Valentine’s Day is a fun day for all ages. Here are some great crafts to keep the kids busy and having fun in the theme of Love, Hearts and Valentine’s Day. Watch the video to see all the fun and then below I’ve included the links so click on the photo to see how to make everything.
xoxo
Thank you for all of your support this year with our all new ATS store and the relaunch of our website! Be on the lookout for many more additions to it in the new year.
Merry Christmas!
If you love travel and learning about other cultures as much as we do, here are some videos we made about how other countries celebrate Christmas. How to say it in many languages and what Santa Claus is called around the world.
Merry Christmas!
Today I made my daughter a red velvet Christmas dress with bubble sleeves and combined it with her red satin Elf/Gnome hat I made her last week.
I sew with Brother machines and needed both sewing and overlock machines (with wooly nylon) to make this happen properly. The bubble sleeves were really fun to make and this was my first time working with stretch Velvet which sewed better than I thought. It didn’t slip and slide nearly as bad as expected. It has amazing twirl factor which she loves. She is ready for Christmas & her new job on Santa’s team as his stylish little elf!
Merry Christmas!
One of my favorite places this time of year is a 40 year old chocolate factory in Las Vegas, NV (actually about 15 min away in Henderson) called Ethel M Chocolates. While you can have their sweets delivered (see their website) but the best part about them in my opinion is that you are allowed (for free!) to tour their factory in a self guided tour. You can see them actually making the chocolates by hand and at the end of a tour recieve a free sample. They have a cafe for lunch but they also have the largest Cactus Garden in the Southwest United States (over 3 acres!).
The company was started by the son of Ethel Mars (yes, of Mars and M&M candy) who moved to Las Vegas and opened his own company. During the holidays, they light up the Cactus Garden and have a walking tour throughout with music, hot cocoa and even Santa Claus (please check their website/social media as things are constantly changing due to the pandemic). Their chocolates make a wonderful Vegas souvenir for yourself or others and I find it to be one of Las Vegas’ hidden gems.
It is a must see on any trip!
xoxo
Every year on Thanksgiving after the food is done and socializing over, families look for a great movie they can all enjoy. Here are a list of movies for all different ages (with ratings included) and IMDb links to learn more. Have a wonderful holiday and remember how much everyone has to be Thankful for always.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Pocahontas (G)
Turkey Hollow (PG)
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (R)
Free Birds (PG)
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (G)
You’ve Got Mail (PG)
Home For The Holidays (PG-13)
The Blind Side (PG-13)
The New World (PG-13)
For my daughter’s 3rd birthday and trip to Walt Disney World (our favorite) she asked me to make the two different dresses Belle wears in Beauty and The Beast. I love to sew but this is a major project for any seamstress. I try to make her something for every trip to Disney but this was a bit extreme. Through Etsy I found two different pattern makers to make (what I call) Belle’s Blue Dress and Belle’s Yellow Dress.
The Blue Dress I purchased was just the pattern with written instructions which was somewhat difficult. It’s a wonderful pattern with good instructions. The dress is finely tailored and absolutely beautiful. It was designed by PaperScissorsFrocks who makes amazing costumes and turned out exactly like the film.
The Yellow Dress (a lifetime sewing goal for me) was designed by Marina at Frocks And Frolics who has not only a great pattern and written instructions but an academy as well online with broken down instructional videos for each section. It was so much fun to watch and make. I honestly can’t wait to make my next one with her. Even the Epcot Akershus Princesses and everyone at the Be Our Guest restaurant at Magic Kingdom complimented her dress and she was so proud. The finished product was exactly what she dreamed of and we couldn’t be happier!
I even ended up making a matching bib from another pattern (Yuzu & Pear that I altered) so we didn’t ruin her beautiful dress while eating all her birthday treats at Walt Disney World for our Be Our Guest dinner at Beast’s Castle & our Akershus Royal Banquet Hall Princess lunch at Epcot.
Both dresses and bib were made on a Brother SE625 and many of the items I made them with were bought locally in The Bahamas or on Amazon. See the photos and video of our trip to Walt Disney World and her beautiful dream dresses and let me know in the comments if you decide to make either of these. I would love to see them! Send me your ideas of what we should make next. 💖
xoxo
When Gianna was just over one year old (exactly a year ago actually) she shot her first product packaging and print job as a model for the company Lulyboo. She had a great time doing it and enjoyed her first day in front of the camera at a professional photo studio.
I have worked as a model since I was a teenager and it was amazing to see her so comfortable on her first photo shoot (I know I wasn’t!). The whole team was so wonderful and knew just how to work with a baby and make her feel at ease. We shot in San Diego, California and she had a great day.
Here is her ad for their Shopping Cart & Highchair cover. It is perfect for travel and even has a place for a tablet or phone to keep kids busy while you shop or dine if you choose to. You can purchase it on the Lulyboo website, at Amazon, ToysRus, Walmart, BuyBuyBaby, Bed Bath and Beyond and many more retailers.
(Photos from Lulyboo’s website)
Since then she has done more shoots and enjoys playing to the cameras (and all of the attention) but this was her first professional modeling job and we will never forget it and the wonderful crew she worked with at Lulyboo.
❤️
This week my family took a quick trip to Miami. We stayed in the financial district in downtown known as Brickell at one of our favorite hotels – SLS Brickell. It is perfect for doing business (many international consulates, financial and corporate offices are there) shopping, dining at amazing restaurants and it’s just a quick trip to the beach. The Brickell area is just over 1.19 square miles so everything is quite close.
The hotel is well situated and walking to the Brickell City Centre for some great shopping is easy (even with a two year old and a dog). The staff is amazing and so helpful.
While we were visiting we found two wonderful restaurants fairly close by that have quickly become favorites. One of which is The Salad Box that is a perfect lunch spot (especially for the health conscious). You choose all of the ingredients you want to put into your salad (or wrap) and it’s incredibly fresh and healthy. They also serve soup (both daily specials were great) and smoothies. Perfect for a quick bite and even takeout or delivery.
Our other amazing find was Perricone’s Marketplace & Cafe. They have a huge selection of gourmet Italian delicacies as well as a beautiful restaurant with a wonderful outdoor patio (with a wishing well Gianna was obsessed with). They serve fresh bread and a fantastic bruschetta and even have organic options available. We ordered the Penne Pomodoro (which they switched to angel hair for us because they are amazing!), “Gigi’s Eggplant Parmigiana” (and Gigi thought it was named for her), and the daily special of Ravioli Stuffed with Mushrooms and a Marsala sauce which was fantastic as well! The atmosphere is wonderful and a nice oasis in the middle of the city.
We did some shopping in the Brickell City Centre which has a great variety of shops and something for everyone. My favorite is Diptyque for candles and fragrance (their new Rose Delight for Valentine’s Day was a must for me – see my previous post about my love of Rose smell & a less expensive rose candle!) and a customary trip to Victoria’s Secret for their after holiday sale. Even as a Mom, sometimes we need something just for us! There is a Zara that has stylish clothes for kids (and adults alike).
I have never seen such a dog friendly city. There were so many furry friends of every shape and size. Multiple Starbucks, grocery stores and pharmacies (Publix, CVS, Walgreens, etc) are located within walking distance and between that and the numerous restaurant options a car really isn’t necessary. Between walking, Lyft, Uber and the automated MetroMover (the hotel also offers a house car for close trips for guests) everything is incredibly accessible.
If you are in the Miami area make sure to check out Brickell for a whole new kind of family travel adventure!
❤️
by Jaimarie 