"We don't become southern, we're born that way."

Sunday, June 30, 2013

bareMinerals 8 Piece Get Started Kit Review


Box.

So last week I purchased this kit from the bareMinerals Outlet by my house. I think it is really great. Especially considering it was only $62 for it. If I had purchased everything individually it would have $165! What a savings! As you can see below it contained: full size foundation, full size bronzer (warm), full size mineral veil, prime time face priner, 3 brushes, how to booklet and DVD.

Inside the box.

As to the quality of their products, I have to say that I like their foundation better than I had liked Everyday Minerals that I had been using for a couple of years. The bareMinerals foundation is slightly more expensive, but not by much. I do not like the container that it is in- it is open on the inside which allows for it to come out all over the place under the lid. Everyday Minerals has a much better container- there is a sliding thing that closes over the holes and then it has the lid. (so I refilled my Everyday Minerals container, so I guess they still get the advertising!) I really, really like the Mineral Veil. It truly does give it a more finished look than using the foundation alone. I have not been that impressed by the Prime Time- maybe I should use more. It feels really greasy and then it seems to dry up really fast and not really leave enough grip for the powder. I just use EMAB lotion. I would not spend the $ for it again when I can just buy organic lotion, that works better for me, for like $7 for 4 oz. instead of at least double for the Prime Time. The bronzer does add a nice sunkissed touch that I (being very fair) appreciate- a little goes a long way for my skin color! I would imagine that it would last me like 4 times longer than the foundation and mineral veil will. This kit does not include any colors, so if you did not have any you would probably want to get some. The brushes are very nice- not as soft as my Everyday Mineral brushes- I was bummed by that. I felt like the almost scratched my skin the first time I tried them. But my skin may have been extra sensitive that day, because this morning they seemed a bit softer to me. I still use the Everyday Mineral foundation brush and then use the new bareMineral foundation brushes for the mineral veil and bronzer. One thing about mineral make-up is that the colors last a long time because a little goes a long way! I still have my blush from 2 years ago and I have not even begin to but a dent it it.
Other bareMineral make-up I have tried has been their mascara, an eye shadow (free B-Day gift from the FAB Club!) and a lip gloss. All were very nice and I especially was overjoyed to find a natural mascara. Until then the best I had come across was the Physician's Formula. This is very mild and gentle mascara, it doesn't cause my eyes to sting. I have become very sensitive to chemicals after taking basically all of them out of my body care routine! The eye shadow is in the same annoying case, so that I do not like. But I love the color: Cupcake. The lip gloss is very nice, just as nice as the Clinique I have used in the past. Everything (except the cases!) is definitely high quality boutique type make-up. Overall, I love bareMinerals. I would highly recommend this kit to a first timer. It really is a great start at a great price. I think it is great that it includes the brushes. I would highly recommed bareMinerals to anyone. So much better for your health than the usual chemical laden make-up of today.

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Animal Beauty. Isn't our Creator creative?

I have been wanting to share these pictures since we got back from the zoo in March, I just hadn't taken the time upload them. Enjoy the beauty!


The bears made me want to be in Alaska!


Elephants.


Giraffes. Their colors were so vibrant that I couldn't stop taking pictures!

Amazing animals. What a beautiful family.



Zebras.

Ostrich.

Alligator. Does this count as a zoo animal? This is a native everyday creature here!!
(I bet they really freaked out Sherman's men!)

Lazy.....

What a life- seriously, maybe we shouldn't have come on a Saturday.

Hyena- sleeping in the full sun. It was probably at least 90 degrees there!

Monkeys of some kind.

Baboon.

Galapagos turtle.

Tortoise.
There were so many more animals but this was the best I could do. There were a ton of people and they were very pushy and some were kind of rude too. It made it difficult to get photots:) I was bummed that I didn't get the gorilla!!

Howler Monkeys anyone?
(video to come...)





bumGenius! 4.0 vs. Freetime

Here is a quick post (with ALOT of pictures!) of what I consider to be the pros and cons of each diaper and why I chose to make my stash up of 12 4.0s and 6 Freetimes.

Here is what each diaper looks like when you first receive it:

bumGenius! Freetime and 4.0

bumGenius! 4.0 Pocket Diaper

bumGenius! Freetime All In One Diaper
Very nice quility. And very similar in cut. Same fabric/material are used for both. As you can probably see (or know) the pocket diaper comes with 2 inserts. A newborn and a one size that adjust by snaps. I really like the buGenius has the snaps on the inserts unlike other brands. This is very helpful while you are trying to stuff and keeps it the right size while it is on the baby. The flaps on the all in one are easy to fold- see the lines? I am able to use the flaps completely open on my son on the middle rise setting which has been nice. Both are equal in performance. One is just slightly less work to be ready to use after washing. Both line dry fabulously- a great quality here in the hot and humid SE coast! bumGenius, I am a convert! Sorry Thirsties- I still love your duo wrap, fitted duo diaper, and wipes though!

      Quick side by comparison on each rise setting:

Smallest rise.

Middle rise.

Full rise.

 The 4.0 details. The main thing I don't like is that, well, I have to take the time to stuff them- pathetic I know! But I chose to make my stash 2/3 these because the clean really well and you can easily bleach just the inserts if you ever happen have any stink issues. Or you could just replace them if you ever needed to. And because they are quite alot cheaper, especially if you get the when they are buy 5 get 1! Definitely alot of bang for your buck if you get them on sale. It was $173.80 for 12 which comes out to $14.48 a diaper. Not bad for a OS. Big price difference from the Freetime at $19.95 a pop!  As far as pockets go these are my favorite. They hold up well. Are very user friendly. As long as they are pre-stuffed they are great for those uneducated in cloth diaper use. (possible babysitter, dad, grandparents, other family members, etc.)

4.0 pocket hole.

4.0 inside.

Inserts- see snaps?

Inserts open.


    The Freetime details. So I love, love. love this diaper. If not for the bigger price tag I would make these my complete stash instead of 1/3! I mean considering it is $5.47 more a diaper that adds up really fast. If I had gotten all Freetimes and no 4.0s I would have spent an extra $65.64. Not worth it to me this time around.(especially since he is 19 months) If I had more kiddos to care for it may have been though! This diaper really washes well for an all in one. I was extremely impressed with the design. The way it opens up allows it to clean much better than any other all in one I have seen. But at the same time it is super easy to put the flaps in place, just stack one over the other. I don't want to call it folding because that makes it sounds complicated. I was totally impressed by how fast and well these line dry too! When I used the Thirsties All In Ones there was no way to line dry those puppies. They even took a long time in the dryer to get dry. These are so much better. These are user friendly for EVERYONE! This is my favorite diaper yet. So nice, so easy to use and care for. What isn't to love- oh yeah, the price;) Still a fabulous diaper! And not to mention this has to be the absolute trimmest diaper I have ever used. He can actually wear pants that look like they fit him! This is my diaper bag diaper, so I only have 6.


Freetime inside.

Freetime open soakers/flaps.


Friday, June 28, 2013

Since I don't have Pinterest...

I am going to 'pin it' here! What a lovely!! I definitely want this next time around at least. (fingers crossed for next time!) Sure, I really need it for this summer;) Ha-ha. One can dream.......
Organic Lattice Ergo Baby Carrier- Ooh, Aah!



Ergo Baby: Genuine or Counterfeit? Maybe, maybe not!

So with all the information on the web about Ergo Baby counterfeits I thought that I would share that Ergo Baby has changed some things on their newer carriers. (not just the obvious logo change!) I recently purchased a navy organic carrier and was freaked out by some of the changes. So I contacted Ergo Baby to be sure that everything was a-okay and it totally checked out as genuine. So some of those blog posts out there that tell you what to look for on a counterfeit may or may not be valid depending on how new your Ergo Baby is. The safest thing to do is:
#1 if you purchase a new carrier be sure to either purchase it directly from Ergo Baby or from an authorized Ergo Baby dealer. To be certain that they are an authorized dealer all you have to do is send a quick email to Ergo Baby from their website and ask them to verify the seller for you.
#2 if you are purchasing a used carrier have the seller provide some kind of verification for you. I am selling my original carrier and am in the process of getting Ergo Baby to verify it for me since I not longer have the original receipt. I know it is genuine, but others don't! If the seller has the original receipt check with Ergo Baby that the original seller was an authorized dealer. Boxes really do not matter. The carrier itself does! So be careful here.

Here are some of the things that are different between my Ergo Baby of 2 years ago and my new one. Pictures are of differences:
Genuine Ergo Baby Original in Camel. No logo.

Genuine Ergo Baby Organic in Navy. Logo and slightly wider safety strap.

Camel, no logo.

Navy, logo and obviously wider safety strap.

Camel female buckle on back strap. (arm straps look the same)
Navy female buckle on back strap. (arm straps look the same)

The biggest change I noticed was the buckles. Totally different! Notice the logo on the navy? And the male buckles on the navy seem like the 'middle is missing'. This was the first thing that started my concern. I felt like the 'old' buckles with the Stealth  written on them felt sturdier. So just because the buckles do or do not say Stealth or do or do not have the logo on them doesn't necessarily mean it is a counterfeit.
Next the safety straps were wider on the navy. And the back strap just felt different. But this may be due to the fact that this is an organic and the other wasn't. The strap seemed to have a slight give to it- strange?
Everything else was the same. The Fall Hazard Notice. The size and shape of the carrier. The Ergo Baby logo was still the same. So that felt strange to me that they had changed the buckles but not the logo? Why wouldn't they make that change too?
So in closing, when buying an Ergo Baby, be careful to purchase from a reliable source! Thankfully I have never purchased a counterfeit and now I am very careful about who I purchase from. I love no other SSC like I love my Ergo Baby. So don't be scared to get one, just be cautious:)

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Happy, bubbly sourdough starter

I was so happy to see this on my kitchen counter this morning that I just had to take a picture to share. I have to get busy and make some bread tomorrow. I have a new recipe to try that will hopefully give me the results I have been looking for. I will share if it does!

Beautiful wild yeast sourdough starter!!

Simple Supper Idea...

Just thought I would share what we had for supper last night. I can always use some new simple supper ideas!
Simple supper!!
We had homemade sourdough english muffins, cheesy scrambled eggs, uncured/nitrate free bacon, and some Welches All Natural grape jelly. (not as good as organic, but no HFCS!) And some OJ.
There were more than half of the muffins left so I popped them into the freezer for later use. Nathan was quite hungry and he devoured one before supper was even finished so I knew that they were good since he ate it PLAIN!

The English Muffin Recipe:
1/2 C. starter
1 C. milk
2 C. flour
Mix together and allow to soak for at least 6 hours.
Then add in:
1 T. honey
1 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
Roll out and cut into circles.
Lay on cornmeal.
Cook over low heat on the stovetop until done.
 Eat!

What are some simple suppers you cook?



bumGenius 4.0 Boy Stash!

Here is my brand spanking new bumGenius 4.0 stash for Mr. Nathan!
He is so much more comfortable now.
I can't wait to add 5 Freetimes to go with the one I already have to give me 18 fabulous diapers to choose from day in and day out.
bumGenius 4.0 Boy Stash!

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

In honor of a little creativity...

Do you see airplanes?




So he likes to help in the kitchen too.

Happy Day! The bumGenius 4.0s are here!

Thank you Mr. UPS Man for bringing my heavy box of 12 diapers and detergent to me in the rain and the humid heat!
Open box...

Show some color!
Time to prep and get on these pretties! Glad to have gentle back on my baby! I got 2 of each color. I wasn't brave enough to try the Ribbit- I couldn't decide if I liked it or not from the pictures online.