Jewelry I Like

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::it’s like they made this just for me::

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Wooden Toys

I’ve been doing a little a lot of research since having a baby about the way things are made. Such a big deal is made about what babies can and can’t have, the detergent they use, keeping their bottoms chemical free to prevent diaper rashes, etc, etc. It seems that almost everything is controversial in some way, and rather than just doing what everyone else does or doesn’t do, I’m trying to figure out for myself what is good and bad for my baby, and for my family for that matter.

If we don’t want our sweet baby to have it, doesn’t it only make sense for us to avoid harmful substances as well?

One thing that has really stood out to me is all the toys made for babies, especially the teething toys. In the car recently our foreign exchange student was examining one of Aisley’s teething toys and asked what was the liquid inside the toy and would it hurt Aisley if the toy were to break. I also recently discovered that when toys/cups/pacifiers/etc are BPA free, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are safe. Quite frequently manufacturers simply replace BPA with BPS or other chemicals which are just as harmful, but not yet recognized by the pubic. (I plan to write a post soon about what these chemicals are and why they are harmful, but I need to do a little more research. See this article which refers to this original article for now.)

Anyway, before starting this research, I was already taken by the beauty of wooden toys as well as the fact that just the production of them is safer than producing plastic toys. The more I learn about plastics, the more fond I am of wood, specifically wooden toys on etsy.com that are not only hand made, but treated with organic oils and stained with natural coloring made from edible substances rather than dyes and paints. Below are some of my favorites and you can click on the picture to be taken to the page where they can be purchased.

A wooden teething ring representing the homeland!

Beautiful guitar and microphone for the young musician

A set of wooden cars and a trailer

Awesome wooden tools for your little carpenter

A church puzzle that acts as a toy when assembled

A unique educational toy that would be great for the car

I think this might be my favorite! Miniature wooden bowling pins and 2 balls.

So excited to get some of these gorgeous toys for Aisley!! Who by the way is 5 months old now! Look for a 5 month post coming soon!

Frozen Hot Chocolate

I didn’t take any pictures because it went from my blender to my tummy too fast, but it’s not confusing. I think you can figure it out without pictures. I made this with half coconut milk and half soy milk, but you could use regular dairy milk too.

Frozen Hot Chocolate
1 1/2 cups milk
Ice (a lot?)
1 pack of hot chocolate mix (the flavored ones are really good)
2-3 Tbs cocoa powder
1-2 Tbs honey
2 tsp vanilla 

Throw it in a blender and blend it all up. Add more milk/cocoa if you think it needs it. You could easily give it a little kick with some chili powder, a little peppermint extract, banana, some peanut butter, or use almond extract instead of vanilla. Those are just a few ideas.

This ACTUALLY makes enough for two, but I drink it all by myself. Don’t tell anyone. And if you do, tell them not to tell anyone.

My Current Favorite Commercial

I crack up every time I see this commercial.

A Girl Can Dream…

I entered a contest via West Elm a few months ago to win a week long all expenses paid trip to Morocco, and found out today that I didn’t win. Disappointment.

However, I did receive a coupon for $50 off a one night stay in any Mr. & Mrs. Smith hotel in the world so I got to searching and now I want to stay at all of them. Some hotels are just a place to sleep when you are traveling. Other hotels are the kind of place you want to travel to. These are the latter. They are absolutely gorgeous, and many of them aren’t outrageously expensive. The ones I want to stay at though are in Europe and  be ex.pen.sive. Go figure. I like something expensive.

Here are a few pictures of the GORGEOUS rooms and views.

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Who else is swooning? Who else wants to spend their life’s savings for a week long stay at one of these gorgeous places? And there are SO many more!

Maybe once we get rich on our teacher’s salary we can travel to one, or you know, all, of these places.

Like I said…a girl can dream.

The Honest Company

Have you guys heard of the Honest Company?

I hadn’t heard of it until earlier this week and I’ve been checking it out during Aisley’s nap times (which have been very short). It’s a company co-founded by Jessica Alba and I’m starting to fall in love with the company and with her.

It’s been really neat “getting to know her” has a mom and a business woman who wants the best for her babies rather than a super hot actress with a perfect body. It doesn’t make the latter any less true, it just makes her a little more tangible. In fact I told my husband last night that after reading through their website and scanning their Facebook page full of candids, I feel like I know her. He rolled his eyes.

Because of the many generous people in our lives, we were fortunate enough to receive ample baby products through showers and gifts, but once we run out, I’m thinking I’ll probably restock using the Honest Company. They have bundles that you can customize based on what you need each month that ship directly to your home including household products and baby diapers!

My husband and I decided before our daughter was even born that we would use cloth diapers and it works really well for us so we probably won’t ever place an order for the super cute disposables, but look how cute they are:

I’ve never seen disposables like these, and they come in all different patterns starting at newborn size and going all the way to toddler.

If you’re interested in their products, the Honest Company offers a one month free trial and if you choose not to order their products you can just cancel once you have received your trial shipment.

Check them out!

Baby Clothes

I love baby clothes! To me, baby clothes are in the same category as shoes and jewelry for two reasons. 1) They always fit. 2) They’re always cute.

I find myself being drawn to all kinds of baby clothes, much like I’m drawn to all kinds of adult clothes. If you were to peruse my closet you would find all sorts of mismatch styles (which is both fun and frustrating when trying to get ready). Likewise, my daughters closet is very similar.

I think bows and frills are sweet on babies, and you will occasionally see Aisley dressed like a little baby doll, but when I’m buying baby clothes myself, I typically settle on a style that’s somewhere between boho and beach. And you know, onesies. They’re a super stylish style all their own.

Onesies aside, here are some of my favorite baby looks:

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Most of these come from the beautiful Tea Collection who traveled to Bali for inspiration for their clothing line. I just love all of their stuff!!

What style do you like most?