Momma Mondays: Mom, You can have my old Moccasins! - The Comfort and Beauty of Manitobah's NAPPA Mukluks

As most people; when I thought of moccasins; I remembered the ones that I wore, proudly, in the 7th grade (everyday). They were lightweight, loose-fitting, and not particularly flattering. Don’t get me wrong; my mom couldn’t get me to stop wearing them, everywhere. The only thing that finally stopped me was the two, big holes, in the bottom of my right shoe. I had resorted to putting a shoe pad inside of the moccasins to keep the elements out, but to no avail. In afterthought; they probably had needed to be discarded long before they met their demise. I’m not sure what ever, really happened, to those moccasins. I have my suspicions; but can’t prove a thing.

Just as I have grown up and almost forgotten those moccasins; my daughter, Jenna sent me the link to Manitobah’s (68 Page PDF Catalog). This catalog makes my fond memories of those childhood moccasins, nearly disappear. Their moccasins and mukluks are nothing like the ones that I wore in the 70’s. In fact; they are not even in the same league. I couldn’t have been more “blown away” and impressed with their offerings. This company doesn’t just (make) mukluks and moccasins; they put their hearts and souls into every, individual pair.

There is so much thought that has gone into each design. They’ve even designed the soles to tell a “story”. For instance; My NAPPA Mukluks feature a “Tipi” Sole. The art, yes I said art, on the sole; has (5) components. *See Photo of Sole: (1) The Sky represents life-giving water falling as rain and snow. (2) To the right are the western mountains. Trees to the left of the tipi represent the Woodland People. (3) This is the doorway we walk through together as modern hunter-gatherers. (4) Fire tells us our People will always survive. Prairie plains, behind, are home to the Great Horse and Buffalo People. (5) The swirling Four Winds cleanse, as the Sun circles, our Mother Earth. The soles are made from Vibram® (developed by the world leader in high-performance rubber soles; these soles are not only pieces of art, but they are designed to withstand the effects of extreme cold and highly abrasive environments). It’s almost a shame to walk on them; they are that cool!

Now that I’ve properly described the soles; let me tell you about the rest of my brand new mukluks. They are constructed of Black Cowhide and Black Rabbit Fur. The NAPPA’S that I chose arrived in a box with artwork on the cover, depicting a “Tipi”. When I opened the box I found the Certificate of Authenticity; noting that they were made in Canada and in fact, real Manitobah Mukluks. These mukluks are a nice, 15’ tall which is just perfect for me. They retail for $329.00 which is what one would expect to pay for something that is hand-made with high quality materials and, for all intents and purposes, pieces of art. It’s so much more than the materials, though; it’s the camaraderie one “feels” with the Aboriginal People. It’s an honor to be included. The front of the mukluks has intricate beadwork, not too much, just enough to accent them, in small purple and white beads. The interior lining of the mukluks is really comfortable due to the thick (in this case dark grey/black) sheepskin shearling.

As I slipped my first foot into the right mukluk; I couldn’t believe how well it fit. As Jenna had said to me; “I don’t want to take them off!” Now; I understand what she was talking about. My husband is the one that photographed this pair for me, in order to share pictures with this review. I was the model, for lack of a better term. This was an easy “assignment” for him. It’s not too difficult to provide excellent photography of an item of superior quality, stunning workmanship and rugged, elegant beauty.

Just as Canada’s first peoples and now (me); you too can have your very own pair of mukluks or moccasins. Thanks to Métis siblings Sean and Heather McCormick we all have the opportunity to own and enjoy this Aboriginal made footwear. I could go on and on about my new NAPPA Mukluks; but it would be better if you were to just order a pair for yourself. That way; you can start “gushing” about them, as well.

We invite you to return during Blog POP!'s upcoming Christmas Wishes Luxury Gift Guide (November 4-7) to catch Jenna's counter review and our Manitobah
Mukluk Giveaway! While you're waiting, swing on by the Manitobah Mukluk Facebook page and 'like' them to stay in touch!

As Required by The FTC: Momma received no monetary compensation for her opinions. She did receive a product sample to conduct her review. All opinions expressed therein are hers, and hers alone. All photography for this post was provided by David G. Rigg of Select Photo Prints.

Momma On: Bunk Beds and "Little Brothers"

As a mom, I’ve always wanted a really nice bed. Being the shopper that I am; I’ve looked at a lot of different styles of bedroom furnishings. I have considered everything from the “old-style Victorian” frames and wooden pedestal beds to a bedstar leather bed. After a long day with the kids and the chaos of the household; we deserve a special place to rest our weary heads. I figured; I have an exquisite leather couch out in my living room so, why not have a leather bed to go along with it? It all makes sense to me.

On the subject of beds; it was my “Baby Brother’s” Birthday recently. Well; he’s not so much a baby anymore, considering that he just celebrated his 50th. Happy Birthday Bro! Milestone events such as this make one reminisce about all those years ago. I remember him, as if it were (quite literally) yesterday, my little brother. The cool thing about my brother is that he’s always had a great sense of humor.

Due to a lack of available space; it became evident that my little brother and I had to share a bedroom. Our little sister had just been born and she was monopolizing the only other one. In order to accommodate the two of us; my parents decided to install a set of bunk beds. My brother and I could not have been more excited! Of course; this led to the big debate. Who gets to sleep on top? After a great deal of drama; my little brother (using his charm and wit) got his way. That happened a lot.

That night; my parents kissed us each “good-night” and off to the top he went. As far as we were concerned, that was that, or so they thought. Just as I was dozing off, I heard this loud, earth-shattering CRASH! Any guesses as to what that might have been? Well; evidently, in their excitement, my parents had forgotten to install the safety bar. They had left it in the back of the pickup truck. Little good, it does, out there in the drive-way! As my brother rose up from the floor and “shook it off” he, quietly whispered to me, “It’s o.k. Big Sis; you can have the top!” True story.

As required by the FTC: This post is in association with bedstar.com. All opinions expressed are hers and hers alone.

Momma Mondays: Lenovo B-575 Laptop Review

This review is for my new Lenovo – Ideapad Laptop / AMD E-Series Processor / 15.6" Display / 4GB Memory / 320GB Hard Drive – Black, Model: B575-1450A5U. It was purchased for only $299.00 at a major retailer last week. It was such a good bargain that I did something (I normally would never do) I went ahead and purchased the (1 year Extended Warranty). For those of you who know me; this is shocking.

I want to say; the reason I am reviewing this particular Laptop Computer is merely circumstantial. My circumstances required that I stop procrastinating and just go out and buy one. I was in dire need of a computer to enable me to continue researching products, composing my reviews (including doing slight adjustments to uploaded images, i.e. color, cropping, etc.), processing and organizing my incoming/outgoing emails and in general; I just needed a little “workhorse” computer. No frills. No big graphics package for gaming. I just wanted the basics. Sometimes; that is all you need to get the job done.

I’m not one of those gals that like “all the bells and whistles”. Don’t get me wrong; sometimes they come in handy. My husband (a Professional Photographer who produces high resolution images) obviously, needs everything that he can get out of his computer. We have pulled the whole “Tim Allen – Home Improvement” thing with that system. It has been upgraded and filled to capacity with graphics programs, image files and music. Regarding that; I am telling everyone right now, there is no thing as “too much memory”. No matter how much memory you have and no matter how many gigs the hard drive has, you will get to a point where you’ll max it out. I can’t tell you the number of times that I have heard the words, “this is more memory than we will ever need or use”. The next thing you know; we’re out shopping for another drive to back it all up, and get it off of the main computer.

Going in; I knew exactly what I needed in a computer and I was particularly savvy as to, how much, I should pay for it. I went into the store prepared to duke it out with the “computer specialist”, that was going to tell me what I should be looking for in a computer and advise (up-sell) me, towards a more “state of the art”, “graphics oriented” model. I’d done my homework and knew which brands (from experience) to stay away from. I didn’t even go near those models in the aisle. It doesn’t matter how good-looking the computer is; if it doesn’t have a decent processing system, or a company that will stand behind their product, it’s not worth buying.

In the past I have been (coerced) into buying the biggest and best system that my budget could afford. This was all made too simple by the offering of a “store credit card and 5% off”. Who could resist that? In every case, this has led for the most part, to severe disappointment. After spending 1,000’s of dollars (and I am not embellishing this figure) on super machines, promising to do everything but make the coffee; I have come to the reality that my instincts should prevail, when making the next computer purchase. Don’t get me wrong; I was almost enticed to get the next bigger/better unit. But then; that little voice in the back of my head, said “Snap out of it!”

It didn’t take long for me to hone in on my Lenovo B575-1450A5U. This model comes with an AMD E-Series Processor, a nice 15.6” Display, 4GB Memory and 320GB Hard Drive. That’s exactly what I was looking for. After getting it home and using it for a couple of days; I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised. This computer does, absolutely everything that I need it to do; maybe even more. Actually; my husband tells me that this computer rivals his “super computer” which was purchased, just under (2) years ago, for twice as much as this Lenovo model. I think that he wants one for Christmas. All of a sudden; the old one, isn’t so “pretty” anymore.

I am so happy that I listened to my instincts, in making this purchase. This little computer, is reasonably priced and will do everything that the average student, housewife, small home-based business needs (emailing, shopping, blogging, social networking, word programs, photos, etc.). There is one pet peeve though; the edges are flush all the way around. This makes it difficult to open from the folded position. If you can live with that; it’s a good choice in a, very low end, computer. The initial investment is almost negligible. Heck some of our kids pay more for their cellphones. At least you can compose a complete (non-text) email, resume; or in my case, a review on it.

As Required By The FTC: This product was reviewed by Momma, herself, with no backing from Lenovo. All opinions provided therein are hers, and hers alone.