-Grandma. We had been to his friend's house, where they had a different marble run game (cheaper and flimsier, as it turned out). My son loved it, so I did some research online. The reviews of that product were horrible; the Migoga marble runs were reviewed favorably, however, so we purchased a set at our local toy shop. The marble runs come in various sizes, and some even have a motorized marble elevator thingy, but we got the medium sized, low-tech set called Vortis. My son has had hours of fun with this toy (and so have I). I'm pretty sure it teaches advanced mathematical skills--there's a lot of spacial and geometric calculations going on when you build a marble run. You can build one of four models pictured on the box (instructions are not provided--yay!) or else just build free-form. Then you race marbles (real glass ones, not crappy plastic like in some other sets) and see who wins. Sets run from $35 upward.

Benefit Moon Beam or High Beam

Okay, so I'm cheating with this one, because I haven't actually used this product yet. But I'm seriously just about to order it. I am excited about this product because, after months of watching American Idol and wondering how the hell Jennifer Lopez's skin looks that glowy and dewy (yet still remarkably un-Botoxed) when she's almost 42, I read that she uses a facial highlighter--something like Benefit's Moon Beam. I don't know for sure which exact highlighter she uses, because celebs guard their beauty secrets like Fort Knox, but the reviews of this product are excellent. Obviously, J-lo has the resources to purchase products and procedures that mere mortals can only dream of one day having, yet some of her signature radiance surely comes from using a facial highlighter like this one. Moon Beam has an apricot tone, while Benefit's High Beam is pinker. $24.00