Yellow Chic Shoes from Oasap {Review}

There's something you need to know about me: I am a sucker for shoes. So when I had the opportunity to review a pair of shoes from Oasap.com, I jumped at the chance!

I chose these slightly pointy kitten-heel shoes in faux-suede from a huge variety of shoes on their website. The fact that these shoes are vegan is a plus for them in my book. (Note that the shoes come in whole sizes only and I would recommend ordering up a size if you fall between sizes.)

One thing that I noticed about Oasap was that they make sure to donate from their proceeds to help refugees and children in need. That is one of the main reasons why I decided to work with them!

My order from Oasap came fairly quickly and I noticed that they always have free worldwide shipping. Free shipping is a MUST!

Blogfest Bookfair Giveaway! (ends 9/5/12)

This giveaway event is to celebrate Melynda Fleury's triumph over diabetes and the threat that it caused her eyesight. In order to inspire the festivities, Wayman Publishing is sponsoring this "Blogfest and Book Fair Giveaway!"

EVERY ENTRANT will be able to download any of Wayman Publishing's Top 10 Books between Sept 2 and Sept 4. (Link will be provided to all entrants on Sept 1st.) As another prize, Mommy Blog Designs, who does amazing work, will give away a Premade Design package ($269 Value) to one winner! PLUS, we are also joining together to give away $200 paypal cash!

Blogger Opp: Cloth Diaper Giveaway & Donation Event

Bloggers, here's a great opportunity to get in on a cloth diaper giveaway, all while supporting a cloth diaper charity! This event runs from Oct. 1-21 and is hosted by Thinking About Cloth Diapers. Please check it out and let them know that Why We Love Green sent you!

Firmoo Glasses {Review}

Sometimes we forget to do things to take care of our health, even if those things are really easy. I'm talking about little things like wearing sunscreen and sunglasses! We need to protect our eyes if we want them to stay healthy and keep working. I'm guilty of this myself, and I think we could all use a little end-of-summer reminder to keep going strong with our sun protection for our eyes and skin.

Because I wear glasses (and am usually running too late to put in contacts) I really needed a pair of prescription sunglasses that I could keep in the car and wear instead of my regular glasses. Luckily, Firmoo came to the rescue! At Firmoo, you can choose any glasses to be prescription sunglasses. I also got to choose what color and how much tint I wanted! Here is great news for you: You can order your first pair of glasses for FREE from Firmoo! This is an excellent deal for getting a free pair of lenses for any first-time buyers out there!

Read on to see my full review and a reveal of me wearing my cool new shades!

On-In Beauty System Review

It makes sense to me to nourish my skin from the inside and the outside. 

That's what made the On-In Beauty System so appealing to me--the cream works on the surface of your skin, while the supplements nurture your skin from the inside. 

Read on for my full review and for the link to my giveaway for 3 of these sets!

Win a $100 Amazon Gift Card! #Giveaway! (ends 8/31/12)

Welcome to this Amazon Facebook Blast, where you can win an Amazon Gift Card loaded with $100!


To enter, please fill out the easy Giveaway Tools form below!

StinkPot Cloth Diaper Detergent Review

I am so excited to share my StinkPot Cloth Diaper Detergent Review with you!

First of all, let me say that I do not take cloth diaper detergent reviewing lightly. It's crazy how a detergent can make or break someone's desire to cloth diaper! Here's the great news: StinkPot Detergent really works!

Even after just one wash with StinkPot Cloth Diaper Detergent, I could tell that my cloth diapers were clean through and through! I am not afraid to bury my nose deep into my diapers and take a whiff--and they were stink (and scent) free!

Read on for the rest of my review and for the link to the StinkPot Giveaway!

G!veaway! W!n StinkPot #ClothDiaper Detergent (ends 8/31/12) #clothaccessories

It's time to accessorize your cloth diaper stash!

To help you out with all you need, Why We Love Green is giving away a wonderful cloth diaper detergent from StinkPot Diaper Soap

as well as a CleanWell Hand Sanitizer Spray for keeping you clean on the go.

To enter, please fill out the rafflecopter form below!

Funky Fluff Stash & Cash #Clothdiaper G!veaway! (ends 8/31/12)

It's time for the Funky Fluff Stash & Cash Giveaway, where you can win $500 worth of diapers AND cash to buy whatever you need!

This event is brought to you by DiaperDeals.ca,  ClothDiaperTrader.com, and Funky Fluff to give away this fantastic cloth diapering prize!





Enter to win by filling out the easy Rafflecopter form below!

G!veaway! W!n a "Green" Sugar Booger Backpack! (ends 8/30/12)

Let's get this school year off to a GREEN start!

Welcome to A Very Green Back to School Giveaway Hop hosted by Simple City Life and Mommy's Favorite Things. Here at Why We Love Green, you can win a Sugar Booger Play-pack Backpack for preschoolers! These packs are lead-free, non-toxic, and durable, not to mention cute!

 Good luck! Enter to win using the Rafflecopter form below!

Grand Pr!ze for A Very Green Back to School G!veaway! (ends 8/30/12)

Welcome to A Very Green Back to School Grand Prize sponsored by The Ultimate Green Store.

The Ultimate Green Store can be your one-stop-shop for all things green and eco-friendly for your whole family. Please enter below using the Rafflecopter form for your chance to win this earth-friendly backpack filled with environmentally friendly school supplies. When you are done entering for this amazing prize, please make sure that you have entered to win the prize from Why We Love Green--an earth-friendly backpack for preschoolers!

Competitors Selected for Roofing Final at Skillbuild

The National Federation of Roofing Contractors have announced the winners of their SkillBuild roofing competition for 2012.

The entrants, who specialise in constructing roofing, have been chosen from across the UK and will join the long list of high-skilled and professional entrants from previous years. The entrants with the highest scores will make the final in order to battle it out for a place in various roofing disciplines. 

NatureBox Review, Recipe, and G!veaway! (ends 9/3/12) @NatureBox #foodfunhop

Welcome to the Food Fun Hop, where we share a great food, recipe, and you have the opportunity to win a Nature Box as well! You can view my Tomato Almond Sauce Recipe here.

I received the July 2012 NatureBox, which contained 5 packages: Lemon Pucker Pistachios, Garden Tomato Crunch (almonds), BBQ sesame seeds, Zesta Fiesta Mix (spicy nuts and corn sticks), and Sunny Trails (dried fruit snack mix). Each package contains about a cup of the snack. I couldn't wait to munch on all the delicious flavors in my NatureBox! (First I had to reserve some for my recipe though!!)

Sun-dried Tomato Almond Sauce Recipe #foodfunhop

Sun-dried Tomato Almond Sauce Recipe

This delicious and tangy sauce is great over pork or spread onto sandwiches. I'm excited to use it as an alternative to pesto!

This Tomato Almond Sauce recipe takes about 30 minutes to prepare and makes nearly 2 cups of sauce. Enjoy!

Prenatal Oxylent Drinkable Vitamins! {Review}

Almost all mothers understand the importance of taking a prenatal vitamin before conception, during pregnancy, and during lactation in order to give their baby and their own body the important nutrients and vitamins.

Even knowing that, I found it very difficult to take pills while I was pregnant because of my morning sickness. So when I found out about Oxylent's prenatal vitamins that are actually a drink mix, I knew that I had to try them! Their convenient single-serve packets mix into water to make a nutritious drink. Best of all—no pills required!!

Read on for more information about these vitamins and my full Prenatal Oxylent review.

How to Make A Vertical Strawberry Planter

Are you looking to grow strawberries but don't have a yard or a lot of space?

We're in that same situation! I'd love to grow some of our own food, but we are currently renting and our townhome neighbors set their dogs free in the back. However, we do have hooks out on our front porch and I can hang planters from there.

Read on to learn how to make a hanging or vertical strawberry planter!

Bold & Brilliant AstroBrights Paper: Available in Eco-friendly Colors #goastrobrights

This post brought to you by Astrobrights Papers by Neenah Paper. All opinions are 100% mine.

It's time to stock up on school supplies and paper is one thing that seems to be on everyone's list! For something fresh and different this year, try AstroBrights, the paper that's not afraid to be bold. Check out the bright offerings from AstroBrights Papers, which come in 23 brilliant colors. These papers aren't just great for back-to-school, but also for home crafts, work projects, or community events.

One of my favorite things about these bold, bright papers is that the brand is working towards very earth-friendly paper, which I consider to be a rare and unique trait in the paper industry. Currently AstroBright paper is FSC certified and is harvested through responsible forestry practices. Six of the AstroBright colors are further certified with by Green Seal to contain 30% recycled post-consumer fiber. I appreciate very much the fact that such a large and prominent paper brand has made real strides towards making their paper better for the earth!

In addition to working toward even more earth-friendly papers, AstroBrights is also committed to helping schools. You can help support a local elementary school through the "Give a Brighter Year" sweepstakes, where you can win $30,000 in school supplies and cash for your school. Enter by liking the sweepstakes page and downloading an Astrobrights App. Thanks, Astrobrights!

Also on Astrobrights on Facebook, you can enter the family-friendly design challenges, which begin every two weeks this summer. The current challenge is to make a flower out of paper and you can win a $200 Visa gift card! As the weeks go on, the prizes go up! I'd love to see what you come up with!

How to Make Your Own Safe & Natural Baby Wash!

I'm really excited to be writing a post for Why We Love Green about homemade DIY all-natural baby wash!

A few weeks ago, I posted about the dangerous chemicals found in Johnson and Johnson (and many other companies') baby products, which left a lot of my readers wondering, "Well, what do I wash my baby with now?"  One mom, in particular, was very concerned with the fact that since the FDA doesn't require companies to list some dangerous contaminants on bottles since they aren't "technically" ingredients, how do we really, truly know what is in the products that we're using.  While the best we can hope for with the products we purchase is that the companies are being honest when they advertise their products as "natural" or "organic," we can take steps of our own at home to be absolutely sure that what we are putting on our baby's skin is definitely safe.


To avoid putting potentially harmful chemicals onto my son's skin, I make my own baby wash.  It's super easy, super cheap, and super sudsy!  I'm happy to share my recipe with Why We Love Green's readers!

Giveaway! Win Pomona Jeans for #Clothdiaper Babies! (ends 8/24/12)

Welcome to the Flufftastic Summer Celebration where you can win loads of cloth diapers and cloth diapering accessories! This giveaway is hosted by Mama on a Green Mission & Eco Baby Mama Drama and lasts from August 10-24.

Here at Why We Love Green you can win a pair of adorable baby jeans from Pomona Jeans, which are specially designed to fit over cloth diapers, even the super fluffy ones! They are adorable! You can read my full Pomona Jeans review. Enter below to win your choice of the easy-fit Pomona Jeans for babies!

The Grand Prize for the entire event is sponsored by Lotus Bumz, Rinse Hopper, 7 A.M. Enfant, BabyLegs, Wooly Rounds and Mama on a Green Mission and worth over $400. This grand prize cloth diaper package is a great start for anyone or a great addition to the cloth diapering addict’s stash! The prize includes 12 diapers & microfiber inserts, wet/dry bag, rinse hopper, diaper bag, Baby Legs, cloth wipes, and 3 dryer balls!


Click "Read More" to view the Rafflecopter form and to enter to win a pair of cloth diaper-friendly jeans from Project Pomona!

Why Our Family Has Chosen to Become Self-Sufficient

Welcome to our guest poster Theresa from Faith and Family Reviews! She's written a wonderful article today about Becoming Self-Sufficient. Thank you, Theresa!



Webster’s Dictionary definition of self-sufficient says,

Self-sufficient (adj)

1. sufficient for one's self without external aid or cooperation

Self-sufficient(adj)

2. having an overweening confidence in one's own abilities or worth; hence, haughty; overbearing


It is the first definition that best explains the topic of this post, while the second may come into play at some point, my husband and I did not feel very confident about our abilities when we began our journey to self-sufficiency.

Pomona Jeans Review: Perfect Pants for Cloth Diapers!

Looking for pants that actually fit over a cloth diaper!?

Looking for jeans that don't pinch or squeeze as you attempt to wiggle them over baby's thighs and fluffy bum?

Me too! I had basically given up on having my cloth diapered babies in anything besides stretchy pants.

Luckily I've been introduced to Pomona Jeans, the perfect jeans for babies with fluffy cloth-diapered bums! (You can enter to win a pair of Pomona Jeans that fit over cloth diapers until 8/24/12!)
 
Read on for my full review and for more adorable pictures!

Shoo Fly Don’t Bother Me! {How To Deal With Fruit Flies}

I'm so excited to introduce a guest post from Kristina Greene of The Greening Of Westford about How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies!


Summer to me means summer fruits – peaches, nectarines, strawberries, plums! Yumm…

What is also means…. fruit flies! Now, I could put the fruit in the fridge, but then they don’t taste as good and I won’t eat as much. Neither will my kids.

Fruit flies are pretty easy to deal with without using any sort of pesticides. All you need – a small glass, apple cider vinegar (ACV) and some plastic wrap.

Choose to Reuse G!veaway! W!n neat-os Reusable Baggies! (ends 8/17)

It's time for The Choose To Reuse Giveaway Hop!

This earth-friendly event is hosted by The Organic Times, Happy Mothering & Earth Faerie Momma. 

Here you can enter to win three reusable baggies from neat-os!

Neat-os Reusable Baggies - An Easy Way for your Family to Go Green!

We could go through a pack of plastic baggies in no time at my house and it really disgusts me to think of all the waste we're creating!

That's why we're making a conscious effort to acquire and use reusable cloth baggies like the neat-os bag.

Read on to find out why they're so amazing and why we love them!

(You can win three neat-os bags of your own right now here at Why We Love Green!)

SAVE on your San Antonio Vacation!

Have you considered San Antonio as a vacation destination? You should!

I'm all about spending a little and getting a lot--and San Antonio is one of the nation's most affordable vacation spots!

Now we can have an even more value-packed experience with SAVE San Antonio Vacation Experience!

G!veaway! W!n 12 Newborn Cloth Diapers! (US & CAN; ends 8/15/12)

It is time to Win A Newborn Cloth Diaper Stash! 

Welcome to the first of many cloth diaper events hosted by Kerrific. As a part of these events, we will be giving away a great stash of cloth diaper each month. This August we are giving away a set of 12 newborn sized diapers and a wet bag in gender neutral colors!

Read on to enter using the Rafflecopter form!

G!veaway! Back "Pack" to School with Green Supplies! (ends 8/22/12)

 Welcome to the Back "Pack" To School With Green Supplies Giveaway Event hosted by Mama to 4 Blessings and sponsored by Green Apple Supply!


Read on to enter to win this Green backpack filled with Green School Supplies by completing the Rafflecopter form below! 

W!n 8 Baby Carriers in the Ultimate Babywearing G!veaway! #ultimatebabywearing (WW, ends 8/14)

Happy August and welcome to the Ultimate Babywearing Giveaway Event!

This family-centered event is hosted by Happy Mothering and Green Moms Media.

Together we are all giving away 8 amazing baby carriers! That means 8 lucky readers will win a brand new baby carrier to help you keep your baby happy and close to you!

Read on to learn more about the 8 carriers that are being given away and to enter using the Rafflecopter form below!