My living room is starting to look more and more like a shop! Our first home party is coming up on Sunday so Lara and I set everything up a bit early (I think partially out of sheer excitement, and partially out of wanting to test it out before we actually set up on Sunday). I have to say, I looks pretty darn awesome! We have coordinating table clothes on my dining room table and sideboard,(actually they are really some green and orange sheets Lara picked up for a good deal at the Superstore), and wooden crates stacked on top of the tables. We even have a small clothes rack from IKEA to hang up some of the samples.
The past couple of days, Lara and I have done nothing put print price labels, stick them on tags, sort clothes, fold clothes, stack clothes, and use our new Swiftach to tag everything. It's tough work! And I don't know if it's the stress, the excitement, a combination of both, or just some kind of weird bug, but both Lara and I experienced these weird bouts of feeling really hot and flushed, and slightly queasy! I hope we aren't coming down with something!
I have to say, I have never worked in a job where I had to literally pry myself away from what I was doing at 11:30 every night and force myself to go to bed- not because I had to get it done, but because I was so excited TO get it done!
Friday, August 17, 2007
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Dirty little secret
Apples'n'Oranges test party is this coming Sunday and we were hoping that we might be able to get the site up in time for the party. It'd be pretty hectic but, we thought we could do it.
After six relaxing days at the cottage, we were just packing up to come home last Thursday when I got a call from Vicky, squealing with delight because she'd just talked to one of our suppliers, Peekaboo Beans, and had gotten some good news. Savvy Mom, a major national web site that sends out newsletters, was going to be featuring their clothing line. And not just any of our suppliers, one of the ones that doesn't sell online yet and who asked us to be their official online distributor!!
Only catch? The newsletter went out yesterday. We had 4 days to get the site up and running and it pretty much wasn't started. Thanks to emergency babysitting by grandparents,Vicky, Eric and I spent practically 4 days solid to get the site up!!
And that's where I feel guilty. Because I wanted all the people who read our blog to see the site first, but we barely were ready in time for Savvy Mom and we needed to start slow.
But we made it through our first day with no major glitches and we couldn't wait an instant longer to say "WE'VE LAUNCHED!" And we think it looks pretty good and you should check it out ;)
Let us know what you think and stay tuned as we tell you a bit more about some of our suppliers.
Peekaboo Beans, by the way, is the most fabulously whimsical line I've ever seen. The fabrics are not only fabulous, they're fun and different from other things. I've been thinking there must be a way I can fit into the size 5 purple petalbottom skant if I just tried hard enough ;)
After six relaxing days at the cottage, we were just packing up to come home last Thursday when I got a call from Vicky, squealing with delight because she'd just talked to one of our suppliers, Peekaboo Beans, and had gotten some good news. Savvy Mom, a major national web site that sends out newsletters, was going to be featuring their clothing line. And not just any of our suppliers, one of the ones that doesn't sell online yet and who asked us to be their official online distributor!!
Only catch? The newsletter went out yesterday. We had 4 days to get the site up and running and it pretty much wasn't started. Thanks to emergency babysitting by grandparents,Vicky, Eric and I spent practically 4 days solid to get the site up!!
And that's where I feel guilty. Because I wanted all the people who read our blog to see the site first, but we barely were ready in time for Savvy Mom and we needed to start slow.
But we made it through our first day with no major glitches and we couldn't wait an instant longer to say "WE'VE LAUNCHED!" And we think it looks pretty good and you should check it out ;)
Let us know what you think and stay tuned as we tell you a bit more about some of our suppliers.
Peekaboo Beans, by the way, is the most fabulously whimsical line I've ever seen. The fabrics are not only fabulous, they're fun and different from other things. I've been thinking there must be a way I can fit into the size 5 purple petalbottom skant if I just tried hard enough ;)
Friday, August 10, 2007
Are you sure he's safe in there? Isn't he going to fall out?
Before having my son, I never knew much about baby wearing. I had a friend who swore by her Baby Bjorn, but that was the first I'd really heard about the whole wearing your baby thing. I now have a Baby Bjorn of my own (sadly an expensive purchase that was rarely used), a MamaKangaroo pouch, and my all time favourite Baby Hawk. When I bought the Baby Hawk, my husband said "ANOTHER carrier?!?! Don't we have enough?" The answer is NO, we don't have enough! In fact, I would love a ring sling! And maybe another Baby Hawk in a different colour! Baby wearing seems to be the fashionable thing to do if you are a new mom these days, so why not have a closet full of slings to suit your mood, or your outfit!
Baby wearing makes sense to new moms today. It's easy to do, it's such a nice feeling having your baby close to you, it lets you have a free hand or two, you don't need to lug a stroller around with you, and really I could go on but you get the idea. Most of my mom friends in their 30s are wearing their babies. Even celebs in Hollywood are wearing their babies. But you know, I really think women in my mother's generation, and even the one before that don't seem to get it. I was stopped recently at the grocery store by an elderly woman concerned that my son was going to fall out of the Baby Hawk he was strapped into on my back. I've also received a lot of inquisitive looks as I carried Joel in the pouch sling.
Apples'n'Oranges is considering carrying a couple of varieties of baby carriers, but we'd like to know what you think! What's your favourite brand of carrier? Do you prefer a pouch, a ring sling, or a Mei Tei? And hey, while your at it share some of your baby wearing experiences with us! I'd love to hear other gems like "are you sure he's safe in there"?
Baby wearing makes sense to new moms today. It's easy to do, it's such a nice feeling having your baby close to you, it lets you have a free hand or two, you don't need to lug a stroller around with you, and really I could go on but you get the idea. Most of my mom friends in their 30s are wearing their babies. Even celebs in Hollywood are wearing their babies. But you know, I really think women in my mother's generation, and even the one before that don't seem to get it. I was stopped recently at the grocery store by an elderly woman concerned that my son was going to fall out of the Baby Hawk he was strapped into on my back. I've also received a lot of inquisitive looks as I carried Joel in the pouch sling.
Apples'n'Oranges is considering carrying a couple of varieties of baby carriers, but we'd like to know what you think! What's your favourite brand of carrier? Do you prefer a pouch, a ring sling, or a Mei Tei? And hey, while your at it share some of your baby wearing experiences with us! I'd love to hear other gems like "are you sure he's safe in there"?
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Throwback Thursday
For our first Throwback Thursday we thought we'd start with something appropriately fruity ;)
We are both fruitcake lovers and I know what you're thinking - what? that cakey brick that gets passed around from family member to family member each Christmas? The stuff with an expiry date of December 12th, 2012? To that we say: No. Not that stuff. This is the REAL fruitcake, where practically every ingredient in the recipe is listed in the amount of one pound: Sugar, 1lb! Flour, 1lb! Butter, 1lb! Candied Cherries, 1lb! ... basically you end up with about ten pounds of cake batter poured into three tins and baked for a pound- I mean a few hours. And it's delish!
Hey, check out those aprons! Usually there's about TWO pounds of flour on Lara's. This particular fruitcake making shot was taken in 2004.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Organic clothing - part deux
Your responses to my previous post inspired me to delve a little bit further into the 'organic clothing' issue - to figure out what the arguments were for them. As I had previously mentioned, I was really uneducated as to why I would want to spend more money to buy organic clothing. So I googled it. And I found a bunch of links (I'll reference some at the end of this post). I couldn't really find anything when I searched for things like "is organic clothing a waste of money" or "is the need for organic clothing a hoax" but the hits for organic clothing might be stronger and I have to admit I didn't look THAT long and hard.
Here, in a nutshell, is what I gathered from what I read are the main reasons for buying organic clothing:
1) It takes a lot of chemicals to make a shirt with non organic cotton. A lot of chemicals = bad
2) Chemicals in your clothing can harm you (I have a bit of a hard time believing those chemicals don't wash out so this definitely isn't the strongest argument for me)
3) Buying organic, in any capacity, is good for the environment because it means less chemicals and pesticides being used. By buying organic you are helping lift the people who are trying to do our world better. They are having a hard time affording to do what they're doing and need support to be able to keep doing it.
So my personal interpretation is that more than a healthy living issue, buying organic clothing is a eco-friendly thing to do. It's a lot more expensive, but that seems to often be the case with being socially responsible. Has it made me want to go out and buy organic clothing? I might consider paying the cost for an item or two if it were something I really liked.
Here are some of the links I found - some are of course written by people selling organic clothing ;) I love to hear more on your views on this :)
http://www.rawganique.com/whyoc.htm
http://www.ethicbaby.ca/natural.html
http://www.pr.com/press-release/17068
http://environment.about.com/od/fashionandentertainment/a/organic_cotton.htm
Here, in a nutshell, is what I gathered from what I read are the main reasons for buying organic clothing:
1) It takes a lot of chemicals to make a shirt with non organic cotton. A lot of chemicals = bad
2) Chemicals in your clothing can harm you (I have a bit of a hard time believing those chemicals don't wash out so this definitely isn't the strongest argument for me)
3) Buying organic, in any capacity, is good for the environment because it means less chemicals and pesticides being used. By buying organic you are helping lift the people who are trying to do our world better. They are having a hard time affording to do what they're doing and need support to be able to keep doing it.
So my personal interpretation is that more than a healthy living issue, buying organic clothing is a eco-friendly thing to do. It's a lot more expensive, but that seems to often be the case with being socially responsible. Has it made me want to go out and buy organic clothing? I might consider paying the cost for an item or two if it were something I really liked.
Here are some of the links I found - some are of course written by people selling organic clothing ;) I love to hear more on your views on this :)
http://www.rawganique.com/whyoc.htm
http://www.ethicbaby.ca/natural.html
http://www.pr.com/press-release/17068
http://environment.about.com/od/fashionandentertainment/a/organic_cotton.htm
Organic clothing worth the extra cost?
Everywhere I look lately you can find an organic section - people are going out of their ways to find products that are better and healthier for them, and they're willing to pay a premium price to get them. The organic grocery sections have grown, seemingly exponentially, in the last couple of years, and more and more I'm now noticing organic clothing to be rising in popularity.
What do you think about the trend towards organic? Do you shop organic? Does that include more than food? Would you pay extra to put your baby in clothing that is organic?
I have to admit to still being on the fence on the organic issue, not truly convinced of either side, but would love to find out more about the benefits people have seen, noticed, heard of, for eating and wearing organic!
What do you think about the trend towards organic? Do you shop organic? Does that include more than food? Would you pay extra to put your baby in clothing that is organic?
I have to admit to still being on the fence on the organic issue, not truly convinced of either side, but would love to find out more about the benefits people have seen, noticed, heard of, for eating and wearing organic!
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