ecoStore | Product Review & Giveaway

Truly natural, truly pure household products... Effective, toxin-free products your pet will love... Healthy plant-based products for your baby... ecoSTORE USA products provide safe, healthy alternatives to everyday brands, while at the same time featuring outstanding performance and value for the dollar... All ecoSTORE USA products are plant and mineral based and free of toxic ingredients.

~ ecoStore website

These are just a few of the sentiments you will find at the ecoStore USA. And guess what? They're true!

I received two fantastic products from the ecoStore to try out, and I love them both...

{ Coconut & Vanilla Hand Wash }

Nick and I both enjoy the scent of Coconut & Vanilla Hand Wash, though both of us wish that it had a little more lather. The formula is smooth and light weight, and leaves your hands feeling both clean and refreshed. A little goes a long way, too, which is great because you don't have to replace it often. Made with essential oils, wheatgerm and wheat protein, and completely free from Sodium Lauryl Sulphate, artificial dyes, perfumes and preservatives, this hand soap leaves your skin's natural oils where they belong - on your skin - and doesn't dry out your skin, instead leaving it moisturized and silky smooth.

I have found that a full pump dispenses way more soap than you actual need, so I only press down enough for a small pearl of soap to appear (the amount in the picture is about half a pump, and is still far more than you really need). Overall, I love this soap, and once you figure out how much you really need, the absence of lather doesn't matter.

{ Laundry Detergent 32oz }

This Laundry Detergent is by far my absolute favorite laundry soap I have ever used, and I will definitely be a repeat customer. With a very faint scent reminiscent of these little white flowers that grow in the fields of my native Montana, and Eucalyptus oil, it leaves nothing behind on your clothes but a clean, fresh scent. I have a very sensitive respiratory system and very sensitive skin, and I love that - unlike other detergents that make my skin and nose itch, and give me headaches from the perfumes used - this detergent leaves my skin alone, and the scent doesn't bother me at all!

Its super concentrated formula allows you to use as little as half a capful per load of laundry, and as you can see, these caps are pretty small to begin with. This tiny bottle of detergent really stretches!

Just add your soap directly to your load of laundry - no staining, unlike some detergents! This product is specially formulated to be used with delicates and woolens, as well as with your regular laundry. I use it with everything from denims to towels to my infant daughter's tiny clothing and blankets! You can also use this detergent with HE washers.

The back of each ecoStore product has information about the specific product, as well as earth-friendly information about a variety of topics. The bottle itself is recyclable, light weight (as is the product inside), and it easily wipes clean if any detergent spills, so you never get that nasty sticky residue on the outside of the bottle.

You can connect with the ecoStore directly by "liking" their Facebook page, or following them on Twitter.

Want to win some of these great products for yourself? The great folks at the ecoStore are kindly sponsoring a giveaway of five of their fantastic bar soaps (one in each scent, including the baby bar) to one of my lucky readers! You must be at least 18 years old and a resident of the United States or Canada to win, and all you have to do is enter via the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

{ Disclosure }

I received product at no cost for the purpose of providing an honest review. All opinions are my own. This post is in compliance with FTC regulations. If you would like your product reviewed on this blog, please visit my PR Friendly Blog page.

This post is part of our Celebrating Serenity baby event! To read more posts, check out the events page. Be sure to enter our many giveaways, and check back frequently for more great guest posts, and opportunities to win sweet baby and mommy loot!

"Photographing Childhood Memories" | Guest Post & Photography by Kimberly Pace

Please welcome to the blog my cousin, Kim Pace. She is a stay at home Mom to three wonderful, energetic boys (ages one to five) living near Newport, Oregon, and she is a talented mommy photographer. She loves to take pictures of her kids and put them into digital and traditional photo albums. She's taken the time to share some tips with us on how to capture beautiful pictures of your children (or the children in your life, if you're not a parent), along with a number of the gorgeous and entertaining images she has taken of her own cute and rambunctious boys. Enjoy! And if you love her post as much as I do, be sure to leave her some comment love at the end! *smiles*

Photographing Childhood Memories

by

Kimberly Pace

Ah, taking pictures of children.  It's easy, right?  They are so cute and they do the cutest and funniest things!  But, tons of blurry pictures later, you realize it's a bit harder than you thought!  Here are some tips I have learned over the years.  While I'm not anywhere near being a professional, these are the things I do to get good pictures of my kids.

Go Digital

Most of you are probably already doing this, but if you haven't, you might want to consider it.  One of the tricks to getting good pictures is to take a lot of them!  Kids are notoriously good at not sitting still and making faces when they are supposed to be smiling.  With digital camera's, you aren't wasting any film at all!  No money thrown into the garbage.  If you don't already have one, be sure to research them before you buy.  Look at reviews both by professionals and the average person.  Look at more than one site for this.  This way, you will find out what flaws they each have (because, honestly, all things have some small flaw!) and also because some cameras are best suited by the semi-professional and others for general use.  I made the mistake of not researching one once and I got one I hated.  Now, I was able to return it and I got a much better one (for me) to replace it, but it wasn't fun to go through that, since I was so excited to get it!

Get To Know Your Camera

One way to get good pictures is to simply get to know how your camera works.  Each one is different.  Start by reading your manual.  There may be some cool features on your camera you don't know about!  Then, go out and try each setting in different lighting.  Try all the things that your manual says you can do.  Then, when an opportunity arises, you know which setting you would like to use for the situation.  Also, you can take classes in some areas which will help you learn more about your specific camera and general photographic skills.  These tend to be at adult learning centers or other places like that.  But maybe you have a community college that offers them or something.  I haven't had this luxury, but my Mom and sister have, and you can see the results.  Plus, they had fun!  Also, search around online.  I found a guy who gives tips on several cameras on a blog and he's also on Facebook.  You can get some great hints out there.

 

Go Outside

The best pictures I've taken of my kids were outside.  Especially if you can go out on a cloudy day.  You will want to avoid noon hours, though, as there is too much glare.  One trick you can do is hold your hand, a piece of cardboard, a book etc....over your camera lens.  That does help when it is really bright.  Some cameras come with a little shade you can attach to the lens for those situations.   But the colors are so much more vibrant in natural light.  If you are inside, you can find a room with good natural light and that can help.  Otherwise, for inside lighting, you really want to know which setting works best there (practice!).

Hold It

Ok, one trick most cameras have these days is pushing the button half way down.  This secures the focus and it's easier to get a good picture, sometimes even when there is a lot of movement.  I definitely recommend this.  You will have to get a feel for it.  If you push too much, you've taken the picture and not enough, it isn't doing anything.  This has helped me a lot.

Carry It Everywhere

Ok, maybe you aren't the geek I am, always lugging around a bunch of stuff, but I recommend you take your camera everywhere (or get a phone with a good camera).  I got the best one of my middle son one day after a doctors appointment. while he played in a little grassy area.  He was terribly hard to get pictures of and I hadn't gotten a good 1 yr picture of him yet.  But I had my camera with me when he went over to a railing, put is arms on it and laid his head down on his arms.  It was so cute!  I had taken the camera out first and was just taking general pictures of him hoping for a good one, and I got it!  Seize the opportunity!  I've also gotten some great ones at a playground.

The image I mentioned...

Click, Click, Click!

This will be the best way to get good shots - just take a ton!  It's easy enough to delete bad ones.  One good one in the pile of bad ones is worth it!  This is what professionals do too.  They take a lot!  Now, most of the time you only see the good ones, or even just the ok ones.  You probably didn't see the ones where so and so sneezed, or the focus wasn't completely set and it was blurry.   Our wedding photographer tried different settings in several areas and some weren't quite as successful, but it didn't matter.  He just wanted to try that setting in that area.  And we had plenty of great ones of that same picture.  So, there is no harm in just clicking away!

Flash Tips

Now, I still have issues with my flash sometimes.  You need to check the settings for this.  There are often different brightness settings for the flash.  With my camera, even the lowest flash is still pretty bright!  Another thing I've learned helps, is to back up and zoom.  That way, the flash is dispersed over a larger area and doesn't glare off of the people's faces as much.

Macro

I love macro.  It is a setting where, if the object is really close to you, you can focus on it better.  I have used this for my kids pictures sometimes too, even if they aren't super close-ups.  It can really help the focus.  I usually try to take one without it, but if it doesn't seem to be focusing the way I'd like, I use this and it seems to work nicely.  A lot of cameras have this too, though not all.

{ Photo by Debbie Johanesen }

 

Movement Shots

Oh, these are always going to be hard ones.  I haven't perfected these by any means, but what I do to help is to focus somewhere and hold it down and wait.  When you want to take the picture, it will take it instantly.  If you don't do this, the camera may take a quick second to focus and you may have lost the shot.  And this is another time when taking a LOT of pictures is called for.  Some cameras have cool settings for this, and some don't.  But if you don't have a specific setting, this is the best way I know to get them.

I hope these tips can help you!  Here are some more pictures I've taken of my children.  Enjoy!

~ Kimberly Pace

*All photographs are the sole property of Kimberly Pace and may not be copied or reproduced in any way without express written permission*

* Correction:: The first photograph under the subtitle "Macro" was taken by Kim's mother (my aunt), Debbie Johanesen, who won a first place ribbon at her county fair for it a few years ago*

This post is part of our Celebrating Serenity baby event! To read more posts, check out the events page. Be sure to enter our many giveaways, and check back frequently for more great guest posts, and opportunities to win sweet baby and mommy loot!

Baroness | Susan May Warren | Book Review & Blog Tour

Lily and Rose, daughters of an empire coming of age in the roaring twenties, can have anything they want ... except freedom.

Expected to marry well and to take the reins of the empire, they have their lives planned out for them. But, Lily, Esme's daughter longs to return home to Montana, to adventure outside the confines of New York City. And Jinx's daughter Rosie dreams of the bright lights of the newly emerging silver screen. But following their dreams - from avant garde France, to Broadway, to the skies in the world of barnstormers and wing-walkers will take all their courage.

And if they find love, will they choose freedom or happily ever after?

Find out more from Behind the Pages: http://www.susanmaywarren.com/books/baroness

Baroness is the second book in The Daughters of Fortune series by Susan May Warren. I reviewed Heiress a while back (read my review here), and absolutely loved it!! This book was no different, and I cannot wait for the next installment to come out!

Picking up where Heiress left off, Baroness follows Rosie and Lily as they find their way in the new world created for them by their mothers' choices. Furious at being dragged from the family ranch she loves in Montana to live a sterile life in New York, Lily strikes out against her stepfather in the aftermath of her mother's death, and becomes a wing-walker in a traveling air show. Caught up in the heady adoration of all the men who surround her, Rosie seeks her fortune as a singer/dance on Broadway. Both girls run after their dreams - but what they find is more of a nightmare.

Dealing with themes of rebellion, cause and effect, and forgiveness, Susan May Warren pens yet another incredible story of humanity, and it is well worth the read!

Susan May Warren is the RITA award-winning novelist of over thirty novels. A five-time Christy award finalist, a two-time RITA Finalist, she’s also a multi-winner of the Inspirational Readers Choice award, and the ACFW Carol Award.

A seasoned women’s events speaker, she’s a popular writing teacher at conferences around the nation and the author of the beginning writer’s workbook: From the Inside-Out: discover, create and publish the novel in you!. 

She is also the founder of www.MyBookTherapy.com, a story-crafting service that helps authors discover their voice. You can find her online at www.susanmaywarren.com.

You can purchase your own copy of this great book for only $10.48 here.

{ Disclosure }

I received a copy of this book for the purpose of providing an honest review. All opinions are my own. This review is in compliance with FTC Regulations.

Happy Mother's Day | Two Weeks Old

Happy Mother's Day to the women in my life who have made a difference...

To my mother, Ellen, who taught me right from wrong, and introduced me to Jesus ~ thank you for instilling in me a vast hunger for truth, for righteousness, and for the face of God.

To my Grama, Marilyn, who never sugar coated the truth when I needed a good talking to, and at the same time always made her deep love of me known ~ thank you for always being there, and for your shining example of what it means to follow Christ with your life.

To Cindy, who shows me daily through her practical example how to live a productive life that's glorifying to God and satisfying to her family ~ thank you for being the best mother-in-law in a girl could ever have, and for raising such an incredible son to be my husband.

To my Aunt Debbie, who took me into her home while I was dating Nick, and took away the homesickness when I felt displaced ~ thank you for treating me like your 3rd daughter.

And to Grama Linda, who taught me many valuable lessons about living in grace during difficult times, and who shared her wisdom and love with me, as well as her home, for almost three years ~ thank you for your servant's heart, for your devotion to your family, and for accepting me as your granddaughter. You are an incredible woman, and I miss you enormously ♥

And finally, to all of the wonderful women I know who inspire and uplift me by their shining examples of faithfulness, patience, grace under pressure, and steadfast love. You have all touched my life in immeasurable ways, and I salute you today ~ thank you for helping me, by your own lives, to be a good mother to my little Serenity, and a good wife to my beloved Nick. I love you all very much!

Happy 2 Week Birthday, Baby Serenity!! *hearts*