It's Our Birthday!

 We turn one tomorrow! A year filled with wonderment, excitement, and lots of amazing discoveries!
 We trusted that we would be surrounded by kindred spirits and we have been so gratified by what we have stumbled upon! We have discovered there are even more people than we knew who are dedicated to bettering the lives of children. And we have found new ways to create richer childhoods.
Thank you all for sharing this year with us and so look forward to sharing so many more with you.
 In honor of our birthday, we are going to throw ourselves a little virtual party.
Here are some of our favorite party supplies out there.

We would set the table with these placemats!

Our taste test concluded that we would order our cupcakes from Susie Cakes.

These would be our party favors! We love our drinks with straws!

We'd probably want to wear a party hat

Or crown

And of course balloons, lots and lots of balloons!
 Stay tuned...
On Monday we will start to unveil new plans.. .

Bambootiful!

Our obsession with Bamboo continues as we profess our love for Grove's Bamboo iphone cover.  It's an oxymoron to say "ecofriendly iphone cover" but that's what it is.  In the age of technology at least we can do our part to be a bit more green.  These are going on the Holiday Gift list for sure.  If you are lucky enough to be a Mom or know one you'd love to spoil then these are a perfect Mother's Day gift.  Plus, they are customizable so you can get an iphone cover with your own artwork!  Check them out here. . .

photo via grove

Hut Hut Kids

We found this through Inhabitots- and just fell in love. Kalon Design studio is the brainchild of husband and wife team Johannes Pauwen and Michaele Simmering.   Inspired in Berlin and realized in Los Angeles, Kalon is winning favor for their gorgeous design and sustainability mantra. 
This beautiful rocking horse from their collection Hut Hut for Kids 
is created with renewable wood or bamboo and finished in oil that is so green it's food grade! They source as locally as possible and have created a system of manufacturing which would be the envy of anyone over at Treehugger!

This is everything one could ask for. Sustainability and innovative design that intrigues children and we love to look at!
 When the kiddo is done rocking- you get  a great piece of art sitting in your living room.

Kicky Pants

Our love for Bamboo is growing!  Bamboo is better for the earth than organic cotton.  It grows freely in the wild without the need for pesticides and fertilizer.  Being three times more absorbent than cotton and naturally antifungal and antibacterial makes it the smart choice.  We love it so much we want to start our own line but for now there is Kicky Pants.  Kicky Pants has been the ecofriendly choice for the Hollywood Mom set and now is spreading across the country.  They have all of your Bamboo staples: blankets, onesies, pants, dresses, polos, pj's, even maternity wear for Mom.  If that doesn't have you sold, maybe these cute photos will. . .

Ada Ada

Israeli brand Ada Ada is the brainchild of three sisters. Together they have created a timeless collection of infant and toddler wear that is sophisticated and sweet. Inspired by the specialness of infancy, Ada Ada creates clothes from all natural fibers providing baby with the gentlest of touches.
Available at Sweet William

April Showers

It's been raining and chilly here in Southern Cali, which is pretty rare for us. Now is generally when we have the 70 degrees and sunny weather we are known for. But it's been raining and we are not complaining. But it has made us realize that we need new rain gear.  Or at least a new umbrella and maybe a raincoat... How cool is this  eco-friendly umbrella from Totes...

A huge fan of Hunter Rainboots,  Kamik boots are a close second. When you out grow or over use these boot you  can recycle them at the end of their life. Find us the puddles!

And you just can't be serious about the outdoors and the environment without having a love fest with Patagonia. Always a must when planning gear for any and all outdoor excursions.
But a part from all the do goodery, these are just genius for anyone who knows little tikes or slightly bigger tikes who like to jump and stomp in very large puddles! We're not sure if this is what they were made for but they are waterproof and lightweight- perfect for these chilly spring rains. And these are in black! No mud stain worries here.

Get this coat for a complete set

Re-purpose and Re-imagine

Made by Joel is a rad blog by uber cool Dad, Joel Henriques.  If you're looking to do your part for the earth, why not reuse common household items and turn them into fascinating playthings? If you need inspiration then his blog is for you.  This month alone he's crafted dolls from vintage fabric, made walnut boats, and a paper city complete with paper dolls.  We applaud his ingenuity and look forward to seeing what he comes up with next.

Here's a sampling. . .

Photos by Joel Henriques

Happy Earth Day!

Hope you are all having a wonderful Earth Day!! A friend of ours turned us on to a fabulous blog - The Improvised Life (this blog is really one of the best we've seen it's fun, inspiring, witty, educational, fantastic!) which turned us on to these great dresses made from recycled materials.
The dress above was made from duct tape and phone books. Who knew raiding your dad's work bench would lead to such a delightful article of clothing?
As for this sensation below- this is the work of Artist  Cristina Liedtke. She made her couture out of M&M Peanut wrappers. Meticulously creating the eye confection took over 100 hours!  She worked with TerraCycle.

This company seems to embody what Earth Day is all about. They take trash and make art, clothes, home and pet supplies and toys. In fact their kites made from Skittles, M&M wrappers, and  can be found at Wal- Marts this summer. Via Green4U

Makes us want to go fly a kite! Have a great day!

Eco-Friendly Baby Clothing

When you go outside to play or are inside eating a fabulous locally produced healthy school lunch, you'll need fabulous planet loving clothes to wear. There are some great companies that are doing their very best to bring all of us great eco-friendly wear without having to sacrifice style.

Some of our favorites are
Birch and Barley just up the coast from us in San Francisco.
Their organic cotton tees are clearly adorable. And are all made sweat shop free right here in the USA. 

British Company Bamboo Baby is really making strides in eco- friendly clothing. These clothes are adorable in their own right! And are just a delightful bonus that they are created with great concern and care for both workers and the environment.  Check out their facebook page- it's always full of great info!

Save our State Parks

Living in California it's difficult to believe we have a Governor whose solution to a budget deficit is to close 80% of our State parks and eliminate central funding for California's parks.  Apparently, some privileged Californians don't realize that not everyone lives in a mansion with a backyard the size of a State park.  However, the non-profit organization, California State Parks Foundation knows the value of accessible nature. They have helped stave off these cuts and now need our help.  If you are a California resident please read about the "California State Parks and Wildlife Conservation Trust Fund Act of 2010" which is asking California vehicle owners to pay an $18 surcharge to help keep are parks alive.  This would allow the owners free day access to the parks for an entire year!  It's a win-win.  If you're someone who doesn't think you would use the park pass; we ask you to "go outside and play".  You just might be surprised at what your State has to offer.  To sign a petition to get this proposal on the November 2010 ballot, to volunteer, or learn more check out California State Parks Foundation's website.  Does your State face a similar struggle?  Please let us know. . .

P.S.-  We have some exciting plans in the works for our parks that will be unveiled in May.  So stay tuned.

Save the World.

(pic via living nature grove)

It's Earth Day on Thursday.  And thankfully there are enough wonderful eco friendly products that we could spend weeks posting on them all. This week we will bring you some of our favorites.
 We know this week will be full of people preaching. 
But during this week, we seem to be even more aware of the way we use the world. More aware of the waste we produce, the choices we make, ways that we can improve on our carbon footprint.  We keep coming back to education and food.
Food is such an important part of childhood. It shares space in our memories for most of our favorite times, birthdays, holidays, seasonal events....The lessons we take from childhood into adulthood about food creates our desire to honor and respect the nutrients we eat or unconsciously consume calories.

Changing the school lunch program in the United States seems vital to the survival of our nation.
Yep, we said it. Here's why.  Take away the fact that 1 in 2 children born after 2000 who are from low socioeconomic status will have Type 2 Diabetes before adulthood and that this is the first generation of children who will live shorter lives than their parents. Or the fact that there are kindergarteners in this country that weigh more than most of us did in junior high.
The way the food is processed is an energy sucking force of Jabba the Hut proportions. Did anyone else see the freezer in last week's Food Revolution. We can't bear to think of how much coal that takes a year to run.

And it seems from the pics on the fabulous Fed Up With Lunch blog that all the food we serve is in disposable containers.

But what seems the greatest tragedy is that we are compartmentialzing our food. Even with a change is the quality of food (which is fantastic and we want want want this!), children are still not being taught where their food comes from or how to cook it. 

Alice Waters, the Mother of the Organic Food Movement and the Slow Food Movement, has seen this need and has been chipping away at our nations stubborn (and horribly misguided) belief that children can only learn reading, writing, and arithmetic, sitting in a desk indoors. Her Edible Schoolyard program works with classroom teachers to integrate the garden into the core curriculum. The children help in the growing, harvesting, and preparing of the food grown.
How much better for our world if we all were ushered into adulthood knowing how to grow, harvest, preserve, and prepare our food?

Favorite TED Talks

Here is a sampling of our favorite TED Talks...






They are both a little over 20 minutes long, so we will stop there. More to come! What are your favorites? Happy Friday!

TED Talks

Living in America means being bombarded by media and often suffering from irrelevant information overload.  This is where TED talks rock our world.  When you're feeling you've lost a few IQ points because of what you just saw on tv or read on the web, take refuge in TED talks.  If you already know of it then we're on the same wavelength.  If you don't, you're about to get a bit smarter.  TED is a non-profit organization whose mission is to spread ideas, "ideas worth spreading", that is.  Their site allows you to watch the world's brightest thinkers present their best ideas. Technology, Education, Entertainment, Global Issues, it's all covered.  If, like us, your idea of a daily reprieve is bit of knowledge and wisdom, TED is your haven.

Victor et Victorine

Lilli Bulle has had us in love with Victor et Victorine's handmade shoes from Argentina for quite some time. 

Now that the range of styles has grown, so has our enthusiasm for these gorgeous shoes.  

Aren't they just the sweetest?

A Day at the Pond

Growing up in an area surrounded by farmland, we were raised with unlimited access to the outdoors.  Maybe that is part of the reason we are so passionate about children spending time in nature.  We understand both cognitively and emotionally how wonderful childhood days spent outside can be.  Little  needs to be considered when outside other than obvious safety rules.  Children follow these rules naturally because when outdoors they sense their need to be aware of their surroundings.  When you get to spend a day outside with children it is glorious!
(When you capture that day using the Hipstamatic app, it's priceless.)

Having spent a charming day by the pond with delightful children, it reminds us how lucky we are to be surrounded by nature in most areas of our lives. The children that we love lead lives filled with time spent climbing trees, hiking trails, searching for frogs and lizards, and generally running amok :). But for a great number of children nature isn't out their backdoor. They need someone to help them find it.
The wonderful Children and Nature Network is dedicated to allowing children access to nature. They have partnered with ecoAmerica to bring parents: Nature Rocks a very user friendly website which gives parents hundreds of ways to connect with nature.
April is Children and Nature awareness month:
As our moms used to say- "Go Outside and Play!"

Fun Times

Summer is on the way... be the hit at all those summer birthday parties with some of the many fantastic things  Imagine Childhood has to offer.  If you are trying to find toys Made in the USA, are wonderfully imaginative, and just pure fun this is the store for you. We love this store and have for some time. We just can't get enough!

Seedlings

If the sun isn't shining where you are don't let that stop you from starting a garden with your tots.  Green toys has a kit complete with recycled pots, tray and trowel; plus seed and soil to get you started.

Or if you still have Spring Fever why not use some of those eggs you didn't have a chance to dye for Easter and do a true do-it-yourself version.  How adorable are these?

Find the instructions on Biothrift.com

be sure to check out the terrariums, too!  Happy planting!