Let's cut to the chase: those little grocery-store Valentines that I used to give to my classmates when I was small no longer cut it. In this day of Elf on the Shelf and elaborate St. Patrick's Day "mischief set ups" (that somehow end in a pot of gold for the kid) it isn't uncommon to receive personalized cookies, little embroidered gift bags, or at least some candy from each kid at school for Valentine's Day.

Luckily, you need not know how to knit or spend hours assembling gift packets (although I have for several years - see two examples above!) Adorable, impressive, high-quality classroom Valentine Cards are easy to get at Tiny Prints.

Continue reading "Classroom Valentines!" »

It was Twitter that piqued my interest in the Hunger Games series. A friend mentioned how she was dying to get her hands on Mockingjay. Well, of course I couldn't just jump to the third book, so I downloaded The Hunger Games for my kindle, quickly followed by Catching Fire, and of course Mockingjay. I've since read them several times apiece. I can't put my finger on why these books sucked me in, but they sure did. It is just enough fantasy, just enough suspense, just enough action, and just enough of themes that I can relate to, even if I am "old" now. Of course my enthusiasm with Suzanne Collins' masterpieces means I'm very eager to see The Hunger Games movie when it comes out March 23rd. In the meantime, I've enjoyed seeing each little promo pic as it comes out, or the entertainment magazines articles about the making of the film. I'm awaiting the first issue of Capitol Couture. After all, you must always #lookyourbest. I'm eating it all up.

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Disclaimer: I am an Amazon affiliate. I will not receive any compensation for posting about the movie.

Today is the magic day! It is time to watch Beauty and the Beast in 3D and the accompanying short Tangled Ever After.

Here's a little preview of Beauty and the Beast to whet your appetite:

I have a cookbook from my youth that contains various muffin recipes. I know I loved these treats as a kid, but when I make them now, my changed palate can't handle the oily taste of using copious amounts of vegetable oil. When I got the excellent gift bundle from Fresh & Easy, I was eager to try their pumpkin bread mix. My heart sank for a moment when I saw it was an "add vegetable oil" type mix, but then I got an idea...

I saw a sale on Open Sky for coconut oil. Although I had heard about such a product in passing, I was drawn to the description on the site about how it is a healthful alternative to other oils. I'm an EVOO gal, but was intrigued by the idea of trying coconut oil. I ordered a jar of Kelapo from Open Sky. (Okay, I ordered two jars, since I was convinced I'd love it.) Meanwhile, I received a sample size of Artisana raw coconut oil in one of my Blissmo boxes.

I used the coconut oil just as I would have ordinarily used vegetable oil or Crisco. Coconut oil can be used either as a liquid or a solid, which makes things pretty easy. We used to have Crisco in our pantry, but then they started adding artificial preservatives. I'd much prefer a 100% organic, fair-trade product that is rich in antioxidants and lauric acid (also contained in breast milk) like Kelapo coconut oil.

Continue reading "Coconut Oil" »

I loved Beauty and the Beast and own the DVD. About a week ago, the kids caught a showing of it and were excited to hear it is coming back in theaters, this time in 3D. Although I love a good cinema outing, I'm not sure exactly how the 3D is going to impact the whole deal. But, what has really caught my eye is the short occurring before the main event. Tangled Ever After picks up where Tangled left off. I love me a good Rapunzel story (did you catch the version on Grimm?) so a continuation of the Disney version is welcome:

Beauty and the Beast in 3D comes to theaters on January 13th.

One of my favorite aspects of 2011 was the introduction of a bunch of fabulous "sampler boxes." I've learned about new products and companies through these services; plus, they make fabulous gifts (did you forget to send anyone something this holiday season?)

This autumn I was excited to share Conscious Box with you. I received the November Conscious Box for free, and was intrigued by the excellent eco-friendly, organic, sustainable products within. I was thrilled that the Conscious Box team sent me the December Conscious Box as well.

My first impression of the box is that it smells fabulous and clean. This is thanks to a Champa vegan soap sample from Sacred Mountain Herbals.

Other satisfying aromas in the box include an aromatherapy mister from Drop Wise Essentials, a cinnamon oil air freshener (that I've used quite a lot in our lavatory) and a "Colorado Holiday Wassail" scent chunk (for a fragrance warmer) from Ostara Organics. I adore the idea of a scent chunk that isn't that artificially colored, chemical-laden stuff that smells a little "off." I love having the real thing! Ostara Organics also included "unscented" goat soap, which actually has a fabulous light coconut scent.

A bottle of resveratrol from Reserveage Organics caught my eye as I opened the Conscious Box. I've seen this product for quite a lot of money, so to get a bottle within a $12 (+ $7 for shipping!) Conscious Box is a great value. Also in the "supplement" category, Amazing Grass included a packet of their GREENSuperFood (to be added to a smoothie, water, or juice) along with a generous discount code for Conscious Box subscribers.

(In fact, most products in the Conscious Box include coupons or discount codes, so if you discover a product that you absolutely love - and you will - it is easy to stock up again without stressing your wallet.)

Continue reading "Start out the New Year in a Conscious [Box] Way" »

Over the summer, we took a trip to Chicago in celebration of my husband's birthday, the timing of which coincided with my younger son's birthday. As a treat, we allowed our "secondary" birthday boy to pick out his own friend at the Build-A-Bear Workshop at the Navy Pier.

Right before Christmas, I received a recall email. Thankfully the recall is voluntary - because there is no way my son will give up this special memento of a meaningful trip - but it is still frustrating that we spent a lot of money on something that is likely going to fall apart faster than more-quality toys. (In fact, this bear's nose started to fall apart right after we returned from Chicago, so I was already frustrated by the lack of quality.)

I broke the news to my son last night (because he brought the bear into bed to snuggle with it - and the more snuggle-action, the more likely the substandard fabric will rip.) Not surprisingly, he produced lots of tears (and lots of snot.) He didn't want to say goodbye to his special bear, choosing instead the option that this bear would be for "looks" only. We set up a little bed for the bear next to my son's bed, so my son could still see him - and carefully touch him - but it pains him to no longer be able to snuggle with his toy.

My son is 7, so I know that if an eye fell out (as the recall text indicates may happen) he wouldn't intentionally swallow it like a curious preschooler might. But I can see how his lovable snuggling might cause potential damage if his bear is one with the substandard fabric.

I'm disappointed, and my son is of course very sad.

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Please read ahead for the official recall text in the event that you or a loved one have a "colorful hearts" bear that you may wish to exchange given this voluntary recall:

Continue reading "Build-A-Bear Recall" »

I adore musicals, so it was a no-brainer to accept when SHN asked if I wanted to bring the family to How the Grinch Stole Christmas: The Musical.

The San Francisco show officially began last night and will run through 12/29.

The show clicks in at an hour and 20 minutes, which is completely do-able for kids. Since there is no intermission, there is none of that crazy trying to decide whether to use the restroom and potentially miss the start of the next portion of the show. Plus, an 80 minute show is shorter than most movies these days, so the kids won't have trouble sitting still.

They also won't have trouble sitting still because they'll be so engrossed in the happenings on stage. After all, that is the point. I expected my sons to adore the show, but I didn't realize just how fabulous it would be. The cast was polished, the sets were delightfully whimsical, the tunes were catchy, and the script was divine. I found myself laughing aloud at the unexpected twists and touches.

My "cool" older son who was initially skeptical had a wide grin on his face the whole time, especially in response to a good helping of belching and farting humor, but also because of non-stinky physical humor, kazoos, and mice. He was also thrilled with the ode to green, his favorite color. The audience had opportunity to participate in the show, too, which really brings it alive for everyone. My youngest son was definitely smitten with the Grinch, and insisted on taking him home in stuffed-animal form.

After the show, we were lucky to meet with the star of the show himself, played by Stefan Karl, also known as Robbie Rotten in Lazy Town. My green-loving son of course was thrilled when the Grinch picked up on his clothing choice, "Ah-ha! You are wearing green, too! Smart man!" Alas, this son was too timid to pose with the Grinch, but his fearless younger brother (who was also wearing green) was happy to oblige this camera-happy mom. Afterwards, my oldest laughed, "Heheheh, I'm glad I didn't get my picture taken 'cause he gave YOU massive bunny fingers!"

How the Grinch Stole Christmas: The Musical was definitely worth an afternoon of our time. Although it is in the San Francisco Bay Area this year, it might find its way to your place next year, so keep your eyes out.

Can't go to the show? There are some Grinch coloring pages and other fun things to do with your tripped-up-on-candy-canes kids, such as "Find the Grinch" or sending a Grinch-themed holiday card. These are all free and can be done from the comfort of your own holiday-hectic home!

Thank you to SHN and the cast and crew of How The Grinch Stole Christmas: The Musical for putting us in the holiday spirit while letting us laugh off the pounds that we'll gain snacking on our holiday sweets!

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Disclaimer: SHN gave my family a pack of tickets to see the show for free - wheeeee! On-stage photos above are from the grinchmusical.com website.

The FedEx dude came to my house Friday to deliver some items I had bought using 2-day shipping since I must have this one particular item for a gift exchange happening tonight. Well, all items arrived except the one for the gift exchange. So I am sad.

But then on our front porch was another package - big and heavy! This made me happy!

I opened it up to discover delicious treasure inside:

The first thing that I saw was the chocolate truffles. And then I saw the vanilla maple syrup and nearly had a heart-attack with joy. Vanilla! Maple! Syrup! I'm a big cranberry fan, so the nut & cranberry squares sound delish, and I can always use a bottle of wine! And then I had another happy heart-attack when I saw the pumpkin bread mix. My son and I are both of the mind that pumpkin added to just about anything makes it divine.

This wonderful stash came from Fresh & Easy, along with a festive reusable grocery bag.

I'm going to hang my head in shame to say I've never been to a Fresh & Easy store, although my friends rave about it. At first I thought there were none near my place - and since we have 5 grocery stores in less than a mile or so from our home, I seldom venture farther - but en route to a birthday party I discovered the location of our closest Fresh & Easy!

The friends who live close to the Fresh & Easy confess that they pick up a lot of their meals from there because the food is fresh and the effort required to prepare is easy. (You saw that coming, didn't you?)

But Fresh & Easy is much more than just convenience. I checked out thier snazzy Who We Are video and learned that they create an economically-friendly experience while still providing foods with no artificial flavors, no artificial colors, and no added trans-fats. Their stores are designed to save energy, money, and time.

So I'm thrilled to report that I've discovered three Fresh & Easy stores in shopping centers I pass nearly daily. Hooray!

I'm eager to try out the goodies I received in my care package, but I'm now pretty excited about giving the actual store a try, too!

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Disclaimer: Fresh & Easy sent me some products for free! I was happy to receive this unexpected gift, so wanted to give them a shout-out.

This autumn I had the pleasure of attending a luncheon to learn more about Smilebox, a service that I had heard about in passing, but truly did not understand until I had a chance to really play with it.

Smilebox is not just online pictures and not just print greetings either; it is a marriage of both.

I posted a Thanksgiving Smilebox for you to enjoy back in November, and I'll be posting some additional holiday greetings as the year wears out. But my favorite uses for Smilebox thus far has been the thank-you note and "keep relatives informed of our activities" uses. For my parents, my son created a card thanking them for taking him to Joshua Bell; he could include photos of himself playing the violin. And when we got together with family for Thanksgiving, I could create a slideshow of our adventures. My youngest son's first gymnastics meet was easy to share with people who couldn't attend in person.

Our holiday card is part-Smilebox and part-physical-paper.

Have a look at the virtual card:

This free digital greeting personalized with Smilebox

This is easy enough to share anywhere; here on my blog, on Facebook, or emailed out to specific people. This particular card has only a brief animation at the start, but some of the Smilebox cards are more involved, and many include slideshows with multiple photos fading in and out (or shifting side-to-side.)

Then, of course, friends and family who need a paper card got one in the mail. All I had to do was tell Smilebox to print out some nice cards for me. I chose the heavy cardstock, but people who like photo paper can go that direction, too. The paper quality was terrific; just as strong as the more expensive services out there. Truthfully, the envelopes were a bit flimsier than what I'm used to, but that's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

Smilebox is a tiered service: it is free to create and send virtual Smileboxes that have small advertisements on them. Premium members' creations have no ads and they can do things like upload their own music to accompany their creation or print out their creations to send them into the real world.

One fun tip I learned at the luncheon is that Smilebox will provide free premium memberships to teachers! This is super-fabulous because one of the project types at Smilebox is "newsletter." This is great for the annual family holiday letter, but even better for a teacher who wants to update parents on classroom events.

Smilebox also has an iPhone app which allows instant personalization of photos (like little speech bubbles and such) and for people to make comments on posted photos. Since I'm an Android gal, I haven't had the chance to try out the app, but I wanted to throw this out there for you iPhone folks!

As one son has more gymnastics meets, the other son has more golf tournaments and violin concerts, as we do more "thank you slide shows" for holiday gifts, and so on, I'm sure I'll be turning to Smilebox pretty frequently for beautiful, fun, instant cards. I know the relatives appreciate getting the pictures shortly after the event, and organizing them through Smilebox is sure a fun way to do so.

Who knows, maybe next year I'll actually do a "real" holiday letter using Smilebox's "newsletter" layout?

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Disclaimer: Smilebox invited me to a delicious luncheon where I learned about their product. I then received a premium membership to their service along with some free cards to distribute physically to my friends and family, many of whom have made a point to tell me how much they adore our card this year!

Double-Disclaimer: I also sent out tiny prints cards; and initially I thought I was using two competing products; but I learned that tiny prints has some designs for Smilebox - win!