What to Do - sparkleshinylove

Roxymandy August 20, 2015

Win 4 Tickets to Treehouse Big Day Out 2 September 12th and 13th!

Treehouse Big Day Out is back September 12th and 13th at Molson Canadian Ampitheatre, with two ticketed events each day featuring must-see performances from The Wiggles and Splash N’ Boots!

The event is hosted by Treehouse, and there will be lots of fun activities, costume character meet-and-greets, face painting, and more.

The Wiggle’s ‘Rock & Roll Preschool’ Tour’s first stop will be this event, and they will be singing songs from their brand new CD and DVD, “Rock & Roll Preschool” that will also be featured in the new season of their hit TV series airing on Treehouse.

Splash’N Boots will also be taking the stage during the two-day event, and all kids who attend will receive a festival program full of activities and coloring for more fun at home.

Treehouse Big Day Out will offer two separate ticketed events each day – a morning event starting from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. with stage shows from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and an afternoon event from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. with stage shows from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. This special event also will be televised on Treehouse this Fall.

Tickets for Treehouse Big Day Out may be purchased at Ticketmaster, beginning on Friday, June 12. Visit www.treehousebigdayout.com for more details, OR you can win them here on the blog!

I am giving away 4 tickets to Treehouse Big Day Out 2 via the Rafflecopter App below. This contest begins at midnight on Thursday, August 20 and ends at midnight on Wednesday, August 26th, 2015. This contest is open to residents of Canada only, and the winner will be announced on the blog after the contest closes.

Good luck to everyone who enters!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Roxymandy August 15, 2015

Our New Home Entertaining Plans + Join Me at the RBC First Home Twitter Chat

When we bought a new home a couple years ago, we had no idea what we were doing! We knew which house we desperately wanted, and we loved the location it was in, but we didn’t know the in’s-and-out’s of how to work with the builder.

I really loved the idea of having the kitchen the heart of the house. I decided we would make some changes to the kitchen to make the space larger. We wanted to move the L-shaped counter against the wall so we could have a larger space, and so we could have room for a very large table where we could fit all of our family and friends.

After fighting with the sales agent to do this and being turned down, our builder decided to work with us and did everything we asked to create the perfect entertaining space!

We always imagined having people over and settling in the kitchen at our giant table (it’s just over 9 feet!), and it all came to fruition.

In our experience no matter what kind of party you are having, everyone somehow ends up in the kitchen when you are entertaining. This is why making it the focal point was so important to us. We love to entertain, so when purchasing our new home the floor plan was an important part of making our choice in a home.

One of my favourite parties after we moved in was a wine and cheese party with my girlfriends. I paired all of the wines with the cheeses laid out on our table, and everyone ended up just sitting down and socializing at the table having a great time!

How about you? Did you think about entertaining when buying your last home, or will that be something you think about the next time around?

Comment below to let me know!

Join myself at the RBC First Home Twitter Chat and speak to RBC experts who can answer home buying questions!

The Chat is on August 18th at 8:30pm EST, and you can submit your home-buying questions by using the hashtag #RBCFirstHome

RBC has invited a lawyer, realtor, design, home builders, and home mortgage experts to participate as well

Chat participants have a chance to win 1 of 5 $100 gift cards, and you can even win win 1 of 3 $100 Visa Gift cards before the party even takes place by signing up by clicking on the widget link below!

RBC First Home Chat August

Disclosure: I am part of the RBC First Home campaign with Influence Central and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Roxymandy August 10, 2015

After Hours: A Speakeasy at the Spadina Museum

I love a good party, and the Spadina Museum in Toronto is having an awesome next weekend!

Have you heard of the Spadina Museum before? Spadina Museum is one of 10 historic museums operated by the City of Toronto. It was built in 1866 and was home to four generations of the Austin family. The home has been restored to reflect how the Austin’s lived in the home in the 1920’s and 1930’s.

On August 15th from 7:30pm and 11:00pm the Spadina Museum will be hosting a new event called After Hours: A Speakeasy.

It’s an exclusive, jazz-era lawn party that will take place both inside the historic house and on the 6 acres of historic gardens and orchards.

Guests will enjoy 1920’s food and cocktails, dance to live jazz music with the Sugar Shakers dance troupe, watch silent films under the stars, and explore a 55-room mansion by gaslight.

Tickets are $50, and they include admission, refreshments, music, dancing and more! There will also be a cash bar available.

I am so excited for this event! It sounds like a really fun summer party with an excellent theme. Now what am I going to wear?

To purchase tickets, visit this website here! For more information on the Spadina Museum, visit their website here.

Spadina Museum is located at 245 Spadina Road, Toronto.

Roxymandy August 1, 2015

14 Days with the Purgo Teatox System

I had never done a cleanse or detox before, so this was a totally new experience for me!

When I had the chance to try a detox with Purgo Tea, I thought I would jump at the chance and see how it went.

The Purgo Teatox System is a cleanse that boosts your metabolism and reduces bloating.

A girl like me who loves her Taco Bell and McDonalds could probably use a good detox.

What I liked about the Purgo 14 Day Teatox was that there were no harsh laxatives or fasting. The last thing I wanted to do was be in the bathroom all day.

Each morning I would have a tea, and every other evening I would have a tea at night. It just sort of became part of my routine for two weeks, amd it was easy to work into my day.

The Morning Detox Tea helps to boost your metabolism. It helps burn calories and gives you sustained energy through the day while the Evening Cleanse Tea works with your digestive tract to help remove toxins and purge impurities leaving you in a more balanced state.

This detox really wasn’t a big change to my life for two weeks which was great, and I actually liked the tea! I definitely had less bloating (and I am pretty much always bloated or feel like I am), and the morning tea seemed to give me more energy! I really liked it, amd I would absolutely try it again. It was a very gentle way to detox.

You can buy the system online here!

For more details visit www.PurgoTea.com.

Disclaimer: This item was provided to me for review, but all opinions are fabulously my own.

Roxymandy July 30, 2015

Life with Huggies Little Movers Plus

Well, we are almost there. My son is almost fully potty trained! It’s been a long road, but a couple weeks ago something just clicked. He really seemed to understand what we have been asking him to do and trying to teach him for all of these months, and he’s really caught on.

Our son is still wearing a diaper for the moment since when he has an accident it’s pretty tragic in his eyes and it’s hard to console him, but in the end we will get there very very soon. I am so glad we didn’t push him too hard and we let him figure it out in his own time.

What makes me sad about this? I finally found a diaper I really liked putting him in! I can’t believe now that he is almost potty trained we won’t be using diapers soon anymore.

I previously shared a video on the blog of my son and the launch of Huggies Little Mover’s Plus from Costco. Love these diapers! It actually helped a lot with potty training because when my son would remove and put his diaper back on after using the potty he would look for the purple grip strips so he could put his diaper back on.

They are super absorbent, and nice and cozy for him to sleep in. We use the Huggies Little Movers Plus because our toddler is always on the move. Whether he is at soccer, skating, running, dancing, or squirming around in the mud, he rarely sits still.

The Gentle Absorb Liner adds that extra layer of protection when you are in one of those places you actually can’t change a diaper – like when they jump into a play place ball pit and refuse to come out for hours! The DryTouch Liner makes it one Huggies most absorbant diapers.

Huggies Little Movers Plus are exclusively available at Costco in sizes 1-6.

For more information, head over to the Huggies Little Movers Plus site here.

Disclosure: I am part of the Huggies Ambassador Campaign with Influence Central and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.