You may recall our little toy drive we did last year with some help from our friends at Old Spice. Our drive was successful and we were able to make a nice toy donation to our local Head Start program.
This year, we have decided to give back in multiple ways, including adopting a family, donating to different programs, volunteering our time, and more.
If you are looking to give back in your community this holiday season, there are so many way you can do so. Check with your local volunteer center for any opportunities they might have available, perform random acts of kindness, or ring bells for the Salvation Army.
All of us spend a great deal of time in our kitchens and bathrooms. Yet, it is these areas in our homes that are often neglected. Does it not make sense to create an environment that is conducive to comfort, efficiency, and inviting to guests? Home improvement may not be at the top of the to-do list that is attached to the refrigerator door with a magnet, and finances may be part of the reason, so why not start thinking about treating yourself with that income tax refund to some home improvements. Let’s take a look at some ideas.
A great place to start researching ideas for home improvement projects is your computer or mobile device. Your ideas do not have to be limited to bathroom and kitchen home improvements at this site as they also offer ideas for new home construction, room additions, and the like.
Assuming you are ready to remodel your kitchen, the process involved begins with a decision on what style you prefer. Sites such as HGTV help you navigate through the options available to the discerning kitchen connoisseur who knows what they want as they prepare each meal and entertain family and guests. Sites such as this one not only offer plenty of photos to give the reader the visual, also equally important they educate you on the finer details of kitchen design and style.
I value the comforts of my bathroom, and I know you do as well. How efficient is your bathroom design, and is it inviting to you, your family, and guests? If you have doubts to the answer to these questions, why not take a look at a site for ideas to stir your imagination for a more inviting, comfortable, and efficient bathroom design. This Southern Living site offers the reader, similar to the other aforementioned sites, a variety of home improvement ideas to research with not only great photos but also educational information so the home owner can be armed with both ideas and facts.
Image Courtesy of oldenbuzz.com
Most people do not make a decision to remodel part of their home in one day and then the following day pay a contractor to begin the work. The efforts of putting careful thought and consideration into the decision’s that will be made concerning your home will pay dividends through the years as you enjoy the remodelled parts of your home.
Get ready to pack up the kids and head to the West Towne Mall for some larger-than-life fun!
On Friday, November 13th, West Towne Mall and Fisher-Price will be unveiling their brand new Toy Box play area with larger-than-life-Fisher-Price toys and characters including brands like Thomas & Friends™ and Little People®.
I’m so stinkin’ jealous! I would kill for something this fun at our mall!
This life size toy box will be in the JCPenney Wing and the opening celebration will kick off at 11am with a ribbon cutting ceremony and a special appearance from Santa Claus.
West Towne Mall is the first mall in the country to debut the new toy box with other locations to follow.
Kids are sure to have a blast playing in the toy box while taking a quick break from shopping.
The Fun Continues!
The fun continues on Saturday, November 14 for Family Fun Day!
Between 10am to 2pm enjoy music and games by Musical Memories, balloon animals with Funny Faces, party games with Build-A-Bear Workshop, meet & Greet Sofie and Eddie from The Little People, enter-to-win fabulous prizes and much more!
When you have a family as large as ours, you tend to stock up when things are on sale or you shop at wholesale stores and buy in bulk. Buying in bulk is something that we do quite often and also something we wouldn’t be able to do without our local Costco.
For years, I have wanted a Costco here in Green Bay and I was beyond thrilled when we finally got one almost two years and I know I’m not the only one who was excited!
About Costco
Costco, first opened in 1976 under the Price Club name, was in a converted airplane hangar on Morena Boulevard in San Diego. Originally serving only small businesses, the company found it could achieve far greater buying clout by also serving a selected audience of non-business members. With that change, the growth of the warehouse club industry was off and running. In 1983, the first Costco warehouse location was opened in Seattle. Costco became the first company ever to grow from zero to $3 billion in sales in less than six years. When Costco and Price Club merged in 1993, the combined company, operating under the name PriceCostco, had 206 locations generating $16 billion in annual sales.
Costco Comes to the Fox Valley
The great thing is that Costco is expanding in the Fox Valley with a new store opening in November in Grand Chute. To help celebrate the new store, Costco was kind enough to send us some of our favorite Kirkland Signature products. Within the past 20 years, the Kirkland Signature brand has evolved and grown to include more than 300 quality products, with many more to come!
Whenever we visit Costco, you can bet our cart is overflowing with these items and many more to keep everyone in our house happy and to ensure we have a nice stock at home for those inconvenient moments you usually run out. We really like to avoid those moments.
What We Love About Costco
Yes, there are other wholesale stores we could visit however we choose Costco for a variety of reasons and one of those is that they have a larger selection of the items we prefer to purchase. Costco has a beautiful product section, amazing cuts of meat, delicious baked goods and so much more! Another one of the things we really, really love about Costco is how clean it is every time we visit the store.
As a mom, I’m always looking for fun contests to enter that could be fun for our family to enjoy. I don’t spend hours chasing down contests, but when something fun pops up in my newsfeed on Facebook, in my email, or I see something on Twitter, I usually check it out and enter. I’ve even been lucky and won, more than once!
When a Prehistoric Adventure
Here’s a fun promotion that has an upside for both parents and kids. Sun-Maid is collaborating with Disney Pixar to celebrate their new film, The Good Dinosaur, in theaters November 25th and healthy snacking with Sun-Maid Raisins.
Feed Your Little Dinosaur a Healthy Snack This Thanksgiving and Enter for a Chance to Win a Trip to the Premiere of The Good Dinosaur.
Sun-Maid is giving away 5,000 pairs of movie tickets to your local theater to see The Good Dinosaur and three trips for two to Los Angeles for the premiere of the film.
Here’s how you enter to win:
For a chance to win one of the three trips to the Los Angeles premiere, go to Sunmaidoffer.com from October 12th through November 3rd and fill out the entry form.
For a chance to win one of the 5,000 pairs of movie tickets, go to the same web page (Sunmaidoffer.com) through the end of the year. You can enter up to once a day!
Disney Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur takes viewers on an epic journey into the world of dinosaurs where an Apatosaurus named Arlo makes an unlikely human friend, Spot. The heartwarming tale is full of Pixar’s signature heart and humor. And a box of Sun-Maid Raisins is a timeless snack that delivers good nutrition in a fun way!
You may also want to click on this this link to check out some healthy, dino-themed recipes Sun-Maid has created: Caveman Crunch Mix; Apple Raisin Mammoth Muffins; and T-Rex Raisin Oatmeal Cookies.
So, nourish your kids’ brains and bodies this fall with Sun-Maid Raisins, and don’t forget to see The Good Dinosaur, in theaters November 25th!
