Learn about helping your whole family live a more natural/organic lifestyle at Monkey Grass Green’s Healthy Home Party this Wednesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Carytown location of It’s Hip to Be Round.

Healthy Child Healthy World, a nonprofit dedicated to helping families create healthy environments for their children, will be doing a presentation on that same subject. First there’ll be a short film, and then Stroller Strides Richmond owner Rachel Pustilnik, Catherine Jones from Plum Organics baby and toddler food, Styles Group Fitness Network CEO and president Whitney Martin, Om Mama founder/director Leslie Lytle and other local healthy- and clean-living representatives will answer questions. There’ll also be healthy food from Ellwood Thompson’s and fun door prizes. The first 25 people to register for the event here and then attend will also get free swag bags.

While browsing Need Supply Co.’s website a few weeks ago, I came across a selection of funky necklaces by Thief&Bandit. Each necklace was made of multiple strands of rolled and/or braided fabrics with Native American-inspired prints. Various colors and patterns were mixed for fun, original creations with a dash of hipster chic.

Upon researching Thief&Bandit, I found out that these cool pieces are actually made by local artist/designer Amie Cunningham. I ended up ordering this piece from her etsy site. For only $36, the black, white and hot-pink necklace draws constant compliments.

If you want something a bit chunkier, there are currently a few pieces like this cool red and turquoise creation on sale on Need Supply Co.’s site. If you enter the code “SURPRISE30” at checkout, you’ll get 30 percent off the already discounted price.

 

The discount site Groupon launched Richmond-based deals last week, and I think today's deal would be particularly of interest to my Shop Talk readers.

Groupon is an online group-discount retailer. This means a retailer commits to giving members a special discount through Groupon if and only if a certain number of members commit to buy the item, usually a discounted gift certificate to a restaurant, shop or service in town.

Recent deals have included a $50 gift certificate to Eurasia for $25, an $18 ultimate combo ticket to the Science Museum of Virginia for $9, and a $30 gift certificate to Avalon for $15.

If you sign up for an account online, you’ll get e-mails with the newest deals.

Which brings me to today’s deal. For $50, you can get $100 worth of salon services at yy salon along with an 8-ounce bottle of shampoo. Way cool! When I reserved mine this morning, 13 more buyers were needed for everyone to get the deal. So sign up and buy one! The way I look at it (and this isn't at all rationalization), it feels like you’re getting $100 off when you actually go into the salon because you’ve already paid for $50 and you’re getting $50 free. Yay discounts!

Thursday is the time to start your fall shopping at Saks Fifth Avenue. Whether you shop online or in-store, you’ll get a gift card for future shopping based on how much you spend Thursday. If you spend between $250 and $499, you’ll get a $25 gift card. Spend more? You’ll get more. All the way up to a $450 gift card if you spend $3,000 or more. It's the perfect time to get a few new wardrobe staples for fall.

There are shopping events galore this weekend. Here are a few on my must-hit list.

Tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. is the Libbie and Grove shopping area’s annual sidewalk sale. This is one of my very favorite events, as there are always great deals everywhere. A few specials I’ve already heard about include 25 percent off all monogramming services at Logo Advantage, 15 percent off almost everything inside Fraiche, big discounts at V for the Home and 20 percent off already reduced sale apparel at Irresistibles. I’m sure there will be more opportunities to save everywhere.

Tomorrow night, the merchants at Patterson and Libbie are hosting a free movie event. Starting at 6 p.m. at the Westhampton School Playing Fields (5800 Patterson Ave., at Maple Ave.), there’ll be merchants like The Shops at 5807 selling stuff, along with food and beverages for sale. The Blind Side will be shown at 8:45 p.m. Come, hang out and bring blankets or chairs to settle in and watch the movie later. There will also be activities for kids. A similar event will take place on Aug. 13, when they’ll show Hotel for Dogs.

The Nordstrom anniversary sale kicked off today. The store opened at 8 a.m. this morning and will stay open until 10 p.m. tonight. Tomorrow hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday it’s open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. If you’ve got a Nordstrom card, you’ll get double rewards on purchases through July 20.

For online shoppers, Need Supply Co, is offering an extra 20 percent off all sale items with the code SURPRISE20. And if you buy something online, you can choose the “in-store pickup” option at checkout to skip the shipping fee.