Rant - Reusable Grocery Bags

Has anyone looked where the reusable grocery bags the grocery stores carry are made??

QFC - CHINA
Central Market (Seattle) - CHINA
PCC (Seattle) - CHINA
Albertsons - CHINA

I have not checked out Whole Foods or Trader Joe's yet and and soon as I do I'll update this list.

I'm not sure about you but when I think of Environmentally Friendly China is one of the last places I think of.

Rant - Save the Elephants!

Africa has allowed their stockpile of Elephant Ivory to be sold to the highest bidder. And they have allowed China to be one of these importers. China is already the largest buyer of ILLEGAL ivory and other endangered animals. Not to mention their human right violations and possible organ harvesting from religious prisoners amongst their own people.

The fact that CITES has allowed the sale of this ivory is unbelievable. This stock pile should have been destroyed years ago. Will you sign this petition against this move?
You can read more about it here and here


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The decision to sanction the sale of ivory to China is not only ill informed and irresponsible, it has potentially signed the death warrant for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of wild elephants in Africa

Elephants cannot speak for themselves and it is the responsibility of compassionate, caring and informed men and women to give a voice to elephants. We are therefore asking our supporters to sign a petition against the sanctioning of China as a legal buyer of ivory.

Sign Petition

We have already added our name to this petition and hope you will do the same. We would also urge you to copy and paste the statement below into an email to your friends and colleagues, so that they too can choose to sign this petition and speak out for elephants.

The author of this petition will present it to Gordon Brown, as well as representatives of the CITES standing committee.

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I'm also asking that you watch what you buy. If it is made in China put it back on the shelf, do you really need more cheap plastic crap in your house? By American, or for my Canadian friends and family, By Canadian. Same goes for my English friends. Buy and support your local merchants who are trying to make a living selling good NON TOXIC products and who don't use child labor.

Thank you,
Kim

Rant - QFC Shopper

Last night I made a quick run to QFC to pick up a few things. While in the produce aisle I saw a woman taking items out of her cart and putting them on top of the books in the magazine aisle. And what was even worse was at least one item was something that should be refrigerated. I mean come on how hard is it to put the items back or even at least wait till you check out and tell the cashier that you don't want them. At least then they are not just sitting around the store somewhere.

Rave - Easter Grass for Baskets

At Kmart I found Easter Grass that was not made in China, although it is plastic and made in Mexico. I went ahead and bought it because I was running out of time to look for more environmentally friendly made in USA grass. I also picked up a Ariel doll that is for the bath. Baby Girl is in love with all things The Little Mermaid. It also has a toy Flounder. It's not made in America but it's not made in China either. It seems a lot of Mattel Dolls (Barbies, Disney etc) are made in Indonesia.

After letting Baby girl run around KMart we headed over to Albertsons for some grocery shopping. As I was heading to the checkout counter I decided to take a quick look at the Easter stuff. And what did I find?!? Paper Easter Grass made in the USA!!! There is no web address on the bags but it says on it 'Made by Bleyer Gift Packs for Easter Unlimited, Inc/ Fun World Carle Place, NY 11514. A search in Google found this site. Don't know if it is the same but it very well could be.

Rant - Product Red pins

I'm sure most of you are aware of the (PRODUCT)RED branded product that help benefit Aids patients in Africa. I recently purchased a few pairs of jeans at The Gap and was given a red bead on a pin which was on a piece of cardstock.



When I got home I looked it over and saw something that just made me shake my head.



Is it just me or do others feel it would have served the public better by having these beads and cards made by Africans?

Rave - No batteries required for fun

Baby Girl is still not feeling well but I wanted her to get some fresh air so I bundled her up and we headed out side for a walk around the yard. As usual she waned to go down the side stairs and to the back yard. While on the patio she saw our Bubble Wands and pointed to them. I got them down for her and she tried to dip them into the outside cat's water bowl. I decided to try to make some bubbles for her. It was an overcast, slightly windy and cool day, not the type of day you typically think of when making bubbles. But it turned out to be a great day for them. We purchased the Bubble Wands last year at the University Street Fair. For $20 we bought all 4 wands and got a tray to hold the bubble solution. The company is called Majic Bubble Wand and they are a local Company here in Washington State. With their products being American Made in Oregon. Baby Girl had a blast trying to pop the bubbles and was even able to make her very own bubbles (thanks to the wind helping).


Look a the size of that bubble!


Turtle, Flower, Fish & Heart Wands

Want some good old fashion fun for the kids that actually gets them out of the house and doing something? Then pick up a set of wands right now, no batteries required.

Rave - Artist Anne El-Habre

A while back I discovered Etsy, a place where you can buy and sell anything that is handmade. You can find everything earings, dolls, quilts, cards, art...and speaking of art I found one of my favorite artists selling her work. Her name is Anne El-Habre and she makes the most fabulous fantasy art. We are the proud owner of a number of her original works. Titania and Oberon, Angel of Contemplation and 5 pencil drawings, 3 of which are fairies.


Titania and Oberon (not the best image)

I just adore her and her work and if you like faeries, angels or anything from folklore andr nature then you will too. If you are in Savannah, Georgia please check out her gallery Alvida Art Gallery. And let her know 'feja' sent you!

Rant - Play-Doh made in China

I wanted to buy some Play-Doh for Baby Girl since she had fun at her Gymboree Art Class with it. But every package I found said MADE IN CHINA and being a 'China Free' Household I put them all back on the shelf.

Does anyone know of a 'Not Made In China' substitute?

Rant - Gymboree Moms

This post is not about all moms but a few at my local Gymboree. We signed Baby Girl up for the Gold Membership at Gymboree. And while I love the teachers and classes what I hate are the Moms/Nannies who bring their children when they are sick!!! There is even a sign saying if your child is sick please don't bring them to class. But I guess that rule applies to everyone else and not THEIR child. If you child is coughing and yellow/green stuff is coming from their nose, KEEP THEM HOME!!!

Rave - Playtex

Ever since the first scare of products from China I have been on the look out for products made in the good old USA. And I've found two more to add to the list.

Playtex has a sippy cup called QuickStraw. It has a built in straw that folds away and it is not completely leak proof but it does a pretty darn good job.






I also discovered a Disney cup actually made in the USA. As with most children mine is drawn to certain Disney characters. Her favorite is Ariel from the Little Mermaid along with Curious George. So imagine my surprise when I found Disney cups that are made in the USA!!! Yes I said products with Disney characters made in the USA. I said that twice cause this is like finding a leprechaun. It is the Playtex Insulator Cups.




I have not used them yet so I can't report on how well they work. You can also find these cups with the Disney Princesses and Cars characters. I found mine at my local Albertsons.

Rant - Customer service isn't what it use to be

The other night we were at Macy's at Northgate Mall looking for a pair of black jeans for my husband. We found one pair of Levis in a style he liked but they were in the wrong size. We gave up looking and I went to find a Sales Person for help. But when I asked her if she could help us locate a size she gave a look like was crazy to ask HER for help.

Rant - Lowes Paints

In our bedroom we decided to have it like walking into a Bamboo Forest. I am a huge Martha Stewart fan so I wanted to check out her new paint colors at Lowes. We found two greens we liked, Kyoto Green for the walls and Green Hellebore for the ceiling. Before I start in on the Rant I will tell you a good thing. At Lowes you can get a sample of the paint color in a smaller can than the usual pint. Now on to the rant. The paints smelled horrible. I had a headache within minutes and both my husband and I needed to wear our respirators. And the paints didn't go on as smooth as the Behr nor do they look as nice now that the walls and ceiling are done. We both agree that next time we paint if we pick a color at Lowes we will go to Home Depot and have them mix it up with Behr paints.

Rave - Behr & Sherwin Williams Paints

We have been busy working on our remodel here (which is why there has been no new posts) and the painting has started. Baby Girl's room is going to be a fairy theme. After going through hundreds and hundreds of paint chips we finally decided on the Walt Disney colors Atta Boy Blue and Pooh's Favorite Things in Behr paints. The paints had a very low odor and they went on so smooth.

Our hallway is going to be Monarch from Sherwin Williams. Martha Stewart use to have a line of colors at SW but they are no longer there. I love her colors. Our living room is painted Zest and Monarch. We have the first 2 coats up but we need about 4 more coats. That was the only thing wrong with the SW Martha Stewart paints. We needed 5-6 coats, but the end result is worth it.

Rave - A Muse Art Stamps

I discovered a new (at least to me) stamp store on Greenwood called A Muse. My sister-in-law who is a stamp-a-holic told me about it. I was in search of a pirate and penguin stamp. My sister-in-law who literally has thousands of stamps didn't have any pirate and the only penguin stamp she had was 'wintry' with a scarf.

So Baby Girl and I ventured down there and let me tell you this place is fabulous! The designs are simple but elegant and fun. I not only found a Pirate but a Pirate Ship and a Treasure Chest also. And I found a cute little baby penguin without any kind of winter garb.

Rave - American Made Artificial Christmas Trees

This is something I never even thought about, where is your Christmas Tree from? I'm talking the artificial kind. When I was a kid we always put up the same artificial Christmas Tree and I'm sure back then it was American Made. And now that I have a family of my own we also have a artificial Christmas Tree only ours is the aluminum kind. As I have bad allergies artificial trees are a must for me, not to mention I have a problem cutting down a perfectly good tree just for my enjoyment. To me when someone's says they are getting a live tree I correct them and say you are getting a dead or dying tree. Because in reality that is what it is. This year we will pull our aluminum tree out but probably next year we will be getting a real artificial tree. And I will be checking where those trees are made. As with this Christmas next year will also be a China Free Holiday.

If you are in need of a new Christmas Tree click on the Christmas Depot Banner to the right under the Buy American section.

Rave - Izilla Toys has "Not Made in China Dolls"

Run don't walk to Izilla Toys in Seattle. They have the Petitcollin baby dolls from France along with dolls for older children and they have Vinyl Dolls by Kathe Kruse from Germany.

Rave - More not made in China

Today I took a spin to Top Ten Toys here in Seattle. I wanted to see if I could find something for Baby Girl for Christmas. So far the only thing I had was my Vinyl Baby Doll made in France for her. Making your way around a toy store is not easy when one has a 16 month old in a stroller when all she wants to do is get out. After making my way around the store once I reluctantly let her out of the stroller.

While she was looking at the toy cars I was checking out the magnetic letters. She loves to play with the magnets on our fridge and I thought it might be a good stocking stuffer for her. But I could not find letter that were not made in China. But I did notice a display stand with magnetic play sets. They are called "Create a Scene" by Smethport and they are MADE IN USA. Some of the playsets they had were, Rainforest, Africian Adventure, Pirate Adventure, Doll House, Bugs & Farm. There were others but I can't remember them right now.



The ages are for 3+ but I thought since she likes our magnets so much as long as we play with it together it shouldn't be a problem.

Doing a quick search I found a few places that sell this toy.
Super Dairy Boy
Farm Goods For Kids


I also found another baby doll not made in China. It is the Diana Collection from The Doll Factory. Top Ten Toys had a white, black and asian baby doll. I did not get the chance to really look this doll over but from looking at their web site it looks like the babies are anatomically-correct. I called the number listed on their website and the woman told me that all of their anatomically-correct dolls are made in Spain. But before you buy check for yourself.

Rave - Dolls Made In America

Hold onto your hats, I found a vinyl doll manufacturer right here in the good old USA! The name is Apple Valley Doll Works! They sell doll kits that you put together. You pick out the head of your choice from 36 heads, 3 skin colors, 6 eye colors, 6 different body styles and 11 hair styles in various colors to make a 22" doll.

They also have a 12" elf kit on sale for 39.95.

Oh and if you clink on the Find a Dealer tab you can find a list of resellers of Apple Valley Dolls. There are other sizes of dolls but only the 22" and 12" elf are available directly from Apple Valley.

Rave - Baby Dolls

Well I received the vinyl dolls from Live and Learn and I must say they are fabulous! It seems there are other parents out there like me who do not want to take chances with toys for their children, because Live and Learn are sold out of the Petitcollin 10" Vinyl Baby Doll. I've been looking around for another website that carries this little beauty but so far I've only found European websites that are not in English. For those wanting to try to look for it themselves the name on the box is Ref. 622565 Leo 25cm " A La Creche".


The Corolle Vinyl Toddler Doll Ambre is adorable also and it seems Live and Learn are out of her too. But I did find her at a few other sites. But I would contact these sites BEFORE purchasing just to make sure the doll they have is made in Spain.


The Playful Penguin
Kazoo Toys
The Silly Wagon
Master Mind Toys

Rave - The first snow of the year.

So today is my 10 yr wedding anniversary and what better way to celebrate than with snow!