February, 2015 - sparkleshinylove

Roxymandy February 20, 2015

The Almay Good Beautiful Morning Event Featuring Sweet Potato Chronicles!

This week I attended a fabulous event hosted by Almay.

I was introduced to some pretty amazing products which I will be reviewing on the blog over the next few weeks, and I met some pretty amazing ladies as well.

The event included other women much like myself who juggle careers, blogging, and being a mother. Wait, did I put those three items in the correct order? Maybe I should have led with being a mother! Also, I might have missed something else – what about me!?

The event introduced us to how Almay’s fresh approach to beauty can make a mom’s morning easy. We don’t always have time for ourselves with all of the other things we have going on in our lives. Have you ever got your husband and child ready to head out the door, and then realized you are still in your pyjamas? It’s hard to juggle everything, and still have a moment to yourself.

The ladies behind the Sweet Potato Chronicle blog (Ceri and Laura) were announced at the event as the new spokeswomen for Almay Canada! They have a beautiful commercial launching which we previewed at the event that included thoughts from their children on what makes their mother beautiful. The commercial is really sweet!

They also provided us with some great tips on how to get out of the house in the morning…..with your sanity intact.

Some of them were really helpful! Here were a few of my favourites:

– Get more sleep by making breakfast in the crockpot! Let breakfast simmer overnight and wake up to one thing checked off your list.

– Pack your child’s backpack at night. When you are rushing in the morning you are bound to miss something. Get organized the night before.

– Become a weekend warrior and get some of your baking and cooking done on the weekend. Also, pre-pack your children’s snacks on the weekend as well. If you have a son like mine, you can’t leave the house without a snack. Pre-package the weeks snacks on the weekend so you can just grab-and-go during the week.

– Forget about cereal – make smoothies! You can pack more vitamins and nutrients into them than a bowl of cereal can give them.

I tried out some great Almay products while I was at the event, and I am so excited to see how they work into my everyday routine! Some of the products do the thinking for you by already including things like SPF into their formula, and some of their eye palettes already have complimentary colours organized to minimize the stress of wondering which shades to blend.

Check out the blog over the next few weeks to see what I think of these Almay products, and look out for Almay’s new commercial featuring the ladies from the Sweet Potato Chronicles which you can see on Almay’s Facebook page here.

Roxymandy February 19, 2015

Review of America Restaurant at the Trump Toronto Hotel

As some of you may know, I love going out to dinner! What’s not to love? It means I’m not making the dinner myself, there is usually a great glass of wine waiting for me, and when it’s all over I just get to pay the bill and walk away without the thought of cleaning a dish.

Any excuse I can come up with is used to sway my hubby to take me out to dinner. It’s Friday – yay, let’s got to dinner! It’s Saturday night – no one makes dinner on Saturday night, so let’s go to dinner! It’s Monday, and I hate Monday’s – let’s go to dinner to keep motivated for the rest of the week! I’m brutal.

Our latest culinary adventure was to America Restaurant at the Trump Hotel in Toronto.

We had dined previously at the Trump (Stock Restaurant), but I had heard some really great things about America so we gave it a try on Valentine’s Day.

One thing I love about dining in hotels is the accessibility of valet parking! Especially with all of the snow and cold we have had in Toronto, I like just stepping out of the car into a warm lobby. America Restaurant offer’s $10 valet parking at the Trump Hotel after 5:30pm on weekdays, and all weekend. Unfortunately for us, there was a rather large wedding on the 9th floor that night (how romantic on Valentine’s Day!), so there was no parking available. This is where I took advantage of being a potential damsel in distress and had my husband drop me off at the front door since I was wearing rather high heels. There was parking available just next door luckily so he didn’t have too far to walk in the cold.

We took the elevator from the gorgeous Trump lobby to the 31st floor and were met by a smiling host and hostess ready to take our coats and whisk us to our seats.

The space had impossibly high ceilings, and large canvas prints on the walls broken up by a beautiful view from the windows looking out onto the city. They really do have a beautiful patio with an excellent view! The lighting changed throughout the night from white lights, to pink, to a darker, romantic pink as the night wore on. This will explain why some of my photo’s have a strange color to them!

The wine list was large enough that I had some great choices in the white wine section, so I was very happy. I was also happy to see wine’s from Niagara featured. I just hate to see Toronto restaurants who don’t feature some of the amazing local wineries we have in Ontario.

The menu that night included a special prix fixe menu, and a selection of their most popular dishes from their regular menu were also available.

We had fresh warm bread delivered to our table, and I especially liked the corn bread. It was pretty much to die for, and was almost a meal in itself.

We started with a few oysters. They were ice cold, fresh, and were a great way to start off the meal.

Once I saw the word “lobster” on the menu, I knew what I was having. Well, really I didn’t know what I was having since the description was rather complicated, but I knew there was a lobster involved so I was in!

I had the Lobster Rockefeller, and the description said: steakhouse spinach, idaho puffs, philly cheese dip. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was getting into, but once it arrived and I took my first bite I was so happy I ordered it. The lobster was completely removed from the shell, and it was cooked to perfection. It came with a hefty price tag ($58) but it was well worth it. I gave my husband the smallest bite possible (it was Valentine’s Day so I pretty much had to share), and he just said “whoa”. He is a man of few words.

My husband ate the Roasted Grain-Fed Chicken ($29), which included roasted roots, Mexican truffle, and a sage and celery stuffing or (stuffin’ as they called it on the menu). He was apparently very hungry because he didn’t even give me a chance to take a shot of it before he tore the dish apart. I had a few bites of his meal (he is way more generous than I am), and the chicken was very tender, and the stuffing was really tasty. I would have been happy to have ordered that as well!

Our server was lovely and checked on us often to see if we had everything we needed. Our water glasses never went lower than half way, so I would say the service was very well done.

I really loved the music in the restaurant as well. The music wasn’t so loud that I couldn’t carry a conversation which was great, and it was fun and kept things lively. At night this restaurant serves a latenight crowd with a DJ and bottle service.

I am really looking forward to going back soon for drinks in the bar, and possibly a bit more lobster.

America Restaurant is located at The Trump Hotel, 325 Bay St. 31st floor, Toronto, Ontario and you can visit their website here.

Roxymandy February 17, 2015

Beach Vacation Essentials for Babies and Toddlers

It must be the cold weather that’s getting to me because lately I have been obsessing about warm weather vacations. I can’t wait to go away this year and lay on a beach. Oh yeah, I have a toddler, so I probably won’t be laying on a beach per-say. More like running down the beach like a crazy person trying to get fluids and sand-covered snacks into my kids mouth.

If you are heading away on holiday or a March Break trip soon, maybe my list of my beach essentials for infants and toddlers may help you out!

I can’t say enough about this Aveeno sunscreen! It’s non-greasy, soothing to put on, and has a strong SPF of 55.

Last year I wrote a review about my son’s experience with Babiators, and he is still wearing them. They have an amazing guarantee where if they are lost or broken within he first year of purchase, they will be replaced!

After playing on the beach or in the ocean, drying off can be really chilly. This Pottery Barn Kids Rugby Stripe Cover Up is warm and cozy since it’s made of terry cloth.

The last thing you need is for your little one to step on something sharp, or burn their feet in the hot sand. These Native Kids Princess Pink water shoes are shock absorbent, and are water and odour resistant.

If you are looking for something lighter and more flexible, these
Toddler’s Athletic Water Shoes will do the trick so their little feet are protected.

If you are worried about finding shade on the beach, this Coleman Road Trip Brach Shade would come in handy! It’s always a good idea to have a camp set up for diaper changes and feeding. I once received the dirtiest look of my life when I changed a diaper on a lounge chair. Yes I know, it was not the best decision I ever made. I deserved the look.

Most resorts and pools have children’s life jackets, but the smallest sized ones seem to go missing first. It’s also very hard to convince a child to wear one too, so this cute Bubble Guppies PFD might help entice your child to wear one.

These Swimways Sea Squirts life jackets have a fin on the back so if your child goes under water you can see the colourful fin.

For extra protection I love using rash guards with a UPF rating to make sure the sun’s rays don’t get to my son’s skin. For girls this Roxy rash guard has a UPF protection of 50.

These Gap shorts are the only ones I have seen that have UPF 50+ protection.

Hats are essential for children who will be playing in the sun, and if you can get them to agree to wear it, this Toronto Blue Jays hat would be adorable.

This J.Crew Crewcuts hat is one of my favourite styles for a kid’s hat!

It’s tough to keep your eyes on your child or children when you are close to water – you have to be 100% focused at all times, so you may have to just drop everything and run after them. The Vacation Vault keeps all of your valubles locked up so no one can snatch up your cell phone or wallet.

These diaper covers from Pottery Barn Kids are cute, affordable, and you can monogram them!

Less is more when travelling, and I loved these Boon Squirt feeding spoon dispensers when my son was still eating purées. You store the baby food right inside the spoon for dispensing, and there is a cover for the spoon so you can just fill it and go.

Johnson’s Baby Powder is a great way to curb or soothe heat rash, and trial-sized versions are great to toss in your beach bag.

And just because you need a cute beach bag to hold all of this stuff, here is a cute one to add to your vacation shopping list!

Roxymandy February 16, 2015

Faux Leather Slip on Shoes for Spring

If you live anywhere near me this week, you must be laughing at my title which includes the word “spring” since it’s -25C outside right now.

I swear, spring is coming, and in a couple months it will be time to put those sweaters and boots away. I love these awesome slip on faux leather shoes I picked up at H&M last week. They look great without socks on so they would be great for warmer weather. They are so comfortable, and dare I say practical?

They are perfect for running around town, and look great at the same time. There are lots of these types of faux leather shoe options for spring right now, but I noticed some of them are selling out quick. So after you shovel all of that crazy snow off of your driveway, head online to shop for warmer weather as an incentive for spring, which is hopefully coming sooner than later.

Here are a few more of my favourite’s online below!

Via Spiga Galea Leather Slip on Sneakers

Steve Madden Ecentrcq Sneaker

Rachel Zoe Burke Sneakers

Zara Camouflage Leather Sneakers

Forever 21 Faux Leather Slip On’s

Yoins Black Snake Print Slip On Shoes

Roxymandy February 13, 2015

DIY Painted Globe

I was walking through Chapters the other day and spotted the flashiest little globe. I really didn’t know I was in need of a globe until I came across this one. It had to be mine! I checked out the price and realized owning it would be a bit more complicated. Yes it was on sale from $149.50 to $119.50, but I could already hear my husband asking questions if I made the purchase.

“We needed a globe?” “Where is it going?” “How much was it?”

Via

It’s the last question about how much it would have cost that I was a little worried about, so I set off to make my own painted globe.

I bought the globe, paint and brushes at the dollar store. I purchased a gold paint pen as well from Michael’s, but had no choice but to buy it in a three-pack with other colors. Overall this project only cost me $16.

I wasn’t sure if dollar store paint would work, but ended up turning out really well. I covered the globe in 3 coats of black paint to start. This was actually very easy since the globe was on a stand.

Next up I had to paint the continents. I did this free hand while looking at a map on my iPad, but I’m sure if you wanted to be more accurate you could trace the continents on the globe before painting.

I used four coats of the white paint and let it dry before I used the gold paint pen to handwrite the oceans and continents on the globe. Again, having the globe on a stand was super helpful! It was easier than I thought it would be to do the handwriting, but there was definitely still some concentration involved.

Once it dried I was very happy with the overall project, and I was happy to inform my husband about how much money I saved him with this DIY project.

That way he would be more understanding when I end up spending the money I saved in other places. Like on shoes.