What to Do - sparkleshinylove

Roxymandy June 12, 2015

The Importance of a Thank You Card

The introduction of emailing, texing, and social media in general has made written notes and cards almost forgotten. Now you can send an invitation online, or ask for an RSVP via email and text, but how do you say thank you?

Most people still do it with a Facebook post or text message, but I don’t think that a proper thank you card should be forgotten!

Is’this it lovely to check your mailbox and find a written letter or card? I love receiving mail (as long as it’s not my credit card bill), and I remember that feeling when it’s time to say thank you to someone else.

Is it a bit of a painful process to look up addresses and write everything down by hand? Absolutely! The person receiving the card will know this, and appreciate the effort you went through to give them a proper thank you.

I send out thank you cards after parties where gifts are exchanged, or just in general at times when I think someone needs to be thanked in a special way.

I find the easiest thing to do is already have thank you cards on hand. I always have a stack on my desk just in case I need to send someone a quick note – it’s much easier that way!

My absolute favourites come from Rifle Paper Co! I also loved the selection I would find at Target, but since they have left Canada I tend to buy mine in boutiques, or at Chapters.

Here are a few of my favourites below – I hope it inspires you to say thank you to someone!

Merci Beaucoup Thank You Greeting Card {Rifle Paper Co}

Thank You Hostess Greeting Card {Rifle Paper Co}

Merci Greeting Card {Rifle Paper Co}

Navy Stripe Foil Thank You Cards {Waste Not Paper}

Note Card Set – Thank You {Kate Spade New York}

Thanks and Thanks Again Card {Papyrus}

Metallic Embroidery Thank You Card {Papyrus}

Thx Bae Thank You Card {CVCustomPress}

Thank You For Being Your Awesome Self {Whitsicle}

Roxymandy June 11, 2015

Review of The Sago Mini Boats App

I’ve written in the past about the visit my son and I had to the Sago Sago Design Studio downtown Toronto last year, and what an amazing time we had trying out all of their amazing Apps for children! We continue to be big fan’s of their Apps, and we enjoyed seeing their contribution to the Children’s Discovery Centre in Toronto as well.

A new App just launched on June 4th called Sago Mini Boats, and we were invited to try it out once it became available.

The App includes Harvey the dog, which is a character found in the other Sago Apps that our son is already familiar with. Harvey is actually his favourite character so he was very happy to see him!

The App has more than 10 boats to choose from for Harvey to drive, and there are 5 different destinations to travel to. Harvey can visit his other Sago Mini friends from the other Apps as well, and along the way the idea is to collect treasure, look out for pirates, share ice cream, and explore the creatures found in the ocean.

When my son first loaded the App he was excited to see that the first boat that came up on the screen was a tug boat. Our family has our own tug boat (which my husband’s grandfather made himself!) that we use on the weekends, and the two boats look identical! Our son loved that he could have Harvey ride the same kind of boat that we have.

These Sago Apps are so easy to navigate that I rarely need to give my son any instruction or help. Every step is really a natural progression – there are options on where to go, what to pack, and then it’s easy to travel forward while choosing what to do along the way.

The App is bright, colourful, and there isn’t a lot of repetition – there are lots of fun surprises as Harvey travels along which keeps things interesting.

It’s really a great App for toddlers and preschoolers, and luckily Sago mini Apps have no in-app purchases or third-party advertising. It’s so frustrating when my son is using an App and suddenly everything stops for an advertisement, or he needs to pay to move forward. At this age it’s best to have a seamless game which not only entertains him, but doesn’t challenge him to the point of frustration.

This Sago Mini Boats App has launched at the perfect time of year since it’s been sunny, warm, and boat season! Our son has been so excited to spend time on our boat, so it was nice when we had rainy weather this week and he could play boats with the App instead.

The App is available at the ITunes store now for $2.99, and you can find it here!

For more information on Sago Sago and their amazing Apps, please visit their website here.

Roxymandy June 10, 2015

Nickelodeon’s Bubble Guppies Live! Ready to Rock Pre-Sale

Have you heard that the Bubble Guppies are coming to town?

The Bubble Guppies are coming to Oshawa’s GM Centre on December 12th.

There is a limited time pre-sale on right now and ending on June 11 at 10PM!

You can find tickets here and use code BUBBLE at check out.

It’s the first ever live national tour for the Bubble Guppies, and the show is all about rock n’ roll.

My son is totally pumped for this show – he has loved the Bubble Guppies since he was a baby, and he still loves to watch the show even now.

For the full tour routing and more bubbly fun visit www.BubbleGuppiesOnTour.com!

Roxymandy May 29, 2015

Spa at the Four Seasons Toronto

I am a girl that loves the spa, so I make a point of spending a few hours getting pampered once every couple months to recharge. I love the Four Seasons Toronto – I was there last year for the Toronto Life Most Stylish Party, and I have been to one of their fabulous charcuterie nights at d|bar on a Monday which was so much fun, and I’ve had dinner in their restaurant Café Boulud as well.

How could I have not visited their spa before? I had seen photos of what it had to offer, and I decided it was time to check it out for myself.

First of all, I loved their easy booking system. You can look at the spa menu online and see what time you can book your appointment for. I loved this – booking online really saves you the hassle of calling in and throwing around dates and times that may or may not work.

Parking is so easy at the Four Seasons Toronto because they have valet parking, plus it’s discounted if you are spending time at the spa. I planned on doing some shopping after and everything worked out great because I could park up to 4 hours for only $15. That’s a great rate for parking in Yorkville.

The staff at the Four Seasons Toronto are so friendly – from the moment they open your car door, everyone is so ready to help! The driver who took my car insisted on throwing out my empty Starbucks (I told him I could do it myself but he insisted!), then I was walked inside, and inside I was met by someone directing me to the proper elevator.

The spa itself is gorgeous! I had a tour of all the facilities including an indoor pool, private outdoor deck just for spa guests, a hot tub, steam rooms, showers, lounging areas – the place was a maze.

They had biscotti snacks and fruit-flavoured water in some of the lounge areas, all of the latest magazines to puruse, and so many different areas to relax in that I almost couldn’t decide.

I had a one hour deep tissue massage, and before my service I went to the massage waiting area which was a very zen experience. Candles were lit, the room was dark with soothing music, and the lounge beds were very comfortable.

For my massage itself I was able to sample the scents they would be using throughout the service, and I had a few choices to make. I could also choose music from a menu thay had which was a nice touch.

My massage was absolultely amazing. I was a happy girl – all of those shopping bags I’m usually carrying, plus a toddler that I lug around on a daily basis haven’t been doing good things for my back, so it was nice to relax and get pampered.

I wound down again in some of the different lounge areas before I left the spa in a significantly better mood.

If you are interested in getting pampered yourself, I highly recommend the spa at the Four Seasons Toronto! I am hoping to stay there a night this summer to see what it’s like to be a guest in the hotel since I have tried most of their other amenities and have been impressed by them.

For more details on the spa, please visit their website here.

Roxymandy May 26, 2015

The Children’s Discovery Centre Toronto

This weekend my son and I headed to a media preview for the new Children’s Discovery Centre in Toronto. It opened this Saturday to the public at noon, and now it’s open daily 9:30am-4:30pm. The Centre is located in the Garrison Point neighbourhood at 45 Strachan Avenue in Toronto, but it’s only a temporary location until September 30th, 2015. If this pilot project goes well, a permanent location may pop up in the future as well.

There are 10 themed Discovery Zones, and it’s 20,000 square feet in total so there is lot’s to see and do! The centre is meant for children 6 and under which was awesome! If you have a child that age you know what it’s like when older children are around on the playground – sometimes they push, shove, or just play harder than younger children in general. It was nice to have kids in the same age group hanging out in the same space.

My son’s favourite Discovery Zone was the Mini City. It included kid-sized streets with bikes, trikes and wagons that they could maneuver on the roadway. It also included a construction zone with rocks, shovels, trucks, and construction outfits.

Some of the other rooms included the Make Believe room with a full sized theatre complete with dress up clothing, Maya’s Storyland with books and reading nooks and forts to lounge and read, Pet Vet which is a child-size replica of a veterinary clinic complete with an x-ray machine, and the Art Hive with wall-sized easels, a squeegee wall, and a section with cardboard boxes to make anything imaginable.

Some of my son’s other favourites included The Campground where you could build a tent and go fishing in a canoe, the Boom Room which had a wall where you could bang household objects to make music, Eat Street where children could shop for groceries, make dinner in a kitchen, and set the table for a meal, and Imagination Station which had a felt tile building system and an interactive building system called Imagination Playground.

There was so much to do! You could spend all day in this place just moving station to station. There was plenty of room between Zones so even when things got busy when it became open to the public, there was still lots of room to play!

What I loved were the Quiet Rooms, where family’s could go to take a break. They included a couch, and the door could be closed for a bit of privacy if someone wanted to nurse.

There were also plenty of bathrooms scattered in the building so there would be no waits for those kids still working on potty training

The Sago Mini Pet Café was a big hit with my son – he LOVES all of the Sago Mini Apps. As soon as we walked into the café, he went right for the small door on the wall to see what was inside. He remembered from the Sago Mini Fairy Tale App that something was often behind little doors that looked like that in the game. He loved that every time he opened the door a different Sago Mini character appeared to say hello!

The café is meant for family’s to bring a lunch and relax from all of the playing. It was complete with child-sized tables for the kids.

The cost of entry is $13.00 per person (children 1 year and under are free), and I personally thought it was well worth it! It was a pretty incredible place for children of this age group, and there were lots of friendly staff (trained facilitators with educational backgrounds including ECE’s or teachers) on hand to read, play, or just to add a helping hand.

Most of the rooms also had spots for babies to play as well which I thought was genius – how many parents of two or three children have a hard time finding a space to play where both children have something to do? Either the older child is stuck in the baby play area, or vice versa. This way a parent could have their toddler playing in a room, and also have a space for their baby to play as well.

There is a small amount of parking on site. I was lucky and could park on the street for free (with the help of a lovely construction worker who moved a pylon for me!), but otherwise there are a few parking lots within walking distance. This location is close to Liberty Village where there are a few great spots for lunch as well. And there is stroller parking just inside the centre!

For more information on the Children’s Discovery Centre, visit them on their website here, or on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.