I want to introduce you to one of our wonderful sponsors, Nest: Natural Comfort and Play.

About Nest

Nest is family owned and operated in Ottawa, Canada. Lisa & John-Paul take great care in selecting products that are sustainably made, aesthetically pleasing, and of enduring quality.

Nest specializes in the sort of quality items usually found only in European toy stores, now imported to or produced in North America. Many are Waldorf-inspired and educational. A lot are made by small companies, WAHMs, or mom-and-pop businesses. Some are social support projects or made by part-time crafters and hobbyists.

Nest is committed to eco-consciousness and social equity, so all fabrics, materials, and manufacturing have to meet high standards of sustainability and safety.

Plus, the products they carry are just plain drool-worthy! Ready?

My wish list

Mini Cable Car Kit — $26.50



Mama K's Aromatic Play Clay — on sale for $15



Knitting Tower — $9.50

This is a joint giveaway with Hobo Mama/Hobo Mama Reviews and Natural Parents Network. You may enter at one site only. Please find the section marked "Win it!" for the mandatory main entry and optional bonus entries.

Jessicurl is offering our readers a giveaway of a Light & Luminous Trial-Size Collection, a value of $36.

This haircare collection for finer curls and waves includes six safe and gentle products perfect for wavy and curl hair on adults or little ones! The zippered travel pouch includes a step-by-step instructional insert with tons of tips and techniques to help you get fabulous curl enhancement and definition.


 


I love Jessicurl products for my wavy hair, and for my young son Mikko's. Jessicurl haircare products are made from positive ingredients that are safe and natural or naturally derived. They clean hair without stripping the natural oils, and moisturize and style without weighing down the texture. Most significantly, they've made my wavy hair look nearly curly!


My hair on the Jessicurl regimen

I first became aware of Jessicurl haircare when I was transitioning my own hair from straight to wavy — an intriguing discovery I made when I started treating my hair more gently and ditched harsh shampoos and styling products. It also coincided with the birth of my firstborn, who gave us another delightful surprise: a headful of ringlets.



I needed haircare products that could care for my baby's curls gently and with a natural look, and also keep my own hair looking attractive. But I wanted to make sure anything I used was safe for my baby's sensitive skin and easy on the environment. Jessicurl fit the bill!

Jessicurl recently sent me a travel-size collection of Light & Luminous products, which is a collection designed specifically for thinner hair that might be weighed down by richer products. This makes it perfect for a lot of younger kids, who still have that baby-fine hair. (Jessicurl also offers a Rich & Radiant collection that's more moisturizing, ideal for thicker or coarser hair.)

This collection of 2-ounce bottles in a zippered pouch is perfect for traveling, as I discovered on our recent road trip, where I was able to simply toss the pouch into my suitcase and have all my haircare together. I enjoyed trying out the collection, rediscovering favorite products, and sampling new ones. Here's what's included:

Roots has cabin fever! Select items are now up to 50% off* for a limited time only.

Offer ends 2.29.12.

*Some conditions may apply. See site for details.

Free Shipping* on all orders $100+ to the USA. Shop Now at Roots!

Roots USA has fashionable daytime fashions for casual and work clothes as well as its iconic athletic wear.

Ok, I have to say — these are pretty cool.



Get vintage rock t-shirts at Roots for 5 classic rock bands!

There's also a Winter Sale going on, with up to 50% off select items for a limited time only.

The Ultimate Green Store just sent me this note:

We have reduced the threshold for Free Shipping for the holidays to $75 with code TUGSFREESHIP.

The Ultimate Green Store sells a huge range of green and eco-friendly products, as you might be able to tell from the name! Here's just a sampling of items you might be interested in for holiday gifts:

• Organic Baby Clothes
• Eco-Friendly Cloth Diapers
• Kids Eco-Jewelry
• Kids Natural Body, Bath and Hair Care
• Gifts for Pet Lovers
• Just For Men
• Women's Bags
• Tote and Grocery Bags

NIMLI is a really cool store offering natural and green products that are incredibly stylish. NIMLI carries clothing for women, men, and kids, as well as jewelry, shoes, bags, lingerie, beauty and wellness items, and products for the home.



Take 25% off sitewide now through Cyber Monday, November 29. Use code BLACKFRIDAY10 or CYBERMONDAY10 at checkout.

Roots is a Canadian company that also ships to the USA. Roots is the one who did the fabulous athletic wear for the Olympians. (I would die to have this baby hoodie — hee hee!)

What is perhaps of more interest to you is that Roots has a new line of yoga wear for women as well as other athletic-inspired wear for women and men. And, Roots also offers sophisticated city wear to make your everyday errands comfortable and stylish.

All this weekend, through Monday, November 29, you can get 20% off every online order at Roots.com!

Hint: Facebook fans get an EXTRA 5% off! Like Roots now to get a special code.




Besides men's and women's clothing, there are also various types of leather bags and shoes for men and women.

CrazyForBargains.com has a weird name, but what it also has is fun sleepwear for the whole family, plus other cozy things like undies, robes, and slippers. I don't know about you, but new PJs or a nightgown were de rigueur for us kids to open on Christmas Eve, and Sam and I still appreciate getting new, comfy ones.

If you shop this weekend, you can get a great deal: 10% off orders of $40 or more, plus FREE domestic ground shipping!

Thanksgiving Holiday Offer - Get 10% off orders of $40 or more!
Plus FREE Shipping on orders of $40 or more at CrazyForBargains.com!
Fun Sleepwear for the Whole Family!
Use Code: HOLIDAYPJS7
Valid Dates: 11/26 – 11/29/10

I have a concern about flame-resistant chemicals added to some children's sleepwear, but I of course also have concerns about flammable sleepwear. I was pleased to read CrazyForBargains.com's healthy take on the issue:

Children’s sleepwear sold in the U.S. is subject to flammability requirements set forth by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Adult sleepwear is not subject to these requirements. … It means that children’s footed pajamas (in sizes larger than 9 months and up to a size 14) must be flame resistant or snug fitting. The kids footed pajamas that we sell are loose fitting and therefore must be flame resistant. The footed pajamas for kids that we sell are made of polyester, which is flame resistant. There are flame resistant cotton fabrics on the market, but we don’t sell footed pajamas made of this material.

In other words, the footed PJs and other loose-fitting children's styles are made of polyester
alone, which is naturally flame-resistant (and I use the term "naturally" loosely, considering polyester is a manmade material!). The snug-fitting and non-footed varieties are generally 100% cotton and therefore carry the warning "must be snug fitting." The upshot is, there shouldn't be harmful chemicals in any of the kids' PJs for sale here. If you have concerns or want a natural fabric, look for (non-footed) styles that say "100% cotton" and "snug fitting" or contact customer service to confirm there are no added chemicals in the styles that interest you.

If you're looking for a place for personalized gifts, try out GiftsForYouNow.com.

Save 15% off your entire order with code GFYN08 or GFY3452 from now till the end of November.

25% off all orders over $75.00. Now through December 1. You might need code Shipping13.

$15 off $100 or more. Valid December 1-15. You might need code GIFTS15.

GiftsForYouNow.com specializes in personalized, custom gifts that would make wonderful holiday decorations or Christmas gifts.

You can have your own names and phrases put onto Christmas stockings, photo frames, Christmas tree ornaments, baby gifts such as blankets or hats, jewelry and sweatshirts (perfect for grandmothers to show off their grandkids!), doormats, wall plaques, and even Santa hats! You're sure to find something for those sentimental types on your wish list (or yourself!) who adore a lasting keepsake.

Here's another Black Friday post, highlighting some of Amazon.com's Black Friday Deals for parents.

Deals in Toys and Games include:

• "Lightning Deals" — big deals come up for a few hours at a time throughout the day, so check back! You have 15 minutes to purchase an item once it's added to your cart — you can still use Free Super Saver Shipping, but hurry to find extra items if needed to get up to $25.
• $10 off $30 on select Fisher-Price toys
• Up to 40% off Radio Flyer ride-on trikes and wagons
• LeapFrog Leapster games for only $8.99 each
• Pretend-play toys from Learning Resources and the My Kitchen Set from Alex Toys
• Toys from Melissa & Doug, LEGO, Fisher-Price, and more that fit your budget — just look for the categories marked "Great Gifts for $25 or Less" or $50 or $75

There are deals on Clothing, including Men's, Women's, and Kids, as well as special sizes including Maternity and Nursing. There are even special links where you can search for steep deals, such as 75% off Kids' and Baby Clothing.

Other fun things on sale for babywearing, breastfeeding, cloth diapering/EC, and other baby care (though not related to the Thanksgiving deals) are the Baby K'tan, select Britax and Sunshine Kids car seats, BABYBJÖRN Little Potty (perfect for ECing little tushies and potty training tykes), 5-Pak of Kushies AIO Diapers (great starter kit for a relative or friend you know who's interested in cloth diapering — or would be!), and cloth nursing pads from MamaLittleHelper.

Don't forget to peek in Electronics if you're looking for a still camera or video camera to capture your little one, or a digital photo frame to display your images. A digital frame would make a perfect gift for grandparents, too, take it from me!

There are also deals on Video Games, Music (look for kids' CDs or MP3 downloads), DVDs, and, of course, Books for kids of all ages. You can search by age from baby to teen. A favorite book always makes for a cherished gift!

Another item I've been very curious about is the Kindle wireless reading device. I had the chance to check one out in action at a couple stores, and it looks really nice and felt probably as light as my phone. The display was clear and less shiny than my phone or laptop, like reading print. I used to think I would never take to reading ebooks, but ever since I got a smart phone, it's so easy to pop one on there and read as I find a minute here and there. I also like that I can search and bookmark easily (such as with nonfiction, parenting books). I could see the Kindle being a really fun toy. You can pick up the latest model for $139 with Wi-Fi or $189 with 3G as well. If you want just one of the ebooks for Kindle as a gift (easy delivery!) or for yourself, they can be read at no additional cost on a PC, Mac, or smartphone using one of Amazon's free reading apps.

In case anyone is wondering, here's my take on the recent Amazon hoopla: both why I think the book that was removed is repulsive and Amazon has behaved stupidly, but also why I won't be boycotting them at this time.