We’re a modern minimalist family.  Since adding a new addition to the family, Simon the cat, we’ve had to bring in new household items.  One such item is the dreaded litter box.  It’s a must have for every cat but the options are absolutely horrendous.  They are and you cat owners all know it.  I knew that there HAD to be a solution out there somewhere in the cyber universe.  I was right!  I stumbled upon ModKat, who offers clean lines and modern style… in a litter box!!  I knew immediately I had to have one, I mean Simon had to have one.  They require a top entry from the cat so there is zero litter mess on the floor.  Gravity takes care of the “litter feet”, as well as the top grate.  My kitten had no issue jumping up there and made an easy transfer to the ModKat  litter box.  The box features an amazing scoop that has bristles on the side to sweep stray litter off the top grate.  The scoop clicks right onto the side for easy access and storage.  ModKat also comes with a reusable liner, helping our environment by eliminating those plastic disposable liners.  The liner velcros to the inside of the litter box and has handles for easy removal and dumping.  Overall I give this litter box ten thumbs up.  It looks great, it’s totally functional, and it looks great… oh did I say that twice?

Erin:I married a man who grew up with cats, so this was a new venture for me when we first met. We got married and shortly thereafter adopted a kitten. This was my first experience with litter boxes and I must say, it wasn’t a pleasant one. We tried all different styles, igloos, boxes, you name it and they all just seemed throw litter all over the floor when our cat would jump out of it. Made me bonkers and I’d find myself sweeping up constantly. Now mind you, I’ve seen a few other litters with a similar style as the ModKat at the local pet store with the hole on the top, but they are definitely NOT the same. With the others, when the cats jump out and land on the top ledge, the litter just piles up and after a while gets knocked down onto your floor along with the cat when they jump off. ModKat’s top ledge has holes in it allowing the excess litter to fall back into the box eliminating the excess mess and waste! The handy lid on the ModKat actually just flips up with the push of a button and quickly dumps any litter that didn’t fall through the holes right back into the box. Our entire family loves our new litter box!

GIVEAWAY: For your chance to win a ModKat Litter Box, leave a comment below telling us what color you like best. To see their color options, go here.  This is a $180 value!

EXTRA ENTRIES: Please leave a comment for every extra entry you complete

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Contest ends March 16, 2010 at Midnight PST.  Winner will be chosen by Random.org and emailed.  If they do not respond within 48 hours, another winner will be chosen.

Special thanks to ModKat for providing samples.

I recently came across this post on ohdeedoh and instantly felt inspired. In the picture they drew a tree on a large piece of paper, then using different color greens, created leaves on the tree by dipping their thumbs in the paint. They had the guests of their wedding sign each of the leaves. Such a great idea for a baby shower or even a modern geneology. Maybe you want to have your child add a new leaf every year of their life to see the different size prints they have and date them. The possibilities are endless!

Snug Organics creates adorable gender neutral pajamas made from organic cotton that can easily be passed down from one child to another.  Using the same clothes between siblings is a great way to keep old clothing out of landfills, keeps consumption rates down and it saves you money in the long run. Snug Organic’s pajamas provide a welcome alternative to the many pj’s available with synthetic fabrics coated with flame resistant chemicals. Children’s pajamas that are made with natural fabrics such as cotton do not need to be treated with flame retardant chemicals.  These natural fibers do not melt near heat, the way synthetic fabrics do.  I’ve always known that organic clothing is a better choice since the cotton or bamboo grown to use as the fabrics are not treated with pesticides, but hadn’t considered how synthetic fibers were manufactured covering them in flame resistant chemicals. Honestly, I would see a label that said “Flame resistant” and think “safer.”  Not anymore.

I could tell my little Test Baby loved wearing these pj’s because she walked around the house rubbing her belly with both hands enjoying the super soft fabric on her body, which she never does! I never knew one pair of pajamas could educate me so much and fuel my passion even further towards conservation of our Mother Earth.  The more we buy organic, the more readily available it can become.  Available in sizes 0 -3 months to 4T. Click here to browse Snug Organic’s line of pajamas for your little one or as a great shower gift for someone special. Support Snug Organics on their Blog, Facebook, and  Twitter.

Test Baby, enjoying some cozy time by the fireplace in her Snug Sleeper

Special thank you to Snug Organics for providing samples.

I love fun, creative art, so I’ve been known to browse etsy for hours looking for items that catch my eye. It’s hard to group the variety of prints that catch my eye. I must have dozens of artists saved to my favorites. Well, what if you could have gorgeous prints for free? I know, it’s bonkers! Feed Your Soul was created, well it was created because the economy stinks and they wanted to help everyone have something positive to make them smile. They’ve had a huge response from artists wanting to participate in this project and each month they upload new prints for you to print out yourself for free. Not only do they have the current month’s prints, but all the previous ones as well leaving you with a huge variety to choose from. Click here to browse through all of their prints and get inspired to decorate or re-decorate.

I love to bring natural elements into the house, be it natural woods, stones, plants, water features.  Not only do I like the way it looks, I enjoy the feeling of bringing the outdoors in.  Finding products that are not only functional, but made from sustainable materials is also key.  Growing Up Green is a wonderful company that I just came across that brings parents exactly that.  Their booster seat, potty seat, and step stool are all made from bamboo, a well known sustainable material.

Let’s talk about bamboo for a minute, shall we? Bamboo is super durable and strong, so strong it is actually stronger than oak, the most durable hardwood.  It does not shrink or swell like hardwoods, making it ideal for furniture and even floors.  Bamboo is not a tree, it’s a grass, so the growing seasons are short.  It can grow 2 feet or more a day!  New bamboo shoots spring up from old root systems, which makes the bamboo a renewable resource.  Once you cut down a tree, it’s gone forever and you must replant, taking a great many years to mature.  Growing bamboo is also great for the environment, as it takes in more greenhouse gases and produces more oxygen than your average tree.

Now you must be really convinced that every piece of furniture, every floor, should be made from bamboo.  You now probably understand why the Chinese have used it for EVERYTHING from paper to bridges for centuries.  Growing Up Green has taken this knowledge and made magnificent products.  The stool is the perfect height for my potty- trained 3 year old, the potty seat is a perfect fit and easily removed, and the booster seat is the perfect height for my daughter to sit at the dining table.  We have our beautiful model, Erin’s daughter, showing off the stool/potty.  Not having characters on the toilet seat is nice enough, but this seat fits snugly into the seat and has rubber stoppers to keep it in place. They cut a small ridge in the side for you to pick it up easily when needed. This stool has now become a favorite, it too has stoppers on it so that it doesn’t slide around on the floor when my daughter steps up onto it. Brilliant products that are not only functional, but are aesthetically pleasing as well. Here is my daughter blowing on her hot oatmeal this morning in her booster seat…

To purchase your own Growing Up Green products, click here.  Look for a special discounted price for In The Know Moms!  Offer ends March 20th!

The first time I learned about how harmful most popular brands of sunscreen were to coral reefs and ocean life worldwide, was on my honeymoon.  My husband and I traveled well prepared for our tropical getaway with tubes of sunscreen ready to snorkel and swim and enjoy the Caribbean. When we arrived and ventured out on our first day of ocean adventures we found numerous signs regarding our sunscreen.  The signs and tour guides stated that if we wanted to get into the ocean at any point on our trip we must NOT use the sunscreen we came with.  Really?  Seriously?  Apparently the active chemicals in most popular brands of sunscreen are not only harmful to our skin, but are harmful to the environment.   With thousands of people wearing chemical laden sunblock and swimming in nature preserves and fresh water underground rivers, it’s like allowing major chemical run offs into these pristine waters.  Studies have shown that chemicals from sunscreens in particular have had a negative effect on coral reefs worldwide.  So of course, not wanting to burn in the tropical sun we bought the all natural sunscreens our hotel provided in their gift shop and boy was it expensive!  I wasn’t even sure if I would be able to find sunscreen like this once we got back home.

Seven years later I am happy to say that I have found something better.  Smart Girls Who Surf is paving the way for all natural sunscreen.  With a husband who is passionate about surfing, and two little girls who are passionate about the beach, we are out on the shores of southern California almost every week.  Needless to say – we need a lot of sunscreen!  Using all natural, chemical free skin care on my daughters has always been top priority for me, but I was never able to find a paraben and chemical free sunblock that didn’t break the bank.  Smart Girls Who Surf offers everything a girl who loves the sand, sun and ocean needs.  Not only are their products earth friendly and skin friendly, they apply just like any other sunscreen and smell divine.  I particularly love their SPF 15 Cherry Lip Balm because it smells just like a maraschino cherry, yum!  Some of the products Smart Girls Who Surf offer:

• After Sun Soothing Lotion
• Care For Hair Sun Protector SPF 7+
• Fan Sea Face SPF 20 Sunscreen Tinted Moisturizer
• Glycerine Soap For Surfers
• Organic SPF 32 Sunscreen Face Stick
• SPF 15 Sunscreen Lip Balm
• SPF 30 Chemical Free Sunblock

Their new earth friendly bags are completely biodegradable and reusable.  Smart Girls Who Surf products are proudly made in the USA and they also support various non-profit organizations such as: Boarding for Breast Cancer, Surfrider Foundation and Girls, Inc.  Check out Surf Vival, the men and boy’s line of natural sun care and stay tuned for Smart Kids Who Surf!  Please remember that sunscreen is not only for sunny, hot days, beach towns and the summer season.  Protect your skin and your families skin no matter where you live- year round!

GIVEAWAY: For your chance to win a Sun Savvy Kit and logo sun visor, leave a comment below telling us which product you would love to try. To see their full product line, go here. One Winner will be chosen.

EXTRA ENTRIES: Please leave a comment for every extra entry you complete

1. Blog about this Giveaway
2. Subscribe to our Site (right sidebar)
3. Join us on Google Friend Connect (right sidebar)
4. Follow us on Twitter
5. Tweet this Giveaway
6. Join our Facebook Fan group
7. Link this Giveaway in Facebook
8. Post a link to this Giveaway in Cafemom
9. Join our Message Board Forum here
10. Vote for our blog in Top Baby Blogs  (right sidebar)
11. Follow SGWS Blog
12. Follow SGWS on Facebook
13. Follow SGWS on Twitter
14. Follow SGWS on MySpace

Contest ends March 14, 2010 at Midnight PST.  Winner will be chosen by Random.org and emailed.  If they do not respond within 48 hours, another winner will be chosen.

Special thanks to Smart Girls Who Surf for providing samples.

There is something about mid-century modern design that is so clean and fresh. Atomic Mobilesincorporates this design into fun, colorful mobiles for your home, office or nursery. Each mobile is hand-made, so no two are exactly the same. You can either choose color combinations that Debbie, the designer has already chosen or choose your own combinations yourself. She has fifteen different models to choose from that are all available in three different sizes of Med, Large and XLarge.

Each kinetic art sculpture is made from high quality stainless steel wire with matte finish polymer plastic shapes. Please note that these mobiles are for indoor use only. Each mobile includes strong nylon line and simple instructions for hanging. It comes already assembled, just hang it up and enjoy the kinetic movements. What’s great is that these mobiles look amazing in a nursery or just as an added touch of art to the other rooms in your home.

Want to buy a mobile of your own? Head over to Debbie’s site here and browse through the different styles and create your very own hand-made mobile! Her mobiles look amazing any where in your house or office.

Thank you to ImagiPLAY for the wonderful giveaway! To purchase your own ImagiPLAY wooden toys, head on over to their site.  Use the code intergrity10 to save 20% off your order!!

Congratulations to our winners:

• Amber
• Robyn

Winners have been emailed and have 48 hours to respond.

With our new addition, Simon the cat, came challenges for mer.  I need his daily needs to fit in with my house.  There’s little budging on that for me.  Luckily, other people have felt the same way and brought modern design to our pets.

An absolute necessity is feeding, right?  So let’s do it in style.  Trendy Pet offers not only stylish, but functional elevated feeding centers.  To see my cat hunched over eating food out of a bowl on the floor seemed odd.  How uncomfortable it looked.  Trendy Pet has solved the problem with elevated bowls.  You can pick the height you need from kitten to great dane.  The modern and sleek design fits right in with my house and my kitten seems to be appreciative for the new feeding ease.  Instead of eating off the floor level, he’s comfortably eating at face level. I also find the bowls to be a bit deeper than others I’ve seen.  The individual bowls on the floor can make for quite the mess as they are shallow and pets tend to be sloppy eaters.  The deeper bowls solve this problem.  To chose your own dog bowls, measure from the ground to the top of your dog’s shoulder, this is called the wither height. Then subtract 6 inches. This is the correct feeder height for your dog.  And for your cat, well, they come in different styles but only in two heights, 4″ and 6″.  To purchase yours click here. Use the coupon code trendy5off for 5% off your order.

Simon loves his feeder and he looks much happier during lunch.  I love it because it modern, sleek design fits right in with my house.  Happy cat, happy owners!

Unless you’ve been living under a rock recently, you’re aware of the mass devastation that is hitting all across the world.  Our earth seems to be fighting back with fierce earthquakes and tsunamis, killing hundreds and washing away or tearing down cities.  The unpredictable weather is a very real threat that you can not avoid planning for.  For the sake of your family, have emergency equipment in an easily accessible place.  We talked before about have an emergency kit (mine I call my “earthquake box”) when we reviewed Shelf Reliance foods.  Check out our review here.

I have now found another must have item for my earthquake box.  Hometown Seeds sells an Emergency Survival Seed package.  Inside the package is 16 easy to grow non-hybrids, enough to plant more than 3/4 acre.  These particular varieties were chosen for their adaptability to most regions.  Stored in a cool area (better yet, sealed and frozen) the seeds will last for over 5 years.  What foods will you be able to grow?  Check out the list of the varieties here.  Not gardening savvy?  Don’t worry.  The kit comes with  very thorough instructions for every vegetable you can grow.  So if something long term should occur, you’re all set with your survival seeds! So make sure you are stocked up with Shelf Reliance foods, canned or jarred foods, lots of water, and just in case, Survival Seeds.  To purchase your own pack at 20% off, click here.  Only $39.99 for peace of mind.

What will you serve up?

Thank you to Hometown Seeds for providing samples.