Holidays Archives - Page 22 of 41

Create your holiday look effortlessly with the KISS InstaWave automatic curler

I love a good curly hairstyle every once in a while, especially this time of year with holiday parties and birthdays galore, but I swear that every year I get worse and worse at styling a good curly ‘do. I’m fine for the first few curls and then out of nowhere I clip the iron and accidentally turn it the wrong way. Anyone who has ever done this knows that you then end up with that awful crimped piece at the bottom where the clip was holding that no amount of recurling can ever fix. That, my friends, is pretty much my signature “curly” look.

Or, at least it was. I was recently introduced to the KISS InstaWave and it’s changed the way I style hair forever. Not only is it clipless so there’s no chance of ending up with crimped hair, it’s also automatic so all I need to do is rest the hair on the barrel and press a button. There’s literally no way to mess up your hair!

Kindle Fire HD Kids Edition with FreeTime offers entertainment at home or on the road

As someone who is on the go a lot with kiddos, one of the main things I get asked about from friends, family, and readers is about essential gear for family travel. And while my “essentials” list has changed based on the ages of my children, there are a few things that never change. One of those things is the prevalence of tech gadgets. It’s true that tech gadgets can change your life dramatically and make life easier, especially when traveling, but there are also some huge downfalls.

One major concern is being weighed down with technology instead of making life easier. When we’re talking DSLRs, laptops, smartphones, tablets, action cams, and more as well as all the accessories and gear that go along with all those tech accessories, you can easily fill up a suitcase – and that’s before you pack any toiletries, clothing, or footwear.

So, I always say that when traveling, less truly is more. If you can go without a full laptop simply by packing a small add-on keyboard to your tablet, you are going to be a whole lot happier when packing, lugging your tech bag through airports and onto airplanes, and going through airport security – especially when you’re also corralling kids. By pairing your tablet with lightweight accessories and gadgets as well as apps to make your tablet function like a laptop, you can truly ditch the extra weight and end up with a versatile go-to device for everything from reading by the pool to editing work documents.

For this reason I love the Kindle Fire HD Kids Edition that is an ideal tablet for kids but also packed with features to make it perfect for adults, too. A few weeks ago my son got to play with one of these awesome tablets at the TravelingMom-Techlicious Holiday Tech and Travel Show in Seattle #TNTSeattle and he was so sad to say goodbye to it when the time came. Amazon saved the day {and month, and year} by sending us home with one of our own to play with and both kids were quickly smitten.

Beat holiday weight gain with the Jawbone UP24 from AT&T

It’s only the first week of November and I already feel like hibernating for the remaining winter months. It's getting rainy and cold here in Seattle and my living room is feeling awfully cozy with the fire going, so it's easy to just close my eyes and curl up on the couch. But, the one thing that's keeping me going and staying active? It's my Jawbone UP24 from AT&T that helps keep me in line if I'm not meeting my step goal or I'm going over my calorie goal. Did you know that AT&T carries a bunch of tech-savvy solutions for fighting off this season of eating more and exercising less? More than just phones these days, AT&T stores offer a variety of wearable technologies for consumers interested in health and fitness, such as the UP24 from Jawbone I was raving about earlier this year. With activity/sleep trackers, smart watches, pulse monitors, arm bands, scales and much more, AT&T has everything you need to stay within your fitness goals and beat this holiday weight gain. You can see their whole line by clicking here.

Magicforest’s favorite European toys inspire play for all ages this holiday {Moulin Roty wooden toy box set review}

They say that the best gift you can give your child is the gift of your time, and I wholeheartedly believe that is true. I give my children that gift in staying home with them so I can be with them all day long, in cooking for them, cleaning for them, packing their lunches, and trying to include them in many of the things that I do each day. But, the truth is that I could do better about stopping what I’m doing and taking a nature walk or two, swinging at the park, or starting projects with them that they are excited about, and my goal is to simply get better about playing with them at least a few times each day. It’s for this reason that I love Moulin Roty, a French company that makes toys that will inspire kids and adults to play together. How could anyone not want to play with these shadow puppets and stage or these adorable Les Mask’ottes masks?

Brought to the States by European toy importer, Magicforest, the Moulin Roty catalog is the kind of thing childhood dreams are made of. From pretend play and dress up to cuddly friends to snuggle with, as well as imagination inspiring toys that can teach everything from science to making your own toys, the Moulin Roty collection never disappoints.

Be a brilliant gift-giver with Brilliant Sky Toys & Books

Are you as overwhelmed with toy shopping as I am? You’d think I would be good at it by this point considering I hear about toys even before they hit the market. But, sometimes even I have a child on my list that I have a really hard time buying for. Those times I’m very grateful for neighborhood toy stores with a diverse and eclectic mix of high quality toys that won’t be abandoned in just days for the next new fad.

Stores like Brilliant Sky Toys & Books offer that and more at their 17 locations {and counting}. By offering amazing and personalized service, and more than 10,000 high-quality specialty products, it allows you to “discover, experience, explore, interact, and enjoy” in a fun and relaxed environment.
But wait, before you get overwhelmed with the idea of 10,000 different products to choose from, you should know that Brilliant Sky understands how you feel. That’s why they announce their annual Brilliance Awards every year before the holiday season to make shopping that much easier for their guests.

The 5th annual Brilliance Awards were just announced and again I’m wowed by the amazing collection of toys and more that they have chosen to highlight. In fact, we own many of their top picks this year, and they are the ones we return to over and over again.

This year's 2014 award list features 12 products with price tags from $9.99 to $129.99 with most toys running about $24.99 to $29.99. And, with the exception of the Sphero 2.0, these picks are surprisingly low-tech and classic, which I know I appreciate. By using this brilliant list as a guide for all your holiday shopping you can be a brilliant gift-giver and do all your shopping quickly and easily.

Travel must-have for kids: The LeapPad3 learning tablet

My kids are pretty awesome travelers for the most part. They can handle short flights like pros and are the best road trip buddies on long car rides. But, as it turns out, they are pretty awful redeye international travelers. Go figure.

When I look back now, I can’t help but ask myself what I was thinking taking two small kids on packed overnight flights that included 4 airports, long layovers, no meals, and a trip through customs. Oh, and did I mention I am very pregnant and have a hard time getting comfortable in even the plushest digs?

Seriously. What on earth was I thinking?! Having taken dozens of flights with them before, some of them international and some of them redeye in which they handled themselves perfectly, I was clearly going into things far too cocky considering the itinerary and their ages.

Thank goodness our friends over at LeapFrog realized that even good travelers could use something to pass 14+ hours of travel and they sent us their newest tablets, the LeapPad3 to use on our way to #BeachesMoms Social Media on the Sand conference. I spent the night before our big trip loading up on learning software, TV shows, and music to put on the tablets in addition to our collection of software cartridges from our original LeapPad, and I’m so glad I did. This awesome show? This was my view during one of our shorter flights. Would you believe that she is rocking out to the old classic "Do you Know the Muffin Man"? Someone download this girl the Frozen sing-a-long, stat.

All the reasons I love the Ninja 3-in-1 Cooking System

Fall is by far my favorite season. It’s still hot enough here in the Pacific Northwest to wear skirts and sandals some days, but then it’s boots and sweaters the next, all under the gorgeous backdrop of changing leaves and fall colors. Just look at my happy harvester, collecting vegetables for the week. The one thing that isn’t awesome? Meal planning. With unpredictable weather and high temperatures nearly every afternoon, it makes it hard to plan what kind of meals to make that won’t leave the house sweltering at the end of the day.

When a friend suggested I try slow cooking instead of heating up the oven and making our house unbearably hot, I couldn’t believe how brilliant she was. It turns out I can still have the hearty meals I’ve been pinning, but without making us all miserable by simply using an appliance I typically reserve for winter meals.

Hello, Ninja 3-in-1 Cooking System!

10 tips to keep your kids safe this Halloween

Did you know that Halloween night is one of the most dangerous nights of the year? In fact, kids are twice as likely to be hit by a car on Halloween over any other day of the year. With little kids in costume sharing the road with vehicles of all types and lights turned down low, it's really a recipe for disaster. While those are certainly sobering statistics, that doesn't mean you can't keep your kids as safe as possible this Halloween by planning ahead and helping teach your child basic safety rules before they head out hunting candy.

Our love of GoldieBlox begins!

Anyone who knows my kids knows all about their deep desire to understand how things work. They are rarely content with a simple explanation of the facts and instead require an in-depth analysis of everything that perplexes them. It is likely this knowledge that led many close friends and family members to reach out via phone calls, my inbox, and various messaging systems with a suggestion of a brand they knew my kiddos would flip for: GoldieBlox One click to the GoldieBlox homepage and I was instantly smitten. This wasn’t just a toy my kids would love, this was a toy that I would have designed for them if only I knew how. It includes all of their absolute favorite things: building things, imaginative play, and figuring out how things work in a really fun way that the whole family can get involved in.

For those of you who have been emailing over the past year begging me to get the GoldieBlox toys for my kids, I say thank you. You will be very happy to know it was literally love upon first #unbloxing and even though they have only been playing with their own GoldieBlox toys for the past few weeks, they are just as enthralled with them as you probably guessed.

If you want to see how excited we are about GoldieBlox, you should go ahead and watch this video:

For those of you who haven’t heard about GoldieBlox or seen their adorable Super Bowl commercial, you are probably wondering what makes this building toy different, and the short answer is: a lot.

Where we were: the new See’s Candies in Woodinville, WA

This past week we took a break from our crazy busy summer schedules to hang out with some of our local blogging friends at the opening of See's Candies in Woodnville. While they had me at "candy", I was also excited to see behind the scenes, sample some treats, and let the little ones learn how to pack chocolate boxes like a pro.
See's Candies stores feature a candy counter where you can try a sample and create your very own custom mixed box of chocolates and candies. Along with the delicious candies that they are famous for like boxed chocolates, truffles, nuts and chews, lollypops, and sugar free candy, they also have seasonal favorites and new recipes to try.

We've been fans of See's Candies for as long as I remember, introduced to the brand at a very young age by an aunt who couldn't visit Washington without leaving with a sampler or two, but it's only been recently that the kids have fallen in love with the brand. It *may* have something to do with the fact that their Kidgit's Club membership gets them free lollypops.