Here are a few of the organic stories that caught our eye today...

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-Grist magazine tackles the annual question about whether to get an organic xmas tree, and if you would be better to go with a plastic one [Spoiler... "No"] You can also read our story on this topic from last year

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-Turn Black Friday into Green Friday with these 10 eco-friendly gift ideas for children

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-Finally, the Seattle PI covers girls' first period kits including organic ones from Manymoonsalternatives.com and Fanciepants.com

The newly opened Lean & Green Organic Health Bar in La Jolla, California sounds like a very La Jolla kind of organic experience. It's like "like setting foot in a gym" and follows "the principles of feng shui."

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That said, its nice to see this very-not-granola part of the Golden State offering a fun-sounding eating place with salads, smoothies etc. Maybe our San Diego onoters can check it out.

A summer pilgrimage to Oregon's Lillie Belle Farms might be perfect for organic chocolate lovers. The farm grows certified organic raspberries, strawberries, and marionberries and then incorporates them into luscious, gourmet, (almost) certified organic chocolate truffles and bon bons. For a price you can even commission edible, chocolate art by the artist/chef of Lillie Belle.

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We know many Organic Note readers are aware of what they consume and so we asked the chef which of the chocolate delights are dairy free. Here's the answer:

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We have several things we do that qualify as vegan: hippy crunch, caramelized almond bars, crunchy fire bars, and lillie rocks. As for our bon bons... almond fig, strawberry, marionberry, raspberry, and cherry cordials are all now made without cream--so I guess they qualify too. All of our chocolate is organic. My farm and the berries I use are organic, as are many, many of the other ingredients: (sugar for toffee, nuts etc etc.) While we strive to be as organic as possible, and I assure you we are closer to the mark than most companies with the little green sticker...we have yet to go the long mile and certify our products. We plan on getting the bars and the toffees certified this year. The farm already is.

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Nice! The non-vegan varieties that sound tantalizingly intriguing include: Nepalese Coffee Bean Ganache, Cinnamon Ganache and Strawberry Balsamic Paté de Fruît. During warm summer months they offer cold packaging for your special order.

If your faded Gore-Lieberman bumper sticker has just been joined by a Baby On Board sign, you will totally be into these conservation themed baby onesies from MyConservationBaby.com

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The red outfit looks like a lot of fun and Egyptian cotton always feels great for the little ones.

Each Sunday, Paris' largest Organic Market is held on Blvd Raspail [Metro - Rennes, 9am - 2pm] We went there a few weeks ago and it's great. It's basically one (very) long row of vendors with an enormous range of produce and also the usual range of associated products. I enjoyed the chocolate stand, the amazing seaweed stand with a seaweed kind-of-pesto that could please even the biggest algue hater, and there was also some great soap, a stand with vegan paella, and a maca stand. They also carry quite a bit of meat, if that's your thing.

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It's considered to be a bit pricey, but maybe I was just desensitized by the general Paris prices so it didn't seem that bad to me.

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Tip: if you go South - North up the market you end up at a small park for sneaking in a picnic.

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PICTURE : The Market

A must-read story about how a shortage in artificial fertilizers led to a 'grass roots' organic farming revolution in Cuba which is now able to feed the nation.

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"It's very simple. We've moved to organics, not because we're Greenpeace members, but because we can't afford chemicals," Juan Jose Leon, an official at the Cuban Ministry of Agriculture, told me. "Everything we have gained, all the experience we have gained, we are not going to leave that behind."

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To me the above quote is extremely telling. Before Hugo Chavez opened up the gas flood gates, Havanans had turned to bicycles but after the gas crisis was done they were straight back to cars. Not so with organic farming: they like it, it works and they are sticking with it.

Le Grenier de Notre Dame is a great restaurant very close to ... well I think you know where it is. It's vegetarian and 80% organic. The staff are friendly to the point of practically trying to adopt my daughter and even my carnivorous family members had to admit that they liked the food.

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Looking back on the three Paris restaurants I have reviewed so far, the one thing they all had in common aside from being organic/vegetarian was the welcoming, down to earth atmosphere and the simple but well made food.

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I went macrobiotic again, and it was excellent: even the seaweed was knockout. Others in the party had a good cassoulet with plenty of seitan and white beans, and the vegetable lasagne was also a big hit.

Buddha Nose is a company with a name and a philosophy both of which I like.

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Their philosophy is beauty through wellness, rather than working from the outside in and their line of aromatic products include body massage salves, lip balms, aromatic sprays, bath salts, scrub cleansers and essential oils, and are made with only certified organic and wild-crafted ingredients.

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I got to sample their skin salve at a recent trade show. It has a very well balanced scent which is truly relaxing.

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They are USDA certified organic and even have a bug repellent spray.

While reading a story about an intriguing cocktail, the Praguetive, I learned about Saf in Instanbul, Turkey which claims to be Europe's first organic bistro, wine and martini bar. It looks great... I feel another field trip coming on!

Recently it was uncovered that in 2005 the EPA discovered some vinyl lunchboxes contained unsafe levels of lead, but the EPA did not release the study until an AP Freedom of Information Act request. They found some lunchboxes with a lead content of 600 parts per million(ppm) while the "safe" level is 9600 ppm.

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While I'm not excited about even the safe level of lead, I am excited about these great canvas lunch sacks from ECOBAGS. $6 for a canvas lunch sack or one dollar more for organic canvas. My advice, pick the organic canvas!