Back when I lived in Chicago, my girlfriend Michelle and I would regularly plan days where we’d schedule pedicures, order up bloody mary’s and then head down to Lincoln Park to do some boutique shopping. I remember the day we discovered Lush. We walked in the door and immediately fell in love with their handmade products.  We spent more time than they probably wanted smelling and testing the different products out.  

Fall is my favorite season and I love changing out my summer products for more earthy scented ones that are slightly more nourishing for my skin. I thought I’d share a few of my favorite products from Lush with you that compliment my favorite time of year.

Not only does LUSH’s Figs and Leaves Soap scream ”FALL” from it’s appearance, but it both smells and feels like it as well. One edge of the soap is covered in fallen leaves and the earthy colored soap is packed with aloe vera and fig seeds for gentle exfoliation.  The smell is extremely calming to me and I love the way my skin smells after my shower. I guarantee that once you try this soap, you’ll always have an extra bar hidden in your bathroom at all times.

All of LUSH’s thick body creams come in black pots, lighter ones are packaged in bottles. Each item they create comes labeled with a sticker showing the friendly face of the actual person who packaged that item along with a “best when used before” date. I don’t know why, but I just mentally feel at ease seeing that. Everyone knows that products go bad after a while, but how long is that?? LUSH actually tells you when it was made and bottled and when to use it by. For our Vegan readers, you can easily see the Vegan products when browsing through the different categories on their site and you’ll be happy to see that almost all their products are Vegan.

Their Vanilla Delite Body Lotion is light but still penetrates into your skin leaving it fragrant and soft. It’s made with light oils and butters – including Hawaiian tamanu and monoi – organic coconut water. For a girl who typically remains faithful to her thick butter lotions, I have to admit, I’ve been using this lotion every day.

Another absolute favorite addition to the Fall Must Have body products list is Lush’s Creamed Almond And Coconut Smoothie. Don’t be fooled by the name, it smells like jasmine and ylang ylang, vanilla and labdanum versus it’s scent. It’s named after the moisturizing body oils contained inside. It’s packaged in the most adorable twist off container similar to that of ice cream. I have to say this was me going outside of my box a little. I’m used to either soap or shower gels. You literally scoop out the smoothie soap out of the container and lather it on. It’s such a refreshing and fun addition to my shower routine and I’m completely sold on the smoothie concept now!

Last, but definitely not least is Lush’s Smitten hand cream. Packaged in the same adorable twist off container as their Smoothies, Smitten is an almond scented deep moisturizing hand cream. It’s thick and creamy without being greasy. I love to use this after I’ve finished getting ready so I can enjoy sniffing it on my hands and then again before I go to bed. I love using a thick moisturizer on my hands and feet before I go to bed. You always wake up with the softest skin! Once you try this delicious cream, you’ll be absolutely Smitten! The name says it all.

I have to admit I wasn’t a fan of “baby wearing” when my daughter was young.  I really dislike that term “baby wearing”.  Anyways, the reason why I didn’t like to wear my daughter is because it KILLED my back.  I’m not built like a linebacker so I can’t have a baby hanging from my shoulders.  Being a new mom with little to zero friends with babies, I didn’t know about all the options available.  I thought there was BabyBjorn front carrier and that’s it.  As my daughter grew, so did my knowledge of baby carriers.  I realized there was a veritable cornucopia of baby carriers, slings, and wraps.   Once I found a couple slings that were top quality, I was sold.  The sling style carrier makes much more sense to me, distributing your baby’s weight from shoulder to hip.  Women naturally carry their babies on their hip.

I had the pleasure of testing out the Roundhouse Baby Carrier this week.  Since the weight limit is a whopping 35 lbs, I threw my 2 year old in there.  Once I configured her in the hip carrying position, it was like she didn’t even exist.  I could have walked around all day with her in that carrier.  The best part is that she LOVED being in there and being a “baby” again. The padded shoulder area is very comfortable and totally adjustable.

The carrier is very spacious and adaptable, allowing for 6 different positions: cradle carry, upright cradle carry, facing in (belly to belly), kangagoo carry, side carry, and hip carry.  Roundhouse Baby Carrier has brought two worlds together: the comfort and ease of use of a sling, with the adjustability and security of a front carrier.  With the carrier being so spacious, it can double as a nursing shield.

My experience with the carrier:

Swallowing a vitamin or other nutrients in pill or liquid form require the product to undergo quite a journey before they are fully digested into your body. Most of the time, the process is so taxing that our bodies eliminate some of the nutrients before we absorb them. Sprayology has created a revolutionary product where vitamins are sprayed into the mouth, under the tongue. When sprayed under the tongue, they are absorbed right into the bloodstream, eliminating the standard metabolic process. All of the formulas made by Sprayology are designed in FDA approved laboratories by expert medical doctors and homeopaths. They currently have 20 homeopathic FDA regulated sprays and four vitamin sprays.

I asked my mom to try out the B-12 + Folic Acid spray, the Energy Vitamin. Clearly I didn’t realize what I was giving away because I’m constantly battling to keep my eyes open at any given moment. I wanted to give this spray the test of a lifetime with my 60 year old mother. I showed her how it worked (she swore it tasted like apples) and she took it home with her. A few short hours later she was deep cleaning the house and standing on a chair scrubbing her two chandeliers!!! She called me up ecstatic over the vitamin. She said a couple of days ago, she realized later in the day that she was seriously missing some of her gusto. She put two and two together and realized that she had forgotten to use her B-12 + Folic Acid spray. She grabbed the spray and within minutes, she was feeling peppy again. Not only does this vitamin give you energy, but it metabolizes fats and carbohydrates while helping maintain healthy nerve tissue and protecting you from anemia and heart disease. My mom was so impressed with her Sprayology vitamin, she’s already ordered four additional formulas!!

I’m one of those pathetic saps that when I come into contact with something I’m allergic to, I’m instantly plagued with a runny nose, itchy eyes and the awful 30 sneezes in 4 second intervals. We recently flip flopped our daughter’s room with our guest room and had to take apart the guest bed. I swear, I never saw an ounce of dust, but my nose obviously did. I went into a major allergy attack. YEAY, (not very often someone is excited for an allergy attack) I get to try out the AllergEase spray. I kid you not, moments after using it, I was instantly relieved. I love that it’s gentle enough for even children over the age of two to use.

Sarah: I have been diagnosed with GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder) and suffer from constant anxiety.  There are lots of natural steps to take I’ve found: staying very hydrated, physical exercise, fresh and healthy foods, breathing techniques.  But sometimes that just isn’t enough.  I was sent and have been using the Stress Relief spray on my very anxious days (2 sprays 3 times a day) and I am a believer.  The Stress Relief can even be used in a lower dosage for kids 2-12.  It’s sad, but a reality today is that a lot of kids are stressed out from their demanding responsibilities and challenges. Stress Relief combines homeopathic ingredients to temporarily relieve feelings of stress, nervousness, mood swings and irritability. This fast-acting restorative treatment contains 8 natural ingredients such as passiflora (passion flower) to calm nerves; avena (oats) to ease nervousness; cinchona (cinchona plant) to reduce mood swings; and valeriana (valerian root) to treat irritability.

I also have been a guinea pig for the Party Relief and I must say I’m impressed!  Prior to drinking, I spray a couple sprays under my tongue.  After a couple cocktails, I spray a couple sprays under my tounge and I’m good to go to bed.  (I also recommend only drinking high quality liquor, lots of water, and the Daily Multi vitamin spray.)  Party Relief combines 12 natural Ingredients to relieve the symptoms of alcohol-related discomfort including headache and dehydration, upset stomach, nausea, sluggish feeling and liver toxicity. Some ingredients include; carbo animalis (activated charcoal) for headache; teraxacum officinale (dandelion plant) for upset stomach and nausea. Carduus marianus (st.mary’s thistle) for abuse of alcoholic beverages, especially beer and also helps to protect the liver. Capsicum annum (red or chilly pepper) for the sluggish and feeble digestion. Avena Sativa (oats) for the sluggish and sexual incapacity from excessive alcohol intake

Sprayology is offering a 15% discount for our ITKM readers. After you’ve decided on your favorite vitamin and homeopathic sprays, call 800-377-5787 and mention discount code SPRAY15.

Bholu (boah-loooo) is a company that I just stumbled upon while looking for artisan supportive companies.  Bholu is based in Australia but gets their products from artisans in India.  Designer Jodie Fried is the mastermind behind these gorgeous designs.  The designs are brought to life by the hands of talented artisans in India.  These artisans are a result of generations before them passing down their traditional craft and skills.  Each piece is handcrafted and supports communities that otherwise wouldn’t have this income.  Bholu is a Fair Trade and Climate Neutral Company and part of their proceeds go back to the women and their communities, along with funding educational facilities and other programs for underprivileged kids.  This socially responsible company also happens to have incredibly creative designs.  I just love the authentic look, not to mention the handmade quality, of these products.  To purchase, go here.

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I know I need adult time away from my daughter and everything that goes along with motherhood.  It can be so hard to actually pull this off successfully.  Whether it’s drinks with girlfriends, a hot date with the husband, or just a solo trip out to clear your mind, we all struggle with leaving our offspring behind.  A mom’s mind can be consumed with all the things that could go wrong.  It’s not only emergency room visits, but awry meals, wrong bedtime stories, and lost binkies that can be terrible, terrible catastrophes.  What if you could put your (and your babysitter’s) mind at ease?  Wouldn’t that just be lovely?  No calls and texts interrupting your dinner asking you to decode what your toddler is screaming for.

None of us have the time to brief our sitters on all the necessities.  So here is a solution.  The Babysitter Journal has tabs to cover it all: favorite activities, food ideas, sleep routine, your personal tips, and important phone numbers.  There is also a note pad for you to write specifics for each and every time.  So do everyone a favor (your sitter will love you) and personalize a sitter book today!  Loralin Design has created the best one I have seen yet.

Loralin Design is offering In The Know Mom readers a 20% discount when entering intheknow at checkout.  So head over and get this Must Have!  Click here.

So the time is rapidly approaching.  I am not sure if I am excited or am dreading this event: preschool.  What was once my baby, is now on the cusp of turning three.  So what is the absolute necessity for preschool, or any school? A backpack of course.  But which backpack to choose?  After scouring the internet thoroughly, the answer has come back time and time again, Dante Beatrix.  Dante Beatrix offers top quality backpacks with modern yet simple designs.  Run by three amazingly talented people, this company will not disappoint even the harshest of critics.  Durable and seemingly indestructible, the Little Kid backpack will surely last the 2-5 year range.  And when your child outgrows the Little Kid, they are promoted to the Big Kid backpack.  Constructed with nylon and laminated canvas, these backpacks are super easy to clean.  They also are very roomy for a toddler’s backpack and have comfy padded straps.

Dante Beatrix is offering up one Senor Gomez Little Kid Backpack to one lucky winner.  To enter, leave a comment below.  For extra chances to win, post this giveaway on your Twitter, Facebook, or Blog.  For another chance, Digg this post by coming to the main page here and clicking on the “digg” icon.  Post a separate comment for each promotion you do with a link! Contest ends Friday September 25th at midnight PST!

The giveaway prize: Senor Gomez

Congratulations Meg and thank you JJ Cole for the great giveaway for our In The Know Moms!!!!

Stefanie Wilder-Taylor, an LA comedian and television writer and producer hysterically talks about her first experiences with motherhood in her book, Sippy Cups Are Not For Chardonnay. Crass, but reassuring, she totally succeeds with helping ease some common fears of any new mom. She writes the book in short empathetic essays, with no censors on her take of parenting. She covers everything from Mommy & Me classes with comments like “Your baby doesn’t need to be making friends at three months old — you do! But not with people you’ll meet at Mommy & Me” to attachment parenting “If you’re holding your baby 24/7, that’s not a baby, that’s a tumor”. Personally, I loved her comment on breastfeeding “it hurts like a rhesus monkey biting your nipples”. Stefanie brilliantly combines a few practical tips with hysterical humor and much needed honesty.

Our loyal readers will remember that we previously mentioned Kids Konserve in an earlier post.  Kids Konserve offers a line of eco-friendly lunch kits for kids, including a recycled cotton sack, cloth napkin, stainless steel beverage and food containers, and food kozy.  Here’s an easy step you and your kids can take to lessen the garbage going in the landfill.  And with “being green” so trendy, your kids will love the idea. I tested out the kozy for myself and loved the product.  It’s great for a kid’s sandwich and is now in the regular rotation of my daughter’s to-go lunches.

There’s a fine line between convenience for younger children, and them not wanting to be treated (or seen by their friends) as a little kid. Kids Konserve’s stainless steel water bottle truly bridges the gap in this area.  I was at first weary of the screw off top to the water bottle.  This is probably great for older kids but my 2 year old?  Not so much.  She is typically great with drinking out of regular water bottles, but it’s not my preferred drinking container for her.  I like her to have a spout of some sort.  Well Kids Konserve already thought of this.  They sell a separate drinking lid with spout (only $2 for 2) for just such a need.  To purchase go here.

Raise money for your school and help save our earth by participating in the Waste Free Lunch Challenge.  10% of sales will be given to your school, or to a student buying a waste free lunch kit.  Learn more here.

Kids Konserve is offering In The Know Moms a discount of 15% when entering INTHEKNOW at checkout.  This coupon is only valid until September 30th so hurry on over here.

Follow them on Twitter HERE.

Lavender was always around our house growing up. Not only is it my mother’s favorite scent, but she taught us about it’s truly balancing properties. When feeling tired and lacking energy, lavender is an energizer. When stress levels are high, it calms you. It truly helps to balance your entire being. This is why lavender is considered the most important aroma in aromatherapy.

Walk into most spas and you’re almost guaranteed to see products from Sonoma Lavender. They are known for their premium quality lavender products and are family owned and operated (I love that!). During the seventh month of my pregnancy with my daughter, I was almost completely bedridden for a few weeks due to major hip pains. My husband had to travel for work and came home with a present, a Sonoma Lavender neck pillow. This neck pillow became a fifth appendage to me. We even took it to the hospital when I went into labor and my husband would go heat it up for me every few hours. Once we bought our daughter home, somehow “my” neck pillow turned into “our” neck pillow. It would remain on the top of the glider and became part of the ritual for regular feedings. Heat the bottle, warm the neck pillow, feed the baby, wrap the pillow around your neck. Somehow it just helped us during the hardest hours to relax even just slightly. 

Fast forward two and a half years and my husband has completely taken ownership of the pillow and heats it every single night as he’s crawling into bed to watch some tv. Even my daughter knows about the pillow and when she’s not feeling well, she’ll grab the warm pillow and wrap it around her belly. I was so excited to see that Sonoma Lavender has expanded their products to also include stuffed animals with lavender and flax seeds that can be warmed in the microwave! This way my daughter can have her own animal heated up either on cold nights or when she just wants a warm hug.

My daughter napping with her Lavender Bear “He’s so soft mommy”

Sonoma Lavender doesn’t limit themselves to only lavender products these days, they have additional aromatherapy lines for you to enjoy.

Sonoma Eucalyptus and Lavender (to revive)

Sonoma Chocolate (feel happy)

Sonoma Spice – Cinnamon, Cloves, Lemon & Rosemary

With flu season right around the corner, get yourself a relaxing neck pillow and your little one a calming stuffed animal to cuddle with.

Hi there.  I’m Neil.  I’ll be your bartender this evening.  What’s it gonna be?

Yes, it is Thursday again and time for another Daddy’s Drink Corner cocktail. We’ve all had a busy week so settle in with our drink of the week, the Moscow Mule.  The Moscow Mule was invented in the mid 20th century by a barman at the Cock ‘n’ Bull in Hollywood.  This legendary former bar on Sunset Blvd quickly became known for this drink with a kick.  The proprietor of the Cock ‘n’ Bull ordered too many cases of ginger beer, not actually a beer, but a carbonated soft drink.  Vodka was the new “it” clear liquor at the time, being called the “white whiskey”.  Trying to figure out a way to use all the extra stock, he mixed it with vodka and inadvertently created a classic.  The drink gets it’s name from the vodka (associated with Russia, hence Moscow) and the ginger beer (has a kick, hence mule).  The drink quickly became the new drink craze, especially in Los Angeles.

Moscow Mule

• 2 measures Vodka
• 1 measure lime juice
• cracked ice
• ginger beer
• lime slice

Shake the vodka and lime juice vigorously over ice cubes until well frosted.  Half-fill a chilled highball glass with cracked ice and strain the cocktail over it.  Fill with the ginger beer and garnish with a slice of lime.  Enjoy and have a relaxed weekend.

My daughter was a huge pacifier lover for the first two years of her life. Being a working mom, I had to bring her every day to either my mom’s house or daycare while my husband and I brought home the bacon. It was a constant struggle with the pacifiers. They were always getting lost in the bag and crammed into some super gross nook in the corner of the bag. I found JJ Cole’s pacifier pod on a desperate run to the store looking for a solution and just like that, my pacifier issue instantly vanished. I would hook the pod onto the strap, or even just chuck it in the bag and it was always easy to find the pacifiers.

I’m not sure why I never thought to look sooner, but I struggled with my daughter’s diapers becoming all crunched up in her diaper bag for the first two years of her life. Every time we’d run out of the house, I’d toss a few more into the bag and they’d always end up a mangled mess. I decided I was tired of the mess in the bag and did some searching. I then realized that JJ Cole makes an entire set of Travel Pods! Not only do they have a pod for your pacifiers and bottle, but they have a pod large enough to fit both diapers and a wipes case. I have to say it truly has restored order back to my diaper bag.

JJ Cole is generously offering a GIVEAWAY for one lucky ITKM reader!! We have one of their Diaper & Wipes Pod cases in the best selling cocoa tree pattern up for grabs.  The Pod is covered in laminated canvas, which is super easy to clean and the cute matching changing pad in the picture below comes with it!! To win the Pod, head on over to JJ Cole’s site here and tell us any other item from their collections you love! Want additional chances to win?? Digg, Tweet, Blog or Facebook link this giveaway. Remember to make a separate comment for each additional entry. You have FIVE different chances to win, so if you do all five, make sure you post five separate comments! Enter before Midnight PDT on Saturday, September 19. A winner will be selected Sunday morning! GOOD LUCK!

Follow JJ Cole on Twitter here and become a fan on Facebook here.