The Ecocentric Mom Box is the Perfect Treat for Summer

ecocentric mom box, subscription service
The spring Ecocentric Mom Box was full of wonderful goodies that are perfect for spring and summer! If you are considering joining a subscription box service full of eco-friendly goodies, Ecocentric Mom is for you! A subscription would make a wonderful Mother’s Day gift too.

Here’s a peek inside the March/April Box:

  1. Bach Original Flower Remedies
    I really enjoyed these remedies, I received Elm and keep it on my desk. I pick it up when I am feeling overwhelmed and it really helps be to recenter!
    + $19.98 per 20ml bottle
  2. Eco-Friendly Organic Acai Seed Bead Hair Barrette
    This hair barrette is super cute and would be perfect for a little girl. All of the jewelry is eco-friendly and sustainable too!
    + $5
  3. 2 Degrees Food Bar
    For every 2 Degrees bar you buy, they donate a meal to a hungry child! These bars are also gluten-free, vegan, all natural and GMO free.
    + $1.99
  4. Treefort Naturals Comfrey Salve
    I am a huge fan of salves and keep one in my handbag at all time. They are perfect for burns and scraps – so with a kiddo, it is a must.+ $8
  5. Organic Caffeine Free Roman Provence Rooibos Tea
    I love tea, and this fruity berry flavored tea is one of my favorites!
    + $6.99-8.99/2 oz. bag, brews 20-25 cups
  6. Powernap 2-CD Set
    Yay! Who doens’t love a power nap! This CD features ambiant music which envelops you – I look forward to giving this one a try!
    + $9.99
  7. Oatmeal Grapefruit Face Wash Powder by Homespum Northwest
    This facewash has to be the yummiest smelling one out there – and super gentle on my skin too!
    + $3.50/2 oz
  8. Bluapple – Prolongs Produce Freshness
    Just place this super cute blue apple in with your produce and you will prolong its freshness.
    + $9.99/2 pack
  9. House Blend Organics Coconut Body Wash
    I love coconut and this body wash worked really well on my dry skin – it’s super hydrating.
    + $14.95
  10. MarieNatie All Natural Lip Gloss
    Free from harsh chemicals, this natural lip gloss packs a lot of color!
    + $5
  11. Sport Suds Laundry Detergent
    This laundry detergent removes funky smells from clothes and sporting gear – perfect if you have an active teenager!
    + $20.95/400g Jar/34 loads

Green DIY: Mini Succulent Wine Cork Planters

diy mini succulent wine cork planters

I wanted to celebrate Earth Day this year with a simple project (it’s a Tuesday, and school nights are super busy over here) that we could enjoy in our home year-round. Eben and I went to work transforming a handful of leftover wine corks into a trio of super sweet mini succulent planters. They are now hanging on our fridge and bring a little bit of the outdoors and happiness whenever we see them. Jump over to Target for the step-by-step tutorial, and get started – I guarantee you can finish this project up before dinnertime!

Stubby Pencil Studio Earth Day Giveaway

Earth Day GiveawayYay! I have a giveaway today that I have been really looking forward to. I know you will love it! It’s sponsored by Stubby Pencil Studio, my go to spot for creative, eco-friendly products for the kids. The prize is a very generous $50 gift certificate!

The reason that I have been looking forward to this giveaway, is two-fold. First, summer is right around the corner, and Stubby Pencil Studio has all of the essentials necessary for a creative summer. Second, this is our first giveaway since the new website launch – hooray!

Stubby-Pencil-Studio-GiveawIf Stubby Pencil Studio is new to you, they are all about fantastic products to keep your children excited about getting creative. They have a large selection of art materials, school supplies, books, craft supplies, and classic games. We are huge fans of the art supplies, Eben especially loves the sketchbooks, colored pencils, and markers – his birthday is coming up next month, and he has already told me, all he wants is more art supplies.

It’s wonderful to work with Stubby Pencil Studio because when your child loves art the way mine does, you want them to only use products that are non-toxic and good for the environment. I know that Eben is safe using their modeling clays or paints for his sculptures and paintings.

I have to admit, I smile every time I walk past his closet art studio and see all of those colorful markers, crayons and pencils in the jars on his desk! It’s his happy place, and all kids need a happy place!

You can create a happy place for your kids with Stubby Pencil Studio too – visit them and enter the giveaway below, the winner will be announced on April 29th!

Extra Fun: Use the discount code SAVEGREENS to save 15% on orders through May 15th, 2014.
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Happy Earth Day + We Have a New Website!

Happy Earth Day!

Hello, Friends! After a long break due to many changes going on over here, including hiring a team to help keep everything running smoothly and a brand new website, I am ready to jump back into blogging. Thank you for your patience, I really appreciate it – I am very excited for this next chapter at Sweet Greens.

Today is Earth Day! Hooray! We worked feverishly to get the new website up and running in time – and here we are. How are you spending Earth Day? Did you do a special activity over the weekend? Since today is a school day, I have planned a couple of fun laid back projects, so watch for the step-by-step instructions! Also, later today, I will be hosting an Earth Day giveaway with one of our favorite partners, Stubby Pencil Studio – it’s a good one, so check back!

YOUR TURN: What are your Earth Day plans? Please share in the comments section!

6 Simple Green Ways to Reconnect with Your Family this Week

Reconnecting with your family is super imporant, especially during those busy weekdays. Between work, school, appointments, extra curricular activities and homework, it may seen like a feat to simply have dinner together as a family. To keep your family bond tight and communication between family members open, it’s important to have fun activities “scheduled” each week to spend time together. I am a huge fan of getting creative when it comes to reconnecting with your family – especially since it doesn’t matter how good your intentions are, you won’t have a lot of time to spend together at the end of a busy day.

That’s why I try to pepper in a handful of fun ways to reconnect with my family, especially Eben (since the mister works late most nights) during the week. Whether I surprise them with a themed movie night, pick Eben up from school for an impromptu lunch date or chat with him during breakfast – it’s that little extra effort that makes the week a little lighter and brighter for everyone.

Read on for all 6 of my favorite ways to reconnect with my family and add a couple of them to your weekly routine.

#1: Movie Night
It doesn’t matter if we have a movie night planned for Saturday night or Sunday afternoon – it is always a fun way to snuggle up with the family. We grab a ton of blankets and pillows and snuggle up on the sectional – however, you can throw a bunch of pillows out on the family room floor too. The mister usually makes homemade pizza and we pop up a ton of popcorn and we are ready to go. Believe me, it’s a fun treat that everyone enjoys and we try to sneak it in a couple of times a month.

#2: Family Book Club

There are so many great books that both children and adults will adore, making a family book club a no-brainer. Sit down with your family and decide on a book or a particular series of books that your book club will be reading. Meet once a week during dinnertime to discuss what happened in the book during that particular week. Spend time discussing what you think will happen next and what parts so far you liked and dislikes. If you have younger children, you and your spouse can read the book of choice to them each night before bedtime.

#3: Get Outside
I still think spending time outside with your family is the best way to reconnect. I like to take walks with Eben and the dogs after dinner. Not only is it great to sneak in a little extra exercise before bedtime – I swear he really opens up to me when we walk. On the weekends we always try to spend most of our time outside, between paddleboarding, hitting the beach, biking and swimming – we get to spend a lot of time together as family doing activities that all of us enjoy.

#4: Dinner and a Game
Some nights the only time that I get to reconnect with Eben (beside while doing homework!) is during dinner time. We have made it a habit to play a card game at some point during dinnertime as a way to reconnect. For whatever reason this helps him relax and he is more opening to talking to me about “teenage things” while we are playing. It is also a great way to get a few giggles in, especially if it has been a particularly difficult or long day. It’s a tradition that we have kept since he was a tiny little guy who could only play “go fish”, and has grown to include several card games over the years. We have a large bowl on our dining room table full of games, so there isn’t a chance we will forget!

#5: Breakfast Club
Several times a week, I shift my schedule around to have breakfast with Eben. It’s a great way to spend a 1/2 hour with him in the morning, chatting about his upcoming school day. It is also a great time to go over homework that will be included in a test that day, items that he needs to finish before the end of the school week, or plans that he wants to make for the weekend. It’s also nice to talk about these things during breakfast because the day is still fresh, he isn’t tired and he still has a positive lookout on what the day may bring (remember, he is almost a teenager!)

#6: Lunch Date
Once in a while, I love to surprise Eben or the mister at school or work for an impromptu lunch date. If I am picking Eben up early for a dental or doctor appointment, I will pick him up a little earlier so we can grab a bite to eat together before the appointment. Or, at the very least we will stop for a scoop of ice cream after the appointment. It’s a nice little way to see my family during the week, surprise dates are my favorite.

YOUR TURN: How do you stay connected with your family all week long?