Living Clean Pt. 2 - Baby

Ben. This is where it all began. My quest to detox our home all started with baby sunscreen, and next thing you know I was tossing every product from our bathroom (into the recycling bin of course!)

I want to make sure I squeeze this in somewhere. A lot of people (myself included) have said to themselves "We grew up using this old stuff and we're fine, it's probably all ok!". Not true. In the chemical world, thousands and thousands of new chemicals are created every year. So the Johnson's and Johnson's shampoo of our childhood is nothing like the the one shelves today. And, look around, we're not that fine. A lot of people aren't well at all. But, I digress...

I searched through many baby products, and there are lots of great choices out there if you look for them. I really, really recommend that you look up each and every product on EWG's Skin Deep and don't settle for anything higher than a 2. Not just the brand, but the actual product itself. 

After a lot of research, I decided to go with Badger for Ben's bath and body products. Do you know this company? They make some seriously wonderful products for the whole family (more on stuff for us grownups coming soon). Fun fact - Badger allows new Moms to bring their babies to work for the first six months after they are born, allowing for hours of baby care time each day, in order to facilitate the bond between Mom and baby. AMAZING. Apart from being such a cool company, their ingredients are perfect. This is what we are using now for Ben:

(Yay! Fun lists of products! This is more like it...)

Badger Chamomile and Calendula Soap - EWG Rating 0 - Lovely delicate soap that can also be used on baby's hair. 

Badger Baby Oil - EWG Rating 0 - This stuff absorbs SO quickly (you can slip pjs on within minutes) and it's so gentle. There is a very delicate smell that comes from the essential oils used (which is the ONLY place any sort of fragrance should ever come from). Love this stuff.

Badger Baby Balm - EWG Rating 0 - Great for little extra dry patches of ezcema or on diaper rash. 

Badger SPF 30 Sunscreen - EWG Rating 1 - A completely safe sunscreen for baby. I'm actually going to use this too. 

Desert Essence Organic Diaper Cream - EWG Rating 1 - A great little tube to carry around with out (I much prefer this to the Penaten tin) and it's free of all the scary stuff.

Note: I love using Badger soap for Ben's hair, but another great product out there is Baby Hugo's Chamomile and Vanilla Shampoo and Bodywash - EWG Rating 1

I had a tough time finding a good place to order this stuff online where I could get delivery to Canada at a good rate, and I ended up going with Uncommon Scents. If you're in the US you'll have a much easier time, and can order from Badger directly. 

Next up in this series...bath and body stuff for us grownups! 

Cute AE Finds

Some days when Ben refuses to nap I give up and we hit the road, and he can sleep or he can not sleep, whatever. You know that feeling, right?

Anyway, yesterday was this kind of day, and I thought to myself that all that rocking and whispery singing at least deserved a latte and maybe a new magazine, so off we went to the mall.

The stores are flooded with spring stuff, which is only a little depressing since I was wrapped in ten layers of winter stuff, but I did pick up these goodies.



Black and white espadrilles



Geometric studs 

Cute, right? American Eagle has a sale right now too, but one item get the second 50% off. Yay!

The best mascara ever - Lancôme Hypnôse Doll Lashes

 

I'm a bit of a mascara junkie. I guess most girls are, but I have kind of a problem. Generally speaking I stick with the cheap stuff because of this (apparently I've never heard of the quantity versus quality thing). 

Anyway, over the holidays I got a few gift cards to Sephora and decided to splurge and buy this mascara. Game changer. You can do like seventeen layers of this and it will just keep looking more and more awesome. Also, it washes off with your cleanser, no additional eye makeup remover needed. YES. 

If you're feeling a little spendy (it retails for $31 at Sephora), splurge and try it! I'm still on the hunt for the perfect cheap one since my fav was discontinued, so I'll report back if I ever find it!

Black and white crux tank top

Today I stopped in H&M to look for a little black cardigan and ended up also picking up this cute little top. Ok, so maybe I can't really wear it for months u less its under a sweater, but still. Spring, I'm ready for you!

Via H&M

Holiday Gift Idea /// Upper Metal Class

I realize that almost all of my gift ideas are directed at, well, myself, and people like me. I promise I'll try to switch it up! But for now, I had to share this shop, Upper Metal Class, that I stumbled upon on Etsy. How perfect are those little diamond earrings? And the skulls?! YES!



So far I'm happy to say that I've done about 90% of my holiday shopping on Etsy! I know a lot of people are shopping on there now too, but I think some people forget or don't realize that you can buy really high quality beautiful pieces like this too. Such a great shop!

You can take a look at more holiday gift ideas and Etsy finds too for more shops!

Images via Upper Metal Class

Holiday Gift Idea /// Leather clutches by Leah Lerner

How great are these clutches by Etsy seller Leah Lerner?





I mean, they are perfect. Why is it that I'm finding so many things that I want when I should be spending my time shopping for everyone else? WHYYYY?

Handmade holiday shopping!

Anna over at Door Sixteen posted about supporting handmade/small/local business during the holidays and I think this is such a great idea!



In the spirit of this, I would like to offer all of my blog readers a very special discount code just for you. You can use the code AANDBSTORIES1 at my Etsy shop and you will receive 20% OFF your painting purchase! This is the largest discount I have ever offered and it will be a rare event friends, so take advantage! 

This offer is open until December 10th, 2012. This applies to paintings in my shop and to custom painting requests. Sadly it doesn't apply to anything in my Society6 shop, sorry!

Holiday Gift Idea /// Black and white 2013 Day Planner

I've used my iPhone to organize my schedule for ages now (Google Calendar), but I'm kind of missing the whole paper and pen method. And then I saw this.





And angels literally started to sing. Hello most beautiful planner in the world. I need you. Officially added to my Christmas list!

via Marjolein Delhaas

ADOP Throw Pillows are now available!

I'm so, so excited about this. I've actually been trying to source this out for a while and have had some trouble, but Society6 recently launched the functionality to offer throw pillows, and I was all over it!

You can view my full collection of throw pillows here. Most of my pieces are there, and more will be added. I'm also thinking about adding my nursery line too!

Anyway, hope you guys like these! They are pretty reasonably priced (the small cover is only $20) and right now shipping is free until Monday!

Dare I say these are the perfect Christmas gift? ;)

Pantone Christmas Ornaments

So, these exist? I'm officially in the Christmas spirit now! How awesome would my all white tree look covered in these? Very awesome. 

Via Uncommon Goods

Dear Santa

I've been moderately well behaved this year, so please please bring me this amazing new Fine Little Day Cecilia Pettersson Forest Poster. Pretty please?



Seriously, that shop can do no wrong. I heart you Fine Little Day!

Image via Fine Little Day

Holiday Gift Idea /// Wee Gallery Nesting Dolls

I stumbled upon this oh so sweet Wee Gallery nesting doll set and I had to share. How perfect would this be under the Christmas tree for a little one? Love it!



Image via Wee Gallery

H&M Playhouse

Why can't everything that I want to buy just be at Walmart and on some sort of awesome sale? That would be too easy.

I want to buy/make Ben a little playhouse for Christmas...and I want this one SO BADLY.

Of course, it's through H&M Home which is not even in the US yet, let alone way up here in Canada with the igloos. Ugh. 

So, I'm hoping that someone I know somewhere can track one of these down for me...otherwise I'll have to make something myself. I don't want one of those over-the-kitchen-table jobies. So, we'll see. 

Side note: There should be a website where you can post things you want that are not available in your country and some good samaritan somewhere agrees to buy it for you and ship it to you. Sure, it would be on some sort of honour system and people would get scammed by the thousands, but MAYBE it would work sometimes, and that would be amazing. 

UPDATE - A truly kind, sweet lady who reads my blog bought one of these for me and had it sent to Canada. Read this amazing,y kind story here :)

Image via The Guardian

ADOP - One year later + branding stuff + news

I have a few updates that I wanted to post so I decided to to one monster post. That way if you're totally uninterested it's very easy to just ignore this and move on with your day. See, I'm always thinking of you.

+ + +

Part One - A year later



A little while ago I passed my one year anniversary with ADOP. Woah. Years go by way too fast when you're counting them, I can't stand it. But, a year it has been, and there have been some pretty awesome little milestones for me during this time. To name a few:

• Officially opened ADOP on October 5th, 2011
• Made my first sale within just hours of opening
• Sold three pieces to a production company back in November of 2011 to be seen in this movie. (No, I haven't mentioned that yet because it was so long ago and I didn't want to jump the gun, but it happened...I can't WAIT to see it!)
• Launched my kids line of paintings which has now officially been more successful than my abstract line 
• Opened a Society6 shop for prints, iphone cases, etc.
• Had my first (and second) art show at The Grey Room
• Had three shops contact me to have ADOP carried in their stores (a little more on this later).
• Was mentioned in Hamilton Magazine, Style at Home, House & Home, and a ton of other really amazing design/kids/lifestyle blogs (thanks everyone!)
• Sold two pieces to a production company to appear somewhere in Season 6 of Mad Men (still in shock over this one)
• And lastly, as of yesterday, I sold my 100th painting between direct Etsy sales and private commissions. Yep, 100. Ok, so maybe it's not that good, but I remember vividly thinking I would never sell a single piece, so to have sold 100 in my first year is way beyond what I thought I could do and I am very very proud :)

It hasn't been all sunshine and daisies. One of my paintings was destroyed in transit (it was just a fluke, everyone was reimbursed and I made a new one for the client, but it sucked). Also, a local gallery scammed me - they sold a painting of mine and refused to pay me for it (currently working on my claim), and THAT sucked. But, it's been almost all great things for ADOP, and I love my little shop :)

Ok, enough about that. Sorry if this sort of thing comes across as self-indulgent, I mean for this blog to be like a living history of bits of our lives, and this is a big part of it now, so I can't help it!

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Part Two - Branding Package

This is a bit of my current branding/marketing bits, and a few people have asked about where I get things so I thought I would share it here. I'm a Marketing graduate so this kind of thing is my fav.

My logo design is all done by me...it could not be more simple so I whipped it up pretty easily. I recently redesigned my Dad's logo too, I guess it's just like a weird nerdy hobby of mine.

My business cards and thank you cards are printed through Vistaprint. I LOVE that place, they always have crazy sales and the prices are great. Now this is not good if you want the letterpress neon sided cards, this is your average business card that may not be Alt-approved, but if you get the thickest stock they offer it's pretty good. With my simple design it works just fine, and I just bought 1000 for $20, free shipping. Love that. 

The tags and shipping labels are just printed at home using cardstock and labels. So simple. 

I order my twine from The Baker's Twine. They used to be on Etsy and it's been so long since I've ordered this stuff I just realized that they aren't anymore. But, still, great stuff, great price.

My custom pencils are something that I include with every purchased painting, and I order them from Ebay. I really love them and have had great customer feedback about them!

As for the stickers, I won't disclose this because I'm actually quite unhappy with them. I ordered them from an Etsy shop and the colour smudges right off. Not good. So, I'm on the hunt for a new sticker supplier. If anyone knows of one, please share!

+ + +

Part Three - Some news




Lastly, I wanted to share that ADOP has custom paintings available on By April and May! I loooove the April and May blog, and when Jantine approached me about creating some paintings just for her shop I was over the moon. Be sure to visit her shop and buy something!

NOTE: Yes, I realize that I come across as times as a little sales-y at times, and I would like to state for the record that I have NEVER been paid or asked to write about anything I write about. I'm just that girl who gets all excited about her stuff and wants everyone else to go buy one. I don't know why. But, this is a 100% ad/sponsor free blog, so don't be mad at me.

Ok guys, that's enough out of me. Thanks for reading for those of you who stuck it out (Mom).

Etsy Finds - The Rocker Shop

It's been a while since I did an Etsy Finds, but this one was worth the wait. I'm IN LOVE with The Rocker Shop. Seriously, where has this place been all my life?



They had me at the Ramones tank, but the baseball tees? Um, I need them. All of them.



Dear Santa/Husband/Mom, please keep these in mind.

Images via The Rocker Shop 

Fall Fashion by J. Crew on GOOP

Gwyneth is most definitely one of the best dressers out there...she's been a fav of mine since back in her A Perfect Murder Days (loved that hair too, ALMOST did it...almost). When I got the GOOP newsletter with her fall fashion favs from J. Crew I knew it would be fab. 



In addition to her picks, here are a few more thar I'm kind of in love with. I'm all about casual classics, I think I mostly want clothes that are black or denim/chambray, with the odd bit of grey and white. And yes, I will continue to beat the striped top look to death for who knows how long. 

Looks 1  /   2   /   3   /   4   /   5   /   6

Images via GOOP and J. Crew

Modern Baby Goodies

This week I've been finishing up a little batch of ADOP nursery painting commissions that came in, it's been so much fun! I love all the different colour requests that I get. I am partial of course to this one, loooove the black and white.



All of these nursery requests have had be thinking a lot about Ben's room and the cute little things out there that I would love to get. Of course I turned to Etsy and found some of the cutest finds for modern babies. I created a little treasury of them, take a look!



You can look at any of these shops through the treasury list. They are all amazing!

2012 Ikea Favs under $100

Has everyone devoured their Ikea catalogues? Spoiler alert, if you haven't, look away! Look away!

I spent last night reading mine cover to cover. Things I've learned: 1) Ikea is awesome, 2) black and white is here to stay, and 3) I have some serious Ikea shopping to do.

I thought I'd throw together a little collection of my favourites from the current line that are all under $100. So many amazing finds and everything is so affordable! Ok, maybe not when you buy all of it, but who looks at the final amount on the receipt anyway? Not me! (Sometimes I hope my sarcasm comes through in stuff like this, of not everyone must think I'm quite a piece of work).

Anyway, here we go! Let me know if there are any others that you found that you love!

1. Vilmie Rund Throw. I have this, have for a while, and it's my favourite throw of all. Just love it.
2. Tripp Container Set of 3. Um, I have to have this. Why didn't I see this when I was last there? 
3. Tradclover Fabric. I always buy my fabric from either Etsy or Ikea. I buy it even when I don't have a project to do, just because it's awesome. I need some of this stuff. Lovely.
4. Lappljung Ruta pillow. I DID buy this last time I was at Ikea and I'm so happy I did. It's a great size and so soft!
5. Ungdom Tea Cups. Love these! I may have to buy a whole set.
6. Snack Serving Bowl. I'd like to have a stack of these in my kitchen.
7. Snack Small Bowls. I already have a stack of these that I use for paint, ha ha, but they are also the perfect size for little snacks.
8. Nasvis Candle Holders. I'm not actually a fan of having lots of candles, but these are so simple. These would be great for our new kitchen table.
9. Ikea PS 2012 Wall Lamp. Oh this lamp is perfect.
10. Singla Bag. Less than $2! Love it.
11. Tvablad Cirkel Bedding. I can't really go to Ikea without buying new bedding, so this will be the next set. It's just a must.
12. Eivor Pillow. I've debated getting this before but now I know, yes, indeed, I must have it.
13. Eivor Throw. I have this already too and I love it so much. Perfect for our bedroom, and, well, everywhere else.

Nionio - A very cool new shop

I follow Nia on Instagram and through that I stumbled upon her blog, and now, her amazing shop. She just launched it, and I'm in love with her modern, graphic cutting boards. I want them ALL.







Amazing, right? It's tough to work pattern and decorative elements into our kitchen, so one of these is going to be perfect. After much debate, I decided on the Lined design. It's my fav!

Images via Nionio