Vegas, baby!

In T-6 days, the husband, Gracie, and I will be hopping in a plane to see what's new and exciting in the world of juvenile/baby products at The ABC show in Las Vegas (the rest of the gang will well-cared for by family). This is our third year attending, and we *can't* wait! There's over a million square feet of things to see, there are approximately 900 exhibitors attending this year (my feet are sore just thinking about it!). It's a great opportunity to meet many of our suppliers face-to-face, but even better, it's a great opportunity to bring you the latest and greatest in terms of new products, and updates to current products (if anyone's introducing new prints or colors, this is where we find out!).


In addition to all of the gems we get to see at the show, I have to admit, there are a lot of duds. You have to wonder what people are thinking sometimes when they bring certain products to market, perhaps it's the mentality "if you build it, they will come." What products have I seen that I would consider a dud? Well, let's see. There are the disembodied hands to soothe your newborn. Yes, seriously. Can you imagine the nightmares your child will have later in life??? Umm, maybe just actually hold the baby? There's a thought! Of course perhaps I'm not the best judge, I saw these and thought to myself "What a crap idea, that's what spit on a tissue is for!", but it turns out I don't know squat, they're doing quite well, thank-you very much!


The timing of ABC is quite tricky, it's held the same weekend as Baby Boom, an annual parenting show here in Ottawa. This Friday, I will be running around like a madwoman trying to set up for Baby Boom, organize the store for my 5-day absence, *and* pack for our trip, then I'll spend a sleepless night tossing and turning, trying to figure what I've forgotten (believe you me, it's not a question of "if", it's a question of "what"!), then I'll board a plane at 7am on Saturday morning (praying the baby takes her first 3-hour nap, not likely, but you never know!) and hop on down to Vegas (baby!).


Las Vegas is a lot of fun. I'm not a gambler, far from it, I'm far too cheap to just give money away, but there's a lot to look at there, everything is so over-the-top. My husband has spent a lot of time deciding which buffets (yes, buffets) we'll be hitting up (Saturday night? The Bellagio. He claims he will starve himself all day. I know the man, he won't last past 9am!). He also wants to drive out to the desert. Not sure why, I've seen CSI, I know nothing good ever comes of the desert! But I digress. It's a good time.


We just picked up a new laptop yesterday to take with us to ABC, so I'll be live-blogging from the show to keep you up-to-date on our newest finds, and I'll post about the duds we come across this year (seriously, you have to wonder what some people are thinking!). So follow along, because I'll have some goodies to give away! Exhibitors like to give free things away at the show, and as much as I like free things (I actually *love* free things, who doesn't?), I'm going to do some giveaways on the blog to anyone who comments on the Vegas-related entries. My good fortune will be your good fortune!

What's new at the Shoppe?

Hello hello! Since our dollar has been a little stronger, I've been on a buying frenzy! We've got a lot of great new items coming our way, here's a sneak-peak!

You love wetbags. I mean, you all *really* love wetbags! We have a couple new options on the way, including zippered totes and hanging pails from Mother of Eden, the geniuses behind our best-selling Fuzzibunz diapers. Mother of Eden's new "In and Out" mess-free diaper bag features a zipper at the bottom -- how genius is that? Maybe not so genius to those of you with toploading machines, gravity helps empty the bag when you shake it over the machine... Have you ever tried to shake dirty diapers out of an elasticized bag? Not fun! The new zippered hanging pail is brilliant! Simply place the entire bag in the machine, and unzip the bottom... no fuss, no muss!

So that's cool, right? What else??? Oh yeah. Wetbags. We have the new Mother of Eden zippered totes coming in, and yeah, it's a zippered tote, and yeah, it's Mother of Eden, so you know it will be well-made, but do you like a little pizzazz? Perhaps a little salt with your vinegar, some sugar with your spice? Well then Planet Wise's new Wet/Dry bag is for you! This bag features a zippered pocket that you can use to store things like, oh, I don't know, a clean diaper and a couple of wipes, or perhaps a pair of babylegs, or maybe even your keys and your bank card. Whatever you can fit in it! This is a great instead-of-the-diaper-bag alternative for toting what you need for a quick trip. These bags come in a variety of whimsical cotton prints, and they feature a snapping handle, so you can hang it from your stroller. Fun and functional, just how we like it!

Accessories aside, we have some new covers coming to us. We've been asked numerous times to stock Thirsties covers, and you may have noticed some new shelving in our stores... well we finally have the room to add more options (you want choice, we've got it!). Thirsties covers have a solid reputation, if you check their reviews at the Diaper Pin, you'll see what we mean. If nothing else, we know you'll love them for their great selection of colors... we all know half the fun of using cloth diapers is the fashion! In a similar vein, we are awaiting our first shipment of Loveybums wool crepe covers. A grandmother came in to the store with one, and I couldn't resist, I had to have it! These covers also come in an array of colors, in fact, they are two-toned, how yummy is that? Good looks aside, they are also a top-rated cover on the Diaper Pin.

We have a few other tricks up our sleeve, but you'll have to check back for more information.

We do love to get product suggstions from our customers, as Ottawa's one-stop diaper shop, seven years strong, we've got the selection and the knowledge to help you succeed with your cloth diapering endeavours. Please keep those suggestions coming!