MonkeyGrass Clippings

Visit MonkeyGrass at the 2009 Ivy Market!

Well, we're frantically preparing for the Ivy Market at the Jepson Alumni center on the Campus of the University of Richmond. Lots of great vendows will be there, and it should be loads of fun! Especially the "Girls Night Out" starting tomorrow night, and including a cash bar!

Details::

Tuesday, March 31st from 5pm - 9pm. Girl's night out! So grab your friends, put on something nice and enjoy shopping, snacks and a cash bar. $5 at the door goes to ASK.

Wednesday, April 1st from 9am-4pm.

Located at the Jepsom Alumni Center on the campus of the University of Richmond. You can get directions here: uronline.com

 

We will have lots and lots of new stuff  -definitely come by!! Hope to see you there!!

 

With the new generation...

Well so far, this has been not a bad day, nor a bad week, overall. I have to say, though, that this rain is really starting to get to me. If I had signed up for the Pacific Northwest, at least I'd expect the rain and feel that there was a trade off with a bit more of the "coolness quotient" than we have here in good ole' RVA. Not that I have anything against Richmond, before anyone gets their hackles up. I love Richmond. While I was born and raised here, I definitely was chomping at the bit to get out after school- after living in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, & Miami, I came back by choice. Not just because my family is here, but because there are 4 seasons (or at least, I remembered that they used to be...) and there was not excessive rain or snow. Of course the humidity, now that's a different story...

At any rate, I feel, this week at least, like there is a bit, at least, of a sea change in Richmond, in regards to environmental issues. That feeling may change next week, and change again the next, but today it feels okay. Especially when it comes to kids (and moms, and, yes- maybe even dads!).

Because of that, we are expanding the offerings of children's items, particularly for babies, and have really gotten some absolutely fantastic things in recently. From the brilliant organic workshop of Dress Me Up, from Canada, there are absolutely fabulous cloth balls, each in a patchwork of a different fabric textures, hand block printed, and stuffed with non allergenic and earth friendly wool. Soft and snuggly for babies, and fun for toddlers as well. Also from Dress Me Up, are the terrific teething bon bons, pictured below- Each of these is handmade, handsown, and features a little artistic flourish of stitching, individual to the bon bon. Dip the knotted ends in purified water, and freeze. What more perfect and natural way to soothe your baby's sore gums and new teeth!

The great toilet paper war of 2009

So, you may have seen some pieces on the news lately about the pretty appalling use of boreal forests to harvest wood simply to be made into toilet paper, facial tissue, and paper towels/ napkins. These are very important ecosystems that we cannot afford to have destroyed, certainly not for something that we so readily use, and waste! Greenpeace, as well as the NRDC, and other organizations, are working to stop the destruction of Canada's largest intact ecosystem by trying to persuade consumers, institutions and companies to choose ancient forest friendly tissue products- ones made from 100 per cent recycled content.  (Take a look at the photo below- clearcut boreal forest in Canada earmarked for production into toilet paper, tissue, etc)

This seems very logical to me- I use very few paper towels (sometimes, I mean, I just need a paper towel. I can't completely eliminate them), I use cloth napkins, which we just wash with our towels- no big deal- they're cute, and we have alot of them, so it's not like I have to wash them daily. On these things (particularly the napkins- having a harder time with the paper towels) I've got a definite buy in from my family. When it comes to toiletpaper, however, it's a different story entirely.

Obviously, it's not toilet paper that has been recycled, and just because it is paper that has been recycled doesn't automatically mean that it is coarse and rough. There are certainly some low quality brands out there (as there are in the "standard" variety as well), but there are many good varieties as well.

Greenpeace has done a rating, that can be found at http://tissue.greenpeace.ca/productSearchResults.php?category=1

When I went to the store yesterday, my dear husband specifically requested some insane permutation of Charmin or Cottonelle, which, by the complete and utter inability I have to recall, one can deduce that this is not what he got. I, as you may be able to tell from this post, am not that particular when it comes to toilet paper, and I never buy tissues either (because really, aren't they the same thing??) However, apparently Robert has a real specific liking for the qualities of the toilet paper he requested. Very, very strange to me. So, when I go to the store, we get recycled paper, and when he goes, we get some virgin wood, super fluffy stuff that he likes.

I really am trying to sway him over to the sade of right! Did you know that if each family in the US bought a roll of recycled toilet paper, just ONCE, we could save over 400,000 trees? That's insane! Is the moment that the paper spends on our bottoms really worth all of that? I hardly think so, and quite frankly, I feel like if we as a country think that it is, there is something sort of wrong with us...

We'll see who wins this battle...I have a feeling I know. :) The Trader Joe's paper gets good reviews, and is good (and so far seems acceptable to the man of the house). Let's see what he thinks of the handheld bidet sprayer...

Spring is here!

Well, Spring is here (or at least pretty close, right? I can never remember what day switches that over!). At any rate, it feels like it outside- at least today...who knows what tomorrow will bring!

Just in time for spring, Easter, Mother's Day, and all that fun stuff, we've got lots and lots of new, terrific things- from EcoSource, we've got complete, sweetly packaged herb, vegetable and flower and kits. These make great gifts for hostesses, Mom, Grandma, that favorite aunt, your office mate, or anyone you just think needs a little pick me up. Packaged in compostable and biodegradable rice hull pots, they are complete with soil, fertilizer, and seeds, wrapped in ribbon (they even have a gift tag!)

 

Also, if you're like me, there are a million people who seem to be having babies, and it's so hard to think of something neat and different, that's actually functional as well, to get them, that it becomes (for me, at least) a consuming thing. I cannot stand to get something dull, or boring, or just the same old thing that everyone else is getting... I think I can officially say I have to look no further than MonkeyGrass (nor, obviously, do you!)

Aside for the Aden & Anais Cotton Muslin Swaddling Wraps that have been my "go to" gift for the longest time (soooo soft, make a great swaddler, a terrific blanket, & a super soft wrap.), Aden and Anais has just come out with a totally fantastic Baby "Sleeping Bag"- designed for the baby who's grown out of, or never liked, swaddling, these allow the baby to stay warm and cozy, but not to have the worry about a blanket in the bed...

From Dress Me Up, direct from Canada, we have 3 new fantastic baby items. The first is a terrific, soft, organic cotton ball, hand printed, and with lambswool filling- great for babies and toddlers. Dress Me Up also makes a terrific organic cotton handmade teething bonbon (dip the knots in water and freeze, then give to the little one to gnaw on when their teeth are coming in!)    

We have lots and lots more new items coming in for the spring- come see us at the Ivy Market, at the University of Richmond's Jepson Alumni Center on Tuesday, March 31 from 5-9, and Wednesday, April 1st from 9-4. There will be some terrific vendors, (including MonkeyGrass, obviously!) and 10% of all proceeds go to ASK, to help prevent childhood cancer. It's also just loads of fun!

 

It's melting......

Well, the snow is finally melting, the snowmen are shrinking, and finally, spring is around the corner! (maybe! I'm not holding my breath, though- even though spring break starts Friday!)

Hopefully, if your spring break is next week, or in a few, you have fun plans, even if, as ours, they don't involve going very far from home. We're planning to take a couple of day trips, and get some things done around the house, even though I know that I should be busy lining up playdates for every day next week so that I am not the one on the hook for playing "imaginary webkinz" for hours a day!

With spring, not to mention Earth Day, right around the corner, there are loads of things going on, and lots of fantastic items that we have coming in to celebrate spring. New this week *just in time for the supposedly 70 degree weather we have coming up this weekend (go figure!) , are lots more new Sigg bottles, in plenty of new designs, including their new "Steelworks" line. While I've always been quite happy with the design and testing done on the original Sigg series of lined aluminum bottles, they have now come out with the "Steelworks" line, for those looking for an arguably sturdier bottle, at a great price point.

  Also coming up for Spring, we'll have some terrific, fun jewelry from Seven Ply, crafted ingeniously by Lynn Wiler from reclaimed skate decks, more fantastic baby and children's items, and some fun and festive outdoor furniture for your spring and summer entertaining...Be sure to check back frequently- we'll definitely have new things arriving nearly every day!

What did that groundhog say anyway??

I don't really remember what the groundhog said, but as of March 1 (now March 2) it is snowing in Richmond, VA! What a totally crazy occurrence! My five year old has only seen this amount of snow once, when he was maybe a year old, and for the last couple of years, we have so given up on the notion, we've bought neither boots nor snowpants. Not that it fazes him one bit. As soon as he realized that it was indeed snow, and not just ice, he ran out straightaway in his tennis shoes and jeans, along with 2 sweaters and a pullover windbreaker. (Of course this would be the week we leave the heavy jacket at Grandma & Grandpa's house!)

Hopefully tomorrow we're going to go sledding, and do some fun stuff around the neighborhood, since school is canceled! While we are in the process of bringing in lots of fun and exciting things for spring, we do still have terrific deals on yummy soft, warm, BottleFleece from Cacoule. Hats and scarves for both kids and "grown ups" made of almost entirely recycled water and soda bottles. AND, the best thing is, they are just as soft and snuggly as "regular" fleece, and they come in terrific colors!