{Friday Photo Love}

Inspired by Polka Dot Cottage.....just pictures from my own camera this week, but maybe some of the things I see and love from elsewhere next...

Drumroll please!

It has been a long and wonderful week! I've so enjoyed seeing all of the new faces around my little corner of the blogosphere. I'm secretly rooting for each and every one of you, and wish I could send you all these awesome gifts....but alas, there can be only two winners, so here goes.....

The Winners of the back to school Easy Lunchbox giveaway are....



Congrats to you both!! Please send me your mailing info (and in the case of the Easy Lunchbox winner your color choice for the cooler bag) and we'll get your prizes in the mail as soon as possible!

Thank you ALL so much for entering to win, I hope to see you all back soon! I am planning more giveaways as the new month progresses..and you'll never know what I'll have to give away.

winners were chosen using random.org's true random number generator

{This Moment}

Inspired by Soule Mama:

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.



Happy Weekend..

{What's for lunch Wednesday}

Today for What's for lunch Wednesday we have Hubby's lunch for today packed in our Easy Lunchboxes...and it's been Picnik'd because I was a little bored and unable to sleep ;) I love these little sandwich rounds...this particular one is whole wheat but the multigrain variety is yummy too. Hubby isn't all that fond of cucumbers, but hopefully they'll grow on him. He tried the rainier cherries tonight and enjoyed them. Not sure if I'll get lunches packed for the rest of us before we head out in the morning...we're hitting the aquarium as soon as it opens, the boys are so excited!

Don't forget! Only a little over 2 days left to enter to win a set of the fabulous Easy Lunchboxes! Go here and enter now!!

Happy Wednesday!

Holding on to summer....

It's come to my attention recently that summer is slipping by just way too quickly. Only 3 weeks left until school starts again. Back to early mornings, homework, school activities....goodbye to lazy summer days, sleeping in, spending whole days in our pajamas just because we can. I just needed to remind myself today that it IS possible to hold on to summer just a little bit longer.....

Head back to school with this Easy Lunchbox Giveaway!!!!!

I'm so excited about this giveaway I couldn't even try to be enigmatic about it..I am just thrilled to be able to share this with all of you!

Not too long ago I posted a review of the fabulous Easy Lunchboxes and shared what I believe is a wonderful product for sending not only healthy lunches to school for your kids, but also waste free and eco friendly lunches as well. When you have a super picky eater like my oldest son you need to send the healthiest lunch you can to make sure he is eating well during the course of the day. However, packing 3 lunches a night (I know some of you pack many more than that!) is hard to squeeze in when you have homework, then dinner, karate, the list goes on and on! I wanted to find a kids lunchbox solution that would be good for our Mother Earth and help me pack healthy lunches for my kids...and for my hubby too.

Easy Lunchboxes are everything I wanted them to be: dishwasher safe, BPA-free, phthalate free and non-toxic. They are the perfect size for both the kids and my husband. The cooler bags are safe to toss in your washing machine then air dry (who can say that about those store brands?) They are roomy but not clumsy and hold up to 3 of the compartmentalized containers or a container plus any other items you'd like to send...yogurt, water bottle, icepack to keep things nice and cold, thermos full of tasty soup..the possibilities are endless!

And did I mention they are great for making those adorable bento-style lunches that are so popular right now?? Check out What's for lunch at our house to get a taste of the possibilities! And then check out my friend Katie's blog the little things and enter to win some adorable bento cuteness of your very own!

What it all boils down to is this is a product that has the potential to save money (no take out lunches at work, no school lunches to buy), save the planet (waste free lunches! no baggies going into the garbage!), and save your sanity!!!! (pack lunch the night before, stack them up neatly, then pop them into a cooler bag and head out the door!).

The lovely Kelly Lester, owner and creator of Easy Lunchboxes, has graciously given me one set of compartmentalized containers and one cooler bag to share with one of my lucky readers!!! And to sweeten the deal I'm going to add in one set of handmade reusable lunch-sized napkins to help green your lunch even more! And because I couldn't decide which set of napkins I wanted to offer up I'm going to offer another lucky reader a set of reusable napkins as well! That's two winners, and entering is easy as pie! ;)



There are 4 ways to enter, so you have 4 chances to win! Please leave a separate comment for each entry! Winners will be chosen this Friday, July 30th at Noon using a random number generator..so make sure your entries are all left as separate comments!!

1. Mandatory entry-Please visit Easy Lunchboxes, check out her awesome site (there's so much to look at...great lunch ideas, ways to personalize your kids' lunchbox, etc) then come back here and tell me something cool you learned about Easy Lunchboxes. That's entry number 1!
2. Please become a follower of my blog here or on Facebook (you can do that on the right hand side or click HERE for my facebook page ) or if you are already a follower let me know that too! That's entry number 2!
   
3. Check out my dear friend Katie's blog, enter to win her awesome bento accessories, and then leave me a comment saying you did! That's entry number 3!
4. Share this giveaway with your friends or readers! Facebook it, tweet it, blog it..just get the word out and then come back and tell me you did! That's entry number 4!

Winner #1 will receive the wonderful Easy Lunchbox container set and cooler bag (in the color of your choice) plus a set of reusable, 100% cotton handmade napkins. Winner #2 will receive a set of the reusable napkins plus a reusable utensil set to send in your eco friendly lunches instead of that disposable plastic cutlery we've all been using for years!

I will close comments at noon on Friday and use a random number generator to pick the winners. The winners have 48 hours to respond by sending me their mailing information or another winner will be chosen. I'll post the winners in a special blog entry on Friday, so make sure to check back to see if you won!!

I couldn't be more pleased or excited to offer this wonderful giveaway...so get entering and win this fabulous product! I know you will love it as much as I do! (and for those of you who are Ft. Wright Elementary parents, grandparents or even just friends don't forget the Ft. Wright Elem. E-Wise Fundraiser! 20% of our Easy Lunchbox sales go to the E-Wise team! If you'd like more info and our special Ft. Wright fundraising code please let me know!)

Comments closed, winner announced in a special post.

Another Thank you!

I have been so lucky recently. I've already shared the awesome snack taxis I received from a giveaway at Hip Mountain Mama's One Small Change giveaway. They are a wonderful addition to our waste free lunchboxes and I'm looking forward to using them this school year.

I was also blessed to receive this gorgeous window star from the lovely Maureen at Twig and Toadstool!!

It has a special place in the window where we can be warmed by it's beautiful colors whether there's any sun outside or not! And beyond this loveliness I also received these...

I can't wait to find the time to color them in and display them along with my gorgeous star! And to top it all off, even the envelope was awesome!

How cute is she!?

Thank you Twig and Toadstool for such a lovely gift! Maureen sent me this gorgeous gift as a way of participating in a 'pay it forward' movement....returning small kindnesses by doing the same in turn. Because I promised, and because I think it's the way things should be anyway....(good karma, ya know ;)....I have another giveaway planned to start on Monday of next week. And you aren't going to want to miss this one..it will make your lunch packing SO much easier (and eco friendly!) this school year!

Namaste!

{This Moment}

Inspired by Soule Mama:

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.


Happy Weekend...

{black and white wednesday}

Since I didn't have a bento pic to feature for What's for lunch Wednesday I thought I would borrow from Wabi-Sabi Wanderings and do a Black and White Wednesday post. (Wabi-Sabi was in turn inspired by Natural Suburbia's Black and White Wednesday). And because it was SO. Blasted. HOT! today I decided I needed to remember that it won't always be summer.....winter will be here before we know it....

...and then it will be So. Blasted. COLD! I will look back on these lazy, hot summer days with relish, wishing I had my summertime babies back...

Happy Wednesday all...

Thank you!!

Over the weekend I received in the mail these very cool Snack Taxis! I was lucky enough to win these from Hip Mountain Mama's One Small Change giveaway, and I'm so excited to try them out!


There are actually three, but the third went to work with hubby today in his Easy Lunchbox as a trial run (it's brown and orange-ish check, rather like the green one above). It was easy to pack and held a goodly amount of baby carrots for his lunch. These are the snack size, but they also come in sandwich size as well! They are made of 100% cotton exterior and a nylon interior that is backed with polyurethane coating (the side that doesn't touch the food). They can be machine washed and dried or hand washed and air dried. I already can see that I need to add a few more to my stash...packing 3 lunches a day, I'm going to need them!

I am so happy to pack a mostly waste free lunch for my hubby and boys, it may only be a Small Change, but it's a good change nonetheless.

Thank you Thank you SO much to Hip Mountain Mama for the chance to win these! If you haven't already, check out her blog and her store for all sorts of awesome eco friendly products from art supplies, to pretend play, baby carriers, Waldorf dolls and other goodies. Too many to mention! I've been coveting this forever! ;)

And the winners are.....

#1-Amy B. who wrote: "If I could send a card to anyone it would be Anne Frank because I read her story so many times and admire her bravery."

#2-Anna who wrote: "If I could send a note to anyone, it would probably be my grandpa Berger. When I was young, he helped me with my bridge postcard collection. He would go to antique stores and flea markets, search through hundreds of postcards and bring me all the ones w/ bridges on them. I still have those cards and they mean so much to me. I also have a note he wrote me about how he liked to help people with their collections. I'll never forget getting that note in the mail along with a stack of bridge postcards. So I think i would send Grandpa Berger (passed away 10-4-92) a card with a bridge on it and tell him thank you for helping me out."

Winners were chosen using RANDOM.org's true random number generator. Amy and Anna please send me your delivery information and let me know how you'd like your cards personalized and I'll get those out to you as soon as possible!

Thank you to all of you who entered to win..and a HUGE thank you to Katie at Cards-by-Katie for providing such adorable notecards for me to giveaway!

My next giveaway is coming up soon...this one will make your school year just a little bit easier than it may have been in the past, so please check back...it won't be long!

{This Moment}

Inspired by Soule Mama:

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Happy Weekend....

P.S. There's only one more day to enter to win some adorable handmade notecards.....hurry and enter to win!

What's for lunch Wednesday

This week for What's for lunch Wednesday I have a pic of my own bento, not as cute as I hope the boys' bentos will be come August (and I stink at taking food photos still....it's a learning curve, I'm lagging behind ;)

My bento has Trader Joe's california rolls, edamame, carrots and a few slices of zucchini in the big section, salad with a little dressing and flatbread crackers and heart shaped cheese (trying out new shapes!) in the smaller sections.

I also have a pic of one of hubby's bentos for the week. Really wish I had gotten a pic of yesterday's....pizza pocket and pizza pinwheels plus sauce for dipping, edamame and carrots. Yum!

This bento has a turkey and cheese sammie on little sandwich rounds (no HFCS, 100 calories and wholegrain..woot!), carrots, edamame in the big section and tandoori lentil dip from Trader Joe's for dipping and mango and grapes in the smaller sections.

Make sure to check out What's for lunch at our house for great ideas!!

One Small Change

One Small Change to me has become something I think about everywhere we go lately, and recently on her blog Hip Mountain Mama asked us to share how we are making that change during the summer.

Our big change has been lunches....namely how much packaging went into them in the past. We purchased BPA/vinyl/lead/PVC/phthalate free reusable lunch boxes (we LOVE them...check them out at Easy Lunchboxes!) and I have been packing my hubby's lunch in them daily. No plastic baggies to be tossed in the trash (there were always at least 3 of them..usually more!) and beyond the obvious eco-benefits of doing lunches in this way he is also eating healthier as a result! Packing lunch is so easy now that I don't dread it and forget about it! It's quick, easy and I don't have to pull half the cupboard out to pack it! I was incredibly lucky and won a set of Snack Taxis from Hip Mountain Mama's One Small Change giveaway and I can't wait to add these to our new waste free lunches along with the reusable cotton napkins I just sewed to tuck into our lunchboxes as well.


I'm actually looking forward to packing lunches this fall for both boys. I feel so good knowing that this small change , while not earth moving, is a step in the right direction for so many different reasons. I feel even better knowing that I'm teaching my kids to care for our planet in small ways as well as big ones. With baby steps we can all make such a huge difference!

Hip Mountain Mama is offering yet another giveaway and there is still time to enter! Go now and check out how you can win and help the earth..all at one time!!

Paying it forward...our first giveaway!

I was lucky enough to win a gorgeous sunny window star from Twig and Toadstool in her pay it forward giveaway (and just found out I was a winner at Hip Mountain Mama's One Small Change giveaway!!) so I am, you guessed it, paying it forward! Plus, I've been blogging for almost a year now...so it's sort of an "Almost 1 year Anniversary Giveaway!"...kinda. This is only the beginning too..I have even more giveaways in store, but this one is definitely the cutest!

If you checked out the little things over the weekend you had a chance to win the cutest little handmade owl note cards ever created. I hope you won those adorable, personalized cards...but just in case you didn't (and even if you did!), Katie at cards by katie is offering you another chance to win! This time I get to be the bestow-er of cuteness! Two of my lucky readers will win these adorable little bee cards, personalized of course, so that you too can be a part of bringing snail mail back.



I've got a couple of different ways for you to enter:

1. If you aren't already please become a follower of my blog (you can do that on the right hand side) and leave me a comment saying you did so. Heck, if you are already a follower let me know that too!
2. Please visit Katie's etsy shop and her wonderful family blog and then leave me a comment with your favorite notecard or blogpost.
   
3. Share this giveaway: Tweet it, Facebook it, post it on your blog....just share it with your friends then leave me a comment telling me you did.
   
4. Leave me a comment telling me who in the history of the world, living or dead, you would send a notecard to if you could. Cleopatra? Theodore Roosevelt? Great Aunt Ethel? Just tell me who you'd send it to, and why.....because I'm just nosy that way ;)

That's 4 ways to enter, and up to 4 chances to win...and don't forget to leave separate comments for each entry!! Two lucky winners will receive a pack of Katie's adorable handmade and personalized notecards for their efforts. I'll close comments and pick a winner (with a random number generator) on Saturday, July 17th at Noon.

I can't wait to hear who all of those note cards would go to...good luck everyone! Thank you to Katie for offering up such cuteness!!

Comments are now closed and a winner will be announced shortly....

Weekending...

It was a busy, hot, humid weekend. Karate to start, then an awesomely fun birthday party for 3 very special and dear children. So far today has been a little lazy..but very creative...


Daddy and the boys got out the new watercolors and watercolor paper...


Daddy made a picture of a village..and Ewan and Liam drew their favorite characters and painted them in...


We are now scheduling an art show to be held in the hallway this coming week. Guess there will be alot more of this to come...


We hope you enjoyed your weekend too..

Cards by Katie!

I have a truly talented and very dear friend named Katie who makes handmade cards. No, not just makes cards. She creates beautiful works of art. Katie is single-handedly bringing back snail mail, because once you've seen her cards you HAVE to have them. And once you have them you have no choice but to send them to friends and family to share the awesomeness.

My friend Katie also has a blog full of coolness called the little things where at this very moment she is giving you the chance to win the most adorable set of owl note cards that were ever created.


Skip on over and enter to win and not only will you get the most darling cards ever but you will also get them personalized. That's right! Imagine your name atop that cuteness! Go visit Katie and find out how to win! And please check out her etsy shop as well, you will love what you see!

Fabric Shoppe Giveaway!!

Anytime you get the chance to win fabulous fabrics you take it!! Fabric Shoppe is giving away surprise scrap bundles to 5 lucky winners!



Check out Everyday Beautiful and find out how you can be one of the lucky winners!!

{This Moment}

Inspired by Soule Mama:

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Happy Weekend...

What's for lunch Wednesday

I've been checking this out for a couple of weeks now, but today I decided to post my fledgling attempt at 'bento' (really, just healthier lunches for now...but I'm proud that I've been keeping it up all week). It's pretty cool to check out all of the other bentos that get shared....it's giving me all kinds of crazy ideas! (insert maniacal mad professor type laugh here)

Shannon's entire blog totally rocks, so check it ALL out....What's for lunch at our house

Just like Daddy

This past weekend Daddy and the boys went to Comic Book World to geek out check out the awesome sale that was happening and came home with a ton of new comics, some RPG books and Magic cards. I never played Magic cards when they first became the rage years back, but I doubt there is anyone around now who doesn't remember how wildly popular they were. My big thing was collecting Star Wars cards when the original trilogy was first released. I kept them all in order in a shoe box, color coded (because The Empires Strikes Back had two different sets...red and blue!) and pristine. I only drooled on the Han Solo ones a little (okay, alot). Daddy says he got the Magic cards to share with the boys...but secretly I think he just wanted to play. Daddy has been pining for them for awhile now, so I was glad he finally got them.

Today on the way home from the doctor's office we stopped at the dollar store and there was a huge wall full of trading cards of all kinds...baseball cards, wrestling (really?? yes), Bella Serra which are pretty unicorn looking horses best I can tell (and which by the way is a really fun method of torturing a 6 year old boy), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles... and there at the end of the rack....Marvel Heroes and Villians. The boys went into instant geek zombie mode and insisted on 2 packs each. They then came home, ripped the packs open, oohed and aahed over who got who and how awesome they are and then began to 'battle'. I'm not really sure how the whole battle thing works, but it was epic and they have been captivated ever since.


So just for future reference....geekiness IS hereditary.

Pizza pockets!

I get tired of packing the same lunch every day and I KNOW my kids and hubby get tired of eating the same one every day and now that we have lunchboxes for everyone that make it easier to pack I'm really trying to find new, healthy recipes that will travel well and that my whole family will be happy with.



Today for lunch the boys and I took Another Lunch's pizza pocket recipe for a test drive and the boys really loved them! We used store bought pizza dough that I already had on hand because it was fast but I want to try home made pizza dough next time. They came together quickly, baked up nice and brown, and had a crispy outside and cheesy, chewy inside. I will definitely be making these once school starts to give picky Mr. L something besides peanut butter for lunch, I think they will warm up nicely and he would rather have cold pizza much of the time anyway. These would be super easy to personalize too....pepperoni for daddy and E, maybe veggies for me...yum!

Mmm bread...

Over the weekend I tried out several new recipes..most of them with an eye toward packing them in our new Easy Lunchboxes. My personal favorite so far has been the blueberry banana bread shared by What's for lunch at our house...I made plain banana bread and banana blueberry bread from this recipe and both are absolutely delicious! I experimented with one batch (mostly because I was running low on flour..yikes!) and substituted .5 cup of whole wheat flour for .5 cup of the AP flour and subbed out .5 cup of brown sugar for .5 of the white. Any way you put these together they were delicious and moist and full of flavor. Even picky Mr. L said they smelled delicious baking and ate an entire piece himself (and if you know L you know how amazing that is!)

Movie night

After a busy weekend sometimes you just need to relax at home with a movie and good friends....this is how the boys do it. I think Mr. Monkey must be in time out for misbehaving...that or he showed up late and just got a really bad seat ;)

Holiday weekending....

So far our long weekend has been busy.....housewarming fiesta at the new home of dear friends....birthday parties at the park for not one but two dear friends who happen to be father and son! Today we are off to the movies and then hiding inside the rest of the day...reading, playing games and relaxing before the work week sneaks up on us again. I will hopefully be back on Tuesday with recipe reviews and more..but until then I hope you have all had a wonderful holiday weekend so far....

And before I go....a huge thank you too all of our service men and women..past, present and future..who have sacrificed time with their loved ones, dedicated years of service and sometimes sacrificed their lives so that those of us back home can celebrate today. May we all be thankful and celebrate them every day. And to my brother, so proudly serving in Iraq....I love you, I am proud to say I am your sister, and I pray each and every day for your safe return home....

Easy Lunchboxes

This box came in the mail for me and I couldn't wait to open it.

That is because it is full of awesomeness.

This box contained these boxes:


I have been waiting on these for just about a week. I couldn't wait to take them out of the box and check them out..and they definitely do not disappoint. These beautiful little boxes are part of the Easy Lunchbox system and so far I am so incredibly impressed. I ordered 3 of the cooler bags and one set of the compartmentalized containers to use for school lunches for the boys come fall and for hubby to take along to work instead of me piling his poor lunch into a plastic grocery bag and then hoping it doesn't rip and spill his lunch all over downtown.

The boxes are roomy without being bulky, in fact they are incredibly compact and streamline and will be no problem to pack into a backpack come Fall. According to my Darling Husband they kept his lunch cool even without an icepack, they are so well insulated. The cooler bag will easily fit 2 of the Easy Lunchbox containers with room for water bottles and ice packs on top or 3 containers on their own.


This is hubby's lunch: whole wheat pb&j, carrots (trying to sneak a few in and hope he accidentally eats one), cottage cheese, grapes in the Easy Lunchbox container plus a Nutrigrain bar and yogurt for breakfast, baked chips to go along with his lunch and a diet soda. It's not completely eco friendly yet..I did have to use a plastic baggie for the baked chips, but I'm working on that. All of this fit into the cooler bag with plenty of room to spare. I could have added a water bottle and icepack as well and it would have all fit very comfortably...






All of this fits nicely on the top shelf of my fridge even IN the cooler bag. I'm not always awake to finish packing hubby's lunch and I don't want him to forget anything, so I tuck the entire bag into the fridge and he just has to grab and run. What I'm excited about is that I don't have to worry about him bringing home all of my storage containers now, it's all in one, and all contained in one spot and I don't have to feel bad about sending his lunch in no less than 3 different plastic baggies that will just get tossed into the trash. I'm in the process of making napkins with fabric scraps to tuck in as well (pics to come) and am on the lookout for smallish reusable bamboo fork/spoon to go into their lunch bags too. The money we'll save on purchasing disposable baggies and plasticware alone pays for these containers..possibly twice over! And the amount of garbage we keep out of the landfill is amazing!

I've packed hubby's lunch with this twice now and tossed the container part in the dishwasher to check out how well it makes it through the wash cycle. It came out looking like brand new. No warping, no staining, no semi-wonky lid that requires a rubber mallet to return it to it's correct shape. Straight out of the dishwasher and into the cabinet where they all nest together...and save me space.

And packing lunch was Fun! First, it's like a puzzle: how many healthy foods can I fit into this box? Second, I can already imagine all of the cute little bento accessories and containers I can find to tuck into the lunches as well! Ok, maybe not for hubby, but the boys will Love it! Maybe we can get Mr. L to eat and be less picky if his food is fun! I've already found these Star Wars cookie cutters that I am dying to pick up and use for sandwiches....I think even Mr. L would eat a turkey sandwich on whole wheat if it was shaped like Boba Fett! There are tons of delicious looking bento meals out there that I want to try out.....pizza muffins from Weelicious are on the top of my list.

All in all I am incredibly pleased with my purchase. The containers were designed by a mom for mom's so you know they are smarter than your average lunchbox. They are easy to use, pack, care for and store. The cooler bags, just like the compartmentalized containers, are free of any hazardous elements and are completely food safe. No vinyl, lead, etc. The cooler bags are even machine washable in cold, air dry! Kelly Lester, Easy Lunchboxes' owner and creator is accessible, happy to answer questions and so wonderfully helpful. To sweeten the deal even more she offers a fundraising opportunity as well. Our school's Energy Wise team gets 20% of every purchase made at Easy Lunchboxes. That's it, no strings attached, no hoops to jump through. You receive a promotional code that is unique to your organization to use at checkout, order your products and your organization then receives 20% of any money you spend there. You can't say that about those big retailers, and these are healthy for our kids!!

I very highly recommend this product and hope you'll check out the website, and possibly even order a lunch box or two! School will be starting before you know it and what better way to get started than to send your kids to school with eco-friendly, healthy lunches! Just to put it out there..I did not receive any sort of compensation for this review, I am simply a big fan of what I think is a fabulous product and want to pass this along to as many people as possible. When you find a product that rocks, you gotta share the love!

{This Moment}

Inspired by Soule Mama:
A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Happy Weekend...