I'm a wife, stay-at-home mom, crafter, and blogger living in rural New England. As seen in Martha Stewart Living, Food Network Magazine, and more! | Tutorials, DIY, crafts, parenting tips, recipes, money saving tips, product reviews, local product features, New England living, intentional living, and more! |
This is my first Nûby review and I am so excited to be a part of their Parent Blogger Network! Maddie has been a huge fan of their sippy cups from the beginning, and for the longest time their Flip 'N Sip Straw Cup was the only kind she'd use. They've sent me a few products to try and share with you, the first of which is their Octopus Floating Bath Toy.
This little floating octopus comes with 3 fun-shaped rings to "toss" on his arms in the bath, and while the rings are too small to actually toss them on successfully it is a great toy to work on hand-eye coordination with. Our little one loved taking the rings on and off repeatedly.
The bright, fun colors and shapes of the octopus were also a big hit; Maddie was particularly drawn to his big googly-looking eyes. In fact, when she was playing with it she pointed to his eye, looked at me, and said "eyeee" - the first time she's ever done that!
One thing I loved about the design of this toy was that it didn't have a hole in the bottom, as most bath toys do. Bath toys with a hole tend to hold moisture inside and grow mold so it's great that this one was fully enclosed.
The one thing that really disappointed me about this toy though was that it's made out of PVC, a material that we consciously try to limit in our house - in fact we go as far as to only buy PVC-free shower curtains. I didn't realize that it was made out of PVC until after her bath. It's really unfortunate because Maddie loved the Octopus but the material is something we choose not to use.
- I received this item for review from Nûby but all opinions expressed are my own -
Nûby's Octopus Floating Bath Toy can be purchased at various retailers including Amazon and Kohl's.
Okay, so I totally framed the December issue of Martha Stewart Living Magazine along with the little feature of my Hand-Etched Maple Snowflake Ornaments.
I felt a little silly about it at first but being featured was a huge honor and having it hanging in the craft room is just more motivation to keep at my little Etsy business and blog.
And I have to confess.. it is fun seeing it hanging up :) It's always been a dream to get into a big publication like Martha Stewart or Country Living and even though the feature was small I can now say I've done it.
I'm partnering with five other small shops/creatives on Instagram to do a Spring Loop Giveaway! It's the first loop giveaway I've been a part of and I'm excited to be working with these other wonderful ladies. At the end of the giveaway we'll each be selecting a winner so there will be a total of six winners! Each account will be choosing their own prize - mine will be a piece of jewelry from the Etsy shop.
Please stop by my Instagram to join the loop and enter to win - with six prizes being awarded your odds of winning only increases!
This simple, hearty meal is basically a variation of traditional Pork Pie. The recipe isn't exact and doesn't have to be.. I generally don't make anything the same way twice and always go by what looks good. You can follow along the recipe for a general idea but feel free to incorporate substitutions and make it your own.
Our family got a total of three deer this year and so venison has been on heavy rotation. We've been finding ways to sneak it into lots of different meals and this Venison Pie has been a favorite!
Venison Pie
Prep time 50 mins | Cook time 30 mins | Serves up to 8
Ingredients
1 lb of ground venison
1 small onion, chopped (or about 1/3 cup chopped frozen onions)
1/2 tsp of Bell's Seasoning
1/2 cup frozen corn
3 medium potatoes, cooked and mashed
pie crust mix (I use classic boxed Jiffy Pie Crust Mix)
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Start a pot of water boiling on a back burner. Meanwhile brown ground venison, onion, and Bell's Seasoning in a skillet, adding salt and pepper to taste.
Once browned add frozen corn, cover and simmer for about 30 mins. While that's simmering peel, chop, boil, and mash your potatoes.
Mix mashed potatoes and browned meat mixture together and fill prepared pie crust.
Bake at 450 degrees for about 30 mins. This meal goes great with baked beans or ployes.
Feel free to add more veggies or tweak the recipe however you like, sometimes I add mushrooms or shredded carrots to the mix.
Excited to announce that I'll be joining the Nûby Parent Blogger Network!
What does that mean? Well, I'll be writing some reviews of Nûby products and maybe even doing the occasional giveaway right here on the blog! Stay tuned.. :)
I'm having a Giveaway over on Instagram for one of our Infinity Bracelets! Find me on Instagram @birchlandinghome, details are on the original post and entering is easy!
Today I thought I'd share what we'll be putting in our little one's Easter Basket. My goal was to spend less than $20 and fill it with practical and fun items. | This post contains affiliate links |
Our little girl is only 15 months old, has more than enough toys, and doesn't eat candy yet so I was a little stumped as to what to put in her Easter basket at first. After some thought I decided to fill it with some items she needed anyway and a few things to use outside once the warmer weather comes (someday soon, I hope).
I started with the Easter basket I made for her last year (you can read my post on making her Button Easter Basket here). First I filled the bottom with paper Easter grass - having a toddler and a dog, it's so important to use the paper Easter grass over plastic just in case any gets eaten. The paper grass is also a lot more eco-friendly.
I love what I found to put in her basket!
In her basket:
Owl Lunchbox by SkipHop. She desperately needed a new lunchbox (hers broke) and this owl one from Amazon was just the cutest. There are many other animal styles to choose from too if owls aren't your thing.
Purée pouches by Plum Organics. What toddler doesn't love snacks? We picked these up last time we were at Target but they can be found at just about any grocery store or purchased by the case from Amazon.
Baby Farm Animals board book by Golden Books. We actually got this book for free from the local library (they were clearing out duplicates) but you can usually find inexpensive board books on Amazon or on sale at your local book store.
Child's Watering Can. We got this from the Dollar Store, but these can also be found at your local pharmacy. (Similar one here.)
Egg-Shaped Chalk. These came from the dollar bins at Target, and I love them because they're easy for little hands to hold. (Similar ones here.)
Since I got the board book for free I spent right around $15 for everything - wahoo!
Other basket ideas for a one-year old or young toddler:
All of these items can be done for a girl or a boy, and are easy to tweak if you wanted to tailor it more to your own child. I hope I've given you some ideas of what to put in your little one's Easter basket - Happy Easter!
Looking for more Easter ideas? Check out our other Easter posts:
