UncommonGoods Review

I generally find myself hooked into artsy stores. One store I just can't get enough of is UncommonGoods! They just have so many unique gifts. I've bought and have had presents bought for me since around 2000. For you long time readers, you know I seek out different types of music. I do the same with stores, art, clothing, and more.

About UncommonGoods:

UncommonGoods was founded in 1999 and headquartered in Brooklyn, New York. It is a privately-owned retailer that endeavors to feature unique jewelry, designer décor, tabletop items, and handcrafted gifts created in harmony with the environment without harm to animals or people.

• They run all their operations out of the historic Brooklyn Army Terminal. I'd love to see their headquarters. It totally sounds like a unique business! 

• The lowest-paid seasonal worker starts at 50% above the minimum wage. That is so important considering the rough economy we have right now. 

• They make it their mission to support and provide a platform for artists and designers. I teach design, make art, and my husband and dad are artists. I can't stress how much we need art more in our culture.  

• Half of what they sell is made by hand. There are unique items all throughout their site. Most of the jewelry products, home décor and table top items they carry are created in the USA, and about one-third of their entire collection incorporates recycled and/or upcycled materials.

Since graduation is coming up I thought I could get some inspiring presents for some great people - myself included!

Mica just finished elementary school. Now I know it's not a graduation per say. To me it's more of an accomplishment than graduating preschool was. Mica spent 6 years at his elementary school. It is a time in his life where one chapter ends and another one begins. In his case most of his friends will be going to a different middle school. Sigh!

Every teacher should have Inspiring things!

I got his teacher this Inspirational Pencil Set! Teacher's need more support than they get!

We all need a set of Inspirational Pencils! They each say something a little different: Hustle Hard, Be Awesome Today, Good Vibes Only, Do Your Best, and I Can and I will.

Since my own students graduate I got a few gifts for me. I'm a teacher too! College instructor's rarely get anything.

I thought the book, F in Exams would be wonderful to read when I'm recovering from my sinus surgery coming up. It's a book full of wrong answers, or different answers than what the teacher expected.

Apparently someone else thought this book would be great to read as well! Mica was laughing his geeky self off when he was reading it!

Here are some inside pages:

I also got the Alice in Wonderland Literary Scarf. 

This scarf has 4 options: 1. Alice in Wonderland (the one I got) 2. Jane Eyre 3. Wuthering Heights (sold out for now) 4. Pride and Prejudice (I almost got that one)

They have other neat-o scarves on their site. Be sure to check them out!

I have a birthday June 21st, so this will be a Happy Birthday to Me gift.

I got my sister a necklace called Protection Necklace. 

She didn't graduate from anything, but my nephew Emerson did! He graduated from preschool! Since he has a genetic disorder it is a very big deal to graduate from preschool. His life expectancy isn't what most people's would be. I thought this necklace could help my sister through rough times ahead. He's in and out of the hospital a lot, so my sister needs all the support she can get.

It came in the best box:

Possibly my only thing to add would be a finger print on the back of the angel to match the rest of the artist's branding. I know the cost would go up. Then it would match the box, and the card. If the necklace got flipped around on accident, the finger print would show. Or if the person wearing it could flip it on purpose for whatever mood they are in. A different necklace every other day.

It's so sweet though! I love the design of it! The length of the chain is perfect!

Take 1:

Can you tell that Emerson is a punk with taking pictures. I'd say it's because his hearing aid wasn't on, but he's like that even when it is. We had quite a few photos like this actually.

Take 2:

Finally he looked up! :) He's lost some teeth, so he has a toothless grin.

The necklace was on back order, but I still got it fairly fast. Everything shipped quickly!

With every purchase you make to UncommonGoods, they’re proud to donate $1 to the non-profit of your choice. They started the Better to Give program 12 years ago, they’ve donated over $1 million to charities around the world!

Have you ever shopped at UncommonGoods? What is your favorite thing mentioned in this post? 

Disclaimer: I was received the items mentioned in this post from UncommonGoods. They certainly inspired me to write this post. I only review things that I think my family or readers will enjoy, or find useful. 

WW: Bunny {Linky}

It's amazing what can happen in a 20 minute time frame!

What are they looking at?

A scared little bunny!

Our friends have a son that's 4. We were pretty busy all weekend long. He was tired of walking. Mica offered to give him back rides. He gave him multiple rides. You know when you offer once, the offer still stands later on. ;)

Isaak decided that it would be a great idea to climb a tree that was right by a sculpture. When we said, "Get down!" he quickly got down. Then this happened:

Thankfully he only complained about it when it happened, and a few hour duration. It must look worse than it feels.

I'm off a day with Memorial Day in there. I completely thought today was Tuesday. Remember to enter my low entry giveaway, while you're here.

Kansas City Here I Come

More like Kansas City here I came, but that's not how the song goes.

We went to Kansas City this weekend. It was great to get away! 

We won't be able to go anywhere else until about the time school starts. Travis got accepted into an El Museo Latino for an artist residency. It lasts all of June and July. It will be tight with him needing to be there, and me not being able to do a whole lot with surgery on June 23. It's a great opportunity for him for sure! They are super nice, and even said the boys could be with him when he's there during the day - some days.

We really had an inexpensive trip to Kansas City.

Why did we go? Our class and the class above us wanted to have a reunion at the Kansas City Art Institute. It was fun! I do wish that the class below me was part of it too. I had a lot of friends in the class below me because I stayed in the dorms longer when I became a resident's assistant, while in college.

Mica took all the people shots:

This building is called Vanderslice. It's kind of the heart of the campus. It's where we went to sign up for classes. Most of the admission people are in Vanderslice.

The dorms is where Travis and I met. We were friends for about 5 years before we became a couple. Lots of memories here! In those days we didn't have elevators, we had 1 pay phone for a whole floor of people to share. Long distance phone cards were huge then. We had 1 bathroom for a whole floor of people as well. There was no internet in the dorms. In fact the internet was only on one computer on the campus. All that's changed!

Just a building I liked that the school owns. I don't even know what's in it. I heart the doorway!

 So...it started raining on our tour. We also got kicked out by the security guards. By the way the security guards look like kids now a days. Back when we went to school the security guards were big, older, and scarier. Minus the one that fell asleep all the time. I really felt secure around him. Ha! The people giving us the tour were fellow classmates that work there. They only told the guards we were going into the Illustration building. Nope! We went into the old Illustration building, the new Illustration building, the Painting building, the figure drawing room in the basement of Vanderslice, and the upstairs of Vanderslice. The guards weren't too happy with us. Ha!

Back in the day Travis was a wild drinking boy that would jump a junk scooter over a bonfire in the middle of the campus. Me on the other hand? I was a light weight, good girl (usually) that stayed up for hours working on artwork for class.

We saw some of our friends, but missed a lot too.

We all went out to eat/get drinks. We had the kids, but ate anyhow. We sort of stuck to ourselves until everyone had a drink in them. Then Isaak went over to see fellow classmate draw. He was fascinated. Isaak started drawing too. They mutually laughed at their drawings. Then Mica started dancing. A fellow classmate started dancing with him. He thought that was hilarious. It ended up being a great time after all.

Where we stayed - Our niece Kailey lives there. She actually offered to watch the kids, while we went out. Then it turned out that she went home to Omaha when we went to visit Kansas City. We were a little bummed that we couldn't spend more time with her, and have her watch our kids. ;) But we saw her on Monday. She offered to drop off a key on Friday night to us, to stay at her place. I made her cookies and left them at her apartment in return for letting us stay there. :) The boys enjoyed staying up late to watch BFG on their netflix, which we don't have at home. I was a bit worried someone would call us in for not being Kailey, but no one did. Sigh of Relief!

Entertainment - I also got an email a few days before leaving to blog about LEGOLAND in Kansas City, and getting 4 tickets in return. Score for my family!

Ultimate Indoor LEGO Playground Review

We had a chance to explore LEGOLAND Discovery Center Kansas City! It's the ultimate indoor playground for kids ages 3-10 who are the biggest fans of LEGO! Mica loved it too, and he's almost 12!

It was super busy with it being Memorial Day weekend. Plus there were storms, so many people didn't want to be outside. I had tickets at the Will Call booth. Our friends did not. We stood in line for 15 minutes or so before we realized that they wouldn't be able to get in until 4:15, and it was 1:30. Thankfully we did get a chance to talk that whole time. They went their separate way - to the Legoland store, and Crown Center. We stayed at the LEGOLAND Discovery Center. If you do plan on visiting, try not to go when it's a busy travel weekend. 

We had time to kill before we met up with our friends. We hung out in the Crown Center, which is where they have the Lego stand above. LEGOLAND Discovery Center is next to the Crown Center.

The entrance to the LEGOLAND Discovery Center is grand:

The boys were uber excited. We had that stop a surprise. When asked, "What is one place you'd love to go to in Kansas City?" Mica said, "LEGOLAND Discovery Center."

LEGOLAND Discovery Center Kansas City is one of Kansas City's best attractions for kids! 

• Reach out and touch the stars in our 4D cinema
• Build the fastest car in Build & Test
• Save the princess at Kingdom Quest Laser Ride
• Have the ultimate LEGO birthday party.  

We couldn't take photos on the Kingdom Quest Laser Ride, but we stood in line for awhile. Here's some of the things in line:

The boys got mad that Dad won the Kingdom Quest Laser Ride. I swore those things are rigged. I shoot at everything, but always end up with less points than everyone. Ha!

We really enjoyed the 4D movie:

They made a note that the glasses may be damp because they were just cleaned. There was wind, strobe lighting, rain, snow, things coming out at you, and more. They do show you where the exit door is if you need to leave.

Of course we didn't have a birthday party there, but they have them! I'm not sure on the price.

Plan your family visit and jump into the biggest box of LEGO bricks!

My favorite part is the display room:

Lights dim, and turn bright. If some photos look different that's why.

The Wizard of Oz - I imagine it's big there because it's near Kansas where Dorothy is from.

Sports in Kansas City:

Other things in Kansas City:

They even have a mini LEGOLAND:

Hot air balloons are hung here and there:

Mica and Isaak got into racing their built cars on tracks, and building towers on boards that you could shake to see if the tower fell.

This sort of tells me something about their ages: They opted out of the ride that goes in circles. They just didn't want to wait in line. Maybe it was too young for them. They also could care less about the climbing Lego gym. That seemed geared towards a younger crowd. But remember their audience is for ages 3-10. Isaak's 9 and Mica's almost 12.

We all had a great time! Our friends were still at the Crown Center. We met back up with them. They bought a few Lego toys for their boys. 

NEW FOR 2017!

Dream It! Draw It! Build It! Then put your creation on display in the LEGO Ideas Studio! 

The LEGO Ideas Studio is all about creativity and building brand new, unique builds, and is found only here at LEGOLAND Discovery Center Kansas City! With LEGOLAND Discovery Center's Master Model Builder as your guide, you can become a brick engineer, architect or artist in this brand new attraction! Come up with innovative ideas for builds as you gather inspiration from dozens of amazing LEGO creations around you. Then, draw your original ideas by plotting out your build on special brick-paper made specifically for designing LEGO blueprints. Once complete, display your totally-original, awesome builds for all to see on one of the Cool Creations display shelves!

Save at LEGOLAND

My Readers Save $3 off LEGOLAND Discovery Center Kansas City! - Use this promotional offer to receive $3 off full-priced Adult or Child admission at LEGOLAND Discovery Center Kansas City! Code: 1053 http://kansascitykidsguide.com/coupon.php?regionid=31&bid=11545&dealid=1611 @usfg

Disclaimer: I was offered 4 tickets to go to LEGOLAND in Kansas City for writing this post. 

Advanced Probiotic Solution

We've used probiotics for a long time now. I know they work wonders. I need to heal my body from the inside out with these polyps in my nose. For a few years now if I got a cold it went into asthma. I so hope that with this surgery I'm about to have that all goes away! Yes I'll continue on probiotics. They can't do anything negative to my body, so I'll keep pushing for wellness.

I recently got Advanced Probiotic Formula to review: https://store.healthlabsnutra.com/shop/Advanced_Probiotic.html It's great to switch brands of probiotics.

I love these kinds of capsules best because I can take them apart to put the the probiotic in smoothies.

About:

• It was packaged well. There was a seal, and cotton inside. The bottle was fairly full.
• It's made in the USA!
• This one contains 11.5 Billion organisms including bacillus subtillis.
• 100% Potent Formula Get Your Digestive Relief! Probiotics have been known to provide relief from the following symptoms: leaky gut syndrome, nausea, irritable bowel syndrome, nausea, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, indigestion, sour stomach, acid reflux, gas, diarrhea, constipation, colitis and so much more. 
• Safe for: Women, men and kids. 
• Safe if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. 
• If you are looking for relief from bloating and an upset stomach, probiotics are a cure-all for many digestive related symptoms. 
• Probiotics are living microorganisms that create good bacteria and yeasts in your intestinal tract. It promotes healthy microflora in your system that helps with your colon health too.

Cost:

$29.97 for 1, $79.97 - buy 2 get 1 free, $119.97 - buy 3 get 3 free. Use the code: "DISCOUNT15" for a discount!

I really only like to buy 1 at a time myself because I know that it stays working. It's living bacteria in those pills. I want to make sure I'm putting fresh good bacterial into my body.

Do you take probiotics?

Disclaimer: I did get this product for a discounted price in exchange for this review. This review was written by me. I only review things that I think my readers (you) or my family will find useful, fun, or entertaining.

It's a 10 Miracle Defrizzing Gel

My hair isn't super curly, but it isn't straight at all either. It's frizzy! When it was longer it drove me nuts! It really only looked good if I used a flat iron on it.

I didn't mind when I cut it, so it was shorter, down to the base of my neck. It curled on its own.

Then I decided to be very brave, and chopped it. I heard people that loved it, while others were like, "I think you should  ____  your hair." Some would fill that blank in with "grow", and others would fill it in with "color". Well I'm just not going to color it. It's uniformly grey. I happen to not mind it. As far as growing it out, I am for now. The great thing about hair is that it will grow back.

Since it is short I do have cowlicks. I also find that if I don't put anything in it it sort of falls in my face.

I just tried a unique gelled oil formula. It's a 10 Miracle Defrizzing Gel: https://www.fashionandbeautystore.com/its-a-10-miracle-defrizzing-gel-5-fl-oz.html. I really like it.

It's not thick, or sticky.

This lightweight formula is for curly hair, straight hair, or me that falls somewhere in the middle. It defrizzes and tames flyaways, which I have tons of both.

This is right after I wet it, and put it on. It dried less wet looking. BUT it held!

The Gel:

• Defines curls 
• Has incredible shine 
• Is never greasy 
• Conditions and improves texture 
• Improves manageability 
• Controls natural body of hair

Let me tell you it works!

Cost:

$16.99, but that's the sale price. It's usually $19.99. Pick it up, while it's on sale!

Do you use any products in your hair?

Disclaimer: I did get this product for a discounted price in exchange for this review. This review was written by me. I only review things that I think my readers (you) or my family will find useful, fun, or entertaining.