a few challenges....

vacation was 2 weeks ago. since then, time has flown by. sheesh..... where does the time go!? so, over the past few weeks my darling husband, rob, and i went to look for frisbees and a few things to play with outside. and, just like toys, almost everything in sports authority was made in china. i was ready to give up, until i did find one frisbee made in the usa. my next plan is to hunt down a used sporting goods store.

we are bringing frisbee back. we played three times this week. super fun! yesterday was only about 55* and a little misty (it has been a rainy 2 days). we still had fun.

i ordered a microfiber towel from manduka last week. overall, i think manduka is a pretty great company (trying to be eco-conscious).... it mostly sells yoga mats (amazing yoga mats, b.t.w.). we do hot, power, vinyasa yoga........the heat. the sweat. the stretch. having a microfiber towel is not an option. i ordered a full body (extra long) towel for rob and a hand towel for myself. no where on the website did it say made in china. but, alas, it is.

this brings up my current challenge. online shopping. i feel like i am intentionally being deceived by these people. it is almost impossible to find out where things were made if you are shopping online. occassionally, they will proudly say made in the usa. occassionally, they might say "imported." but, i'm telling you, usually, you have to hunt it down on their site or it really isn't listed anywhere. how can i make an informed buyer choice if i don't have all the information on the product i'm buying?? i use to think that if it didn't say it was imported, then that meant it was safe and made in the u.s. well, that is not true. and, i really feel like they are hiding this information. oh, it just drives me crazy. takes all the fun out of shopping.

now, with that little rant, let me also tell you about kd dance. they sell knitwear for dancers and are based out of new york. they are a fairly small company, but in the world of dance, are well known and well respected. i ordered a pair of knit leggings with a fold down waist. for yoga. i ordered through amazon. kd dance does clearly share that all their products are made right there in manhattan. now, that's what i'm talking about. so, my pants arrived, but were too big. i emailed the company and asked about exchanging them. they were awesome. they replied quickly to my questions. addressed how to make an exchange. asked for my measurements to be sure that the size requested would be the right size. and, i love them! my wardrobe doesn't have much call for knitwear, but, dude, i want to order more just to support kd dance. they even told me they keep their stock fairly limited and try not to over produce on their factory lines. so, they tend to have to make occassional custom orders. i'm sure that sounds ridiculous to the big fashion industry manufacturers, but bravo for kd dance. bravo!

bottom line..... shopping consciously is hard. you have to pay attention. i've been reading labels a long time watching out for harmful ingredients (first with food and now with beauty products), and now i'm watching for where it's made too..... as soon as i let my gaurd down, it's over. it'll have parabens or high fructose corn syrup or made in china or probably both. :) i've said it before, the best thing to do..... try not to shop. we have to make that paradigm shift to buy only what i need, not to shop as a hobby........ don't get sucked into the mall or even the chain super stores. if i don't see it, i won't miss it. if i can make it at home, i'm better off.

happy may! happy monday!!
coley