Seattle Archives - Page 7 of 9

The gift of freedom with the FiLIP Smart Locator Watch

Growing up, we would disappear for hours, playing in the neighborhood, our friend’s houses, and off in the woods until dinnertime. Even at my children’s ages, I had a freedom that my kids don’t know these days in our urban neighborhood where the dinner bell doesn’t send the kids running.

Maybe this is why so many young kids have cell phones now, starting as young as elementary school. I get it, it’s for convenience for the parents first and foremost, but kids having cellphones is just not for me… at least not for a few more years. I’m not ready to police text messages, restrict game usage, make sure the kids don’t have open access to the internet, or worry about them losing expensive electronics by allowing them to have their own cellphones.

But this year, I’m giving them the gift of freedom in a way that is age appropriate with the new FiLIP from AT&T.

It may look like a fancy child’s watch, but don’t let that deceive you. Once you know what the Filip does, you will understand why I’m so excited about it and why we feel it is a great buy for anyone with a child aged 5 to 11.

Girl of The Year 2014 Isabelle arrives at the Seattle American Girl store

Like a small child counting down the days until Christmas, we were counting down the days until January 1st. Not because we’re huge into New Years’ celebrations, but because American Girl announced their Girl of the Year {GOTY}.

We look for any reason to party around here, especially when the party is for a doll as elegant as this one:

Meet Isabelle, the Girl of the Year for 2014. Isabelle Palmer loves ballet and everything fashion. Her story involves a new school, struggling to stand out in the shadow of her older sister, and figuring out how she can use her unique talents to shine. Since my daughter would like nothing more than to be a dancer, Isabelle's story really struck her and she's now smitten with this beautiful GOTY doll.

New Years sales at Simon Malls

Did you think all the sales and deals ended with the holidays? If so, you’d be wrong, because the sales are in full swing at Simon Malls. This past week I took the family out for some post-holiday shopping at Northgate Mall in north Seattle and we found good deals everywhere we looked.

Gymboree is having their Red Balloon Sale, Victoria’s Secret has their Semi-Annual Sale, Nordstrom has their men’s sale, Lane Bryant has their Ring It Up, Ring It In sale event, Eddie Bauer has their Semi-Annual Sale, Old Navy has their Active Sale, Things Remembered has a New Years’ Sale, and even Starbucks has a year end sale going on. And the sales go on and on and on…

March of Dimes Signature Chefs Auction in Seattle with AT&T

Last week, we had date night. We started the evening with Washington wines and microbrews paired with delicious bites from Seattle’s top chefs, and then we topped off the night with coffee and sweet potato cheesecake.

It was pretty much the perfect evening, and it was for a good cause.

Tyler with always amazing Thierry Rautureau {AKA The Chef In The Hat}

We were guests of AT&T at the March of Dimes Signature Chefs Auction, where they were a gold level sponsor. The Signature Chefs Auction brings together prominent members of the community to raise paddles for stronger, healthier babies and proceeds from the event are directed to mission-based programs.

Seattle style for the great outdoors from Kaidel Sportswear

As our header would have you believe; we are big into biking as a family. I’ve posted before about how Spandex-free biking is the way that I roll, typically with skirts, dresses, cute little flats, and other items you wouldn’t expect to see on someone pedaling past you. But, what you don’t know is that my husband secretly wants to be a real biker. You know, the kind that doesn’t wear flip flops.

The past few years have been a slow upgrade process; first with the fancy new street bike, then with quick clip pedals, and then the biking shoes to fit the pedals. The next step was getting him to look more like a biker, with appropriate clothing and gear so he could go out on all day rides comfortably.

So, naturally when Kaidel Sportswear, a Seattle company, contacted us with the chance to try out their family cycling and running jerseys, we said yes. And, as excited as I was to find some fun Seattle-themed biking gear for hubby, I also loved that they carried childrens bicycle jerseys as well so I could get father/daughter cycling jerseys.

Summer vacation shopping tips {BlogHer shopping at Northgate Mall}

It is summer vacation time, and everyone knows what that means: shopping. Whether you are ditching the rain and heading somewhere tropical or you are beating the heat and heading for cooler weather, chances are you need some new clothing and gear for whatever climate you’re headed to.

I like to view this as an invitation to splurge a little bit on myself to make vacation packing easier. Since I love vacation shopping more than any other kind of mall trip, I tend to plan one a few weeks before any big trips to refresh my wardrobe before fully deciding on what I will be packing. So, amed with a complimentary gift card, my daughter and I headed to Northgate Mall in Seattle to prepare for my upcoming Chicago trip for BlogHer.

Packing for BlogHer is a bit different than any other vacation for me, because I need to be professional and put together in addition to staying cool and comfortable, so it’s not like I can pack a few shirts, a pair of jeans and some shorts and skirts and call it good. I need fancy dresses for at night, put-together outfits for day, and coordinating pieces that can do double-duty so I don’t end up with three suitcases.

Naturally, I was really excited to get my shopping started at Northgate Mall, but before I started shopping, I did a little pre-vacation prep. Having become a pro at shopping for trips in the past, this time I knew exactly what I was doing and I followed these guidelines:

Disney Social Media Moms Seattle Event

During every school break, my Facebook stream is full of friends taking their kids to Disney parks. I can’t help but be a teeny bit jealous because it really hasn’t been possible for us to do a Disney vacation. Of course, I know I will eventually make it there with the kiddos, it just might not be as soon as I would like.

And, then I saw a little blurb on one of my friend’s Facebook feed who was at the Disney Social Media Moms event last year. It was something to the effect of how you only have 18 summers to take your kids to Disney, and it made me panic a bit.

Picture taken from DisneyParksBlog.com

My parents took all of us kids to Disneyland when I was 6 months old. I’m sure it was a blast, but I don’t remember a single thing from the trip. My husband has a similar story as first his family was waiting for him and his sister to be able to ride on the rides, and then their younger cousins. Long story short, they never made it to any of the Disney parks.

In 1999, we finally made it to Walt Disney World together, and we still talk about how magical the trip was. We went on every rollercoaster together, indulged in all the Disney treats and goodies, and spent our evenings at Pleasure Island doing what we could since I was underage at the time.

Circa 1999 in Disney World. I'm second from the left and hubby is on the right. Those two beautiful girls with us are my sisters. Aren't we adorable?

But, it’s been 14 years since that Disney trip and I’m very ready to go again, this time with our kiddos. I am so excited to be able to share that magic with the kids and experience it again through their eyes, as well as all the new attractions that have gone in since 1999 {which, apparently, is A LOT}.

While I can appreciate the idea of waiting until the kids are older and can go on all the rides, I also think there's something really special about a kid growing up Disney. It's like they say, "there's something for everyone" and I don't want to miss taking them in the stage of awe and wonder just because they might not be able to do every single thing at the parks.

And, I’m looking forward to it all: pictures with the princesses, the obligatory Mickey/Minnie ears, kid’s rides and grownup coasters and the magic that happens when the sun goes down and the castle comes alive for the evening. Every. Single. Thing. I don't want to try and find that magical "perfect age" for Disney parks that you hear so much about and instead want to see it as a great excuse to go as many times as we can while the kids are still under our roof.

Last week I got a chance to get in on the Disney action, albeit briefly, when Disney Social Media Moms came to the Seattle area as part of their Disney on the Road tour and now I’m even more excited to get to the Disney parks… any of them… all of them… or even a Disney cruise. I'm not picky.

Blue Nile Leaf Chandelier Earrings

Oh, Mother’s Day, how I love you. Not because I get presents {although I do love the things the kiddos pick out for me each year}, but because the stores I love have discounts for stuff I adore. For instance, Seattle's own Blue Nile jewelry. Or rather, Blue Nile jewelry for 10% off using the … Read more

Mother’s Day Gift Idea – LG Optimus G Pro from AT&T

Just like so one will forget when they first heard the term “smartphone”, no one will ever be able to forget the first time they heard the term “phablet” {you know, a phone and tablet in one}. My first time was in reference to my NOKIA 920 Windows Phone from AT&T, which I was assured … Read more

Upgrading my wardrobe with a Simon Malls shopping trip at Northgate Mall Seattle

A few months ago I realized that almost every single pair of jeans I wear was either badly worn or had a gaping hole on the right knee. The exception to this rule was my two pairs of “good” jeans, which I only wear a few times a month. But, my pile of holey jeans … Read more