New Baby Boy!

Hi Zoolu! Fans!

There's a new baby in the Zoolu! family....Cooper McGee, 8 lbs 8 oz, 20 inches, born 10:09 pm on May 16, Mama and baby are doing awesome!

Happy birthday sweet boy! Isn't he perfect? His cheeks kill me!

Did you participate in the FB guessing game/giveaway? There were three people that guessed May 18, so when things settle down a bit around here we will announce the winner. :)

Make sure to stop by our facebook page to say congratulations to the woman behind Zoolu!'s awesomeness!!!

Sorry for the funky format. I don't have my normal computer with me so blogger isn't coorperating with fonts and format!

Show that special teacher you care!

Did you know that last week was Teacher Appreciation Week? If you didn’t, have no fear! Your favorite baby boutique is here to help! We need good teachers in our lives, don’t you think? If you know of a great one around you, please remember to say “thanks”. They deserve all the appreciation out there!

Some things you could give your child’s teacher at the end of the year are personalized items, stationary, ABC pasta, or get really creative and put together a Summer basket that includes the Dip Trio, BBQ Rub, beach towel and sunscreen!

Here! I’ve made it easy for you. Click to see more items!

A personalized basket (choose one from each category!)…

Or you can go the more unique route. Since Summer is around the corner, why not do a beach towel and some BBQ rub to get everyone excited for the warm weather!

I know quite a few teachers that would love to receive these at the end of the school year. I know I would love to get some of these goodies too. Maybe I should become a teacher. hehe

What foodie do you “follow”?

Ok blog readers and followers….when you’re searching for a new recipe, what website do you go to? Are there blogs that you follow and always know that you’re sure to find a fabulous recipe there? When it comes to “professional” websites, I like www.epicurious.com or www.allrecipes.com. I love reading reviews so “All Recipes” is great for that! I tend to follow more recipe blogs though because they’re more personable and I figure if they’re putting the recipe out on the interwebz, it must be good. Right? Below I’ve listed my favorites! Please share yours!

If you’re watching your weight….or not…Skinny Taste is your best bet!

Joelen is a genius. I’ve been following her cooking adventures for 4 years! I know, crazy….blogging wasn’t even that big 4 years ago!

Ree Drummond of The Pioneer Woman is my idol. One time someone said I reminded them of Ree! BEST.COMPLIMENT. EVER. She is witty, a great cook, has a phenomenal cinnamon roll recipe and she is just plain brilliant. As am I. Ree, if you see the image below and hate it, I’m sorry. I couldn’t “save” the header from your blog.

Warhawk Chefs is a blog full of many different types of recipes. This is actually a blog that my former squadron started. We had weekly (at least it seemed that way at times) functions that always included delicious food and girls saying “I NEED THAT RECIPE!” So, one of the girls decided a blog would be the perfect way to collect every recipe. It is still added to quite frequently, so keep checking back for more!

Today’s Scavenger Hunt will lead you to a very special little girl…play TODAY to win!

It’s Scavenger Hunt time again!  If you would like to score a $20 Gift Coupon to Zoolu! and you have 3 minutes to spare – this is hands-down the easiest way to be “zapped” by Zoolu!  Play today for a chance to see which organization (and inspirational little girl) Zoolu! has partnered with – she has warmed our hearts and will certainly warm your heart as well!

A little background for Zoolu! Scavenger Hunt newbies :-)

Why a Scavenger Hunt you might ask? First and foremost, we are always looking for fun ways to interact with our fans. Secondly, Zoolu! is working on improving our ranking with Google – and these will help greatly! Apparently, if a shopper searches for a term and then clicks on our listing and stays on our site for a while, Google will see that as a great match for that search term. The more “great matches” we log in their eyes, the higher up we will move in their listings – which is a big deal for any online store today!

So…not only are you receiving a great chance to win a $20 Gift Coupon, but you will also be helping us improve our Google ranking along the way – it’s a win-win situation!!!

HOW TO PLAY:

1) Enter Baby Boutique in Google’s Search box.

2) Search for Zoolu!’s listing (I’ve found us anywhere from page 8 to page 15 – but it varies for everyone!)

3) Click on that link to be brought to our site and look for the clues on each page. Each clue will be marked with *** both before and after. The clue on our Home Page reads: ***Click HERE to begin***

4) The last clue will provide you with a special word (both the clues and the special word will change daily). E-mail that word and well as which number Google page you found us on at ZooluCares@shopzoolu.com and you will be entered to be zapped. (For example, my latest search for Baby Boutique on Google found Zoolu! on page 8. If I followed the clues and was given “lucky” as my special word, I would e-mail “I found you on page 8 and the special word of the day is lucky” to the e-mail address above.)

5) Check back on our Facebook page every day you participate to see if you were the lucky Scavenger Hunt winner :-)

HELPFUL TIPS:

~ Zoolu! is currently listed only with the title Baby Boutique – so please look both for that title and for our address: www.shopzoolu.com to ensure that you don’t miss us in the search. If you simply look for “Zoolu!” in the title, you will never find us :-(

~ Google lists sites that you have already visited in purple (vs. blue) – so that should help you scan the listings more quickly – just look for the purple links!

~ Google wants people to stay on a site for roughly 3 minutes to be registered as a good fit. If the Scavenger Hunt takes you less time than that (hopefully it will) – just be sure to keep your browser open to our page for a little bit longer to meet that minimum requirement.

RULES:

~ Your e-mail must include both the Google page you found us on and the special word of the day to be eligible for the “zap”!

~ Even if you have already won…feel free to participate again! Not only do the clues change every week…but the winner is selected at random, so you are still eligible to be “zapped” again!

Melissa & Doug Review

I have always admired talented people, especially the ones that love kids, not that I don’t (I have a bunch of them) but I don’t think of myself as a kid person. They are the ones that get down on the floor and PLAY, they lose track of time, they truly have fun pretending they are a horse, a doctor, a princess etc. That’s just not me. Believe me, I try, but I am always thinking that there is something that I need to be doing so I spend that quality time trying to get my little angels to play on their own. I have found a solution in toys from Melissa and Doug. Because we are very busy, have a lot of kids and are constantly on the move, we like toys that are fun and engaging, educational and sometimes more important, something they can do on their own, whatever age they may be.

We currently own many Melissa and Doug floor puzzles, which are durable and doable for both our littlest and oldest (like the human body floor puzzle)…depending on the puzzle. AND, they keep my 4 year old busy on the kitchen floor (check out the giant fire truck puzzle), while I make dinner because she can do it herself and is thrilled that she doesn’t need mom’s help. We have been so impressed with these puzzles that we give them as birthday gifts.

We are also huge fans of Melissa and Doug’s travel games. We have worn out our Flip to Win Bingo, that we keep in a seat pocket in the car. There are no pens to lose, no mess to be made. It has been durable, doable and fun! Again, this is something that keeps all age groups in the car happy and I don’t need to schlep pens and paper for fun, it’s already in the car. As they get a bit older, there is the license plate game, as well as hang man, which we plan to purchase for our summer road trip for our 6 and 8 year old.

I cringe when I see my kids dragging out the arts and crafts. Just say “paint” and my blood pressure starts to go up. I like the idea of all the crafts, but four kids can pack a punch in the mess department, if you know what I mean. As a solution, we have taken to stamping. Melissa and Doug have fabulous stamping kits that are big enough for little hands to hold and use to make a picture they are proud of, with a mom that stays sane during the process.

We have never once been disappointed with anything we have purchased from Melissa and Doug. It’s become my personal ‘go to’ brand for gifts and what I recommend to new parents looking for great toys. One last confession, I don’t send Melissa and Doug products to anyone who ever sent us loud or messy toys. Instead, I get revenge with even louder toys.

Cookie Monster

I was definitely the cookie monster that kept stealing from the jar this weekend! I made these Alton Brown’s delicious chocolate chip cookies! To make them festive for Easter, I baked them in my mini muffin pan and topped with peanut butter M&M eggs!

Alton Brown’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 2 1/4 cups bread flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat (I cheated and microwaved). Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl (I just used a regular hand mixer). Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Again, I didn’t do the baking sheets. I used my mini muffin pan and baked for about 10 minutes.

Thanks, Alton Brown!  

Oh my…where has this week gone! Scavenger Hunt time again!!!

This week has gone really quickly for me…so fast that I didn’t realize it was already Scavenger Hunt Thursday again – wahoo!!!  Here’s to Zoolu!’s virtual Scavenger Hunt and all the fun Easter Egg Hunts that will be taking place this weekend!  (Winner will be announced Saturday morning!)

A little background for Zoolu! Scavenger Hunt newbies :-)

Why a Scavenger Hunt you might ask? First and foremost, we are always looking for fun ways to interact with our fans. Secondly, Zoolu! is working on improving our ranking with Google – and these will help greatly! Apparently, if a shopper searches for a term and then clicks on our listing and stays on our site for a while, Google will see that as a great match for that search term. The more “great matches” we log in their eyes, the higher up we will move in their listings – which is a big deal for any online store today!

So…not only are you receiving a great chance to win a $20 Gift Coupon, but you will also be helping us improve our Google ranking along the way – it’s a win-win situation!!!

HOW TO PLAY:

1) Enter Baby Boutique in Google’s Search box.

2) Search for Zoolu!’s listing (I’ve found us anywhere from page 8 to page 15 – but it varies for everyone!)

3) Click on that link to be brought to our site and look for the clues on each page. Each clue will be marked with *** both before and after. The clue on our Home Page reads: ***Click HERE to begin***

4) The last clue will provide you with a special word (both the clues and the special word will change daily). E-mail that word and well as which number Google page you found us on at ZooluCares@shopzoolu.com and you will be entered to be zapped. (For example, my latest search for Baby Boutique on Google found Zoolu! on page 8. If I followed the clues and was given “lucky” as my special word, I would e-mail “I found you on page 8 and the special word of the day is lucky” to the e-mail address above.)

5) Check back on our Facebook page every day you participate to see if you were the lucky Scavenger Hunt winner :-)

HELPFUL TIPS:

~ Zoolu! is currently listed only with the title Baby Boutique – so please look both for that title and for our address: www.shopzoolu.com to ensure that you don’t miss us in the search. If you simply look for “Zoolu!” in the title, you will never find us :-(

~ Google lists sites that you have already visited in purple (vs. blue) – so that should help you scan the listings more quickly – just look for the purple links!

~ Google wants people to stay on a site for roughly 3 minutes to be registered as a good fit. If the Scavenger Hunt takes you less time than that (hopefully it will) – just be sure to keep your browser open to our page for a little bit longer to meet that minimum requirement.

RULES:

~ Your e-mail must include both the Google page you found us on and the special word of the day to be eligible for the “zap”!

~ Even if you have already won…feel free to participate again! Not only do the clues change every week…but the winner is selected at random, so you are still eligible to be “zapped” again!