Things I Love

Land of Nod is coming to Orange County!

May 17, 2013 by Sharon Garofalow 4 Comments

Are you as excited as I am about the Grand Opening of the Land of Nod store at South Coast Plaza?!! The store opens on Friday, May 31, 2013 and is located in the Crystal Court section of the mall near the Crate and Barrel store. Remember how I fell in love with them after Alt Summit? I can’t wait to see all the items in person. And it couldn’t be a better time considering we have only been in our new house a week. I’m totally in the market for rad home decor. Land of Nod will be holding giveaways all opening day and has free goodies for those who arrive early to shop. Will I see you there? Here are a few of the things that I will be checking out:

These wall clips pictured above, are awesome! My kid’s create a lot of art work in school and these would be such an easy way to display it. We are also talking about doing a gallery wall in our front room and these would be such a cool way to be able to change out a few pieces, from time to time, to keep things fresh.

I am in need of a cool, simple desk for my bedroom. I am a big fan of this teak desk. It would fit perfectly where our existing desk sits but I probably would totally bring this out when we entertain…I love the wood and metal together. It has great lines and I want it. (I’m stopping just short of stomping my feet with my hands in fists…). I’m excited to check out all of their other furniture as well!

This kid’s indoor bocce ball set is such a great gift idea! I love how bright the colors are. My husband’s grand father was a great bocce player. It would be cool for our kids to learn the game too.

The buyers for Land of Nod have impeccable taste. Their eye for great graphic design is evident in everything from their bedding to their custom art prints to their curated selection of books. This Doug Unplugged book is adorable and the perfect message for today’s kids. Get off your devices and get outside. My oldest son NEEDS this book!

My oldest son’s room is pretty small and I’m keeping his bedding really simple. These robot pillows would be perfect for adding a little pizzaz. And what kid doesn’t love a robot?

Currently, we do not have a light in our living room. We get by with the light from the television and entry way light. It is not ideal but until we find a light my husband and I can both agree upon, that will have to do. I can’t wait to show him this green lamp! It is such a fun pop of color and I love the industrial look of it.

Not in Orange County? You can still shop the store online. And don’t forget to follow them on Pinterest and Instagram. This is one company that really knows how to work their social media. I find their Pinterest and Instagram feeds SO inspiring!

I would love to hear your thoughts on the store after you visit!
This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Land of Nod, but all my opinions are my own. #PMedia #NODinCA http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO.

Filed Under: Family Life, Gift Guides, Home Decor, Things I Love, Toys Tagged With: art, bedding, design, furniture, home decor, kids rooms, orange county, shopping, storage, toys

Why I love sponsored posts

May 15, 2013 by Sharon Garofalow 1 Comment

*The FTC has made some new rules, one of which is to place a disclaimer at the very beginning of each post that is sponsored or compensated in some way. While this post is not sponsored, you will be seeing some changes to my blog format which may include a disclosure in this location.

Let’s talk for a minute about why I love sponsored posts and will continue to do them. There has been lots of talk recently about FTC guidelines and disclosing when you are compensated for a post. And about how many of them that you should do so that your readers are not put off. I have heard people say that they will not read a post if there is a disclosure at the beginning of the post but if they get to the bottom and see the disclosure they are ok with it as long as the content was authentic and didn’t seem sponsored. As the FTC is requiring us to disclose sponsored posts at the beginning and end of the post, I wanted to share why I do sponsored posts and why I hope you will keep reading my blog. To clarify, a sponsored post is a post in which you have been compensated in some way. It might be in the form of money, product, services, etc.

I’ll be frank. Sometimes I take a sponsored post because I know it will make my kid’s happy. Talking about you, Cool Whip.

The opportunities that blogging has brought me are mind blowing. From being able to make a little bit of money to put back in to my blog while still being a stay-at-home-mom to my kids, to behind the scenes experiences with well-known brands and products, blogging is the reason for all of that. There are TONS of things that I want to share with my readers that are not sponsored but there are also some crazy cool things that are sponsored that I want to share too! Like when I had my makeup done by celebrity makeup artist, Tia Dantzler?! The coolest. She’s done J Hud, The President and, you know, me. Or that Italian food tour of Los Angeles that Bertolli took me on? You KNOW you are going to hear every detail about that day. There is no way that I could attend every event that comes my way due to simple scheduling but I want you to know that I keep you in mind when deciding what things to go to. Please know that I thought of you during every bite of food at my 7 course tasting dinner at Five Crowns.

If you are a long time reader, you know I am a very creative person and I really enjoy a challenge. I make it my goal to bring you authentic content for each and every post. I also try to be as honest as possible. In my post for Hellman’s Mayonnaise, I was up front about not liking mayo. At first I didn’t want to do the project because of the fact that I don’t like mayo but there were a lot of positives about that campaign. It prompted me to make a video, which I had been wanting to do but hadn’t really had a reason to yet. It made me have a dinner party to share the recipes with friends (who doesn’t love doing that!) and it really made me figure out a way to connect with the message I was sharing.

But I am human and we all make mistakes. Of course there are things that I wish I wouldn’t have posted about just because someone asked me to. But it is important to remember that new bloggers learn as they go and make mistakes along the way. We shouldn’t judge them but encourage them and help them to learn. I would like to think that I make much better choices in terms of what sponsored posts to do at this point. I have come a long way from my first sponsored post for a BBQ grill cleaner…and let me just remind you that when my blog started I only talked about parties. It was a bit of a stretch. And guess what? We still use and love that BBQ grill cleaner! I get super excited when I get to try out a product before it is launched and share my opinion.

I will never share something with you that I don’t love. I have turned down SO many paid opportunities and product reviews that are just not a good fit. But why should I turn down money for something that I would want to share with you anyway? For instance, I’ve just applied to be part of a TV-based campaign. While I feel like my month of May and June are full of compensated posts, I will not turn down the chance to share with you something that my youngest son has been totally in to for the past 2 months in real life, without knowing this campaign was coming up. And I really hope I get it because it is a perfect fit. You guys, this month I get to do so many amazing things that I can’t wait to share with you regardless of the fact that they are sponsored for instance, throw two parties (um, hello, you know that is where it all began), attend a cool multi-faceted All American event (I also find so much inspiration in a well produced event), support a new local store (that just happens to be a store I am in love with – please remember to read Friday’s post) and watch a new reality show and tell you all about it (WORD TO YOUR MOTHER).

So I hope you will keep reading to see my experiences, see what brands I am creating content for and of course my family and my favorite things. While this started out as a creative outlet for me, it truly has turned in to something larger, for each and every one of you.

Filed Under: Blogger Meet Ups, Business of Blogging, Family Life, Oh you fancy huh, Things I Love Tagged With: blogging business, learning, sponsored

Shwings for your Kid’s Shoes

May 13, 2013 by Sharon Garofalow 2 Comments

How cool are those Shwings, wings for your shoes?! I have to be honest, I have seen these on the cool kids on Instagram and wasn’t sold. They were certainly not something that I had to run out and buy for my boys. How lucky then, that Shwings were included in our goody bag from the Rockin Boys Club launch party (btw, have you checked out Rockin Boys Club yet? LOVE that site!)?! Because I am now in love with these.

My oldest son is currently very in to mustaches. I hope he has no plans on growing one of his own (he is 7 but his dad still has trouble growing facial hair and he is well over 7…). His head exploded when I showed these to him. And then we were late for school lacing them on to his shoes. But it was well worth it. His feet were the talk of the class. And I got a huge laugh as I was walking away from dropping him off that morning after hearing him say to the teacher, “looks like my shoes could use a shave.” The side we have facing outward is flat black with a hint of shine. The opposite side is this really fun black glitter finish. I love that these would be right at home on girls or boys. It’s the details, people. And that touch of fluorescent green around the edges is super awesome.

I had no idea I loved neon as much as I do. And this BRIGHT coral orange made me, and my youngest son, SO happy. I worried that he might think he could actually fly with these wings. He has not yet tried, to my knowledge. Or else he really can fly. Shwings would make a great gift for every kid. Check out their site to see all their varieties. For about $8 you can’t go wrong.

*This is not a sponsored post. While I was given these for free as part of a gift bag, I was under no obligation to share with my readers. I truly think Swings are awesome and wanted you to know about them.

Filed Under: Family Life, Fashion, Gift Guides, Kid's Fashion, Orange County Resources, Things I Love, Toys Tagged With: accessories, boys fashion, gift, Kids Fashion, mustaches, Shwings, wings

Kid’s Art Pillows for Mother’s Day

May 9, 2013 by Sharon Garofalow 1 Comment

Hey mom. Hey Marie (mom in law). So I’ve now just ruined Mother’s Day for you because these kid’s art pillows are your gifts. I know you read my blog, but I really wanted to share how cute these turned out with my readers. Happy Mother’s Day!

I love when my kid’s draw. They come up with the greatest characters. When my youngest son drew this guy, I knew I had to turn it in to fabric. And since Mother’s Day was coming up, it made sense to make the fabric in to pillow covers. If you have never made your own fabric before it is SO easy. I used Spoonflower and all you have to do is scan in the image and then follow their prompts. It can be pretty expensive but I think it is well worth it to be able to create one of a kind fabric (and a keepsake). Your local craft store sells pillow forms that are pretty inexpensive and make it so you don’t have to stuff your pillow with batting. Super easy.

Once the fabric arrives, you just have to find someone awesome to sew up the pillow covers. And also to take pictures of the pillows for you since you are still trying to find your plates in your moving box hell. (Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lauren!)

Have you ever made your own fabric?

Filed Under: Craft Ideas, Family Life, Holidays, Home Decor, Things I Love Tagged With: art, crafts, gifts, Kids, Mother's Day, pillows, sewing

Cube Figures Gigo Blocks

April 19, 2013 by Sharon Garofalow Leave a Comment

My son’s and I are in love with these Cube Figures by Gigo Blocks. I picked these up for them as souvenirs from my trip to Salt Lake City in January.

The sets come in a small bag and the pieces pop together. The characters are totally creative and they come with a hook so you can hang it from your backpack if you want.