Photoshop v. Lightroom- anyone have any opinions?

I'm trying to decide if I should buy Photoshop or Lightroom for my photo editing and before I shell out a lot of money I'd love to get some feedback on what all of you use and why. I know there's a lot of great photographers out there and if you have any opinions at all please give me some advice!

New Love Bomb Mission

Today we are dropping a Love Bomb on a guy named Tris. That's right, a guy! It's been awhile!



Tris is a young man who has been struggling heavily with alcohol as well as self-harm. He's gone through some incredibly difficult life events; more so than most of us. He recently went into rehab, but it isn't apparent to others yet how much it has helped him.




"Having alienated many people in his life, I think he could do with some support - even if it's largely from people he's never met and never will. We've known each other for a few years and he's been through some pretty difficult times. He really needs support right now."


Through all of this, there is reason to celebrate. This past Saturday he celebrated being 4 months clean, and his personal life is on an upswing. I would love for all of us to come together to recognize his awesome accomplishment, give him encouragement for the future, and give him some genuine, no-strings-attached love.


Thank you guys for doing this with me. I appreciate you every week and love what we do together!


You can join me in commenting on his blog here: http://thetigressandtheking.blogspot.com/2010/09/reflection.html


Time to drop a Love Bomb, guys!



P.S. Comments are moderated. Please go ahead and comment, and know that your comments may not appear immediately, but will be read by Tris.

New Dining Room Set Needed

As our family has grown we've been more and more on the lookout for new dining room furniture to offer us more space for eating and spending time together as a family. Right now we have a high square dining table with four matching chairs that are super high off of the ground and pretty uncomfortable. As I've been trolling the Internet I ran across these fabulous upholstered dining chairs and they look SO much more comfy than the tall wooden ones we have now. My favorites include these:

And these:

I'd love to get a set of six chairs and a large dining room table to match. My favorite part is that all of these sets are very reasonably priced and super high-quality. What could be better? Now I only have to convince my dear hubby that it's time for a new set! 

CSN Stores has over 200 online stores where you can find everything from stylish handbags, to modern upholstered dining chairs, or great cookware! Check out their site and let me know what your favorite is!

Adventures in Baby Food

Jackson sure likes his food, especially the smearing-it-all-over-his-face part!

Review- Dapple Organic/Natural Baby Products

I LOVE natural baby products, so I had a feeling I was going to absolutely love Dapple Natural baby products as well. And boy was I right! Dapple is an amazing company started by two moms who were struggling to find natural cleaners for the items that babies put in their mouth constantly- toys, bottles, cups, and dishes. So they partnered with pediatricians and "green" chemists to create a line of dish soaps, sprays, and wipes that are all-natural, nontoxic, and highly effective at cleaning. Some of the organic baby products they offer are dish liquid, dishwasher powder, toy cleaner spray, and toy cleaner wipes. Dapple was generous enough to send me a travel-size pack of their Dapple Toy Cleaner Wipes and several generous samples of their Dapple Dish Liquid.

Dapple Toy Cleaner Wipes are fantastic for storing in the diaper bag for those frequent occasions when your little one decides to chuck his favorite toy (aka Sophie the Giraffe) on the ground in the grocery store. These wipes feature green technology that effectively cleans away bacteria while still being safe for your child's mouth. Each wipe is generously sized and can clean several different items at once- including your child's grimy hands, icky cart handles, and the aforementioned hapless toys that land on the ground in public places. Here are the facts:

Convenient travel size

Natural-based ingredients

Phtalate-free, paraben-free, SLES- & dye-free

Fragranced with pure lavender essential oil

Biodegradable

Not tested on animals
Certified to contain no detectable levels of dioxane

Retails for $3.49

Dapple Dish Liquid

Washing bottles after one of several pumping sessions each day is definitely not my favorite thing to do. One of my favorite things about Dapple Dish Liquid is that it's specially formulated to target milk residue and contains baking soda to combat odor, all while using green technology. How cool is that! I also love the relaxing lavender scent, which tends to make this chore a little more enjoyable. Here's the facts:

Rinses fast

Natural-based ingredients

Phtalate-free, paraben-free, SLES- & dye-free

Fragranced with pure lavender essential oil

Biodegradable

Not tested on animals

Certified to contain no detectable levels of dioxane

Retails for $5.99

BUY IT!

Dapple products can be found at the following retailers:

Buy Buy Baby

Bed, Bath, and Beyond

Toys R Us

Diapers.com

AlbeeBaby.com

Review/Giveaway- EcoMom/Plum Organics Eco-Friendly Baby Products $15 Gift Card

As part of our "going green" philosophy I'm always on the lookout for new baby products that are eco-friendly. When I happened upon the website EcoMom I knew I had hit pay dirt! Eco-friendly Baby Products- EcoMom are this site's fortay and they have an amazing selection! Here are some of my favorite items they offer:

Plan Toys Mini Fire Engine

White Stoneware Compost Pail (I want this SO bad!)

Angel Baby Bottom Balm

Boon Mini Bath Goods

Lifefactory Silicone Teether

And my absolute FAVORITE product they offer?

Plum Organics Baby Food!

Plum Organics is the most fabulous baby food on the market and is my go-to food for when Jackson and I are out and about during the day. I generally prefer to serve him food I make for him when we're at home, but it's difficult to keep the food fresh when we're running errands. Plum Organics is 100% organic and free of any additional ingredients except for pure, organic produce. Here are some more facts about their products:

Non-genetically modified ingredients

Innovative shelf stable, spouted pouch – gentle cooking retains freshness, flavor & nutrients

No mess solution – resealable, convenient & portable

Baby friendly package – child safe cap, no sharp edges

100% BPA-free packaging & recyclable cap – an eco-friendly alternative to the glass jar

Easy feeding – attachable dispensing spoon* made exclusively for Plum Organics by Boon

Totally love the Boon Spoon attachment! It basically screws right on to the top of the Plum Organics package, eliminating the need for an extra bowl while you're running around. It also keeps the mess down and is just plain cool!

 

I got a selection of Plum Organics foods as well as the Boon Spoon from EcoMom to try and boy were they a hit! We tried the pumpkin/banana, peaches, sweet potato/corn/apples, baby spinach/peas/pears,apple/carrot/ and peach/apricot/banana combos and Jackson loved them ALL! What a great way to sneak in veggies by combining them with fruits! One of the best things about Plum Organics is that they offer products from the high chair to the lunchbox and everything inbetween! I bought a truckload of Plum Organics baby food from EcoMom and they arrived on my doorstep lickety split- love the fast shipping!

 

As you can see the EcoMom website has it all- from nursing to baby food, health/wellness, toys, bath and body, healthy home, and more!

An awesome option EcoMom offers that sets it apart from other websites is their EcoPass. This nifty program allows you to save 15% on every order you place with EcoMom as well as free shipping for an entire year! The cost of the pass is $99 annually- which breaks down to $8.25 a month. The best part is that the EcoPass pays for itself in as little as four orders! Click here to sign up now!

Now for the good stuff. . . . .

BUY IT

Want to get some Plum Organics (or any of the other AMAZING items EcoMom sells) for yourself?

Head on over to EcoMom and use the code SBBL608 to save 15% off your total order! What a deal!

WIN IT

You can also enter to win a $15 gift card to EcoMom! Here are the rules:

1. You must be a resident of the US or Canada.

2. You must not have won a giveaway from EcoMom in the last 45 days.

3. You must complete the madatory entry in order for your extra entries to count.

4. Please include your email address in each and every entry so I know who to contact if you win!

Mandatory Entry

Head on over to EcoMom and tell me what you would buy with your $15 giftcard if you win AND Follow The Adventures of a Blondie Mommie through Google Friend Connect! (1 entry)

Extra Entries

Follow EcoMom on Twitter (3 entries)

Vote for me on Top Baby Blogs (3 entries per day)

Become a fan of EcoMom on Facebook (3 entries)

Join the EcoMom Newsletter (3 entries)
Blog about this giveaway and leave me a link to your post. (10 entries)

Giveaway ends Monday, October 11th at 8:00pm PST!

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this review. I was provided with several Plum Organics products and a Boon Spoon upon which to base my review. All opinions expressed are honestly my own. 

Flashback Friday- Jackson's Birth

Here I am 40 weeks and 3 days pregnant, in labor and checked into the hospital. If only I had known what was in store. Read Jackson's birth story here.

I can't wait for Fall!

Pumpkins, changing leaves, a chill in the air, and. . . . who am I KIDDING? I live in ARIZONA and leaves don't change here nor do we ever get "a chill in the air." Oh but how I would LOVE to live in a place that does! Maybe some place like this:

Or this:

A girl can dream right? Here are some things I'll still be able to enjoy even though it's hot-as-Hades 110 degrees outside:

Taking Jackson to the pumpkin patch to pick out his very first pumpkin!

Oooey gooey caramel apples!

Taking Jackson trick-or-treating for the first time.

Hot apple cider.

I love you Fall!! Oh when oh when will you arrive in Arizona? Soon pretty please!

New Love Bomb Mission!

Hey everyone,
Bonnie lost her second son in a motorcycle accident recently, and she writes,

"Forty Percent....Gone. If I break it down by the numbers that is my loss so far. Five kids, two gone. Forty percent of my posterity gone."

In Rachael's words, "The loss was hard for us, but mostly for his parents. My Aunt Bonnie lost one child a few years ago, so this is her second son to pass away. It's hard to lose one son as it is, and now she has lost another. My Aunt could really use some love and words of comfort at this time."

I've heard it said that there is no pain more excruciating or deep than a mother losing her child, as it is an unnatural and "backwards" loss. No parent should have to see their child die, much less two.

Please join me in showering Bonnie in love, compassion and comfort.

You can comment on her post here: http://bonniesbrainstorm.blogspot.com/2010/09/by-numbers.html

Time to drop a Love Bomb!

Wednesday Blog Hops!

Welcome to our blog! I am a breastfeeding, attachment parenting, trying-to-cloth diaper, eco-conscious, work at home mama who also loves her designer jeans and mascara! Take a look around and while you're here enter to win an Easy Lunchboxes Complete lunchbox travel set here. Like what you see? Follow us through Google Friend Connect and leave me a comment letting me know you did. I promise to return the favor!

Happiness

Can I just tell you how much I LOVE being a WAHM?! Seriously, this is the best job ever. Not only do I get to contribute financially to our household (which is a must since we can't swing it on my husband's teaching salary), but it also gives me the flexibility to spend plenty of time with Jackson. He can't be with me all day, every day but I get tons more time with him than when I was teaching. Today for instance I only have a couple of phone calls in the morning so he gets to hang out with me until around 1pm and then I'll take him over to my sister-in-law's for some play time with his cousins. I'll finish my day around 4:15pm, pick him up and play/chill until bath and bed around 6:30pm. After he goes to bed I'll finish my day with several more phone calls and then go to bed myself! This morning we went to the park and swung on the swings and played in the grass while I played with the manual modes in my camera. It's a lovely overcast day and the extreme heat feels like it's finally subsiding (it was 111 degrees on Sunday!). We can't wait for fall!