Pottery Barn Kids Events!

 

 

 

I love shopping at Pottery Barn Kids. It's a bit pricey, but everything I buy from there is such amazing quality. When I was shopping there last week for some items for my kids rooms, I found out about a Halloween Event they are hosting, and a book club that takes place weekly at the stores. I thought I would write this short post for anyone who is interested that didn't know about it.

Halloween Carnival- Saturday, September 20th from 3-5pm

Get at least 2 uses out of your child's Halloween costume this year and come to this fun event! Watch your little ones enjoy getting their faces painted, doing crafts and playing games. There will also be some treats to munch on as well.
You need to call ahead and add your child to the list, so locate your nearest store here today!

 

Weekly Story Time- Every Tuesday from 11- 11:30am

Each week, Pottery Barn Kids hosts story time for kids of all ages. If it's your first time attending, they will give you a Book Club Passport. Each time you attend they will stamp your card. Once you have gone 5 times you receive a special gift!!

They also have special themes certain weeks as well like these:

Grandparents Day- Tuesday, September 2nd

The Day the Crayons Quit- Tuesday, September 9th.
For this day kids are invited to dress up in their favourite colour for the story. They will also have a crayon photo booth so be sure to bring your camera for a picture!

Visit the website for more information or to contact a store nearest you. www.potterybarnkids.ca

JOEY Don Mills

Sunday night my husband and I went to JOEY Don Mills to celebrate our 6 year wedding anniversary. The restaurant is located at Shops at Don Mills which is like an outdoor mall that has stores and restaurants. What I love about this outdoor centre is that it reminds me of the outdoor malls in the states. During the summer it's so nice to walk around and browse the shops before or after your lunch or dinner. Plus, JOEY Don Mills offers free valet parking unlike most restaurants in downtown Toronto.

 

 

 What's nice about JOEY Don Mills is that it's a kid friendly restaurant (we have been with our kids in the past) but this time we left them with my parents so we could enjoy a nice quiet evening together.

Being that we went on a Sunday night it wasn't that busy. I made a reservation just in case but we really didn't have to- we were seated right away. If you are going on a Friday or Saturday night I would make a reservation for sure. You can call them or make the reservation online.

Since we had been before, we wanted to make sure we tried some new things on the menu. We started with Sushi Cones- Tempura Shrimp, Avocado, Spicy Mayo and Tobiko. They were $4.50 but to die for! They were so light I could of ate 5!

Next we tried Lettuce Wraps. I LOVE lettuce wraps. If you have never had them before it's a must try. The main ingredients in these are water chestnuts, peanuts, crispy noodles and mushrooms. So low in carbs. They were $13 and for an extra $3 you can add chicken or shrimp. We added chicken.

 

We also tried the Japanese Gyoza which are pork dumplings. I am not too fond of dumplings but these ones were really good. They were so light and fluffy. I loved the hot mustard sauce that came with them as well.

For our main course, I got the Baja Fish Tacos. They were probably the best fish tacos I have ever had. Each corn tortilla was filled with basa, shrimp and guacamole. You got 3 for $14.50 and they were so filling. I think I need to move on because I am craving them now, lol

 

My husband got Ravioli with Sautéed Shrimp. It was very good as well. Each ravioli was stuffed with spinach and artichoke. Also added was prosciutto, tomato's and capers in a creamy sauce.  His meal was $21.50

 

 

Everything on the dessert menu sounded so good so I had to make room. Since I couldn't decide on what I wanted, I made my husband get a dessert as well so I could try 2 items on the menu. I got the Keylime Pie that had a huge dollop of Tahitian vanilla whipped cream on top, and my husband had the Bake to Order Apple Pie. This apple pie was so delicious. If you don't want to come here for dinner just come and get the apple pie! It was the best apple pie I have ever had. Each pie is hand-folded pastry with toasted almonds, and a scoop of  maple ice cream on top.  Both desserts were $8.50 each.

 

 

Overall, our experience at JOEY Don Mills was great! The service was amazing. Our waitress always came around and asked us how each course was. She always stopped by to re fill our waters and to see if we needed anything else during our meal. I hate going to a restaurant and the server just drops off your food and you never see him/her again. It definitely wasn't the case here. It's not just good food that makes me go back to a restaurant it's also the great service!

 

For a list of JOEY Restaurants in Canada and the US visit their website at http://www.joeyrestaurants.com/#!/stories/work

 

Photos courtesy of JOEY Restaurants.

Mabel's Labels Winner!

 

Congratulations to Kristen Elford! You're the winner of the Ultimate Back to School Combo from Mabel's Labels!! Please email me to claim your prize. Thank you to everyone who entered!

Ashlynn's Nursery Reveal!

On June 5, 2014 I had a little baby girl. We named her Ashlynn. Instead of giving her the spare room and designing a whole new nursery, we decided to use the same room that her older brother had and move him into the other bedroom.

I never found out the sex for either of my kids, so as you can see from the pictures below, it's very gender neutral.

 

Here are the before pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I didn't want to spend a lot of money making over the nursery because I knew in a short time she would grow out of it and we'd be deisgning her "big girl room". What I decided to do instead was everywhere that I had "yellow" in the nursery I would change to "pink". Boy, let me just say by making those small changes it made the room feel so girly, and I didn't have to spend a lot of money to do it.

 

Here are the things I did:

 

*1 can of spray paint goes a long way - let me tell you. Using just a 1/2 a can of pink spray paint I managed to spray the table lamp, picture frames and the ABC's that are on the wall.

 

*I changed her ceiling light to a mini chandelier (I was so happy that I had a girl because I always wanted a chandelier in a nursery, lol)

 

*Added new bedding.

 

*Ordered new pink bird decals to replace the yellow ones for the wall

 

*Added pink knobs to the dresser and night table

 

That's it folks!! Just by doing those small changes transformed her room completely. I think I spent a total of $170 on everything.

 

Here are the after pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source List:

 

Crib, Bookcase, Wall ABC'S- Pottery Barn Kids

Dresser and Night Stand- Ikea

Chandeiller- Canadian Tire

Wall Decals-NouWall

Lamp, Picture frames- HomeSense

Mirror Stars- Urban Barn

Chair and Ottoman-Sears

Crib Bedding- Babies r Us

Dresser Knobs- Michaels Craft Store

California Shutters- Excel Shades

 

 

Have a great weekend!

 

 

 

Touch- a -Truck Event at the GM Centre in Oshawa

Do you have any plans this Friday evening? If you have children then I highly recommend heading over to the General Motors Centre in Oshawa for the 2nd annual Touch- a- Truck Event. This FREE outdoor community event on August 22 is from 5-8pm to help raise money for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Oshawa-Whitby.

I took my son to this last year and he absolutely loved it! Where else can you go and sit inside a dump truck or military tuck? Getting up close and personal with more than 50 vehicles of all shapes and sizes will sure interest children of all ages. Plus, all the drivers of the vehicles are there as well to educate the kids on the vehicles they drive each day. Just some of the vehicle partners include: Mackie Transportation, Motor City Crane, Dufferin Concrete, GO Transit, Oshawa Fire Services, Durham Regional Police and many more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to all the vehicles they are also having camel rides, face painting, live music and Bricks 4 Kids Lego.

 

If you want to grab a bite to eat they will have food trucks on site which is new this year.

 

Don't miss out on this event. Come out and help raise money for a worthy cause.

  For more information visit www.generalmotorscentre.com

 

(Photos courtesy of General Motors Centre)

Joe Fresh: Recent Purchases

Fall is fast approaching, so last weekend I started shopping for clothes for my daughter. I don't have another girl to pass down all of her clothes to her little sister. Due to this, I needed a whole whack of fall items since I have nothing. If you haven't shopped at Joe Fresh before, now is the time to start! Their clothes are absolutely adorable. Good quality and amazing prices.

What I love about Joe Fresh is that it's in my local grocery store. It's so convenient just to add those couple of items to your grocery bill and not have to go to the mall. Plus, it's a great way of hiding your shopping addiction from your husband on the credit card, lol!!!

They had a promotion online last week- spend $100 and get $20 off, so I jumped at that deal and bought all of these items:

 

Baby Girls’ Polka Dot Dress- $12

 

Baby Girls’ Polka Dot Tights - $5

 

Baby Girls’ Print Zip up Sweatshirt- $12

 

Baby Girls’ Cabbie Hat - $7

 

Baby Girls’ Denim Peplum Jacket - $19

 

Baby Girls’ Sweater Dress - $19

 

Baby Girls’ Stripe Applique Tee - $8

Baby Girls’ Applique Sweater - $12

 

Baby Girls’ Rose Jegging - $14

 

 

 

Baby Girls’ Faux Fur Vest - $24

 

 

I find some locations have a better selection than others so I would recommend purchasing everything online. Don't get me wrong- shopping in the stores is great too but I always find it easier to purchase online (when the kids are in bed!). I have a 3 year old and a 2 month old so if I do buy something in the store, it's when I am shopping ALONE.

 

 Anything over $50 you receive free shipping. If you ordered something in the wrong size or you just changed your mind once your item(s) got delivered you can return them at any Joe Fresh location.

 

https://www.joefresh.com/ca

 

Have a great week!

 

 

 

Review: Mabel's Labels + Giveaway!

This September my little boy starts pre-school. I can't believe how fast he is growing up- time is just flying by.

For the past couple of weeks I have been on the hunt for a new back pack, lunch bag, water bottle, clothes and shoes for when he starts school this fall. I want to make sure he doesn't loose any of the new things I just purchased so, I went online looking to find some labels that I could add to all the items to make sure they all arrive back home each day.

I came across Mabel's Labels. They create personalized labels for kids. I purchased the "Basic Kit" for $34.95 which they call an introduction to the Mabel’s product family. You get 24 Skinny- Minis, 42 Tag Mates, 8 Shoe Labels and 2 Bag Tags.

What I thought was really fun is, my son got to help me create his own design on his labels. You can choose from over 40 multi-coloured designs or 2 solid palettes. Building your labels on their website is very easy and straight forward- I didn't find it complicated or confusing at all.

 

These skinny-minis are micro sticky labels. They are dishwasher safe, microwave safe, UV resistant and very durable. Just peel and stick on school supplies, toiletries, toys and so much more.

 

  

The Tag Mats are washer safe, dryer safe and UV resistant. No ironing or sewing these labels onto your clothing- just peel and stick! So easy and convenient.

 

 

 The shoe labels are amazing as well. Very durable and waterproof. Just peel and stick to the insoles of each shoe.

 

 

 

The Bag Tags are waterproof and made of metal and come with a chain to attach to any backpack, sporting equipment or luggage.

 

I absolutely love these products. The quality is amazing. By having these labels on all of my son's school items this year I am sure he will never lose anything. All of their products are backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee so it's worth it to try them out and see how you like them. Trust me- you won't be disappointed!

 

 

Mabel's Labels offers FREE standard shipping to anywhere in Canada or the United States. If you have any questions or need help placing your order they have "live chat help" on their website Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm EST. You can also contact them by phone 1-866-30-MABEL (62235) or email them at info@mabelslabels.com.

 

Want to win the Ultimate Back to School Combo valued at $42? Well, Mabel's Labels and I have teamed up to give one away to 1 lucky person. Here is how to enter:

 

1.) Like my page on Facebook

2.) Tag a friend on the Facebook post in the comments that you think would like to win. Earn extra entries for every friend you tag (in a separate comment)

3.) Comment on my blog post "I want to WIN!!!"

Giveaway closes at 9pm on Sunday, August 24, 2014. This giveaway is open to Canadian & US Residents  Winner will be selected via a random draw. Good Luck!!

(This contest is in no way affiliated or sponsored by Facebook. We hereby release them of any liability.)

 

Shark Theme Birthday Party!!

I had so much fun planning my son's 3rd Birthday Party this year. My husband says every year I should of went into party planning because I do such a good job in creating such a memorable event for our son each year. I love party planning- it is so much fun that I start 6 months in advance. Yes, you heard that right- 6 months!! It's a lot of work, so I always want to make sure I give myself enough time to buy everything and create it.

Lately, my son has a little obsession with sharks, so when it came time to start planning his party I asked him what theme he wanted and of course he said sharks! So I began my search on the internet for some inspiration.

All of these photos were taken by a Edeline Photography because I wanted to make sure I captured all the memories while enjoying myself and not having to worry about taking pictures. She did an amazing job and it was worth every penny!

 

 

 

 

 

I bought all the table cloths, plates, forks and napkins from Dollarama. I cut out "shark bites" on every plate due to the fact that I made sharks out of grey wrapping paper swimming on the tables. I also printed out little shark tags and attached them with curling ribbon to all napkins and forks.

 

 

 

 

 

For the food table, I made large shark cut outs using cardboard and grey wrapping paper. They were a lot of fun to make and super easy. To go along with the theme, I cut pieces of cheese to look like "Shark Teeth" and I had water bottle and juice box labels done in the shark theme as well from Pep Custom Designs  

 

 



 

 

 

 

Next we had a dessert table. I bought 2 shark boogie boards from Michaels to use as a back drop. I made a watermelon shark which I found a tutorial on YouTube on how to create it. I bought all the candy from Bulk Barn and put them all in clear plastic jars and added name tags which I purchased from Pep Custom Designs. The cake was made by yours truly. :-)

 

 

 

I wanted to make sure I created loot bags that were somewhat theme orientated, so I went with an outdoor beach them. I purchased pails (Blue for the boys and Pink for the girls), shovels and sharks sand molds (for the boys) and fish sand molds (for the girls) from Walmart and I also added a bottle of bubbles to each pail that I purchased from Dollarama. For each bottle of bubbles, I added bubbles labels from Pep Custom Designs. Then I printed off little shark cut outs from the internet and added each child's name to the pail.

 

 

 I hired Balloon Twistaroo to come in and create "underwater creatures" for the shark theme party. He was amazing! He made one big shark for all the kids to look at and get pictures taken with, and he  created shark hats for all the them to wear. He also made fishing rods with fish on the end, octopuses, turtles, sting rays, crabs and so much more.

 

Most importantly, my son had a blast, so to me all that hard work was all worth it. To see him having so much fun made me so happy. I can't wait to start planning his next Birthday Party! :-)