Stuff Parents Need

Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

You Look Like You Could Use a Special Treat

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At this time of year, life is going at the speed of light, so it seems. If you have school-aged children, they are back in school, and likely have a very full after-school schedule, as well. You may also be in school pursuing a degree. And everyone is done with their summer vacations and back to the grind, be it in the office, the classroom or at home.

This is a fun time of year, full of excitement and possibility. But it is sorely lacking in relaxation, special treats and little indulgences.

Until today.

I have a very special treat for one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader, courtesy of 1800Flowers! I have one $40 gift certificate up for grabs, and I want whoever wins to TREAT YOURSELF to something beautiful! Promise me you will! We all need little fun treats like what 1-800Flowers.com has to offer, but we so rarely get them!

And here’s the really great news: 1-800Flowers.com can help you treat yourself or someone else in your life any time of year, and September is the perfect time to surprise pretty much anyone (even the folks with September birthdays, though they won’t be quite as surprised!). They offer delightful bouquets for any occasion, or no occasion at all!

If I were going to be surprised with something this month, I’d most like to have this amazing fall bouquet! I’d also love to put this bonsai plant in my husband’s office. Isn’t it gorgeous???

This contest will be open until September 26th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to their winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Tell me one way that you like to treat yourself. I need ideas!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” 1-800Flowers.com on Facebook (you’ll get a 20% off coupon if you do!)
2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter

Be sure to enter my other giveaways, found on the main page of my blog!
Disclosure: I did not receive any compensation or free products in exchange for my post. I just love 1-800flowers.com, and they love my readers! This post contains affiliate links. 

Children’s Style with Global Flair: Tea Collection

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Yesterday was Darah’s first day at her new school (some would call it day care, but I prefer the term school). She’ll be going twice each week for 5 hour stretches. I’m sad to have her away from me (how quickly I’ve gotten used to being around her all the time!), but I’ll also be able to get a LOT of stuff done while she is away (at least that will be my goal!).

My bff and I were just talking about how September feels much more like the new year than January does. Leslie was telling me how she always thinks of this as a time to have a fresh start and to start anew. I think she’s right about that; with the onset of fall, change is simply in the air!

tea collection review As we get our little ones back into a groove (be it daycare, preschool, k-12 or a homeschool program), we also turn our attention to their fall wardrobes. Darah is fortunate to be the fourth girl cousin on one side of her family, and as such, she has inherited MANY articles of clothing. They are all amazing, but if you walk into her closet, you will think that a pink tornado ripped through the area (both because it is messy, but also because pink is EVERYWHERE). Darah looks nice in pink, which is good since we have so much of it. But I am very drawn to clothes for her that use other colors. I also love great patterns and textures…just something out of the ordinary.

And today, I want to show you a company that strives to do just that. Meet Tea Collection. Check out what they have to say about themselves, “There is no better name for our brand than Tea. Tea, the drink, is shared in nearly every culture around the world—offering inspiration, warmth and mindfulness. In the same spirit, we offer children’s fashions with the tagline “for little citizens of the world,” celebrating the beauty found in cultures around the world.”

When I saw the girls clothing they offer, I wanted to shout from the rooftop, “Where have you been all this time, Tea???” If I could imagine the perfect fall wardrobe for Darah, so many of the things I would imagine look remarkably similar to the clothes Tea has to offer.

tea collection review For this fall, Darah has the Nesting Doll Tee, the Eniko Yoke Dress, and the Bootcut Leggings, which go perfectly with the dress and the tee. She has been wearing the dress for about a month now, and is just starting to wear the leggings and the tee. They are so awesome. The cotton feels soft but sturdy, the colors are a delightful break for these over-pinked eyes of mine and the designs are something unique, and definitely with a more urban and global feel, which I just love.
I’m finding that clothes from tea are holding up beautifully, and I’m going to be able to pass them on to the next person in my family who has a girl.

The other thing I especially love about Tea is that their collections draw from the same color palette, making it so easy to mix and match pieces, and therefore, stretch the fall wardrobe a bit further. You can put together pieces on your own, or just purchase one of their sets. Thank you, tea, for making it much easier to put together a collection of pieces that are sure to get used, because they coordinate with other things! I can’t tell you how many times I have bought a cute skirt or pair of pants for Darah and then they never got worn because I had nothing to go with them. Fashion fail on my part!

Other than the awesome clothes I already have from tea, here are my other fall favorites for girls: the Bluson Top, the Rusched Leggings and the Twill Trench Coat (I love this one so much I can hardly stand it!).

Buy it!: Tea collection products are available online for your shopping convenience. They also have a store locator on their site in case you want to see the goods in person, first! They offer sizes 6months-12 years, and if you have a boy, they have boys clothing, too! Woot!

Win it!: My friends, what an awesome giveaway I have for you, today. Tea is offering one Stuff Parents Need reader a $100 gift certificate to their site! EEEEEEE!!!!!!!! The contest will run until September 25th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.
Mandatory entry: Tell us a little about your inspiration when choosing clothes for your kids. Do you have a particular style in mind? Do they have a style all their own? What is it? Anything relevant to the topic will work.

Additional entries:
1. Subscribe to Stuff Parents Need by RSS or email.
2. Subscribe to the Tea newsletter (signup at the bottom right of the linked page)

Be sure to enter my other giveaways, listed on the sidebar of the homepage.

Disclosure: I received complimentary products for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Goodnight Moon Available on DVD

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Do you have an evening ritual with your baby or toddler? We have developed one over the past few months. It starts with dinner, followed by about 30 minutes of playtime. After that, we hit the tub and rub a dub in there for a while. Then we get dressed for bed, read some stories and start talking to Darah about going to sleep. We have found that she goes down much easier if she has a heads up that bedtime is around the corner.

goodnight moon on dvd Depending on how tired she is, we’ll read anywhere from 1-8 books, some of them more than once! Whatever the number, you can be sure that one of the books on the agenda every single night is Goodnight moon. Darah adores this book, and loves to point at the cow, the moon, the mouse and the cats. We definitely have the book memorized, and Darah probably does, too!

Given that this book has become part of our daily lives, imagine my joy at learning that Scholastic put out a DVD,  Goodnight Moon & More Great Bedtime Stories, where the book is read aloud, along with a person signing the book! SOOO cool! Darah knows a handful of words in sign language, and she is completely mesmerized by this dvd. The background is the pages of the book, which she recognizes, and I think she is aware that the person signing is communicating. We have been working on a few of the signs like moon and cat, and it probably won’t be too long before she has the hang of them. I’m not a big fan of putting Darah in front of a tv, but this dvd is great, in my opinion, since it isn’t animated and fast-paced. It’s just the pictures she already knows, along with sign language. A++, Scholastic!

Buy it!: If you have a Goodnight Moon or a sign language fan in your house, or you think you might in the near future, I highly recommend this dvd. At $12.95, you will certainly get your money’s worth, as it will be watched time and time again.

Win it!: Scholastic Storybook Treasures has one copy of Goodnight Moon for one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader! This contest will run until September 24th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Tell me the bedtime story that is a favorite to your child/children, or that was your favorite growing up. If you have taught your child/children any sign language, I’d also like to know (just because I’m curious!).

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Join the Scholastic mailing list (found on the bottom left of the linked page)

2. Blogger love: Subscribe to my blog via RSS or email (you can find these ways to sign up on my main page).

Don’t forget to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my home page!

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own This post contains affiliate links. 

Precious Moments Baby Boutique

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When you were growing up did you ever get any Precious Moments stuff? I personally only ever got one or two figurines, but my little sister got a really cute set of products every year on her birthday. It was a train that had a car for each year up to 10 (it looks as though it goes beyond that, now, but Laura’s train stopped at 10). It was fun to see which animal came next each year, and I still enjoy seeing it in the curio cabinet when I come home to visit.

Precious Moments has launched the Precious Moments Baby Boutique, which focuses on wonderful gifts for babies and young toddlers. While not everything in the Precious Moments line appeals to me, personally, I was pleasantly surprised by the large selection of gifts that they have, and I found quite a few things that I really liked and could see myself giving to others.

blanket by precious moments Darah received the Precious Moments Ultra-Soft Blanket with Satin Trim, and it is a smash hit with her. She loves to cuddle up with anything that is fluffy and soft, and that perfectly describes this blanket. I once gave a soft blanket similar to this as a shower gift, and the mom told me later that it became one of her baby’s favorite items. I would definitely purchase something just like this again for a baby shower since my little one loves hers, and other babies seem to, as well!

When browsing the site, I also thought that their insulated cups were really cute. I’m evidently not the only one who thinks so, because they are currently sold out!

Buy it!: Precious Moments has an amazing selection of products in their Baby Boutique and beyond on their site. If you are a Precious Moments fan, you should definitely check them out!

Win it!: Wasn’t that blanket I talked about super cute? Want to win one? Here’s your chance! One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to with the Ultra Soft Blanket with Satin Trim! the contest will run until September 23rd at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Tell me about any Precious Moments stuff you might own. If you don’t own any Precious Moments items, tell me about any birthday traditions you may have had growing up. Did you get anything special on each birthday (for example, I always got roses)? Had a particular cake? Anything relevant to the topics of Precious Moments or birthday traditions will do!

Additional entries (leave an extra comment for each that you do):
1. Sponsor love: Sign up for Precious Moments emails (found at the bottom left of the linked page)

2. Blogger love: Subscribe to my site using RSS or email! (you can find links to sign up on my home page).

Be sure to check out my other giveaways on the sidebar of my home page!

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product through MomSelect to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Making Custom Clothing for Women Affordable: eShakti

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Affiliate links included at no cost to you. In fact, they come with a $40 off coupon (details at the bottom of the post!). xoxo 

I typically enjoy clothes shopping, but that is only because I know exactly which brands fit me well, and I am also aware of some of the brands out there that just look terrible on me, generally speaking.

Oh yes, I’m a tricky one to fit, to be sure. I’m barely over 5 feet tall, I have a large rib cage and my cups runneth over, so to speak. My waist is small relative to my hips, as well. It is VERY common for something to be too tight in the chest and fit me most everywhere else, or fit me in the chest or hips but be way too huge in the waist.

Custom Clothing for Women

Someone once suggested to me that I just have someone make clothes for me. Yeah, sure, I can afford a line of custom made clothing, great idea! (read with a seriously sarcastic tone, people). I can’t really even afford to get my clothes hemmed/altered so that they fit better. I’ll typically only go have that done for the most critical pieces in my wardrobe (like jeans) or when the occasion is very special (a wedding). If What Not to Wear came into my closet, I can tell you with certainty that they would scold me for wearing things that aren’t figure-flattering. But I don’t know how else to make sure things aren’t too tight in certain places!

custom women's clothing

And then I heard about a company called eShakti. I want to share with you the vision of eShakti:

• One size does not fit all and all sizes are not created equal. For too long women have been forced to conform to standard sizing that too often doesn’t fit properly.

• At eShakti, a woman can shop for exactly what she wants – no compromise, no premium to pay. She can ask for the fabric, color, body, styling and sizing that she likes. Never again will a woman have to hear that her size is not available.

eShakti offers an AMAZING line of clothing that is fashion-forward. For only $7.50 extra, you can have the piece customized based on your measurements. $7.50 is less than what it costs me to get pant legs hemmed, which is one of the easiest alterations to make. Wow!

eShakti custom dress I decided to order a dress that gave a bit of a nod to the 1950s housewife. I wanted to wear it to my going away party at my job, as a sort of cheeky way of indicating that I was trading my office job for one with a full skirt, pearls and a cocktail in my hand for my husband. (Because that’s how it is, right ladies?).

Oh, the dress is DARLING! Several people commented on how cute it was, and a few even caught my little joke. I, for one, am absolutely in love with this dress. People, it perfectly fits me EVERYWHERE. This is virtually unheard of for me, and it is awesome. Since the look of the dress is so classic, I think I’m going to be able to wear it for years and years to come (provided I can stay the same size, please universe).

The prices at eShakti may not be as cheap as what you can find at TJ Maxx, but the fit is most certainly going to be perfect, and I think that makes the prices seem quite reasonable, indeed. My dress, for example, is listed at $59.95, and if you get it custom-fitted, it totals $67.50. That’s an amazing price for a dress that fits like a glove!

I know for certain, the very next time I have an excuse to buy some nice clothes, I’m headed straight to eShakti. What they offer is quality, custom clothing that is totally stylish. I’m totally in love with you, eShakti!
Dresses, skirts, retro, chic, feminine, contemporary, womens, custom, clothing

 

Here are a few more eShakti reviews from my site:

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Seventh Generation: Let’s Talk Period (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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I love Seventh Generation. It is a company that is doing well by doing good, and I totally support that! The majority of our household cleaners are Seventh Generation products, and we’ve been very pleased with their ability to tackle dirt and grime of various sorts.

Did you know that Seventh Generation also makes feminine hygiene products? I didn’t know until just a few days ago that they made organic tampons. Organic tampons don’t contain rayon, which is typically treated with chlorine dioxide, a chemical commonly used in pesticides! Yuck!

Here’s another reason that Seventh Generation rocks: right now, they have a program going on called “Let’s Talk Period,” and it is a wonderful site dedicated to informing people about ovarian cancer, the fifth leading cause of cancer death among women.

Seventh Generation is committed to donating $1 for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund for every person that signs up at Let’s Talk Period (up to $10,000). Funds will be used for programs supporting women fighting ovarian cancer.

To help get the word out, Seventh Generation wants to give one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader a Feminine Care Starter Kit! The contest will run until September 21st at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. Open to residents of the United States.

Mandatory entry: Sign up for Let’s Talk Period. You’ll get some great information about Ovarian Cancer, the Ovarian Cancer Fund will get $1 donated to them and you’ll have a chance to win some great Seventh Generation products! Let me know in the comments below that you signed up, and that will count as your contest entry.

Bringing Gourmet Taste to Your Kitchen with Delicae Gourmet

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I had the privilege of doing a review for Delicae Gourmet last fall where I featured their wonderful crock pot meals and pasta sauce. I’m thrilled to be partnering with them again to show you a few things that you are definitely going to want to have in your pantry and fridge!

If you weren’t a follower of mine back in November and aren’t familiar with this company, let me tell you a little bit about them. It is a Florida-based company run by two wonderful people, Barbara and Lenny, who have a true passion for gourmet food, and who want to make it easier bring complex and amazing flavors into people’s homes. I can tell you first-hand, they are VERY successful at what they do, because their food is divine. I’m not tossing that word around lightly, either!

www delicaegourmet com Delicae Gourmet has a wide selection of gourmet food products, but today I’m focusing on their salad dressings and their salsas. I had the opportunity to try out two salad dressings and I love them both. First up is the Pomegranate Dijon Salad Dressing. I personally love honey mustard dressing, and I thought this did an amazing job of taking a mustard type dressing in a different direction. Simply put, it rocks. Second, I tried a dressing that might sound a bit crazy…which is why I had to taste it! Check out the Orange Lavender Horseradish Dressing with French Herbs. Told you it sounded crazy! Now, if you don’t like Horseradish, you aren’t going to like this dressing. But I do like horseradish, and this dressing really just has a hint of it. The orange and the lavender really shine through, and the horseradish seems to come through toward the end of your bite. The dressing reminds me of a beautiful perfume, with layers. Oh, I heart it in a major way! Both dressings are $5.95, which may be more expensive than the Kraft dressing you are currently buying, but given how much better it tastes than that stuff, it’s a bargain!

www delicaegourmet com Now we turn our attention to the salsas. I have been using both their pineapple salsa and their key lime mango salsa, and they both are delightful. I put the pineapple salsa over some grilled chicken as a way to quickly dress up an otherwise really boring meal. It was a home run. I thought at first that it was going to be too spicy (heat) for me, but as I kept eating, it got better and better. The key lime mango salsa is helping to restore my confidence in cooking fish at home. It seems every time I try, it just tastes so bland. But not anymore, and all I have to do is add this salsa. SO easy! The salsas also run $5.95 each.

Thank you, Delicae Gourmet for helping to breathe new life into our home cooking.

Win it!: The great folks at Delicae Gourmet are ready to help you usher in fall with a $25 gift certificate to their site! One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win it! There are so many amazing products that I assure you, it will be hard to decide which items to get. But trust me, you can’t make a bad choice! The contest will run until September 20th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Tell me one item that Delicae Gourmet sells that you would really love to have in your home.

Additional entries:
1. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter

Be sure to enter my other giveaways, found on the sidebar of my home page!

Disclosure: I received complimentary products for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own. Affiliate links may be included at no cost to you

Felt Hair Clips from What the Scrap

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Hello bloggy friends!

I have another delightful surprise for you today. It is the cutest little hair clip that you ever did see, and it is perfect for anyone who has at least a tiny scrap of hair. The store is called What the Scrap, actually, and the owner is an awesome hipster and proud mommy of 2 names Liz. Liz makes unbelievably precious felt hair clips and pacifier clips. Oh they are SOOOO swoon-worthy!

Darah with felt hair clip shaped like a bird Darah actually wore her birdie clip to our first MOPS playdate this week, and another mom immediately asked if it was an Etsy find. Absolutely it is; I don’t have a crafty bone in my body.

But I’m so glad that there are people in this world just like Liz who have great vision AND great execution skills so that Darah can be accessorized well!

Buy it!: You know you want one of these. They are just too cute to pass up. Clips from What the Scrap hover right around $3.00. BARGAIN!!!! And the pacifier clips are also just nuts..in a good way. This turtle clip is so cute it makes me want to have a little boy!

Win it!: One of you is going to snag a hair clip of your choice (from the alligator clip collection)!!! The contest will run until September 19th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is drawn. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Choose the clip you want if you win (and choose wisely, as you’ll get what you ask for!).

Additional entries:
1. “Like” What the Scrap on Facebook (she offers special deals to her fans…don’t miss out!)
2. Follow What the Scrap on Twitter
3. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter
4. “Like” Stuff Parents Need on Facebook
5. Subscribe to Stuff Parents Need by RSS, email or Google Friend Connect (only one extra entry, even if you subscribe multiple ways).

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways (listed on the sidebar of my home page).

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.


Contest Entries: An Experiment

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So I’m thinking about switching up the way I do my contest entries, and I’d love to hear what you think about it.

My thought is to aim for the mandatory entry to always be something that is actually fun to answer. Something relevant to the topic, but giving people an opportunity to share something personal. That doesn’t mean it has to take a long time to answer, though. I’ve done a few of my mandatory entries this way, and so far, I’m really enjoying reading the posts. It’s helping me to get to know my readers better!

Then I thought I’d reduce the number of additional entries offered. Most people find them to be annoying, even if they do some/all of them. I think I’ll try to offer one sponsor love opportunity (like following them on facebook or twitter) and then one blogger love opportunity (like following me on twitter or subscribing). It will cut down on the overall # of entries, which will make the odds better for folks (yay!).

I’m also hoping that it will encourage people to actually do the extra entries more often, since there will only be 2 options. I have to be real, the sponsor and the blogger (that would be me) need people to follow them in these various ways in order to keep going, so we can’t eliminate those elements altogether.

What do you think about this idea? Sound good? Not so good?