We're off to Chicago's Green Fest today and hope to return with a wealth of info, products and brand new tips for you!
If you're there, give us a tweet and if you live in Washington D.C. or San Francisco Green Festival is still coming your way, so be sure to check it out.
In the meantime you'll find some little green gems from Mama Speaks past here, and Ideal Bite's this way.
The Site: Skimbaco A lifestyle boutique featuring unique finds and luxury gifts for everyone who’s anyone.
The stuff: Skimbaco is a family owned and operated boutique that offers a wide array of brand names and designer products for every member of the family. You’re sure to discover a slew of great finds that definitely have the “it” factor, from clothing and shoes to bags and jewelry. And you’ll be delighted to learn that the products featured are both environmentally and socially conscious.
The best sellers: Hands down the hottest thing going right now are the Ladybug shoes Tom Cruise touted as Suri’s favorites on the Oprah show.
Giving back: Skimbaco’s Spread Sunshine program benefits orphaned children around the world through donations to Hope International.
Want it? Mama Speaks readers get 10% off purchases with code MAMASPEAKS
Win it! We're giving away a personalized kids baseball cap from BLUME to enter, email giveaways[at]mamaspeaks.com with Skimbaco as your subject and let us know the name of Skimbaco's owner (and former Mama Speaks contributor!) extraordinarie.
An Angelic Invention
Get Out In Style
-Arianne
When Your Belly’s Ripe
As my belly is growing with a new life inside, I’m looking longingly at the summer fashions ahead. I am hoping that I can stay in style and still look good, despite the roundness that is now my body. Maternity collections continue to pleasantly surprise me, but design isn’t the only thing I’m concerned about. Comfort is key. Oh goodness, comfort is a must.
At the park you’ll most likely find me sporting the crisp and cool Tomboy Shorts [$79] by Ripe Maternity Wear. The longer shorts are flattering for Moms-to-be and can even go from park to date night with just a change of shoes and shirt. Versatility in maternity wear is almost as important as comfort in my eyes. Invest in a few simple quality pieces and you can stretch your maternity wardrobe a long way. And hopefully that’s the only stretch marks you’ll see.
Win it!
We're sending one mama to be a pair of Ripe's Tomboy Shorts! To enter, email giveaways[at]mamaspeaks.com with Ripe as your subject. Let us know which other item from their summer collection you love and be sure to include your size (S-L).
-Steph
Wrapped Up Tight
the
cause: Pregnancy Awareness Month (PAM)
the purpose: Pregnancy Awareness Month aims to provide information, "how to" ideas and inspiration to empower women to make healthy changes in their lives for themselves and their families.
the resources: Sign up for the PAM newsletter for weekly tips and info in four key categories: education, exercise, nutrition & wellness and nurture. And there will be over $2,500 in amazing prizes awarded to moms committed to making mothering a bit more au natural.
Not Only Fun To See But Fun To Do
I’ve done more than my share of interior painting, not even counting the repainting when we were ready to move on. For some reason our landlords never appreciated our lime green and cobalt blue color combinations (although I’m not sure I would anymore either). At this point in my life, I’m a little over painting. While some may see a white wall as a blank canvas I see taping, priming, surprise color hues, cleaning and lots of touch-ups. When we moved into our current house, we adopted the previous owners color palette by default, mauve paint and all. Most rooms are tolerable but we do find some to be a little bland. And while the pale yellow in our toddler’s room sure is gender neutral, it does nothing for his retro tin robot collection.
I’m no longer one to break out the paint roller unless it holds the key to world peace but we knew our son’s walls needed a little more life if there was any hope for him moving out of our room and into his. We found the perfect solution, FunToSee Room Make-Over Kits. While you can choose between an Undersea Adventure, Funky Flowers and more, we found the Outer Space kit [$62] to be the perfect backdrop for our futuristic invaders.
Our kit came with enough large scale stickers to completely makeover the 12’x12’ room. Although I was a little apprehensive about bringing more vinyl into our world, FunToSee promises easy application and removal and they are true to their word. We had a blast transforming our room and were complete in less than 30 minutes even with the help of an almost three year old and you know how helpful they can be. The ability to move around your masterpiece is key, especially if you will be allowing your little one to partake in the fun. Otherwise you may end up like us with about 30 stars in a straight line while the rest of the wall remains blank. You can do all the praising of his natural born designer skills while you redistribute the stickers as soon as he turns his back.
FunToSee is my kind of decorating. It provided all of the exciting results while eliminating the errors and hard work plus it won’t break the bank. It’s like our very own interior decorator in a box without the hourly rate.
Win it!
One winner will receive their choice of an Outer Space or Funky Flower Room Kit! To enter, email giveaways[at]mamaspeaks.com with Stick as your subject and let us know one other product made by FunToSee and which kit you'd like. Giveaway ends May 12, 2008.
-Cara
Our hat's off to amazing you and all that you do.
Enjoy your special day!
xoxo,
The Mama Speaks Team
- Ashlee, Steph, Cara, Arianne, Beth and Darcie
A Caffeine Kick Without That Joe Guy
Most days, we get up and crank up the coffee maker before we can stop being a crab or even open our eyes all the way. Since I'm not a big fan of hot drinks, my coffee making is solely for the man-crab of the house. I still need my morning (or midday, or late night--what?) caffeine jolt, so I was thrilled to find a chai that not only was made from organic ingredients, but was the best I'd ever tasted. Flip Flop Mamma grinds the spices for her Chai [$10] herself, so you know each batch is made with love and fresh ingredients. The health benefits of the ingredients in chai range from aiding in digestion to killing bacteria, so try out an alternative to the cup of joe and taste a cup of spicey yum.
-Arianne
Mama Speaks is a review blog by moms, for moms.
