"city" living it shall stay

...not that we were ever really leaving the city in trying to sell our house, but we pulled it off the market on Monday. After a full year of trying to sell and an estimated 40+ showings, we couldn't bear the notion of going into the winter months and trying to pull off the you-have-two-hours-to-ready-your-house-for-a-showing stunt.

We heart our home. And, for now, we're settled with God not selling our home so that we can free ourselves up to give more away. Please don't confuse settled with understand. It still doesn't make sense to us. This action for us is really the anti-American dream.

Anyway, our stay means we get much more outdoor life out our huge front picture window for at least one more Hoosier season...


(click for larger view)

Which we love!

Fashionthropic / Skreened $10 gift card

Limit 1 per customer. Total calculated before shipping and tax (if applicable). Ends 12/31/09 or while supplies last.

Skreened (@skreened) is offering any Fashionthropic store visitor a FREE $10 gift card with a $35 purchase.

You're practically losing money and style if you don't take advantage of this. Check out Fashionthropic for fantastically philanthropic ecologically-friendly fair-trade fashionable gift ideas for the upcoming holiday season!

Less Naughty. More Nice. Ergo Baby carrier (giveaway)

Less Naughty. More Nice. is a way for me to promote amazing products with reviews and giveaways! I am sharing ethically produced products in advance of the Christmas buying season. I have a heart for fair trade, eco-friendly and U.S. made companies. It will continue through November 21st. I am receiving no financial compensation for these promotions. However, I have received sample product in order to supply you an authentic and honest review.}

By now you know I LOVE to wear my babies! I have found an amazing carrier by ERGObaby. I have to start with the most exciting thing to me about the company..their ethics. Yes, the carrier is amazing and I will get to that, but it makes me proud to wear my little guy in a carrier that I know was made fair trade. All carriers are made by workers 18 and older. ERGObaby carries an entire line made with 100% organic cotton. Love it! They also carry a line of Standard cotton carriers. ERGObaby is family owned and operated out of Maui, Hawaii. I have had such a pleasant time working with them. From using their website to direct contact via email. Makes me smile when a company loves what they are doing. Their passion for a great carrier really shows.

I chose to review the Organic green carrier with silver lining. My little Boatboy loves it. It's great that I can now wear him on my back as well. It is extremely comfortable either way and feels very secure. And this carrier is for an infant through toddler.

"ERGObaby’s baby carrier design supports a natural sitting position for babies, eliminating compression of the spine and hips that can be caused by unsupported suspension. The baby carrier also balances the baby's weight to parents' hips and shoulders, and alleviates physical stress for the parent."

I am very excited to give away an entire ERGObaby system ($193 value) compliments of ERGObaby themselves. The system includes the carrier, backpack and a front pouch. All components can be used individually or attached together for truly hands-free babywearing.

Buy your own: Check out the many options to choose from starting at 120.00. This would make an incredible gift to any expecting Mom!

Win your own: As I mentioned above, ERGObaby is giving away a system to one lucky Blondes, Poop & Mascara reader. Head over to ERGO baby and tell me your favorite color and why you must have this carrier!

Extra Entries:
1. Follow my blog publicly through Google's easy reader tool.
2. Subscribe to my blog via email (and except the confirmation email).
3. Tell me your favorite thing about my blog that isn't a review or giveaway.
4. Follow me on Twitter (@mrsblonde1)
5. Tweet about this giveaway like so "@mrsblonde1 is giving away an @ERGObaby organic carrier system (~$200 value) as part of #LessNaughtyMoreNice http://tinyurl.com/ykddc2f"
6. Grab my button and post it to your cyber space.
7. Tell 4 friends via email and cc me.
8. Blog about this contest and leave the link in your comment.
9. Follow @ergobaby on Twitter
10. Become a Facebook fan of ERGObaby

I will select a winner on BLACK FRIDAY, November 27. Thanks for entering!

The winner is zealandsmom who was random.org number 12. Congrats and thanks to everyone who entered!

ironing made easy

Ironing has never been something I enjoy doing. Since I been married, I have found myself purchasing clothes that say wrinkle-free much more often to avoid said task. Unfortunately, not all clothes say that. And, not all clothes that say that actually do that. Up until a couple weeks ago when Mr. Blonde would hand me a wrinkled shirt I would just throw it in the dryer and remove it quickly and say "You're good to go!" or rewash a shirt because the wrinkles were just too much to tackle.

When I was sent a Panasonic 360 Quick iron to review I was quickly intrigued by the shape and asked myself what is SO good about this iron. I am extremely impressed. I have ironed with the 360 and gotten gitty with excitement as the wrinkles quickly disappear.

First item to tackle...A silk dress that should have been dry cleaned 2 times ago, but I needed to wear it in 2 hours for a wedding. So...I fired up my new 360 Panasonic iron and steamed away. I spent 3 minutes ironing the entire dress and all wrinkles were gone!! My first Awe moment with my iron. Let me remind you I have had a $14.99 iron for 6 years and it never completely took any wrinkles away and it was a chore to just iron 1 shirt.

Second item of attack...A men's cashmere sweater that should be dry cleaned, but I am too cheapthrifty. Wash on gentle cycle. Let dry on dining room chair. Left with 2 points on the shoulders. Fire up the 360 and turn on the steam. Took the bumps away immediately. I am not talking about 3 or 4 times over the bumpy area...1 time each. In awe once again.

Last item of attack...A pair of thick woman's jeans that were wadded up in the bottom of the clean clothes pile. And I needed to wear them immediately! Of course, I did! The dual pointed ends makes ironing pants VERY easy. It also has controls for all types of fabrics.

I must say I am huge fan of my Panasonic 360 Quick iron. Still not my favorite thing to do, but it has drastically cut my time in half. And it really works. What more could I ask for?!

night night weekend

...work week here we come