Wee Gallery Nesting Dolls - Product Review

First off, let me say that if you haven't heard Wee Gallery, and you love baby and kids products, black and white or small family run businesses, then you should check them out! The company is the brainchild of a graphic designer and teacher and it came about based on their own personal research, growth and development as new parents. In my family's experience, Wee Gallery products are not only made to last, they're made to develop and grow-with your child! This is a huge plus in my book. My favorite products for little ones are those that are designed with multipurpose use in mind, are educational, well made, and are able to transition with a child as they learn and grow.

I recently participated in and won a giveaway for the most adorable black and white nesting dolls from the Wee Gallery's Blog and facebook page. These are really well made, adorable little dolls and they came in the cutest little package imaginable! While my daughter is currently too young to play with them, she absolutely adores these animals. They'll be a wonderful addition to her room once we get a shelf put up that they can rest upon where they'll be out of reach but not out of sight. Right now they're sitting on my dresser with the traditional matryoshka dolls my husband and I purchased while traveling in St. Petersburg before we were married.

The nesting dolls next to a regular sized short pillar candle.

This set contains three fun animals: a panda, a penguin and a raccoon. They are super light weight, and are hand painted in Russia, just like traditional matryoshkas. Unlike the traditional Russian sets, this cute set of three perfectly captures the art and character of other Wee Gallery products. They have the simple, high contrast, eye catching black and white patterns of other Wee Gallery products and are made with the same care and attention to detail. However, due to the nature of this product and unlike many of the Wee Gallery's products, this set is not intended to be played with by children under the age of 3. This is primarily because the raccoon, the smallest doll in the set, could pose a choking risk as it's only 2" tall. The penguin stands at 3" while the panda is 4.5" tall. 

Here's a close up look!

These nesting dolls would make for wonderful nursery decor or a fun gift for an older sibling from a new baby! Or if you're like me, and still a child at heart who also happens to love almost anything black and white, then they might just bring a smile to your desk or other work space. I'm going to miss these when that shelf gets built! My mom gave me my first set of matryoshka when I was 4 years old and ever since then I've had a soft spot for these ingenious Russian toys! Wee Gallery's nesting dolls in the panda, penguin and raccoon are a new addition to their collection of products and became available for sale as of July 1, 2013. They retail for $38 which may seem expensive, but they are made and hand painted in Russia, so you are getting an authentic product.

If you're interested in trying out a different Wee Gallery product and one that is a little bit more budget friendly, have a look at their wall art cards a set of these is sure to delight any new parent as it did us. These were our first product made by Wee Gallery and I love them. These simple cards are my absolute favorite Wee Gallery product, at 18 months, my daughter still plays with them and talks to them daily! You can use them from birth until your little one no longer finds them captivating in a multitude of ways. Whether as a mobile, simply for something to look at, to grasp, to frame and decorate your nursery walls, for animal recognition or story telling these are sure to delight!

July Stork Stack or Ready, Set, Summer! + Discount Code

July's Stork Stack showed up in our post box today and we couldn't be more excited about this one! If you're interested in finding out more about Stork Stack or signing up you can do so here. Stacks are $27.99 a month and you can save $10 on your first stack if you use my referral code F9DE8478 when you check out. They're delivered the first week of each month and you'll get an email notifying you (on or around the 1st of each month) that your stack has taken flight.

"Ready, Set Summer!" July Stork Stack for a 21 month old girl.

I was so glad to see that the summer stack included a book! We love reading, we love books and somehow we've more than managed to pass that on to our little girl. She's all about the books and I love that the summer stack included a good book to read! The book in our Stack is a First Time book published by Child's Play International called Sports Day. There are 12 books in all in this series and they celebrate "first" events in the life of a little kid. This book was a great choice for the summer stack as it shows the kids in the book doing all kinds of activities outside, drinking water and wearing hats! We've already read it several times! I'm sure it's going to be a new favorite!

As for being active and playing outside, the rest of the box is all about that. We got a super set of sand molds from Mellissa & Doug. These I'm excited to bust out and try. They're plastic, so I'm pretty sure that unlike some of our M&D wooden toys in the past they won't paint chip problems or decals that come off. Plus they're made for the sand and to be used outdoors so they have to be tough right? Anyway we were sent a set of 5 nesting (for easy storage) molds ranging in size, color, shape and sea creature. These are part of Melissa & Doug's Sunny Patch line they look fun. I'm sure we'll get use out of them in our own yard, at the park, in the pool, at the beach and possibly even the bath!

These didn't stay in their original packaging for long!

The sea creature characters, a turtle, fish, starfish, crap and seahorse - so cute!

I love that they nest for easy transport and storage.

We also received a super awesome sunhat and this one I'm totally stoked about! It's a Baby Banz: Kidz UPF 50+ Reversiable Bucket Hat and the best part about it is the adjustable velcro overlapping closure in the back, meaning that even though we received a size 2-4 hat I can adjust it tight enough to fit my daughter's head now and loosen it as she grows. I'm already in love with this idea! It's genius.

I didn't know Baby Banz made this product and honestly we've never owned anything made by them, so I can't wait to give this the old try out. At first look the material feels super sturdy, but also flexible and soft. There aren't funny seams or anything that's going to cause funny lines or get itchy in warm weather. These hats come in two sizes baby which is supposed to fit age newborn to 2 years and Kidz or size 2-5 each is sized by head circumference as well for a more exact fit.  Hopefully, this is a hat my toddler will leave on, she's not so into hats, but as we spend tons of time outside she has to wear one. At least we try to keep it on.

One side is printed, the other is solid.

I was just about as excited to see Supergoop! in our box as I was to see the Banz hat. I've been wanting to try out Supergoop! sunscreen for some time now, but haven't been able to justify buying it at full price when I still have so much other sunscreen that will work in the house. 

Now I can try it and see what I think. I honestly hope it's as awesome as I've heard it's supposed to be! While I wish that they had sent a small tube of it, or another handful of little sample packets just so we could use it all summer, I'd rather have the few samples they did include than not get to try it at all. I will undoubtedly use these for travel and on the go applications rather than every day use, but that will be great as they'll be easy to pack.

Finally, the last product in our stack was a box of Bitsy's Brainfood Orange Chocolate Beet cookies. This is part of their "smart snacks"  and I must admit it was hard not to open these up and share them right away. But that might have ruined dinner.

A new snack for anytime!

This little box of alphabet cookies come complete with a collectable alphabet sticker in the box and is packed full of vitamins and nutrients. This one will be going on our next all day adventure for sure and if they're any good we'll be scouring our stores or ordering more online!

All told, I couldn't be happier with this stack, everything in it is something we'll use this summer or would have bought to try had we found it on our own anyway. We needed a new sunhat as we're right at the point of outgrowing last years and the iPlay one we have is too big for this summer.  July's Ready, Set, Summer Stack was a hit and I can't wait to see what August has in store!

If you're interested in getting your own stack in the mail go to https://www.storkstack.com/join?ref_code=F9DE8478 and use referral code F9DE8478 at check out to save $10 off your first one! August promises to be a good one, July definitely was! Boxes range from the third trimester up to age 3.

I am a current stork stack subscriber. I was in no way compensated for this review. All thoughts, opinions and photos are my own. If you purchase your own stork stack using my referral code I may receive a $10 credit on my next stack. Once you create an account you will receive a referral code of your own to share.

Thoughts on Citrus Lane & All About the June Box

Open your Citrus Lane box and this is what you should see! I love the bright yellow tissue and informational card. If you want the contents to be a surprise unwrap the tissue before opening up the info!

Our June Citrus Lane box marks the one year point in our subscription. I honestly never thought we'd continue this long with them when we signed up for the first box a year ago, but here we are; still receiving them.

The box as it comes in the mail.

Some of our boxes have been over the top awesome, some average and some have been complete misses for us. It all comes down to personal choice and lifestyle. You get what you get and it either works well for you or it doesn't and you move on. That's the chance you take with a surprise subscription box and I'm okay with it.

For us, the June CL box was at best, just average. It was disappointing, but it was disappointing for personal reasons and not because it was a terrible box. All in all it was a fine box and had the products in it worked for us now than we would have been thrilled. They don't and we're not.  Here's a look at what was in June's box.

June Box contents - the toy broke within a couple hours. I contacted Customer Care and they happily replaced if for us with a different one! Customer Care at Citrus Lane Rocks!!

That being said, one thing I love about Citrus Lane is their outstanding customer service and their real interest in making their subscribers happy. They ask for honest feedback and opinions about the boxes, they collect that information in many different forms: surveys, social media feedback, direct email and phone calls. In my experience, they listen, they open a line of dialogue and they'll go the extra mile to make you not only feel like you're a member of a great community, but that your voice matters. I have had direct dealings with several members of the Citrus Lane team over the last year and all of them have been polite, positive and respectful. I even went so far as to get discouraged and to send an email asking them whether or not feedback from their subscribers really did matter to them, and the answer wasn't just a resounding "yes" it was a here let us show you how much it does. With that said, we look forward to another year of ups and downs (mostly ups, but lets be realistic; there are going to be some downs) with Citrus Lane!

As for the June box, the items in it were great. Our box was for an 18 month old girl. Unfortunately the only things we could use right away out of it were the Episencial Sunny Sunscreen and the happy tot+ pouch. Both of which we already regularly use. The sunscreen works really well and this was a small enough size to easily throw into a diaper bag. The pouch got eaten up almost immediately. The new plus pouches by happy tot are great because they add veggies to the mix for a more balanced pouch.

 

The sun hat from iPlay was a great addition to this box and one of the reasons we actually signed up for the box last year. Although we didn't get the "Fun in the Sun" box in May last year, it was that box that gave me the final nudge to try out Citrus Lane. 

We have owned several iPlay products including infant sunhats and they're awesome. They have SPF protection, wash and wear well, are soft, light weight and super convenient to pack because they fold up so small. This is a hat you'll use over and over again. You can get them in different styles and a lot of them, like this one are reversible for the added bonus of two looks with one hat! 

Unfortunately for us, we got a size 2-4 toddler hat. iPlay only makes three sizes of hats 0-6 months, 6-18 months and 2-4T. They're all generously sized. While I would have loved to have a new 6-18 month hat in our box, we didn't get one. We didn't get one of those because Citrus Lane does their best to send products that your child won't immediately out grow and stop using. They would rather error on the side of caution and send something too big, than send something you can't use at all. As a parent, I really appreciate this most of the time! This time I didn't, but that's only because the hat is SO big that we'll have to put it up until at least next summer. Who wants a summer hat you can't use in the summer when you get it? At least I won't have to buy one for next year. Honestly, I wish they had an option to customize your child's current size under the profile information, but that isn't something they've done... at least not yet. They're always listening to customer feedback though, and who knows, it may be something that changes in the future.

Finally, because CL strives to send out a balanced box of items, there was a summer toy. This month they sent out toys from Spielstabil, which is a subdivision of Haba the German toy company and the toys are made in Germany. I honestly love Haba products and was really excited to see this toy included in the box as we'd never tried anything from their Spielstabil line. Citrus Lane sent out different sand and water toys this month and we got an apple tree sand mold. 

It was a cute toy, and I would consider other sand molds from them in the future, if I had some reassurance that this wasn't a normal occurrence.

Unfortunately, within about 2 hours of my daughter playing with it inside, the handle popped off! I was shocked as this shouldn't have happened. Spielstabil prides themselves on "Indestructible, BPA free toys made to last." So, either ours was a fluke or it somehow got broken in shipping and my daughter just managed to pull it apart because it was loose. I don't know.

They were out of the toy originally sent to us, so customer care sent 2 different products by Spielstabil (same value) instead and we've already had tons of fun using them. This is my daughter playing with them at the park.

 Either way, I contacted Customer Care at Citrus Lane about the broken toy and they sent us a replacement. The replacement toys actually made the box a little bit more fun and less disappointing because now we have something from the June Citrus Lane box that we'll be able to use all summer! Once again, many thanks to the awesome customer care team!

If you're interested in trying out your own Citrus Lane box or signing up for a subscription you can do so here. If you use this link, https://www.citruslane.com/invitedby/Audrey.Albinger when you sign up you'll save $10 off your subscription! Or if you'd rather try just one month to see if you like it, click here and enter code TAKEHALF at check out - your first box will cost only $12.50 and that's a deal! Word to the wise: you must sign up before the 5th of the month to get that months box or else you'll get the following month's box. You can cancel your subscription at anytime right on their website. If you do sign up I'd love to know your thoughts! 

No compensation was received for writing this post. All thoughts, opinions and photos are my own. We choose to subscribe to Citrus Lane and have done so at our own expense since June 2012. If you sign up from one of my links on this page I may receive a $10 credit to use for future Citrus Lane boxes and I greatly appreciate that!  

Bellafind: Reviews & Rewards!

I recently stumbled upon a site called Bellafind and was super excited. It's a lot like a combination  of Pinterest and a giant baby registry where you can review products you've used for mom or baby in many different categories. Only you can be rewarded for doing so. My first two rewards, Elisabeth Michael Charcoal Greek Key Pillows, are in the mail and I can't wait to get them! They'll be great on my husband and I's bed and he'll be impressed that they didn't cost us anything more than a little bit of my time and my honest thoughts.

So how does it work? Well, for each review you write with a minimum of 25 words, you're rewarded with 10 points. The points add up quickly and you can "spend" them in the "Rewards for Moms" section of the site which is like a mini store for mom! The only thing with the rewards is that they're constantly changing and when they're gone, they're gone. You can also earn rewards points for inviting friends to join you on the site and if someone "up-votes" one of your reviews you'll earn 10 points.

What I like most about the site, is that you can not only give your honest feedback about whether or not you'd recommend a product you can read what other people have to say as well and they give you the option to see current prices as well as link to buy an item. It's like a giant shopping party without any pressure and you're rewarded for participating even if you don't buy. After all, as parents we all end up using hundreds of things for ourselves and for our children and some of the are great and some of them are not. You have the inside scoop on what's worked for you and what you would gift or buy again and what you wouldn't. Why not share that info and get rewarded in the process?

They also have a Blog with "expert" opinions and finds of "Bellafind Mom's in the Know" some of these are excellent! If you're curious like I was and interested in learning more, joining or just taking a look check it out here! They even have the occasional giveaway for mom! All you have to do is be a member to enter. It's really simple and costs nothing. So come share your finds, and opinions and get rewarded with me! It's fun, it's easy and you can even add anything you feel is relevant to the categories they have listed.

A New Delivery: Our April "Go Green!" Stork Stack Arrived!

Stork Stack is awesome! That's what we learned when a 10 x 10 x 5 inch aqua, coral and white parcel appeared in our mailbox the other day. Let me just say, it was a delightfully lovely surprise to walk out to the postbox with my toddler and find a surprise package awaiting us. 
It was even lovelier to bring the package inside and open it up on a rainy day. What a cheery pick me up!

This was our first box and April had the theme of "Go Green!" I had an idea what to expect from reading about the company online, but I must say the products in the box far exceed my expectations.

We will happily use everything in this box in one way or another. We'll even probably reuse the box and cute tissue paper packaging! I love being able to reuse items like this for craft projects and creatively wrapping all kinds of presents - so that's definitely an added bonus.

The first thing you find upon opening your box is the Stork Stack product information card with the theme, month and year. This card reads like a little letter from the sender describing the theme and giving you some detail on why the products are in your box. Flip the card over only if you want to know what's in your box before you open up the tissue paper. The opposite side of the card lists the product contents, the maker, website information, the value and more detailed information about each individual product. I of course wanted to be wowed before reading this information so I set the card aside until after we'd opened up the tissue paper and peaked inside our box. 

The first toddler centric and "green" product in our box was a set of Green Toys Stacking Cups.

If you don't already know about them, Green Toys are fantastic! They're made in the USA from recycled plastic milk containers... how cool is that? The toys themselves are free of BPA, PVC and phthalates and are super easy to clean. 
 As an added bonus and in keeping with the "Go Green!" theme the packaging for Green Toys is minimal and made of recycled materials as well. We own several of their other toys and we're quite happy to get a new one that we didn't already have. These cups not only stack, but they can be used to learn mathematical concepts as the volume of cup 1 combined with the volume of cup 4 actually equals the volume of 5. I can also picture them getting a lot of use in the sand this summer as well!

The next product we pulled out of box was completely new to me. It was an 8oz full size pump-bottle of Green Envee's West African Shea and Calendula Children's Lotion. It's a plant based product and Green Envee prides themselves on using only organic and natural ingredients. In addition this lotion smells good, leaves skin super soft and as we have a family history of dry and sensitive skin we're always on the lookout for gentle and safe products to use so this one was exciting! Plus this lotion has the bonus of being nut-free, so if a nut allergies are an issue here's a lotion you could use or share carefree! 

The next product my daughter pulled out of the the box was this little tiny super food Banana Bar with Dark Chocolate by Clandestino. Yay! Another product we'd never heard of or tried. It's the perfect size for an awesome low-calorie sweat pick-me-up treat and this little bar has the same nutrient value as an entire banana, hard to believe right? To be honest, I don't much care for bananas and chocolate together so my husband and daughter will probably be sharing this tasty treat. I'm curious to see what he thinks as he not only really likes bananas, he's also a big dark chocolate fan. If it's good, I can see this as a fun addition to Easter baskets and Christmas stockings or gift baskets in the future.... It's so fun to try new things!

After gently wresting the chocolate bar away from my daughter and redirecting her attention back to the remaining items in the box we were excited to discover two more new products that we'd also never head of or tried before. Win-win Stork Stack! 

Eco Sprout "Green From The Ground Up" Laundry Detergent was one. This one my daughter quickly cast aside in favor of the last product in the box and I can't say that I blame her. Although, I must admit that I am pretty excited to try this detergent out; it's environmentally friendly, can be used with cold water and is safe for both cloth diapers and for sensitive skin! It's also free from dyes, brighteners, enzymes, phosphates and according to the packaging is 100% biodegradable unlike many others on the market - how cool is that? Way to go Eco Sprout!

Finally, and this might be both my daughter and I's favorite product in this month's stack... we had an Organic Picnic Pal Finger Puppet by Apple Park.

Our puppet is an owl, which thanks to a certain story book my daughter just happens to love, and it's just too cute! This may just be my new go-to company for fun, adorable and unique baby and little kid gifts. The company prides themselves on toys made of the finest organic, sustainable and recycled materials but also by beings stimulating, lovable and unique! We're in so in love with this little guy and once again, awesome packaging too!

Okay, wow! We absolutely loved our first stack and will be eagerly anticipating the next one in which should arrive around the first of May. The listed value of all the items in the box was $49.94 a steal considering the box itself only cost $28/month and even less if you use a referral link when you sign up. Plus we get to learn about and try out new products and companies that we might not otherwise hear about or can't find locally. If you're interested in receiving you're own Stork Stack in the mail or giving it as a gift to a special little one and their parent(s) you can check them out here Stork Stack and use my referral code: F9DE8478at check out to save $10 off any stack. They offer month to month, 3 month, 6 month and 12 month plans and you can safely cancel your subscription at any time!
 

 All opinions are my own. I was not compensated in anyway for this review.