My Local Celebrity Moment

A few weeks ago Royal Feather was fortunate to have been asked to make a TV appearance on one of our local news stations.  The fact that our shop aims to primarily stock all natural and/or organic products was what sparked the interview so those items are the ones I showcased. 

  It was only after I became a Mom two years ago that all these "BPA-free, phthalate-free, PVC-free, all natural" terms became common knowledge for me.  I wasn't too concerned with them before Nicholas since I figured I had lived my whole life without worrying about them and I'm completely healthy.  But as soon as Nicholas came into the world, my mentality completely changed.  
When I shop for Royal Feather I always keep my customers in mind - the babies, toddlers, young children and their parents.  If I think it's important to use healthy alternatives for my son, you can bet that I'm going to make sure I'm going to extend that same concern for all my little shoppers.   

Excellent Choices for Your  Little Ones

Making Bath Time Fun

Kids love to be entertained and sometimes you even have to make bath time a show. These new 100% organic cotton bath mits double as puppets and as learning tools - help your little ones learn some new animal sounds. Choose from the Pig, Alligator, or Hippo. And the great thing about the Sophia and Porter hooded towels is that they don't have to only be used at bath time, they can easily be used at the beach or by the pool. All these items are also great gifts because they're USEFUL; you know every kid has to be bathed {whether they like to be or not :) }

ALL-NATURAL HAIR CARE

Hot Tot is the only professional line formulated for the physical characteristics of children's hair. Their formulas are gentle yet effective and contain a unique combination of highly-effective natural ingredients. Hot Tot products are infused with antioxidants and are hypoallergenic. The complete line of Hot Tot is designed to cleanse, condition, and style your child's hair.

MEALTIME MUST-HAVES

These AMAZING silicone bowls and storage jars are a fantastic alternative to plastic. Because these dishes are silicone, they're easy to clean, can withstand hot and cold temperatures (so they're dishwasher, freezer, and microwave-safe) and most importantly are BPA, lead, and phthalates-free. Kinderville has now started packing these in only sets of (2), but I still have a few of the 4-pack cases left. Get them while they last!

Everyone loves to dress up their tiny tots and now you can even make them look super cute when they eat.  Our boy options are either blue or lime and they are adorned with this dapper little bow tie.  The girl options are pink and lavender and both have the double-strand necklace.  All the bibs are adjustable for a wide range of ages and are extremely soft and flexible.  No more scrubbing and pretreating those fabric bibs! Just wipe these guys clean and call it done.

Awesome assortment of unique fun spoons for your baby and toddler.  Not only are they great at mealtime, but because they're silicone and are soft and flexible, they work really well as teethers too!

These affordable options are really neat because they're made out of plants! More specifically, the boy and girl sippy cup sets are made using renewable Plastarch Material and the dinnerware set is bio-based and also made from renewable plant fibers.    

...A FEW MORE GREEN OPTIONS

This adorable little 4-piece set makes for the perfect Take Me Home outfit or loungewear for your little newborn.  Then for the new little man in your life we now carry these great sports-themed burp clothes.  Now feeding time can be a Dad's job too ;)

Shopping for the perfect items to bring to the shop is always a challenge because people obviously have very different expectations.  Just know that I try my best to bring you only the most functional and unique merchandise that you and your little ones will enjoy.  Check out our site, shop around, and follow our blog to read about what's happening behind the scenes or LIKE us on facebook to always stay up-to-date with new merchandise, sales, and giveaways.  And speaking of giveaways, I'll let you guys in on a little secret...we have an AMAZING giveaway in the works.  All I'll say for now is that we were fortunate enough to have a BIG sponsor help us out with the prize.  Stay tuned!
Thanks for stopping by!

Year End Wrap-Up

So 2012 has come and gone and we're already 7 days into the new year.  I cannot wrap my mind around how quickly time really does fly by.  After I went back to work full-time in September, all my spare time to maintain this blog quickly dwindled away.  One of my New Year's Resolutions is to carve out time every week to publish at least one new post.  I started Royal Feather because I loved connecting with new parents and their kids and helping them find amazing and useful products for their children.  This blog helped me connect with my fans on a much bigger level, and I miss that.  Since it's been a few months since my last post, this will be a photo blog of sorts instead.  Just a little recap of how our year ended.

Must Try Recipes

1.  Cheesy Egg & Bacon Pull-Apart Biscuits  2.  Mandarin Orange Oatmeal To-Go  3.  Strawberry Shortcake Muffins  4.  Hash Browns Breakfast Bites  5.  Clean Eating Tilapia  6.  Chicken Piccata  7.  Easy Bean & Cheese Burritos

I'm very grateful for all the meals Nicholas' school provides, but there are times when I'm not too happy with their breakfast options.  So because of that, I'll make batches of Hash Browns Breakfast Bites along with some type of a muffin (ie. items #3) and send him off to school with a healthy breakfast to start his day.  Both of these recipes were taste-tested by our little guy and were pretty good.  The beauty of the Breakfast Bites is their ability to never be boring {you can always vary what you mix into the hash browns; chopped bacon, turkey crumbles, chives, sausage, etc.}  Not only were they tasty but the fact that they're bite sized is a big plus.  Anything that he can grab and eat with his little hands is great since he's Mr. Independent now :)  The new oatmeal flavor was also a big hit with Jacob.  As I've mentioned before, there are days when he has to be at work at 4 or 5am so his lunch break is really a breakfast break.  These flavorful and healthy oatmeal options are pretty popular in our house as well.  

Project Pergola: Complete

After countless hours, (4) boxes of deck screws, (8) 8x8 cedar posts, (8) 2x12 cedar boards, (19) 2x6 cedar planks, (45) 2x2 cedar strips, and 5 gallons of Behr wood stain -  the pergola is finished!!  

 Fall Family Fun

Pumpkin Patch, Corn Maze, Nick all dressed up with his pilgrim hat for Thanksgiving lunch, and Indian Corn teacher gifts for Nick's awesome teachers at his preschool

Nicholas Parties with 

Chuck E Cheese

Last year Nicholas' 1st birthday party was rained out so this year I wasn't taking any chances.  The theme to his 2nd birthday was tailored around his current obsession, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  I was so bummed that I didn't get a picture of his awesome cake before we added the candles.  But as you fellow Mommies know, you have to be quick when snapping photos of a toddler! I want to send a huge THANK YOU to the amazingly talented Jessica from Wee Sweet Treats for creating such a magical cake.  Everyone loved it!  And since Nick's birthday was on a Tuesday, I baked some super cute reindeer cupcakes for his class and staff members of his preschool.  They came out great! Super fun and kid-friendly.

 Christmas Time is a Happy Time

Christmas was actually a little challenging for us this year.  The three of us were hit with a pretty bad viral infection that lasted almost 3 days.  As a result, we missed Christmas but did our best to get better ASAP and at least celebrate the weekend after.  Nicholas absolutely loved his train table from Santa - it was a HUGE hit!  Traditionally we spend Christmas day at my Mom's parents' house but since we couldn't make it (nor could some other family members), we had a little re-do on the Saturday after.  We ate tamales, played games, exchanged gifts, and took some pretty memorable pictures.  Nick even popped fireworks for the first time! I love seeing our little guy have so much fun. His little smile always makes my heart so happy.  Here, Nick happily posed with his Great Grandpa.

All in all, 2012 was a pretty great year.  I love looking back through photos and reliving all our wonderful experiences.  As a family we laughed, we cried, we grew stronger together and as individuals, and we learned to reprioritize.  I learned to let go of things and people who won't change and are simply negative influences in our lives.  If you can't be happy for us, then I'm done trying to convince you.  In 2013 I have no plans of making unrealistic resolutions.  All I resolve to do is to be happy, healthy, and wise.  I want to only surround my family with all things positive and sincere - no stress and no drama!  I will continue working on growing Royal Feather and making an even happier home with my best friend - my Jacob.  Cheers to another amazing year!!
Thanks for stopping by!