Santa Claus is Coming to Honeys & Heroes

Santa Claus is coming to Honeys & Heroes and gumshoe!

Where: Town and Country Village, 855 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA

When: December 13, 2011 for a visit from 11 am to 1:30 PM.

Details: We are raising money for Second Harvest. A $10 donation is requested.

Come and join us while we get into the holiday spirit and raise money for a wonderful cause! See you soon!

For any questions or additional information, call (650)326-1899

Our Gift to You: December Daily Deals!

At Honeys & Heroes we love the holidays and all the joy it brings kids both young and old.

This year to help celebrate the season we are offering a 'Daily Deal' for each day of the month.

Every day we will be featuring one very special item that has been hand selected by our expert team.

This item will be 25% off for that specific day only. The best way to secure that item is to call our store at
650-326-1899 and speak with one of our experts.

We hope you enjoy this very special gift from Honeys & Heroes.

Happy Holidays!

Freak Out or Freaky Parent?

I have to admit that during my pregnancy I've had some pretty ridiculous thoughts:
Why isn't my baby drowning? I mean she is living in water, will she be a fish?
Why does she kick me all the time, am I already a bad mother?
When is she going to come out? Why does she prefer to be inside the dark and creepy womb for all this time?


However, last night won the prize, took the cake, was a 10 out of 10 freak attack.


I woke up to find myself sleeping on my back (a big no, no in the world of 9 mos pregnant women) and had a moment of panic which lead to a total freak out.

OMG, I thought, there is a live human being living inside of me and for some reason I've accepted this as OK, the norm, even a miracle!

How could this be true or possible? How could a living, breathing human being be hanging out inside my body?

Impossible, I thought. I must get it out of me as immediately! How could my husband (who is supposed to love me) allow this freak of an incident happen? Was he not paying attention (like usual) or did he just want a front row seat to the live horror show that would unfold when this baby pops out of my belly?

I was a millisecond from waking him up and insisting that he take me directly to the ER to remove this alien object (otherwise known as a baby) when I must have found my brain, at least the reasonable half.

I thought to myself, yes this is really weird, I am carrying a little person inside of me (aka Alien baby). A human being who will most likely look like me and talk like me. She will definitely be as big of a pain as me, but will most likely be far more loving and kinder than I am (like my husband).

This is a miracle and I need to embrace it instead of calling the local loony bin to pick me up and take me away.

I am not sure why or how this happened but there was definitely a moment there when I thought I was loosing my mind. A moment when my reasoning and logic went out the window and emotions and fear took over.

Ahhh, I thought to myself as I gathered myself and calmly fell back asleep, this is only the beginning.

Pregnancy Secrets or Lies?

I always knew that there were secrets about pregnancy that even your worst enemy would not tell you.

I once had a girlfriend summarize birth as 'just turn around and walk into the hospital backwards, that's all you need to know about having a baby'.

However, now that I am on the precipice of having my first baby, I have figured out the first secret that my dearest friends have only begun to admit to.... the last month is awful! I realize that mother nature probably made it this way so that we want our babies out as much as they want to get out (wait, I hear they don't want to come out and are pretty pissed off when they do.)

No one warned me when I was an innocent, naive and joyous newly expecting mommy that things would look or feel like this! Where were all those truth telling friends of mine? I assume that they were just trying to shelter my happiness from the realities of pregnancy.

I have found it refreshing that there are still some decent people out there in the world that are more than happy to help out a pregnant woman. My experience reveals that the greatest concentration of them exist at Whole Foods in Mill Valley and the lowest concentration reside on any airplane (yes, that includes flight attendants who stand there and stare at you while you try to get your bags up into the storage bin.)

However, there was one ridiculous granola crunching schmuck at a Whole Foods SF who saw me struggling to pick up some candy that had fallen to the floor and instead of offering to help me with the recovery, asked if he could cut in line ahead of me instead. Now that doesn't feel like peace loving, kale eating, Birkenstock wearing behavior.

Oh yeah, and all you gals out there who tell your pregnant sisters that you 'only gained 15 lbs' during your entire pregnancy, guess what, that doesn't help or feel good to anyone (except you of course.)
Focusing, focusing.... back to my initial point, I am on to all you life giving ladies out there. You are so excited when someone new gets pregnant because then you will get one more member of the feet swelling, back aching, stretch marking touting and varicose vain sporting club. I get it, I wouldn't have told me either. But once you are pregnant, what are you going to do about it anyways?

When I complain about the side effects of being pregnant to my mother she asks me 'what did you think was going to happen?' I guess that is the crux of the problem. When I found out I was pregnant I didn't think about me. I thought about the joy of bringing a little person into this world who is full of hope, optimism and joy. Ah, but that seems so long ago (after all, haven't I been pregnant forever by now?)

So ladies, let's have our 'honest moment' now. What else do I need to know about pregnancy or giving birth? What surprises are you all keeping from people like me, birthing virgins? I'm ready to hear it all. Keep nothing back. After all, it is far too late to do anything about it now.

Our Favorite Things: After School Snacks

As a kid, one of the best parts of getting out of school each day was the 'After School Snack' awaiting at home. I have to admit that I didn't always pick the healthiest of snacks, Spaghetti O's was always one of my favorites. Of course, apples and peanut butter was always a close second (just in case my mother comes across this blog.)

However, today there are just so many more options for healthy snacking. We all know it is important for kids to have a mid afternoon nutritional snack to keep their energy and focus going until dinner time. Yet, how do you pick a 'snack' that is more than a 'treat' (think high in sugar and fat) that makes both parent and child happy?

Here are 10 great healthy snack recipes, courtesy of Everyday Health that are fun to eat and help boost kids’ nutrition:

1. Frozen bananas. Cut a banana in half and put each half on a Popsicle stick. Roll the halves in yogurt and then coat with a crispy rice cereal or granola and freeze. Your child can enjoy them frozen or slightly thawed.
2. Quick pizza. Drizzle tomato sauce and sprinkle low-fat mozzarella cheese on a whole-grain English muffin half. Sprinkle with seasonings, such as oregano and garlic. Heat in the toaster oven until the cheese melts.
3. Yogurt treats. Make yogurt parfaits by layering fruit, like strawberries and blueberries, and low-fat yogurt in a parfait glass. Top with granola.
4. Snack mix. Make a mix of ready-to-eat cereal, dried fruit, and nuts or seeds. Place in a sandwich bag and you have an on-the-go snack.
5. Snack kabob. Cut up cubes of low-fat cheese and place them with grapes on mini pretzel sticks.
6. All-time favorite. Kids may enjoy “ants on a log,” which are celery sticks spread with peanut butter or low-fat cream cheese and topped with raisins.
7. Mexican treat. Take a corn tortilla and sprinkle with low-fat, grated Monterey Jack cheese. Fold it in half and then microwave for 20 seconds. Top with mild salsa.
8. Potpourri. Arrange pita chips, baby carrots, and apple slices on a plate. Serve with hummus, low-fat ranch dressing, or low-fat yogurt as a dip.
9. Smoothies. Blend low-fat milk or yogurt with a banana or strawberries and some ice for a low-fat milkshake.
10. Popcorn. Air-pop some of your own kernels or choose a low-fat brand of popcorn to pop in the microwave. Serve with a glass of milk.

If you have a secret 'After School Snack' recipe that is popular in your house, please share!

Help Honeys & Heroes Help Other Kids - Shelter Network

As the new school year creeps closer, we at Honeys &Heroes always realize how fortunate we are to have such nice things to wear and wonderful schools to attend.

Unfortunately, not all kids are as lucky. They don't get new clothes or new shoes to wear every year. In fact, many kids in our community don't even have homes to return to everyday.

That's why this year we are thrilled to be helping out the community with our 'Back-To-School Cool' clothing drive. All clothes donated at the Palo Alto store location will be donated to Palo Alto's Shelter Network.

"The Shelter Network is committed to providing housing and support services that create opportunities for homeless families and individuals to re-establish self-sufficiency and to return to permanent homes of their own. The Shelter Network operates thirteen programs, has more than 50 full-time staff, and thousands of volunteers. The Shelter Network is the Peninsula's principal provider of housing and support for homeless families and individuals."

This season we are offering you a chance to help Honeys & Heroes help those kids at The Shelter Network. From August 15th to September 15th, when you drop off your 'gently used' clothes at Honeys & Heroes we will happily give you 15% OFF on your Back-To-School shopping purchase.

Come on, we know there are things in your closet that you never wear or have outgrown. Why not take this opportunity to clean out your wardrobe and help other less fortunate kids in your community while you do it!

Make it a competition and challenge your friends and neighbors to a 'Back-To-School Cool' competition. Which one of you can donate the most?

For those customers who do not live locally, please post a picture of you donating to a local organization on our Facebook page and we will send you a special coupon to use online to receive your 15% discount.

Help all kids go 'Back-To-School Cool' this year!

Thanks in advance for your contributions,

The Team At Honeys & Heroes

My Opinion on Fashion Camps

As much as I loved summer camp as a kid, I never would have thought there would be something as glorious as being able to go to fashion camp.

Luckily for the girls and guys out there today who love fashion and design, these camps now exist.

A recent article in the NY Times talks about what is probably the greatest hands on fashion camp around, Fashion Camp NYC. This 5 day program in the heart of New York's fashion district offers their campers the most hands on experience for those youths who know they want a career in fashion.

There are many other programs throughout the country that are less expensive and more convenient as well. Just a few minutes of research will find you programs in Texas, Colorado, California, Washington and more...

Why send your daughter or son to fashion camp? There are multiple reasons. Personally I believe that fashion is one of the first places that a child learns to define their own unique personality. As we see in the store everyday, kids love to try new styles and looks to figure out what suits them best.

Boys love trying new accessories like our forever popular Gunnar Fedora by Quiksilver. I can't tell you how man guys have fallen in love with this hat and begged their mother's to buy it for them.

Girls, especially in the size 7 to 14 range often need to spend extra time trying on multiple outfits to figure out what is best on their ever changing bodies. This trial and discovery period helps them to not only feel comfortable with themselves but also explore sides of their personalities that have yet to be discovered.

So, for all those 'nay sayers' out there who think that fashion and fashion camps are a waste of time, I would say wrong! Let your little loved one enjoy design and fashion and be sure to get out of their way while they do it. The confidence and pride that kids develop when they are excited and comfortable in what they are wearing pays off in spades. They become more confident, happier and even a bit more independent.

If you don't believe me, come and hang out with us at Honeys & Heroes one afternoon and witness it for yourself.