The Honest Co. Debuts in Target

CC visits The Honest Co. photo booth at Target. 

The Honest Company -- the eco-friendly baby product company founded by Jessica Alba and Christopher Gavigan -- has made its way to Target, and CC and I were there for a fun launch event in Westwood last week.

Featuring adorable photo and GIF booths -- which CC loved! -- as well as free sample stations and a bib-coloring zone, the Bump Club LA-hosted party really celebrated all the cool stuff that The Honest Co. has to offer.

We even saw Jessica Alba herself, mingling with guests and coloring bibs. (Wonder if that one was for Baby Haven?)

Jessica Alba at City Target in Westwood

While I love their designs for diapers, plus the fact that their wipes are biodegradable, what I also love is that The Honest Co. has a huge range of products. I picked up a bottle of stain remover while I was there.

So glad I can now just run over to Target to pick up baby-friendly items. I was really eyeing those colorful diapers!

Giveaway: Pottery Barn Kids Hosts Summer Reading Challenge with PBS Kids *Sponsored*

Pottery Barn Kids in Corte Madera, Calif., has a gorgeous book display.

UPDATE: Congrats to boyzrule, who won the $25 gift card to Pottery Barn Kids! (Thanks to Random.org for helping me choose. :) Please email me at losangelesstory@gmail.com with your mailing address, and I'll send it your way. Thanks to everyone who commented, and stay tuned for more giveaways!

One of the best things about summer -- besides the BBQs, swimming pools, camps, cool movies and just general lolling about -- is the reading. As a kid, I loved the freedom to read outside of what my teachers had assigned. As an adult, I craved everything from meaty to easy-going titles.

As a mom, honestly, I just like having some time -- any time -- to read. (Here's a good one, if you're interested.)

Well, part of my visit to San Francisco last month for the PBS Annual Conference included a trip to Corte Madera (over the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County) to an adorable Pottery Barn Kids shop, where they featured a gorgeous display of what looked like flying books (Hello, Mr. Lessmore!) and a kid-friendly nook, perfect for summer reading.

A cozy reading nook at PB Kids

Together with PBS Kids, Pottery Barn Kids is hosting a summer reading challenge. (Love those!) Read any 8 titles from one of two recommended lists -- one for younger kids and one for older -- and receive a free book! How cool is that?!

Some titles for younger kids include: "Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site," "Corduroy," "Llama Llama and the Bully Goat" and "Olivia."

The older kids can read: "The Day the Crayons Quit," "Ladybug Girl," "Madeline and the Old House in Paris" and "Tallulah's Toe Shoes," among others.

Just be sure your kids read the books and redeem their prize by July 31!

For more resources and reading-friendly activities, visit pbskids.org/learn.

*** GIVEAWAY ***

I'm giving away a $25 gift card to Pottery Barn Kids, courtesy of the shop.

To enter, leave a comment below, telling me your child's favorite book or what you hope (s)he will read this summer.

For more chances to win, follow me on Twitter and retweet this giveaway. I'm at @la_story. Or you can "Like" the L.A. Story Facebook page and share the giveaway.

Just be sure to leave extra comments telling me you did so. 

Good luck, and I will announce the winner on Wednesday, July 9!

(Note: While this is a sponsored post, for which I was compensated, opinions about reading and its awesomeness are solely my own.)

Coming Attraction: 'Odd Squad' on PBS Kids

"Odd Squad" on PBS Kids

There aren't many kid shows on air, I'm guessing, that got their inspiration from movies like Airplane and The Naked Gun, but that's going to change once Odd Squad makes its debut on PBS Kids this fall. November 26, to be exact!

Last month, I had the chance to attend the PBS Annual Meeting in San Francisco, along with other PBS VIP bloggers. As always, it was such an enlightening experience. I'm such a fan of the network, as well as all of the educational entertainment and tools they offer kids and their parents.

And when they introduced the creators of Odd Squad, I knew they had another winner.

Odd Squad is a live-action, math-based show that has pint-sized investigators checking out strange phenomena -- a unicorn destroying the New York Public Library -- on a daily basis. The kid agents use problem-solving skills to figure out all the wacky oddness happening all around them.

And the best part is that they do it with humor.

The show is geared toward kids ages 5-8 and features two agents, Olive and Otto, who want to get to the bottom of problems, but each in their own way. Add to that a sassy (and perhaps overworked) Ms. O, who likes to raise her voice (it's actually totally cute) while making time to play with Popsicle sticks.

"Odd Squad" creators Tim McKeon, left, and Adam Peltzman

Creators Tim McKeon, who has a young son of his own, and Adam Peltzman know a thing or two about animated kids' comedy. While McKeon worked on the animated show Adventure Time, Peltzman wrote for The Backyardigans. They're pros in the kid biz.

While one of their main concerns -- besides offering up educational-based programming -- was to create a definitive line between "silly and scary," -- well, that and no aliens -- they also wanted kids and parents to know that they were OK with failure.

What?! In 2014?!

"I'm a big fan of failure," McKeon said at the conference. "Failure is just the need to re-examine effort."

Basically, failure helps children (and adults, for that matter) to see what works and what doesn't work. That doesn't mean giving up. It means trying a different approach.

And what better way to strengthen kids' resilience than to help them see that not everyone gets everything right on the first try.

Actually, thinking about it ... what would be the fun in that?

Stay tuned for Odd Squad on November 26!

Club MomMe Spring Fest Brings Families to Huntington Beach for Kid-Friendly Day

CC, Will and I enjoy Club MomMe's Spring Fest.

Club MomMe, the SoCal-based mom-friendly community, hosted its Spring Fest event on Saturday, and it made for a gorgeous day down in Huntington Beach.

Hosted at the gorgeous Hyatt Regency Resort & Spa -- mere steps from the ocean -- the kid-friendly gathering featured products from such well-known parenting brands as Joovy, Lansinoh, Boppy and The Honest Co., as well as up-and-comers like UrbanSitter, Mama Mio and Ella + Mila.

Will checks out the booths at Club MomMe Spring Fest.

The kiddos and I made our way down to the O.C. and were instantly smitten with the waterfront setting. Booths with every sort of fantastic offering for moms lined the grassy courtyard, and CC and Will made themselves right at home.

From the marshmallow decorating at the UrbanSitter booth to the toys offered by the women at the Nanny League, the kids were happy to stay as long as possible. Double that when there's live music, balloon animals and face painting involved. Check, check and check!

CC called herself the Periwinkle Tiger.

What I especially loved were the complimentary mom-child manicures offered by Ella + Mila, an adorable nail polish company that specializes in vegan, non-toxic paint for moms and kids. While CC opted for a periwinkle-like shade topped with glitter, I opted for the fun "Don't Be Blue." I loved that they came in little "Mommy & Me" sets, too.

Ella + Mila shades

So basically, we had an amazing time, which I expected because Club MomMe's Fall Fest was so fun.

We even caught a glimpse of mom-to-be Stacy Keibler. (And no, I didn't ask her about George. :)

Stacy Keibler visits The Nanny League booth.