Momtrends Holiday Soiree: Celebrating the Holidays in Style

The Holiday season is officially here, and what better way to kick it off than with friends and style. Last week, Momtrends hosted their annual Holiday Soiree, where, together with fellow bloggers and editors, I got a glimpse of some stylish gifts and entertaining ideas.

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Nambe offers a beautiful selection of gifts, including place settings, serving ware, jewelry and so much more. As a major silver fan, I fell in love with several of the rings. What I loved about Nambe’s offerings was that they look highend, yet at an attainable price range. I have this fun ring on my wish list!  

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Arizona Teas shared an array of 100% natural Good Brew teas. I kept going back for the delicious Lemon tea and Peach tea. The fresh taste of these teas are ideal for those who like iced tea all year round. 

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Avery as a perpetual DIYer, I loved absolutely everything that Avery was showcasing at the Soiree. While I loved the funny emoji labels that use the circle tags, I also love those square labels and gift tags. I plan on doing several DIY projects to showcase here on the blog, so keep your eye open for those fun gems.

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Mabel’s Labels is another one of my all-time faves and staples. Mabel’s Labels are the preeminent brand in personalized labels, so it’s no surprise that they have personalized gifts covered too. I’m definitely eyeing those personalized books. My little guy loves Paw Patrol, so we’ll have to ask Santa for those fun books. The stocking stuffer label set are my faves. I decided that I’m going to use those as labels for my nephews this year. Fun and functional!

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American Girl Doll has a beautiful lineup of classic dolls. Wellie Wishers are a popular segment that features a diverse cast of sweet dolls. I personally fell in love with the Asian doll, Emerson. Like the other gorgeous Wellie Wishers, Emerson is a lower price point at just $60.

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Avon always has a fantastic variety of makeup and other beauty products to pamper yourself or to save for gifts. Aside from Avon’s gorgeous palettes, these wonderful products are a great option for a home-based business. I loved learning how some people sell Avon to offset school expenses and other expenses.

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Armigami is a glamorous multi-function shawl that comes in a variety of fabrics and textures. It can be worn as a shawl over the shoulders, a cape, a bolero, a skirt and so much more. This unique shawl would be ideal for nights on the town to traveling to use in lieu of a blanket or coat. I was so fortunate to win the gorgeous black sequined Armigami which I can’t wait to wear to my community holiday party!

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I loved learning about Pearhead, a fun gift company that offers so many unique novelties, many of which can be personalized. IMG 2206In addition to baby  handprint gift sets, Pearhead offers pet gifts, ornaments, fun signs and even photo prop sets, which we had a blast trying out ourselves!

 

 

A big thank you to Nicole and the rest of the Momtrends crew for throwing another fabulous Holiday Soiree! Thank you to the sponsors for the generous gift bag, many of which were mentioned. Keep your eye out for my gift guide which will feature more items from these companies.

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Round Up: Fun Summer Goodies

Fun Summer Goodies
It’s been a busy summer over here, involving caring for more sick kids, taxiing everyone around and of course, having fun in the sun.  We’ve enjoyed playing outdoors from morning until night, and honestly, this heatwave going on in the tri-state area is the only thing that’s really kept us indoors since school let out.
So, I thought I’d share just a few of the many things we’ve been playing with (and coveting) this summer.  I’ll share more details about these favorites soon!
Have you been playing with anything cool?

Ralph Lauren Gang: Meet the Class of 2012

With Spring now in full bloom, it’s time to update the kids’ closets with warm weather clothes.  I’m always excited when we can finally replace the monochromatic shades of winter with a more colorful palette, full of weather-appropriate goodies.  And with Spring comes all the fun new fashion lineups, including those for the most fashionable kids!  Designers like Ralph Lauren have a penchant for outfitting the entire family with classic, yet versatile pieces, and that goes for the 2012 RL Gang Spring line.

Photo Credit: Momtrends

The line, which is out now, features classic pieces synonomous with Ralph Lauren’s Americana influence, and mixes it up with some edgy, girly or preppy flair.  Like many of the kids who wear these pieces, RL Gang reflects this diverse spectrum.  Whether it’s the tattered jeans, ruffled details or classic stripes that suits your kid, the expansive and super cute 2012 RL Gang Spring collection has it covered.

My favorites include the girl’s white blazer with pink detail and the boy’s dark denim paired with classic Polo stripes.

Because our entire family loves Ralph Lauren, I’ve mentioned RL Gang in the past; in fact, I posted about last year’s Spring debut. So, it was quite a treat to be invited to this year’s RL Gang Spring launch and video preview at Bloomingdale’s. The RL Gang Spring event was hosted by my friend, Nicole Feliciano of Momtrends, whom, I’m sure you know, is a style maven and fixture in the fashion front.

This was my first blog-related outing with both baby and big kid in tow, so it was quite fitting to preview this Spring line firsthand and meet some of the beautiful kids who comprise the RL Gang Class of 2012.  The precocious little girl, dubbed Willow and epitomizes Bohemian chic, approached the baby and me and made small talk.  I’m imagine she’s about four or five, and asked if she could carry the baby.  Even though I politely declined, I got a little chuckle out of it.

The big kid, who waxes poetic about being a movie star/model/rock star one day, enjoyed all the fun treats and rubbing elbows with his “peers” at the RL Gang Spring event; he even has his Flipbook to show for it.  To boot, one of the local tv news outlets, WPIX, was on hand to cover the event.  The boys and I made a super quick cameo at the very end!

Be sure to check out the Spring RL Gang and the adorable Class of 2012 online.

Harumika: for fashionistas in training

Do you have a budding fashion designer at home? At the Holiday Showcase, I spotted the perfect toy/activity for fashion-minded girls. Ban Dai has recently introduced Harumika, which is an activity set that allows girls to play fashionista with a dress form, stylus, swatches of stylish fabric and accessories.

Harumika

With the included stylus, girls can tuck and fold fabric into the dress form and accessorize as they please.  It’s so simple and the possibilities are endless.  I love that here’s no cutting involved, just pure imagination and creativity. It’s such a cool idea, I wish I had a set like this as a kid. We had fashion plates growing up, but Harumika is a fun way for girls to harness their creativity, and to use their hands to cultivate their designs and fashion ideas without all the mess.

Harumika
Harumika

Harumika comes in starter sets that are $10.99, and sets with many more accessories and options such as the Designer Dress Form Sets for $14.99; the Fashion Show & Go Sets for $19.99 and the Runway Showstopper Set for $39.99 (which includes a USB camera).

Harumika starter setLike many cool toys I noticed at the showcase, Harumika has an online and interactive presence. With the Harumika USB camera, you can upload images and have a runway fashion show! If your tween is all about being creative and into fashion, Harumika is definitely worth checking out!

Harumika can be found at Target and Toys “R” Us.

I have a really cute starter set up for grabs that I had the chance to check out for review! (The fabric set I have is different than pictured.)

Want it?

Please comment below and tell me the name of any of the Harumika products. Each product counts as an entry. If you choose to share on any social networking site, that counts for extra entries as well!