Girls’ College Reunion Part 3

So, after a fabulous arrival day at the W Scottsdale, it was priority numero uno to hit the pool first thing Saturday morning.

And what a pool we had:

Oooh ahhh.

We heard the W pool can be a little busy on Saturdays, so we had a daybed reserved.  This turned out to be the best idea ever.  We could all sit comfortably from our perch and watch the scene around us.  I have to say, simply for pure people-watching enjoyment, this pool was perfect.

My awesome husband sent the champagne and orange juice (for Mother’s Day) and we all got to enjoy!  What could be better for a girls’ weekend than mimosas by the pool?!

Yes, this is me, braving a picture in a bikini so you can see the daybed!

This was before all the people showed up!  Every one of the cabanas behind us was filled.

We had a great day at the pool, chatting and getting caught up on the last 10 years.  Wow, it flew!

After cleaning up that evening we did a quick happy hour in the Living Room at the W:

It was a great, quiet place to relax before heading out to dinner.

The setting for dinner that night was The Old Town Tortilla Factory.  This place rocked.  It had tons of outdoor seating in the a scenic patio.  Even more importantly, it had perfect margaritas – no mix, with fresh lime juice – in generous portions!   The menu had great options and one of our gals is gluten-free and they even had a special menu just for her.

We made it an early night after dinner as some of the group was sadly, flying home early the next morning.  And because it was Mother’s Day that next morning, I decided it was the perfect time to hit the spa:

And yes, it was just as peaceful as it appears in the photo.  Especially on a Sunday morning!  The atmosphere (music, lighting and all) was perfect and I got an unbelievable facial.  I had never been to a Bliss Spa before and have to say that I will definitely try to visit more as soon as possible!

As for the W Scottsdale, they certainly took their Whatever/Whenever policy seriously: they arranged for umbrellas at the pool, fans for the rooms and anything else we could think of (one of our gals said she had friends request a bucket of snow and they actually got it)!

And then, it was time to return to the airport and get back to reality after a great weekend.  But I was pretty excited to see my family!

Scottsdale College Reunion Part 2

The Girls’ Reunion Weekend really felt like it started when I got an awesome pre-trip email from the W Scottsdale.  I loved that it had the weather for the weekend, links to info we may need, and all the happening events.  That saved me some time searching.

A few of us arrived early, having left Denver very early Friday morning. . . as in 6am early.  We planned it that way to maximize pool time and it worked beautifully.  We hopped off the plane at 9:30am and met up with another gal arriving from New York.  We then jumped in a cab and were in front of the hotel in 20 minutes.  So far, perfect.

I have to say that the W Scottsdale lived up to every claim and description I had heard.  The decor was super sleek and funky while still being very comfortable and plush.  We got two rooms for the 6 of us, so 3 to a room.

A pic of our awesome digs:

And no, there was no jumping on the beds or pillow fights, but we did enjoy these fabulous rooms!

The Scandle Body Candle & Giveaway!

I like to try to do something fun on Wednesdays here, since . . . well, it’s Wednesday.   That is why I am thrilled to present you with the Scandle Body Candle!   Woot!

Let me tell you all about it: the Scandle Body Candle is a massage lotion candle.  It begins as a soy candle that melts into body lotion or a massage lotion.  It  is all-natural and vegan.  The candle melts at 2 degrees above body temperature, so it is the perfect temp to go on skin.  It can also  be used for mani/pedis as it is rich with Vitamin E.

All-Natural Body Care Using Grape Seed

If you area looking for some great natural body care products, you have to check out SEED Power Body Care, a grape seed enriched body care

I love the story behind them: A husband and wife decide they want to detoxify their lives while in the process of trying to get pregnant.  After being disappointed with the natural body care products available, they decided to launch their own brand that was reasonably priced and widely available.

Why base the line on grape seed?  Each tiny little grape seed is naturally rich in Vitamin E, a potent mix of antioxidants, and beneficial essential fatty acids, all known for healthy skin benefits.

In addition to an entire unscented line (for those of you with sensitive skin or that just want to avoid fragrance), the have an ultra-cool product: their grape seed enriched conditioning hair shampoo bar.  Not only does this remove the need for a big plastic bottle, but it is easily transportable and lasts a long time.   Hello travel shampoo.  No ounce restrictions and no worrying the bottle will leak.

Good news! Get $1.00 off any SEED item purchased now until 6/15 here.  Plus if you join the SEED mailing list between now and Mother’s Day you will be automatically entered for a chance to win the entire SEED collection for you and your mom (or anyone else you choose) packaged in a limited edition wooden SEED box!

TravelKiddy BusyKiddy Giveaway!

I have talked about how much I love TravelKiddy before.  They have tons of  great products to keep your darling children occupied during road trips, airplane rides and even in restaurants.

Check out BusyKiddy:

The BusyKiddy contains an assortment of small toys and activities to keep kids busy, plus wipes, tissues, and bandages all packaged in a lunch bag with a mesh side pocket for storing a bottle of water or sippy cup.

A view of the super-cool lunch bag:

This bag is truly perfect to have on stand-by in the car for those times when you need fun activities to keep your kids busy and happy!  Great for the impromptu coffee meeting, dinner out, etc.  I have needed this on multiple occasions – giving my son candy to keep him busy tends to backfire!

The BusyKiddy includes:

• Lime green insulated lunch bag
• 3 hand wipes
• Bandages
• Tissues
• Jumbo activity pad
• Wikki Stix
• Eversharp pencil
• 16 count Crayola crayons in a durable container
• 6 sheets of stickers
• 4 sheets of create a scene stickers
• 2 small animals
• Die cast stock car
• Stuffed animal – reptile

And you good news: you can WIN one! Just leave a comment below before midnight on Monday, May 3rd.

Want extra entries?

• Fan us on Facebook and let us know here
• Subscribe to this blog

Of course, if you already are a fan or subscriber, let us know!

Check out the other amazing TravelKiddy products here.

Travel Kiddy: Make Traveling with Kids Easier!

We all know Spring Break ’10 is right around the corner and many of us have travel plans on the docket.  Let me introduce you to Travel Kiddy, the maker of pre-packed activity kits for children of all ages.   They are perfect for long plane rides (especially those that include a layover!) or road trips.  Treat your kids to something new and interesting when they travel.

These wonders are not just thrown together – they have been researched and tested by a mother of four that lived in Hong Kong for a while.  Just imagine that plane ride!

There is the ToddlerKiddy:

The MiniKiddy designed to fit in your purse (great for restuarants):

The BathKiddy:

And their new Outdoor FunKiddy:

The Outdoor FunKiddy is perfect for a trip to the park, or just something new for the kids in the backyard.

Check out all Travel Kiddy has to offer on their website.  Use code TK5 for $5 off your order of $50 or more!

Learn Spanish for Free

Photo by seiho

For years, I have been attempting to resurrect my high school/college Spanish.  Upon graduating college, I entered an intensive Mandarin Chinese program and it wiped my Spanish memory completely clean.  Turns out, Chinese and Spanish don’t compliment each other very well.

And then I married a Spanish guy.  Go figure.  Chinese is out, Spanish is back.  I am failing miserably.  As a mom, I don’t have time for classes and I have found different versions of the DVD tutorials to be confusing.  I did some searching and found this website: www.studyspanish.com.  While not interactive, it has tons of free resources to learn verbs and verb tenses, pronunciation and grammer.  There is even an entire section dedicated to the por vs. para (for vs. for) dilemma.  All for free!

Check it out! It is also great for kids that want another resource for Spanish.  www.StudySpanish.com

10 Ways to Cut Your Travel Budget

Image from Flickr by malias

Check out this article from the New York Times: 10 Ways to Cut Your Travel Costs This Year.  They outline some great new resources you may not have thought of and suggest things like signing up for a Twitter account, using services like Yapta and Farecompare.com.   Also included are other websites that will help you find the cheapest days to fly.

They also take a look the cost of home rentals vs. hotels and even taking the bus.  Check it out, it is definitely worth the read!

Summit on the Summit – Win a PUR Water Filtration Pitcher!

Do you take our abundant supply of drinking water for granted?  I know I do.  As I watch my son play in the tub, I often think about the lack of water around the world.  The quality of the water we bathe him in is better than the drinking water many people (OVER 1 billion) around the world have access to. Isn’t that amazing?

To raise awareness about the need for clean drinking water, as well as to raise funds for clean water programs in the developing world, PUR Water Filtration and P&G Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program are taking climbers on a week-long summit of Africa’s tallest mountain: Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Taking part in the climb are Kenna, Jessica Biel, Alexandra Cousteau, Emile Hirsch and many others.

I also happen to be in LOVE with the interactive expedition website: Summit on the Summit.  Get involved, climb with one of the climbers, follow their Twitter feed (@SOTSK), check their elevation and more!

In addition, PUR is giving away a PUR Filtration Pitcher to one lucky reader.  Just leave a comment by midnight, Monday, January 11th, 2010.  A winner will be chosen using Random.org on the 12th.

Good Luck!

Congrats to Courtney @ Cooking Up a Family!  You are the winner of the PUR pitcher!

Download Children’s Books to Your iPhone

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I was on a flight with my son and realized I needed to put some 2 year-old friendly content onto my iPhone.  The weather app was getting old.   I had previously downloaded a few Backyardigans episodes, but wanted something else to keep his interest.  My immediate thought: I wish there were some children’s stories I could download onto my phone.  Well, turns out, there are.

PicPocket Books offers picture books for kids as downloadable iPhone/ iPod touch apps. Children ages 2-8 can now enjoy their favorite stories on the go—at the doctor’s office, at the store, on the airplane; any situation where it’s impractical to bring physical books along. PicPocket Books offer a new and unique experience, combining the beauty and distinctive quality of picture books with professionally produced audio narrations and interactive visual text.

Such a great idea!  My son was absolutely captivated by the Monster Trucks book ($0.99 on iTunes)

See all PicPocket Books on iTunes.

I Can Do It Too!

What a great thing to arm yourself with before you hop in the car or on a plane to your next holiday destination!