Today I have some very exciting news to share with you! It is about my dear friend Aly, founder of Aly Dahl Designs. I am soooo extremely excited for her I just had to take a moment to spread the news. Two years ago after having children, Aly left her corporate job in the financial industry to follow her passion for handcrafting jewelry. Aly is a shining example of taking a risk to follow your heart, working hard, and turning dreams into reality. She is truly one of the most inspirational people I know, and now I am so pleased to announce she is packing her bags and going to Hollywood! Aly has been “invited to take part in one of the most exclusive Pre-Oscar events in the world!” The Press Release:
VANCOUVER DESIGNER MAKES OSCAR-WORTHY IMPRESSIONS
Vancouver, B.C. – Vancouver designer Aly Dahl is packing her bags and hitting Hollywood, after being invited to take part in one of the most exclusive pre-Oscar events. The ‘Baby Boom Boom Room’ is where the hippest in the under-five set hang out with their mom and dad, before the grown-ups prepare to walk the red carpet. This year, Dahl will be right there with them, showcasing her chic line of fingerprint jewelry alongside some of North America’s hottest baby designers. Only the best baby products make the cut when it comes to the Baby Boom Boom Room, and the discerning crowd is known to include celebrity moms such as Jessica Alba, Heidi Klum, Halle Berry, and many more. The invitation is an opportunity of a lifetime for Dahl, who could soon be fingerprinting some of the trendiest babies in Hollywood.
The ‘Baby Boom Boom Room’ is hosted by celebrity style maven Jayneoni Moore, who is well-known for her lavish gift suites and A-list celebrity clientele. Designers invited into the Baby Boom Boom Room receive international exposure among celebrities, stylists, and entertainment media. A spot in the room gives Dahl the potential to launch her unique line internationally, and what makes this invitation even more remarkable is that Dahl is a relative newcomer to the world of design. It was just two years ago that she decided to quit her job in finance to pursue her passion, with no guarantees she could make a living at it. Now, the Vancouver mother of two is bursting onto the celebrity lifestyle scene, with an invitation to this exclusive event, coveted by leading baby designers around the world.
Media Contact:
Aly Dahl 604-970-2595
Find us on Facebook under: Aly Dahl Designs
BACKGROUNDER:
“The Boom Boom Room Celebrity Baby & Big Kid - Pre Oscar Suite”
February 25 & 26th 2011 the stars will align as the most famous red carpet in Hollywood is laid for the Academy Awards and we are preparing to host the chicest baby & toddler event of the year, the Pre-Oscar Boom Boom Room. The number #1 baby & toddler event will land in Hollywood during the Academy Awards with Hollywood’s biggest A-list moms/dads in Beverly Hills. Celebrating 7 years, The Boom Boom Room is the premier event for top quality infant and toddler brands to come face to face with the A-list Moms & Dads of Hollywood and the media.
The Boom Boom Room is a marketing gifting suite designed to give top children brands access to major celebrity Moms & Dads and the media, the brainchild of Glamour Guru Jayneoni Moore who has been credited in turning products into celebrity favorites and media sensations.
Here are a few of the things we are looking forward to by being part of this event:
* Introductions to nominated movie stars and other celebrities
* Introductions to other TV, Film, & Music personalities
* Introductions to TV, Film, & Celebrity Stylists
* Introductions to editorial writers for daily, weekly and long lead magazines
* Introductions to buyers of popular stores in Los Angeles
* Photos of recognizable talent, looking at your products and posing with them
* Placement of photos in popular magazines as pre or post press for the event, including US Weekly, In Touch, OK! Magazine, Life & Style, People, Daily Variety, Hollywood Reporter, In Touch, FWD, WWD, Apparel News, etc
* Syndicated coverage from shows like Entertainment Tonight, The Insider, E! Extra, MSNBC, KTLA, Fox, etc.
Celebrity Moms who love the Boom Boom Room and Jayneoni Moore are: Melissa Joan Hart, Brooke Shields, Tori Spelling, Ali Landry, Jessica Alba, Ali Larter, Heidi Klum, Katherine Heigl, Brooke Burke, Denise Richards, Holly Robinson Peete, Marissa Jaret Winokur, Vanessa Williams, Courtney Cox, Angie Harmon, Halle Berry, Laila Ali, Patrick Dempsey, and many more!
“The Boom Boom Room is where I learn about all the new baby product and lines, I love it!”
- Ali Landry
“We loved the Boom Boom Room”
- Tori Spelling
“The Boom Boom Room was like walking thru a Dream Wonderland made up of the perfect children products-thanks”
- People Magazine
CONGRATULATIONS ALY!!!! Five months ago I had the great pleasure of interviewing the very talented Canadian artist. The interview is one of my absolute favorites, not only because I know and adore her, but because Aly has an incredible heart and a true gift, which she expresses beautifully in her interview. If you have a moment please stop by and say hi, and give her your wonderful words of encouragement! Have a lovely and restful weekend, friends! ♥
Hi Friends! How are you doing today? Things are going well here. The Holiday commercials are making my kids (and me!) more and more excited. I am really looking forward to celebrating US Thanksgiving very soon. We always did a small celebration for US Thanksgiving in Canada, but it was never the same. It feels very special this year!
Not that long ago I was given the opportunity to be a part of a team of influential women that tested a new application called the Always Me Period and Ovulation Tracker, in order to help ensure that they were bringing forward an exciting tool for women. Cool, right?! It was funny because right before I received the app to try I was telling my husband I always forget to mark that time of the month on the calendar, and it ends up being a surprise when Mother Nature calls. Now I love surprises, but that is one surprise I don’t like. The Always Me app has really helped.
For some reason it is much easier for me to remember to mark it down when I have the app on my phone. There is usually some time during the week that I am waiting for one reason or another and have my phone on me, so I find it is a great tool to have. I also love that you can track your mood, flow, cramps, weight and more with the app. It helps when I feel like I am going crazy that time of the month to go back and see the days in the previous month I also felt the same way, to remind myself that it is not my circumstances that are truly driving me nuts, it is the time of month. Then I feel a little saner. I highly recommend tracking your mood for those reasons. Although I am not trying for more children at this point, being able to track your ovulation is a wonderful added touch this app has to offer. Back when I was trying to get pregnant I know I would have loved this function. The app also includes a personalized, expert question and answer, and reminder notifications for anticipated arrival of period or ovulation. Here is the best part... the app is FREE!!! That means you have nothing to lose trying it out! Don’t you love a free gift?! ;-) I know I do, and this one doesn’t add any clutter to my home and actually helps me. The Always Me app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Here is where you can get your Always Me Period and Ovulation Tracker: itunes.apple.com/us/app/always-me-period-ovulation/id398231766?mt=8
Pass this on to the women in your life. I think they will love it! Also, I wanted to include a special thank you to Astrid for the sweet relax package she sent me. Her cookies were amazing, and I have her painting in my office. It is a wonderful reminder for me. She is a talented baker and artist. You can see more of her lovely work on her site. Thank you Astrid! Lastly, my new friend Stanley that I met at a blogger meet-up in Vancouver created his first eBook titled Corporate Scam Literacy Manifesto, which you can find at http://www.sysil.com/ebooks/CSLM.pdf
Have a lovely day, friends! ♥ Wendy Irene
A few days ago we received a package from ModernMom.com and VTech!! Does the novelty of getting a package delivered in the mail ever wear off? I don’t think so for us. It makes it a special day and I love how excited everyone gets! Especially the kids, it doesn’t matter what it is because it is a new box to explore, and what kid doesn’t love playing with new boxes?!Here is a look at what was inside the new box, if the title didn’t already give it away;-) MobiGo Touch Learning System
*Disclosure: I was sent the MobiGo Touch Learning System by VTech and ModernMom.com to review the product. What follows are my own honest opinions.
Even better for the kids, a box within a box! Hey, you got to make these things last as long as possible. Entertaining little ones for any length of time is no easy task!
A little disagreement over who exactly was going to open the inner package. Fortunately it was settled very quickly because they really wanted to get to the toy inside.
Daddy quickly took a look at the MobiGo to explain to Big Brother how it worked. In a matter of seconds, which is about as long as a 4 ½ year old is capable of receiving instructions from Dad, the MobiGo was in Big Brother’s hands. The great part is Big Brother mainly figured out how to use it all by himself! Therefore I would have to say it is very user friendly for kids. MobiGo uses touch controls similar to that of parent’s touch screen devices. It also has a QWERTY keyboard. What age do you think my kids are going to surpass me in technology skills?
There are games to help children with their alphabet, math, music and logic and more for older children like vocabulary, spelling, and categorization. MobiGo is launching an online store that hosts free games and other content for download. For this reason the MobiGo is meant to grow along side your kids as they further their learning. Also, if parents want they can hook the MobiGo up to their PC or Mac and receive status reports on their child’s progress.
For the first day I cut my son a break and basically let him play his heart out because it was new. After that first day it fortunately has not been an issue how long he plays it for. My husband and I are really excited to have this for traveling, and for restaurants. It is small and easy to bring along. I think it is going to be a HUGE help for those times!
I’m really excited for them to have this to play with instead of my phone! All I have to say is thank goodness I put a protective cover on my phone, but it is basically a gamble each time it enters their small hands. I asked my son what he thought about the MobiGo and in his words “It’s great!” What more can you ask for really? Big Brother thoroughly enjoyed playing the MobiGo dressed up in his doctor Halloween costume from last year of course!Little Sister completed the trial for me, and convinced me to rate it a thumbs up when she lifted it over her head and smashed it on the floor and it worked just perfectly afterwards. Not that I recommend doing that or anything because I can’t guarantee it will turn out so well, but just saying as a parent reviewing a product that was major plus!If you looking for a birthday present, or dare I say it to get one holiday gift done and out of the way ahead of time, consider the MobiGo Touch Learning System.Here is where you can find MobiGo:To Learn More about MobiGo www.vtechkids.com/mobigoVTechToys Facebook Community www.facebook.com/vtechtoysFollow VTech on Twitter www.twitter.com/vtechtoysOr to Join Club VTech for Offers and Expertise www.vtechkids.com/club.cfmTo Buy:MobiGo is available nationwide at major retailers, as well as on amazon.com and vetch.com/mobigoIt is suggested for ages 3-8 and the SRP is $59.99 Some great news if you are interested in the product: If you go to ModernMom.com you can enter for a chance to win one of ten MobiGo systems! If you have any questions or thoughts about the MobiGo Touch Learning System let me know in the comments.Question of the day:It is time for me to make dinner, so I’m wondering...What is one of your favorite weeknight dinners?
Hi friends!I hope you all enjoyed the holiday JThis post is going to be short and sweet today because it is a long weekend for our family, and we are thoroughly enjoying it. My husband has actually been very productive getting things done this weekend, GO HUBBY!Are you ready to find out the winner of the Jumpstart Giveaway?!? The winner is:True Random Number Generator: 3 Powered by RANDOM.ORGTiernanMy kids love JumpStart. We have the CD-roms for preschool, K and 1st grade. They all love the reading games best. :-) Congrats Tiernan! I’m so glad you love Jumpstart! I think you and your kids will really enjoy Jumpstart.com I will send Jumpstart your info right away. I’m not sure if they are closed on Monday but I will let you know as soon as I hear back.Tiernan has a great blog Just Write, follow the link and you can check it out JHave a wonderful day, everyone!See you tomorrowQuestion of the day:Do you like Clamato Juice? Please share in the comments.
Recently Jumpstart.com contacted me to see if I would be interested in checking out and reviewing their online adventure, a place geared towards 3 to 10 year old kids to discover and learn. Our son does not spend a whole lot of time on the computer so I was curious as to how this computer based learning was going to go. The first few times using Jumpstart I did most of the navigating so we could visit as many different areas without being on the computer for too long. Jumpstart has done a very good job creating all sorts of different worlds for your own avatar that you can customize to visit!  Future Land Of all the places we did go to over several weeks our 4 year old was most drawn to the Enchanted Sanctuary. Here you find a dragon egg and take care of it until it hatches. Then you have to play, feed, and wash your dragon until it is ready to go to flight school. After flight school you can ride your dragon as it soars around. This was definitively the highlight because what is cooler to a 4 year old boy than a fire breathing dragon?! After a week or two I was amazed as to how well my son was able to navigate around using the mouse given he had very little previous experience. He even figured out how to get to some of the learning games and play them all on his own.Jumpstart.com provides different learning games with a variety of age ranges on them so you can easily select the best age appropriate ones. Memory games, numbers, and letter games were some of the ones we were doing, but there are math and language games for all ages as well!  Story Land - Number Games There are so many things to see and do on Jumpstart that we have only scratched the surface after a month of exploring it. There is not a day that goes by that our son does not ask to play. It has been not only a good tool for him to learn how to use the computer, but has been a big help turning learning into fun.  Daddy & Big Brother playing Jumpstart.com As far as our take on using technology to learn with our children, we feel that technology is going to be a very important part of their education, so we both embrace and manage it in an amount that we personally feel comfortable with. Parents can also visit the Jumpstart Blog, which is a great fast and effective way for parents to go and learn about new activities Jumpstart has to offer.We look forward to spending more time exploring Jumpstart and I think it is fair to say our son would recommend Jumpstart to everyone who will listen! ;-) Giveaway Time!I’m really excited that Jumpstart has given me the opportunity to give away a three month membership to Jumpstart.com to one of you for the children in your life, or a special gift for a kid you know and love. It is perfect for that extra time at home during the summer, for a rainy day, or a little quiet time.To enter simply leave a comment on this post, that’s it! Be sure to leave your email address in the comment form so I can contact the winner. Don’t worry your email address is completely private!The contest will be open for 1 week, and will close at 12 Noon PST on Sunday July 4th! The winner will be picked randomly using The True Random Number Generator on Random.orgCheck back Monday morning on the 5th of July to see who won.If you are interested in sharing this post or passing it along please feel free to do so!Have a wonderful week, everyone! JDisclosure: I was provided with a JumpStart membership at no cost by Knowledge Adventure in order to test the products’ abilities and give my own personal opinions on it. The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but were not influenced by the company or the free product provided.
Maple Leaf paired together with Matchstick - a Toronto based word of mouth marketing company that is a member of WOMMA (Word of Mouth Marketing Association) and put together the Maple Leaf Roundtable event. It was wonderful meeting so many lovely new people including my email buddy Sumaya from Matchstick, as well as Jeanette Jones Vice President, Communications for Maple Leaf and Sharon Beais Senior VP, Food Safety & Quality Assurance, and some fantastic Vancouver bloggers! Everyone was so warm and friendly, I immediately felt comfortable even though I did not know anyone prior to attending the event. The dinner was held at Quince Cooking School. It was a cute place. We started the evening with some mingling and appetizers. This appetizer included a slice of Maple Leaf’s Natural Selections Oven Roasted Turkey Breast. The re-sealable packaging on the Natural selections was a crowd pleaser. J One less baggie in the garbage is definitely a good thing!
Next we sat down and Sharon talked with us about Maple Leaf’s commitment to becoming a global leader in food safety as a result of what occurred in August, 2008 and the Listeriosis illnesses and tragic deaths that were linked to their products. What stood out most to me was the commitment Maple Leaf has made to become a transparent company, and in their words do what is right. They take the deaths linked to their products seriously and are looking to reach out to the community, admitting mistake, and wanting to do everything in their power to prevent an outbreak from re-occurring. We were able to learn about the length of what they have gone through as a company in terms of replacing $20 million in infrastructure, intensive cleaning practices, piloting new food safety programs such as Sistem, and working towards their goals of becoming GFSI and BRC certified. It is my hope that in their transformation they are successful in educating others, both individuals and companies, to be as safe with food as possible and prevent future deaths. While Sharon talked with us and answered the group’s questions we enjoyed a loaf of Dempster’s vacuumed sealed baguette. It was served with garlic, butter, and asiago cheese, yum!
We also learned about Maple Leaf’s Think Food program and the $12 million investment in their culinary division, rendering a stunning place to collaborate recipe testing.
For dinner we enjoyed Maple Leaf’s Prime stuffed chicken breasts. Here are a few group shots It was a great time and my favorite part of course was meeting such delightful people! Erica Co-Author of The Survival Guide for Rookie Moms and myself Naomi of Monkee Mama and Erica.
There are so many new blogs I look forward to checking out and sharing with you in the near future! Thank you for a fun evening Maple Leaf and Matchstick! Now, on to the giveaway!!! This giveaway bag that Maple Leaf has provided for one of you includes Dempster’s Baguettes in both white and multigrain, an apron, coupons, a digital meat thermometer (no more under or over cooking your food!), an apron, and my favorite part, the bag itself! It is a cute insulated bag great for helping keep food cold. I think you’ll enjoy using it this summer the next time you want to make sure the ice cream makes it home safe from the grocery store ;-)
To enter all you have to do is leave a comment!
Are you a Multigrain lover or is it White Bread that has your heart?
The giveaway will be open until 12 noon (Pacific Time) on Monday May 24, the winner will be picked randomly and will be announced first thing Tuesday morning, so be sure to check back and see if you have won!
I have absolutely loved the weather here lately. It is gorgeous! It makes me want to get my deck in order so I can spend some more time out there. For Mother’s Day I received some flowers that I put in pots on the deck. The colors really add to the beauty for me. Now I am feeling motivated to sweep and put chairs out so I can enjoy it more. Next week I have been invited to attend a special event, the Maple Leaf Foods Roundtable. It is an event put together by both Matchstick and Maple Leaf Foods. Matchstick is a Toronto based word of mouth marketing company that is a member of WOMMA (Word of Mouth Marketing Association). Invited to the event are a group of 25 female bloggers from the Vancouver area. This type of event is a first for me and I am really looking forward to meeting other local bloggers as well as the people from Matchstick and Maple Leaf Foods!The event is being held at Quince Cooking School which I have never been to before, and am thrilled about. I am really excited to see the school in person because taking a few classes at a cooking school has for as long as I can remember been something I wanted to do. Just a little bucket list item to learn more about food, and wine too!The theme of the event is food safety. In their words “Maple Leaf has made a deep commitment to becoming a global leader in food safety as a result of what occurred in August, 2008 and the Listeriosis illnesses and tragic deaths that were linked to their products.” Part of what is appealing about this event to me is that I think food safety is extremely important, and this has only heightened for me with having children. I have always been one to be careful when dealing with food, maybe sometimes too careful if that is possible. There is something about raw meat and I that don’t always get along. J It is definitely one of those silly things. I think I get grossed out a little too easily, so Hubby is usual there to help out in that department.Anyway, I am really hoping to learn some great information that I can pass on to you. One of my absolute favorite things about blogs is that it can work as an education tool. For example my friend Tina (whose blogs I totally ♥!) went to a food writing class- A Fresh Approach: Writing about Food and she passed along some great tips that she learned. Going to a food writing class sounds awesome to me and I love that even though I didn’t go to the class I was able to learn some of the best information just from reading her blog. I guess it is just the inner geek in me ;-)One of the great things about this event is that I will have the opportunity to ask questions directly to some of the Maple Leaf executives and food safety experts that will be in attendance. This is where I can really use your help!What questions about food safety or Maple Leaf’s commitment to it would you like answered? What happened is truly tragic, and really hard for me to imagine, but I do believe the most important thing a person, or company for that matter, can do in moving forward is learn from their mistakes, do better, and when possible educate others about it.I would love to go to this event ready to ask some great questions, and because more heads are definitely better than one it would mean so much to me to receive comments on this post with any questions that come to mind. At any time if you think of one- today, this weekend, or the beginning of next week I would love( I mean LOVE! J) for you to come back and post your questions.Thank you, friends!I hope you have a beautiful weekend!
Ready to find out what is in the box I received last week?! Any guesses?
I’ll give you a hint...
It was sent by
Have you ever experienced one of those times when you thought about something a lot, and then one way or another it somehow appeared in your life? That is exactly what happened to me with this showerhead. I kid you not!Here is how it happened. A few weeks ago we were out of town staying at a cute hotel we had never visited before. In the shower I noticed a hand-held showerhead with a hose. Silly or not, immediately I felt better about the cleanliness of the hotel shower. I try, try being the key word, not to think about it when traveling but I have heard a few too many hotel cleaning horror stories and it tends to stick with me. One time I heard someone say, in my mind it was none other than Martha, but don’t quote me on that because it was a long time ago and she is kind of the queen of clean in my head. The way to properly clean a shower is if hose allows the water to reach everywhere in the shower to spray it down. Ever since then I wanted a hand-held shower head with a hose. Being at the hotel and seeing one reminded me of that. On the way home in the car I was talking my husband’s ear off about how I would really like to get one for our home.The next day I received an email from Modern Mom saying they were looking for some members of their insiders club to review a product... A Waterpik Easy Select 5-Setting Hand-Held Showerhead! I was thinking NO WAY, SERIOUSLY?! I may be creative, but not creative enough to make this kind of stuff up. I had a big huge smile, and a little happy giggle. I was thrilled when Modern Mom sent a note saying it was on its way! And really excited to call my husband up and tell him that after all that talking about it on our trip we were going to have one of our own.The Waterpik shower head exceeded my expectations with 5 different settings. What can I say, sometimes the universe just dreams a bigger dream, ya know? My first impression before even opening it was that I liked how it had a large surface area.That and the words on the back. What can I say, I love the power and beauty words can carry, and treat yourself better sounded really good to me.I think my husband was pretty excited about it too, because he even offered to install it for me right away. That is a really nice offer from him because normally that is not the kind of thing he likes to do. This blog is a fun little chronicle of some of our improvements and victories along the way. I am sure I could have installed it myself, but there was NO WAY I was going to turn that offer down J!I mean someone had to keep an eye on The Doctors episode I previously recorded that day ;-) I am happy to report Hubby did open in the instructions, and he even look at them! I took a picture to capture the moment. Normally I’m chasing after him saying “did you look at these?”! J Installing the shower head was basically as simple as 1 2 3  Handsome Guy at Work  Breaking Out the Chair for a Little Extra Leverage  Voila – New Waterpik Showerhead installed!  Looking Good What we like about it:· It was truly easy to install. Hubby said the instructions were really good, and simple to understand. There was no “what does that mean?” I say that because that is normal for us with any type of home improvement or putting something together.· I love, love, love that it is attached to a hose!! That alone makes me feel like ‘I’m treating myself better’ because it makes cleaning the shower much easier and does a better job.· Also with it being on a hose it works really well to wash our young children’s hair. No more having to dump buckets over their head. You can put it on the water saver setting for a gentle spray. If your children are giving you a hard time with the bath you can distract them by easily changing the settings which they think is really cool. My son loves spraying himself and says that it tickles.· If you ever have a diaper explosion, like I have! Or if the kids are just covered in sand, mud or anything else little kids manage to get into, it is so much easier to clean them off using the hand-held shower head then trying to dump water on them and scrub with a cloth.· The power spray setting is great for removing the foam soap my kids love to play with in the tub.· For me personally I take showers both to get clean and relax. I rarely take baths anymore, so I enjoy the circular massage setting for a little more relaxation. It is a great excuse to take a little more time for myself ;-)· Also because some of my showers are at the end of the day to unwind I don’t always wash my hair each time. Some of the settings work well for focusing more on my back and not getting my hair as wet, which I like. So far the only thing I can think of that we liked more about our old shower head was that it was easier to point to different spots in the shower if you weren’t doing the handheld option that is. And honestly that is kind of a stretch because it isn’t hard to point the Waterpik either, just not quite as easy as our old one.We are really happy with the showerhead, and very much appreciate the opportunity to review it. Thank you Waterpik and Modern Mom! I want to take a moment to let you know that although I received the Waterpik Easy Select 5-Setting Hand-Held Showerhead from Modern Mom and Waterpik for review, this is my honest opinion. It is very important to me to be true to myself and honest when writing a review.
For relaxation do you prefer showers, baths, or both? Any questions about the showerhead you would like me to answer?
A while back on one of my favorite websites Modern Mom, which you guys have probably heard me mention before ;-) I saw a great tip under Lisa’s Must-Have.Lisa (one of the most caring, sweet, and helpful people by the way) mentioned joining Sephora Beauty Insider. When you sign up along with earning points for every dollar you spend, you get a free birthday gift! My birthday is right around the corner so I recently received an email from Sephora letting me know I could pick up my gift from a couple of weeks before my birthday to a couple after. I was so excited when a Sephora store recently opened up in my local mall. Now it is great practice for my will power shopping there. There are lots of things to love about Sephora, and I could easily spend hours looking around. Lucky for me my kids keep me grounded! J
Anyway, when I received my email as soon as I got the chance I rushed over there to pick up my free birthday gift.
Obviously, I LOVE it! All three things are awesome! I tried out the eye shadow, eye liner, and mascara right away and was a very happy girl! Oh how I love to cherish the little things in life. J And if I was as free and open with my feelings as my young children I probably would have started clapping. OK, so maybe I did a little happy dance but no one was looking ;-)It was super easy to sign up. I signed up online at Sephora’s website by clicking Sign Up For Sephora. Quick, easy, and you’ll be VERY glad you did when your birthday rolls around. And if your big day isn’t for a while yet, it will be a great surprise when that special email arrives. I love how the box even says Happy Birthday on it! Makes you feel special :-DThe size is perfect for travel too; if you are anything like me every little bit helps when trying to better your packing skills.Thank you so much for the tip Modern Mom Lisa! And thank you Sephora, I love it!
How often do you wear makeup?
· Everyday
· A couple of days a week
· Just on special occasions
· Never
How do you remember to bring your reusable bags shopping?
It took me about 1 full year to completely get into the habit of bringing my reusable shopping bags with me shopping. Now finally, after all that time I am happy to report it is a habit, one that I don’t have to think too much about.
1 year is a long time, but it started out once in a while I would remember to bring the bags with me. After that I would have bags with me but forgot them in the car, and did not want to bother running back out to the car. Like most habits you want to change or form, it is a process but can be well worth it in the end.
There are several reasons I like using reusable bags. The obvious being it produces less waste. Our family already manages to produce enough garbage in our home between braking things, all the food and snacks, not to mention diapers and wipes. It sets a good example for my children. I am hoping because they are so young using reusable bags will be all they know so that they don’t have to work on it for a year like I did.
Another big plus is that reusable bags can carry more weight than plastic ones. I am one of those people that would rather have heavier bags to unload, than have to make more trips to the car. My husband often unloads the bags too, and he prefers that as well.
If this is a habit you would like to make you have to find a system that works for best for you. I tried leaving bags in my car but I would always forget to bring them in, so I decided I needed to come up with another way.
Start out slow. The first goal of mine was to remember the bags while grocery shopping because that was the biggest culprit of waste. I decided to work on other times after I got this one down. The system that worked well for me was to leave the bags in a visible spot in my garage. I walk through the garage to get to my car to do the shopping. Grabbing the bags at this time allowed me to place them in the front seat of my car, where I could easily see them to help me not forget to bring them into the store. Also having the bags in the garage made it easy to return them to their spot, because what good are they if they don’t make it back for the next time.
If leaving bags in your car isn’t working. Try leaving them in a location near the exit out of your home. An added bonus to forming this habit is that I get points at my local grocery store for using the bags, which can use to purchase other items, and I LOVE that!
Once I conquered the grocery shopping, I moved onto other shopping such as clothes, shoes, drug store and all the random times that are not necessarily planned out. For these times I leave to reusable bags in my purse that fold up small. It is great because that way they are always on me. If you don’t use a purse try putting them in your coat that you wear most frequently, and that will cut down on the times you are without one. Then remember after you unload them at home to put them back where they belong so you have them the next time.After forming this habit, I started to take it even further. Now I even use produce reusable bags. I got these bags free using points I had collected at the grocery store Save-On from using the other reusable bags. Also, when I can I love to use reusable bags as gift bags. The added bonus is a lot of the time they are even cheaper than gift bags. Often you can find them for $0.99. These are 2 of my favorites. One I found at Michaels, and the other Sears. When I come across a reusable bag I think is cute I buy a couple and store them for when I need a gift bag. You don’t want to have to spend time hunting them down last minute.
Making this habit has been work and a slow progression, but looking back I am happy I did it. Once the habit is formed it doesn’t take much thinking to keep it going.
Have you come across a reusable bag you are particularly found of, or think is cute? If so, where?
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