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My Favorite – Tea Collection Clothing

Globally-Inspired Children’s Clothes
for Little Citizens of the World – My Favorite!

Tea is among my favorite brands of children’s clothing.  I have appreciated their stylish designs and use of quality and comfortable materials since the kids were little.  Despite those factors, the thing I like the most about Tea is their focus on inclusion and diversity.

my favorite

Having grown up in Seattle, a port city known for its cultural diversity, I naturally gleaned the value of difference from a young age.  It’s a value I feel strongly about passing down to our kids.  I can appreciate a company who is intentional in their focus on creating products that tell a story about the unique value and beauty that every culture has to offer.

my favorite

my favorite things

favorite children's clothing

Tea Collection’s Stylish Design:

Every year Tea takes a team of designers from their home base in San Francisco on a trip to a faraway land for design inspiration.  The designers soak up the unique aspects of the culture they are immersed in and what they end up with is a collection of globally inspired patterns and styles.  After the designs are completed the clothing is made in factories all around the world – from Peru to Bulgaria.

What I like about the international flair in Tea’s designs is that it is understated.  You get the essence of another culture without it being over the top, in your face.

For a sneak peak into the creative process and how a picture taken or sketch drawn translates into textiles and clothing designs visit teacollection.com and click on the inspiration tab.  They even have a few kids activities you can print out for your little ones!

Tea Uses Quality Materials:

From my experience, Tea clothing stands the test of time.  My kids are pretty hard on their clothes and since I don’t go for stuffed closets with garments spilling out, I gravitate toward simple, stylish designs that are made well.

Made of natural fibers and materials, Tea clothes wash and wear well – longer.

The Comfort Factor:

No matter how awesome something looks if it is not comfortable it is not my cup of tea!  Yes, I like a good pun every now and then.  Seriously though, there have been times that I have bought Justice the cutest dress and it didn’t feel good on her skin.  This is the point when her 3 year old self kicks in and it’s complete meltdown and pandamonium until that dress is pealed off of her body!

At this moment there is no negotiating with her, and no amount of bribery will work.  It’s uncomfortable and it’s NOT happening!

This reason is enough to LOVE Tea clothing.  It is soft to the touch and comfortable to play in.

favorite girl clothing tea collection

cool kids

my favorite things

treasure hunts

favorite children's clothing

What didn’t end up getting photographed were the fun little pockets on Jusitce’s dress.  She thought she was so smart!!! Try out the Tea Collection for yourself and see if you are as impressed as we have been!

*Please note that the links in this post are affiliate links.  This simply means sometimes I recommend a product and if you choose to purchase that product via my recommendation, I will get a small referral commission. Of course, this is at no extra cost to you but it does help keep my candle burning so I can keep bringing you great tips! I truly appreciate your support in this way.  Thank you.

Emily Eck Home Sweet Road

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Favorite Things Featured

Healthy Snacks – Fat Burning Popcorn

I have already shared with you some of our favorite healthy gluten free snacks for the road and in light of the new year being a time when people are trying to shed a couple pounds and look and feel their best, I thought it would be fun to tell you about one of my all time favorite things to make when I want something fast, easy, and guilt free.

Drum roll please.  Introducing to you FAT BURNING POPCORN!  I seriously love this stuff – and it is so easy!

healthy snacks

All you need are these three ingredients:

  1. Organic Whole Kernel Popcorn – Air Popped
  2. MCT Oil
  3. Herbamare

Most people have heard that coconut oil is good for them but don’t know that it is specifically the MCT’s within it that promotes fat oxidation in the body.  Fat oxidation is the process of breaking down large molecules of fat into smaller ones that our bodies can then use as energy.  MCT stands for Medium Chain Triglycerides which are the cleanest most concentrated healthy fats found in Coconut Oil.

This stuff is like magic.  It is flavorless and odorless so you can basically add it in just about anywhere in your diet.  I have seen testimonies where all people did was add MCT oil to their daily regimen and they lost weight.  It’s also a great oil to use for salad dressing!

Popcorn is a carbohydrate, yet it contains very little sugar, making it a complex carbohydrate.  While you would want to steer clear of popcorn if you are on a low carb or Ketogenic Diet, popcorn is a great alternative to the traditional potato chip or cracker craving.

healthy snacksHerbamare is a replacement for ordinary table salt and is made from a blend of celery, leek, watercress, onions, chives, parsley, lovage, garlic, basil, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, and kelp.  All of which are organically grown.  The back of the bottle says “The fresh herbs are combined with Natural Sea Salt from salt marshes located in Camargue, South France and allowed to steep for up to one year before the moisture is removed by a special vacuum process at low temperature. This steeping process integrates the full herb and vegetable flavor into the salt crystal.”

That’s basically a fancy way of saying it tastes great and it’s good for you!

To make this healthy snack I air pop my Popcorn, lightly coat it with several tablespoons of MCT Oil and then sprinkle Herbamare to taste.

This really is a great, super easy option if you are looking for healthy gluten free snacks!  I hope you try this fat burning popcorn – and LOVE it as much as I do!

Emily Eck Home Sweet Road

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Favorite Things Featured Style

Quality, Comfortable & Cool Shoes – The Frye Company!


cool shoes fry bootsWhen talking about shoes and boots that will go the distance — The Frye Company makes some freaking COOL SHOES!

Before having kids that I packed on my back all over the place, I chose high heals over comfort and quantity over quality.  Just like your heart changes when you have children, your feet do too.  Your desire to be stylish gets bumped down on the priority list a bit – that’s why as a mom and a traveler, I’m so glad I stumbled upon this quality, cool shoe company.

If I had to choose between never having a good pair of leather boots again or never having chocolate again, it would be a toss up.  I kid you not.

Not because I don’t LOVE chocolate.  I do — dark chocolate specifically — and consume it on a daily basis.  For me, good leather boots are really that awesome.  My current favorites are from the Frye Company.  Frye boots are the reason behind my love affair with good leather.  That, and our friends amazing couch.

Do I sound creepy yet?!

Peta hates me.

If this is a complete foreign concept to you, you most likely do not own a pair of good boots that fit your feet just right.  I know I didn’t until just a few years ago.  I discovered them by accident and have been wrecked ever since!  I never would have looked twice at my Frye boots due to budget but the pair I found was heavily discounted and I had some christmas money to burn.  Looking back — not a penny wasted!

The ones photographed do have a slight heal – which i don’t recommend if you are going to be walking the city for hours – but a quality pair of leather shoes usually have much better support than cheap ones and I wanted to show you the ones I originally fell in love with to illustrate the point that if you do invest in a quality pair you will have them for years to come.   I have had these for around five years and while they could use a polish they are about as good as when I purchased them.

cool shoes frye company

cool shoes fryeI like mine so much I created an entire tradition around them!  I am a frugal girl for the most part but when it comes to my feet I like to get a quality pair of boots made of good leather.  After christmas each year, I take money I have been given or some that’s left over and splurge on a solid pair.  I find a style that I can dress up or down so I can get some good life out of them.  It makes me {and my back} happy.

Join me in my tradition this Christmas and get yourself a pair!  These are my current favs.  Click on the image if you want to get more info about them from amazon!


 

What about you?  Did your preference in shoes change after having kids?

Emily Eck Home Sweet Road