{HustleMama} Review & Giveaway

{Back To School}

It's that time of year again, can you believe it? And it was a BIG one year, as my sweet boy started Kindergarten {sniff, sniff}!!  I hear that now the time really starts to fly....definitely.not.ready.

But one thing that can help you get ready is stocking up on awesome school supplies {stay tuned for a future post on a plethora of must-have "back to school" goodies!}.  That's where HustleMama comes in.  It's an etsy shop run by a local {Phoenix} Mom, whom I personally know, as she used to own a baby boutique that carried some adam's blankie couture!  Needless to say, she knows what's in style.  And one of those things are "green" food storage bags!  The huge benefit here?  Well, besides helping save the landfills, you also save money in your pocket, as you no longer need to purchase the {throw-away} plastic baggies once you have these. And with listings starting at just $4, there's options to fit every budget!

the 4 bags we received for review {orange and white you see is a NOTE, NOT a bag - just fyi} :)

So HustleMama sent me two of their sandwich bags and two of their snack bags to review.  Now, I'm no newbie to the world of ecofriendly bags, as I've made my own for my own kiddos {before you ask, yes we DID carry them in our shop a while back, but no longer do.  If you're a DIY'er, however, our pattern is available in the shop}.  The ecofriendly bags from HustleMama are professionally sewn with surged edges - bonus!  They are lined inside making wiping up easy.  And if the mess is a bit more involved, and wiping doesn't cut it, you can machine wash them!  I already did toss one of ours in the washer, and it came out perfectly.  The bags are also food-safe with no lead, BPA or pthalates.  Oh, and did I mention she has 48 fabrics to choose from??  If you know me at all, you know how much I love being able to choose my own fabrics, so that's a huge perk {LOOOVE the chevron print we received!}!

My one drawback with them is that my Kindergartener had a hard time getting the flap flipped open.  That's not to say he couldn't get to the food inside; he just had a tough time trying to flip the flap over.  The bags are made "envelope-style," meaning you must fold over the top in order to keep the bag open.  Now, you don't HAVE to flip the top back to get inside, but it makes eating easier and more efficient if you do.  That being said, as they are envelope-style closure, there's no velcro or snaps to mess with.

here's one of the bags with the flap opened back

 

BUY YOURS!

To get your own sandwich and snack bags, head on over to HustleMama and let Shannon know that Adam's Blankie sent ya!  Shannon is a true pleasure to work with, and offers top-notch customer service (just check her reviews while you're there!).

GIVEAWAY!

HustleMama has graciously offered to give away some ecofriendly bags to TWO of our blog readers!  One will win a set of 6 snack bags, and one will win a set of 5 sandwich bags! To enter, simply "like" HustleMama AND Adam's Blankie on facebook. While there, you *MUST* leave a comment on each page letting us know you found us on the Adam's Blankie/HTBC blog!  Then head back over here and comment that you've liked both facebook pages!  That's it!  Easy peasy!

Giveaway will close August 1st at 1:00 pm AZ time. Winner will be contacted via email and have 48 hours to claim their prize.  If no response is received, a new winner will be selected via random.org.  Winner name will also be posted at the bottom of this post once he or she has claimed the prize.

Good luck!  Hope you all have a fabulous "Back to School" experience!

Have a product you'd like reviewed?

Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com

www.adamsblankie.com

 

Peanut Butter Pie {Recipe}

I made an absolutely sinful Peanut Butter Pie the other day!  As some of you may already know, I have a serious weakness for anything peanut butter, and this. one. takes. the. cake! {errrr, pie!}!!

It's a very easy recipe, too, and doesn't take too much time to make! 

{Peanut Butter Pie} 

1 jar creamy peanut butter {the middle size one will do!}
1 cup sugar
1/2 of 8 oz original cool whip
1 8 oz package of cream cheese {let warm up to about room temperature}
1 jar of hot fudge
1 oreo or graham cracker pie crust

In a large bowl, mix the sugar, peanut butter, and cream cheese in a mixer until smooth.  Fold in half of the cool whip until thoroughly mixed.  Spoon the mixture into the pie crust, and refrigerate.  While the pie is in the refrigerator, put aside a tablespoon each of the peanut butter and hot fudge into plastic baggies, in the corner of them.  {You'll later cut a very small part of the corner and pipe onto the top of the pie!}. Then place the rest of the jar of hot fudge in the microwave to melt {check instructions on jar for how long to microwave}.  Once it's smooth, pour it evenly on top of your pie, all the way to the edges.  Place pie back in refrigerator.  When you're ready to serve, cut the very tips {very small part!} of your baggies and pipe the fudge and peanut butter over the pie in a zig zag motion.

Mmmmmmmmmm.....dive in and savor every drop of this rich little thing!

Have a product you'd like reviewed?

Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com

www.adamsblankie.com

Celebrating the 4th of July {Ideas to Inspire!}

Hope you all are having a fantastic week so far and are actually enjoying welcoming in summer around your parts!  As I'm sure you can imagine, we do *not* welcome in summer in Phoenix {well, us "rational" ones, anyway}...we instead dread the upcoming 5 months of sheer blistering heat that torture us desert rats.  For me, the start of summer is the start of my own personal countdown to the winter!

That being said, I've always enjoyed the 4th of July!  Growing up in the midwest, we were able to do our own fireworks - an event that I always looked forward to!  Now that fireworks are legal {to buy yourself} here in Arizona, I'm especially looking forward to introducing my kids to my own beloved childhood tradition!

So to welcome the upcoming festive holiday, I am bringing a post to you from one of my newest & inspirational friends! Heidi from cherry blossoms {be sure ya'll check out her blog - it's full of gorgeous pics and creative ideas!} is one of the most adorable, sweetest people you'll ever meet!  She's highly personable and extremely down-to-earth - two traits I admire greatly!  She is going to kick off a series of guest blog posts I'll be doing throughout the summer months...so please sound off a great big "hello!" to Heidi!  {Here she is...}

 Hello Everyone!

I'm Heidi from cherry blossoms and I am so excited to be guest blogging for Kari today! I officially met Kari a few months ago when I hosted a baby product party in my home and we both learned we are originally from North Dakota! {I know, small world!} I am also a big fan of Kari's adorable headbands {wish I had her talent} and bibs, as my little girl can often be seen debuting her Adam's Blankie couture items.

Being a first time mommy and a working mommy {I'm a school social worker} I found it's important to have outlets...one of my outlets has become blogging. I love to blog about fashion, baby product items, baking {cupcakes!}, party inspiration, and basically anything that fancies my heart at the moment.

With summer in full swing and the 4th of July only days away, I thought it would be fun to feature some inspirational ideas!

Flag banner to greet your guests

Bean bag toss for the kids

a holder for sparklers. {My favorite!}

delicious cupcakes

or how about this delicious red, white, and blue sprinkled cake via paper and cake

Wishing you all a happy and safe 4th of July holiday weekend!

Have a product you'd like reviewed?

Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com

www.adamsblankie.com

Organize Your Grocery Shopping

So I used to purchase those long, narrow notepads to use as a shopping list.  I would always end up writing in my own categories all over it so that I could better streamline my actual shopping at the store.  But sometimes I wouldn't leave enough space on my sheet for a certain category, or the categories ended up being out of order with the grocery lanes, and it took too much time for this busy mama to write everything down.  Then it dawned on me...there must be a better way to do this!

So as I often do when looking for a great answer to my problem, I turned to Etsy.  {If you STILL haven't checked this site out, you MUST!!  Seriously, whenever I "google" something, it ends up eating up too much time, and directing me to the wrong place.  So, more often than not, I go straight to Etsy to do a search, and there I find what I'm looking for quickly and accurately}.

I {heart} Agritopia.

Most of you know by now that I live in the Phoenix Metro area.  It's a great city {despite some of the recent press here ~ ugh!}, and I love it....all except for the scorching summers, of course.  BUT...having grown up in the bitterly cold Midwest, I'll take it over the freezing winters up North!

One of the neighborhoods close to us is Agritopia.  It's a quaint little neighborhood in which some day we hope to live. They offer fabulous playgrounds {I can't even count how many.  10? More?}, white picket fences {a rare breed around these parts}, NON-cookie-cutter homes {even MORE rare in Arizona!} that are NOT stucco {say whaaat?} and offer basements {gasp!}, gardens, orchards, not to mention a couple of my favorite spots to eat: The Coffee Shop and Joe's Farm Grill {also featured on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives ~ they serve fantastic food right from their garden!}.

Italian Vespa - a common sight here

Joe's Farm Grill ~ Local, Urban, Organic Food -- worth a visit if you're here!!

A fruit orchard

Garden plots for "the people" - you can pay for your own small plot to garden in

view from the Coffee Shop to Joe's ~ lots of grass to play in {see below!}

a place to buy the fresh produce right from the garden

So today I took A-train and Baby K for a visit.  We headed to the Coffee Shop {a place we go to weekly!} for some coffee and a cupcake.  Mmmm...  Now these aren't just any cupcakes.  The girls of The Coffee Shop actually not only went on Cupcake Wars of the Food Network but they also won their episode!  And now they sell these cupcakes at our local Nordstrom, as well.  But lucky for me, we can go just a couple miles to get them from the Coffee Shop.  {By the way, if you've never seen Cupcake Wars, I highly recommend it!  The Coffee Shop won with their "coffee and cigarettes" cupcake.  Not one I think I wanna try any time soon, but.....creative!}. :)

side view of The Coffee Shop

a portion of the front patio

Today's cupcake: Sweetheart Cherry

playing outside afterwards

So some day I hope to report back on the blog that we've moved there.  But until that day, we'll continue to visit and love that special little place called Agritopia!

Have a product you'd like reviewed?

Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com

www.adamsblankie.com

www.gourmetplay.etsy.com

Sweeties for your Sweetie

As they say, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.  And with my husband, I couldn't agree more!  So here are some sweet little shops to visit that offer just the right satisfying sweets for him {or your other loves ones...kids included!!}

{The Cravory}

Here you can create your own cookies.  You start by picking your cookie dough flavor, and then can add up to 3 mix-ins.  And they have quite the choices!  From Reese's and 100 Grand to Cappuccino chips and figs, they've got you covered.  Heck, you can even choose BACON as an add-in! {Now, tell me, what husband wouldn't love that?!}

{Yummy Mummy Brownies}

Got a brownie lover at your house? Yummy Mummy Brownies offers a samplers of any 3 of their brownies, and comes shipped in an adorable little box.  Choose from Fudge, Nut Toffee, Caramel Nougat, Mint Patty or Peanuty Peanut Butter.  Yuuummmmm!!

{Chocomize}

Chocomize offers the perfect sweet for the chocolate lover!  Here you can choose your favorite chocolate base {dark, milk or white} and then add from over 100 types of toppings!  They offer categories such as fruits, nuts, candy and even herbs!  Hmm....after perusing the site, I'd go for the Dark Chocolate base with sour cherries, coconut flakes and cinnamon.....  Or how about White Chocolate with lavender, raspberries and hazelnuts?  Talk about some creative desserts ~ how fun! 

Have a product you'd like reviewed?

Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com

www.adamsblankie.com

www.gourmetplay.etsy.com

{Tastybaby} Review & GIVEAWAY!

I have to admit that before getting the Tastybaby products a try, I never even knew of their existence.   But let me just say now that I am really impressed with Tastybaby products.  They taste good.  They're healthy.  The company gives back.  

Tastybaby offers a line of organic baby foods and toddler snacks.  Their products include infant cereals, frozen purees, fruit snacks and cereal bars.   Not only are the foods organic, but they're delicious, too!

What kid doesn't love fruit snacks, right?  But the thing I especially love about those from Tastybaby is that they are organic and do NOT have high fructose corn syrup, preservatives or artificial colors and flavors, nor even gelatin. They're made from just real fruit juice and can even be eaten by those who are on a gluten-free or vegan diet.  Delish and smart.

Their organic baby frozen purees are quite a treat, too.  Really.  Tastybaby uses the innovative "blast freezing," which by industry standards is thee next best thing to picking the fruits/veggies from your garden and eating them right there on the spot.  This is because blast freezing freezes the fruits/veggies in minutes when the fruits/veggies are ripe and full of the most nutrients {and according to the American Cancer Society, this allows for even more nutrients than buying fresh foods because during the time gap between harvesting and consumption, foods lose nutrients}.  So basically those nutrients all get saved in the freezing process and then go right to baby when eaten!  LOVE that!  Their purees come in a cute little box, which includes two 3-3.5 oz cups.  All you need to do is thaw them overnight OR warm up in a bowl of hot water OR microwave for about 30 seconds.  Done. Baby is ready to eat.  We tried the "bangos" (banana & mango mix ~ love that cute name!), and it was absolutely delicious {I'd love this to go with my breakfast every day.  Seriously!}.  They offer a few other flavors, as well, and they are all marked for the different stages your child is in eating-wise {from the stage 1 beginning eater to the stage 3 eater}.

We've truly become big fans of Tastybaby at our house.  I just wish more grocery stores carried their products.  Tastybaby DOES have a form you can print right on their website to submit to your local grocery to request that they carry Tastybaby.  But another great option is buying from Amazon, where Tastybaby ships FREE!


BUY IT! Visit Tastybaby today to find a local retailer to get your own tasties for your kiddos!

WIN IT! One lucky Haute Tot and Baby Couture/Adam's Blankie reader is going to win THREE FREE VOUCHERS for some Tastybaby goods!  Please see below for how to enter!

Mandatory Entry:

Visit Tastybaby and come back here to tell me what entree or snack you'd most like to try (1 entry)! YOU MUST BE A PUBLIC HTBC/ADAM'S BLANKIE BLOG FOLLOWER {VIA GOOGLE FRIEND} IN ORDER TO ENTER!!  SO IF YOU'RE NOT YET, SIGN UP AT THE RIGHT!! Be sure to leave your email address in the entry so that I have a way to contact the winner! If there is NO EMAIL left, another winner will be drawn. Winner will be chosen via random.org and notified via email. Winner will have 48 hours to claim prize or another winner will be chosen. Entrants can enter through February 14th. Winner to be chosen on or around February 15th!

Additional Entries!

Once you've completed the mandatory entry, do any of the following for more chances to win! {Again, please be sure to leave your email address in each entry!}

*Subscribe to our blog (2 entries possible; 1 via google and 1 via email feedburner (must be activated to count as entry)).

*Give a shout out about this on your Facebook page (2 entries) - be sure to leave a link to your status update!

*Become a fan of Adam's Blankie on Facebook (1 entry) and score coupon codes!

*Become a fan of Tastybaby on Facebook (1 entry).

*Follow Adam's Blankie on twitter AND tweet about this giveaway with the following tweet, (1 entry - can be done daily):

"Win FREE Tastybaby goodies for your kiddos @adamsblankie! Enter at www.hautetotandbabycouture.blogspot.com!"

(Be sure to leave a link to your tweet/s!).

*Become a fan of Tasty baby on Twitter (1 entry). 

*Post our blog buttons on your blog and include link to blog. (6 entries possible - 3 for Adam's Blankie Etsy shop button and 3 for Haute Tot Couture blog button).

*Blog about this giveaway and include the link to your post AND a picture of the prize!! (3 entries).

*Email up to 3 friends about this giveaway ~ be sure to copy me on the emails! adamsblankie@gmail.com (3 entries possible).

Please note, I was not paid to do this review.
Opinions are strictly my own, and no one or nothing else has influenced me in my review.

Have a product you'd like reviewed?

Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com

www.adamsblankie.com

www.gourmetplay.etsy.com

Couture {Cupcakes}

Cupcakes are it.  All the rage right now, right?  I'm thinking now....this can only last so long.  So what's next?  Maybe brownie bites? Macaroons?  Cake pops?  I know it's coming...I just don't know what it is yet.

But while the cupcake takeover goes on now, you've got to swing by Sweet Estelle's to get some of this simply divine cupcake liners to dress up those cute cupcakes of yours!

Here are some of my faves {I'm thinking of doing of either a ladybug or candy theme for our baby girls' 1st birthday..what do you think of these for either idea???}:

this would be for the ladybug-themed party

this set would be for a candy-themed party

love this color mix

Sweet Estelle's also offers mini cupcake liners, cupcake toppers, cupcake kits, sprinkles and more!

Have a product you'd like reviewed?

Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com

www.adamsblankie.com

www.gourmetplay.etsy.com