Get that baby ONYA already!!
It is not too often that a BRAND NEW never been made before soft-structured baby carrier comes on the market. No 'fourth generation', no 'II', no 'now with designer fabrics'. I mean brand spanking new! And not only NEW, but GOOD. Like really really good!
That is what happened in September of 2011 at the ABC Kids Expo in Kentucky, with the official launch and release to market of the Onya Baby Carrier.
And babywearers everywhere were itching to get their hands on one to try it out and see for themselves what all the hype was about and what this new carrier had to offer.
I was no exception!
I "met" Diana Coote, the creator of the Onya Baby on Twitter and we started having great babywearing conversations. I immediately loved all the great things she was posting about babywearing and living an active lifestyle with baby!
So, when the carriers finally hit the market after four years of research and development (this fact alone is reason enough to give this carrier and the company BIG props), I asked her if I could have one to review.
She gladly obliged and sent me the 'Cruiser' in Leaf Green/Raw Umber.
- Image Courtesy of Onyababy.
The first thing that hits you when you take your new Onya Baby out of the box is how incredibly well made it is. Your eye is immediately drawn to the padded and contoured waist strap and leg padding for your little one and you just know it is going to be a very comfortable fit even before you put it on. With little details like covering the waist buckle and putting it over on one side versus in the middle and the super cute Mama and Baby Koala logo on the carrier, the esthetics of this carrier are also very appealing.
And then you put it on and get your baby up on your tummy or your back and you are completely blown away!
This is one comfortable baby carrier.
And not only that, as a baby carrier educator I look for certain things in all carriers that I review and the ONYA Baby hits all the major points that I am most concerned with.
- Proper positioning of baby in an upright and tummy-to-tummy (or back carrying) position. CHECK.
- The fabric of the carrier extending from knee to knee and baby sitting in a good flexed and abducted ("M") position. CHECK.
- Good support and just the right amount of padding for the wearer's waist and shoulders, with the option to cross the straps diagonally across your back when front wearing. CHECK.
- The body of the carrier high enough to fully support baby up to the neck/bottom of ear lobes, with an optional sleep hood. CHECK
But wait....
There is more!
Not only is the ONYA Baby a really great and comfortable baby carrier, it also has this ingenious little zippered pocket at the front that once opened reveals the full versatility of this product.
It is a CHAIR for your baby too!
Say WHAT??
Now I know some of you may have done something like this before with your wrap or mei tai carrier. Strapped your carrier to a chair and then fashioned some kind of contraption to safely tie your baby into it, not unlike those very expensive separate chair harnesses one can purchase.
Well, this is exactly what the ONYA Baby does. Strap your ONYA to a chair, unzip that little hidden front pocket and voila! Instant and SAFE seat harness for your little one.
Think about it mamas. You go for a nice walk with baby to your local coffee shop and decide to sit down and enjoy a latte and get a little snack for the two of you. But there are no high chairs. So you take baby out of your carrier and try to drink a hot beverage with them squirming on your lap or have baby eat something without making it look like a 'Category 4' hurricane of cookie crumbs and squished grapes has passed through the place. The whole situation can kind of take the joy out of the whole 'babywearing walk and chillin' with your little one' idea that you had in the first place.
NOT ANYMORE!
With the ONYA baby, you and baby can have your own chairs and you can enjoy your nice chai latte without risk of scalding the top of your child's head and baby can squish as many grapes as he or she wants in the comfort and safety of her own chair on the opposite side of the table!!
The chair option on the ONYA is ideal for the baby who has perfect head control, but can't quite sit on their own in a chair.
I did not have a four to six month old baby on hand, so asked my three-year old to give it a go!
I can see how the ONYA would be very handy to have and be able to 'put' baby somewhere when you are out and need to have your lap to yourself. The only issue I can see with it, is that it is not a 'booster' seat and unless the tables are relatively short, baby would still be quite low and may not be able to reach any food or toys ON the table.
The Onya Baby is a very welcome addition to the soft-structured baby carrier world and I am thrilled to give it a very enthusiastic two thumbs up!! It is a great carrier to transition to when your baby is about 3-4 months (~15 lbs) and it has been tested up to 45 pounds!! I wore my 36 pound three-year old in if very comfortably and wouldn't hesitate to put my 5-year-old in it for a piggy back ride as well.
Diana from Onya Baby posted a great comparison chart of the different Soft-Structured Carriers on her blog this past week and has given me permission to repost it here for you to see how the ONYA stacks up to the other SSCs on the market. You can also go HERE to read her original post and see the rest of the chart.
The Onya Baby Carrier retails for ~ $149.00 and is available at these fine retailers.
Happy Babywearing Everyone!
Natasha~
A twofor from Natural Mother Productions.
I have been very remiss and absent from my babywearing blogging lately. I am so very sorry everyone! So to make up for it, I have a two in one review for you!!
A few months ago I got an email from a lovely baby carrier making Mama of 7 (her last pregnancy was a twofor as well)! She wanted to send me one of her carriers to see what I thought of it.
Well, you know me, I am not one to pass up trying out a new carrier and I am especially pleased when it is from a fellow Canadian Mama working to support her family while doing something that she loves.
So without further ado...
Here is Natural Mother Productions!
Michelle Dunn is the creative juice and super mama behind this brand, and she makes the loveliest custom mei tai and full buckle carriers!
So she sent me one of each! Woohoo! Double the fun!
The first is the Mei Tai.
My first impression of this carrier was Wow!! The stitching and workmanship on this piece is amazing. There is just the right amount of padding in the waist band and the straps of the carrier to make is super comfy. I especially like the angle of the shoulder straps on this Mei Tai. The way that they are attached to the body of the carrier keeps the straps nicely on your shoulders versus riding up onto your neck. This keeps the weight of baby off your neck and distributed better over your shoulders.
The body of the carrier is quite unique and to be honest, I was not sure what to make of it at first. The top half of the mei tai is padded and provides a more rigid support for your baby's upper torso and head. The lower half has a slight contour to is and is not padded. At first this confused me, but after further review and trying it out with a couple of different aged babies, I am convinced that this may actually be quite brilliant!
Here is the thing. My beef with a few of the other quite popular mei tai carriers is how stiff the bodies of these carriers are. This can make it very hard to use them effectively, especially with younger or smaller babies and makes getting these little ones in the proper position with legs out, in the flexed & abducted or 'M' position very difficult. The fact that the lower half of the NMP mei tai is NOT padded allows you to bunch in the carrier more at the base so that you can properly position your baby in a nice seated and froggy-legged position from 10 pounds and up (as stated by the manufacturer).
For the record, I will state that, with maybe one exception that I know of, mei tai carriers are not the most ideal baby carriers for newborns and in my opinion should be used from 3 months and up (the upper weight limit on most carriers is 35 lbs). In this regard the NMP Mei Tai is no exception to my rule.
What I do love about the NMP Mei Tai is the body and headrest. It is a nice high body and easily covers babies all the way up to the shoulders and neck (and head if need be). The headrest part can be folded down to accommodate a baby that is awake and wants to look around, but keeps its firmness when upright and provides good support for the sleeping baby.
The one thing that limits the use of this mei tai for me with my big kids, is the base of the seat. For bigger toddlers (2-3 year olds), I did not find that it gave the knee to knee support that is ideal in baby carriers. For younger babies, this is not a problem and the 12.5 inches gives ample support and makes a very nice seat for baby to sit in and get the above stated knee-to-knee support. And as you can see, I wore my little 11 month old helper, Baby N, very comfortably for about a half hour in my NMP Mei Tai and we both loved it.
Little N's mama is also rather petite and was having problems finding a carrier to fit her body comfortably. The NMP mei tai carrier was a very good fit for her and she loved how easy it was to get it on and off.
The high and more rigid upper body of the mei tai works great when wearing your babies and toddlers on your back. And, as you can see here, there is little to no chance of your little ones leaning back too far in this carrier!
The Natural Mother Productions Mei Tai is a lovely addition to the babywearing world and anyone's carrier stash and Michelle's custom work is both beautiful and functional!
And her Buckle Carrier is no exception!
As I have mentioned before, my biggest complaint with most of the mainstream buckle carriers (think Ergo, Beco and Boba) has always been the straps and the chest clip. Especially when carrying baby on the front and having to reach back and trying to get the clip done up with your arms behind your head. Well, I am happy to report that the NMP Buckle Carrier has taken care of this for me! The straps of the NMP carrier criss-cross across your back and actually buckle directly into the body of the carrier. I personally feel that having the straps of any carrier (wrap, mei tai or buckle carrier) crossed on your back, distributes the weight of the baby better and is a lot more comfortable for the wearer.
I had my friend, Josline (a tried and true Ergo user) try out the NMP buckle carrier with her 15-month-old, 29 pound little one and she LOVED it. As did her daughter who needed some uppy time for a much-needed nap. The structure of the NMP Buckle Carrier is much like the Mei tai with the high-backed, sturdy upper portion and contoured lower seat area. A nice addition to the buckle carrier is the sleep hood that buckles directly into the upper straps near your shoulders.
The NMP Buckle Carrier does not come with a chest strap like most buckle carriers and I will admit that I was nervous about this at first for back carrying. I have one slightly slope-y shoulder and find that I 'need' that extra support with most other carriers to feel secure in a back carry.
I was pleasantly surprised by how the NMP Buckle carrier fit both me and my 3-year-old, 35 pound 'baby'. The design and cut of the straps just sort of 'fit' perfectly around the shoulders and are nice and snug and thus, seem to eliminate the need for a chest strap. Princess L and I went for a nice walk with our gorgeous NMP carrier and were both very, very happy with it!
Michelle custom makes every one of her carriers and she has some gorgeous prints to choose from. I am particularly fond of the 'Carnival bloom' print and the 'Zesty Zinna' one too! The carriers are good for babies from 10 to 35 pounds and are a one size fits most design (you can discuss with Michelle if you need a more custom size).
Natural Mother Productions is offering my Natural Urban Mama readers a discount on her fabulous carriers! Let her know that I sent you and you will get $25.00 off of a buckle carrier or $20.00 off of a mei tai carrier.
Happy Babywearing Everyone!
Natasha~
Straightforward. Enigmatic. Outstanding.
Are three words that I would use to describe my good friend Jennifer Banks. Search Engine Optimization also happens to be what Jen does for a living at Epiar, THE search engine marketing experts in Edmonton. And she is really, really good at it!
Last week I had the pleasure of hearing her present to a group of Bossy Mama entrepreneurs and teach us as much as she could about SEO in just under two hours. Not an easy task and yet, many of us left that room with so much information and tasks to do that I am sure there were a lot of late nights for some this past week.
Now I am no expert in this at all, and in reality, I am actually a very recent (6 months) convert to the powers of SEO. And this is all because I had the pleasure of meeting, and having drinks with Jen at another Bossy Mama Networking event. Yes, I actually told her that I thought that SEO was just a bunch of bull!!
Little did I know that the lack of SEO on my own website was hurting me. Jen schooled me very quickly in this with the help of some very cool and FREE tools that anyone can use to figure out some simple things about keywords, and how people really use search engines.
And here is the REALLY BIG LESSON that I learned from Jen about SEO and what I think everyone with a website/blog/Facebook page/twitter account needs to know.
Do not assume that you know what people are using to search for whatever it is that you are selling/peddling/writing about. Because chances are YOU ARE WRONG!!
The best tool to use to figure this out is the Google Keyword Tool. This is a free tool that anyone can use. You simply enter your search term or phrase and your country/location and poof! up pops all kinds of useful info for you. Including if what you think people are "Googling" and looking for is actually what they are looking for! (And in my case, I was very wrong, and yes, I have since fixed this!!)
Another really cool free tool that Jen told us about is UberSuggest. This keyword suggestion tool is really neat. It takes your base term and extracts Google suggestions for it. And if you hit 'expand' it will list all suggestions associated with your base term and list them alphabetically. Ubersuggest is an awesome tool, especially for bloggers looking for new post topics and questions that people are actually searching for.
The other sweet tool that we learned about is the SEOMOZ's Open Site Explorer Link Popularity & Backlink Analysis Tool. In geek speak this tool tells you all about your "link juice". It shows you who is linking to you and you can also use it to scope out your competition too and see where they are getting their link juice from! Go here to learn more about what you can do with all this spiffy new information.
There was so much that Jen taught us that night and it really is hard to put it all in one post. My advice is this, A) follow her on Twitter, B) read her Techmommy blog and C) call up Epiar, book a consultation and ask about their SEO for Small Businesses pack.
And then settle in with a glass (or two) of wine and your laptop and get to work optimizing the shit out of your site (and know that this may take a while, but will be so worth it)!!
Cheers all,
Natasha~
Natasha's Pick of the Week: Infinite Fitness
So remember a few months ago when I was all "I'm having a pity party cause I dislocated my hip and then had knee surgery and now I am all bloated and lopsided and I need a personal trainer"? Well, I found one. A REALLY GOOD ONE!
Her name is Jessica Zapata and she is co-owner of Infinite Fitness Personal Training.
And she is KICKING my butt!
I have been working out with her and doing my homework workouts at home and also trying to maintain a pretty strict diet that she has put together for me for the last 4 weeks and I am very happy to report that it is all working!
I have lost 4 pounds and am feeling so much stronger already.
It also helps that Jessica and I have a whole lot of fun while she is kicking my butt too. I am sure my abs are getting an extra bit of a workout because of how much I am laughing when we have our sessions together.
Take last week for example. We were in the middle of a workout and I casually mentioned that I can not jump. And to prove it, I then demonstrated my lack of jumping skills. (This is when you picture me trying to jump, but I look more like a two-year old, lifting my heels off the ground and not quite getting ANY AIR).
Jessica said to do it again and so I tried, again. I squeezed my knees together (cause I am afraid for my poor arthritic knee babies), scrunched up my face in DEEP concentration and jumped what was likely a quarter of an inch off the ground. And her response was, "Why are you squeezing your legs together like that, you look like you are taking a poop?"
So now on the agenda for our next session is "Jump Training".
Because here is what I have learned in the short while that I have been with Jessica. There is no such thing as CAN'T, there are only modifications. So, essentially I don't get to weasel my way out of doing ANYTHING. Burpees, yes, there is a modification for that. Push-ups, yup, those too. And now, even jumping!
And for even more of a test of my will power and resolve, I am going to do the "Body by Vi" 90 Day Challenge as well. I am really looking forward to this and will keep you updated as to my progress. I have a lofty goal of losing ~15 pounds by the beginning of September.
My good friend and fellow blogger, the awesome Jennifer Banks is also on a similar quest. Together we are going to keep each other in check and blog and tweet about our respective weight loss and habit changing journeys. Come along if you like and see what happens, maybe you might be inspired to join us too!
As for me, I had better get to sleep now. Tomorrow is workout with Jessica day and I feel like I may be in for a world of hurt...the good kind that is!!
Feel the burn peeps,
Natasha~
Natasha's Pick of the Week: Vancouver
This past weekend was a first for our little family. It was the first time Natural Urban Dad and I have escaped from left both our kids and the first time they had a sleep over at NaiNai and YeYe's house. We headed off for a nice romantic getaway to the lovely city of Vancouver and they set up their sleeping bags in the family room at my in-laws place and had a camp out with their grandfather.
To be completely honest, I thought that leaving them for the weekend would have been harder on me, but it really wasn't. They gave me enthusiastic hugs and kisses goodbye and then went back to jumping around on their new sleeping bags. The dog cried more the day before when I left her with my sister!
Vancouver was the perfect spot for us to go to for our first little getaway by ourselves. For one thing, we did not pay a thing for our flights or hotel thanks to all our unused air miles points (SCORE!), and we did not need a car thanks to the lovely Canada Line Skytrain system that runs from the YVR airport all the way downtown to the Waterfront Station and Canada Place. We stayed at the Delta Vancouver Suites hotel, a decent place smack dab in the middle of downtown and well within walking distance to everywhere we wanted to go.
Natural Urban Dad did his undergraduate degree at the University of British Columbia and so Vancouver holds a very special place in his heart. He has told me over and over that every time he is there he feels the pull of this city and its metropolitan essence. Maybe it is the tides??
I do know what he means though, we are both Capricorns. We love the water and the mountains and were else (in Canada at least) do you get the majesty and tranquility of both?
We spent most of our time in the happening downtown neighborhoods of Gastown and Yaletown. Good eats, good shopping and some pretty cool architecture as well. On Friday night we had dinner at Chill Winston, a restaurant and lounge/bar in Gastown that has a lot going for it. Great location, great food, cute servers and a super fun atmosphere with a very eclectic and diverse clientele. We walked around after dinner, checked out the view into the harbour and then found a nice little organic cafe and had some tea and very yummy key-lime cheesecake.
Saturday we SLEPT IN!! It was lovely! When we finally got out of bed and ready for the day we headed out to Howe Street upon the recommendations from the hotel staff and had breakfast at a great mom & pop restaurant called Scoozis. It was so good and quaint and just what we wanted and I am not exaggerating--THE BEST HAM I have ever tasted!! Check it out next time you are there.
We then headed off down Granville Street and ended up doing some shoe shopping at the Fluevog store. It was a nice score, because it just happened to be the weekend of the World Famous Fluevog Sample Sale. Natural Urban Dad choose some very dapper blue suede shoes (yes, he picked them all by himself) and I scored these babies!!
Next we had an awesome sushi lunch at ShuRaku. You have to go to this place, the food was amazing, the very boisterous welcome you get when you walk in the door, in Japanese of course, was a very nice touch AND the Chef made me my favourite maki roll even though it was not on the main lunch menu! After lunch we toodled around some more and browsed the many furniture and design houses we passed, always on the look out for great signature pieces for our eventual new house!
We did a loop back to Gastown and hit the main Fluevog Shop and to my utter surprise, Natural Urban Dad bought me another pair of shoes!! Seriously people, LOOK at how awesome they are!! CHERRY RED 
Mary Janes and the Fluevog name for them is "The Benatar". I HAD to have them!
We went back to the hotel for a quick change and 'nap' and then headed out again, this time to Yaletown, where we had reservations for dinner. We strolled down the streets in Yaletown and passed many a small shop specializing in various forms of personal grooming. There is the Bombay Brow Bar, the blo Blow Dry Bar, Frilly Lilly for all your waxing needs, NOIR Lash Lounge and so many others, offering every kind of grooming you can imagine, including the "manzilian" for the very brave boys out there! I guess in Yaletown, you must be rather hairless (except for the lashes) to be a hipster!
We found a great store on Hamilton Street called Bernstein & Gold and stuck up a conversation with the owner, also a father of 2 who has never been away from his kids. He has a very eclectic shop, selling everything from imported (and very cool) bicycles, to Italian glass chandeliers and bamboo tables. He ships worldwide too!
Now I do love me a good hat and could not resist heading into the Goorin Bros hat shop. I found a great modern cloche hat that will be perfect for summer and we also discovered that Natural Urban Dad is really not a hat guy.
Dinner was the highlight of our Saturday! We ate at the amazing Blue Water Cafe. I can't say enough good things about this fine dining establishment. For one thing we had an absolutely amazing server. She suggested the yummiest cocktail for me, the Jacob's Ladder, our first ever raw oyster tasting (not icky at all!) and an absolutely delicious white wine to accompany my halibut meal (The Noble Blend from JoieFarm Wines). The food was delicious, the atmosphere relaxed (we were in one of the private dining rooms, so it was a lot quieter than in the main dining room), the backgorund music perfect and the company rather sexy. It was the perfect date night and one that we really needed to have!
After dinner we headed back to Chill Winston because I really wanted to have their Banana Split feature dessert (hello coconut ice cream and salted caramel sauce!!). And see, it really hit the spot!
We walked back to our hotel arm in arm, I got a lovely foot massage, we watched Kill Bill Volume 1 on Tv (yeah, yeah, not that romantic I know) and went to bed a very happy couple ;).
Sorry for the super long post, but it really was a great weekend and I highly recommend getting away, even for just a night if you can. It does a marriage good!!
Thank you Vancouver! <3
Natasha's Pick of the Week. MAUI!
Last year at this time we were just returning from a week of fun, sun, and sandy beaches. 
It was our second trip to the beautiful island of Maui, Hawaii. And I miss it sooo much!
It really is the perfect holiday location for just about everyone. Honeymooning couples, families with small children, families with teenagers and also big extended families too!
Here is a list of my favourite spots to stay, eat, play and just chill while on Maui.
Where to stay.
I love Wailea. It is on the south-west side of the island and is home to some of the best beaches, shopping and resort hotels on Maui. Both times we stayed in Wailea we rented our accommodations from private owners through www.VRBO.com. You can find some great deals if you shop around and I would also recommend getting some referrals or recommendations from people who have been before. Year one, my parents came with us and we stayed in a private home (complete with our own pool) and I would totally recommend it for a larger family. Last year we rented a 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo at Wailea Ekolu Village and it was perfect for the four of us.
Where to eat.
Maui is full of fabulous restaurants, but there are definitely a few clear stand outs. Mama's Fish House is by far my favourite restaurant in THE WHOLE WORLD. No trip to Maui is complete unless you eat there at least once. Make a reservation though, it's a popular place! If you are in Wailea, another great family place to eat is Matteo's Pizzeria. The food is awesome, the atmosphere friendly and relaxed and it really feels like you are going to a friend's house to eat! Another repeat fave of ours is LuLu's in Kihei. It is an open air restaurant that is on the 2nd floor of Kihei Kalama Village Market. Hit the market for some shopping in the morning and then LuLu's for lunch. I recommend the fish tacos!!
Where to play.
There is so much to do on Maui and to be honest we still have a lot to discover ourselves. We love the Maui Ocean Centre and if you have kids of any age you really have to check it out. The 750,000 salt water aquarium is pretty amazing, especially when you see giant sting rays and tiger sharks swim right past you! I also recommend a whale watching tour with the Pacific Whale Foudation. These guys really know what they are doing and are very accommodating for families with little kids. If you are into hiking, then a trip to the Iao Valley State Park is in order. There are lots of different hikes and trails that you can do, depending on your ability and of course how many little ones you have with you! For shopping, I have four words for you...The Shops at Wailea. From casual to luxury, gift buying to art galleries and everything in between, you will find it at the Shops. Make sure you check out Lapperts Ice Cream and Coffee for some after dinner treats and sneak out before everyone else wakes up and get your morning fix at the Honolulu Coffee Co..
Where to chill.
The beaches on Maui are incredible. And we have a few favourites. Keawakapu Beach at the southern end of South Kihei Road is great, as are Ulua and Mokapu in Wailea. These two are right next to each other and if you have babies and get to either beach early you will be able to get a spot in a shaded area. There is also some great lava outcroppings between these two beaches and you can get in some nice snorkelling there too! We also spent a lot of time on Wailea Beach. It is centrally located and fronts the very swank Grand Wailea Resort. It can get busy, so get there early for prime spots on the beach.
Whatever you do on Maui, trust me you won't be disappointed with this vacation. You can even shop at the local Safeway and use your Canadian Safeway card to get the discounts! And big bonus--they sell wine at the Maui Safeways!!
Just remember that if you are traveling with babies and toddlers, make sure you check out my babywearing tips before you go (the WaterBaby Sling is a must for a trip to Maui!) and above all, relax, leave all your worries and all your schedules behind and have fun!
Aloha!
Natasha~
Natasha's Pick of the Week. Duchess Bake Shop. (Need I say more?)
Today I had lunch in heaven. Or at least as close as I can get to heaven here in Edmonton!
I had lunch with our interior designer, the very talented Dawn Stiles, at the Duchess Bake Shop today.
Duchess is one of those places that you walk into and you feel like you are immediately transported to another era and quite possibly another place. In this case it is a little bakery on a side street in Paris, circa 1957.
In reality, Duchess Bake Shop is on 124 Street just north of 107 Avenue right here in our own lovely city. They make ALL of their fabulous pastries in-house every day from scratch and use only the freshest and finest ingredients!
I am pretty sure EVERYTHING there tastes divine, but I definitely know that their signature cake 'The Duchess' is fan-freakin-tastic. Today Dawn introduced me to the Salted Caramel Macaroon and it was like a sweet, decadent party, complete with streamers and lutes, was happening in my mouth! In other words, it was really, really GOOD. I only had one, but I am pretty sure I could have easily eaten a dozen of them (luckily they come in a nice box all packed up and ready to go in case that is exactly what you want to do)!
I also had one of their lovely croissant sandwiches today (the pastrami and pickle) and it was so simple, yet so yummy. Maybe it has something to do with the specially imported butter they use to make the croissants! Maybe it was because I was imagining I was eating it on a cobblestone street in Paris. Whatever the case, I will be back there again for another one. Soon!
You can eat in at Duchess or take your goodies to go and you can special order cakes and pastries for special occasions as well. I feel that a Mother's Day cake from Duchess might be in order, or some yummy grown up Easter treats if I can't wait that long!
So for something a little different, a nice date night dessert or an afternoon coffee with your girlfriends, check this place out. I promise you will not be disappointed! Expect maybe if you don't get a table, it really is a popular little boulangerie!
Enjoy!
Natasha~
P.S. And of course, you can follow them on Facebook and on Twitter too!
Natasha's Pick of the Week: My favourite Blogs/Bloggers
I am just over a week and a half into my 30 days of posts. It is proving to be both very fun and also quite a challenge. It takes some serious thought and organization to get all this brilliant writing out to you people! (This is me saying, please subscribe and leave comments so I know all of this is not in vain!!) Seeing as it is Monday, that means you get my pick of the week today.
Today's picks are fellow fabulous bloggers that I have discovered over the past few months and weeks. There are literally thousands and thousands of blogs out here in the world-wide web, but I thought I would narrow it down for you and let you know about a few that I really enjoy reading. Some really make me think, others make me laugh until I cry, others just plain make me cry and still others educate me on a daily basis.
Here they are in no particular order:
1. Attack of the Redneck Mommy. Tanis is AWESOME! And has lived, lost and loved a whole heck of a lot in her years. Her blog is funny, heart-wrenching and so, so REAL. And she is kind of a hero of mine. She also just colored her hair, so go on over to her blog and tell her she is gorgeous!!
2. Tech Mommy. Local gal Jennifer Banks (@JenBanksYEG on the tweeter) writes her own fab tech blog and also writes for MomNation. Her posts always have me heading to iTunes to get the latest and greatest new apps to make my life easier and she writes with some serious passion and honesty people!
3. Enjoying the Small Things. I can't remember when I first stumbled upon Kelly's blog, but she had me hooked from the first picture! She is a brilliant photographer and a very amazing mother. Read this first once you head over there and you will understand why.
4. The Leaky Boob. You all know I am a breastfeeding Mama and a big advocate for more breastfeeding education and resources for all mothers, so this one should not come as a big surprise. Sometimes controversial, always thought-provoking and taking on the Zuckerberg's of the world and having her Facebook page removed and reinstated not once, but twice, Jessica, AKA the boob behind TLB, is an inspiration, a mama-force to be reckoned with and someone I am so, so happy to have 'in my corner'.
5. MOMeo Magazine. Are you a work-at/from-home-mom? Do you struggle to figure it all out some days? If you answered yes to these questions, then you need to follow MOMeo, both via the website and @CarlaYoung on Twitter for all the latest tips, tricks, and business advice that really makes sense for the WAHM/Mompreneur/Small Biz Woman!
6. Five Things at Once. I just started following this Daddy Blogger a few weeks ago and already I really, really like him. Reasons for this are: He is a stay-at-home-dad, he has the cutest kid ever, his blog has a Glossary tab that is bloody hilarious and he is one damn good writer!
There are plenty of other fabulous blogs that I read (or try to read and keep up with-my Google Reader list is a bit ridiculous right now)! I encourage you to reach out and find a few that truly speak to you and subscribe to them. (One of them is mine, right?)
Now, go....get reading!
Natasha~