giveaway Archives - Page 4 of 16

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.

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.

Send them back to school on the right note with SOL REPUBLIC {DECK wireless speaker review}

Are you in the thick of back to school planning like I am? There are clothes to buy, glue sticks to stock up on, and there are goodbyes to plan for, because back to school is sneaking up on us quickly.

But, what if your baby isn’t quite a baby anymore and those days of construction paper and pencil cases are well behind you? For you, back to school shopping requires some creativity in order to send your child off to school on the right foot.

Sure, you need the latest sneakers and some updated clothing, but what I think is more important than that is what your child will be listening to. Sending them back to school with a good pair of headphones, earbuds, or even a portable speaker can make those early mornings, bus stop waits, and late nights studying a whole lot more enjoyable if you have your music with you.

Thank Goodness It’s Back to School with Fruit of the Loom

You know what back to school means? It means fall colors, tall boots, chunky sweaters, steaming lattes, and a whole lot more “me” time – even if I do plan to spend it working.

This is the first year I will have both kids in school {even if it’s just a few hours a week}, and quite honestly I’m a bit teary eyed about it. But, I know it’s so good for both kids to be with kids their own age and learn with their peers that it’s hard to be too sad about it. For that reason, I’m saying TGIBTS {Thank Goodness It’s Back to School}. One of the things I’m most excited about is the fact that I get to go school shopping. I’m using back to school shopping as a great motivator for purging the old so I can make room for all their new must-haves, and I’m loving it. Anything with holes or worn spots is gone, anything that is outgrown or doesn’t fit quite right is donated, and anything that just isn’t getting the love that it should is passed down to someone who can truly appreciate it. In doing that, I have started from the top drawer and am working my way down. That means all those well worn, mismatched, and outgrown socks and undergarments are being purged first and I’m finding that we desperately need to restock before the new school year. Thank goodness Fruit of the Loom has us covered!

Back to School shopping with Northgate Mall in Seattle

Can you believe fall is just around the corner? It seems like just last week I was walking the kids to and from school each day, packing lunches, and taking them to and from extra curricular activities, but here we are again ready to start a new school year. While I don't love the idea of summer ending and sending my kids to school, I do really love going back to school shopping.

Last week we headed out to Northgate Mall in Seattle to shop our favorite stores and check out all the new stores they have added this summer. With great clothing and gear for all ages, it just makes shopping for everyone so easy.

It truly is a one-stop shop, which is why it's one of our absolute favorite places to shop. And, with back to school sales signs in nearly every window, now is a great time to hit the mall!

Huggies Snug & Dry Plus is at Costco now

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Huggies® Brand. I received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for participating.

Did you order your Huggies® Snug & Dry Plus Diapers and Huggies Natural Care® Plus Wipes free sample from Costco I posted about earlier this month? If you did, then you are likely as thrilled as I am with the new line and can't wait to order up a box or two from Costco.I've been a huge fans of Huggies Natural Care wipes for both of my kiddos with their tendencies toward sensitive skin, and I was really excited to try the Huggies Natural Care® Plus Wipes these past few weeks for all our little messes. The wipes proved to be as awesome as I was expecting and we are now very big fans of the thick and soft wipes, especially because they don't have added perfumes to cause skin irritation.

AT&T helps you get fit with the Jawbone UP24 activity tracker

Earlier this month we attended an event hosted by AT&T at David Barton Gym in Bellevue, WA. Along with Seattle area tech, parenting and lifestyle bloggers and reporters, we got to test the newest wearable technology from Jawbone during a workout with one of the gym’s fitness trainers.

As excited as we were for the event, I must admit we spent a crazy amount of time right here in the entrance to the gym with its gorgeous wood detailing.

Fairy tales come to life with the Princess Rosalina Play Tent {review}

Look at these happy faces. These are the faces of kids who have their very own play house to make believe in, snuggle in, and play in. Introducing the beautiful Princess Rosalina play tent from HABA, which is the perfect way to make any playroom {or living room, as my case may be} truly awesome.

Mother’s Day: A day for mom to Indulge at Northgate Mall in Seattle

We go to a lot of events at Northgate Mall in Seattle, our local Simon Mall. We’ve been to story time, to Girls Night Out events, to an event with live bunnies and goats for the kids to hold, to holiday events, and even to Seahawks events, but the one event I look forward to all year long is the Mother’s Day event.

If you’ve never been to a Northgate event, then you’re probably picturing a few tables running down the middle of the mall selling you siding and giving you pamphlets about having parties in your home. I know that’s what I was picturing the first few times I saw a note on Facebook about one of Northgate’s parties. But, since we had a mall trip planned anyway, I figured I would swing by the event at some point while we were there to check it out. And, I’m oh so glad we did. Since that day, we’ve gotten our faces painted, got free henna tattoos, colored our hair pink and green and blue {but not all at the same time} and we’ve been introduced to so many companies and services in the Northgate Mall and surrounding areas.

I’ve now learned something very important: When Northgate throws a party, you should show up.

Budget-friendly grocery shopping with kids at Grocery Outlet

A few years ago I realized that saving money on groceries was going to be an integral part of our financial plan. Eating out, dropping $150/week on food, and impulse buys at the store were going to have to be a thing of the past. Either that, or I would need to shop at different stores than I had previously frequented.

I started noticing many friends sharing their couponing successes online and started clipping myself, but some weeks I simply did not have time to fully plan for each shopping trip. And, then I noticed that a friend of mine was posting shopping success stories without ever clipping a coupon.

Her secret? Our local Grocery Outlet store that she swears by for great deals and steals. What surprised me most wasn’t the low prices she paid, but the quality of the food she was buying. I’ve always known her as someone who was the picture of health – organic preferences, homemade whenever possible, and foods with as little ingredients as possible, so I was shocked to find out that she got nearly all her groceries there each week.