And the Stringbean Company was born...

Today is the last day to enter to win the Rockets & Robots Apron Duo.

(In case you missed it go here!)

Don't forget you have until February 5th to get 20% off on everything in the Stringbean Company online store.

Enter the coupon code LIDS.

 I will be getting the Baby Wrap Carrier.

REALLY!! 

We've read a bit about the store here.

Now we get to learn a bit about Soni, the brains behind the operation...

How was the Stringbean Company born?
Like many momtrepreneurs before me I wanted something, couldn't find it, and so I made it myself. Other people asked about them, bought them, gifted them, and the rest is history! We started out with the Baby Wraps in 2006 (birth of daughter #1), added the Skidnees a few months later in early 2007, and the Apron Duo and Kids Love Capes! were born in 2008 (birth of daughter #2). In 2009 (birth of #3, a boy) we began plans to open and store and expand our sales to other people's American made wares. Having babies and kids at different stages prompted me to create different products for what they needed at the moment.

What makes the Baby Wrap Carrier and Skidnees stand out among all the other slings and leggings?

Aside from being made in the U.S.A, our products are produced in a thoughtful manner. We didn't want to just get a sewing contractor and be done with it, instead we're having our sewn products produced at a women's prison which helps inmates to pay child support and earn a fair wage while teaching them a valuable and very marketable skill for use upon their release. I'm so proud to be a part of that program. For the Skidnees, we shopped around for a family owned business in the heart of the former "Sock Capital of the World" that was struggling to stay afloat. The quality produced by both of our manufacturers is unsurpassed, and we wouldn't trade them for anything. Also, contrary to popular belief that goods made in the U.S.A are more expensive than their foreign counterparts, our products cost less. The Baby Wrap is unique because it is made of a cotton material with just a touch of spandex. This eliminates the sagging & bagging problem you find with most jersey material wraps. Our wraps are truly designed to be used for multiple children, they don't wear out after the first baby.
I love the fabric combos you choose for the Baby Wraps! What inspires you?
I'm such a color / fabric / prints junkie and always have been. I was an art student in college and that training has helped me channel my creativity into things like this business.

Top pick (1 for boys and 1 for girls) of the Skidnees?
Hmmm, this is tough! Top pick for girls would have to be Have a Heart and for boys it would have to be Polka Dot Black (my little guy is tiny, so I'm still getting used to dressing a boy!)

Thanks Soni!!
I have truly loved getting to know you though our businesses!

Pacific Waters Spa at the Hyatt Huntington

Thanks to the folks over at OC Family I got to go to the Pacific Waters Spa at the Hyatt Huntington Beach for a girls spa night with my blogging buddies.

It was amazing!

Side note about the Hyatt Huntington: Hot Hubby and I had the first few nights of our honeymoon there and almost burned the hotel down because my romantic groom had his best man light 180 (yes one hundred and eighty) candles in the room an hour before we got there. The room was about 200 degrees when we walked in and there was candle wax dripping everywhere.

See...

Dear Hyatt,

Thank you for not charging us for the red candle wax all over the ledge and carpet.

Kisses, KN

I got to spend the evening with Aracely (Daytripping Mom), Liz (Thoughts of a Mommy) & Lydia (Vintage Beauty Blog).

I can't believe we didn't take pix together!!

We learned about loads of home spa treatments. (Recipes below!)

My favorite?

The strawberry toner spray.

My skin felt silky, soft and tight after I sprayed myself.

Wait there's more...

We got a massage.

A real one.

My masseuse was Allie. She has been at the spa since it opened.

She was good!

There's more!!

We got a facial and hand treatment too!

Wish I would have gotten more pictures of their place. There is only 7 on the site and it doesn't do it justice!

Dear Pacific Waters Spa,

You should totally get more pix on your site. Try some of my favs Sipper Photography, Jen Johnson Photography, Tammy Mitchell Photography, or Brave Little Duck

Love, KN

The Pacific Waters Spa is just beautiful!

REALLY!

Hot Hubby and I will be going again soon... sans candles... OK... maybe one or two (wink)!

Berry Pretty Toner

~1/2 medium strawberry

~1/2 tsp fresh rosemary

~distilled water

~small spray bottle

On a cutting board, dice strawberry. Cut rosemary leaves and place strawberry and rosemary into a small spray mister. Fill with distilled water. Shake mixture to blend ingredients. Spray on face for energizing toner.

Mocha Latte Wrap

~2 Tbsp ground coffee

~1 Tbsp cocoa powder

~3 Tbsp coconut butter

~Plastic wrap

Mix food ingredients in a small bowl. Apply in light circular motion on desired area. Wrap area lightly in plastic wrap for approximately 10 minutes. Remove plastic wrap and rinse treated area thoroughly in warm shower.

Peppy Feet Foot Treatment

~3/4 cup Aloe gel

~1 cup organic sugar crystals

~1/2 tsp crushed fresh mint leaves

~(optional 4 drops peppermint oil)

Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl. Apply to feet in light circular motion to exfoliate and soften calloused areas. You may wrap feet lightly in plastic wrap and warm towels for 3-4 minutes. Unwrap feet and rinse feet with cool or warm water.

Don't forget to enter to win 2 aprons from the Stringbean Company here! (ends tomorrow night)

Apron Duo from Stringbean Company

Remember the amazing Stringbean Company?

Just to secure their awesomeness they are giving away a Rockets & Robots Apron Duo!

That's right folks... an apron for you AND your little one.

Rockets on one side and robots on the other in delicious fabric...

Perfect for boys or girls.

For baking or crafting.

For real or pretend.

For you!

How to win...

Main entry (mandatory): Click on over to Stringbean Company and let me know 2 things you like from their online shop.

In addition to the main entry you can get loads of extra entries if you...

~Become a fan of Stringbean Company on Facebook here. (2 entries)

~Tweet about the giveaway, can be done daily. Copy and paste this for the tweet: "Enter to win a Rockets & Robots apron set for you AND your little one from Stringbean Co here: http://bit.ly/7PNJzt Pls RT!" If you don't have twitter you can FB for this one. (2 entries per day)

~Follow Stringbean Company on twitter here. (2 entries)

~Follow Eli's Lids on twitter here. (1 entry)

For every extra entry, be sure to leave a separate comment on this post! i.e. If you tweet about the giveaway leave 2 separate comments.

***Giveaway open one week! Ends Friday January 29th 9:00pm PST***


Rockets not your cup of tea?
Buy one of the other styles (or anything else at Stringbean) for 20% off using the coupon code LIDS.

Good luck!

Stringbean Company

I met Soni from the Stringbean Company via the wonders of the good ole’ Internet and she is awesome.

REALLY!

She is the creator of the Baby Wrap, Skidnees, Apron Duos & Kids Love Capes.

(more on that later this week)

She owns a Mom & Tot store in North Dakota (and online) where everything

(yes, EVERYTHING!) is made in the USA.

She’ll be sponsoring a giveaway here tomorrow.

(sneak peek here)

She is the mom of a 3 ½ year old, a 2 year old & 3 month old.

(and you thought you were busy!)

AND she is adorable to boot...

Of course she sells Eli’s Lids.

(completely made in the USA!)

After you read all about Stringbean head on over to their site and get 20% off using the coupon code LIDS. (valid till 2/5)

I’m so impressed with her passion for products made here in The States that I’m going to share her awesomeness with you...

What prompted the idea of a store that only carries products made in the USA?

When we started manufacturing our own products, we really wanted to keep everything in the USA. From the tags to the packaging to the fabric and trims...it was sometimes difficult or impossible to find what we were looking for. I did so much research about where things were made and why and started to see some major trends. I was a history teacher (in a former lifetime it seems!) previously, and I used to teach my kids about different periods in history where the US was in control of X market or dominated X manufacturing, etc...Many of those markets are now close to if not entirely dead in the US (textiles, plastics, steel, socks/hosiery, computers - just to name a small few) I became so passionate about supporting American companies and, more importantly, American companies who produced their goods in the USA. When I decided to open a store, I knew I wanted the challenge of providing only American made products at Stringbean. With the American economy the way it is, I feel that it's more important than ever before to support our home-grown products. Those companies pay taxes, hire American employees and support our communities and charities - we need them.

Is everything really made in the USA?

Yes! And we are so proud of it!
You have SO MANY amazing products for moms and kiddos. Has it been difficult to find products made in the USA?
It isn't hard to find products made in the USA, per say, but it is hard to find American made products that also meet the Stringbean standards of design, purpose and price. Occasionally, it becomes really difficult to find a certain product that is made in the USA. For example, I am currently on the hunt for a domestically produced (and healthy) pacifier- there are none! I'd also like to find a stroller and a modern high chair. I am also surprised how some companies don't advertise their "Made in the U.S.A" qualities, which makes it harder for me to find them.

What are the top 4 sellers at the Stringbean Company stores?

I'm pleased and pleasantly surprised that our top 2 sellers are non other than Stringbean's very own products:
#1 The Kids Love Capes! Superhero capes are by far #1. I mean, Kids LOVE capes, right?
#2 Skidnees arm and leg huggers, also a Stringbean product.
#3 is the Melinda G T-Shirt Soft Cup Nursing Bra.We can hardly keep these bad boys in stock! For good reason, too, they've got to be the most comfortable nursing bra out there.
#4 is the Dano2 Bath Ducki It's really hard to find USA made bath toys and anything by Dano2 is so modern and fun. Plus, the phthalates/lead/toxin-free duck opens on the bottom so you can clean out the mold (it's even dishwasher safe!). What's in your rubber duck?

Any advice for folks who want to start buying things exclusively made in the USA?
First, I'd say start reading labels! That alone should get anybody thinking about how much *stuff* out there is not American made. If it doesn't say "Made in the U.S.A." ask yourself how much you really need it. I've found that this mindset also helps me curb a lot of frivolous spending. I'm also a big fan of buying second-hand, especially when I can't find what I want in an American-made version. For those individuals who don't live near a craigslist city, ebay is only a click away.

Don't you just love her?

I knew you would!!
Check back tomorrow for a giveaway hosted by Stringbean Company!

Mini Cookies

In the midst of rain and tornados (in the OC!) a mom needs to think of something fun to do.

(There is only so much Hi Ho Cherry-O a person can play in one day.)

Make cookies!

With a "little" twist.

Miniaturize them!

They are tasty.
And your kiddos will get a kick out of it.
See...

Plus you can eat like 10 and it doesn't feel so bad because they are so teeny tiny!

Lids on a Puddle Hunt

When it rains out here we like to bundle up and go on a...

You'll need...

...and of course you have to take a...

We didn't find many puddles.

But we looked great!

(I'm adding this to a great Carnival I found over at Good, True Beautiful about our JOY. Add yours here.)

Pirate Eli

Fierce pirate.

Always stand ready with sword in hand.

Steal scrap fabric for hat.

Proudly display Lightning McQueen underwear.

In the kitchen.

Should this be the next LID style???

More Wordless Wednesday folks go here.

For a new fun (and super easy) Carnival starting this Saturday (1/16).

Post your "Best Tweet of the Week" over at The Glamorous Life Association.

Can't wait to see how funny you are in 140 characters or less!

Why do I live in Southern California?

Because of this...

Just another January dusk in Orange County.

Sweet dreams.

(NONE of these pictures are photoshoped or altered in ANY way. All taked with the natural CA early evening light!)

Eli's Lids in the New Year...

We rung in the new year with our annual New York New Years Eve Party.

Of course we lined up the children against their will to take a picture.

I forgot my Happy New Year sign.
I also forgot to make everyone wear their Eli's Lids like I did last year...

The picture still turned out absolutely priceless.

See...

 What's in store for Eli's Lids this year?
(you ask)
Lots!
~New Lid Styles (baseball, trucker, and of course more beanies!)
~A fun Carnival! (details later) As much as I loved the Remember When Carnival... it sure was hard to scan in all those pix!
~The same ole' silly style of blogging.
~More fun crafts! (Of course you should be checking in with my alter ego, She's Crafty, often for constant crafts!)
~A new awesome charity Eli's Lids will be donating to... Surfers Healing!!
~Oh and have you heard we are having baby #3?!? The gender and name are a big secret. I'm thinking I'll tweet during labor...

I'm sure you're wondering what my New Year's Resolution is...

You're not?

We'll I'll tell you anyway.

My New Years Resolution is to gain 25-35 pounds!

I am With Child... how often will I get to make that one!!?!!

Preggo cravings...

This is what I had for lunch...

It was one of those 'If You Give A Mouse a Cookie' moments... but with a pregnant craving twist.
See...
After you make scrambled eggs (you can barely see them under the apples) you'll put away the eggs in the fridge and notice the mild cheddar cheese.
Yum.
You'll cut a few cheese slices.
Then you'll think, "Gee, apples sure go well with cheese!"
You'll slice up an apple.
Yum.
Just before you sit down, you'll rememeber the red grapes you just bought at the store.
Yum.
After you rinse the grapes you'll feel like you need a bit of an energy boost.
You'll remember the Large Regular Iced Coffee you got at McDonalds yesterday but didn't finish.
You'll pull the 32 ouncer out of the fridge and notice the cookie dough.
Gotta finish lunch with something sweet.
Cookie dough.
Yum.
The perfect preggo lunch.

You may be wondering what the perfect preggo dinner is.
I'll tell you...

(got these from my parents at Christmas. Been craving Corn Chex for dinner.)

What did you crave when you were preggers?

Christmas Eve

Eli picked out this giftie for Daddy. He wrote "FOR, DADDY" Love, "ELI" all by himself.

Hot Hubby got off work at noon and we headed to Arby's for lunch.

Because Baby #3 loves Arby's!!

After naps we baked...

Get the cookies out already...

Eli was beyond stoked that Santa was going to eat what HE made!

Reading from Luke 2...

Cora was a bit clueless but went with it...

The kiddos picked dinner.

Eggs.

Toast.

Grapes.

Mommy didn't want to do dishes so we used paper plates...

I bundled up all the yogurt lids we had been saving for breast cancer...

We read from the best pop up Christmas book ever...

Oh... and someone showed up before we went to bed...