Guest Blogger: Brenda Gouin ... and a Giveaway!

I'm happy to welcome Guest Blogger Brenda Gouin today, certified esthetician and owner of Parkview Hills Skin Care.  Brenda is passionate about healthy and natural skin care products and is going to share some information with us today.
_______________________________

Six Good Reasons to Use Organic, Non-toxic Skin Care Products
by Brenda Gouin, Certified Esthetician  

1. Your skin absorbs things easily (some people may argue this is not true, but all you need to do is think about nicotine and birth control patches to see that your skin really does absorb things effectively).
2. In North America 90% of ingredients in your personal-care products have never been tested for safety by anyone.  Even scarier, the FDA has only restricted 9 ingredients in 67 years.
3. As we all know, cancer rates are really high and even the established medical community is starting to realize that it’s largely due to the huge number of carcinogens that we’re exposed to on a daily basis with woman generally being exposed to more than men because of their beauty routines.
4. Hormone-disrupting ingredients found in personal-care products are affecting everyone from teenage girls to newborn babies to grown men and woman; many of these ingredients (e.g. phthalates) are not even listed on ingredient lists as they can be hidden within other ingredients or listed under "fragrance."
5. Good quality organic brands are not only more healthy for you, but also strongly support sustainable farming methods, fair trade, and eco-friendly policies.
6. You're worth it!  Treat your body with the respect it deserves.  Feed it junk and it will respond accordingly.  Feed it well and it will serve you well!

__________________________

As a part of "the month of June," I thought it would be nice to introduce you to Brenda this week.  I will feature more information on the wonderful lines of products she offers in upcoming posts so stay tuned.

In the meantime, if you are at all interested in learning more about green skin care, give Brenda a call (416. 953.1161) or email info@buygreenskincare.com and she will schedule a consultation by phone or in person to help guide you and provide practical recommendations to get the most out of your natural skin care regime.


Brenda is also offering C&CS readers a free giveaway and two great promotions:

1.     GIVEAWAY:  One lucky C&CS follower or email subscriber will receive a $40!!! Gift Certificate to use towards Brenda's products and/or services (click here to find out how you can enter).*****

2.    PROMOTION: Father's Day is coming and we all know our men need a bit of help when it comes to their personal grooming and taking care of their skin.C&CS readers will receive a complimentary 60ml Stone Crop Gel Wash with every purchase of the Stone Crop Tube. Visit http://www.buygreenskincare.com/



Eminence Stone Crop Tube

 

3.     PROMOTION:  C&CS readers will receive free shipping (within North America) as well as a free package of Kaia Bamboo Cleansing Cloths (30 in a pack and valued at $17.99) when they purchase more than $100 on-line at http://www.buygreenskincare.com/ 


Kaia Bamboo Cleansing Cloths

  Thank you  so much Brenda!

*****If you would like to be entered to qualify for the $40 gift certificate giveaway, you only need to do TWO things:

1.      Be a follower of this blog/subscribe to it via email (so hurry up and go do this if you haven't already). If you have any questions or challenges, just let me know at cashmereandcarrots@gmail.com. We will make sure you don't miss out, AND

2.     Once you complete #1, you can do ANY one of the following to be entered officially:

• Visit http://www.buygreenskincare.com/ , and then leave a comment telling us what beauty product you would use your $40 gift certificate towards, OR
• Share the C&CS link http://www.cashmereandcarrotsticks.blogspot.com/ on your facebook or twitter and then leave a comment telling me about it, OR
• Send your favourite Cashmere & Carrot Sticks post to someone via email (by clicking the envelope icon at the end of each post) and copy me on it (cashmereandcarrots@gmail.com)

GOOD LUCK and visit often as there will be other prizes all month long!

Friday's Fabulous Mom: Erin Wahba

Cashmere & Carrot Stick's Fabulous Mom for this week is Erin Wahba! 

_____________

My name is Erin Wahba and my husband Jonathan and I are the proud parents of Ethan (4), Sophie (2) and expecting baby #3 at the beginning of July.  Our unofficial first baby is our 5-year-old cocker spaniel named Reilly, who we all adore but who at times, can be just as much work as the kids!

Our fabulous Mom, Erin, her kids, Ethan and Sophie, and dog, Reilly

Prior to having Ethan I was an elementary school teacher, but ever since having Ethan I have been a full time stay-at-home mom.  While being a stay-at-home mom has definitely been the most challenging job I have ever had, I wouldn't change it for the world. I treasure these early years with my kids and know that they go by far too quickly. That being said, there are the times when I'm quite envious of my husband's business trips where he is guaranteed both a full night's sleep (or two)  and some adult conversation.
  
What’s on your bedside table right now?
My Kobo! I love to read but life with kids just doesn't seem to allow me to get into books as much as I would like, or I do get into them and then with every spare second that I have, I'm jumping for my reader. If you are looking for two very different but equally good reads, I would highly recommend, "Room" by Emma Donoghue and "Secret Daughter" by Shilpi Gowda.  I managed to polish them off thanks to a four-day trip my husband and I were able to take (just the two of us!) about a month ago and I enjoyed every second of these two books.

Tip/Trick for getting those daily vegetable servings in:
Through trial and error, I have noticed that my kids tend to eat many more vegetables when they are not served with a meal.  Both my kids prefer raw veggies to cooked ones so I started serving the veggies as snacks and appetizers.  I'm not too sure why but veggies will be devoured as an appetizer while they will be picked at as a side!?  Yet another mystery of the toddler/preschoolers psyche!

Something you do as a Mom that June Cleaver would approve of …. And something she would raise her eyebrows at?
June Cleaver would be very proud of the fact that I make my bed every day and insist that my children also do so. Truth be told, when they are out of sight, the perfectionist in me can't help but straighten their sheets and pillows though. Something about a bed made first thing in the morning just sets the tone for starting the day off right.  Mrs. Cleaver however, might raise her eyebrows at the fact that if we are at the park or in the backyard and my son has to pee, I don't mind letting him go in a bush. Given that he sees this as a thrill and he often waits until the very last second when playing, it works for both of us.

Any words of advice for keeping all the clutter and toys from overtaking?
One of my biggest clutter challenges as a mom was what do with the artwork that my children bring home from both nursery school and Junior Kindergarten.  While I didn't want to part with all this treasured artwork of their early years I also knew that the anti-hoarder in me didn't want piles and piles of artwork in scrapbooks.  As a solution, I decided to take pictures of all my children's artwork.  I then print the pictures and put them in a photo album where I write the title of the work, the date they did it and where they did it.  I have found it to be a really neat way and clutter free way, to watch their progress.  The kids frequently pull our their artwork albums and LOVE looking through a book compiled of their creations. Of course, I do still keep a few favourite or sentimental cards or pictures and either frame them for our toy/play room or keep them in a memory box :)

How do you squeeze in the ever-so-important time for just you and your husband?
My husband and I have always enjoyed going out to dinner together - it's one of our guilty pleasures! However, with two kids, busy schedules and finding a babysitter, it really doesn't happen as much as we would like. Our solution to this problem is to frequently have in-house date nights on Saturdays where once the kids are in bed, we are able to enjoy some wine and cook a nice, slow dinner and even better, enjoy it without eating at the warp speed that usually occurs when the kids are around. We love this time together even if we do end up talking about the kids for most of the evening ;)!


Something special/unique that you do for your family that you hope they remember fondly in the future:
Something I do for my kids that I know they don't appreciate yet but hopefully will in the future is that I write them each a letter on their birthdays.  When I was pregnant with both of them and now with number three, I often wrote them short letters telling them how I was feeling and how excited I was to meet them.  Feeling overwhelmed with emotion and disbelief as my first born's first birthday approached I decided to write him a letter which included all the amazing things he had learned/done in his first year and expressed the emotions that I felt over that year as well as him turning one.  From that grew a tradition and each child now has a sealed letter for each of their birthdays which are stored in their memory boxes.  My hope is that they will enjoy reading them when they are old enough and that they will be kept as treasure of who they are, where they came from and just how much they were and are loved on the anniversaries of their births.
____________

As you can see just from these questions, Erin is a sweet and thoughtful Mom and has a wonderful family. Thank you Erin for sharing with all of us, some of the special things you do for your family and how you make a difference every day!

Glimpses of Spring

I love spring and I love flowers.  And I'm pretty confident that June Cleaver - this month's honourary Mom - had a bit of a green thumb and would have loved flowers too.

There's something so friendly and happy about them.

Unlike some people who find gardening a pain, I find it very therapeutic (on the days when I actually have some time to do it uninterrupted that is).

I so enjoy cutting flowers from my garden and bringing them inside for bouquets and displays and giving them as gifts to other people.  Flowers just seem to brighten up everyone's day.
I have been very fortunate that the first two homes that I have owned have been older ones with tons of established flowers, shrubs and trees that needed only to be maintained, fed and occasionally pruned.  It's almost cheating as I didn't pick them or strategically plant them ... or pay for them.

Here's a glimpse of some of the flower friends popping up around my yard right now:

Purple Lilacs

White Lilacs

Rhubarb after a picking for dinner

The last of the tulips

Allium

Ferns ... love ferns!

Forget-me-nots



Not sure



The start of my hanging baskets ... To be continued

Bleeding Hearts

Hosta

More Hangers catching some rays 



Not sure



Peonies on their way

Not sure

Paper Whites (I think)

Window container ... complete with hard water marks :)

Chives

I love lilacs, but my absolute favourites are hydrangeas. What's your favourite flower?  What do you think June Cleaver's favourite flower would have been?

Fabulous Moms

What is a Mom? 

If you look it up in the dictionary you will find some generic, bland sentence involving "giving birth to a child" or "one's Mother" but we all know the definition goes far beyond that.  I guess anyone can be a Mom by the dictionary's definition, but to really be someone's Mom, day in and day out, giving 100%, never giving up, believing, loving, disciplining, guiding, learning and growing every instant of the day is a whole different ballgame. This is what it means to truly be a Mom.

During "the month of June," Cashmere and Carrot Sticks will be featuring a fabulous Mom every Friday. Some really special Moms have agreed to take part in this Fabulous Mom feature and I hope you enjoy hearing what they have to say as much as I have.  I provided each of them with a series of Mom-related questions and asked them to choose a few they would like to answer.  The result is informative, insightful and inspiring.

Go Moms!

The Month Of June

Welcome to:

The Month of June

Being a stay-at-home Mom, there is one iconic Mom who sets the bar for all others - the one and only June Cleaver. A woman dedicated to her family in every way - cooking, cleaning, comforting - and she did it all while dressed impeccably well with perfect hair, a welcoming smile and a sweet-as-honey demeanor.

Ahhhh ... to be June.   To be anything even remotely close to June actually.  Can't say my daily wardrobe is resembling her classy chicness in any way shape or form nor my demeanor when husband gets home (more like tart as a lemon [versus sweet as honey]) and the cleaning and cooking, well, there's a bit to be desired in those departments too (I think there are dirty dishes sitting in my kitchen sink right now that I have no intention on cleaning before I go to bed). BUT, when I compare the domestic skills and likeness to June of yours truly current day versus five years ago, this gal has come a long way. (I think/hope my mother in law who reads this is agreeing when she reads this :).)

Although a lot of things have changed since June's time at home with her kids during the 50s and 60s, I think if we all look closely, the basics haven't changed that much at all.  When you have a home and are raising a young family, life is busy  but there are still meals to cook, beds to make, floors to sweep, laundry to do, hugs and kisses to give, bedtime stories to read, school events to attend and money to be made. It doesn't matter if you organize by note pad or iPad, talk via rotary or Skype, sweep with an actual broom or an electronic Swiffer, the challenges are the same and the desired outcomes identical.

During this month - the month of June - there will be a lot of posts relating to life as a Mom, a woman and "homemaker."  To celebrate this important profession and role, there will be a lot of fun things going on, including a feature on some really special Moms out there and lots of free giveaways.

So sit back, relax, and tighten up your apron strings.  We have now entered:

P.S. If you want to be a part of the giveaways, and I promise there will be multiple and they are good, be sure to subscribe via email or become a follower if you haven't already. This will ensure you can be a part of all of the fun!  Want a sneak peak of one of the company's who will be giving something away, click here