Product Review – Pregnancy Advent Calendars

I have several friends who have recently announced that they are expecting and one asked me about where to find a cool pregnancy calendar that wasn’t the typical “200 days to go” sort of electronic countdown.
I went hunting for the perfect alternative and found the most gorgeous keepsake countdown ever from Julaan Creations, made right [...]

Product Review – Black Drop Designs

If there’s one thing the tiny person inherited from me, it’s a love of all things jewelry. I don’t wear a whole heck of a lot of it. But, the pieces that I have are significant.
Ken can attest – after years of wondering if I will ever change a pair of earrings or try a [...]

Product Review – Strap-On Trainer Skates for Kids

Editor’s Note: If you missed Anthony Edwards this morning, you can read his post on investing in fair trade foods HERE. Now, here’s Robin with the scoop on children’s strap-on trainer skates:
Ken is Mr. Hockey. Seriously, he doesn’t even know what a sports junkie he is. On our first date he told me he was [...]

Product Review – Sassy Smoking Lily Linens

Happy Monday! It’s February and I have to say that this time of year pretty much sucks wind in my book. It’s that 6-week swath of gray before the flowers really start to bloom that makes me want to book an out-of-country holiday or – in less expensive, more local move – redecorate.
I also feel [...]

Product Review – Melissa & Doug’s Wooden Castle

Happy Monday! It was a fun and exciting weekend at OBE HQ as we were nominated for two Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce community awards and were so very honored to be a finalist for the Chamber’s Environmental Initiative. So many fantastic businesses were honored over the weekend. It’s amazing to see the drive, ingenuity [...]

Product Review – Idbids, the Eco-friendly Alternative to Webkins

I’m all good with pop culture and understand that kids will be into what kids will be into – made clear to me this year when my science kid went major girl with a castle, a ballerina and unicorns from every direction on her list to Santa this year.
But, one thing I’ve never really been into [...]

Monday Morning Moms – Green Stocking Stuffers

Usually, right around Dec. 15 every year, I realize that Christmas is in 10 days and I have nothing for anyone. I vowed that would not be the case this season and actually got the bulk of the Santa Clausing wrapped up this weekend.
The big stuff is, for me, the easiest to knock off the [...]

Monday Morning Moms – The Hottest Hats in Town

Happy Monday. With all of this crazy rain we here in the OBE newsroom thought it was the perfect time to talk shop this morning about one of our favorite topics – HATS.
Bevin and I have a love-hate relationship with the Winter gray. But, one thing that pretty much cures the rainy-day blues is a [...]

Product Review – BC-Made Household Cleaners

When it comes to household cleaners and laundry soap, I’ve never really thought much about shopping for locally-made products. I totally admit that I’m a fussy-butt about germs and – while I definitely wanted to make sure that we didn’t throw a huge whack of chemicals, that come with non-ecofriendly options, into the mix – I wanted [...]

Product Review – Fossil Rubbing Plates

Science nerd alert: One of the favorite adventures that the tiny person and I made a regular event this last Summer was rock hunting.
An impromptu trip to the Puntledge River and the chance discovery that some rocks could be broken open to reveal crystals, more cool rocks and even – gasp – fossils changed our [...]

Product Review – Hot Winter Lip Protection

Good morning. Blustery weather is as hard on the face as it is on the head, and as soon as the weather goes from sunshine to big rainy whine, I am always happy that my trusty lip gloss saves the family’s collection of dry lips from inevitable degeneration.
We always find that Winter weather seems to [...]

Product Review – Home Compost Bins

While Ken might tend to disagree right now, I became a big fan of the composter this Summer. We scored the big backyard model from the Comox Valley Regional District’s Compost Education Centre early in the season and set out to keep our organic matter out of the trash can and making great soil for [...]

Product Review – Waldorf Inspired Rainbow Stackers

I love Waldorf toys. They have a simple, gorgeous - almost fairytale – feel to them that sooths and allow kids to be creative. It’s like watching your child’s mind blossom right in front of you.
High-quality wooden toys with such a mystique are seriously hard to find locally. So, when Sherry and Kristina over at Podlings [...]

Product Review – Preschool Learning Games

I often have this naïve notion that anything educational I bring home will be received with stellar enthusiasm and a rousing round of “Mommy, you are so stinking cool”.
Obviously, this notion is something I entertain in the privacy of my own mind, since 90% of the time I offer the 4-year-old – who has completely [...]

Green Lunch Box Options

Gulp, gasp and hooray. This week is all about getting the kiddos back to school.
The tiny person started back at preschool a few days ago and it seems like a different universe. Getting her ready was pretty easy since the extent of her school supplies were a big giant smile and some wizard shoes (they [...]

Fast-Dry Towels for Active Families

We are big on the outdoors thing. I know it’s not a shocking statement if you’ve been following us here at Our Big Earth for a while. But, whether it’s the middle of a glorious Summer or the dead of a gloomy Winter, you’ll more than likely find us in the forest or on the [...]

Natural Pod Tree Branch Blocks

Ken laughed at me. “You brought home a cut-up tree,” he quipped smuggly, looking at me like there were plenty of more useful things to have spent our money on.
Yep, I did indeed bring home a bag filled with a cut-up tree – a gorgeous, light, fun and imaginative tree.

He’d give that it was a [...]

The Botanical Soap Shop

Happy B.C. Day! I so love long weekends that the family can actually take part in. We celebrated British Columbia with our own great Canadian backyard campout last night, pitching a tent, sleeping under the stars, realizing the the ground is very, very hard (oh, my ancient back). If it wasn’t for the raccoons hitting [...]

Bambu Disposable Plates

Editor’s Note: Oh, Summer rains. They are so refreshing. While Mother Nature is giving us little cool down today, it’s the perfect time to hit two of the hottest event on the Eat Real. Eat Local 30-Day Food Challenge.
Natural Pastures Cheese Company kicks off its Featured Producer events with the first of its Taste The [...]

Bobs and Lolo Rock Comox

My pal Ange is ground zero for all things kids and cool. She’s proven it over and over again as I can officially say that I’ve never been steered wrong by her kid sensibility. So, it’s no surprise that – when she heard years ago that the tiny person was seriously ocean-minded, she introduced us [...]

Nurture Your Inner Diva at Flawless Beauty Bar

Good morning. I’d been ready for the last week or so to do a Monday Morning Mom’s poll about lipstick this morning. Then, lovely OBE mama Kindle left me a little bath-related surprise at the new Flawless Beauty Bar in downtown Courtenay.

Not knowing what to expect, I wandered in with the scent-loving 3.75-year-old and both [...]

Product Review – Old Maid, B.C. Bird-Style

Good Morning and happy Victoria Day!
In celebration of a lazy day off that is hopefully filled with parades, barbecue and sunshine, we vote for a game of cards.
Back in the day, cards were just about the only thing other than Lawrence Welk on the tube that made me feel right at home on Summer vacation [...]

Mom Review – Woodland Rogue

Editor’s Note: In honor of Earth Day (April 22) and all of the exciting OBE events going on like the CVRD Earth Day celebrations and ribbon cutting on the new Family Community Gardens this Saturday, we’ll be focusing the next couple of weeks on ways that you can think green and live gently on the [...]

Monday Morning Mom Poll – Toilet Paper

Seriously, I kid you not, today we are talking TP. If there is one thing that I struggle with EVERY time I put it in the grocery cart, it’s toilet paper.
Ummmmm, not going to go without it. Can’t think of a way to make me think I’m doing something eco for the universe by using [...]

Mom Review – Eco-Friendly Bedroom Paint

About 18 months ago, I took it upon myself to paint our daughter’s room. Yellow with red trim – bright and cheery yet not overly girlie. At 2, she could have cared less, excited only to be out of her crib and happy to have access to most of her toys long after she should [...]

Monday Morning Mom Poll – Wet Gear

We are back at the kitchen table talking shop today about what outdoor kids gear has proven out as most necessary, and most fantastic, as we take this sunny, balmy February week and pretend like it will last until October.:)
Moms, take it away:

I’ll chime in first with our deep and abiding love of Kidorable rain [...]

Monday Morning Mom Poll – Green Laundry Soap

Welcome to Monday. If yours is anything like our house, one of the biggest challenges we have with being more eco-minded is the constant din of the washer and/or dryer. We hang clothes year-around and try like heck to keep the laundry low. But, it seems like someone is always down in the basement throwing [...]

Product Review – ELC Travel Felts

Welcome to our first official Monday Product Reviews post. Mondays, they pretty much leave us all needing a bit of therapy. So, why not the savvy retail kind? This is a place where you’ll get the chance to talk shop about all kinds of kids, household and outdoor gems that make your life healthier, greener, [...]

Product Review – Bambu Utensils for Kids

We have de-plasticed. From cups and bowls to forks and spoons, the melamine and other kiddo plastic gear that has dotted our house is gone.
There’s lots that says melamine (hard plastic) and the #5 is fine. But, I totally admit that my reading and a certain relative who shall go un-named scare the hell out [...]

Go Eco-Baby with Sage Creek Organics

This holiday season, I’ve had a huge whack of requests from friends and family about some special deliveries for our new arrival.
He/she won’t be greeting us formally until June. But, one of the most fun parts of pregnancy (besides back pain and nausea, of course) is getting all of those special little pieces of clothing, [...]

Product Review – Wrap-N-Mat

I hate plastic bags.
Hate can be a strong word. But, seriously, I hate them.
It may be the personal fact that the tiny person terrifies me with her fascination with putting them over her head or the environmental reality that millions of gallons of oil are consumed every year to produce the more than 500 billion [...]