Uncategorized - sparkleshinylove

Roxymandy September 16, 2015

Investing in a Bucket Bag

Blanket Scarf: Dynamite | Bucket Bag: Dynamite | Riding Boots: Michael Kors {similar}

If you are looking for a great investment bag for the season, the bucket bag is your best bet.

It’s versatile because it’s roomy but at the same time looks great, and is a very trendy accessory. I am pretty sure I actually had this style of bag back when I was 14 which is pretty funny. Actually, I really wish I saved it! I love the color of this one from Dynamite.

Last year I bought a similar blanket scarf to this one I’m wearing, but again I fell in love with this pattern and had to have it (this one is from Dynamite). I would be scared to count how many blanket scarves I actually own.

I’ve also dressed up this bag for a night out and it looks great with a less casual look as well. It’s the perfect bag for fall!

Roxymandy September 7, 2015

Back to School Lunches with StenLock

I can’t belive it’s already time for back to school!

My son spent the summer in camp at his Montessori School, and will be heading back there next week after a break, and I’ve been preparing by picking up new fall clothes for him, and gathering supplies like a new backpack and lunch bag.

I’m lucky because I don’t need to make my son’s lunch every day because his school takes care of that, but for class trips and events I need to put something together.

It’s easier when I’m with him to convince him that he needs to eat everything, and remind him of what he likes. He often says “I don’t like that!”, but forgets that he actually does! This means that when I’m packing his lunch for days I’m not there, I need to be creative with his food so he’s interested enough to eat it.

StenLock contacted me to give their Tupperware a try for my son’s back-to-school lunches, and I jumped at the chance to see what I thought of the Tupperware, and what my son thought of it as well!

All StenLock containers are made of food-grade stainless steel, which resists bacteria and germs more effectively and will not impart peculiar tastes or smells to your food.

StenLock is 100% BPA free, stain-resistant, light, and has a leak-proof airtight seal.

With all of the different sizes of StenLock I tried out, I was able to create a fun lunch for my son. He loves having his sandwiches cut up into shapes, so I used fish-shaped cookie cutters to create is sandwiches.

I picked up some mini-grapes from Farm Boy which are perfectly bite-size for toddlers to mix in with his blueberries, and I cut up lots of green and orange pepper and cucumbers. I finished off his lunch with crackers and pretzels fit together in different patterns and a pasta salad. Very easy lunch, but organized in a fun way so he would be interested in eating.

My son was easily able to open all of the StenLock containers, and close them back up when he was finished. The containers were lightweight enough that he could stack them up, and they hit the ground a few times during clean up and they weren’t damaged at all.

Although it’s suggested the lids are washed by hand, the rest could be thrown in the dish washer which was handy! Any excuse not to do dishes works for me.

For more information visit http://www.stenlock.ca.

Roxymandy September 3, 2015

Winner of the $200 Dixie Outlet Mall Gift Card Giveaway!

Thank you to everyone who entered the Dixie Outlet Mall $200 Gift Card Giveaway! The winner of the gift card is Betty Spry!

Congratulations Betty! We will be contacting you shortly to claim your prize.

Roxymandy September 3, 2015

Join Me at the RBC RESP Twitter Party September 17th at 9:00pm!

This year I hit a pretty major milestone – I paid off my OSAP debt!

It took me ten long years, but I finally did it. When I started university I didn’t have an RESP, and so I worked throughout the school year and summer paying for my education.

The cost was too great, and I needed to rely on OSAP to have enough money to pay for school. The debt plagued me for years – months and months of payments for a debt that I couldn’t help but accumulate.

Now that it’s gone, it’s been a huge weight lifted off my shoulders!

I never want my son to feel the weight of that debt, so my husband and I set up an RESP for him right after he was born. We have been putting money into it every month for years, and by the time he reaches university he won’t need to worry about student loans – he will have the tuition money he needs!

Our ‘Someday’ dream for him is to go to the university or college of his choosing, and not need to worry about debt because the RESP we have set up for him will give him the security of being student-loan free.

Are you starting to think about opening an RESP for your own child? If you are thinking about it, or have one set up already and want to ask the experts questions, then join me at the RBC RESP Twitter party on September 17th at 9:00pm EST!

Participants of the party can win one of 6 $150 Visa gift cards, and you can follow along with #RESPwithRBC

It’s the perfect spot to ask some of the questions you may have about setting up an RESP.

Maybe you have already set up an RESP but were too embarrassed to ask a few questions at the time, or thought of questions later that you wanted to ask? This is a great, friendly forum to get answers to your RESP questions.

RBC has some great resources to answer some of the questions you may have online as well!

What exactly is an RESP? Why is it important to set up? All the information you need, including FAQs and benefits of an RESP, can be found at http://www.rbcbanqueroyale.com/reee/.

What are your options if your child doesn’t pursue postsecondary education? Find out at http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/resp/resp-matic.html.

How much and how often should you contribute? Well, as much as you want, and frequencies of weekly to annually! Learn more at http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/resp/resp-matic.html.

How convenient can your payments be? Opt to save automatically and easily with RESP-Matic. Learn more at http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/resp/respmatic.html.

Did you know that saving for education doesn’t have to be overwhelming because of the options and assistance available, as well as “free” money e.g. government? Learn more at http://www.rbcbanqueroyale.com/reee/resp-benefits.html.

It’s easy to book an appointment with an RBC advisor to open up an RESP – you can do so online here!

For expert answers to your personal questions about RESP’s, be sure to join the RBC RESP Twitter party with me on September 17th at 9:00pm EST!

Roxymandy August 28, 2015

My First Shopping Trip to Farm Boy Whitby!

Today I visited Farm Boy Whitby for the first time, and I can already say I’ll be back. I wrote last week about the grand opening and the events to come this Saturday, August 29th, but I decided to stop in to see the store for myself today.

The biggest thing I noticed was that I couldn’t actually purchase anything bad for myself! I really needed chips to get me through the weekend (I am a HUGE chip fan), and I couldn’t find them. Why? Well, they aren’t exactly healthy, but I was provided with all kinds of alternatives. I picked up some of Farm Boy’s own tortilla chips and salsa in the place of my beloved chips.

The store is packed full of everything good for you! At the checkout instead of rows of candy bars you find organic candy and gum. It’s a real change from the average chain grocery store.

The produce was incredibly fresh, and there were a few options you don’t always see at the grocery store like coloured carrots, and sliced up fruit samples in the isles.

My favourite part of the Farm Boy Whitby store is the fresh meals you can eat there or bring home! We are always on the run, so sometimes I need something quick to feed the family.

I couldn’t belive all of the options. The meat section had all kinds of marinated steaks, fish and chicken all ready for the oven or BBQ. It was a bigger selection than I have seen at a regular grocery store. The deli and cheese section had fresh products ready to be cut and packaged, and again had lots of ready-to-go options as well.

The salad bar is pretty amazing. It’s got everything from pre-made Ceasar salads, to a section where you can create your own salad, all kids of potato and pasta salads, and then other mediterranean style salads. Every kind of possible salad combination could be put together there. There was also a section to package fresh soups made daily, and even a section with hot meals like pasta and butter chicken.

There was a separate area where you could have a stir fry made on the spot, and a sandwich section where you could have it warmed up on a grill. There was also a fresh sushi spot, and a full service bakery.

The pizza area was really impressive. You could choose the toppings on your pizza, and watch it cook in a fire burning oven before it’s boxed and ready to take home.

There was a great seating area both inside and outside to eat which was nice as well.

I picked up quite a few items from the Farm Boy brand like fresh orange juice, mediterranean salad dressing, and their tortilla chips and salsa.

I don’t think my shopping cart has ever looked so healthy!

I didn’t notice too much of a price difference between Farm Boy and the other grocery stores I normally shop at. I often buy organic fruits, vegetables, and gluten free treats for my son and I found the prices very comparable to where I usually shop and what I usually buy in that regard.

I really loved that they had many pre-packaged lunches and snacks to take on the go as well. How great is this lunch in a bag? It includes a sandwich, drink, cookies, an apple and a granola bar!

For someone like me who doesn’t always have time to make dinner but has good intentions for serving something fresh and healthy to my family, I was very impressed with what they had to offer for meals to go.

Overall I loved it, and I will be back often!

Farm Boy Taunton Gardens (Whitby) is located at 2 – 360 Taunton Road East, Whitby, Ontario.