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green is good :: method clean like a mother

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So color. Let’s talk about green. Not only a favorite color, but a lifestyle mantra for we modern kiddo mamas.

Seeing that rainbow line up of happy bottles makes us smile. Who wouldn’t want that on your countertop? But as much as we love color….is it safe to spray color all over the place when you’re cleaning? Which brings us to today’s Monthly Method: the All Purpose Cleaner. It’s true we love the beautiful colors and the wonderful smells (lime+ sea salt? amazing. french lavender? gorgeous. ginger yuzu? ahhhh) but what truly makes our hearts sing for Method is its eco friendly green goodness. “Non toxic” are two of our favorite words to read on labels. We remember hearing stories of toddlers that accidentally got into the cleaning supplies and were rushed to hospital or worse. Horrors! Part of the Method humanifesto says, “We see ingredients that come from plants, not chemical plants” which always makes us breathe a sigh of relief as mamas. Thanks to the good folks at Method, we can still have pretty, SAFE colors in our eco-friendly products.

But we had to ask: HOW DOES IT CLEAN? I’ve used it to spritz down counter tops, but how about a real deep cleaning? To test it out, Dottie decided to put it up against some grody vintage Fisher Price little people and furniture that she recently scored—and that probably hadn’t been cleaned since the seventies. Ms. Dottie, take it away!

Yep it’s true, we love vintage goodies over here. But who knows where some of those thrift scores have been?? I grabbed my handy bottle of yummy green cucumber-scented Method All Purpose Cleaner and got to work.

With a spritz here and a spray there (plus a few brisk scrubs) voila! Clean happy toys in an instant. Our friends at Method told us that the All Purpose Cleaner delivers a mighty cleaning punch with naturally derived, biodegradable ingredients. The cleaners are derived from corn + coconut, breaking down dirt naturally, so they remove the dirt and leave nothing behind but a lovely scent. For tougher (and older/more suspicous) dirt, they also make an all-natural Anti-Bacterial Kitchen Cleaner that kills 99.9% of household germs. I admit, it doesn’t smell quite as pretty as my cucumber, but when we’re talking about gettin’ rid of salmonella enterica and E. coli, I don’t mind if we’re not quite as gentle. Knowwhatimean?

The best part is knowing that these are toys that the Peach can happily (and healthily) play with. Here is my sweet girl, kissing and manhandling her toys with joy— and I can rest easy knowing she won’t accidentally get sick on any residual cleaning product. Ahh.


As part of our Method madness, we’re giving you a new way to Clean Happy each month, including a cool, “get yer green clean on” video. This one stars Noah, the official “spokesinger” of Method. We had the pleasure of getting a serenade from him when we were at Method headquarters and he’s a really cool dude. PS The cast of the video is all Method employees and their kiddos. Sweet!

As an added bonus, Method is offering a $1.00 off coupon, good for any of their products thru April 30th. Print it out right on the Method Facebook page (check under the “Perks” tab). If you’ve never tried Method before, this $1 off  coupon gives you the perfect excuse to try ’em out. Let us know what you think! Seriously….Ginger Yuzu. SMELLS. SO. GOOD.

 

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 but all opinions are, of course, always our own. To read more on Method’s green practices, ingredients and philosophy, go here.

clean happy {and win a trip to san francisco!}

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Ratta tat tat! Ratta tat tat! Method Mania is kicking off with a bang! By now you know we are pleased as punch to be partnering with these guys as official Method Mavens and today we’re excited to share with you a super fun video that will tell you what it really means to CLEAN HAPPY!

Before we get to the video though, we thought it would be a good idea to talk to you about one of the reasons we love these guys so much. Of course their products smell beautiful and look amazing. But they also clean like crazy and are better for the environment and —most importantly— you and your family.

The makers of method don’t use icky additives like parabens, phosphates, ammonia, chlorine bleach, and a slew of other yucko chemicals because of their known adverse side effects. This is really important to us! We’ll be talking about these more in the coming months as we test-drive specific products and let you know what we think of them!

OK, so are you ready to see the video? It’s really adorable. Be on the look out for the light bright-esque color wall. The pegs? All colorful bottles of method hand soap! Clever, clever!

So fun, right? It really captures the quirky and very lovable spirit of the entire company. (Did we mention that the video features method employees?? Including that bad ass skateboarder!) But now HOLD UP a second. You didn’t think we were just gonna spend every post braaaaging about our awesome trip and yackity yacking about how cool the peeps of method were and just have you take our word for it??? Oh no, my friends. We want YOU to come out to San Francisco and see for yourselves!

Yep, it’s true. You could win a trip for two to the colorful method headquarters in San Francisco, lunch with Eric and Adam (the awesome method co-founders), AND win a year’s supply of rockin’ method products! How cool is THAT?? To enter, simply head on over to the method facebook page. The sweepstakes starts today March 12, 2012 @ 06:00 am (PDT). Enter soon because the contest ends April 03, 2012 @ 11:59 pm (PDT). Good luck!!!!!

Oh, and if one of you Kiddo reader’s win? Dottie and I promise to treat you to a tasty beverage (boozie or otherwise)! Leave a comment if you enter so we know to send good luck vibes your way!

So what are you waiting for folks? Get on out there and enter! And remember….CLEAN HAPPY.

this post brought to you by:

 but all opinions are, of course, our own!

Last Week, We Cleaned Up Our Act.

Real Life : Alix, Real Life : Dottie, Sponsored Post

Last week Dottie and I were thrilled to participate in a very special event, thanks to our wonderful friends at method. They are one of my very favorite cleaning products, with a line that is as stylish as it is smart & eco-friendly. When they approached us about working with them, Dottie and I knew it was a perfect fit. Dottie is especially concerned with finding cleaning products that are tough on dirt but are natural and eco-friendly. And I’m a packaging victim who is dazzled by pretty colors. Just kiddin’. Sorta. If you follow us on instagram (@galexina & @missdottie) then you might have seen some of the photos we posted! It was a unique 2 day event for a small group of bloggers from all across the country, and man oh man did we have fun!

Here’s what went down. The kind folks of method flew everyone in on a Thursday. That night we had a lovely “getting to know you” dinner and then went to the groovy Hotel Monaco to call it a night. Yep, even though Dottie and I are local, they booked us each a room so we could relax and be a part of the whole event without having to dash back and forth. It was pretty luxurious staying at a hotel in your own home town!

The next morning we all hopped aboard a little shuttle bus to head on over to method headquarters to meet the team and start our day. As we turned a corner, we suddenly heard gasps coming from the ladies seated at the front of the bus. We craned our necks to look out the window, and saw the entire company lining the streets with balloons—clapping and cheering for us. It was so thoughtful and charming and unexpected, and definitely a sign of  great things to come!

The day was spent immersing ourselves in the method culture. We learned about the company’s history, chatted about the importance of great design, smelled oodles of yummy new fragrances, talked at length about how important sustainability is and how being “green” infuses everything they do. It was an action packed day filled with a real passion and warmth that was completely infectious! I was a fan before, but I really learned SO much that day. The most impressive thing were the people. This wasn’t a hard-sell, schmoozy crowd. These were funny, real, awesome folk who truly believe in what they do. They shared their many success stories but I was impressed that they also shared some of their failures—explaining what they learned from things that didn’t work out the way they planned.

Oh, these are the two cool guys behind the entire method family, Eric Ryan and Adam Lowry:

The other awesome part of our weekend was meeting up with so many other fabulous bloggers. There were lots of familiar faces and many new wonderful friendships made.

(ok, Victoria {sfgirlbybay} isn’t exactly new….but she *is* one of our favorite SF pals!)

above: with bloggin’ cutie Dani Hampton {sometimes sweet} below: and lovely Liz Stanley {say yes to hoboken}

left: the gorgeous girls with glasses brooke & summer and the sparklin’ jordan ferney {OhHappyDay} // right: the supah sassy susan peterson {Freshly-Picked}

We got to experience lotsa product—including their latest fragrances:  lime + sea salt, coconut grove, and daffodil bouquet. Here’s my gal Dottie washin’ her hands and experiencing the different fragrance “notes”….yes friends. Soap has NOTES.

Ahhhh. watch the bloggers come clean:

above: the fab EZ Pudewa {creature comforts}, the stunning Denene Millner {MyBrownBaby}, darlin’ Dani, and the adorable Illana Wiles {Mommy Shorts} // below: Dottie scopin’ out some early product designs right outta the method sketch book.

How cute is this?? mickey smelled like lemonade, minnie smelled like strawberries.

Then we got a little sneaky peek of things to come, thanks to Mekanism—the geniusy agency who created their new campaign. It’s as colorful, quirky and cool as the people of method….we can’t wait to share it with you.

Yes, that wall lit up. And no, it’s not affiliated with any bright lite toys of the 70s (ahem) but it was reeeeally cool.

The vibe was really one of positivity and fun and I think all of us “Method Mavens” (as the team dubbed us) were kind of grinning from ear to ear the whole time. Of course the main focus of this event was to learn more about method, but I have to tell you people…..these guys really spoiled us silly. Apologies if this next part sounds a little braggadocious, but it’s more about wanting to share with you how generous and thoughtful these guys were. In addition to our wonderful opening night meal, we had a fun photoshoot (see above), completed a DIY project with Danny Seo and got to check out the latest method book on a complimentary Kindle Fire. Yeah. We each got one. Wowzers.

As if that weren’t enough, on Friday night we were treated to a “clandestine dining” experience. The Stag Dining group is a collective of chefs that host traveling dinners, in unique locals. Method asked them to base our 5-course meal around some of the method fragrance profiles (water+ citrus, herbaceous, fruity etc). And holy moley, it was a meal unlike any other!!

Did I mention it was held at the William Westerfeld House? It’s an infamous, huge Victorian that used to be the Russian Embassy. The place was four stories of decadent Victorian maddness. With ornate chandeliers and taxidermy for days, I felt like I was in a real life version of the board game Clue.

At the end we went around the loooong dining room table and were asked to sum up the two day’s experience in one word. I think they were hoping for things like “informative” “inspiring” “designy”…..but truly friends, I had to bust out this one:

So what does this all mean? It means that in the coming months we have lots of awesome goodness coming your way. We’ll be sharing more fun stories, talking about the importance of cleaning with products that are better for the environment (AND you & your family), plus test-driving new products. We’ll even be giving you guys the chance to try ’em out for yourself and would love to know what you think. As for us:

A special thanks to dani //sometimes sweet for letting me snag some of her photos for this post.

The Art of Dressing for Outside Play : Polarn O Pyret

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There’s an awesome saying in Sweden: “There’s no bad weather… just bad clothing.” I LOVE this sentiment. The notion of getting fresh air, rain or shine, is very European. As most of you guys know, I grew up in Michigan and even in the deep of winter, my German mama would open the bedroom windows to air out our rooms every morning (raising eyebrows in the neighborhood, haha).

Sweden has a similar philosophy. Children are encouraged to play outside all year round, whether it’s rainy, windy or even snowing. Even babies in their prams are strolled outside and allowed to nap in the fresh air. They simply make sure all babies and kiddos are wearing the right clothing. And that’s where our dear friends at Polarn O. Pyret (aka PO.P!) come in.

In fact, they’re so passionate about this, they’ve declared this “EVERY DAY IS PLAY DAY” week! The challenge? Get outside and play every day for one week, regardless of the weather!

So how do you make this happen? It all comes down to LAYERS, my friends. You do this with great quality clothing that protects little ones from rain, wind and snow and keeps them nice and toasty warm.

The sweet folks at Polarn O. Pyret were kind enough to send Dottie and myself a sampling of their outer wear for Wolfie and the Peach so we could see for ourselves the thoughtful details they pour into each piece. I will tell you that we are both BIG fans of this brand already—their clothing is durable and very well made. I find that the no-frills shapes make them great basics but the hip patterns and bright colors make them totally stylish too. However, I had never really explored their outerwear. Wowza. They don’t mess around! Check out these Best Basic Shell Pants that we received. SO many great details:

Pre-bent knees?? Genius. While we don’t get any snow out here in California, we often go home for the holidays to Michigan where there is SNOW aplenty. So I can’t wait to give their snow pants a test run!

In addition to being well made, the clothes are built to last. You make an initial investment in a jacket and it’s not only going to last you for a season or two, but it’s made to be passed down to siblings (or lucky friends and cousins). Did I mention that all of PO.P’s outerwear is tested by Swedish preschool children? Pretty cool.

Despite what you may think, it can get pretty cold out here. Of course, it’s still milder weather than the rest of the country, so I was also eager to see what kind of layering pieces they had. This cozy Windfleece Vest is awesome for cooler autumn days or layering with another jacket. I was impressed that it was water-resistant, because we do get a lot of rain.

The high zipper has extra covering at the top to protect little cheeks and chins. It gets dark early in the winter months, so all their gear includes multiple reflectors for easy 360 degree visibility. I find that the clothing is cut generously—Wolfie is wearing it in a size 6-7, and he has a bit of room to grow. He’s also wearing the super soft Block Stripe Sweatshirt Hat, which is perfect for our milder autumn weather.

While temperatures can definitely dip here in Northern California, we’re lucky that children play on the playground year round….so Wolfie gets lots of outdoor play time every day. Also, the addition of Mr. Sam doggy has meant that we are taking lots more family walks in the beautiful redwoods in our area! Breathing in the crisp woodland air is one of my faaaaavorite things.

Are your kiddos still getting outside and playing this season? Has it been rainy? Cold? Snowy?? Head on over to the Polarn O. Pyret Facebook page and tell us what you did this week! You could win some cool prizes, like a PO.P goodie bag. To see more of their outerwear, check out the site over here. Dottie will be back in a bit to share some of her thoughts on playing outdoors as well as the Peach in her snazzy striped jacket!

Too Too Wonderful:: Tutu du Monde.

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I must admit, I loved ballet class solely because I got to wear a tutu.  Oh, how I loved that puffy, glamorous bit of netted frou frou.  You just felt special and couldn’t help but lift your feet up to dance when wearing a tutu. Clearly I’m not alone in this childhood memory, because there are so many people out there selling tiny tutus for aspiring ballerinas. I’ve even seen them on tiny babies all decked out in sparkles.

But out of all the tutus I’ve seen (and trust me, after blogging about kiddo fashion for the past two years, I’ve seen A LOT of them) nothing compares to the ethereal beauty of Tutu du Monde’s beautiful pieces.

Handcrafted with sweet bits of fancy here and there, these tutu dresses are bound to pull a smile out of any little girl. This isn’t just a wisp of a dress. This is an heirloom.

The wonder of the Nutcracker and the Red Shoes is sewn into each tutu with care.

Love love love.

Right now the Peach is going through a decidedly tom-boy phase. But even she touched the layers of tulle with great care and a pinch of awe.

Lavender falls into the violet falls into the plum. Perfection.

Even with a t-shirt and rain boots.

It’s good to be a girl. Thanks, Tutu du Monde.