cirque du soleil dralion
Last night, my husband and I saw Dralion.
Breathtaking.
"Fusing the 3000 year-old tradition of Chinese acrobatic arts with the multidisciplinary approach of Cirque du Soleil, Dralion draws its inspiration from Eastern philosophy and its never-ending quest for harmony between humans and nature. The show’s name is derived from its two emblematic creatures: the dragon, symbolizing the East, and the lion, symbolizing the West."
It was incredible. Just incredible! Cirque du Soleil is always beautiful and Dralion is no different. I was in awe of the performers, literally gasping in amazement at what we were seeing! The music, the costumes – all of it was gorgeous. What a spectacular show!
If you're still looking for a last minute gift, Dralion tickets would be perfect – I highly recommend it as a date night! My husband and I had an amazing time! I didn't bring my girls, thinking they were too young, but there were kids their age (8 or so) sitting in front of us and they loved it! Next time Cirque du Soleil comes to town, I'd love to bring the whoel family.
disclosure: i received tickets to dralion to facilitate this review. as always, all opinions are mine.
photos curtosey of Cirque du Soleil – as photography is not permitted during Cirque du Soleil performances for the safety of the performers.
4 days and counting…
holy cow, its christmas week
As someone who is still writing 2009 on her checks, this has come as a bit of a shock.
Seriously, WHERE DID DECEMBER GO?
My kids are crazy excited! Colin has taken to walking around the house singing (to the tune of Jingle Bells):
"Christmas Song,
Christmas Song,
Christmas, Christmas SONG!
Christmas, Christmas, Christmas, Christmas,
Christmas, Christmas CHRISTMAS!!!!!!"
Which – while it can get annoying – it is better than the alternate version, which is:
"Underwear,
Underwear,
Under, Under-wear!
Under, Under, Under, Under, Under, Under-WEAR!!!!!"
He just had a concert at church, which he REFUSED to go up on the stage for. So he sat next to me and sang every song from our seat. SO cute! Look:
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So this weekend, we bought a car! (Yeah, we were surprised too!)
We knew we needed a new car and were planning to buy one next year, but an amazing deal came up and my husband's car was really dying and it was a great deal and blah blah blah… TA DA!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Merry Christmas to us!
inspiration – 12.19
Then let us all with one accord
Sing praises to our heavenly Lord
That hath made Heaven and earth of nought
And with his blood mankind has bought.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel!
-The First Noel
the best gift i ever gave
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This was a hard one for me: The BEST gift I ever gave. I love giving people gifts. I love figuring out what to get them, I love surprising them, the whole process is so fun to me. I just can't narrow it down – there have been so many memorable gifts. eBay has been a good friend to me as I've tracked down hard to find items and my siblings and I have banded together to pull off a few showstoppers for my mom (including borrowing her own van to pick up the couch we got her – and it was still a surprise!)
But one of my favorite gifts I ever gave, is also one of the favorite gifts I ever got. About 6 years ago, I got my beloved KitchenAid Mixer. If the house was on fire and I could save only one appliance, it would be this one. I was thrilled. My sister was so jealous – we both really love cooking and baking.
Well, the next year, my mom found an amazing deal on KitchenAid Mixers. So she sent out an emergency email – all of us banded together and bought her the mixer. She had NO IDEA this was coming. I remember her saying something along the lines of "What on earth is in this huge box?" Then she ripped off the paper – and screamed:
(By the way, this wins the prize for Best Gift Opening Shot. EVER!)
Truly pulling off a surprise – getting someone something they really want without them figuring it out ahead of time is super hard! I think we've only pulled it off a few times… with this mixer, with the couch for my mom. I think I've only surprised my husband once – I'm terrible about keeping presents secret. I just get so excited and I let things slip! So the element of surprise is certainly key in my mind to pulling off an amazing gift giving experience!
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disclosure: I was selected for this sponsorship by Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity.
fashion friday: tiny sweetness
When my first baby was born and we heard those lovely words "Its a girl!" I had visions of little pink dresses dancing in my head! And wouldn't you know, two of my very favorite outfits we were given were from Ralph Lauren. They were so sweet! And they endured my first child, then my second and are now working their way through my four nieces. I've found that Ralph Lauren pieces are so well made and durable that they last through all babies can dish out!
As a Ralph Lauren Mombassador, I just got some adorable pieces in the mail from Ralph Lauren layette collection. Whether you are shopping for a niece or nephew, a friend or a grandbaby, you'll hardly be able to resist these adorable pieces!! Ralph Lauren has so many terrific gifts, it will be hard to choose.
I love this Cotton Cable Hat and Bootie Set so gorgeous! Its sturdy and warm in soft, hearty cabled cotton – luxurious, but still practical enough for everyday. (Plus its machine washable!)
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And the Snap-Front Footed Coverall is simple darling! A long-sleeved footed coverall in soft cotton jersey is crafted in an easy snap-front design with essential fold-over cuffs (essential for protecting baby from those sharp newborn nails!) Wouldn't this make a precious baby picture?
This Rugby Coverall Gift Set is too cute!!
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And how about this darling little polo dress??? You can even have it monogrammed! Too cute!
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Did you have any baby gifts that were special to your heart?
If you did a fashion post today, link on up!
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Don't forget, most of our week of giveaways are ending today at noon!! Be sure to enter!
disclosure: I am a participant in a Mom Central Consulting campaign for Ralph Lauren and received a Ralph Lauren Baby Layette set to help facilitate my review.
aboutone – online family management for busy families *giveaway*
**giveaway is now closed! congratulations to our winner, comment #4, Kellyn!**
Are you a busy busy family who has trouble getting and staying organized?
(Did anyone NOT raise their hand?)
If so, let me introduce you to AboutOne.
AboutOne is an online family management system with a touch of magic. It is one place that is accessible anytime, anywhere from any device. In just seconds you can store, secure, and manage what matters most: precious memories and household information.
I don’t know about you, but I need all the help I can get! I can’t wait to see how AboutOne will help me manage our 5 busy schedules and zillions of pieces of information we need to keep our household running!
How would you like to win a one year membership to AboutOne? Well, you can! Here’s how to enter:
Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment telling me you need help!
Extra Entry #1: Leave a SEPARATE comment telling me you subscribed to Girlymama’s feed by email or in a reader.
Extra Entry #2: Leave another comment telling me you became a Girlymama Facebook fan!
Extra Entry #3: Leave another comment telling me in what way you promoted this contest (i.e., posting about it on your blog or Facebook, or Tweeting about it.
Contest ends Friday, December 17th at noon. Entries such as “Enter me” or “I want to win” will NOT be counted. Winners will be selected by Random.org, announced back here on this post, and notified via email with further instructions. If I don’t hear from the winner in 48 hours, I will be choosing a new winner.
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This giveaway is a part of the Holiday Extravaganza Digital Campaign, sponsored by Playmobil. To learn about more opportunities to win these prizes with other participating bloggers, click here to head over to the Holiday Extravaganza Facebook page.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Playmobil. I received one of the product I am giving away to facilitate this post and was compensated for my time in running this giveaway. As always, all opinions are my own. Prizes will be sent directly from the company giving away the item. Christmas delivery is not guaranteed.
rice krispie treat holiday challenge *$100 gift card giveaway*
**this giveaway is now closed! congratulations to our winner, comment #65 – Heather!**
Around the 4th of July, I was involved in a recipe challenge with Rice Krispies and the Motherhood.com. I had a great time (as did my kids who LOVE Rice Krispie Treats almost as much as their mama), so when Rice Krispies asked me if I'd be interested in a holiday recipe showdown, I was in!
Our challenge this time around was to create a "holiday Rice Krispies Treats show-stopper recipe."
Gulp.
The kids and I put our heads together and talked about what our favorite holiday treats were. Candy Canes was topping the kids' list. But for me… my favorite holiday treat is a Starbucks Peppermint Mocha. The first time I see that on the menu board, I know that the holidays have truly arrived! And I will use any excuse – ANY – to snag one while they're in season. I may or may not have had one just this afternoon. (Ahem.)
So, I'd like to present…
Peppermint Mocha Treats
4 tbsp butter
1 bag mini marshmellows
8 oz chopped semisweet chocolate (chips are fine)
1 tbsp strongly brewed coffee
6 cups Rice Krispies
3/4 cup Andes creme de menthe baking chips
I brought these babies to church on Sunday for coffee hour piled high on a hige plate. Everyone who saw them (sitting next to the big plate of boring old regular Rice Krispie Treats I had also brought) and they were like, "WHAT are THOSE?!?" And, not to toot my own horn, but people were RAVING about how good they were. The plate was empty in minutes and I had to promise to bring back more next Sunday for people who missed out.
So what is more fun than Peppermint Mochas and using Christmas as an excuse to eat Rice Krispie Treats for breakfast? Well, how about your chance to win a $100 Visa Gift card? Simply leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite way to eat Rice Krispies Treats!!
THEMOTHERHOOD HOLIDAY RICE KRISPIES TREATS EXCHANGE BLOGGER GIVEAWAY
Abbreviated Rules. No Purchase Necessary. Begins no earlier than 12:00:00 AM (ET) on 11/29/10 and ends no later than 11:59:59 PM (ET) on 12/21/10. For complete Official Rules, go to http://web.mediacdt.com/docs/motherhoodholiday
Open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or older at time of entry. Subject to complete Official Rules. Void where prohibited. Sponsor: TheMotherhood; www.TheMotherhood.com
disclosure: This post and contest are sponsored by Rice Krispies and the Motherhood.com. I was compensated for my time in writing this post and running this giveaway. As always, all opinions are my own.
tassimo T20 *giveaway*
**giveaway is now closed! congratulations to our winner, #27 – Megan!**
On to the next giveaway!
Remember a week or so ago when I said I needed a Starbucks in my house?
Well, I now have one. Meet my new best friend:
This is the new Tassimo Hot Beverage System
The Tassimo T20 is so cool – it makes coffee, tea, cappuccino, latte, crema, espresso and hot cocoa in about one minute. And it uses unique bar code technology allows the brewer to read a bar code on each T disc and deliver a tasty cup each and every time. Each T disc's bar code signals to the machine the optimal amount of water and temperature required.
How did I get one? Well, I was here at the Holiday Extravaganza when EVERYONE there got a Tassimo T20!!
(I'm not in the video – I was standing next to the girl taking the video!)
How would you like to win a Tassimo T20 Hot Beverage System? Well, you can! Here's how to enter:
Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment telling me who you'll give the T20 to this holiday (giving it to yourself is totally valid 😉
Extra Entry #1: Leave a SEPARATE comment telling me you subscribed to Girlymama's feed by email or in a reader.
Extra Entry #2: Leave another comment telling me you became a Girlymama Facebook fan!
Extra Entry #3: Leave another comment telling me in what way you promoted this contest (i.e., posting about it on your blog or Facebook, or Tweeting about it.
Contest ends Friday, December 17th at noon. Entries such as "Enter me" or "I want to win" will NOT be counted. Winners will be selected by Random.org, announced back here on this post, and notified via email with further instructions. If I don't hear from the winner in 48 hours, I will be choosing a new winner.
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This giveaway is a part of the Holiday Extravaganza Digital Campaign, sponsored by Playmobil. To learn about more opportunities to win these prizes with other participating bloggers, click here to head over to the Holiday Extravaganza Facebook page.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Playmobil. I received one of the product I am giving away to facilitate this post and was compensated for my time in running this giveaway. As always, all opinions are my own. Prizes will be sent directly from the company giving away the item. Christmas delivery is not guaranteed.