The lovelies over at Modern Bird Studios interviewed me this week. I am honored to have been part of their Weekly Blogger Interview (read it here). Their art is “awesomesauce”, so after you read my interview do a little shopping. And look for more on those fine folks in my upcoming Home Fashion Guide.

I have a confession:  I have a “thing” for stationery.   It’s borderline an obsession.  It isn’t very “green” of me, I know.  But there is just something special about sending out a pretty baby shower invitation, announcement, holiday card, or birthday party invitation.

I think I found a way to make up for the guilt:  Paper Culture – eco-friendly and made from 100% recycled material.  Oh, does it get better than this?  As a matter of fact, it does!  You should SEE this paper!  Thick, heavy, beautiful – feels like it costs a fortune (only it doesn’t).

And … get this … they will address and print a message for you!  For FREE!

FROM THE COMPANY:

Who are we? Well…

We’re designers who appreciate a clean, fresh, modern aesthetic.

We’re busy and love services that make our lives easier.

We’re parents who care about the environment and the future state of the planet for our children.

We’re obsessed with modern stationery.

And… we aren’t willing to give up one thing for another.

We’re the team at Paper Culture. Who we are says a lot about how we think about our business and what’s important to us:

Our holiday collection is here!: Christmas cards, holiday invitations,Hanukkah cards and many types of holiday photo cards

We’ve launched new categories: baptism & christening invitations, Bar Mitzvah & Bat Mitzvah invitations, holy communion invitations, bridal shower invitations, thank you cards and note cards / personal stationery.

We’ve added new designs to old categories: baby announcements,birthday invitations (with a lot of new photo birthday cards) and moving announcements“

FROM THE HH:

	This adorable kitty is even cuter in person, if you can believe that! It is a perfect postcard size and the colors are beautiful! This is perfect for a kid’s party, or plain as a thank-you note!
	I wish I had a whole set of these – matter of fact, I think I will order some! What a great notecard for sending to the teacher or another mom. This comes in green too. And there is a pear set too!
	A simple, yet sophisticated, invitation for grown-ups. Great for a wine tasting or birthday party. This comes in several color choices.

SPECIAL FOR YOU:

Now through Jan. 16, 2010 you’ll get $15 off and free shipping on orders over $100 (code – JOY)

Now through Jan. 16, 2010 you’ll get free priority shipping on orders over $75 (click image on left)

My first giveaway y’all!

When the folks over at eebee’s Adventures asked me to review Mix & Mash, their newest addition to the eebee family, I was excited!  The baby loves to watch me cook!  And, I’ll admit – I was even more excited that I got to host my very first giveaway!

FROM THE COMPANY:

• The first-ever cooking with your baby book
• Inspired by the playful idea that if you can mash it, smash it, oosh it, goosh it, shake it, coat it or stir it, your baby can participate in the process of preparing meals
• More than a collection of mealtime ideas
• 6 nutritious, simple, hands-on recipes
• Written in playful rhyme
• Tasty, tactile, and interactive “cooking” activities and discoveries with real food
• Deliciously color-coded
• Oversize baby board book
• INCLUDES: “how-to” DVD co-produced with Parents TV!

FROM THE HH:

So, I opened up the package with baby on hip.  She grabbed it from me right away!  She squealed with delight at the babies in the photos, and of course at eebee.  I confiscated the book from her and took the DVD to the computer to begin.

The DVD is a nice touch.  It gives some great ideas of things to bring up in the discussion with baby while cooking – I probably wouldn’t have thought of all those things to talk about.  Amazing how much we take for granted the knowledge of shapes, colors, textures.

We got to cooking.  We did all the recipes.  Baby loved helping out with the mixing and mashing – appropriate right?  It was actually a lot of fun!  The book is well photographed and the recipes are unique.  Our little one is 11 months old and an “I do it” girl.  So, that in mind, the helping out part was great fun for all of us!  The eating of the blueb-eebee soup … well, let’s just say I was cleaning that up for a loooong time.  Otherwise, the recipes are cool and different than usual “plain” food.  I can see us using this cookbook for a while!  It will be even more fun for us when she is old enough to help even more and feed herself.

So now, one of you luckies can win your very own eebee’s Adventures Mix & Mash cookbook and DVD kit!

Giveaway is open to US residents only and ends December 14, 2009 at 10:00 pm (EST).  Winner will be chosen by random.org.  Winner will have 48 hours to respond before another winner is chosen.  Good luck!

MANDATORY ENTRY:

Tell me who you would use Mix & Mash with.  Then, go to eebee’s Adventures and tell me what other eebee products sound like fun to you.  (Be sure to enter your email address where requested.)

ADDITIONAL ENTRIES (leave a comment for each):

• Follow me on Google FriendConnect.
• Subscribe to the Hurried Homemaker blog via email or reader.
• Click on the “Top Mommy Blog” icon on the right sidebar to vote for HH.
• Grab our button (right sidebar) for your blog/site – 3 extra entries
• Blog about this giveaway.  (Be sure to include links to HH & eebee.) – 3 extra entries
• Follow @hurriedhomemakr and @eebeebaby on Twitter and tweet about this contest.  I entered to win a a cookbook for baby and me from @eebeebaby at @hurriedhomemakr (http://bit.ly/5JDLJQ) #giveaway. (Feel free to use your own if you prefer.) – Tweet once per day, must have over 50 followers.

Hurried Homemaker was not compensated for this review.  We did receive this product for free from the company, which had no effect on our review or opinion of this product.

Click here to see the entire Blog Hop List….

In honor of Friday the 13th, I am listing 13 cool finds for $13! They’re all linked, so shop away!

Before she was even born, I knew that my baby would love a sling.  I got a few different ones either by gift or purchased myself.  One of my favorites is this Ring Sling by lilpeeperkeepers. I have this sling in periwinkle and I get so many compliments on it!

From the shop:

RING SLINGS: A ring sling is an adjustable baby carriers designed to carry your baby from infant to 35 pounds. This type sling is interchangeable between adults (fits almost anyone.)
Li’l Peeper Keepers offers a variety of ring slings. We have begun to focus more and more on the natural fibers of linen, tencel, and silk. I love to use a contrasting thread in a decorative stitch to add interest to the sling while not diminishing the sling’s versatility.

I was a little wary of purchasing a handmade ring sling, sight unseen.  Especially for only $45!  But I took the risk and am so glad I did!  The sling arrived pressed, beautifully constructed, and with an instructional DVD.  The fabric itself was a beautiful linen.  She (Rebecca) did a beautiful job of stitching – from a construction standpoint as well as decoratively.

So, I popped in the DVD and followed directions.  Turns out there are a lot more ways to use that sling than I had originally thought.  The baby seemed comfortable in every position.  At first I was worried that I had to support her with my arm/hand and the sling.  I reluctantly let go … but kept my hand ever so close (just in case).  No need!  She was just hanging there in her new little sling, happy as can be, and [most importantly] fully supported by the fabric and ring.

Being able to use it in multiple positions means it grows with the babe.  And, it acts as a perfect nestling spot for nursing with the tail as the cover.  I have only 2 complaints about this sling:  (1) it has to be ironed frequently – linen, (2) I don’t have it in more colors!

The sling (pictured above) and other styles can be purchased from lilpeeperkeeps on Etsy.

If you know of any other babywearing tools I should try, please let me know!  I love having different types of slings and carriers.

Hurried Homemaker was in no way compensated for this review.  This is simply my honest opinion of this company/product.