LilSugar

Lil Tip: Making St. Patrick's Day Fun for the Lil Leprechauns

babysugar — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 05:00:14 PDT

One of my friends plays the cutest trick on her first grade students on St. Patrick's Day.

While my daughter is too young for her antics, maybe you can take a page from her book.

Before your kids wake up or while they are napping, make a mess of their toys, books and other household things. When they notice someone has been tinkering with their toys, you can tell them that a naughty lil leprechaun has been scurrying around the house. They'll delight in the surprise and mischief.

To further the Irish celebration, whip up some green eggs and milk. Grab a bottle of green food dye at your local grocer. At breakfast, plop a few drops of the emerald juice into their milk.

Go Green: Souls Are United Over SolesUnited

babysugar — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 06:00:26 PDT

Tots grow quickly, especially when it comes to clothes and shoes. And most foot-gear is too tattered or torn to be reused by another wee one.

Croc loving parents and kids can now recycle their worn shoes with SolesUnited. To see how the process works,

SolesUnited takes worn Crocs and sorts, cleans, and breaks them down into a material to make fresh SolesUnited footwear. Once created, the new shoes are shipped off to children and adults living in impoverished areas around the world.

To see how you can get involved with SolesUnited, look here.

Go Green Week: Y Water? Why Not.

babysugar — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 12:00:52 PDT

Every new mama knows that baby's favorite "toy" is an empty water bottle. While that's a cheap and simple hat trick to pull anywhere at anytime, Y Water is a new product that fits the bill and then some. Beyond doubling as a toy, the uniquely shaped bottles are filled with organic, low calorie, drinks.

Y Water comes in four flavors: Brain, Immune, Muscle and Bone waters. Each one has vitamin fortifying ingredients to promote wellness in that area. For example, the Bone water is full of calcium, iron, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin C and fluoride. To see why kids will think it's cool,

When the tots are done guzzling it down, the bottles are designed to be toys as they connect together to form fun shapes. And, if you choose not to reuse the thingamabobs, they are 100 percent recyclable.

Drinks will be available mid–March.

Go Green: Sweeten Your House with Sweet Grass Farm

babysugar — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:00:31 PDT

Don't you want your baby's room, or whole house for that matter, to smell fresh and clean?

Steer clear of toxins and other chemicals by spritzing a little Sweet Grass Farm ($6) on your lil love's linens and threads.

The all–natural spray is made with lavender oil that helps neutralize odors while sprucing up the air with a delicious calming scent. And if your tot breaks out in a rash, it'll be one less product to fret over.

Go Green: Eco–friendly stove

babysugar — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 05:00:58 PDT

Crafted from cardboard, this tot entertainer is a literal toy box. The paper–made Nume Stove and Washing Machine ($38) is easy to assemble – no screwdrivers or batteries required. You won't hear me complaining! Adding to the simplicity, the clean white exterior practically begs kiddos to use their imagination as they can decorate it with crayons, markers, stickers or whatever their wee hearts desire.

And when the novelty wears off, the appliances just need a good collapsing and a toss in the recycle bin.

Go Green For St. Paddy's with Lilsugar!

LilSugar — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 04:00:05 PDT

In the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, lilsugar is going green! Beyond bringing you posts about emerald apparel and ways to celebrate the holiday, we'll be launching a series of Go Green posts that spotlight ecological ways your family can stay green.

From recyclable toys to the EcoMoms movement, this extension of our Ecotot coverage will show you simple things that you can do to create a better world for your wee ones. If you have a tip you'd like to share, feel free to post it in the comments.

Source

Supersize This: Go Green

babysugar — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 03:00:00 PDT

St. Patrick's Day is just one week away so here are some emerald options from Old Navy that won't cost you too much of the green stuff.

Choose from an assortment of $7 onesies or $15 jammies with witty Irish themed sayings on them. For the older tots, snatch up a $5 tee or a verdant–colored hoodie.

At these prices, you'll be able to doll up your darling all week long!

Mad Men's 5 Maddest Moments: "Dark Shadows"

Becky Kirsch — Mon, 14 May 2012 06:44:57 PDT

It feels like just yesterday it was summertime in Mad Men world, but alas, we've already arrived at Thanksgiving. It's not exactly a celebratory episode: Betty's cranky about both her new diet and Don's new wife; Pete's still struggling to figure out his life; and Don and Ginsberg have a showdown at work.

Roger, on the other hand, is still using his money to get everything he wants, which includes using Jane for some help landing a new client and paying off Ginsberg. And Ginsberg's success is Peggy's lack thereof; with him cleaning up, she has less and less to show for her work. Ready to break down the big moments? Just

Carry that weight: Betty's already looking noticeably thinner than the fat suit episode, and it's because she's joined Weight Watchers. Her weekly meetings seem to be helping with her portion control, but despite measuring her sad little grapefruit dinners on the scale each night, she still can't resist sucking down a little whipped cream every now and then. As much as Betty irritates me, my heart went out to her at the end of the episode when she eats her tiny Thanksgiving dinner and seriously savors her one allotted bite of stuffing.
Green-eyed monster: While Betty's picking up the kids, she gets an eyeful of Don's swanky new apartment - and his new wife. Clearly shaken up by the incident, she retaliates by spilling the beans about Anna to Sally while Sally is in the midst of making a family tree. Betty easily manipulates Sally into thinking that Megan is a liar, but the joke's on Betty in the end. After a squabble, Don explains the Anna situation to sassy Sally and Sally reports back to her mother without even mentioning the argument. Betty proceeds to freak out. I've got to hand it to Megan for convincing Don not to call Betty in a rage; not only is Megan spot-on about giving Betty what she wants, but she also diffuses the argument pretty quickly.
Fantasy land: Pete is particularly smug because he's been chatting with a reporter from the New York Times Magazine who's doing a piece about ad agencies. Once he's done bragging about his connection with Roger and Don, he assures them that he'll be the only one contacted for the interview. Pete then proceeds to have gross sexual fantasies about how the article will help him win Beth back, but - surprise - he doesn't even make it into the article! He calls Don enraged, but it's clear that Pete's really just mad at the world since, once again, things are not going his way.
Wine time: Bert asks Roger to court a potential new client, and since it's Manischewitz wine, he suggests that Roger's Jewish wife could be of service. Though Bert is a bit behind on his interoffice gossip, Roger still takes the client and asks Jane for help. In return, she asks for a small favor, and by that I mean a brand-new apartment. Roger agrees, and then proceeds to um, christen the new apartment with Jane after dinner. She's angry that he's tainted her new place, but there's a much bigger concern at play here than Jane's whining: when is all the money that Roger's been throwing around going to catch up with him?
Still got it: While Don's putting in a little overtime at the office, he comes across Ginsberg's folder of sketches, and is inspired to get back to basics. His idea is a little dark (you know, because it's based in hell and all), and he puts it head to head against Ginsberg's childlike pitch for the same product, SnoBall. The rest of the team likes both ideas, and agrees that Ginsberg should be the front-runner. Too bad Don conveniently leaves Ginsberg's pitch in the taxi, and sells his snowball's chance in hell idea to the company. Ginsberg obviously isn't in a celebratory mood, but when he confronts Don about what happened, Don just shuts him down. Now that both Don and Peggy feel threatened by Ginsberg, might we see them teaming up against him?

There's also more death omens in this week's episode, including Megan teaching Sally how to fake cry by focusing on something sad, and of course, the mysterious toxic smog that invades Thanksgiving. How'd you feel about the episode overall?

Photo courtesy of AMC

You're Fired! 20 Signs That a Pink Slip Is Coming

Wise Bread — Thu, 10 May 2012 10:54:53 PDT

If something feels off at the office, you may want to brace yourself for the worst. Wise Bread shares signs to look for when a pink slip is coming.

There are two types of employees. One has a good idea of what they do, who they are, and what position they play in the company. They are savvy. They know the score. They are under no delusions, and will no doubt leave for another job long before they are ever considered as cannon-fodder.

And then there's the other kind. The guy who could get Gandhi to hate him. The woman who spends most of her day chatting on the phone to friends or doing online shopping. Or the nice chap in sales who is completely oblivious that the recent merger means his job is now obsolete. They all have Ostrich Syndrome. They couldn't see a pink slip coming if it was 8ft tall and glowing in the dark, screaming "you're fired!"

You want to avoid being in that second category at all costs. So I've compiled a handy list. If you can answer yes to THREE or more of these questions, you may want to think about sprucing up your résumé and dry-cleaning your best interview attire.

1. Are you no longer in the loop about, well, anything?

This is a huge telltale sign. Suddenly you're finding out about company news from the cleaning lady or the new girl in accounting. If you were formally in the know about all things business related, but now suffer from "the company's doing what??!" disease, the writing is probably on the wall.

2. Did you recently screw up big-time?

We're not talking a minor faux pas here. Did you lose money on an account that was previously bulletproof? Oh dear. Were you caught having sex on the boss's desk with the boss's spouse? That's probably not a career-enhancing move. Unless you're a real dope, you know if you have screwed up. And if you know, HR knows. It may not be the final nail in your coffin, but it's a nail in the coffin nonetheless.

3. Are people avoiding you at all costs?

Eye contact is difficult to make with someone if you know his or her head's on the chopping block. Small talk is just as tough. It's best just to avoid that person altogether. So if people are no longer doing that fun "stop 'n' chat" in the hall, or the coffee room empties when you arrive, then guess what . . . you may be a marked man or woman.

Read on for more.

Take Your Salads to the Next Level With Easy Add-Ins

Camilla Salem — Tue, 08 May 2012 05:26:54 PDT

While I find a simple bowl of leafy greens doused in a zesty vinaigrette to be gratifying, lately I've been opening up to the deliciousness of salad add-ins that can transform a fresh side dish into a full-blown meal. Below are some of my favorite additions.

Toasted Nuts
It's amazing what toasted nuts can add to a salad. A handful of almonds quickly toasted in a pan adds a layer of warmth and crunch to an otherwise one-note dish. I recommend almonds, pine nuts, walnuts, and peanuts.

Flavorful Plant-Based Ingredients
For a kick, incorporate flavorful ingredients like capers or sun-dried tomatoes. Go easy on these though, because a little goes a long way and too much can completely overpower your salad. Olives and pepperoncini also add a lot of flavor and complement salads beautifully.

Quinoa
Cook a batch of quinoa early in the week and use it in your salads for days to come. Quinoa adds heft and texture to salads, not to mention the fact that it makes them more nutritionally substantial.

Find more ideas when you keep reading.

Old Navy Girls PJs	Old Navy Hoodie ($18)
Old Navy Dress ($15)	Old Navy St. Patrick's Day Onesie ($7)
Old Navy St. Patrick's Day Hoodie ($14)	Old Navy Printed Skater Shirts ($11)
Old Navy St. Patrick's Day Onesie($13)	Old Navy St. Patrick's Day PJs ($15)
Old Navy St. Patrick's Day Tees ($4)	Old Navy St. Patrick's Day Tees ($5)