Happy Thanksgiving

We would like to wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving. We hope this holiday season brings much happiness and joy to everyone.

Outdoor Summer Living and CSN Stores $60.00 Gift Card Giveaway

Memorial Day is here and the summer season is starting. It is a great time to take a look at your outdoor living space and consider giving it a face lift. There is nothing better than spending a warm evening outside on the deck or patio enjoying a meal or time with friends. However as night falls upon you it can get dark and outdoor lighting can be a challenge. Not only do you need the fixture to provide light you need it to be safe around water and the outdoor elements.

CSNLighting.com is a great source for stylish and functional outdoor lighting fixtures. They offer a range of styles from outdoor chandiliers to outdoor table lamps and flood lights. Below are some of the great finds CSNLighting.com offers that will make your outdoor living space beautiful.

Vessel Garden Lamps by Smart Green. These portable lamps come in a variety of shapes, are remote controlled, are waterproof and rechargeable. These stylish fixtures are all reasonably priced.

Worried about lamp shades holding up from the outdoor elements. Worry no more, you can get a very attractive table lamp with a Sunbrella fabric shade.

Other options for your outdoor lighting include floor lamps, lanterns or solar powered fixtures. With so many options to choose from you will be able to create the perfect outdoor living space to meet your needs.

In honor of the upcoming summer season, CSN Stores is giving away a $60.00 gift card to be used at any of their stores. You can purchase an item up to a value of $60.00. Please note that the $60.00 gift card does not include shipping although free shipping is offered on many items.

To enter:

• Visit CSNstores.com come back and tell us what you like.

To get additional entries:

• Follow our blog, Little Miss Julia


• Follow us on Facebook by clicking here. Tell us who you are on Facebook so we know you are there.


• Tweet about this giveaway. Make sure to use @littlemissjulia so we see it.

Please put each entry as a separate post so we do not miss it.

Contest ends Sunday June 6 at 7:00 pm EST.

Congratulations to Amy our CSNstores.com $60.00 gift card winner!!!!!!

Celebrate Earth Day by Plainting a Bean Teepee

Earth day will be celebrated on April 22nd. It is a great time to make your children aware of the plants and trees around them as well as other natural wonders. Jessica Iclisoy the creator of the natural children's hair and skincare line, California Baby, has a fun project for you to do with your children in honor of Earth Day, plant a bean teepee.

This fun and simple project is a great way to introduce gardening techniques to your children and will help give them an appreciation for what it takes to grow vegetables and to care for a garden. Pole beans are great for this project as they grow fast and children can see the results of their efforts in a short amount of time. Once the plants grow high enough the teepee can serve as a fun play place for your children. You can further instill the wonders of the earth by having your children decorate their teepee with flowers and other natural elements.

Before beginning make sure the soil temperature is around 65 degrees and that you are placing the teepee in a sunny area.

Supplies needed:

-Three pots (approx 15 gallon in size)

-Organic potting soil mix

-Three six-foot-long bamboo poles or garden stakes

-Biodegradable, natural-fiber twine

-One packet of pole beans

Getting Started:

Begin by spacing the three pots two feet apart in a triangle shape. Place a pole in each pot, tying the tops of the three poles together and filling them with rich, organic gardening soil.

Planting How-To:

Have your child push the seeds with their fingers about 1.5 inches deep into the soil, spacing the seeds every two to three inches around each pole.

Feeding & Watering:

Since container plants can’t pull their nutrients from the ground, they must be fed throughout the season. Apply an organic liquid fertilizer every three weeks or so and be sure to keep your beans watered.

Harvest Often:

Pick the beans as soon as they reach a desired size, as the beans will be tender and tasty when eaten straight from the vine.

Clean Up:

After planting and harvesting the beans, make sure your kids stay clean and germ-free with the California Baby

Natural Antibacterial Blend Moisturizing Handwash

Make Earth Day a fun family day with at home projects such as a bean teepee!!!

LeapFrog: Math Adventures to the Moon

LeapFrog has always been known for their top rated, child and parent loved, educational toys. The company has enjoyed great success and August 2009 the "Let's Go to School" DVD held the number one spot in the children's non-theatrical category. To follow up, LeapFrog has partnered with Lionsgate Home Entertainment to help teach beginning math skills to preschoolers. On February 23, 2010 LeapFrog: Math Adventure to the Moon was released.

Twins, Tad and Lily must complete a school assignment which involves finding a collection of things. They decide moon rocks are perfect and take an adventure on a rocket ship in quest of finding them. On their trip they learn math is everywhere on earth and even in outer space. Tad and Lily use their math skills which include counting, sorting, addition, subtraction and recognizing patterns as they search for moon rocks, make new friends and return back to earth.

This DVD is great entertainment for any child. They will have fun on Tad and Lily's adventure and at the same time will be learning early math skills that help enhance their educational experience. What better form of entertainment for any little one than entertainment that is also educational.

Along with the story there are bonus features, four sing along songs, a sorting game and the Alphabet Song from Let's Go to School.

LeapFrog: Math Adventures to the Moon retails for $14.98 and is recommended for ages 3-6 years.

Visit www.leapfrogDVDs.com for more information and other educational DVD's by LeapFrog.

Celebrate Pi Day

Today 3/14 is Pi Day. It is a celebration of the first three digits in the mathematical concept of pi, 3.14. Pi is in an irrational number that represents the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.

This is a great day to celebrate math with your children. From playing math games to participating in local event help give your children an appreciation of this mathematical concept and other math related activities.

March 14th is also Einstein's birthday. Another reason to celebrate as he is is regarded as the father of modern physics and is considered one of the most influential scientists of all time.

Look for our upcoming review of the new LeapFrog DVD Math Adventures to the Moon. A game that makes math fun for children.

The Arthritis National Research Foundation

The Arthritis National Research Foundation has been providing research grants for over 40 years to young scientists who dedicate their careers to the treatment, cure and end of arthritis.

In the United States, arthritis is the leading cause of disability with more than 46 million Americans suffering from this disease and its related complications. Many people associate arthritis as an older person’s disease. However, arthritis touches people of all ages and there are over 300,000 children in the United States who suffer from it.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting one of these children, Kelly Rouba. At the age of two, Kelly was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. She has suffered and endured great pain and now at age 29 is the national spokesperson for The Arthritis National Research Foundation. The foundation's grant guidelines is to fund at least one juvenile arthritis project a year. In July 2009 the ANRF introduced The Kelly Award in honor of Kelly. This award is a special designation of $75,000 which will be awarded each year to a grant recipient who is studying juvenile arthritis.

I applaud Kelly for her strength and determination not to let this disease control her life. With the creation of this award there is hope that the end of juvenile arthritis is in the foreseeable future.

You can visit The Arthritis National Research Foundation at http://www.curearthritis.org for more information.

Meet Shara Lawrence-Weiss

Shara Lawrence-Weiss from MommyPerks.com is one of the people who has generously supported our Locks of Love campaign on the MommyPerks.com website as well as their Facebook page. While discussing our promotion with Shara I learned that she has donated hair to Locks of Love and is another inspiring story we wanted to share with you.

It was about nine years ago when Shara decided to donate her hair to Locks of Love. She was in "a rather unhappy place back then" and believes that by helping others your own unhappiness becomes less consuming. After learning about Locks of Love from a friend, Shara set out to research the organization and their donor requirements. Needing a minimum of ten inches of hair, Shara started letting her hair grow. When she finally met the ten inch requirement Shara headed to a salon that cut her hair, free of charge, and mailed it to Locks of Love.

When we asked Shara how she felt about donating her hair she responded, " first and foremost it was empowering. Knowing I was helping a child and giving the gift of hair to a little girl who would otherwise be bald…was amazing." However she did have some reservations with the ten inch requirement and would have liked other lengths to be accepted.

Once cut, it was a shock to Shara to see her hair so short. However, Shara thinks about donating her hair again. If she does, she plans to grow it even longer so when the ten inches come off she is still able to sport her "mommy ponytail."

Thank you Shara for sharing such a valuable gift with children in need.

Great Young Chef Contest

KIWI magazine is a national parenting publication focused on helping parents raise children in a healthy, green way. The goal is to introduce parents to the latest in natural and organic living.

Every year KIWI Magazine sponsors the Great Young Chef contest and right now they are searching for the next Great Young Chef.

The contest is open to all boys and girls ages 4 years to 17 years old. Each contestant must submit a video of them making their own original recipe or a photo of the finished product. Recipes must be included with the video or photo submissions. KIWI Magazine's sponsor's ingredients must be included in the original recipe. Click here for a link of sponsors.

Prizes include:

• Grand Prize: $2500.00 and a feature in KIWI Magazine

• First Prize: $1500.00 and a feature in KIWI Magazine

• Second Prize: $500.00 and a feature in KWI Magazine

• Honorable Mention" $250.00

If you have a culinary expert in your house enter between now and March 31, 2010. All video and photo submissions can be done online by clicking here.

Good Luck!!!

Meet Deborah Sloan

Our Locks of Love charity event has given us the opportunity to meet amazing people who have given a part of themselves to Locks of Love. They have given the greatest gift they could to this amazing organization, their hair. We continue to honor and say thank you to people who have made such a generous donation. This week we would like to introduce you to Deborah Sloan.

Deborah is a grandmother of ten and last August found out she was going to soon be a grandmother to eleven. Enjoying the moment of finding out about another child on the way and still feeling young at heart Deborah felt it was time for a grandma makeover. For years, she had “hippie” hair that went down to her waist and just got comfortable with her style. It was something she just had not changed in years and when thinking about doing it was nervous. What would she look like, what new style to choose and how much would it cost were all things Deborah was concerned about.

When she decided to take the plunge and cut her hair Deborah had one condition. Her cut hair was going to be donated to Locks of Love. At the end of August 2009 Deborah took the plunge, her granddaughter braided her hair and her daughter cut the long braid off. For the first time in years Deborah had chin length hair.

Deborah sites why giving to Locks of Love was so important to her.

“Giving it to Locks of Love was my one condition to my family in agreeing to cut my hair. I would only cut it if it went to Locks of Love because I know what these kids suffer through. There was a time I was losing my hair because of medications I was taking. It's a horrible feeling. But it stopped and thanks to some terrific friends who supported me my hair all came back.”

Like so many others Deborah has shared her love and given a smile to a child who otherwise might not have one.

If you would like to read more about Deborah you can visit her at her blog, Babas Farm Life, http://babasfarmlife.blogspot.com/

Nothing Like a Fun Day in the Snow!!!

Meet Mike Wohlberg

When I decided to do our Locks of Love charity event I thought it would be nice to recognize those who have donated their hair to the organization. Monetary donations are wonderful but without those who donate real hair Locks of Love would not be able to give their recipients the hair pieces they do. What nicer tribute to those children who suffer horrible diseases than to give your own hair as a donation.


Meet Mike Wohlberg who donated his hair to Locks of Love. We all need to applaud him for his generosity and thank him for making a difference for a child in need. Mike's story is below in his own words.

My first encounter with the Locks of Love Foundation occurred during a high school pep rally. Mr. Magyarics, the school’s sociology and psychology teacher, was going to have his head shaved at the end of the function as the main event. Mr. Magyarics was the school’s “cool guy”: he had a classroom covered in offbeat posters, sported tattoos and earrings, and had signature waist long hair that he kept tied back at all times in a very tight braid. The students were very excited for the event. In an additional twist, tickets were being sold offering the chance for one student to cut off his braid and shave off the rest of his hair. Come the day of the rally I was curious to see the outcome, but not really sure what the purpose of it was. I wrote it off as little more than a quirky and inexpensive way to really entertain the student body. A student was chosen (not I) and a few minutes later the high school gymnasium was filled with a chorus of whoops and hollers as one of our teachers was shaved clean. There were two things I learned that day. One, Mr. Magyarics’ head was not that dissimilar in shape to that of a potato. More importantly, however, it was announced that his famous ponytail was to be donated to the Locks of Love Foundation. I kept the information stored in the back of my mind for many years.

Fast forward eight years. It’s now 2009, I’m graduated from college, and I have a long mane of my own owed to 2 years without a trim. I was quite attached to my hair (easy joke), but knew that all good things must come to an end and started planning a donation of my own. After a little research simply by going to locksoflove.org I discovered how easy it was to donate to the organization. All that was required of me was that I have a minimum of 10” of hair tied in a tight braid placed in a dry plastic bag and mailed through the normal postal service to the address provided on the site. I went to the local barber, told them what I had in mind, and a mere ten minutes later I walked out with my hair in a plastic bag and a streamlined ‘doo. I mailed out the package a few days later and that was that. As an additional treat for my parents, I timed my hair cut to coincide with Mother’s Day and surprised them during my next visit. It was like a Christmas and birthday present rolled into one for my father.

Though it’ll be quite some time before I have the same waist long hair style of yesteryear, I can’t recommend this kind of donation enough to anyone capable of contributing. It’s one of the few renewable resources we have available and if given the opportunity there’s no reason not to pitch in. It demands so little of us and yet makes a great difference in the life of someone in need.

If you have donated hair or know someone who has we would love to share your story. Please contact us at info@littlemissjulia.com if you have a story to share.

Little Miss Julia Barrette and Headband Giveaway

January marked our one year anniversary of being in business. Now it is February and we are feeling the love of Valentine's Day being upon us. In addition to wanting to share our love with Locks of Love through our 20% of online sales donation to them we want to share our love with you. In celebration of Valentines Day and the passing of our one year anniversary we are hosting a Little Miss Julia giveaway. Enter to win items from our Crystal Flower line. The winner will win 2 crystal flower barrettes and a coordinating crystal flower headband. You even get to pick the color. This is a retail value of $28.50.

To enter:

• Visit our store, http://www.littlemissjulia.com/ come back here and tell us which item or items you like and why.

Get two extra entries by:

• Doing a blog post about our Locks of Love Charity Event

Get additional entries by:

• Tweeting about our Locks of Love Charity Event


• Tweeting about our giveaway


• Become our fan on Facebook. Click Here to go to our page


• Follow this blog.

Tweet as many times as you want, each time is a new entry.

Please make sure to leave links to blog posts, tell us you have become a fan on facebook and use @littlemissjulia in any tweets.

Each entry should be on a separate line so we don't miss it.

Contest Ends Friday February 12, 2010 at 8:00 pm EST.

Winner will be chosen using Random.org

US Residents Only.

CONGRATULATIONS TO CRISTINICOUPONCRAZY FOR WINNING OUR HAIR ACCESSORY GIVEAWAY!!! WE HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUR NEW HAIR ACCESSORIES.

Locks of Love

Little Miss Julia hair accessories for girls is running a promotion for the months of February and March 2010. 20% of all online sales will be donated to Locks of Love.

Locks of Love is a wonderful organization that provides hair prosthetics to children who have lost their hair due to a medical condition. These children are also financially disadvantaged. Not only does the hair piece these children receive provide them with hair it helps restore self esteem that was lost due to their medical condition and the resulting side effects.The average retail cost of a hairpiece is between $3,500-$6,000. Locks of Love pays this for this and is able to do so based on donations received. As mother's we can all imagine the pain and suffering these children endure and pain their parents must experience watching their children suffer. Sometimes it seems like we can't help but we can.

During February 2010 which represents the month of love, Little Miss Julia wants to show our love to these children by providing a donation of 20% of our total online sales. Please visit our site, view our collection and if you see something you like we would love for you to help us reach our goal of giving Locks of Love a generous donation.

If you don't have an interest in purchasing but believe this is a good cause we would love your help in promoting this event. A blog post, a facebook post or a tweet directing people to Little Miss Julia would be greatly appreciated.

Over the upcoming weeks we will be introducing you to people who have donated their hair to Locks of Love. They are all heroes and have helped make a significant difference in a child's life.

Wonderful Women Wednesday

Through social media and sites like Twitter, Facebook, and business related forums I have met some wonderful and inspiring women. The support and encouragement that comes from these relationships is more than I could have realized prior to becoming an active member in several of these online social outlets.

Going forward for the next several weeks, each Wednesday is going to be Wonderful Women Wednesday. I am going to introduce some of these inspiring, fun, supportive women to you.

I have written about her before but feel she deserves another mention for all the great work she is doing. Cooper Monroe is the co-founder of "Mom Sends the Message", a national public service campaign aimed at educating moms on the dangers of distracted driving. I first got introduced to “Mom Sends the Message” by an email asking people become ambassadors for the cause. I was happy to participate and wrote a blog post. The work Cooper and her partner Emily McKhann were doing was so inspiring and important they made me want to do more to help. Since then I have worked at a local level to help bring awareness to the campaign. Cooper and Emily deserve a huge round of applause. They are working hard on brining to light the dangers distracted driving presents on our roads. The "Mom Sends the Message" website, www.momsmsg.com profiles victims’ stories, outlines new and pending laws and highlights media coverage distracted driving receives.

Jump on board, visit momsmsg.com, take the pledge to not drive while distracted and get inspired to help make your community a safer one.

Words to Sweat By Workout Towel Giveaway

Words to Sweat By are unique and fun workout towels that will add humor and fun to your workout routine. These 100% cotton white terry cloth towels are all embellished with phrases that are sure to give you a chuckle during your workout. Phrases are either motivational or funny and are stitched on top of bold, colorful appliqués.

Some phrases currently available include:

• I am a body in motion.
• I am NOT an immovable object
• Dancing my butt off, literally
• There will be no jiggle in my wiggle
• C is for crunches not cookies
  

Not only are these great towels for your own personal use but they make great gifts. Help encourage a friend while working out by giving one of these great towels. Thank your trainer or class instructor with a humorous saying. For those trainers and gym owners out there, what better way to reward a client for reaching their goal then with a fun workout towel?

Towels come wrapped in a drawstring organza bag and are reasonably priced at $8.00.

You now have the chance to win one of these great towels and the winner will be able to choose which saying they want based on the items in stock.

To enter:

Go to Words to Sweat By, come back here and tell us which saying you like.

Get additional entries by:

• Following the Little Miss Julia blog.
• Follow Little Miss Julia on Facebook and tell us you are there.
• Twitter about this giveaway. Please use @littlemissjulia so we see it.
• Add the Little Miss Julia Banner to your website or blog. Please leave the link so we know you did it.
• Write a blog post about Little Miss Julia and this giveaway. Please leave a link so we see it.
  

Please leave each entry as a separate comment so we see them all.

Contest ends Sunday, January 17th at 8:00 pm EST.

Open to US Residents Only.

Winner chosen using Random.org

CONGRATULATIONS TO DREAMSCAPES BABY FOR WINNING THE WORDS TO SWEAT BY WORKOUT TOWEL!!!

A Little Cuteness

Wouldn't seeing this on your shopping trip put a smile on your face?

In a time when life is full of so many stressful things we need to appreciate these unexpected moments, enjoy them and smile.

Jonathan Sprout 2010 Grammy Nominee

Since 1974 when Jonathan Sprout started his career he has been entertaining children with his song writing and singing talent. He has recorded nine albums the last of which, American Heroes #3 has been nominated for a 2010 Grammy Award in the Best Musical Album for Children category.

This album has received numerous awards and recognition including the following:

• Winner of the 2009 National Parenting Publications GOLD Award


• Winner of the Film Advisory Board 2009 Award of Excellence


• Winner of the 2009 Parents' Choice Recommended Award


• Celebrated Winner of a 2009 iParenting Media Award


• Winner of the 2009 Creative Child Seal of Excellence Award


• Awarded the Dove "Family-Approved" Seal by the Dove Foundation
  

In 1994, Jonathan Sprout read a newspaper article that revealed that America's youth saw their heroes as being characters such as Bart Simpson and Beavis & Butthead. He started to think about whom our true heroes were and why they were not on the list. After some thought, Sprout decided to write songs for children about true American heroes and the American Hero's series was born.

Jonathan Sprout has written over 30 songs about true American heroes and has performed them in front of elementary school across the entire East Coast of America. Heroes included in his works are politicians such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson; athletes including Jackie Robinson and Wilma Rudolph; scientists like Jonas Salk and Thomas Edison; civil rights leaders including Martin Luther King, Jr., Frederick Douglass and Cesar Chavez as well as many others historical heroes.

Children are entertained by the fun music while also learning about important people in our history. I have listened to his songs and they are enjoyable.

Congratulations Jonathan Sprout on your nomination. We will keep our fingers crossed and we wish you the best of luck on Sunday, January 31, 2010.

To learn more about Jonathan Sprout and to view his album click here