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Roxymandy November 23, 2015

The VIP Treatment at the RBC Avion Holiday Boutique

Holiday shopping can be exhausting! It’s only November and already it seems like there are no parking spaces left at the mall, and it’s difficult to maneuver past shoppers carrying huge purchases.

Not only am I stressed out about the fact that I’ve hardly started my holiday shopping, but the idea of fighting the crowds at the mall can be daunting.

Last week I was lucky enough to attend the launch of the RBC Avion Holiday Boutique at Yorkdale Shopping Centre, and my visit was enough to calm my shopping nerves!

The RBC Avion Holiday Boutique is an exclusive private space in the mall just for RBC Avion cardholders available until December 31st.

My night as an Avioner began with complimentary valet parking. Oh, how I love valet parking! It was a rainy night so it was lovely to walk a couple dry steps from my car to the mall.

The RBC Avion Holiday Boutique is easy to spot, and upon entrance I was greeted warmly and provided a tour of the space. My first stop was the coat and parcel check. I loved that I could drop my coat off so I could relax while I shopped and hung out in the lounge. The parcel check is a great idea as well with the size of my shopping list this year!

Next I headed over to the bar and cafe for some festive snacks and drinks. They had everything from specialty coffee’s to champagne! The snacks weren’t too shabby either.

For all in-mall purchases at the Yorkdale Shopping Centre location, there is a free gift wrapping service in the lounge. There was a rather large area for gift wrapping so I doubt a person would need to wait at all to have their purchases wrapped. What an awesome service – I would love to leave the mall with my gifts already wrapped!

There were plenty of comfy chairs to relax in, there were magazines, and even a Concierge to help ensure you had a great stay in the lounge. They had a flat screen TV to take a break with, and even children’s books on the shelves!

As I ventured around the space eating a rather tasty gingerbread man, I thought to myself, wow that guy really looks like Kardinal Offishall

Soon the music started, and suddenly Kardinal Offishall was performing a private concert just for this intimate crowd! He sang some holiday songs with Choir! Choir! Choir! and it was a pretty awesome surprise.

Next up at the launch we watched a gift wrapping competition between the holiday gift wrapping team from the lounge versus three Canadian Olympians. It was a really fun competition, and it topped off a great night.

I can’t tell you how much I loved the RBC Avion Holiday Boutique. It was such a great experience, and I cannot wait to go back. Being an Avioner has some serious perks! I love the idea of free valet parking to avoid fighting for a parking spot.

Coat check and parcel check are incredibly convenient! It’s so much easier to shop when you aren’t sweating in your jacket or lugging around heavy bags.

I can’t wait to head back to the lounge to relax for a bit and have a drink and a snack in between shopping! It all makes for a pretty refined shopping experience that I could totally get used to.

The RBC Avion Holiday Boutique will also be available in Burnaby, BC in Metropolis at Metrotown, and RBC Avion Experiences will be open in Halifax at the Halifax Shopping Centre and in Ottawa at the St. Laurent Centre. The RBC Avion Experiences include a gift wrapping voucher for an in-mall gift wrap centre, snacks and beverages, and a festive holiday gift.

For more information visit www.rbc.com/avionvip.

Disclosure: I am part of the RBC® Avion Holiday Boutique Influencer Campaign and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Roxymandy November 21, 2015

The Industrial Trend with Graham & Brown

As a Graham & Brown Ambassador, I’ve been challenged each month to take on a trend and show how I would style it. This month’s trend is Industrial.

Industrial is the stripped-back one, the one with character and edgy features. Unlike the other trends, this one takes things for what they really are and encourages us to strip things back, even if they are a little imperfect.” The Industrial trend

My challenge is to use the warming tones of the industrial trend to create a cosy space in in a home.

I’ve put together a mood board to lay out a fun bedroom using pieces that use the industrial trend, but add a softened touch.

For the Industrial trend, Graham & Brown have some great canvas prints with this theme in mind. I love all of the great black and white city shots they have.

The Cogsworth clock is perfect as well with all of the exposed gears – it definitely has an industrial look.

Adding many faux fur pieces to the room was my way of softening it up. Throw pillows, a cozy throw, and a comfy fur lined robe added a nice soft touch to the room. A white chair and a white furry stool were great ways to offset the dark prints and accessories in the room.

The Calico Stripe Cream wallpaper soften the industrial look of the room as well.

What do you think? Was there another way I could have softened the industrial look of this room?

To learn more about Graham & Brown, visit them here.

Roxymandy November 11, 2015

Making memorable moments at Sesame Street Live

This past weekend, Amex Canada treated my son and I to a night out together where we saw Sesame Street Live: Make a New Friend at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto.

Being an Amex cardholder Cardmember has many perks including Front Of The Line pre-sales which means you don’t have to wait for tickets to go on sale – you have access to tickets for some of your favourite events before anyone else. You can learn all about the upcoming events on www.AmexInvites.ca!

My son is a HUGE Elmo fan, so this night out was a pretty big deal for him. He prepared for the day by gathering all of his Sesame Street characters, wanting to bring them all to the show with him to have a good time.

Once I convinced my son to only choose one Elmo, we headed off to the show, ready to enjoy #ThisMoment.

Amex arranged for us to meet and greet characters before the show, and my son was so excited for this opportunity! We breezed right into a private area set up with colouring pages, crayons, balloons, and the Cookie Monster and Elmo were there to greet us!

We took some photos with both characters (my son got a little shy!) and then we were able to hang out with the other VIP kids for a bit before the characters came back to play with the children. This was great because we not only got to have our photos taken with the characters, but they joined us for play time which made each child’s day. For my shy son this was great because he had the chance to warm up to the characters he desperately wanted to see and he had some one-on-one time with Elmo when he got comfortable. We would have never had this chance without the help from Amex setting us up with the Meet and Greet!

We loaded up on snacks and souvenirs (I was convinced by my toddler to buy a t-shirt and a balloon) and we headed to our amazing seats at the front of the theatre.

My son was up dancing the whole show! He loved all of the songs in the show, and was glued to the story.

When the lights finally came on at the end of the show, my son had a huge grin on his face. Then he told me we should go for dinner because he was hungry from doing so much dancing. So cute!

Thanks to Amex we enjoyed #ThisMoment and made some pretty great memories. Amex will help over 400k fans rock out to their favourite band (or sing along with their favourite furry characters) in 2015. American Express offers its Cardmembers Front Of The Line Advance Access, Reserved Tickets, Delights Special Offers and Experiences.

To learn more about some of the hottest upcoming events, and to be Front Of The Line, visit www.AmexInvites.ca.

Roxymandy November 10, 2015

Review of the Ellebox

Ellebox is a pretty fabulous concept. It’s a subscription service which gives you a box each month full of comfort and wellness goods, along with your choice of tampons and/or pads. That time of the month is never fun, but Ellebox makes things much more bearable!

A portion of the proceeds of these boxes support local women’s initiatives in Vancouver where Ellebox is based.

Ellebox was kind enough to send me a sample box, and I was so excited to see what was inside. I was not disappointed!

You can choose a mix of tampons and pads, or just one type of product along with other preferences. You can choose a box with just the necessities like tampons and/or pads, or a more personalized comfort box with tea, chocolate, and other goodies. There are also brand options as well.

I am totally that girl who realizes the day of her period that I have seven empty tampon boxes but no tampons at 11pm at night on a Tuesday. This literally happens to me each month and I learn nothing each time it happens about better preparation for the next month!

I can’t tell you how much easier my time of the month was once my Ellebox arrived! I had an arsenal of supplies delivered to my door, along with chocolate, tea, a Serenity Now aromatherapy mist, and a body butter. Soon you can shop these samples on the Ellebox website as well.

Ellebox is one subscription that truly makes life a little easier since you can schedule your arrival of the box depending on when you need it each month.

For more information visit www.ElleboxCo.com!

Roxymandy October 27, 2015

Speeding Up My Morning Hustle with Jergens Moisturizer for Wet Skin

If I could name one thing that I need the most lately, it would be more time. I also really need more shoes, but more time is actually something I desperately need more. “I need more hours in the day” is something I mutter to myself at least a few times a day.

I work, I blog, I go to the gym and play soccer, I spend time with friends and family, and I have a toddler. In between all of those major things, minor things like shaving my legs or making dinner are treated like a bonus if they’re done at all!

My mornings are especially hectic, and I am sure not a morning person. I actually wear sunglasses on my way out of the house, and it’s still dark outside. I am not a happy, chipper person in the morning, and I am notoriously late.

Once I had my son, his school drop off took away more of my precious little time in the morning. I literally have to bribe him to get him into my car and off to school every morning! My latest trick to get him to hurry up in the morning is to leave a different toy in the car each day. There is a new surprise waiting for him each morning, and even though they are toys he already has, he is excited to get outside and see what’s out there.

My mornings are crazy, so anything to help make things easier at the start of the day is welcomed.

When I was given the opportunity to try out Jergens Moisturizer for Wet Skin and was told it would save me time in the morning, I was excited to give it a try.

The directions said to apply it after showering, but before drying off. I was to apply it to wet skin, and there was no need to rinse it off. I just had to pat myself dry with a towel, and voila!

I was a little skeptical on how this would work, but I gave it a try. Lately I have been so behind schedule heading out the door I often leave with my skin looking and feeling a bit like a crocodile because I haven’t had time to apply lotion.

I was so moisturized after my shower and quick application of the Jergens Moisturizer for Wet Skin that I could just throw on my clothes and go. Moisture was locked into my skin, and it only took me seconds to apply for an all-day lasting effect.

I was a little worried that the Jergens Moisturizer for Wet Skin would get on my clothes or wouldn’t dry properly, but it easily absorbed into my skin and I was ready to head out the door fast.

I tried both the Green Tea Oil and Coconut Oil Wet Skin Moisturizers, and both had a great scent but I am partial to smelling like a coconut so that was my favourite.

On the weekend when I could fit in time for a bath, I used the Moisturizer for Wet Skin and I was instantly moisturized – there was no need for another layer of anything.

Overall I was impressed! I saved time, I was happy with the scent, and the product absolutely moisturized my skin all day.

My morning routine stepped up a bit, and I’m happy I’ve saved myself some much needed time.

Learn more about Jergens Moisturizer for Wet Skin here!

This blog post was sponsored by Jergens® but the opinions are all my own.