BubyNoa Handmade Toys & Kids Accessories (10% Off)

Sometimes your eyes fall on an item (art or a tshirt or a potted plant or book cover) and it just stirs something in your heart. That's how I felt when I stumbled upon the Etsy shop BubyNoa this past weekend. So I am very excited to introduce you to this amazing shop full of upcycled, handmade, eco-friendly, and just darling and thoughtful kids' toys and accessories and other bits and pieces... and I'm so happy to share that Mirit, the shop creator, has been kind enough to offer us a discount. (Thank you, Mirit, you are super cool.)

In her own words, Mirit on the inspiration behind her amazing shop:

My inspiration comes from my environmental concerns, nature, my experience, my children. My life :)

I care deeply for the environment and I have a lot of love and true admiration for animals. I wanted bubynoa to incorporate all of these feelings and beliefs in each and every product.

The love and concern for wild animals and their habitat inspire me when creating my wild animal dolls. My inspiration for my dog dolls came from an actual black dog that I saw when travelling. “Ceci the cat” was created in honor of my brave feisty and wonderfully crazy black cat Ceci who was also a rescue animal.

I see bubynoa as an educational tool; each item is eco friendly and ethically-sourced and then there is the finished product that entices and engages. I create the lions, rhinos, elephant and giraffes to introduce them to children. Those animals and their habitat are on the verge of extinction, and we can change that by teaching and raising awareness at a young age. When a parent purchases a rhino doll for example, they are introducing a whole new world to their young child. Now the child recognizes the animals in movies or books and a conversation is started."

I am excited to use this code myself for a special little someone and I hope a few of you are also inspired to support BubyNoa and save a little green at the same time this holiday season. For 10% off your purchase use code "4OTANDET" valid through 3 February 2014.

ready for spring and things

image via Made4uByMagic Etsy shop

How ready are we for Spring (plus loads of sunshine and minus the ever-present rain) around this house? We are all stir crazy with the inside but a few choice days lately have already allowed us to take an after-dinner walk around the block or spend some minutes in the front yard chalk drawing or kicking the soccer ball. Those outside moments are like a huge breath of fresh air. A restart! Being outside is so amazing. It's so funny how much it can improve your outlook and mood.

So... I am waiting a few more weeks and then we'll start our first real garden this Spring. The first one that has any hopes of turning out edibles, anyways. In Tucson our gardens withered and died again and again. I am looking forward to gardening in a place where it isn't an uphill battle. So we'll see how that goes. Because blueberries! I love the idea of my kids running around their backyard, perfectly at home being muddy and dirty, playing in the sprinkler, and picking fruits and veggies right from the garden (then me efficiently rinsing them off because squirrels have rabies) and gobbling berries and rhubarb and snap peas and carrots and whatever it is, fresh as you please, farm kids-style. Love it. If that is my fantasy then I think I deserve to get my wish, don't you?

ps. Look at this adorable collage Otto's Nana put together. Bask in the radness!

ebeanstalk.com {Review}

i had a lot of funny looking around ebeanstalk.com for toys for 2 year olds (like that sweet child o mine) for this post. And found so many fun things I'd never seen before. I want to bring home...

that girly organic pink doll is serious cuteness. (And I thought I'd seen every organic toy on the market!)

they categorize their toys by age and gender which made it easy peasy to find toys that would be right up Otto's alley. Both toys for 2 year old boys and toys for 2 year old girls. Ok, i went cross-gender shopping while browsing around. I like Ot to have every color (including pink & yellow, gasp!) represented in his toy box and some baby dolls too.

and you know there is always drooling over classic kids books...

 I've never seen/read "The Carrot Seed" have you guys? It looks so cute.

Much appreciation that the toys featured at this shoppe are all focused on education and learning. And they have a huge variety. (top selling toys for 2 year olds)

My opinions are always my own peeps! In exchange for this honest review I will be receiving a gift card. Yay! I'm thinking it'll go towards adding "The Carrot Seed" to Ot's library.

Lil' Traders - Tucson Kids & Maternity New/Used Boutique - Coupon!

Earlier this month I did a post called Thrift Score with a shout out to the local Tucson new & used kids boutique Lil' Traders. Well, one thing led to another and before you know it we're hosting an exclusive coupon to Lil' Traders as well as a giveaway contest for a $25 gift certificate!

How I Found & Fell For Lil' Traders:
When I was pregnant with Otto (he's now almost 20 months, omg where did the time go?) anyways, when I was pregnant I started showing at around 3 months along. No kidding, my gut (and butt and boobs) just "boop" flew out there. Well, anyways, I needed maternity clothes STAT and I did NOT want to spend hundreds of dollars on clothes I would wear for only a few months. I had seen Lil' Traders when shopping at Bookmans and thought I'd give them a try. I went in looking for clothes for me and I left with I think 2 pairs of maternity pants, a few tops, and about ten gender-neutral baby outfits that I was like cuddling and drooling over! Baby Gap, Oilily, Children's Place - like really really nice baby clothes that I don't think I paid more than $5 for any single outfit! I fell in love, and was instantly hooked!

I continued to stock up on darling kids clothes at Lil' Traders throughout my pregnancy as well as ever-growing maternity clothes (yes, I ended up an XL, whatever, ice cream is GOOOOOD.). Then something incredible happened - I gave birth to my son! And he started to grow and I started to shrink! And suddenly all the moo-moos in my closet were too moo-moo'y and Otto (who weighed 9lb 12oz at birth) never set foot in a newborn garment and was quickly in need of size 6mo. So I started trading! And I never stopped. End of story.

Lil' Traders is Buy/Sell/Trade (same idea as Buffalo Exchange for adults) and carries childrens clothing from size preemie to 14 as well as maternity and nursing apparel for mamas. They also carry all kinds of gear, from cribs, strollers, and high chairs to baby wearing, car seats, decor, really you name it. And toys, dress up clothes, sports apparel like dance shoes & cleats, books, dvds, and games. 

!! The Giveaway Portion of this post is now CLOSED

Congratulations to Anna, with comment #12 you are the winner of a $25 gift certificate to Lil' Traders! I will contact you via email. Thank you to everyone for entering this giveaway and feel free to use the coupon (below)!

The Coupon! See, Everyone's a Winner!

We are very excited that Lil' Traders has offered our readers an exclusive coupon for $2.50 off any purchase or $5 off a purchase of $20 or more! All you need to do is print the below coupon and take it with you on your next visit!

Click coupon image below to open larger coupon for you to print! 

Please note: Limit one coupon per customer.

Lil' Traders is located at 6216 East Speedway, Tucson, AZ 85712 in the Bookmans plaza (link to google map).

I was in no way compensated for this review/giveaway/coupon.

-Lindsey

Mildred and Dildred - A Locally Owned Tucson Toy Store

My mom and I stumbled upon this great toy store at the La Encantada shopping center in Tucson, AZ. It was filled to the brim with charm both inside and out. Although they had a lot of the usual suspects when it came to their toy selection, they had lots of cute books, wooden toys, puzzles, and trucks made out of recycled plastics. They have free arts and crafts and storytime hour every Tuesday http://mildredanddildred.com/events/. It seemed to be a very "hands-on" environment where they don't discourage your child from trying out a toy or two. There was a play kitchen and train table to keep your kids busy while you shop. Although I don't typically get up to that side of town when shopping, I might make an exception here and there to hit this cute store and maybe pop in for Storytime with Mildred! Maybe I'll see you there!

Charm factor: YYYYYY (6 out of 6 hearts)
Standouts: Curious George tea set
Purchase: Complete set of Frog and Toad books - $14.99
Minuses: Pricey; kind of a hike from central Tucson
Staff: Helpful and friendly
Overall rating: YYYYY (that's actually 4.5 out of 6 hearts)

- Megan