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Thursday, December 27, 2012

REFERRAL CONTEST!! Win Adam's Blankie Bucks!

I wanted to do something fun with you all for the New Year, and so I came up with a REFERRAL CONTEST to hook one of you up with some awesome cash to spend in our etsy shop!

 HOW IT WORKS:
Starting NOW through January 31st, send as many BUYING customers to us as possible!  Send the most** and you win a $40 shop credit*** to our store!  Yowzas!!

HOW TO EARN THE CREDIT YOU DESERVE:
For any referral you send, upon checkout in our shop, the buyer MUST MENTION YOUR NAME!!  There is a place to put "notes to seller" on etsy when checking out, so right there, they just need to type in your name that you referred them to our shop! 

I'll tally up the referrals as they come in, and post the winner here on the blog on February 1st!  Remember, to qualify, you must refer AT LEAST 4 purchasing customers!

Good luck, and Happy New Year!


**Winner must send AT LEAST 4 purchasing referrals to qualify for the prize.
***Credit is good toward ONLY hair accessories, and excludes our "imagination crowns" and "stitch art couture" headbands.

Have a product you'd like reviewed?
Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com
www.adamsblankie.com
 

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Pumpkin Cookies

October has finally arrived!  That's a HUGE relief when you live in the hot, dry desert and can finally see the light coming at the end of the tunnel!  Mind you it's STILL over 100 degrees here...but alas, the triple digits shall soon be gone!

This month always means the beginning of the baking season in my kitchen, and I love to start with apples and pumpkins.  I normally kick it off with some amazing pumpkin bread, but I decided to try a new recipe that came in a flier from my son's school, of all places!  So the kids and I had at it this morning.  The results?  More like a fabulous moist pumpkin bread than a cookie, per se, and Ooooooh-so-Delicious!



Delicious Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Sugar Frosting
1 cup butter (try to get to room temperature before creaming)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin (I used more than one cup for mine (almost a whole 15 oz can) to yield super moistness!)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla (you might try more here)
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon (you might opt for a touch more of this, too!)
1/2 tsp salt

Cream sugars and butter. Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla. Add remaining ingredients. Drop spoonfuls onto non-greased cookie sheet (we opted for parchment-lined sheets at our house).  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 - 12 minutes.

Frosting:
**we actually didn't make the frosting and are just eating them as is, but I'm sure with this on top, they'd be even more amazing!

Heat 3 tablespoons butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar in saucepan until mostly smooth. Cool and add 1/4 cup milk and 2 cups powdered sugar or until desired consistency, and whip with hand mixed until smooth. Spread onto cookies.

Have a product you'd like reviewed?
Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com
www.adamsblankie.com

Monday, July 23, 2012

{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
 

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Bonnets and Crowns and Halos, Oh My!!

 Hello, lovelies!

Just wanted to update you all with the latest products from our adam's blankie shop!  We've been busy designing and creating pretties in fresh colors, vintage appeal and touches of glitz ~ something for every gorgeous little {or adult sized!} head!

Bonnets

Crowns

Halo Wraps

Be sure to check our shop for the entire collection, as this is just a smidgen of our fabulous line!  And don't forget our "old goodies" like our shabby rosette headbands, which are still top sellers!  We also welcome custom requests, so email me with any ideas you might be looking for!

Have a lovely weekend!

Have a product you'd like reviewed?
Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com
www.adamsblankie.com
 

Friday, April 6, 2012

I {heart} CHEVRON!

Unless you've been living under a rock the past, oh, year or so?, then you KNOW how "IN" chevron stripes are right now!  So I am thrilled GIDDY to announce that the chevron stripes have officially arrived at adam's blankie!

We are currently offering them in aqua, pink, orange, yellow, gray and green!  Score your uber-modern baby chevron gear in our bibs, burp cloths or binkie clips right now! And if enough of a demand persists, they'll soon also be available in our 3 blanket sizes!

What's SO fantastic about these {other than being superbly fashionable, of course} is that these are one of the most gender-neutral prints out there!  So you can stock up and have them ready to give when the next baby shower invitation comes in the mail. Ahhhh....no last minute shopping!

Have a product you'd like reviewed?
Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com
www.adamsblankie.com
 

Friday, March 23, 2012

{Honest} Diapers: A Better Choice for Baby

We have had quite a winter season with illnesses that bombarded our family like none other year.  From allergies and stomach flues to chronic coughing and runny noses, to a relentless case of hives, I've never before actually LOOKED FORWARD TO the arrival of the Arizona summer heat! Ugh!


So, regarding the hives.  My daughter came down with these, and they lasted a good two weeks.  If you've experienced hives, you'll know that they come and go as they seemingly please, and just when you think they're gone, they reappear somewhere else a little later.  BEYOND FRUSTRATING for a mother!

Of course, we took her to the doctor, where they advised me it was probably a viral infection versus an allergy due to her age (a toddler).  They prescribed taking doses of benadryl to ease the itching and offer some relief to them.  We did use the benadryl, but this did nothing to really prevent the hives from resurfacing.  It did provide some relief from the itching, I'll admit, but nothing to really resolve the {root of the} problem.  So I did what most of you probably do: I went online and started researching natural ways to remedy this pain in the rear the hives.  From that, we tried oatmeal & tea tree oil baths.  Beyond that, "natural remedies," as far as Google is concerned, were a matter of waiting it out.  Using my own rational judgment,  I also switched her laundry back to the baby detergent and got some organic diaper rash cream & lotion for her.  Still, the hives occurred.

The most interesting symptom of the hives was that, in addition to them being all over her body, she also experienced a ridiculously red rash on her bottom.  It wasn't a "normal" diaper rash -- it was somewhat of a cross between diaper rash and hives {sorry - no pictures -- she'd kill me if I ever posted pictures of her like that!}.  Anyway, the rash appeared in the morning, after having slept in her diaper all night long.  This quickly prompted me to look for a "greener" diaper alternative.

Thank GOD {literally!!} for the "Parenting" magazine showing up in my mailbox during the midst of this episode, because there it was, headlined in that particular issue, "The Honest Company."  And what do they do, you ask?  Well, they specialize in "green," safe products -- everything from diapers to cleaning products {shampoo, hand soap, sunscreen, laundry detergent, etcetera}.  It was started by the actress, Jessica Alba, after she had kids and wanted something more safe and natural for her own pipsqueaks.
I immediately ordered their sampler kit and was BEYOND THRILLED with the products I received!  And guess what?  The very next morning when my daughter woke up?  NO diaper rash or red bottom what.so.ever!  Ahhhh-mazing! Needless to say, I immediately signed up for their full monthly delivery plan -- diapers, wipes, healing balm and all!
ice cream diaper pattern my daughter loves!
So this led me to start researching more about diapers.  Mind you, I have actually dabbled in cloth diapers, which my daughter used for her first 6 months of life, in fact.  But as she began to crawl and move more, the bulky cloth diapers became cumbersome, and we made the switch to the leaner disposables.  {If you can get through using cloth diapers, by all means, go for it!  They just didn't work for us}.  The fabulous thing about "The Honest Company" diapers is that they are natural {NO nasty chemicals!!} AND disposable!!  Um, and super cute, too, might I add!  {My daughter now asks for her "ice cream diapers" all the time!}.

So here's the deal on the typical cloth diapers in the industry {as taken from "The Honest Company" website}:

*First off, they are not required to reveal what's inside them {hmmmmm.....}
*There are tons of plastics and chemicals in them
*The plastics emit volatile organic compounds" {VOCS}
*Fragrances and lotions aplenty {made from who knows what?  but many lotions do contain phthalates that are a big no-no}
*Synthetic dyes
*Their bleaching process releases dioxins into the environment

And guess what these dioxins do?  Well, they're known as major cancer causer in us.  Sounds great, eh?  When you actually stop to think about it, it's beyond understanding that these other diaper companies could even consider putting the chemicals they use into diapers.  There needs to be a serious change in the industry!

On top of that, a study suggests there may be a link between these disposable diapers and asthma {hmmm...that would explain the ridiculous increase in asthma in kids}. Another study suggests a possible link between the dyes in diapers and diaper rashes.  That would make sense.

So, all this to say, I URGE you to try to find a safer, better alternative to your baby's diapers!!  As I said, if you can do the cloth diapers, I still think they're the best option out there.  But if those aren't for you {be it time, maintenance, etcetera, then as far as I can tell, the diapers from "The Honest Company" are a top-of-the-line choice for disposable diapers for your baby.

Here's what I KNOW about them::

*chemical FREE
*oil FREE
*plant based
*chlorine-FREE
*perfume FREE
*phthalate FREE
*lotion FREE
*optical brightener FREE
*PVC FREE
*heavy metal FREE
*organotin FREE

You MUST stop to wonder about the rash & hives disappearing when we switched to these natural diapers.  The most important thing I can say here is that these diapers made a DIFFERENCE for us.  I'm not just saying they are good and "green," we actually saw the difference!  And I can tell you, mother to mother, that I feel so, SO much better knowing she is in chemical-free diapers....a part of infancy and toddler-hood that touches their skin day in and day out for 2 to 3 to even 4 years.

Make the switch!!!


{important DISCLAIMER: I was in NO WAY, shape or form paid or given or advised to use "The Honest Company" diapers/products.  I found them on my own, and decided to try them without any others' prompting me.  I HIGHLY recommend these!  Give your baby a better choice and a healthier start!}

Have a product you'd like reviewed?
Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com
www.adamsblankie.com