You know when you find something and think, this is just brilliant! I love it! You go to share it with someone, but find your self standing in a room with an almost 9 month old who has better things to do like chewing on books or practicing her walking than listen to you. So instead you turn to your blog, where you know that at least 3 different people will see what you wrote : your sister, who checks your blog late at night when she finally has a moment to sit down and relax; your friend Sarah who gets up before the rooster crows and starts her day early; and Megan, who both gets up early to coach the middle school cross country team and stays up late to lesson plan for her science class. All three of them leave you a comment to let you know they stopped by no matter what you write about, which is encouraging, because sometimes you re-write your posts five times before clicking the publish button.

All that to say, if this post is only enjoyed by the three of you, that’s totally fine with me. However, if more people take a look and like what they hear – even better. So here are a few things we’ve come across recently that I had to share with you. I’m definitely not cool enough to get free things out of this but I’m more than happy to share my thoughts and opinions on products anyways.

QUINN POPCORN The other day Matt told me to check my desk and I found a box of Quinn popcorn on it. It was a little gift to get through this busy season (it really is the busiest time of year for me) and popcorn is one of the ways to my heart (caramel + hot chocolate are two of the others). He found this company, a small operation committed to organic + natural ingredient popcorn, one that cares about “cleaning up food” and not creating a product that has chemicals in it or the packaging. Even better, they produce tasty flavors! While I love a traditional stove pop or airpop bowl of popcorn Quinn couldn’t be better for those times when you can’t pack your airpopper in your suitcase (which we all know those times are rare ;)

HAPPY CUP COFFEE  So about a year I ago Matt said “have you heard about Brew Pony?” and being the out of the loop mom I am destined to become I said, “no.” Apparently someone gave us a subscription (still haven’t figured that one out) and we enjoyed a few months of subscription coffee sent to us monthly, each time from a different roaster in Portland. It was a fun way to explore new companies and roasts – some we liked better than others – but we decided to stick with it longer and this month we were sent two bags of coffee from Happy Cup. Not only are they a roaster that provides opportunities for disabled adults to work, they roast some delicious coffee! The single origin Gorilla Rose blend is right up my alley : fruity, smooth, or as they say “well balanced coffee with hints of brown sugar and lemon citrus” – I highly recommend it!

HAZEL VILLAGE ANIMALS  I stopped in to Sassafras for the first time in a while to send a gift to a friend. I always love their shop, not only because the flower arrangements they create are stunning, but because they carry the most unique items which are perfect for gifts. They just started carrying Hazel Village animals and this sweet little bunny in an eyelet dress came home with us. Not only made from organic cotton, they are hypoallergenic and contain no fire retardants. This might be the perfect stuffed animal.