One of our favorite gift shops, The Spoon Sisters, has partnered with Susan G. Komen for the Cure for the month of October to support breast cancer awareness and research, with 10% of the retail sales of Pink Ribbon products going to the cause.

Why not shop early for a few Christmas gifts and do good at the same time?

We're loving the sweet pink melamine mini colander, the designer dish gloves and the pink ice cream spoons.

Plus, when you shop online, The Spoon Sisters will give $5 off orders of $40 or more with code CURE2007 at checkout through November 15, 2007.

Shop pink at The Spoon Sisters.

While we are thrilled about making our new home in San Francisco, we were very saddened to hear about the loss of local husband, father, reporter and shop owner James Kim. The Kim family owns two wonderful shops in SF, Doe and Church Street Apothecary, both featuring and supporting independent designers.

In an effort to support the Kim family, over 40 artists and independent designers have contributed fantastic items, ranging from jewelry, paper and home goods to toys and clothing, to be auctioned off on eBay, where 100% of the proceeds will go to The James Kim Memorial Fund. The auction starts today and ends on January 7.

Click here to see all of the amazing items being auctioned, including goodies by Jill Bliss, Minnie Wilde, Lena Corwin and more, and start your bidding now!

It's not as if you don't realize it's nearly the season to be jolly. It's just that you don't exactly have all the time and energy in the world to go fight the masses at the oh-so-boringly mainstream mall. After all, you have champagne to sip and lollypops to lick. Well sit back, uncork and relax as we present our gift to you this holiday season - fabulous gifts for everybody on your list (with exclusive coupon codes too!). Amazing things for all the ladies you love - and in every price range (with no long lines or snotty salespeople in sight). So go on, give the gift of originality and style this year. They deserve it - and so do you.

Click here to shop the Gift Guide For Her!

When we first visited Lucky Dog Designs, we were expecting to find a bevy of goodies for our BFFs – well, our imaginary four-legged friends anyway. But we were just as happy and surprised to find an adorable baby boutique instead – two legs sometimes are as good as four after all.

Darling and funky prints grace diaper bags, toddler aprons, bibs, blankies and burp cloths, making it super easy for us to nab unique gifts for all the little ones in our lives. Plus, 20% of sales in October will go to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, so we can't resist spoiling the tots and doing good at the same time. If you can't resist either, shop Lucky Dog Designs right here.

We loved the whole key necklace trend, but lurve this keyhole necklace even more. It's much more unexpected, feminine yet edgy. Combining a brass keyhole with a faceted rose quartz, which is said to be a powerful element that not only attracts love and affection, but is also considered a powerful healing force, we love how the Hope necklace drapes artfully from its 18" 14k gold-fill chain.

Throughout the month of October, 50% of the proceeds of the Hope necklace will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Shop Juniper Designer right here and treat someone you love to this beautiful and sentimental treasure.

Continuing our quest for cool designers and shops donating a portion of proceeds to Breast Cancer Awareness, we found darling stationery site Dear Monday. We adore the individually hand-decorated and embellished cards that are at once simple and special. From festively chic holiday cards to girly glam birthday cards and any other occasion and non-occasion you can think of, there's something for everyone -- everyone with great taste that is -- at Dear Monday.

Plus, 20% of web sales in October will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Do good and do pretty at Dear Monday right here.

It's no secret how much we love the indie community and now we have even more reason to love them. A new group of 31 wonderful independent designers and shops has come together to form Indie for Awareness, a new annual campaign created to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer charities and research. Each shop has something different to offer and you can browse the entire list here. We'll be highlighting some of our favorite finds throughout the rest of the month. (Isn't it nice to know you can support breast cancer by buying items that aren't pink, too?)

First up is a shop we've been anxious to share the word on for a while: Versamae Luxe. The girly boutique features loads of great stuff by independent designers, including belts, bags and beauty products, to name a few. Versamae Luxe will donate 15% of all sales during the month of October to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Check them out and shop for a good cause right here at Versamae Luxe.

Lawd knows you look good, and chances are, you're just as sweet. To us, you're perfection. Want to spread some of that wonderfulness to those who could use it?

Talking to one of our most fave peeps in the world over IM the other night -- who just happens to be in one of those countries ending in "stan" while he serves in the war -- made us realize just how lucky we are. And how much we should be giving back. While everyone has a different opinion on the war (or should we say wars) and the state of current events, we don't know anyone who doesn't support our troops. But do we ever stop to really show it?

While ribbons and flags on the homefront are nice, soldiers fighting abroad can't see them. But, they do enjoy the same things we do: mags, music, junk food, beauty products (um, hello, let's not forget all of the brave female hauties serving too, allowing us to live safely, happily enjoying our admittedly frivolous interests). Investigating how to send packages and letters to troops, we came across the fab site anysoldier.com.

Here you can click on the name of a troop who has posted up-to-date requests on things he/she needs and things that might make his/her day brighter. We know you're fabulous and love stuff as much as we do. We're simply asking you to take a few moments to send some of that stuff to someone who could really use it right now. And remember, all troops love letters, just remember to seal them with a BussBuss (kiss, kiss, darlings)!

P.S. We also know many of our readers are some of the incredible designers and shops we often feature, so we'd like to note that many soldiers request items that you make/carry, like stationery so they can write home, girly beauty products reminding the female troops that they're feminine and the like.