RUMP's Review: Novel Red

If you're a reusable's fan, you've probably heard of Novel Red - if you aren't a reusable's fan, you really REALLY should be, and Novel Red is a great place to start!  This shop was even the winner of the first ever Kristy's List Outstanding Customer Service Award - Fancy!

So why is Novel Red so fabulous?  First, let's talk quality.  Novel Red has a wide variety of topper fabrics available, including a line of crushed velvet toppers that I absolutely love and have two of - and I've found that their pads are super thin and comfortable, even at high absorbancy levels.  Plus, I can't say enough about the sewing - spot on without weird wonky edges or huge mistakes.  Below is a breakdown of some of NR's cloth pad options as of the date of this post, along with a few photos - for more info on their products, check out their website @ NovelRed.Com.

Topper Materials: Cotton, Minky, Crushed Velvet

Core Materials: Bamboo & Cotton Flannel or Terry

Backer Materials: WindPro Fleece

Styles Available: Narrow, Curved, Straight

Absorbency: Liner, Moderate, Heavy, XHeavy

Lengths: 7", 9", 11", 13"

So clearly you can probably find something you'd be interested in with all of those options available, but WHY would I recommend Novel Red specifically?  Two words: Customer Service.  While I've never had an especially poor experience with any pad shop, the best experience I've ever had was with Novel Red.  You can't put a price tag on a pleasant experience and the care and attention that you receive as an NR customer is truly fantastic.

Novel Red has a great reputation and it's clear that reputation means a lot to the maker.  She went out of her to make me feel comfortable with a custom order I had placed and the experience only makes me want to order again... soon.

I hope this quick review will encourage you to give Novel Red a try as your build your own Cloth Pad Stash!  If you have any questions on RUMP's (Reusable Menstrual Products) feel free to reach out to me!

Oh... and I have a silly little YouTube channel where I post video reviews on cloth products, including Novel Red (check it out if you haven't already - all the cool kids are doing it).

CLOSED Giveaway! Farmerkids Organics!

It's finally time!  The Cozy Life Cloth Re-Launch!  I'm excited to be re-energizing the blog with such a special giveaway - I have partnered with an eco-friendly clothing brand, Farmerkids Organics, to raise awareness to the benefits of organic clothing for our children... and to get you guys some free stuff!!

Before we get into the specifics of the giveaway, let's talk about Farmerkids for a second - This wonderful brand, created by the fabulous Gabrielle and based in NYC, is a brand of children's clothing and accessories that combines whimsy with ecofriendly - using embroidered designs on 100% organic cotton in a range of goodies for our little ones including t-shirts, bibs, onesies, and hats.

My personal favorites are the personalized products that you can customize specific to your child and family.  I thought the onesie my daughter received, with "C is for Cozy Life" embroidered on the front, was absolutely adorable.  In addition to being high quality and looking fantastic, the organic cotton is super comfy.  My daughter isn't a big fan of clothing in general, but this onesie was so soft that she barely raised a fuss at all when I put it on her.

More so than it's cuteness, this onesie is an automatic favorite of mine because I know that the fabric is organic.  Organic cotton fabric is created using organically grown cotton crops - this cotton isn't treated with chemical pesticides or herbicides and as a result, it uses much, much, MUCH less water during harvesting and processing.  This also means that it's less likely to irritate your child's skin.

Want to learn more about Farmerkids Organics?  Check out their website, and follow them on twitter, facebook, or pinterest! 

... now let's talk about the giveaway

You want one of these personalized onesies or t-shirts now too, don't you?? Okay, here's the scoop on the giveaway. In order to qualify for the giveaway, you'll need to do a few quick things: Below is the fancy entry form - you have FOUR ways to enter.  In order to qualify you must be 18 years or older and live in the United States.

The giveaway will end on August 31st and the winner will be announced on September 1st!  Good luck!

**Giveaway is now closed**

Congrats to Susan D. for winning!

Cozy Life, Part Deux

I've thinking about my blog a lot lately, and I think that I've lost my way a little.  The excitement of high readership and the opportunity to work with amazing brands and companies has slowly made my blog drift away from what I had intended in to do in the beginning.  A family and parenting focused blog on living an ecofriendly lifestyle.

So, starting today, you're looking at The Cozy Life CLOTH!  Same format, but I'm keeping my content close to my heart - reusables and ecofriendly choices for women, children, and families.  I'm looking forward to revitalizing my content and getting the word out on cloth and it's benefits for our kids - Love you all!  Thank you for your support of this crazy project!

What's coming up?

Review: NewAir AF-1000B Portable Evaporative Cooler

So seriously... It's HOT where I live.  While I'm still a California girl, I left the beaches behind and headed out to the desert climate of the California Central Valley - home of high temperatures and poor air quality.  Air conditioning is expensive and my family is doing everything we can to conserve energy, while still keeping our family comfortable in the 100°F+ weather we're having this summer.

Due to our poor air quality, a lot of times we're stuck inside and it's important, especially with an infant in the house, that we stay cool.  That means that our new evaporative cooler from NewAir (the AF-1000B) is our new best friend.

The cooler uses water and/or ice, in combination with an osculating fan, to cool medium-sized rooms.  As a self-proclaimed "Eco Mom" this fan is a dream because I don't need to worry about weird chemicals that might be present in other portable coolers - it uses WATER!  So on top of this cooler working amazingly well, it's ecofriendly too.

Extra bonuses?  It comes fully assembled (you literally just need to plug it in) and you can use it in "fan only" mode if you'd prefer to not add water.  You also have the option to have the fan stationary or osculating, depending on your needs.  While I feel like a cheesy used car salesman being 100% positive on this thing, I seriously love it.  We keep it next to our TV in the living room and it's allowed us to turn off our air conditioning unit in favor for a less energy-consuming fan.

Here's a few photo's of the cooler- I love that it's black and matches a lot of my furniture... but if you're looking for something more flashy, it also comes in red!

I did quick video to show you guys how easy this amazing cooler is to use.  You'll also hear how quiet it is - I turned it on right next to my dog, who was sleeping (as dog's tend to do) - my dog is a rescue and sudden noise seriously startles him... This fan/cooler?  So quiet, he barely noticed.  Check it out:

Upcycling with Habiliment

Alright, Eco-Moms, it's time to really live up to the "eco" in our Eco-Mom title.  Let me start by bringing up the term Upcycle.  Upcycling is a critical concept when we think about the idea of living an eco-conscious lifestyle - it's the idea that you can take an old thing and make it new.  Re-purpose and re-use the old to make it functional, beautiful, and/or relevant.  In order to be as ecofriendly as possible, us mom's have the responsibility to repurpose items in our homes and give them new life. 

Going out to the mall to buy clothes, shopping online for toys... these are common actions nowadays.  Doing that shopping while also supporting the idea of upcycling?  Not so common.  With that in mind, I want to share a discovery with you - Habiliment.  This company is a way to combine shopping and upcycling, bringing eco-conscious products into our homes and giving them new life.

Made from an old houndstooth coat, this pillow toy in the shape of a bunny rabbit is a new favorite in my daughter's nursery.  It's amazing to see what a sewing machine and an old coat can do!  I don't want to sound like a used car salesman, but this is a seriously exciting concept.  This toy is adorable - I've even found my six year-old carrying it around the house... and to think that it might have been a just dusty coat somewhere in a landfill.

Plus, how cute is the packaging?  When I received my pillow toy in the mail, I almost didn't want to unwrap it!  The obvious time and effort put into every product is another big reason why I'm so supportive of this brand.

One potential misgiving about upcycled materials is always quality - when you're reusing something old to create something new, will this "new" thing be rundown from the start?  Absolutely not the case with our adorable pillow toy.  The sewing is outstanding and the materials selected are vintage, but high quality.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if this upcycled toy lasts longer than my daughter's factory made teddy bears.  Here's a close up of the "ears" on our bunny - Does that looked recycled to you?

All of the items available from Habiliment follow this same idea, or are produced using the Indian handcrafted fabric of Khadi, which is both culturally important to the people of India and also made outside of a sweatshop or factory, as so many fabrics unfortunately are.

I am passionate about being ecofriendly, and I'm extremely supportive of brands that seek to provide consumers with ecofriendly products.  I hope you'll take a look at the different clothes and upcycled products that Habiliment has to offer - they definitely get my stamp of approval!

Habiliment Website

Image (c) Habiliment