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Roxymandy December 3, 2015

2015 Holiday Gift Guide for Her

When I created this holiday gift guide I have to admit I was mostly thinking about what I wanted for Christmas!

It can be so hard to choose a gift for someone, but when it comes to yourself it’s just so much easier. I had way too much fun putting this list together! I’m also giving away with a few of the items on this list at the end of this post. Enter to win a few of these items as a gift for someone, or a little gift for yourself for all of the hard work you are doing over the holidays.

Check out my 2015 Holiday Gift Guide for Her below!

1. Diptyque Mimosa Candle & Kate Spade Pretty and Witty Candle

The small version of this diptyque candle is always sold out! Both in stores and online it’s a hard one to find. The smell is pretty fab, and who doesn’t love mimosa’s? It needs to be mine. I love to see how people find ways to use the glass after the candle is long gone as well. This Kate Spade candle is such a cute decorative candle – perfect for a desk or vanity!

2. Anthropologie Shimmered Pocket Scarf

I love scarves, and I love sequins – it doesn’t get any better when the two are combined! And pockets? This may be the most amazing scarf ever.

3. West Elm St. Jude Brass Love Object

How beautiful is is “love” paperweight? It would look fabulous on a desk or on a coffee table, and West Elm will donate 50% of the purchase price of each one sold to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

4. Bouquet from Tonic Blooms

Free delivery, and in less than two hours? It sounds to be too good to be true. Oh, and the bouquets are gorgeous. The arrangements change often, and the delivery area continues to expand which you can view on their website. Just in Toronto now, but if you live outside of Toronto like myself it would be the perfect gift for a friend or family member in the city. We aren’t talking about your average cookie-cutter bouquet wrapped in cheesy paper! A flower delivery like this would feel like a truly special gesture.

5. Paris is Always a Good Idea Mug & Starbucks Rainbow Macaron Mug

I completely agree that Paris is ALWAYS a good idea, and this Starbucks is beyond adorable. Although, I would probably need to eat macarons every time I drink from it. Maybe the mug isn’t a good idea.

6. Pottery Barn Alphabet Throw

Who wouldn’t want a customized throw? Not only is it cozy, but you can have it personalized with colour, and with a letter. Monogrammed items always seem to feel like such a thoughtful and carefully planned gift because of the extra effort to make it for the receiver.

7. eos Holiday 2015 Limited Edition Decorative Lip Balm

My obsession with lip gloss basically runs my life. If I leave the house without one I usually drive back home to get it, or I run to a store to buy one enroute to wherever I’m going. How cute is it that you can customize your lip balm with sparkles? Obviously everyone needs this in their life.

8. Phantom Glass Screen Protector

Can you believe that as I was installing this case I dropped my phone on the floor and cracked my screen? Oh the irony! After fixing my screen I easily installed my chic new Phantom Glass screen protector and was instantly in love. Not only was my screen being protected with Corning Gorilla glass (sounds serious right?), but I LOVE the gold cover on mine! It looks fabulous, and I can’t tell at all the glass is covering my screen. I can’t say enough about how much I love it. I am totally buying one for my iPad.

Rose gold is also available along with a clear version or other colours, and they even have screen protectors for cameras. Trust me, you don’t want to pay for a cracked screen on your phone, tablet or camera.

9. Humans of New York Stories

If you don’t follow the Humans of New York blog by Brandon Stanton you are missing out. Brandon takes photos of people he stops walking not only in New York, but lately on his blog he has been travelling around the world. He asks them about themselves, and some of the stories are incredible. This book is the perfect coffee table book that anyone would love to read.

Now, a giveaway! I’m giving away 4 fabulous items from my Holiday Gift Guide. They are:

An iPhone 6 Gold Phantom Glass Screen Protector

Bouquet from Tonic Blooms

eos Holiday 2015 Limited Edition Decorative Lip Balm

Paris is Always a Good Idea Mug

To win, all you need to do is comment below this blog post with what your favourite item was from this gift guide. That’s it! One entry per person, and this contest is open to Canadian residents only. The contest ends on Thursday, December 10th, 2015 at midnight, and one randomly selected winner will be announced on Friday, December 11th, 2015.

Good luck to everyone who enters!

Roxymandy December 2, 2015

Little Live Pets Lil’ Turtle Tank Review + Giveaway!

With the holidays coming up, it’s always helpful to get ideas of what toys kids really like before you go shopping! This week my son received the Little Live Pets Lil’ Turtle Tank for review, and we are going to share our thoughts on it with you!

When my son first saw the toy he was pretty excited because he thought I really got him a turtle. When I told him the turtle was just pretend, he was probably just as excited because it was his to keep. I’m not sure we are at the stage where he could understand caring for a pet, so this was a much easier opportunity to see what his attention span would be.

We unpackaged the turtle and his tank, and I had to add a AAA battery to the turtle. There was a pretty large on button on the bottom of the turtle which my son was able to turn on and off himself.

The turtle walks on the ground, or he swims in the tank. When you dunk him into the water he also rights himself so he is upright and swimming. All I needed to do for set up was add water, and that was it! The tank can be closed with a snap so the turtle can be put away for next time.

To get a really good idea of how the toy works I took this video on what the Lil’ Turtle could do! My son’s laughter is really cute – he really loves his new pet! The turtles name is supposed to be Stary, but he calls him Fred.

http://youtu.be/s2VzTKzkAI0

I thought the Lil’ Turtle Tank would be a great way to teach a child how to learn responsibility with a pet. You can purchase the Little Live Pets Lil’ Turtle Tank at Toys ‘R’ Us, TV Showcase, Loblaws, and at other major retailers.

I’m giving away a Little Live Pets Lil’ Turtle Tank on the blog! Head over to my Facebook post here, and tag a friend in the comments section to enter! One reader will be selected randomly. The contest ends on Wednesday, December 9th, 2015 at midnight. This contest is only open to Canadians, and you may enter multiple times as long as each entry is done separately and you are tagging a different person.

Good luck to everyone who enters!

For more details on this product visit www.LittleLivePets.ca!

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

Roxymandy November 30, 2015

Styling a Skirt for Winter with the Help of Upper Canada Mall

Bow Top – in stores now {Zara}, similar here | Flared Green Skirt – Zara | Checked Scarf – H&M

Last week I talked about the new holiday campaign Upper Canada Mall launched called #IamMrsClaus, which is about the modern Mrs. Claus. She represents all of us who can juggle everything thrown at us during the holidays, all while looking stylish in the process.

To make the holidays a bit easier, Upper Canada Mall has released an extensive gift guide to help us find that perfect gift for each person on our list.

I did some of my own holiday shopping at Upper Canada Mall this past weekend, and indulged in a #MyMrsClaus gift for myself. What is a #MyMrsClaus gift you might be asking yourself? It’s a gift we buy ourselves to reward all of our hard work over the holiday season. It’s all about taking a moment to treat yourself.

Treating myself normally involves clothing! With the holidays coming there are so many times I need to have something great to wear.

One of my favourite things to wear are skirts in the winter. I know most people stay away from them in the winter because of the obvious – it’s frigid outside! Day or night, it’s extremely cold! I try not to let that stop me, and I look for ways to dress up a skirt, and keep warm in this cold weather.

The Zara at Upper Canada Mall has so many great finds right now! I felt like I could have spent all day shopping there. I picked up this great skirt in olive green for only $17.90. The skirt was actually suprisingly warm, and although I could have paired it with nylons, I chose thigh-high boots I already owned to keep my legs warm and cozy.

My bow tie top is not only a very popular look for this winter, but I loved the detailing on this version! It had these great accordion sleeves, and I know it would look great with jeans was well, or even dress pants for work. I purchased this top at Zara for $49.90, but I couldn’t find it online so I linked to a similar one.

I truly can’t get enough of plaid blanket scarves, but this one is on a whole other level. The beige, almost on the verge of mustard colour, complimented the green skirt and cream coloured top so well! It’s such a large scarf I could practically wear it as a jacket, but once folded it can just accessorize an outfit or jacket. At $19.99 from H&M there was no way I could pass it up.

Do you wear skirts in the winter as well, or do you only wear them when it’s warm outside? Let me know your thoughts on wearing skirts in the winter in the comments below.

Upper Canada Mall is located at 17600 Yonge Street, Newmarket, and you can visit them online here.

Thanks to Upper Canada mall for providing me one of their gift cards so I could shop for this post!

Roxymandy November 27, 2015

Celebrating the Modern Mrs. Claus with Upper Canada Mall

Do you ever get a little sick of hearing about how amazing Santa Claus is? As a wife and mother, I know that behind every great man is an ever greater woman propping him up, so when I heard that the Upper Canada Mall’s 2015 holiday campaign celebrates the modern-day take on Mrs. Claus I thought, finally, some recognition!

In my home celebrating the holidays leaves me with more than my share of responsibility at this time of the year. I shop for and wrap all of the gifts, decorate the home, I host parties, make dinner for friends and family, and basically handle everything that gets thrown my way while my husband says things like “don’t worry, I have something we can use as a gift in the basement” or “I didn’t want turkey anyway, let’s just order a pizza”.

Sure my husband helps me out with things here and there, but the weight of the season rests mostly on my shoulders. Upper Canada Mall’s #IamMrsClaus campaign highlights what most of us do each holiday season, which is that we take on the holidays full force, hopefully looking stylish while we are doing it. Every woman is represented by this fabulous Mrs. Claus. To make the holidays a bit easier, Upper Canada Mall has released an extensive gift guide to help us find that perfect gift for each person on our list.

There are all kinds of other special perks Upper Canada Mall and Mrs. Claus are bringing us this holiday season such as extended shopping hours, a gift wrapping service with the money raised donated to charity, and the reminder that it’s important that we Master’s of the Holiday’s treat ourselves with a little #MyMrsClaus gift in between all of the hard work we are doing.

This past weekend Mrs. Claus presented some of her savvy tips for the season to keep organized and zen this holiday season!

Keep your holiday list organized with Pinterest! Mrs. Claus has even done the work for you so you don’t scramble for gift ideas. For inspiration, check out her holiday gift guide on Pinterest here!

Avoid the Crowds with Upper Canada Mall’s extended shopping hours! Shop early, shop late, and be sure to avoid peak shopping times at the mall.
Upper Canada Mall’s Extended Holiday Hours:

Monday to Saturday 9:00am 9:30pm
Sunday 10:00am 7:00pm
Christmas Eve & New Year’s Eve: 8:00am 5:00pm
Boxing Day: 8:00am 8:00pm

Have someone else do your wrapping! Beta Sigma Phi sorority’s annual fundraiser giftwrap booth will not only wrap your fabulous gifts for the holidays, but they will do so in exchange for a charitable donation!

Glamour Squad. Get glam with a mani or a blowout at one of the mall salons so you are holiday party ready! See the full salon list on uppercanadamall.com.

Pre-book your Santa visit to save yourself that precious shopping time!
This year at the mall you can even pre-book your time slot to visit the other master of Christmas – Santa Claus! – by booking online at www.uppercanadamall.com/events.

Drop the Guesswork. Go with a Gift Card! Let family and friends choose their own perfect gift with an Upper Canada Mall gift card.

Even better, the mall is giving away a $500 gift card to shoppers who social share their Mrs. Claus gifts-to-themselves or follow Upper Canada Mall on Instagram or Twitter using #MyMrsClaus @UpperCanadaMall.

I did some of my own holiday shopping at Upper Canada Mall this past weekend, and indulged in a #MyMrsClaus gift for myself. I can’t wait to share what I bought for myself next week on the blog! Stay tuned!

Upper Canada Mall is located at 17600 Yonge Street, Newmarket, and you can visit them online here.

Roxymandy November 26, 2015

Roundup Of Sequin Skirts To Get Holiday Party Ready

There’s no better time for sparkle, glitter and sequins than the holidays! It feels like the perfect time to be a bit more sparkly than usual. I am one of those girls that thinks sequins are ALWAYS appropriate, but some people aren’t always up to being the shiniest person in the room.

To tone down this look a big cozy sweater balanced everything out. My skirt is from Forever 21 (no longer sold in stores), and I couldn’t resist adding a bit more shimmer with a statement necklace. I kept the accessories simple with black pumps and a clutch.

To tone down the look even more I could have added a pair of black nylons, and it would have been a great way to keep warm as well!

Next up I’ve been looking everywhere for a cute sparkly cardigan. If you’ve seen one please let me know – I have been looking everywhere for the perfect one!

Have you thought about what your holiday style will be yet? Let me know in the comments what your go-to style will be in the month of December.

Here are a few more of my favourite sequinned skirts for the holidays below!