The Guavalicious Life

Confession: I am a secret hoarder. Out in my garage we have a gigantic stash of used plastics. You see, our city as great as it is, only recycles one and two plastics. So we save up our yogurt tubs and cheese lids and ferry them to Dallas when we visit family. Yep, we are a little bit crazy about recycling. We are one step away from joining the earth liberation army.

Suffice to say, I am a wee bit into green living. So I jumped at the chance to test out Tide Coldwater. We almost always wash our clothes in cold water but I haven’t used a detergent made specifically for cold water laundry. I love my natural detergents but I admit that they don’t always tackle the stains that two five year old girls leave on their play clothes.

And it totally came through. Even without any kind of pre-treatment. I am so looking forward to pulling that off of my laundry shelf and adding less plastic to our garage stash.

Disclosure: I received a product sample and was compensated with a $50 gift card.

Even though the oven is already going and the girls are running around me as I write this, I am finding it hard to believe that Thanksgiving is this Thursday. As the girls get older, the days seems to speed up to the point where I often feel like I just got up when I am headed to bed to start it all over again.

That feeling of time passing is why Thanksgiving, and the month of November, have always been special to me. It’s a time to sit, reflect, and enjoy the season. November means apple cider, jumping in leaf piles, and putting on sweaters to capture those last few precious evenings of light before winter starts.

For me Thanksgiving is never about football or camping out for the best deals the next day. Instead it is about sitting down to a good meal and relaxing. For years I worked retail, and Thanksgiving was a respite before the crazy holiday retail season. And the day after Thanksgiving is also the day I met my husband. So for me, it really is a day to be thankful for the family that I have.

This year we are blessed to be able to see a large amount of my extended family and also to honor my grandmother who passed away a year ago. We are being hosted by several different family members and to some I plan to bring something to add to the meal. To others I like to send something before or after like these Thanksgiving centerpieces or beautiful flowers from Teleflora. It’s a small way to say thank you for the effort they go to.

I hope that you have a lovely Thanksgiving however you spend it.

Disclosure: This promotional sponsored post was made possible by Mom Spark Media. I was compensated for my time investment and work on this campaign.

Today’s task: Hit the Post Office (virtually)
Time Investment: 5-10 minutes
 

Take a few minutes and visit the post office website to place any holiday holds you need. While there, order stamps for your holiday cards. I recommend the forever stamps in evergreen since they are suitable for any holiday card and are good forever in case you over buy. Plus they don’t scream holiday so you can use them on any type of mail. Give your gift list a check and see if you are going to need to mail any holiday presents. If so, snag some flat rates boxes. They are free ya’ll. Then you will be able to speed through any lines at the post office.

So I have been on a green kick this week on the blog with my Scotch-Brite Botanical Wipes giveaway and my Top Ten Green Cleaners. I think it’s because I am in the middle of deep cleaning before my inlaws visit this week. These spurts always get me motivated to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Part of this mantra is our determination to keep our second car going as long as possible. It’s more cost effective and we figure that there will be more “green” cars out on the market the longer we wait.

But that doesn’t keep a girl from day dreaming. So when I was asked to check out the new Kia Optima Hybrid, I jumped on the chance to do a little “window shopping.” Before my current mom mobile, I drove a Hyundai Elantra so I personally know the value and quality that Kia offers. The 2011 Optima Hybrid delivers 40 MPG on the highway and has a starting MSRP of $26,5002. Awesome gas mileage and even more awesome price. Plus it comes standard with a 16-inch alloy wheel design, headlamp design, fog lamps, heated outside mirrors, front and rear lower bumpers and side sills and LED tail lamp design. I think those extras make it look pretty darn sporty. There are plenty of cool options to add on too.

Check it out:

Want to know more? You can view a video series about the Optima Hybrid design, technology, value and battery here, check out the Kia Optima Facebook page to interact with the Urban Myth Busters app, and check out and Infographic about how hybrid cars work. Infogrpahics make my nerdy heart swoon. For now, i will have to be satisfied with videos and infographics. And maybe a test drive. You know, just to see.

“This promotional sponsored post was made possible by Mom Spark Media. I was compensated for my time investment and work on this campaign. Thoughts are my own.”

After my Scotch-Brite giveaway post yesterday, I started thinking about other green cleaners I use when white vinegar won’t do (or I am feeling lazy). Here are my top ten green home cleaners. They make it easy to go non-toxic.

1. Microfiber cloths: You probably already know about these but if not, get yourself a pack and never look back. They make dusting a snap and you don’t have to worry about inhaling a spray. Plus they are completely safe for kids to use.

2. Steam Mop: This household is ridden with allergies so hard floors are a must. Instead of risking build up, we use a steam mop to clean and disinfect our floors. We have Bissell Steam Mop Hard-Floor Cleaner, Green Tea, 1867-7“>this one and we have only had one hiccup in two years (and Bissel sent us a new one!) Unlike the ones with disposable cloths, you can use the mop heads again and again. Just run them through the washing machine.

3. Skoy cloth: Love this wonder cloth. According to the company, One Skoy cloth saves 15 rolls of paper towels. We use them in the sink and wash them in the washing machine to clean them. When we’re done, we just throw them in the compost because they are 100% biodegradable.

4. Ecover Automatic Dishwashing Tablets: I have always had dishwasher issues. But once we started using these tablets our spots have all but disappeared. I love that I can buy them in bulk because I am constantly running out of them. They contain chlorine or chemical residues (so they don’t pollute the water supply) and are safe for septic tanks.

5. Seventh Generation Dish Liquid: Most of our cleaning products are fragrance free but I make an exception for Seventh Generation’s lavender scented dish soap because I hate doing dishes and this makes it so much more pleasant. Plus it cuts grease like a dream. It contains no artificial or petroleum-based ingredients and is Biodegradeable and non-toxic.

6. Method Hand Soap: Since Method came out I have tried and loved most of their hand soaps. They use natural based ingredients, no antibacterials, and smell fantastic (thanks to essential oils.) A current favorite is the Minnie and Mickey shaped soap bottles. They make my kids excited about washing their hands without any gimmicks or weird colors.

7. The Sun: Free and almost always available (unless you live in the Pacific Northwest), the sun is the best stain remover I know. Got a stubborn spot? Stick it in direct sunlight for a few hours and it will be faded or gone.

8. Bon Ami All Purpose Spray: I have raved before about this natural (and great smelling counter spray). It’s nontoxic, hypoallergenic, and safe for kids to use. It works without phosphates or harmful chlorine. and the bottles are made from 100% post consumer recycled pet plastic. Even the paper labels are made from recycled paper.

9. Scotch-Brite Non-Scratch Scrub Sponges: Love that these natural fiber scrub pads are available everywhere now (it’s sometimes hard to find green products in my smaller market.) Since they are made from natural ingredients like wood pulp and nut shells, we can throw them in our compost when they are worn out.

10. Aluminum Foil: I save my aluminum foil that can’t be reused and use it to scrub pans in a pinch. It is one of the best tricks I know. Leaves your pans sparkly and free of scratches!!

What are your favorite green cleaners?

I couldn’t resist sharing this today since we are headed to see Disney Live : Enchanted Fairy Tales this Sunday!

As someone who suffers from an auto-immune disorder, I am constantly on the search for alternative pain relief methods. I carefully monitor my diet and what I put on to my body, since I have found that certain ingredients and foods can exacerbate my vulardynia. The worst symptom are those muscle cramps and aches that seem to come from nowhere. Besides popping ibuprofen like candy, I haven’t really found something that helps. So when Tropricin asked me if I wanted to try out their topical homepathic Topricin Pain Relief and Healing Cream, I was gungho.

Tropricin was originally developed to treat the muscle pain of its’ developer and since going on the market it has been used sucessfully by firbomyalgia patients. It definitely lessened what I call the “stabbies”, allowing me to get to sleep at night. But what I have really found myself using it for is the shoulder and back pain I get from carrying my four year old twins around (I know they shouldn’t be carried anymore but sometimes that’s the fastest way to get them from point a to point b.) I am thinking about snagging the travel size so I could throw it in my purse.

Other stuff I think is cool: the company also has a junior cream for use on kids. I am looking forward to trying it out on them for those “I need a bandaid” moments after they run into furniture or fall down. The rule in our house is no blood, no bandaid and I think the cream could be the answer to the medicine wants while also helping them feel better. The cream has the Heathy Child, Healthy World seal of approval. The company also makes a formula for foot pain. You can find Topricin on their website, Twitter, and Facebook.

Is there a natural pain reliever you use? I’d love to hear about it!!

Disclosure: I received a sampling of Topricin products for review. Opinions, as always, are my own. I only blog about products that I personally have used and feel comfortable recommending.

On the Sundays leading up to BlogHer 2011, I am posting a series of top ten tips that will make your BlogHer experience a little better (I hope!). Last Sunday I tackled packing so it seems appropriate to follow it with one on fashion. Especially since judging from the tweets, clothing seems to give people some of the biggest anxiety. This list will help you tackle your fears and prepare you to wow the crowds or at least keep you from dissolving into tears as you pack.

Top Ten BlogHer Conference Packing Tips

1. Be Comfortable: When planning what to wear, think about what you feel most comfortable in and then pack that. No, I am not advising you to pack the sweats and tee you wear around the house. But when picking out what to wear maybe you pack an elevated version. During the day a nice pair of jeans and a fancy tshirt with a nice blazer or sweater work just as well as slacks and a blouse.  Candice over at Fashionably Organized wrote a fantastic post with suggestions on how to step your favorites up a notch.

2.Shop Your Closet: The impulse is to run out and buy new clothes, but shop your closet first. Remember all those clothes you never get a chance to wear. Now’s the time to pull out shirts that are too nice for finger painting and those cool heels and favorite dress moldering in the back of your closet. We all have those items we bought just because, give them a chance to shine.

3. Comfortable Shoes: Just yesterday, I was lusting over some killer flower print stilletos at Marshall’s. They were only $17 and I knew they would look kick ass with about every night time outfit I was planning. But I didn’t get them. Why? Because I knew they would be killing my feet within thirty minutes of wearing them. It bears repeating again and again: your feet are going to hurt from all the walking and dancing. Wear shoes that are comfortable. Tom’s, Easy Spirit, and Keen all get high marks from BlogHer fans for being comfortable but also looking good. And if you didn’t listen to my advice, head over to the expo and stop by the Dr. Scholl’s booth. Their products are awesome for tired, achy feet.

4. Pack Transition Clothing: My friend Claire of Fashion Friday fame advises packing outfits that can transition from day to night with a change of shoes and accessories. One of the most versatile items, in my opinion, is a nice pair of jeans. They work well for day with a blazer or sweater, add heels and flashy accessories for the parties. To keep those transition items fresh hang them in your bathroom during a shower and pack some shout wipes.

5.  Acessorize!: In my normal life, I wear my hair in a ponytail and my only jewelry is a simple wedding band. At BlogHer, I am rocking a peacock feather headband and chained necklaces. Accessories not only dress up your outfit but they give you a chance to get fancy without spending a fortune. And at several of the parties, nothing is outlandish. I wore a BabyPop superhero mask to Sparkecorn last year and fit right in.

6. Prepare for the Paparazzi: So the women of BlogHer aren’t tabloid stars yet, even if we totally should be. But with thousands of bloggers in attendance, there will be more flashes going off than at a movie premiere. Angry Julie suggests double checking to make sure you’re camera ready or at least embaressment proof. Wear a black or nude bra under that black top, consider investing in some Spanx panties, etc.

7. Bring a Cover Up: Thrifty Jinxy advises packing a shawl or other cover up that works with all your outfits. The conference rooms get chilly so plan ahead. I am bringing a lightweight black cardigan that works well with my daytime outfits that I can also throw over my party dresses so I don’t look super boobalicious while walking around the Gaslamp district. Another of my all time favorite cover ups is a dark jean jacket. It looks good with everything (except dark jeans!)

8. Think Portable: You will be on the go all day so pack a few items that will keep you looking and feeling good. CiaoMom recommends throwing some roll up flats like the ones from Kushy Foot in your bag. I plan to carry either the roll up flats I got at last year’s Nikon party or a pair of silver flip flops. I also carry a tiny emergency bag with lipstick, oil blotting sheets, pain medication, Emergen-C, pepto, breath mints, and a tiny tube of mascara.

9. Plan Ahead: Before you buy anything new, pack, or start to panic. Sit down and plan out what you will need. Make a list of needed outfits plus other items like underwear and pjs. This will help you be realistic about what you really need. After I know my needs, I like to make a polyvore board to visualize the outfits I need. Want to see an example? Here’s my TypeA Conference set. Morgan over at The Little Hen House just put up a great day by day set of suggested choices.

10. Be Confident: The biggest piece of advice I can give is be comfortable with who you are. There will be some amazingly dressed people there and there will be some women who wear shorts and tees. Know where you fall on the spectrum and be satisfied with that. Don’t change who you are because you think have to to fit in. And that goes doubly for weight. There’s nothing wrong with trying to lose a little weight before the conference, I did last year so my clothes would be less tight, but don’t drive yourself crazy trying to do it. You look great just the way you are and I can’t wait to meet you not matter what you are wearing!

Have a specific fashion question? Want to know what to wear to a party or event? have more advice? Let me know in the comments and I will post about it on Friday along with my Polyvore sets for BlogHer.

When I looked at the calendar this morning, I couldn’t believe that a month from now I will be flying out to San Diego for the BlogHer conference. BlogHer11 will be my second BlogHer. After taking New York by storm, or at least surviving, I feel much more prepared for this year. So along with help from Twitter friends here are my top ten tips for BlogHer packing. I will be adding a new top ten list every Sunday until BlogHer!

Top Ten BlogHer Packing Tips

1. Plan for swag: There’s a lot of swag at BlogHer and trust me, you will come home with way more than you thought. I personally like to tuck an extra soft sided suitcase into the front pocket of my carry on so I can check my swag. Target carries a line of expandable bags that fold up into a pouch and retail for about $15. Just remember to strategically pack the heavier items in your carry on so you’re under the 50lb limit. If you would rather ship, consider bringing pre-printed labels with you to save time and money. Then you can used the shipping station supplies and just drop your boxes off at the hotel mail room. And don’t get caught up in the swag mania. Think about what you will really use and drop everything else off at the swag exchange which the year is planned for outside of the breakout session rooms.

2. Pack Comfortable Shoes: Trust me: you will walk constantly. I think I did a mile or two just in the expo hall. Add in the parties and the fact that the conference is next to instead of in the hotel and it’s a guarantee that you will be exerting yourself much more than normal. You’re probably already planning comfortable shoes for the day but consider packing some flats for night as well. Dancing in flip flops is a lot more fun! And if you get new shoes be sure to break them in before going to the conference.

3.  Be strategic about technology: Bring a oulet strip for your room (I like this Belkin Mini Surge Protector Dual USB Charger for in room use) and I bring a second small one for the sessions. Consider what you will really use: if you’re not on the photography track, do you really need the fancy camera or even a camera at all? Especially if you have a smart phone with camera/video capabilities. If you don’t plan to blog and can take notes with pen and paper, leave the laptop at home.  But if you need that laptop and want to be online consistently, consider getting a portable hotspot since the wifi at the hotel and convention center will probably be overloaded.

4. Use Hangers!: You probably have one roommate, you may even have three. That’s a lot of clothes than need to be hung up. Consider hanging your clothes up before you leave and just packing them on the hanger. If you plan to wear different accessories every day, attach a ziplock bag with them to the hanger.

5. Simplify Your Skincare Routine: Currently I use three products at night and four in the morning. But to BlogHer I plan to only bring three things: makeup wipes, night cream, and moisturizer with sunscreen. Believe me you’ll be too tired for all those extra steps when you get back to your room at one am and the extra bottles just take up valuable bathroom counter space.

6. Bring a Separate Makeup Bag: Even if you only room with one person, the bathroom gets crowded. Keep your makeup and hair stuff in a separate bag so you can use the mirror in the room while your roommate is showering. Same goes for your hair stuff. And if you have the room, consider bringing a hair dryer.

7. Consider a Capsule Wardrobe: You may have picked up from the above tips that space is at a premium. Keep your room neat and leave more space for swag in your suitcase by bringing a capsule wardrobe. What is a capsule wardrobe? It’s pieces that mix and match and do double duty. You don’t need a separate outfit for every party. Instead consider elevating jeans with a sparkly shirt or adding jewelry and a cute shrug to your daytime dress. For five days I will probably bring: two dresses, one pair of jeans, a blazer, one pair of slacks, and four t-shirts. And only 3-4 pairs of shoes.

8. Pack pajamas and extra underwear: I usually sleep naked but my conference bed mate Claire prefers that I wear pajamas. Many people advise cute ones in case of pictures but I won’t room with anyone who would post a bad pic of me, so I just throw in lounge pants and a tee. Why extra underwear? Because if you can catch a shower before the parties it feels better to put on new underpants.

9. Medicine: In addition to your prescriptions, bring your favorite aspirin equivalent, cold/flu daytime and nighttime medicine, immodium, tums/pepto, and anything other “just in case” medicine you might think you will need. And take the aspiring quivalent every night, it helps with the soreness and drinking.

10. Snacks: I way over packed on snacks last year but I still think it’s helpful to have a variety of snacks: protein or cereal bars for missed meals, nuts for protein to keep you going, and a sweet or salty snack or two for late nights or hangovers.

So those are my top ten packing tips! Something to add or a question to ask? Please leave a comment. And check back on Tuesday when I will post a picture guide to organized packing along with my “carry on” only credo. What other BlogHer prep top ten lists would you like to see.

Part of my summer bucket list is cleaning out my closets. I have about eight weeks of home time during the summer and eight closets in my home so it seems like a natural project to take on.  I eased into it this week with our hall closet. A major selling point of our house was this closet. For some reason having a place for people to hang their coats seemed to make this place feel like a “grown up” home.

Even though we don’t often use it since we enter our home through the garage, the closet is still a repository for coats of the moment and shoes that we don’t want the dog to chew on. And during the winter, mittens and hats get stashed here. I also like to stick my boots there during Missouri’s mud season, also know as Spring.  In my head I thought a shoe rack and some bins for items that would be returned to their owners would be perfect. So what did I end up with? Take a look.

The changes were pretty simple. I added hooks for the girls backpacks so that they could hang them up themselves. Once those were in, I thought a shoe rack was too much so I put a bin at the bottom right. It’s woven plastic so it can be rinsed out if necessary.  The rug underneath will help soak up rainwater and snow from boots. Plus it provides a nice pop of color. There are two bins on the top shelf: a large one for items that we need to pass on to friends and a small one that holds sunscreen and sunglasses right now and will hold mittens, hats, etc. in the winter.

I spent a little more than I wanted: $3.14  for the rug and $18 for the three bins. But for the organization and look of one of the first things our guests see, I think it was worth it. What do you think?

One more thing… when we opened the closet after we moved in, we got a pleasant surprise:

We missed it in our whirlwind pre-buy look (we bought the house about six hours after it went on the market). It’s just an unexpected piece of whimsy.