Shop Small- Bubbles & Balms

Posted on March 23, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Happy hump day! I’ve got a great small shop to share with you today- Bubbles & Balms.

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About the shop: All Bubbles & Balms products are 100% natural, which we define as organic and inorganic materials derived from nature without the addition of synthetics. We hand make all our products at our store in Claresholm, AB. We [Justin and Judith] are partners in business, but also in life and love. We opened our doors in December of 2014 and greatly enjoy meeting new people who are passionate about living life as naturally as they can.

I first came across Bubbles & Balms at the Spruce Meadows Christmas market this past year. Wes was getting antsy so I didn’t have much time to browse, but I did manage to snag a few bars of their soaps. I’m glad I did, because they’ve been the best soaps I’ve ever purchased (no joke). Even after showering, applying lotion and sometimes even walking the dogs, I can still smell the scent of whichever bar I’ve used lingering on my skin. It’s not overwhelming, but just gentle enough to remind me I’m clean (and cinnamon-y…depending on the bar).

Recently, B&B created their own website so you can have access to their products no matter where you are! I saw the launch online and got really excited. Not only because I have enjoyed the soaps so much, but also because they’re local!

In addition to soaps, they offer an extension of bath, body, baby, aromatherapy and men’s products. There’s even workshops you can attend and other DIY stuff! So basically, lots.

I was lucky enough to get in touch with Justin & Judith (basically praising their soaps and cheersing the new site) and before I knew it, a package of the entire baby line was on my doorstep!

Wes is a lucky little boy to be able to try these out…but he’s not the only one! I’ve also used some of the bath oil and I gotta say, it’s super soothing and leaves our skin nice and soft. I *almost* don’t need to put lotion on afterwards, but do out of habit. I really liked how the scent was extremely gentle so it went unnoticed by Wes, but I still felt indulgent during my own baths (now if only it came in bubble form, I’m sure Wes would lose his mind with glee!)

I’m not one to use baby powder (something about babies inhaling it?) but I tried this stuff out- you know, being all-natural and all- and I really loved how good of a job it did on diffusing the dirtiest of diaper smells. Ew, I know. It was nice as a little moisture absorber as well when I try to get him dressed as quickly as possible after a bath when he’s all shivery!

He’s also been pretty good in the butt department lately, so I almost thought I wouldn’t need to use the butt butter. But, (see what I did there?) he did have a reddish hiney last week so I broke some out! I was pleasantly surprised how quickly the solid turned into a creamy, smooth texture once it was applied to his skin.

I think he liked it, too.

Last up, the skin spray. We’ve still not used it, but it smells amazing! It’s good for not only diaper rash, but for sunburn relief so I will keep it handy if ever we get a bit too much sun 🙂

I’ve been really enjoying using these products because I know they’re not harmful on Wes’s skin and they smell so darn good! I’ll often just soak up the second-hand effects of it by sniffing on his head after bath time I love it so much. PS: It’s not weird to always sniff your kid, right??

Big thank you to Justin & Judith! Be sure to check out their site, visit their Facebook page, and follow them on Instagram too.. I’m sure you’ll find something that tickles your fancy 🙂

Three Things on Thursday

Posted on March 10, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Hi, friends! Happy Thursday. SO CLOSE to the weekend I can almost taste it. I’ve got three totally random things I’d like to share with you today:

Eco Chic Movement. Last month, Dr. Alexis from Eco Chic Movement reached out and asked if I’d like to try some baby products from her all-natural line. I of course said yes because I’m always on the lookout for safe products to use on Wes. We received the baby basics travel set which includes baby lotion, massage oil, diaper cream, baby face cream, baby skin conditions cream, and shampoo & body wash.

All of the products are 100% natural and made in Ottawa by Dr. Alexis who is a chemical engineer, toxicologist, and naturopathic doctor. The shampoo & body wash came in a foam pump and I had to pump it quite a bit to get enough to lather onto Wes’s head and body, but I could tell it was nice and gentle on his skin. His hair was light and fluffy after his bath too!

The baby lotion had a very thick consistency which also made it a bit harder to dispense, but it was nice and creamy on his skin. I don’t usually use a separate cream for his face, but we tested this out as well and again was very clean and gentle on his skin. I’ve yet to use the other products, but have them on hand when needed!

I also received a couple of trial sizes for creams and lotions for myself and my favorite is the peppermint foot cream. I used this after a night time shower and put socks on afterwards and my feet stayed nice and moisturized (which is quite the feet in this dry altitude!)

Pros: 100% all-natural products; made in Canada; safe for baby!

Cons: The containers my samples were sent in got opened in the mail and they were hard to pump when I wanted to use. Not sure if shipping is to blame for that?

Thanks again, Eco Chic!

2. Checkout 51– This is one of my latest favorite apps. Every Thursday, they load new list of offers (grocery items, office supplies, BOOZE, pet supplies..etc). You simply pick the ones you’d like, purchase them from any store, upload the receipt, and when your account hits $20, they send you a check. Basically, coupons without the physical coupons.

I’ve already redeemed quite a bit through them. And my favorite part is that you can redeem the offer even if you already have a coupon and/or the product is on sale at a given store. Pampers Baby Dry diapers were on there this week, so I looked for where they were on sale in my area, used a $3 off coupon I already had, then uploaded the receipt for an additional dollar off. Boom, I’m a penny saving genius.

PS: US friends, this is available to you too!

3. Homemade Protein Bars. I decided I needed to let go of my beloved Quest Bars (I’ve had one EVERY SINGLE DAY since Wes was born) because they are just too dang $$$. I looked up recipes on SIMPLE homemade protein bars and came across Lindsay’s No-Bake Protein Bars.

Here’s what I used to make them:

1.5 c oat flour
1.5 c Vega Proteins & Greens protein powder in Vanilla
1.5 c Rice Chex cereal
3 T chia seeds
3/4 all natural peanut butter
1/2 c unsweetened almond milk
1/3 c honey
3 T water

Instructions:

In a bowl combine flour, cereal, protein powder and chia seeds.
In another bowl combine peanut butter, milk and honey.
Add wet mixture to dry mixture and stir to thoroughly combine.
Add water as necessary to make sure the ‘dough’ is moistened. (it will be crumbly)
Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper and press dough into pan.
Freeze for roughly 20 minutes.
Cut into bars.

If you click over to Lindsay’s original recipe, you’ll see mine turned out completely different than hers. Mine were super tasty, but I think I can improve on them a bit. Next time, I might try almond butter, rice krispies and omit the chia. I mean, if I HAVE to keep making them, I GUESS I’ll just have to suffer through eating all of them, right? 😉

Do you prefer locally made/natural items for your/your baby’s skin care? What do you use?

Do you have a great homemade protein bar recipe I could try??

Small Shoppin’- Will & Co.

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Hey friends! Boy oh boy do I have an awesome little shop to share with you.

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Will&Co: Julia Mathers is the creater of Will&Co. She is an early childhood educator that has been in the field for over a decade and absolutely adore what she does. She started Will&Co after a few friends were after some knit goods for their children.. toques, headbands etc. She has been knitting since she was a child and can’t watch tv without having my knitting with her! The name Will&Co comes from her dad Barry William Mathers and a few other Will’s that have been in her life.

Her shop is based out of Kelowna, BC (Um I want to move there) so if you’re looking to support Canadian made, this is the place! She makes toques, booties, little boy boy ties and kidfinity scarves. Lots of goodies for the littles.

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Julia sent us twinning the 50 Shades toques and they’re my newest favorite accessory. The name is pretty cool too 😉

The knit is so cozy and soft that Wes doesn’t even mind his on his head. No itch=no pulling off his noggin! I’m the same way. I accidentally kept it on for a couple of hours even when we got back inside!

Julia’s focus is mainly on accessories for children, but I am REALLY glad she ventured in to these twinning toques! She also mentioned that she’s getting into Mama Cabin Booties (to match the baby cabin booties.) Well, I guess I’ll need those too 😉

I mean, seriously, how adorable are these?–>

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You can’t tell from the photo, but they have stitched leather soles made from 100% recycled leather. I remember seeing on her Instagram feed that they’re pretty durable, too. Noted for when Wes becomes a littler wanderer.

The look she aims for is simple, rustic and classic. And she definitely hits the nail on the head. There’s even a small personalized leather WILL sown to each toque. Super cute!

Julia’s also got a spring line of bow ties and kidfinity scarves which are set to be released on February 28th. Vancouver friends: this is the same day that Little Bean + Co will be launching their mobile shop which will be carrying some Will & Co products!

Here’s a sneak peak:

The spring Kidfinity scarves are a light jersey knit blend, perfect for layering over tanks and t-shirts.These are priced at $14 CDN. The bow ties are same as the existing, just in three new patterns and they are priced at $12 CDN.

We already have a bow tie for Wes and he likes to rock it out now and then.

Julia has graciously offered a 20% discount to readers! American friends: this is a steal for you with the current exchange rate. Use the code NUTCASEINPOINT at checkout and promo is valid until March 31st.

Thanks Will & Co!

From the Week

Posted on February 12, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

And just like that, another week is in the books. This one just FLEW by! How is it already mid-February? I am so confused.

Monday: Breakfast a super delicious smoothie (vega + sweet potato + oats + almond milk + ice).

It was sunny and warm-ish out so I took Wes to Bowmont park for a walk.

We didn’t stay long because I brought the wrong stroller (the citi mini gt isn’t that great on somewhat icy/rocky/snowy/terrain and I left the BOB at home) and Wes kept taking his hat off! Silly boy.

After we got back home, I walked us down the street to our mini makeshift park and introduced him to the swing for the first time. HE LOVED IT. As soon as I put him in, he grabbed the handles and just sat there enjoying me pushing him non stop for EVER.

We had burgers for dinner and they were so good, I had a second patty. I could have probably eaten three. We gave Wes some burger to try and he loved it too. He’s just like his daddy- loves burgers and pickles and cheese 🙂

Tuesday: I remembered there was a baby playdate scheduled at our local library, so we walked over there to see what it was all about. It was another nice day out, so it was great to get even more fresh air! Plus, we live super close to the library and it would take just as long to load and unload him from the car as it would to just walk on over.

They had set out a bunch of blanket with various items for babies to touch and play with. Of course Wes wanted to just shove everything in his mouth. I was dying on the inside about all the germs but what are you gonna do?

There were about 10 other babies and although Wes wasn’t the oldest..he was definitely the biggest. The other moms were shocked when I told them how good of a sleeper and eater he is. And I got to brag about it a little bit 🙂

We went back to the swings again later that afternoon and it was still a hit.

We had chicken tortellini for dinner- it was a Costco find and we didn’t think it was that great. Not bad, just not yummy enough to buy again. Good thing we have two more packages of it in the freezer ha.

After dinner I was playing with Wes and did the worst thing EVER…I spilled a full glass of water all over my laptop. Tyler quickly swooped in and took my laptop of to the laptop ER (the bathroom counter) to inspect the damage and set it up to dry out. I was a nervous wreck and took the doggies on an even longer walk that night because I was having heart palpitations over the potential cost of buying a new one.

Wednesday: I drowned my sorrows in a batch of sweet potato pancakes. It did the trick for the time being. I’m pretty sure anything drenched in maple syrup helps.

We went over to Safeway to pick up some produce (thank GOODNESS they lowered their prices on produce. It was over $2 PER PEPPER before!) and Wes got a kick out of sitting in the cart. So much so that he was doing his Tarzan call over and over again to entertain other shoppers.

I love that the cover has a couple of loops in the front to attach toys so he can’t launch them onto the dirty floor. (This is the one I have)

We had chicken tenders for dinner- they were so good! I could have eaten way more, but wanted to leave some leftovers for lunch the next day. Next time we have these, I’m going to prepare 4x more to put in the freezer for quick meals in the future!

AND GUESS WHAT? Tyler tested my computer and it was fully functional! Hip hip hooray. We already ordered another one just in case, but will be returning it (free of charge) once it’s delivered. I did a major happy dance. Major.

Thursday: I posted a Parker & Posie giveaway. Have you entered? You’d be crazy not to! These soft soled baby shoes are to die for!!!

Not much got done since Wes decided to only have one nap. It’s crazy how much that can affect my productivity! I still managed to get some stuff done around the house and before you know it Tyler was home and I was headed out the door for a brewmasters dinner downtown.

At the very last minute (and I’m VERY thankful for it) I got two tickets to the Bomber Brewing Beer Dinner at National on 8th. It was a 5 course meal with beer pairings from the Vancouver brewery as it was introducing its beers to the Alberta market.

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Thankfully, Brie was able to go with me (thanks Brie, and sorry for the last minute invite!).

With the exception of the first course which I didn’t eat (oysters…ew) the food was really good. Like, really really good. I was really glad I wore stretchy pants. I’m not a fish person by any means, but the cod dish was my favorite! And who doesn’t love grilled cheese? It was paired with a spicy tomato soup- perfect for dunking. Then there was the brisket which didn’t even require a knife to cut. And the dessert I could have eaten 10x over because I have the world’s worst sweet tooth.

The beer was pretty good too! A bit too hoppy for my taste (as a stand alone beer), but I think they did an excellent job of pairing each with great foods that really complimented the flavors. My favorite was the chocolate porter that came with dessert- that one I could probably drink on its own! Check out Bomber Brewing here.

All of our beers went unfinished since we were both driving home. Womp womp.

I was home by 10, in bed by 10:10 and still managed to get my 8 hours of sleep. Can’t hate that!

And that’s the week in a nutshell! There were some baths, long doggy walks, and workouts in between. Never mind the fact I polished off the entire batch of nutella muddy buddies I made on Sunday. Oops!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Parker & Posie [+ a GIVEAWAY!]

Posted on February 11, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Happy Thursday everyone! I hope you’re all having a great week. We’ve been enjoying some time outdoors with the warmer temps. Had a bit of a mini crisis the other night when I clumsily spilled a ton of water all over my Macbook, but it seems to be in working order now. Fingers crossed it stays that way!

Moving on..

A while back, I was wandering around Instagram and came across Parker & Posie. Jaimie, the woman behind the shop, hand makes the most gorgeous baby shoes and I desperately needed to get my hands on a pair! (She also just so happens to be located in Calgary, so it’s a great #supportlocal win).

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shoes

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The shoes come with either a fleece or flannelette lining, depending on the time of year, and elastic around the back to keep them on little babes feet. You also have a color choice for the suede bottoms as well as top covers- so they’ll completely customizable.

I waited for some time before placing my order because Wes was growing like a weed and I wanted to make sure I’d have a size that lasted. When I did finally order a pair, I opted for the Golden Harvest print (seen above). But really, she has so many adorable prints it’s hard to narrow it down!

As luck would have it, Jaimie sent us TWO pairs! The teal optical print is great, and both are pretty gender neutral…for IF we have a girl in the future 🙂

What I love best about these shoes is that they actually fit Wes’s feet. He has a pretty high arch and non-existent ankles (due to chub) so it’s been a struggle to find anything warm that would actually make it onto his foot comfortably.

The lining is nice and soft so he could wear them with or without socks. And the sole is sturdy enough for when he starts to walk (Gahhh..I don’t need this to happen any time soon!)

PLUS, they’re actually easy to get on. I have a few pairs of shoes from some major retailers that take either some serious grunt work to get on OR they end up looking really awkward on his feet. When that happens, I’m convinced he knows this is the case and he’ll grab at them.

Oh man, I can’t handle the cuteness.

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Jaimie mentioned to me she was on the hunt for new prints, so I’m keeping on eye out. I have a sneaking suspicion I’m going to gush over just about all of them.

Guess what? Jaimie has kindly offered to giveaway ONE pair of shoes to a lucky reader! This is open to US & Canadian residents and entries to the giveaway can be any- or all- of the following four options (leaving a separate comment in this post below for each entry completed):

Visit Parker & Posie’s site and leave a comment telling me which print you’d choose!
Like Nutcaseinpoint AND Parker & Posie on Facebook
Follow nutcaseinpoint AND Parker & Posie on instagram
Follow @nutcaseinpoint on twitter

Giveaway is open until Wednesday, February 17 at midnight (MST) and I’ll be checking to make sure your entry is valid before announcing the winner. Good luck!

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