Spending time with your kids doesn’t always mean you have to do something special but its great to have ideas on hand and its nice when you can turn a fun activity for the child into a learning experience.  Each moment you spend with them is a memory.  So make it count!

SUNNY DAYS

• Go for a hike – put together a list of plants, flowers, insects and trees in your area and try to find them along the way
• Go biking – stop at fun places along the way such as restaurants, fairs, rivers, lakes, or ocean
• Go camping OR set up a camp in your own back yard!
• Use Local Harvest.org to find a local farmers market to visit
• Go strawberry picking and then set up a stand to sell your pickings
• Hula Hoop – make it a competition as to who can go the longest
• Play “hot potato” with a medicine ball – great workout

RAINY DAYS

• Free Story On-Line Story Time at Barnes and Noble
• Try new restaurants. Make a list of all of the places kids in your area can eat for free using  Kids Eat For.com or Kids Meal Deals.com and create a fun eating out agenda for the summer
• Start a small business: washing cars, mowing the lawn, washing the neighbors windows, or starting a lemonade stand or selling those strawberries you picked together.
• Cook together – but instead of making cookies with all that butter and sugar, teach your kid how to make healthy options that they will love.  Great recipes can be found on The Sneaky Chef.com
• Go to the craft store and find things to paint, draw or put together.  Whatever comes from this activity can be used as a gift for friends or family later on.

Do you have any great ideas your would like to share? Please let us know!

Summer is a great time to play around with different hairstyles.  You can go cute, fun, sexy, stylish or the I just got out of bed look.  Unfortunately you can’t just “get out of bed” with these fresh looks.  Styling and products are still needed.  Below are various summer hair styles and the products that you can use to get them.  Be sure to check us out on Pinterest for more looks and great ideas!

VOLUMNIZE YOUR HAIR

Along with the summer heat comes humidity.  Humidity can make your hair frizzy, puffy and out of control, so why not take advantage of that volume and style your hair with Sexy Hair Short Sexy Blow It Up Foam, this product transforms from a gel to a foam and gives your hair flexibility while allowing you to maintain all of your styles.

AMPLIFY YOUR CURLS

Kick your summer curls up a notch with Catwalk Curls Rock Amplify.  This amplifying cream defines and separates curls, while adding volume, texture and shine to your hair.  A great sexy look for summer!

BEACHY CURLY HAIR

Who doesn’t love the look of beachy wavy hair?! Redken Aerate 08 Bodifying Cream Mousse is a light weight product that provides exceptional styling control, healthy body, and a shiny, smooth radiance to your hair all day long.  Plus it contains special fortifying agents that lock in essential moisture and keep your hair from drying out.

BRAIDS, BRAIDS, BRIADS

Braided hair is perfect for dirty hair and hot, humid summer weather.  So many different styles can make you look casual or classy, either way they are absolutely adorable. TIGI Catwalk EnviroShape Extreme Hair Spray is a holding mist that controls hair even in the most humid weather.  Fast drying, for a natural feel and a styled look, no matter what the weather.

SLEEK AND SMOOTH

Smooth, shinny hair can be difficult to attain in the summer, but gives a nice polished look that’s ready to go out on the town.  Application of Biosilk Silk Therapy will give your hair a smooth, silky feel, that helps condition and reconstruct damaged hair while giving it a smooth sparkling shine.

SHORT, SEXY AND STYLISH

What better way to get your hair off your neck than to cut it short.  Pixies, bobs and shangs are all stylish cuts that will simplify your summer.  Sexy Hair Short Sexy Hair is a texture spray is a products designed to create stylish styles in short, layered hair. This texture spray is perfect for keeping your hairstyle in place during a long busy day but still leave it touchably soft.

What summer hair style do YOU pefer? Stockn’Go wants to know!

Tweet your answer HERE or respond on Facebook HERE

Now that summer is officially here, you want to stay outside all the time. Or perhaps I’m confusing you with me. I love the summertime; I’d spend all my time in the fresh air if it were possible. Until, of course, the summer heat drove me either into the pool or under the air conditioning. I’ve been thinking hard lately about how to green my summer and I wanted to share these tips with you.

Dos

Shop local growers and Farmer’s Markets for fresh fruit and produce. Not only will you enjoy the fresh, home grown food, you’ll save money. You’ll also support the local economy.

Alternatively, start your own garden and grow some food of your own. It doesn’t have to be a big garden; a pot on the patio can hold tomatoes, peppers, or any other kind of vegetable you like to eat.
Ride your bike or walk, since the weather is fine. Your body and your gasoline bill will thank you. Just make sure to wear a hat, sunscreen, and hydrate before and after. Carry a reusable water bottle along with you to ensure you don’t dehydrate.

Watch your water usage. Your lawn only needs about an inch a week to grow green and lush. Has it rained an inch this week? If so, you don’t need to turn your sprinklers on.

Consider carrying an eco-friendly tote. They can hold your summer picnic items, and they can also come in handy to carry sunscreen and towels when you visit the beach.

Don’ts

Don’t turn your air conditioner down low and let it run non stop. Setting it higher will save money and energy. Most air conditioning units can’t get your house that cool anyway, and if it never gets below 72, what’s the point? I set mine for 73 and let it cool the house during the heat of the day. I keep the shades drawn to keep out rays during the hottest part of the day. I’m comfortable, and my electricity usage isn’t sky high.

Don’t use paper plates on picnics. Use your own dishes. Use that tote you have to carry your dishes back home with you. If you feel you must use them, at least recycle them. The Environmental Protection Agency says that if everyone in the United States recycled just 10 percent of the paper they used, 25 million trees would be saved each year.

Don’t use pesticides on your lawn. Your kids and your pets play on that lawn. Is a green lawn worth exposing them to toxic chemicals?

What are some of your dos and don’ts for summer green living? Tell me on twitter, Facebook, or leave me a comment here on the blog.

We all know that our faces need to be protected from the sun. Even our makeup and daily moisturizer has sunscreen in it, nowadays. But did you realize that the skin on your neck and chest is just as vulnerable to sun damage? And did you know that it’s much harder to treat the skin of the neck and chest and erase signs of sun damage? There are fewer oil glands and hair follicles there, and the skin doesn’t regenerate as quickly as the skin on your face. That means it takes longer for signs of sun damage to fade and for skin tone to even out.

Believe it or not, sunbathing can make your cellulite worse. Yes, those thigh bumps can actually look worse in the summer sun. It’s a cruel joke that just when summer comes and you wear less clothing, you can actually make yourself look worse. UVA-induced collagen loss from too much sun not only makes your face wrinkle, it will also make the skin on your body sag. This means cellulite is emphasized.

What can you do to prevent this from happening? Sunscreen for faces is a must, of course. But not only do you need to apply sunscreen to your face daily, you need to apply it to the delicate skin of your neck and chest. Apply also to any other areas exposed to the sun. You don’t want crepey skin on your chest, and you don’t want sunspots or prominent cellulite. Rub on that broad spectrum sunscreen religiously, and make sure you don’t skip any areas.

And as for the cellulite? Regular exfoliation can help stimulate collagen production. That means you need to scrub your skin every day. A pouf is a great exfoliator, and it’s gentle enough to use every day. Daily exfoliation will also keep your skin from looking ‘leathery’. Leathery skin comes when your body tries to protect itself from the sun by thickening. Then your skin dries out. You can prevent this and also plump up your skin by using a moisturizing body wash and following it up with body lotion or moisturizer. Your cellulite will appear smoother, and your skin won’t dry out in the sun. Also, if you use a shimmer moisturizer (one that reflects light), it will make your cellulite appear reduced, even if it’s not.

What are you doing to protect your body’s skin from sun damage? Let me know on twitter, Facebook, or leave me a comment here on the blog.

It’s summer time and you know you’re going to want to have a party one of these hot summer days. Whether it’s a barbecue or a picnic, there are ways you can make your summer party greener.

Don’t use charcoal. Switch to a gas grill. You’re going to release much less carbon dioxide into the air, and the lighter fluid you use with charcoal is toxic. Fast lighting charcoal is soaked in cancer causing chemicals as well. You don’t want to eat that, and you don’t want to feed it to your loved ones.

Eat local foods. Hit your local Farmer’s Market and enjoy fresh summer fruits and vegetables. Purchasing local foods is one of the best ways to ensure that you keep pesticides out of your food, and reduce energy consumption. If there’s no shipping, less fuel is used. And what tastes better than fresh vegetables?

Don’t use throwaway dishes and utensils. Don’t use plastic or paper plates, glasses, or utensils. It’s the easiest thing you can do to stay green. If you’re picnicking or barbecuing, avoiding those throwaway dishes and utensils keeps tons of trash out of landfills. And if you use washable napkins and tablecloths, you’ve just made your summer party even greener.

Compost your scraps. Take all that leftover food and corn cobs and make rich soil for your garden. It’s easy to make a compost heap. Keeping leftover food out of our landfills is a wonderful, easy way to go green. It also means much less methane gas released into the atmosphere.

Another handy green tip for summer parties:
If you’re having a party at home and your fold-up chairs are squeaky after being stored all winter, the WD-40 No Mess Pen is one of the best ways to lubricate and protect without waste.

We take green ideas seriously at StocknGo. That’s why we have the Buy in Bulk section. One large purchase instead of several small ones means less energy expended on fuel, and that’s a good thing. You’ll save money, too.

Do you have any green summer party tips? Let me know on twitter, facebook, or just leave me a comment here on the blog.

Oh, summertime. We love you, we do, with your backyard BBQ’s, your lazy days spent at the beach, and your fun in the sun. If we want to green up our summer, however, sometimes we’re not so sure how to do that. Here are some great tips for a green summer – they’re all easy, and some of them are a lot of fun. Because that’s what summer is about, isn’t it?

Barbecue It

Propane burns cleaner than charcoal or wood, so get yourself and the environment a gift and buy a nice propane tank grill this summer. You get a more even temperature to grill your meats or veggies, and over time, are cheaper to use. There’s no waiting for the coals to heat up or cool down, either. You just turn it on, and you’re ready to grill in just a couple of minutes.

Use fruits and veggies from local farmers, or better yet, grow your own. The ingredients for the average meal typically travel about 1500 miles to reach your table. Think how much fuel and energy you save by buying locally or having your own small garden. And think about how much money you’ll save, too. Buying from farmers markets and/or growing your own vegetables can save you big bucks on your food bill.

Beach Time

Get a solar charger and take it with you next time you go to the pool or to the beach. All those rechargeable things you have – cell phone, ipod, camera – can be recharged with the solar charger when you get back from your fun day. Just pack it in your beach bag with you anytime you’re going out in the sun.

Order your discount sun care products online. If you don’t have to make a special trip to the store, you’ve just saved fuel, and you’ll save even more money, as well, if you buy sun care products in bulk. So stock up on the things you need for the summer, save money, and conserve energy.

Staying Cool

Turn up your thermostat, just a little. Just two degrees saves you money and conserves energy, and chances are, you won’t even notice.

Take advantage of the summer sun by opening your curtains and letting the light into your home in lieu of flipping the light switch to on. Your electrical bill will thank you, and so will the environment.

Take reusable bottles filled with water with you instead of buying bottled water. Keep yourself cool on the go, and keep plastic bottles out of landfills. It’s a lot cheaper to fill your own bottles with water, too. Bonus!

It’s not hard to green your summer; none of these things are difficult to do, and all of them help the environment. What are you going to do to green your summer? Let me know on twitter, Facebook, or leave me a comment here on the blog.

Different beauty rules apply during the long hot days of summer. Not too long ago, I asked readers for their favorite summer beauty tips. Makeup, hair care, and skin care are different during the summer, and all come with their own distinct problems. You know the problems I’m talking about – your makeup melting off in the heat and humidity, your hair drying out, etc. etc. I got a lot of great tips from readers and friends, and I thought I’d share them all with you.

Summer Eye Care Tips

Andrea from Twitter says that her favorite thing to do for tired, puffy eyes is lie down and cover them with cucumber slices. You relax, the swelling goes down, and they smell like summer.

Wear sunglasses to protect your eyes from glare, says Rebecca. If you switch between several pairs, you’ll be less likely to get that unflattering ‘goggle’ pattern around your eyes.

Waterproof mascara is a must, says Janet. You can swim in it, you can exercise in it, and you can exert yourself in the hot sun without your eye makeup running down your face. It’s a summer essential.

Go light on the eye shadow, Eileen tells me. Use a shimmering powder in a neutral color. It will accent your summer tan and you’ll look naturally beautiful.

Summer Hair Care Tips

Make sure to deep condition your hair once a week. It keeps your hair shiny and healthy looking, not dull or lifeless. We all love the summer sun, but it does tend to dry out our hair.

If you swim frequently, use some leave-in conditioner about an hour before you swim to combat the damage that chlorinated water can do to your hair.

Summer Skin Care Tips

Drink a lot of water, says Julie. The recommended amount is 8 glasses a day, but you should drink more than that if you’re going to be outside a lot or if you’re exerting yourself in the hot sun. It gives your skin a fresh glow, and makes it healthier from the inside out.

Ellen says that she fills a spray mister with cold water, adds an ice cube to keep it cold, and spritzes her face with it. It serves the dual purpose of cooling her off and keeping her makeup fresh. (I’m going to try this one. The heat makes me turn red as a tomato, and I’m curious to know if this will help.)

Julie says she uses tinted lip balm in a light color instead of lipstick during the summer. She still gets that pop of color, but she looks natural, not overly made up. The light color makes her tan look great, she says.

So, what do you think? Are these some great tips, or what? I’m going to try several of them and see if they work for me. If you’ve got any summertime beauty tips, make sure to leave a comment on our Facebook page , send them to me on twitter, or leave a comment on this blog.

Oh, and here’s a tutorial for colorful summer makeup that I found. I thought you might enjoy it.

Spring is now in full swing. As we get farther into Spring and eventually Summer the sun is stronger and effects our skin in many ways. Sun protection is an important part of the Spring/Summer seasons. Obviously, it’s important to wear sunscreen. There are lots of other things that help as well. Woman’s Day has put together 10 surprising facts about sun protection that will make you turn your head.

1. Your washing machine can help protect your skin. The latest trend in sunscreen isn’t something you rub into your skin; rather, it’s something you throw in with the laundry. While clothing does provide a barrier between the sun’s harmful rays and your skin, many fabrics pack a pretty puny punch. Take lightweight cotton, for instance. Don’t count on getting more than SPF 5 protection. However, a new product called SunGuard, endorsed by the Skin Cancer Foundation, can simply be added to your washing machine load along with detergent to add an extra level of sun protection to your clothes. After your favorite T-shirts and pants are washed and dried, the protective coating is said to block more than 96 percent of the sun’s rays from permeating the fabric. Best part? The product is very affordable. One package, just $1.99, gives a load of laundry protection for up to 20 washings. That’s an entire summer’s worth of tees!

2. Drinking fruity, alcoholic beverages means you need to reapply sunscreen more frequently. Do you love to lounge at the beach drinking a piña colada or margarita? That umbrella cocktail in your hand may be weakening your sunscreen’s effect, says New York–based skincare and beauty product expert Risi-Leanne Baranja, who cites the research of dermatologist Frederic Brandt, MD. “He explained that if you’re drinking a significant amount of sugar or alcohol, you are causing inflammation in your skin and you will release more free radicals,” she says. “Then the sunlight suppresses your immune system. Therefore, it’s important to add more sunscreen in these situations to combat it.”

3. Chocolate may protect your skin from the sun. No, don’t ditch your sunscreen in favor of a chocolate bar, but researchers say there may be something to our favorite treat’s sun-protecting effects. According to a recent study in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, antioxidant-rich dark chocolate may increase your own UV protection. The researchers suggest eating little bits of chocolate—preferably dark chocolate, with 70 percent cacao content or higher—throughout the day to increase your body’s natural sun protection. Hey, we’re not arguing with that!

4. You’re probably not using enough sunscreen. Think about how much you squirt on your hand when applying it in the morning. A dime-size amount? A quarter-size? Both are far from enough, says New York–based celebrity makeup artist and skincare expert Mickey Williams. “Sunscreen should be applied liberally. Most people apply only 25 to 50 percent of the recommended amount of sunscreen. About one ounce of sunscreen, enough to fill a shot glass, is considered to be the amount needed to cover the exposed areas of the body properly.” If your face is the only real exposed area of your body, especially during the winter months, follow this advice from Dr. Brandt: “To ensure adequate coverage, apply a teaspoon of sunscreen—at least SPF 30—for your face and neck alone,” he says.

5. There’s no such thing as “waterproof” sunscreen. Many people think that if their sunscreen is water-resistant, they’re good to go all day at the beach. Not so, says Williams. “The general rule of thumb for sunscreen application is to reapply every two hours throughout sun exposure,” she says. But if you’re in the water, reduce that time frame to every 40 minutes. According to FDA guidelines, explains Williams, bottles marked as “water-resistant” last just 40 minutes during water immersion. Those labeled “very water-resistant” may last as long as 80 minutes before reapplication is needed. But beware of products that claim to provide “all day” protection or are labeled “waterproof,” as these are misleading statements and are not supported by the FDA.

6. You can avoid burns by wearing a UV-monitoring wristband. According to David Bank, MD, president of the New York State Society of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery, it’s easy to assume that once you’ve put on sunscreen for the day, you don’t need to reapply. Instead of wondering if you’re getting too much sun or pressing your finger against your skin to gauge it (which doesn’t really work), consider using a smarter method promoted by dermatologists: UV-monitoring wristbands. “These tell you when you should reapply sunscreen based on how much sun exposure you are getting,” explains Dr. Bank. ”The wristbands provide you with a simple sun-sensitive gauge that alerts you through color change when you need to reapply sunscreen and when to get out of the sun and its potential damaging effects.” You can find these types of bands at your dermatologist’s office or purchase them online.

7. Sunscreen is controversial. Melanoma is the most common form of cancer for young adults, and according to statistics, skin cancer is on the rise. So why would there be any question as to whether sunscreen is vital and necessary? The Environmental Working Group (EWG) recently released a report linking certain ingredients in sunscreen with an increased cancer risk. Scary? Yes, but Marta Rendon, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in private practice in Boca Raton, Florida, says not to toss your sunscreen just yet. “Every year around this time, EWG releases a report about sunscreens, which winds up confusing and panicking our patients,” says Dr. Rendon. “The study that EWG cites was supposedly done by the FDA a decade ago and, in essence, says that vitamin A might have sped up the incidence of cancerous cells in sun-exposed lab animals. However, numerous studies since then have shown the benefits of vitamin A in reversing the effects of sun damage.” While she does acknowledge that there needs to be further study on the matter, “everyone should continue taking proper measures to protect his or her skin against sun damage. That includes using a broad-spectrum sunscreen that includes both UVA and UVB protection.”

8. Apply sunscreen everywhere—melanoma likes to crop up in strange places. “One of the most common places melanoma has been detected is between the toes, an area most women neglect,” says Brian Bonanni, MD, a dermatologist practicing at the New York City spa Gotham Skincare. “Sunscreen should be applied to scalp, ears, hands and feet.” And don’t forget your lips, too. “A physical sunblock with micronized zinc and titanium should also always be applied to the lips. There are now formulas that do not leave white residue on the lips, which women are more likely to use.”

9. You should never leave your sunscreen in a hot car. We’ve all done it—left our sunscreen in a bag inside a car on a hot summer day. But this may weaken its potency, says Dr. Bank. Instead, treat your sunscreen like you would prescription medication and keep it away from extreme heat. “Most preservatives in sunscreens are designed and tested in a range of temperatures close to room temperature,” he explains. “If you leave it in a hot car, there is a reasonable chance that the preservative and active ingredients may to some degree degrade so it won’t be as effective.”

10. Sunscreen can’t protect one vital area of the body, so take extra precaution. The one place that’s visible to the sun’s pelting rays yet can’t be protected by sunscreen? That’s right—your eyes. According to reports, 5 to 10 percent of all skin cancers appear on the eyelids. While you can apply sunscreen to your lids, it’s your eyes that sunglasses can really protect. The sun’s rays may play a role in eye degeneration and the development of cataracts. A pair of shades can go a long way in protecting your peepers. The American National Standards Institute requires that all shades (even the cheap drugstore varieties!) provide at least 95 percent UVB protection and 60 percent UVA protection.

Applying sunscreen isn’t always the most simple thing ever. There are a lot of areas to hit. Check out this check list from Glamour to make sure you don;t miss any important spots.

For your sunscreen, health and beauty products make sure to head over to Stock N’ Go. Leave a comment if you have any more sun protection tips!

(Image courtesy of Medtips)