A Freshly Picked Giveaway

I recently had the amazing opportunity to work with Freshly Picked. If you haven't heard of them and you have a baby in your life, you are missing out and I'm here to save you! Long story short, they are an amazing USA born company run by the super awesome Susan Peterson {check her twitter here} -- you may have even spotted her on ABC's popular show, Shark Tank. I recently got my hands on a teeny tiny pair of Freshly Picked Neon Pink baby moccs and just about died when I opened the box when I saw what was inside.

I'm obsessed with packaging and when I pulled out this adorable little bag and pin and peeked inside I just wanted to grab the nearest child and let them run free in these bad boys.

 I was able to borrow a little one of a close family member and let them go wild with this pair of pink moccs.

First off, they are ADORABLE. Just holding them you feel like they couldn't possibly fit a human being and they must be for a doll. 

I am a stickler for construction and symmetry and they definitely passed the test. All the seams, fringe and edges were clean and you can definitely see the care and time each shoe took to make. At first, I was a little put off by the price {$60 a pair} but after holding them and seeing them in action, you can see the high quality and see exactly where your money is going (oh, hey 100% leather). I was curious to see how much an infant pair of Nike's cost and guess what, I found a pair for $60! Let's not forget, Freshly Picked is AMERICAN hand made...we can't say the same for other shoe companies.

When daddy was putting on the shoes, we had one little snag (literally). Where the toe meets the heel, there is a seam which is actually left open on the shoe. You can see it in this side profile of the moccs:

Well, little wiggly pinky toes had a tendency to pop out the seam and make it a little tough to get on at first. After realizing this, daddy was able to compensate and fix the issue, but that was the ONLY problem we came upon with the moccs. I personally like the split here to allow for air flow to make the shoes more comfortable and to help with sweaty teeny feet when they're out for a day of fun!

Freshly Picked is genius in their construction so no laces or velcro are needed. There is a sneaky hidden elastic around the ankle of the shoe. This helps keep them stretchy yet secure the entire time. We had zero issues with the moccs falling off whether they were running around on grass, concrete or dirt. 

Now, here's the big issue I have heard a lot of complaints about: the dirt sticking to the soles. Ummm, what? Yes, they are made of leather and the same color as the rest of the shoe so you want them to be nice, but how can you expect them NOT to get dirty? Let's be real for a second, baby feet are ADORABLE. Why wouldn't you want a little footprint on the bottom of your little one's shoes to keep?! People pay a lot of money to make those little footprints in plaster, but these can be used as a keepsake that in my opinion is even cuter for mommy & daddy to show off 20 years from now. After about an hour of play, I could see a very feint marking of baby toes on the bottom of the sole (check out the toe of the left shoe):

I thought it was cute!! Check out this used pair of moccs I found online:

At first you may think...eehhhh dirt, but think about where those little feet have gone. They may even be showing some of the FIRST steps your little one took *insert awwww here*. Overall, we were all very impressed with the quality and look of the moccs. They are clearly versatile, even neon pink, and can be used to dress up just about any outfit. They are soft, cozy and I wish they made them in my size!

So what are you waiting for?? Go to http://freshlypicked.com/ before your favorite pair sells out! Well, maybe you don't have a little one...yet. No excuses! They have bags too! They're also 100% leather and handmade in the good ol' US of A. I'm in love.

Do you want a chance for a pair of Freshly Picked but just can't spare the cash? Don't you worry! I have teamed up with them and will be GIVING AWAY A FREE PAIR through my Instagram! Just follow my shop at @inadreamboutique and see all the super easy rules on how to win these and 16 other amazing gifts. Good luck!

Here are some more chances to win...because I love you guys
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Shop Owner Special: Melody's Treasure

It is that time again for me to share another amazing fellow small business owner! I always love to reach out to new crafters so let me take a moment to introduce you to Emily, owner of Melody's Treasure.

Tell us a little bit about yourself...

My name is Emily, from London, England. I live with my partner Georgia in a small flat and make homemade shabby chic style items at my dining room table during my spare time! I’m quite an outdoorsy person I like mountain biking, climbing, skate boarding and going surfing (when I have time to escape the chaos of London!)

How did you get the idea to start up a shop? 

I spend a lot of time browsing Etsy/Tumblr/Pinterest and was inspired to start crafting items for my own house and friends and family but then realised I could potentially start selling my things. Having just finished uni, I have had a bit more spare time on my hands so decided to put it to good use. I begged all my family to donate me their old jars and bought some craft items from local stores and eBay. I opened my Etsy shop mid May 2014 so it is literally brand new and only has a few items so far but much more to come in the near future so watch this space! My dad used to call me Melody as a kid as I never stopped singing and I think it has a bit more of a ring to it than Emily so thats what inspired my shop name. 

What is your favorite item to make? 

My favourite item to make is the small make up/clutch bags in my etsy shop. I’m a typically girly girl and love carrying my make up around with me from day to day but it usually gets lost in my huge bag so I will definitely by making one just for me!

Do you do custom orders?

I would love to do custom orders so just let me know what you’d like and I’ll tell you whether it can be done and how much etc...

Do you use the items you make?

I have made a set of jar candle holders for myself which look lovely in my living room!

What are your goals for your products and shop? 

I don’t have any long term goals for the shop but I would love to branch out and for someone to ask me to do a whole wedding collection, i.e. bunting, table centre pieces, favours, cutlery holders, bridesmaid bags etc. The thought of organizing a project from start to finish and making everything from scratch excites me. I think i’ll need a bigger table though!

Do you have any advice for fellow small business owners like yourself?

Use social media to your advantage; Facebook is great in terms of getting people you know on board/seeing your products. I also use Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram to draw attention to my Etsy shop which seems to have worked so far. Word of mouth is also a great way to promote your small business so use your networking skills and be passionate about your product.

Why should we buy handmade?

In the last couple of years I have used etsy a lot for birthday/Christmas and occasion gifts and really believe in supporting local/small businesses who make their products by hand. This makes the shopping experience so much more personal as you know where your product has come from and can often custom order to get exactly what you want. Doing business with small homemade shops is never unappreciated as you are enabling them to continue doing what they love!

How do you balance your personal life and your social media/Etsy/small business life? 

Social media/Etsy life fits in well as am only working part time this summer since finishing studying. My iPhone is constantly attached to my hand and the etsy apps both for shopping and selling are great for keeping track of your products and visitor statistics. I’m a little bit addicted to social media but I think in terms of my Etsy shop this will be an advantage!


Let's all show some love from In A Dream Boutique and follow Emily!

Instagram: @melodystreasure
Etsy: melodystreasure.etsy.com

Seeing Green

I always find myself promising to eat more veggies. I go to the store, buy a cart full of healthy veggies...and then they rot in my fridge. I don't know why I do it. I have such good intentions but when it comes time to actually EAT them, it's just....eew.

If you're like me I may have a helpful solution for you: SMOOTHIES! I mean, who doesn't love Jamba Juice? The only bag thing is they have a surprisingly high amount of sugar and calories (which totally defeats the purpose). 

Are you ready for this...and I apologize in advance for totally ruining this for you but one 28oz Razzmatazz (my favorite) is almost ONE HALF CUP of sugar. A HALF of a cup. Let's all take a minute to go into our kitchen, pull out the measuring cup and really just take it in. 

That is a ridiculous amount of sugar to be consuming in a meal, let alone in one day. So how do we fix this? Homemade smoothies of course. I have one recipe that I LOVE and even got my man to drink it, and then say it was delicious! I have a few steps to explain first...but I promise it is definitely worth the prep.

In A Dream Green Smoothie Recipe:

First, I bought this ginormous box of Organic Baby Spinach. I buy it at Vons, but your local grocery store should have something similar. 

I always have an issue with not finishing it, so I came up with a genius idea to preserve it for a LONG time: blend and freeze! It's super quick and really simple. I just threw all of it in my amazing Ninja blender with a teeny bit of water (just to help it move around better) and let it liquify!

Next is the crazy part...pour it all into an ice cube tray. I only had one tray so I filled them up to the top and it filled up one full tray. I recommend doing half-size cubes to fill about 2 trays to make it go a little farther....but its still enough for 16 smoothies. At $5 for 16 thats only .31 cents of spinach in each smoothie!

Now just throw that bad boy in the freezer. When they're nice and frozen, just pop one out and throw it in the smoothie mix. 

As far as the rest of the smoothie, I use the 16 oz single serve cup that came with my Ninja. I toss in one spinach cube, about 8 small frozen strawberries, a small handful of mixed frozen berries, 1/4 cup cucumber (it really ads a crisp refreshing surprise) and fill the cup halfway with my favorite natural orange juice. I know OJ has more sugar than some would want to add, so you can switch it out for any juice or even almond milk. You can see my cup here pre-orange juice. 

Another trick you can use that I love is to chop your cucumber into bite size pieces and pre-freeze them! Just like the spinach, they will last way longer and you don't have to worry about using it all at once. 

I hope my "secrets" help you find a healthier and more natural alternative for getting your fruits and veggies. Smoothies have been noted to be a better alternative to getting  fruits and veggies than juicing since juicing extracts all of the pulp (which holds almost all of the nutrients).  I figure if I don't eat them, at least I'll drink them in a yummy smoothie!