A little sparkle!

I just finished thumbing through the December issue of In Style magazine. I love In Style. It's like aColes Notes for fashion. There is on thing that is abundantly clear this season...sequins are hot!!! Dressy sequins, casual sequins, black sequins, grey sequins, sequined scarves and even sequined tights...it's all out there and it's absolutely gorgeous.

Now, I've never fancied myself the sequins type, until I saw the most incredible sequined tunic up at DEW on Bayview. It's by one of my fave brands, Velvet! I first discovered Velvet at Anthropologie (of course) and have a few pieces. But I haven't had the guts to pull the trigger on one of their sequined designs. The price tags are hefty, and I'm not sure you can wear it more than once in the same crowd. To be truthful,  I don't roll in too many different crowds these days, so not sure sequins is the best bet for me. But I have to share with you the perfect Josie tunic by Velvet. I dream about it.

I wish Santa brought sequins in his sack!

Conversations with the kiddies!

Today Y auditioned for the Junior musical that the school is presenting in May. They're doing Annie. He decided that he wanted to audition for Daddy Warbucks...so who am I to discourage him? As it happened, the auditions for the grade four boys is on the same day as his appointment with the allergist, so he had to audition with the grade four girls. So it was Y...and five nine year old girls. Imagine. This is the conversation that took place right after his audition:

Mommy:How'd it go?

Y: Well, the singing part was good, and the girls all clapped, but I blew the reading part.

Mommy: Oh, I'm sorry...we should have practiced more, don't you think?

Y: Yeah...for sure, but I'm still really proud of myself for putting myself out there!!!

And I'm super proud of him too!!!

Buzzzzzzz....

I'm busy like a bee today, so no time for a long post. The Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle and coming to town and staying for the weekend. It's The Grandpa's 75th birthday, so we'll have a little celebration. Picking up a cake and preparing a "mixed-grill" for dinner. All meat from Grilltimeof course.  I'm thinking steak, ribs, chicken and maybe some grilled shrimp for appies. Nice, eh?

So until my next post, I will leave you with a link to a funny post by parenting expert Kathy Buckworth. The end of the first school term is upon us and with that comes report cards and parent-teacher interviews. Here's what Kathy has to say after attending these meeting for 14 years. And to any of my friends who I went to public school with, remember our "open concept" school?

X Rated

I love to snack. Savoury snacks are my favourite. Give me cheese and crackers any day over a sweet treat. But thanks to my Tim Tam obsession, chocolate has slowly been taking over my hips and my savoury tooth (is there such a thing)? Luckily I have gf's who  have come to the rescue and introduced me to new savoury delights that I can snack on during the day, and not feel guilty.  The worst part (well, one of the worst parts) of being a stay-at-home mom, is that your fridge is constantly there, staring at you, begging you to open it and pull out something delish. So, that something delish, also better be good for you (not Tim Tams) or you could find yourself in very big trouble.  Suddenly your Rock and Republics' are rockin' your muffin top! Enter Mary!

Mary's Organic Crackers are amazing. Not only are the wheat, gluten, nut, vegan-dairy free, but they taste fantastic.  Now, I can't give these to Y because they do contain soy beans and sesame seeds.  We're not entirely certain that he's not allergic to sesame and poppy seeds.  We'll keep him on Wheat Thins and Goldfish for the time being.  I had mine with yummy, garlicky hummus (my fave is Fontaine Sante).  The smooth hummus is the perfect compliment to the crispy cracker. But they are fabulous with soft cheese or even just on their own. So much healthier than a bag (or two) of chips!  Mary's Organic Crackers are available at Loblaw's and Sobey's.

 XXXXX - Out of 5

Ok...now I know that tortilla chips are hardly a new snack phenom, but I never really liked that taste of the standard tortilla chips. Most of the brands were heavily coated with salt and the flavour just didn't do it for me. I also went through a period where salsa bothered my stomach, but that's past. After eating off the floor (you know, stray Cheerios) for the past eight years, your stomach toughens up!  So now I'm totally turned on to Tostitos Organic Blue Corn Tortilla Chips. Not the Yellow Corn variety...the blue corn is where it's at. I like to dip them in salsa or even better, fresh guacamole. Yummy!  I wouldn't recommend melting cheese on these, the blue and orange just doesn't work together in this case.  know these tortilla chips are quite popular because they are often sold out at the grocery store.  So If they're in stock, pick up a few bags...and one for me!

XXXXX - Out of 5

Thanks to "The Heather's" for introducing me to these tasty, healthy snacks!

Somebody is already in the spirit!

Z drew a picture for me to post on Mommy X since Y had the chance to write a toy review for me. It's called Christmas Time.