Green is gorgeous! mini mioche review and giveaway

I've tried to "green" many areas of my life, especially where my children are concerned. We eat many organic foods, have used cloth, hybrid, and eco-friendly disposable diapers, made our own baby food, and we do what we can in our daily living to consume less and reuse.

However - organic clothing just seemed too "something." Too expensive, too limiting, too "crunchy" or un-cute. I don't know. I've just never been able to go there.

So I really admire the efforts of mini mioche founder, Alyssa Kerbel. When she had her first daughter, she realized how difficult it was to find great stylish, comfortable and affordable fashion for her little one without the often tacky traditional colors and patterns. She also wanted to find an alternative to the negative environmental footprint left by traditional clothing manufacturing. Mini mioche was created out of these ideals.

The premise for mini mioche is simple:

Amazing basics and fashion styles
The absolute softest organic cotton
Great fitting products
Interesting and difficult to find colors (no pastels!)

Each baby and toddler clothing piece from mini mioche (pronounced “Mee-osh," meaning "little one") is designed and made in Toronto, Canada, from 100% organic cotton and reusable dyes.

The company uses 100% recycled paper in its hang tags and catalogs, and eliminates unnecessary packaging by shipping online orders in reusable organic cotton drawstring bags.

It makes me so happy to know that there's an option with fashionable organic cotton clothing that doesn't break the bank! It's the sort of style I'd wear (if it came in my size, that is) and I can feel really good about putting this soft and safe, organic cotton next to my little ones' skin. I absolutely love the bold colors!

Win mini mioche for your little one!

Visit the mini mioche website and take a look at their gorgeous Fall collection. Tell me which piece is your favorite and why. Easy-peasy! Please leave your email address if it is not readily visible in your profile. I want to be able to reach you if you win! One winner will be selected and notified by email on December 1st, and will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

And if you just don't want to wait, the code "MCFALL” is good for a 20% discount on online orders at minimioche.com! This discount is good through November 30.

Disclosure - I am participating in a mini mioche ambassador program by Mom Central on behalf of mini mioche. I received an outfit as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters - Review and Giveaway

Thanks to MyBlogSpark and Nature Valley, I was sent some free samples of the yummy Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters to try. In the interest of full disclosure, I should tell you - I was already a fan! I was at a friend's house a few weeks prior who had purchased a bag, so I had tested these out even before I knew I'd be given an opportunity to try them.

Interestingly enough, I'm not a fan of crunchy granola bars at all. I just don't care for the texture or excessive chewing involved. The Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters are crunchy, but surprisingly light considering the size of each cluster. They are satisfying, salty and a bit sweet, and (I'm telling you from experience) it's pretty easy to put away half a bag if you're not careful.

Want to try them?

One person will win a nice box full of some protein-packed snacks of their own, and a few cute stocking stuffers besides! Check out these goodies, perfect for some winter outdoor fun (or spy gear indoors, at my house.) Are you a fan of peanuts, cashews, almonds, or do you have to have them all?

To enter - please leave one comment letting me know which of the 4 varieties: Roasted Almond, Roasted Cashew, Honey Roasted Peanut, or Nut Lovers, would be your favorite.

(I like the cashew ones, but there is no extra credit for agreeing with me.)

Be sure to include your email address, or make sure it's visible in your profile. Contest will close at midnight, CST on December 3rd. There may not be too many entries, so your chances are good!

I did receive a bag of each of the four varieties of Granola Nut Clusters to try, free of charge, to allow for an informed review. They also included a few goodies like a pair of binoculars that my son thinks are the coolest, a bag, a flashlight, and a stainless steel water bottle. No other compensation was received, and the opinions expressed within this post are my own. I can't tell you what you'll like, though. You're going to have to try them for yourself!

Who stole the cookies from the cookie jar? (And other things we loved about Country Inn & Suites)

Who me?

Yes, you!

There are a lot of things to love about the Country Inn & Suites, Bloomington at Mall of America. The room was beautifully clean and comfortable. Now that we're traveling with small children, we spend quite a bit more time in the hotel room. It's so nice when it's a relaxing and worry-free spot for the kids to play and rest. I love the roomy nature of the suite. The bedroom area was available for napping children during the day, while we could play games, read, and watch TV in the living space. The fold-out sofa in the room was really well designed, too, in all one piece that didn't require moving cushions (or finding strange things under them.) It had a strap and folded forward easily to become a bed that was perfect for our 5 year old. When we needed a travel crib, one was delivered to our room within 10 minutes of our request, and "Smallest" slept well and happily in it.

The free breakfast included something for everyone (just give me another one of those waffles and I'm a happy gal!) Breakfast was served until 10:30 a.m. even on weekdays, and there were plenty of highchairs available, even when the breakfast area was at its busiest.

The hotel staff was friendly and incredibly helpful. The pools and fitness area were nice (okay, no workouts on this trip, but it looked nice), the on-site TGI Friday's and IHOP restaurants came in handy, and the proximity to the Mall of America was amazing. The only concern that this location may present for some was a little bit of plane noise now and then because of its proximity to the airport. It didn't bother us, though, and being so close to the mall and a short ride from other activities in and around the Twin Cities was well worth it.

And cookies!

The fresh-baked cookies in the lobby were a wonderful treat enjoyed each day of our stay. In fact, it was pretty hard to pass by the jar any time we happened to be in the lobby...and I'll admit to making a few extra trips down there just to check on the cookie status. The chocolate chip cookies were good, but the sugar cookies were my favorite. Cookies in the lobby were a sweet surprise, and a nice indulgence while on vacation.

Another thing we loved about our stay here was the Read It & Return Lending Library that Country Inns & Suites features. As a school literacy specialist, I love innovative programs that put books in the hands of children and families. Each Country Inn & Suites has a library of adult and children's titles that guests are invited to borrow.

If you can't finish the book during your stay, you are encouraged to take it with you and return the next time you are at a Country Inn & Suites. How cool is that? We didn't have to pack bedtime stories, and enjoyed a board book for the girls, and my son and I started reading Stuart Little. Country Inns & Suites also makes a donation to Reading Rainbow for every book returned. We enjoyed a book right in the hotel's lobby.



We were also really impressed by this little find at the front desk. In addition to ice cream treats available for purchase, we found cold bottles of water always available on ice. The cost for the water was a minimum $1 donation to the World Childhood Foundation. How refreshing (pun intended) to see a hotel provide a way for its guests to contribute to a cause it supports, and have the opportunity to enjoy cold water without paying something outrageous like $3 for a bottle. (But...you could if you wanted to, here. It's for a good cause!)



We really appreciated some of the innovative things that Country Inns & Suites is doing to make sure that your stay there is comfortable and fun. We're looking forward to a few more fun adventures in Streams & Shores Country before our return home tomorrow.


We were given a free stay at Country Inn & Suites, for the purpose of reviewing their family-friendly road trip itinerary and hotel features. No other compensation was provided, and the experiences and opinions presented are my own.

We shopped 'till we dropped at the Mall of America

We took in the first of our destinations on the Shores and Streams Itinerary. We went to the Mall of America. Although the Country Inn & Suites offers a shuttle every hour, we loaded up the stroller and walked right over there! It was an easy, 5 minute walk from our hotel.

The Mall of America is amazing - and a bit overwhelming. You can shop, see a movie, eat a meal (or a day's worth), ride a roller coaster (or a bunch of coasters), play with legos, and see sharks all under one roof.

Wait...Did she say "sharks?"

Yup...and they are swimming right over your head.

We also were able to touch starfish and giant crabs....reluctantly.

When we were done at the aquarium, we spent some time experimenting with vehicle design:


Then we walked back to the hotel and enjoyed dinner at the TGI Friday's right inside our hotel. After a quick stop in the lobby for a snack of bedtime cookies, we were ready to wind down and recharge for tomorrow's adventures. It was so nice to be able to do all this within close walking distance of our hotel.

It was a great day!

Enjoying Road Trip Country at the Country Inns & Suites

Well...we're here! The drive was pretty uneventful, with blue skies, very little construction, and lots of naps.

We've actually spent night one already in our home-away-from-home, The Country Inn & Suites at Mall of America. When they say "at" - they mean it! This is the view from the front of the hotel.


See? It's close! We could walk over there, but the hotel also offers a free shuttle every hour, and I've heard it's worth saving your feet. That's one big mall.


We had WAY more luggage than this.

We got settled in last night, and unfortunately, I came down with something. Bad. Very, very bad. So, I ended my evening very early, and everyone else enjoyed the yummy cookies and had dinner and some winding down time in the room. My son and his daddy popped a bag of popcorn with the microwave right in the room, and were nice enough to close the door so I could rest and didn't have to smell it. Staying in a suite is wonderful.

I'm sure we'll eat at least one meal in the TGI Friday's that's right in the hotel, and if the kids are not experiencing a restaurant-behavior friendly evening, they deliver to the room, too!

I did feel well enough this morning to have a waffle for breakfast. They were a big hit with the kids, too.

We're off for some adventure today! We're going to go look at the Streams and Shores itinerary, and we'll figure out what to experience first. Any suggestions?

We're taking this show on the road!

We love to travel, but haven't gotten out a whole lot since baby #3 joined us in January. Honestly, just the idea of packing up all of the gear, and clothing, and the mountain of snacks we would need and heading somewhere else seems like we'd just be relocating our circus of daily toddler acrobatics, daring diaper changes, and fantastical feeding feats. We've talked about it all summer, but hadn't mustered up the courage to venture too far from home. After all, even my carefully baby-proofed living room is like an amusement park for my toddler, who tries dancing on the coffee table and riding the back of the couch like a horsey. Our preschool-aged son never. stops. moving. Ever. And baby girl smallest is rocking back and forth on hands and knees, trying to crawl way earlier than the other two did just to keep up.

Still, every few days one of us will ask the other "So...do you want to go anywhere this summer?"


And yes, we do. We might be crazy. But I know it will be fun, and full of laughs, and new adventures, great memories and goofy pictures. Recently, Country Inns & Suites offered our family some FREE nights so that we could enjoy road trip country this summer! We're heading out in a couple of days and we'll be sharing some highlights of our trip along the way. We'll be going to Streams and Shores Country, and taking in many of the suggested sites on the itinerary as we visit the Twin Cities. We'll be staying really close to the Mall of America, and we're bound to find some outdoor fun at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and the Walker Sculpture Garden, too. We'll also be enjoying some great amenities at our home away from home.

Minnesota, here we come!

So tell me...

What’s your idea of the best last-minute vacation?

Shi Shu Baby Review/Giveaway

There are quite a few gorgeous baby finds out there. There are even more baby goods that are those practical, must-haves. However, very few baby items fit both the beautiful and practical categories.

Which is why we love our SHI SHU STYLE baby blanket.

These blankets are incredibly soft and handwoven for a beautiful texture and feel. Made of a 60%/40% natural cotton to bamboo blend, they are completely free of unnatural or chemically treated fibers.
SHI SHU STYLE's creator designed these blankets when her own son's favorite microfiber/polyester blanket caused him to break out in a rash.

If you haven't discovered bamboo yet, you will be amazed! Bamboo is soft, has antibacterial properties, and breathes. It is a soft and natural fiber to wrap delicate baby skin in. The 100% bamboo sateen trim on the blanket gives it that wonderful, silky edge that babies love so much. My toddler loves to rub her face against its silky softness.

We especially love this blanket's weight and texture, which is warm for winter winter, but also breathes, making it cool enough for use in the warmer months, too.

I'm also really impressed with its generous size.The blanket is 30 by 40 inches, which makes it sufficiently large for swaddling baby or covering a sleeping (and wiggly) toddler. So many traditional baby blankets are outgrown quickly, and many of them are never large enough for the "swaddling-challenged" parent at all. This blanket will easily take us through the infant stage to toddler and beyond!

For those of you who wonder (like I do) why the best blankies are always baby-sized...they make an adult-sized throw too! The SHI SHU HOME throw was even a premier gift at the 66th annual Golden Globes.

Win it!

SHI SHU STYLE has generously offered a SHI SHU BABY snuggler (16 by 16 inch size) for one lucky reader to win!

To enter, leave a comment letting me know who would be the lucky recipient of this snuggler if you won, AND what color you like best!

Extra entries: (Be sure to leave an additional comment for each extra entry!)

*Follow this blog with Google Friend Connect (1 entry)

*Follow me on twitter and tweet this giveaway. Leave your twitter status link in your comments (1 entry for each tweet)

*Blog about this giveaway, including a link to this post and to SHI SHU STYLE. Leave your post URL in the comment. (3 entries)

Giveaway will end on 4/30/09 at Midnight, Central time. Winner will be chosen at random and contacted via e-mail and announced on this site. Winner will have 72 hours to claim his or her prize before a new winner is chosen.