now you can be the pro chef!

Ugh, I've had one heck of a weekend (you don't even WANT to know!), which ended with me being sick and feeling rather crappy; which has lead me to taking today off in an attempt to kick this thing! But never let it be said I won't sacrifice my health and happiness for method lusters! Ok, so perhaps that's a SLIGHT exaggeration? Who knows, I'm too stuffed up to think it through clearly...

I just had to take a moment to crawl out of bed and let you know about method's new pro chef line! The new line features, well, let's just let method do the talking (and me do the sneezing):

"whether you’re a serious cook or you think cooking involves a phone and a take-out menu our newest pro chef line will be sure to please you. kitchens tend to be the central gathering place in the home and pro chef is just the right line to get your kitchen ready to greet guests or make a sandwich.

the pro chef line is now available exclusively at Bed Bath and Beyond stores.

the line includes a stainless steel cleaner that is a whopping 28 oz. of superpowered formula to avoid leaving any streaks behind. so not only can you purchase less often you can also finally wipe those nasty fingerprints off the fridge.

also included is a 28 oz. spray bottle of granite cleaner, specially designed for granite, marble and other natural stone countertops and surfaces. natural stone is classic and durable, but it needs special care to be sure you don’t strip the sealer and allow water to get in the stone.

lastly, we have a special multi-surface cleaner to get rid of grease and food splatters while leaving behind a yummy citrus cilantro scent. it smells so good people will think you’ve been chopping fresh herbs and lemon wedges with a touch of lime."

Cool! I'm curious if the method line of products will continue to expand in Bed, Bath and Beyond stores. Some people find method products there already; but mine are (currently) method free. So perhaps this new line will help get them jump started in all their stores!

You can head on over to method's people against dirty blog, and have a chance at winning this new line! Contest ends October 2nd, so hurry!

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And uhm, can I just be the (only one, probably) to say UGH! to citrus cilantro. I know there are plenty of fans out there that lust this scent; but method is loving reusing old scents this year, and between citrus cilantro and citron leaf (two scents I feel are very, very similar; and neither one do I really lust) I'm hoping next year shows them bringing us some new scents to sniff! Cause I for one am citrus cilantro/citron leaf/citrus leaf'ed out! (But I still lust you, method!)

surprise finds!

I've noticed my exclamation point over usage has seeped into my post titles now! They're everywhere! Everywhere, I tell you! Ah!)

I took a quickity-quick trip into Ross today (a store in the same vein as Marshalls, TJ Maxx, etc.) because I knew they carried clearance Target items every once in a while. Specifically Target brand candles, etc. So as I wondered down the candle/fragrance aisle, what did I stumble upon but some lavender + lemongrass candles! In the new glass bowls! Now, these were the old "hard to burn" formula, so I sorta passed, but they were only $2.99! Then I noticed around five cut grass aroma pills (the whole set, pill and refill) for a mere $4.49! And finally I saw two cinnamon bark aroma stick sets for $4.99 each! (A perfect find for the upcoming holidays! Especially since we won't be getting aroma sticks in this year's holiday line.) Wow!

If you have a Ross near you, a trip to the store might be in order! Let me know if you happen to find anything different, or what you pick up, method style! (You can also tell me what you pick up non-method style, but then I don't want you to think I'm straight up nosey, so really, you don't have to, alright? Cool.)

holiday sneak peek!

Yeah, yeah, you read right lusters! We're being treated to a method holiday sneak peek! (I mean, can you believe the holidays are almost upon us? Geesh! I still haven't finished eating all of last year's Christmas candy! Oh right, I should probably just uh, throw that away now, shouldn't I? Ok. Goodbye candy canes. So long peppermint bark. Oh, look, now I can buy new holiday candy! Yay!)

So, without delay, some good news, and some (bad?) news!

+ The good! method holiday 2009 will see three big returns! This year's scents will be hollyberry, peppermint vanilla, and cinnamon bark! Can you believe peppermint vanilla is making a return? I know there are a lot of peppermint vanilla fans who have been waiting for this! And all three scents come back to us from their previous 2007 visit!

These scents will be available in soy candles, and our ever faithful gel hand wash! (Are you not just lusting after those colored soy candle bowls! I can't wait to pick some up! Drool!) Look for them to hit stores in late October/early November. The hand wash will actually be available to any retail stores that carry method products; while the candles are a Target exclusive!

+ And (the bad?) No new scents this year! And the product line has been slashed! We're talking no dish soap, no aroma sticks, aroma rings, pills, sprays, spray cleaners, or limited edition products! Nada! I'm really surprised at this, as I always thought these products (at least dish soap, and spray cleaners) were always big sellers during the holidays! I know method said they wanted to return to some of their product roots; and their original line usually only consisted of hand wash, maybe lotion, and candles. But over the last few years we've been treated to quite a grand expansion of the holiday products, and I couldn't wait to fill my house with all the wonderful goodies!

What do you think of this? Excited! Drooling with anticipation! Disappointed that there are no new scents this year? Gonna miss your favorite holiday products? Comment away! And let the holiday countdown... begin! (Wait, it's not even Halloween yet? What'evah!)

messy guys make millions

...and you can, too! Here's how! No wait, this isn't that kind of post. No self help get rich tips here. If only! But what I do have for you is this nifty Reader's Digest article on those two grand co-founders of a little company we like to obsess over... and over, and over, and over, and over, and over and...!

"Messy Guys Make Millions Selling Green Cleaning Products
- By Margaret Heffernan

Eric Ryan and Adam Lowry were having dinner with their new investors. The 27-year-old entrepreneurs had finally gotten a million dollars in venture capital to kick-start their company, but it came with stiff financial targets. It turned out this was the least of their problems that night. "We were passing our credit cards under the table to each other," Ryan recalls, "but none of them worked, because we had maxed them out. Eventually, we persuaded the restaurant owner we were good for the money."

In the eight years since that embarrassing moment, Ryan and Lowry have built Method into the world's largest eco-friendly cleaning brand. Their green products use natural ingredients like corn, coconut oil, and palm oil and are packed in attractive, recyclable containers. In the process, the two changed the perception of green home-care products—and the industry too.

Ryan and Lowry had been friends since high school, but it wasn't until after college that they hit on the idea of a home-care-products company. "We were shocked to learn how toxic cleaning products were," says Ryan. Why couldn't they create green products that would be just as stylish, fragrant, and environmentally pure as Aveda's skin- and hair-care lines?

When Ryan's mom heard about the plan, she stared at him blankly: "I've never even seen you clean your room!" Undeterred, Lowry, the chemical engineer, experimented with nontoxic ways to clean, while Ryan, the ad guy, focused on marketing. In February 2001, they mixed their first four cleaning sprays and convinced the managers of 20 independent grocers to try them. Once they had their approval, they tapped friends and family and pooled their savings to come up with $90,000 in seed money.

From the start, "Go big or go home" was their mantra. Their first financing—that $1 million—was due to be signed on September 11, 2001. By the time they got it, two months later, says Ryan, "we had $16 in the bank and personally owed $300,000."

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Head on over and read the rest!

(advocacy) kit and kaboodle! + contest!

UPDATE Contest closed! Thanks to all who entered!

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method lust (and uh, that would be me, Nathan!) is so usually on the ball, it's car-azy! But boy ever have I dropped said ball on method's latest advocacy extravaganza! I bet method thinks I took all the little method bottles and used them up myself! Ha ha, no no. Life gets in the way sometimes, don't you know? (Isn't that a funny saying, life gets in the way, when you're living life, so how can it get in the way, and whoa, too deep...) personal issues, new car purchases, crazy work schedules, well, I'm telling you, it's left me being blogless for too long! So just bare with me at times, ok? Muchas gracias!

Recently (well, as long as your version of recently is a month ago!) method sent out a very cryptic email (see the last paragraph in that post), and peaked everyone's curiosity! And then, a couple weeks later I (and many other advocates) got the above box in the mail! What could it be? Well, only one way to know! Rip that sucker open! And rip it open, I did! And what to my wondering eyes did I discover inside, but four tiny boxes!

Inside each adorable tiny box was four bottles! They contained almond wood for good spray, pink grapefruit dish soap, sweet water hand wash (we'll get to this in a moment!), and french lavender all purpose cleaner! So very cool! Also in the box was a coupon for $1.00 off any method product, and a booklet giving you more information on their lines!

method's intentions for this were for advocates to give out these great goodie boxes to help spread the method word; through advocate's blogs (yeah, I failed on that one this time around!), facebook pages, parties, random method sneak attacks (those times when you think someone just snatched your purse or stole your wallet out of your pocket, and you reach over to find, instead, someone has snuck a method goodie into your purse or pocket! Ok, hmm, I might not actually recommend doing this, but wouldn't that be cool if you were the person finding the method! If you were the person giving the method, you might end up getting maced, so yeah, we'll pass on this idea. Darn!)

So see, method, I am giving them away! Here's my great friend Laury, posing proudly with her box! (And get this, as an on-the-side career, she cleans people's houses! Nifty, eh? I'm working on her, I am! All method products, all the time! We shall see if I can get her to come around to the green side!) She's into design like me, so she just loved the packaging, and was checking it all out!

And now here's where YOU come in! You, yes you, can win one of these adorable boxes! Now, it might be a tad low on the sweet water hand wash; as for SOME reason (call it Nathan Luck) every box but one of mine had leaky sweet water bottles. So your sweet water bottle will be a bit half full, and I don't want you to think I went and washed my hands with it or some such! Ha ha! Apparently I was the only one that had this problem! CAN you believe that? Actually, I totally can.

So drop your name in the comments section with the following statement (in all CAPS!) "I WANT A METHOD ADVOCATE KIT PRETTY PLEASE WITH A CHERRY ON TOP!" and I'll choose a winner! Contest ends September 18th, 2009! Good luck! (And thanks, method, for giving me this advocate kit campaign opportunity! You rock, as always!)

you ask, they answer!

So hey, got a question for method? (Well, particularly, method UK! But hey, they've got the same method products, right? Maybe just no Target questions (cause uh, I don't think they have Targets) and perhaps stick a "bloody" or two in front of all questions. Ok, ok, so stereotypical of me! I should be ashamed! Do me a favor, leave the "bloody"s out, ok?)

Over on the site guardian.co.uk they've got this nifty little Q&A session going on all week long with method! You have a question? They have an answer!

"Green cleaning firm Method joins us this week to answer your questions on its eco credentials and quirky-looking products. Founded in San Francisco in 2000 by Adam Lowry and Eric Ryan, it spread to the UK in 2006 and is now a serious rival for the long-standing king of "ecological cleaning", Ecover.

So how does it compare to Ecover on its environmental pedigree? Are the chemicals in everyday cleaning sprays and lotions really "poisons" to the natural world and people too, as Method claims? Want to know what the company thinks of eco labelling schemes, such as the EU Eco Label or organic certification?

Whatever questions you've got about its recycled packaging, "natural" cleaning or baking powder and vinegar, this is your chance. Method will be online from Monday to Friday – just post your questions below."

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So ask away (click on the link and post your question there, not here! Or uh, it won't get answered!) If you do ask them a question, it'd be really grand if you'd let them know "method lust sent you!" Thanks!

live "happily ever after" with method

Wow! Here's your chance to win the ENTIRE line of method products! How great is that?!

Chronicle Books has these three adorable "Little" books - "Little Oink", "Little Pea", and "Little Hoot"! I mean, who doesn't lust a little pea with a cute face! (Well, I do!) And to celebrate their release, they're having a contest! You can win lots of stuff, including:

+ $2,500 in merchandise from Pottery Barn Kids to create your dream bedroom
+ The entire line of eco-friendly Method cleaning products
+ 100 free products from Green Giant®
+ Plus, autographed copies of Little Pea, Little Hoot, and Little Oink!

Two runners-up will receive:
+ A Healthy Home Cleaning Kit from Method
+ $100 in free products from Chronicle Books
+ Autographed copies of Little Pea, Little Hoot, and Little Oink!

And while they all rock, the biggie for us is the entire line of method cleaning products! Can you imagine!? Whoa! So head on over, and sign up! Good luck!

found!

So if you remember, months and months o' go, Big Lots got in a slew of method's original wet dryer sheets! In ALL scents - sweet water, water lily + aloe, go naked, nectarine blossom, and... oh, but WAIT! No lavender + juniper. Only, people, my most favoritest scent of them ALL! What was the deal'e'oh!?

Well, the stars have finally lined up! Walking into my local Big Lots yesterday, what did I just discover, but lavender + juniper wet dryer sheets! In fact I had to do a double take? "Wha? Are those what I think those are?" Why in the world this one scent was "held" for months is beyond me, but uh, I have no clue how this secondary sales market stuff goes. And really, who cares? Cause I got me some lavender + juniper! So I snatched up five packages! I lust me some lavender + juniper!

I also noticed the original method baby laundry detergent sitting on the shelves. So it looks like they've recently received a new small shipment of method laundry products (other users have noticed more water lily + aloe laundry detergent as well.) So head on out and stock on up!