Friday, February 10, 2012

This Moment

{this moment}

A Friday ritual inspired by SouleMama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.


Wednesday, February 8, 2012

ManPans Sale

Eco Friendly Made In USA Anodized Cookware
In honor of Valentines Day ManPans is having a sale!

Take 14% off all new bakeware items:

9″ Pie Pan
9″ Pie Pans 2-Pack
9″ Round Cake Pan
Loaf Pan Small
Loaf Pan Large
Sheet Pan
Square Cake Pan
Square Cake Pans 2-Pack
Cookie Sheet Pan

As with all ManPans products, their bakeware is:
Made in the USA
Non-toxic and stick resistant surface
Durable and metal utensil safe
Green, Eco-friendly Manufacturing
Guaranteed: 30-day money back and limited lifetime warranty

Now through February 14th, log onto ManPans.com and enter code: bakeit at checkout to receive your 14% discount.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

ECOS Paint Part 2

When we moved into our house 4 years ago I found this amazing mural. It didn't fit the wall, so we painted to fill in and complete the picture on the ceiling and edges. It was my dream nursery for E.
E was in that room for a few months and then ended back in my room because she refused to sleep alone. I guess it was overstimulating? But, after 5 years, it was time for her to be on her own at night.

I decided to paint the guest room and turn it into her room before her 5th b-day. During the painting process, I put her bed in my room to transition the move- thanks to advice from Shari Criso. The weekend before E's birthday, she slept alone in her newly painted room and has been there almost a month now!A year ago I was able to tour ECOS Paints in SC. It is run by an amazing family, who have now become great friends of ours. During the tour, I had the intentions of painting some rooms at E's grandparents house. But we ended up back in Charlotte before that happened and the house was still on the market. So, we've had several gallons of paint sitting for over a year now. I figured the paint would have separated and I'd have to stir/shake like crazy, but I opened the can to find it perfect!

The paint above- Powder Blue, hasn't even been stirred! Since ECOS Paint is a chemical free paint, I decided it would be ok for E to help out in painting. She had a blast being a part of the transition!

ECOS Paints is VOC and solvent free. ECOS Paints are made up of:
  • water, natural plus manufactured binders (all water-based, all non-toxic)
  • pigments (yellow ochre, red ochre, various - all non toxic)
  • mineral fillers - limestone, clays (non-toxic)
  • thickeners & builders - wood cellulose & resinous (all non-toxic)
  • white pigment - titanium dioxide (food grade - non-toxic)
  • levellers (all non-toxic)
  • waxes & texture powders (all non-toxic)
These are true eco-friendly, non-toxic paints! After we were done painting there was no smell what-so-ever! The color was beautiful and easily went on. And I felt safe allowing E to sleep in the room the same night it was painted.
When I was touring the ECOS Paints factory, I learned all about low VOC paint and was totally shocked! If you purchase the expensive "No VOC" paint and then add color, 25% VOC just got added back into the paint. On top of that, the government allows the use of certain chemicals (which are actually VOC's but do not cause smog) to be called "exempt compounds" and they are not to be applied as VOC's on the label. So in reality, the No VOC paint you spend $20 extra on really isn't much safer than the other stuff at your local hardware strore.

The government basically does not care about toxicity or safety of paint. They only rate VOC's due to their reaction to nitrous oxides and ultra violet light to form low level ozone, or smog. The government allows 250 grams of VOCS per liter of regular paint. That's almost half a pound! Green Seal GS-11 paints can have 150 grams per liter (besides flat paint which is 50 grams). And No VOC can have 5 grams per liter. This is only the VOC's that aren't exempt. Who knows what the true levels are once you factor those in!

The American Lung Associate says that VOS's can produce a number of health problems like eye and skin irritations, lung and breathing problems, headaches, nausea, muscle weakness, liver and kidney damage. It is recommended that you do not paint while pregnant and that it can cause a miscarriage or deformities.

While we painted E's room, we decided to update the Nemo bathroom as well. We used the color Rhinestone to give it a calming feel. The gallon was exactly like the Powder Blue and didn't even need to be stirred! I am extremely impressed! I will be back with pics of another bathroom we are doing. We still have 1 more can of ECOS Paints that I can't wait to use!
You can read more about my ECOS Paints tour and see pictures in my first blog post here. Be sure to follow ECOS Paints on Facebook to stay up to date with promotions. They have some exciting events happening soon!

Thank you ECOS Paints for everything that you've done! XO

Monday, January 30, 2012

Pacha's Pajamas Book & CD GIVEAWAY

"There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children."- Nelson Mandela
Pacha's Pajamas- A Story Written by Nature by Aaron Ableman, is about a little girl named Pacha who has big dreams. She used to love being outside with nature but began choosing playing indoors and watching TV over going out to play. One day Pacha's parents give her magical pajamas and she has an amazing dream about trees, mushrooms, animals, and a variety of other things from nature coming together to put on a nature concert- Pacha Jamma. The nature concert was to bring awareness about the environment and that it's never to late to dream about making changes and working together to bring unity to Mother Earth.
I was sent Pacha's Pajamas and EP to review and I am enthralled by them both. Aaron Ableman wrote the book to bring music and storytelling together to share the important message for children. E is esp in love with the 6 track disc- including two excerpts from the Musical Story and four songs from Pacha Jamma. The CD features Rapper/Actor Mos Def, Poet/Rapper Talib Kweli, and a group of talented kids. E has been listening to the cd in her playroom singing, dancing, and jumping around. I think she is the perfect age for the book and EP- though older children will enjoy as well.

The book, Pacha's Pajamas, engages young ones and sends positive message to make a difference in the world. To me, it's important to teach our children to not litter, to recycle, to reuse, to not be wasteful, and to treat our planet with respect. Pacha's Pajamas is a fun unique way to introduce concepts like pollution, our environment, and how children can make a difference through the youth movement for Nature's rights. The musical approach is different than the eco kid books I've reviewed in the past and I love that angle.

The book is 31 pages with small graphics, printed with soy ink. Younger children might not have the attention span for the story- but 5 seems the right age to introduce. E loved listening to the story and asked questions throughout. I love the fun facts after the story that share information about all of the characters in the book- which really came in handy!

My favorite line of the book is by a spider, "Life is like one of my webs- it becomes stronger when all the parts are connected."

You can download the ebook for free as well as some of the songs on the Pacha's Pajamas website. The book EP set is only $12.99 and I highly recommend! You can also play games, learn about the characters, and how you can help the Nature movement.

Giveaway: Enter to win your own copy of Pacha's Pajamas and EP (Click Read More to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway!)


Monday, January 23, 2012

Frosting Without the Dyes

I was told to share my icing recipe that I used for E's cupcakes for her party. She asked for pink icing and I'm highly against Red Dye-40, so I got crafty in the kitchen.
Organic Pink Icing
Cut up organic strawberries and raspberries. I used about a cup. Add 1/4 cup of water, 1 tbs of lemon juice, and 1/2 cup of cane sugar. Simmer for about 30-45 min. You don't want it to have a thick consistency like jam, but close to it. I then jared and stored in the fridge for 2 days.
2 cups organic powdered sugar
1 stick organic butter at room temp (1/2 cup)

Blend together the butter and powdered sugar at a high speed until thick and fluffy- usually about 3 minutes. Add coloring to desired color and taste. The more you add, the more it tastes like the berries. :) You can do this with other fruits for different colors.

(Note: the frosting consistency is thick like normal buttercream frosting. I am just not that good at using a icing bag.)