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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Kicking off the Holidays in Style with Momtrends

It’s been a yearly tradition to kick off my holiday season with my friends at Momtrends their Annual Holiday Soiree. This year, they celebrated their 5th annual event!

Nicole Feliciano, the trend-spotting and style savvy founder of Momtrends, has a true knack for gathering the most influential voices in the Tri-State and beyond. Every event is filled with fabulous brands and amazing products, and this year’s Soiree was no exception.

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Momtrends’ Holiday Soiree featured a myriad of brands who help make the season brighter, ranging from Cabi to Pom Wonderful.

Epson showcased their Ecotank printer that boasts high quality prints and photos, and an impressive printing capacity. Apparently, with this printer, you don’t have to change the tanks for 2 years! My blogger pals and I had a blast posing in the backdrop and we even took some Epson prints home!

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The Cabi fashion show was a highlight of the night. It was so lovely to see Cabi’s functional styles on real women, including my friend, Divina of DancingHotDogs.com. The cape and tailored skirt makes for a polished look for the holidays!

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Telaflora once again showcased their beautiful flowers, which would be perfect as centerpieces or hostess gifts. Among the beautiful red and white arrangements, I really loved the Peanuts collection!

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While hanging out with friends, we noshed on the various snacks dipped in Tessemae’s sauces and sipped on Pom-tinis. The all natural sauces from Tessemae’s has quite the back story. Some brothers began bottling the salad dressing upon realizing the true demand of their mom’s delicious recipes. Many years later, these dressings are available at Whole Foods, among other retailers.

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With pomegranates in season right now, it was great to taste various cocktails with this delicious fruit. After learning how to open this delicious fruit, I’m excited to include it in more recipes and snacks!

What are delicious beverages without containers to serve and transport them? I loved learning all about Igloo’s latest products, including that very cool party tub! As a major sports family, we use those Igloo coolers and containers incessantly!

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On to the baby and kid stuff:

I always love seeing my friends from Hasbro showcases their awesome toys. Hasbro was in the house and had their classic games to highlight. They have so many fun toys and games this holiday season, but it’s the classics that make family time so fun.

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I loved learning all about Bedgear and their very cool textile technology. This company makes waterproof crib sheets, wicking pillowcases, among other cool products. They were super cozy and perfect for napping after Turkey dinner.
 

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Perhaps one of my favorites of the night was Mudpuppy! As a kid product enthusiast, I loved the aesthetic and range of innovative books, games and other stationery product from Mudpuppy. IMG 0105

From the cool chalk board posters to the magnetic puzzle kits, I am totally smitten with this fabulous brand. And as luck would have it, I won a very generous prize kit from Mudpuppy as part of the evening’s raffle. Though I’m unlucky in so many other aspects, somehow, my luck balances out whenever I attend Momtrends’ events. So, thank you to the Momtrends team and to Mudpuppy for this awesome prize kit! After sharing a separate review on the products, I will be making a donation to the children’s hospital for kids to enjoy while receiving treatment.

Thank you, as always, to the Momtrends team for including me in such a lovely event. It’s always an honor to be included with so many smart and savvy women! Be on the lookout for more thorough reviews of more products spotted at the Holiday Soiree!

Stokke Strolls with Style into Spring

As the monochromatic shades of winter are starting to transition to a more vibrant color palette, baby and kid gear on the shelves and showroom floors are looking brighter and bolder. One of my all-time favorite baby brands, Stokke, per usual, is a leader when it comes to baby gear fashion and design.

 

The other week, Momtrends and Stokke hosted a blogger and editor event in NYC to showcase strollers that have a bit of Spring in their stroll. Nicole, the preeminent trend-spotter for all things fashionable for mom and kids, underscored the importance of researching and reviewing baby gear responsibly. As bloggers and editors, we get to see, and sometimes, experience the latest and greatest in gear.

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At this Spring event, we had the chance to check out fabulous new fashions for the Xplory, Stokke’s signature stroller.

 

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From softer pastels, polka dots to modern prints, Stokke’s fabrics for Spring and Summer are fresh and fashion-forward. I especially love the cool colors in the summer kit. My favorite Stokke Stroller, the Crusi, was out on display at the event as well. As a fan of this stroller’s open basket and ability to add a second seat, Crusi looked beautiful all decked out in the lighter palette. 

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The Scoot, known for its smaller stature and ability to collapse easily, looked chic in the pink and complementary polka dots.

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As a parent and consumer, well-designed and durable products have the most value in my home, especially when it comes to big ticket items such as furniture and strollers. Before my oldest was born, we invested in a Stokke Sleepi and have been super fans of the brand ever since. For more information about Stokke strollers and their latest fabrics, check them out online.

All photos are courtesy of Momtrends. A big thank you to Stokke, Nicole and the Momtrends team for having me at yet another beautiful event. 

Full disclosure: I received a generous gift bag for attending this event. However, all opinions on NKT are my own.

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.