Citrus Lane: October Box - Toddler

When I opened up my (I say "my" loosely because it's really "Lucan's" box. I just enjoy the fun of getting mail) second Citrus Lane box, I was sorta "meh" about it's contents. Look closely at the picture and you'll see what was inside:

• Puppy Slide Whistle from Hohner Kids (value $8)
• Dreamz &Twinkles To Go from Cloud B (value $19)
• Bops from Good Boy Organics
• Ladybug Magazine from Cricket Magazine Group (value $3)
• Ladybug Magazine Digital Subscription (value $6)

First off, a whistle is annoying. There's no way around it. Lucan already has plenty of annoying toys and certainly didn't need to add a whistle to his collection. Then, without fail, Lucan promptly picked up his puppy whistle and started playing and blowing into it. Of course. 

The little blue octopus light thing I felt was unneeded. Of course Lucan adores it. It's a little night light that projects stars and fish with bubbles and cute stuff. It has the option for green or blue LED light and has an automatic 45 minute turnoff. This morning the box was sitting empty on the counter and Lucan started throwing a fit about his "light! light!" I had to remember where we had left it last night and then hand it to a frantic toddler. The octopus light also had to ride in the car to daycare where I gently, but firmly reminded Lu that if we took his light inside, we would never see it again (true story - does anyone else have problems with things getting lost, never to be seen again at daycare?)

Organic potato chips. So unnecessary. Then Lucan (again) proved me wrong and started shouting "Chips! Chips! My chips!" Whatever.

Ladybug magazine. I see this being a better option for older children, or someone my niece's age, say around 6 or so. I just see Lu ripping out pages. We'll see.

After my initial reaction being so-so, I think Citrus Lane hit it right on the head by knowing what my child might like. Apparently they know and understand toddlers better than I do.

As always, if you are interested in trying out a sample box, you can get $10 off using my referral code. That would make your first box a cool $15. It's fun to get a specifically tailored box to your child's age and gender every month. If you are interested in reading about our September box, click here!

Vinegar Produce Wash

Vinegar Produce Wash

Lance told me last night that I’m crazy, but in a “good, non-lazy” way. I’m not sure what laziness has to do with craziness and when I tried to get Lance to expand, I couldn’t really get anything more out of him. I like to believe that I’m crazy because I care. Crazy, caring Kara is better than apathetic Kara who doesn’t care about anything. I'm going somewhere with this, so stay with me.

Anyway. Moving on.

I’ve seen vinegar produce washes come up on several blogs and I’ve been intrigued by them. White vinegar is cheap and is always something that I have on hand. Dumping a little into a bowl of water and then throwing my fruit in the bowl is something that this busy momma can handle. I saw on one blog that a water/vinegar wash can kill up to 98% of bacteria and remove pesticides. While they didn’t site specific research or findings, I can’t help but think that this vinegar-water rinse is better than my previous quick wash under tap water. That, combined with ease of use, was enough to convince me that this was an easy step to make our lives a bit healthier. There are times when I don’t have access to great all-natural produce (or I can’t afford it – why does this automatically make me feel like less of a mom?) and I worry about what “other” things we might be consuming.

I used my gigantic red “Thatsa Bowl” from Tupperware. I dumped in a ¼ of a cup of white vinegar and then added my grapes, strawberries, apples and blueberries. Next I filled the remainder of the bowl with cold water and let everything sit for around 20 minutes before I drained out all the water and then rinsed the contents with cold water. Couldn’t be easier and I was surprised by how scummy the vinegar water was afterwards. This is definitely something that I’ll be doing again in the future with all my produce – cheap and easy – my favorite combination! 

And the reason Lance called me crazy was because he thinks this is an unnecessary step. But because I care deeply, he goes along with it. And because vinegar costs like a dollar. :)

Fruit pictures taken at night in a lurid red bowl are challenging. This is a snapshot of my clean fruit!

How I came to love $22 lip balm

$22.50 is an extreme amount to pay for lip balm. I realize this. But Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment is more than lip balm. This lip balm is glorious stuff. It's super smooth and has a fantastic scent. I sort of want to eat it. Which is not at all healthy and sort of pica like.

But if you don't want to pay $22.50 for lip balm (and no one in my income bracket does or can) sign-up to be a beauty insider with Sephora. It doesn't cost anything. It's more of a points/freebie tracking system. The last couple of years they've had really great birthday gifts. Last year it was Happy Birthday shower gel from Philosophy and this year's birthday gift (drum roll please ...) is a duo of Fresh Sugar Lip Balms - clear and rose.

If anyone has an extra $22.50 burning a hole in their pocket and wants to buy me something, look no further :)

"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport.

General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere.

Often it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy,but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the twin towers, as far as I know none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love.

If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around."

Taken from the film "Love Actually."

Sometimes we all need a reminder to choose love.

Photo credits

These are a few of my Favorite Things

Christmas has some of the best holiday treats and in no particular order, these are a few of my favorite things!

Peppermint Mocha creamer. I think that Coffeemate may have heard consumer pleas because this has become a yearlong shelf staple. No longer do I have to be the person who purchases 6 full-size creamers every time I go to the grocery store. You think I kid, but I kid not. You should see my hoarder-esk chest freezer. What can I say, they freeze well!

Be still my beating heart. Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Covered Peppermint Joe Joe's. I like to buy cookies from Trader Joe's. In fact I have yet to meet a cookie I didn't like from Trader Joe's. These are the best. Reminiscent of an Oreo with peppermint candy creme filling and peppermint candy cane shavings on top. (Are you hungry yet? Because I am!)

I brought these home after sampling them at cooking club (yes, I know, no one "made" these per say. We don't always cook at cooking club. We sometimes just eat). Lance really likes these too. My favorite are the cherry flavored ones, they taste exactly like an original hard candy Lifesaver, which is one of my favorite imitation cherry flavored candy.

Speaking of imitation cherry ... does anyone remember my past post about the Wildly Cherry M&Ms? I love me some Cherry M&Ms! Mars (or God) must have heard my not-so-silent wishes for a comeback tour because here are my beloved Cherry M&Ms!

One of my favorite Christmas desserts growing up was Schwann's Grasshopper Pie. Sadly enough, they don't make them anymore. In fact, it's really hard, as a whole, to find a pre-made Grasshopper Pie. Lance searched 4 different grocery stores for me the other day and came up empty handed. His poor, pregnancy-craving induced wife. She'll just have to make her own Grasshopper Pie this year :)

I picked this up on a whim at the grocery store the other day. This is Canada Dry Ginger Ale with Cranberry. It's fantastic. Especially if you are pregnant and seem to crave fizzy drinks much of the time. Canada Dry is made with real ginger, so it's good for nausea. And it's caffeine free.

Christmas speciality products give me the warm fuzzies :)

Pretty peony

So I've had this picture hiding on my camera for awhile (I'm talking around 2.5 months!) and thought I would finally share. This is from a peony bush - not my own. I have a peony bush I planted the first spring we were in Grimes with my mom and it said on the tag that it was this hot pink/fusica color. But instead of fusica, I got white. Still pretty, but not what I wanted. Don't you love the fluffiness? And the scent of a peony is always a nice way to greet spring. I miss spring. Lance will disagree with me, but I'm completely over this hot, hot summer humidity. Bring on the fall leaves!

Favorite Things: Christmas Music

I can't lie. Christmas music is my favorite. In college for a communications project, I put together a communications plan for an all Christmas music station - all the time. I called it JOY 98.3. I got 100% on the project and my professor said that I was crazy enough that the station might just work. Not exactly a compliment, but since I did get 100% on the project I decided he meant it as a compliment :)

I love the following three albums in their entirety: Josh Groban's "Noel" album. I really love his version of "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear." It's a little gospel, maybe a little bit country and takes a twist from the traditional version. It's freaking wonderful.



Then there is Celine Dion's "These Are Special Times" Christmas album. I agree - Christmas is a special time! My favorite song on this album is "Don't Save it All for Christmas Day." I love singing shrilly with Celine. It drives Lance and Fire nuts.



Ahh ... and my go to happy album - Mercy Me's "The Christmas Sessions." I love rockin out in my cubicle (and trust me, I do!) to "Gloria" and I think "Joseph's Lullaby" is gorgeous. This cd, without fail, always puts me in a better mood.



And that folks, is my Christmas music edition of "My Favorite Things."

Favorite Thing: Greyness

These are my newest loves: my grey boots from Kohls and my grey OPI "You Don't Know Jacques!" fingernail polish. I love grey clothing and accessories. It's all very fall and winter appropriate. In fact I think grey is my latest obsession.

I'd also like to own these boots and these ones. Not in the budget.

Favorite Things: Enamel Cast Iron Dutch Oven

I have this chive green dutch oven. It's a great color and a much used item in my kitchen. I use it primarily for making soups on the stove and roasts in the oven. The lid has a dimpled top to help redistribute moisture to food as it cooks. I won't lie, this thing weighs a ton. Especially when it's full of chicken, potatoes, carrots, celery. It does a really nice job of cooking things at an even temperature. It retails on Amazon.com for $90.99 but I got mine at Bed Bath and Beyond for under $70 with a 20% off coupon (did you know they won't accept expired 20% coupons anymore? Let me tell you, that was a blow to my checkbook when I discovered this past spring). It's still a somewhat pricey piece, but much cheaper than the Le Cruset dutch oven I've been pining for for two years. That puppy retails for $249. Ha! It's going to be a few more years before I've got dollars to buy a Le Cruset.
Side note: If you live in an area with a Marshalls, TJ Maxx, or Tuesday Morning, often times Le Cruset pieces will end up there for less. Still over $100, but less than typical retail amounts.

Favorite Things ... Honeycrisp Apples

Somebody save me from myself ...


I can't stop myself from buying 3 or 4 honeycrisp apples everytime I go to a grocery store.

Hy-Vee had them on sale last week for $1.38/lb

Fareway has had them on sale for $1.49/lb

Target has had them on sale for $1.49/lb

Basically, any grocery store within striking distance has had them on sale this past month and I just can stop picking up 3 or 4 at a time ... this means that I probably have about a dozen in that very large bowl you are seeing. I love Honeycrisp Apples, they are my favorite variety. But I must stop buying them!
And that my friends, is this week's edition of My Favorite Things.

Favorite Things: Facial Brush

Here's the second edition of Favorite Things.
I've read several very favorable reviews of the Clarisonic Skin Cleansing System. It's a cleansing brush that really unclogs pores and exfoliates the skin. I wouldn't mind giving one of these a whirl, my chin has a tendency to break out and I could see this helping. But not for $149. Holy crap.



So instead I shop at the Body Shop. And bought their $3 Rounded Handle Facial Brush. Because I don't have to explain a $3 purchase to Lance like I would have had to do with the Clarisonic. I am perfectly capable of exfoliating my face manually. And I'm experiencing similar results. I think for 2% of the price of the Clarisonic, it's a clear trade.

Favorite Things

I'm going to do a little bloggy series once a week in honor of The Sound of Music :) No, not really, but a little. I'm going to post once a week about something in my life that I use that is something that I love. To start things off, my Braun Immersion Blender.



It's fantastic. It makes smoothies, purees potato leek soup, blends frozen bananas into banana bread batter, and chops nuts. Best money spent of my life. I will buy another one, if and when mine ever dies. I got it at Bed Bath and Beyond and used a 20% off coupon, making the price around ... well, I don't remember. I've had the thing at least 2.5 years. But I'm sure I wouldn't have spent over $40. You don't need a big ole bulky blender if you have one of these. So go out and spend your hard earned cash on an immersion blender. It'll be worth it.