EcoSTORE for the Earth-friendly Dishwasher

EcoSTORE USA is the American outlet for  www.ecostore.co.nz, a New Zealand company known for making plant-based, non-toxic household cleaning, baby and personal care products for over twenty years. I love the simplicity of their credo: No Nasty Chemicals™. I've been even more thoughtful about what I use to clean our home and dishes since having kids so when I read about EcoSTORE USA on Maggie's blog (she is , I was curious to try some products out.


I chose the Auto Dishwash Powder and Natural Lemon Rinse Aid because I've been using my dishwasher more regularly lately and it seems like "normal" detergents and rinse agents are full of toxic, caustic ingredients. EcoSTORE's Auto Dishwash Powder, on the other hand, is a blend of simple mineral salts, citrus and coconut oils. Much nicer!

Even better, the Auto Dishwash Powder cleans beautifully– even without prerinsing. (Don't tell my mom!) I was also very pleased with the Natural Lemon Rinse Aid. Most of the traditional store brands are frighteningly blue and poisonous looking, smelling strongly of chemical fragrance. EcoSTORE's Natural Lemon Rinse Aid is made from plant based non-ionic surfactants, citric acid and water. It leaves a lovely scent of natural lemon verbena in the kitchen as your dishes dry. Ahhh.

EcoSTORE USA offers a wide range of products, from body and skincare to household cleaners, babycare and pet items. Find them on Twitter and Facebook, too.




Disclosure: I received the items shown in order to facilitate this review. No other compensation was provided and I was only asked for my honest opinion.

Grateful Bread

These serving platters make me want to invite a whole mess of relatives over, stuff a turkey, bake some pies, contemplate gratitude and the harvest season…

From West Elm.

Shox Scooter: Bouncing and Behaving

The Shox Scooter is the world's first active shock absorber scooter. From the same company that invented the revolutionary Shred Sled inline wheeled dual-deck skateboard, this scooter lets riders amp up their tricks and boost their speed. The innovative spring shock deck absorbs impact and adds some excitement to the ride. Kids will love the bounce and maneuverability of the Shox Scooter while parents can appreciate its safety features like extra rough grip surface for superior traction and dependable rear brake for added security.

I was really impressed with how sturdy the Shox Scooter is. It's a heavy duty piece of machinery, not a flimsy toy! Roo has another scooter and this one makes it look and feel like a rickety plastic doll toy. (It doesn't help that it's pink, I guess.) The Shox Scooter is heavy and substantial, even while adjusting handlebar height, and its wheels are smooth and f-a-s-t! The bouncy deck is really fun, even for a totally uncoordinated rider like myself. If you can wrestle it away from the kids, that is.

Disclosure: We received a Shox Scooter to try out and were asked to share our unbiased opinions about it as part of a Team Mom review program.

The Sak Silverlake on Sale

I've been eyeing The Sak Silverlake collection since it was first introduced and now it's on massive sale, bringing the gorgeous handbags and totes down to incredibly reasonable prices. My top picks?

The Silverlake Leather Convertible Clutch in punch:

$34.75 marked down from $139!

The Silverlake Leather Convertible Satchel in pyrite metallic:

$49.75 marked down from $199!

I got both of my favorite bags for $84.50 including FedEx Ground shipping, which is free with purchases over $50! There are lots of other huge discounts to be had in The Sak sale section, check 'em out.

The Sak is on Facebook and Twitter, too.

Disclaimer: I got a press release about this sale and promptly clicked over and spent money I probably shouldn't have. Whoops!

Olivia Toys

Roo is six and Jasper is three. The difference in their ages and genders usually means there's a pretty big discrepancy in the TV shows they like to watch and the books they like to read. One character that we all relate to is Olivia, the pig with plenty of imagination. She's Roo's age (and just as bossy imaginative), plus she has a kid brother Jasper's age, torments the family cat and is just as happy playing pirates as she is playing ballerina. We love the Olivia book series by Ian Falconer and the eponymous Nick Jr cartoon captures the spunky piglet perfectly. 

Spinmaster has just introduced a fantastic line of Olivia toys and we were thrilled to test them out. The 2-in-1 Transforming Playset looks just like Olivia's house, with her bedroom, living room and kitchen. But open it up the other way and it's a pirate ship, ready to set sail on the seven seas! The set comes with furniture, an Olivia figure and a bunch of accessories including a parrot and eyepatch. 

Roo and Jasper both went crazy over this set! I think they had as much fun opening and shutting it as they did playing with the Olivia figure. I wish it came with figures of her whole family but it looks like they are available separately. It seems very sturdy and is also scaled nicely to play other action figures (Polly Pockets and Star Wars were our visitors). 

You can see the other Spinmaster toy we received in the photo above, a snuggly plush Olivia. She is super duper soft and we all fought over her, but she ended up in Roo's bunk bed. I love her stripey arms and legs and big, floppy ears. This is her everyday look but you can also get her in an opera ballgown, a cow suit and an artist ensemble- complete with palette and beret. So cute!

"You really wear me out but I love you anyway." 

"I love you anyway, too."

Spinmaster's Olivia toys are available at Toys"R"Us, Target and Kmart stores.

Disclosure: We received the toys shown above in order to facilitate this review. We were already big Olivia fans beforehand but would tell you if the toys were subpar. Luckily they are pretty great! 

Wordless Wednesday- Halloween Preview

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Serving in Style with Bob's Your Uncle

I'm not a sports fan but I do love a good cookout, especially now that the weather is starting to get cooler. It's time to bust out the grill and invite some friends over. I'm all about ease but not so much about careless consumption, so I want some low-maintenance dishware to serve on that can withstand toddlers and the occasional backyard drunk.

 

This retro roadsign plate set from  Bob's Your Uncle fits the bill nicely. Casual and easy to care for (melamine is dishwasher safe but please don't put it in the microwave!), they feature stunning images of kitschy neon signage by photographer Martin Yeeles. Unlike many functional objects made from photographic art, these have gorgeously saturated color in person. They remind me of the Polaroids I used to take all the time in the days before digital. In fact, I think the plates look even better in real life than they do in the stock photo. Here's how they look on my dishrack:

The ultra high gloss finish looks especially swanky with a big old bratwurst and some kettle chips obscuring the image! This set is the very first addition to my OpenSky store, so if you are interested in beautifying your picnic table and adding a little change to my coinpurse, click Buy Now! It's a win-win situation. The set of four 11" plates sells for $36 and there is also a coordinating 14" "Let's Eat" serving platter perfect for serving your cooked burgers or brats.

The In and Out Tray Set features two 9.75" x 6.75" trays that would be ideal for sliced cheese, onions or tomatoes and lettuce.

Stay tuned for more recommendations as I explore and continue to stock my Open Sky store.


Disclosure: I received the plate set featured in order to review the quality and I will receive a commission on any purchases made via the links in this post.

BlogHer: Mostly Awesome

Okay. It's been over a month since BlogHer and I have been incredibly slow in getting anything written about it. It was kind of a blur this year, with a zillion parties to run to and so many people I wanted to see. My time-management skills were definitely tested and I probably would have missed even more stuff if I didn't have the bestest roommate in the world, Kathleen. (I wrote about our swanky digs at The Buckingham a few days ago.) By far my favorite take-away from BlogHer was spending time with her, including hitting Madison Square Garden to see Spoon open for Arcade Fire, walking endless city blocks and sitting in the hotel room watching TV. She is a good egg, that one!

We dove headlong into the madness with a bus tour sponsored by Kodak. They had provided a bunch of bloggers with their new Easyshare M580 digital camera and wanted to give us a good opportunity to try them out. Imagine two double-decker busloads of bloggers, snapping away. It was a blast!

Collective Bias on the top of the bus: Kathleen, Katja, Kim, Zippy and Sandy.

Snap-happy bloggers!

Kodak's chief blogger, Jenny Cisney, shows us the jumbotron.

Roomies.

Empire.

Other highlights from my BlogHer experience:  The offsite parties were crazy and plentiful this year. SocialLuxe was a spectacular shindig (featuring gigantic swag bags with amazing stuff from Avery, Ghiradelli, Cambria Cove and more), Getting Gorgeous was a one-stop shop for glam (I absolutely love my Lia Sophia necklace, Remington wet 2 straight flatiron and my PowerMat) and the MomSelect suite next door had plenty of great stuff for kids (Webkinz, ZhuZhu Pets, Hexbug Nanos). The Hallmark party was on the rooftop of the Buckingham, where we were staying, which was nice. It was probably the most low-key and beautiful party we went to, with enough room to move around and actually have a conversation. Martha Stewart Blogger's Night Out was also a major treat. The Omnimedia offices are as impressive and gorgeous as one would expect but I was pleasantly surprised at how friendly and genuinely interested the staffers were. (Seriously, I had a lengthy conversation with two senior editors about naked ping pong and the best way to eat oreos!) Sadly, Martha had left just before we showed up.

I made Martha's Flickrstream with Kevin Sharkey! 

(That's the ginormous, very bright SocialLuxe swag bag.)

I am still sifting through all the stuff I brought back from BlogHer. I'm not sure why but the last month has been crazy hectic with a road trip to SoCal for my cousin's wedding and getting Roo back to school. I'm sure I'm forgetting something major. (Like the super excellent goody bags that Eden Fantasys handed out after the sex blogger panel. That was some seriously buzzy swag!) That's kind of how BlogHer was for me this year: a bit overwhelming and crazy. I kept feeling like I was missing something and didn't get to hang out with half the people I wanted to. Hopefully it will be a more laid-back vibe next year in San Diego.

Disclosure: I received a Kodak Easyshare M580 digital camera to participate in the Bus Tour,  The Buckingham provided our lodging and all parties and accompanying swag were free of charge. No one asked me to write about any of it but rest assured that all opinions are my own, anyway.

Wichita

I never thought I'd love the flattest place on earth.

As trite as it may seem, there's no place like home.

Back to School Giveaway

***WINNER PICKED 10/7 WITH RANDOM.ORG***

***CONGRATULATIONS, #97 Judy!!!***

her comment...
My favorite memory is when I went to a new school for 4th grade. I was really excited about my teacher and meeting new people.





Nestlé knows that this season is a hectic one for families and they want to help you celebrate the new school year with a giveaway designed to get your family started off right. Prize includes a $25 gift card to Walmart to help with school supplies, plus great Nestlé goodies like a NESQUIK® lunch box, product from RAISINETS® and a mix of free coupons from NESTLÉ® Pure Life, OVALTINE®, TOLL HOUSE® Refrigerated Cookie Dough, TOLL HOUSE Morsels, NESQUIK, COFFEE-MATE®, DRUMSTICKS® and CARNATION® BREAKFAST ESSENTIALS™.

Don't forget to enter Nestle's Happy New School Year Sweepstakes to enter for a chance to win a grand prize of $5,000 worth of back-to-school essentials plus a $2,000 NESTLÉ Literacy Grant for your school, as well as daily prizes from Crayola.




Disclosure: I received package similar to the prize in exchange for hosting this giveaway.

To enter, please comment on this post with your favorite back to school memory.


Entries will be accepted through October 6th and I'll pick the winner using Random.org. US readers are eligible.


For an additional entry, post my button on your blog (see code on sidebar), follow my blog, follow me on Twitter, fan me on Facebook, fave me on Technorati or subscribe via email or subscribe via reader. Leave an extra comment letting me know what you did for each additional entry.


Make sure you leave an email address in your comment or that you have one accessible on your blog so you can be contacted if you win!


***Click Giveaways on my sidebar to see what else you could win!***

Wordless Wednesday- Turtle Feeding

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Great Wolf Lodge on Sale!

It's been about a year since we took the kids to Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City and nary a day goes by that Roo does not ask about when we're going to go back. Today, they started a 48 hour sale on reservations from now through December, which includes their Snowland winter wonderland event. (The 48 hour sale applies to the Williamsburg, VA Great Wolf Lodge location also.)



So tempting!

Buckingham Hotel- A Palace in NYC

Living in the midwest has made me city-phobic. I love having access to arts and culture, sure, but I must admit that the wide-open spaces of Kansas have spoiled me. I've always been a bit of an introvert so too much time in the big city, packed like sardines on the bustling streets and retreating to teeny-tiny hotel rooms makes me slightly claustrophobic. I can't begin to tell you how completely thrilled I was upon opening the door to the room I shared with Kathleen at BlogHer this summer. It was spacious, even by my standards, not to mention clean and comfortable and only a block from the conference venue. Unbelievable!



The Buckingham Hotel is located smack-dab in the middle of the hustle and bustle I mentioned before, walking distance to MoMA, The American Museum of Natural History, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Central Park and a host of other NYC landmarks. The rooms are all suite-style, with sitting and dining areas and functional kitchens, which makes them feel more like apartments than dinky hotel rooms.






You can really spread out, which is definitely a plus when you're dealing with multiple bags of conference swag and trying to repack everything to go home. There's also plenty of room to entertain visitors and/or for toddlers to run laps…




I kept thinking that the The Buckingham would be an ideal home base for families traveling with kids. There are drugstores and markets close by so you could definitely save some money (and tantrums, depending on how fussy your little eaters are!) by eating meals in.




The bathroom was small but the huge curtains around the claw-footed tub made it possible for roommates to come and go without impeding each other's progress too much. I really like the original tile details. It felt like the coolest apartment you could have had in college.




The bedroom featured two comfy beds and a closet big enough to hold both of our overpacked suitcase contents. Ladies like to have wardrobe options, don't you know.

The Buckingham has a gorgeous penthouse suite with rooftop access that we got to see as it was the venue for the Hallmark BlogHer party. It is breathtaking! The hotel also has plenty of notable package deals with area attractions. Personally, I would love to experience the Buckingham MoMA Underground Gallery package, which includes VIP tickets for the exhibit (skip the lines!) and starts at just $279/night. This would make an excellent 40th birthday trip… I hear there are spooky packages in the works for Halloween, too. Another great advantage is the The Buckingham's proximity to subway stops. I've always been a subway wuss but Kathleen showed me just how easy they are to use and I was impressed with how much faster we got around compared to getting stuck in traffic with cabs.

The Buckingham will definitely be at the top of my list next time I travel to New York.

Disclosure: Our stay in a one bedroom suite at the The Buckingham during BlogHer was comped but all opinions are unbiased. If our room was horrible, I would let you know. Nary a bedbug in sight, nor a surly staffer. I was completely blown away.