Giveaway: Win 2 SmartSilk Asthma & Allergy Friendly Pillows Worth $130! Open to Can & US

As a new mom I appreciate anything that makes the few hours I sleep comfortable. After being sent a pair of SmartSilk pillows I have been sleeping like a baby (no pun intended). Im used to firm pillows and this one is soft so I thought I wouldnt like it but I was very pleasantly surprised and it has now replaced my normal pillow. I even stole both pillows for myself (sorry hubs) :)

SmartSilk Pillow Features:

	All natural polyester micro gel fiber filling
	All natural silk fill liner
	All natural cotton outer shell
	Moisture wicking properties help to reduce effects of night sweats
	Keeps your skin moisturized
	Water repellent non-woven material
	Breathable materials: no longer need to flip the pillow around looking for a cool spot
	Certified asthma & allergy friendly™

WIN a pair of standard SmartSilk pillows worth $130.00!

This giveaway is open to US & Canadian residents. To enter simply fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Be sure to leave your email address when leaving a comment.

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DIY: I Got Crafty! Baby Bows & Headbands

Ive been a busy mommy!

Having a baby girl has its perks for a girly girl like me. Dress Up!!

Recently I was looking for cute headbands for Sienna and I either couldn't find anything I loved or they were way too expensive to buy more than a few. Being the DIY lover that I am I decided to make my own!

In doing that I had a few people ask me if I could make them some so I did and well, I just couldn't stop!

Ladies and Gents I give you Little Miss Bows & Bands :) featuring some of my handmade (with love) creations.

Here are some examples modelled by my baby girl Sienna Noor..

If you're interested to see more designs (new items added all the time) please visit and "like" my Little Miss Bows And Bands facebook page.

DIY: Large Wooden Letter Gets A Glam Makeover For The Nursery

When putting together Sienna's nursery I knew I wanted to DIY a beautiful frame I had for over the crib so I painted it white and mounted it in the perfect spot.

I had every intention to add our baby girls initial inside the frame but since we really only settled on a name right before she arrived I only had time to place the order on Etsy.com for the 16" unfinished wooden letter.

Now that I have gotten into somewhat of a new mommy routine I found some time to finish it.

The Before

A coat of silver paint and some jewels complete the look.

Because I need hubbys help to hang it I placed it in the frame just to see how it would look and call me crazy but I kinda like it on the crazy angle!

The silver paint matched our wall colour almost exactly which wasn't my intended look but I actually don't mind the subtleness of it. The bling pops even more!

This was a quick and easy DIY that added a really nice personal touch to our nursery. I'm so happy with the outcome.... now onto the DIY baby headbands I'm working on ;)

What do you think?

Giveaway: Win A Limited Edition Clarisonic Plus System Worth $259! Canada Only

Clarisonic systems have made a big name for themselves in the last few years gaining popularity for their innovative stylish design, deep classing abilities, quality and ease of use.

If you're any sort of beauty junkie or Skincare lover you either own one or are lusting after one. They don't come cheap but having owned one for some time now I can tell you they are worth every penny.

A few years ago I had mentioned to my BFF that the Clarisonic Mia was on my beauty wish list. Along came my birthday and there it was, all wrapped up! I was thrilled and have been using it religiously every since.

Then a few weeks ago I got a knock at the door and standing before me was a really pretty boy, one of my fav PR girls and a white and orange bag marked Clarisonic. As I stood there in my new mom ensemble (sweatpants and ponytail) holding my 3 week old embarrassed to be seen a smile came over my face because I knew what was in that bag.

It was the Clarisonic Plus skin Cleansing for face and body system. The limited edition Holiday set which was sold exclusively at Sephora and included the Clarisonic PLUS floral design, Sensitive Brush Head, Deep Pore Brush Head, Delicate Brush Head, Body Brush Head, mini Biotherm Lait de Gommage Gentle Exfoliating Milk & mini Biotherm Biosource Hydra-Mineral Cleanser.

Heres how it looks in comparison to my beloved Mia.

I love the fact that now I have a body brush for those extra tough spots like elbows, knees and feet! Why not give yourself an at home pedicure right?!

Well here is your chance to take that Clarisonic off your wish list Canadians!

WIN a Clarisonic Plus skin Cleansing for Face and Body system worth $259!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Prize Include everything shown in the top image.
Open to Canadians only. 
Ends Feb 3rd 2013.


***UPDATE*** The winner of this giveaway is Katrina B! Congratulations :)

A Starbucks Drink That's Zero Calories and Only 50 Cents?!

Today I treated myself to a guilt free old favorite from Starbucks.

A venti hot water with sugar free cinnamon dolce syrup. Zero calories and only .53 cents!

Guilt free for my diet and wallet! Plus it's a great way to up your water intake!

Next time you pop by Starbucks order it I promise you won't be sorry. ;)

Dear Vasanti Cosmetics You Get Better With Age! -New Product Love-

 Every time Vasanti Cosmetics comes out with new products I fall more and more in love with the line.

Their newest products are better than ever!

The addition of 4 Cream Blushes  (Shades: Summit, Pinnacle, Glacier & The Peak), a new Black Kajol Eyeliner Pencil and Monoi Magic Treatment Oil introduces its loyal fans a batch of completely new products and as those just discovering the line something unique and fun to want to try.

I have been wearing the cream blushes (Summit & Pinnacle) and Kajol liner every time I leave the house (which is a treat these days!) and have gotten comments such as "you look so fresh", "Wow, your skin looks amazing", "you don't look like you have a newborn at all, you look refreshed".

The cream blushes ($20) are creamy enough to blend with ease and perfection when I apply them using my fingers and blend to a dry finish so there is no greasy residue left behind to make you look oily. A little goes a long way with these bold shades but the colours are soft enough to work on the lips as well if you wish.. Bonus!

The Kajol liner ($18) has got to be one of my favourites! Its super creamy which means it glides right on with out any effort, pulling or stretching of the eye lid. It comes equipped with a smudger on one end and a sharpener on the other. Gone are the days of packing these added features separately in our makeup bags! Once this liner goes on and dries it stays put, no more raccoon eyes after a night out or a long day at work (or motherhood in my case).
It is my recommendation that everyone go out and buy this liner right away! ;)

The Monoi Magic Treatment Oil ($15) intrigued me and I was surprised to find it in solid form when I opened the box. After reading the instructions I realized it worked much like coconut oil. Its solid but a few seconds on the warmth of your skin or under warm water it liquefies.

This product is so multi-purpose as it can be used as a facial oil treatment, on the body and even in hair. While I do find it difficult to squeeze this product out as it comes after a few seconds under warm water and it comes out with ease. There is little to no scent and after applying this to my face last night I can say with confidence that it didn't make me feel oily/greasy and actually felt really nourishing on. I can see this being worked into my pamper my face session once a week!

I continue to be impressed with the Vasanti Cosmetics team who are constantly working to bring the highest quality products to its customers. I use multiple items from this line daily and that's saying A LOT!

If you haven't checked out the line yet, well get out from under your rock and head on over to VasantiCosmetics.com to find out where you can pick it up.

Mommy Talk: Presidents Choice Supreme VS Pampers Swaddlers Diapers

Baby Sienna is now 8 weeks old and since her birth I've tried 3 different brands of diapers. Since we got a few packs of Huggies newborns at a great deal ($5 per pack) from the hospital we only used these during the newborn stage and really liked them.

Since our princess has gained weight and we have had to move into size 1 diapers I've been between Pampers Swaddlers which seemed to be the standard for some of the moms I know and a new discovery, Presidents Choice Supreme Comfort Diapers which baby and I were introduced to thanks to the amazing PR people for the brand.

I don't feel there is much of need for me to go into detail about Pampers because we know it's been tried, tested and approved and I really have nothing bad to say about the brand, it's diapers or it's performance.

That being said I do want to open more mommies eyes to other comparable brands such as the Presidents Choice brand. After having used both Huggies and Pampers by the time I opened my pack of PC diapers I was beginning to think how any mom dealt with diapers that didn't have a wetness strip indicator because it was making my job of knowing when baby needed a change a lot easier. I was kind of worried that the PC brand wouldn't have this feature (being a most cost effective brand) but I was happy and I'll be honest totally relieved to see it did!

Shown below are two size 1 diapers, on the left the Pampers brand and on the right the PC diaper. The Pampers has the yellow line that turns blue when baby is wet and the PC has little blue images in circles that totally disappear when baby is wet. Both make it VERY easy and obvious to see when baby is wet.

My thoughts on PC Supreme Diapers:
These diapers were super soft and stretchy, fit Sienna really well and in fact were more snug on her than other brands. There were no leaks and it contained all blowouts well. I like that they are hypoallergenic, fragrance free and that It's infused with aloe and vitamin E so it kept her skin balanced and rash free.

My only issue with these diapers is that I found they ran a bit small, so while they fit my then 9lbs baby well and the package stated they would fit up to 14lbs I'm just not sure they would. I like the fact that they were snug a lot so my solution to this would be to move up a size a bit faster.

PC Supreme Comfort Diapers come in sizes 1-6 in packs of between 84-136 at approx. $24.99 which can save you a few bucks each time you purchase diapers which I'm starting to find out is a lot!

Mommies next time you are at Superstore/Loblaws doing groceries or getting your fashion fix in the Joe Fresh section head on over to the baby area and check out all the PC baby products such as their wipes and these true, tried and now tested Stretchy Fit diapers!

Mom Approved!!

Baby Talk: My Birth Story.....

(Photo was taken in Sienna's nursery as part of our maternity shoot by Strokes Photography)

I've been meaning to share my birth story but baby Sienna has been keeping me busy so it's been a bit delayed but here it is....

Late October at 38 weeks I went in for what would be my final Dr's appointment where I was told that I would be getting induced the following week. After checking my Dr's schedule we decided on Tuesday November 6th for the induction but I was told that I would need to go in on Monday to have the induction gel put in.

Monday I arrived at the hospital at 10am for my first dose of gel at 1cm dilated. I was monitored for about 30mins and sent home but told to come back around 4-5pm for another dose. I went about my day not feeling any different so I assumed it didn't work and I'd need the second dose for sure. Well I was right! I went back to the hospital and was reassessed at 5pm at still 1-2cm so they gave me the second dose and sent me home with instructions to come back at 8am the next morning for my scheduled induction.

We went home made sure our hospital bags were ready and then went to bed. Well I could hardly sleep because I started getting mild contractions. Nothing too unbearable, more like mild cramps which lasted all night. At 5:30am I was again woken up by a contraction but this time it hurt way more than the other ones so we called the hospital and they told us to come in.

When we arrived at 6:30am they agreed to keep me only because I was scheduled that morning anyways. I later found out that I got the last birthing room and all other ladies coming in after me would be sent to another hospital (I got lucky!). I was 4cm at this point and in a lot of pain so even though my birth plan was to go without an epidural I couldn't take it anymore and asked for one.

Around 9am the anesthesiologist came in and administered the epidural which hurt but not as much as I thought it would, probably because the contractions hurt more. After 20 minutes I could still feel intense pain and it was determined that the epidural would have to be reset. Lucky me! So I had the first epidural removed and another one put in. Thank god this one worked and I was feeling a lot better however this is when I started feeling nauseous... My poor husband, mom and doula Kristin really took care of me.

Around 4:45pm I began feeling a lot of pressure that began to get painful so I asked to be checked. The nurses words were "no wonder it's hurting the head is right there!" it was time to push.  Any thoughts of wanting just the Dr and my husband in the room went out the window as I didn't care at that point. I had my OB, the resident DR, my midwife, my doula, my husband and a few NICU nurses on standby in the corner.

I began pushing and felt the "ring of fire" (google it) for pretty much the entire time it was so painful and the worse part was the nurses couldn't tell me when I was having a contraction because the monitor wasn't picking them up so I had to tell them when they were coming. Anyway after 1 hour and 45 mins of pushing my baby was born!

She let out 1 yelp and was placed on my chest for me to see. I bawled like never before and was instantly in love. They cleaned her up and as I talked she stared up at me so awake and alert with her big grey eyes as if she knew my voice. It was such a surreal moment to go from feeling her in my tummy to seeing and feeling her.

(At the hospital)

Nothing can ever prepare a woman for what childbirth feels like. Since everyone's experience is so different there is no normal and though I felt prepared having heard stories from all my friends and having taken the prenatal classes I felt like that all went out the window once my labour started.

(Wide awake with daddy)

Looking back I wouldn't say my experience was horrible or even bad. Was it painful? Hell yes! Did it go as planned? No, but how can you really plan childbirth?! Would I do things differently? nope, I have no regrets!

(In daddy's arms)

My baby girl Sienna is now 5 weeks old, changing and growing every day into her own little cute personality. Ive had the same challenges as any new mom but we are getting through them together day by day.

(Happy 1 month to me!!)

It doesn't hurt that my mom helped out for 4 weeks though! Plus my husband has been really great with her and in helping to give me a break when I need it. I feel so very blessed :)

Baby Talk: Welcome Our Newest Family Member...

Sienna Noor born November 6th at 6:43pm weighing 7lbs 1oz

Its been over a week now and we are finally getting into a groove. Both Sienna and I are doing great! We could not be more in love with our little princess :)

Birth story to come but in the meantime I will be taking a short blogging break to fulfil my new role as a mommy!!

Thank you for all the well wishes I have never felt more blessed or been any happier :)

Baby Talk: Baby Girls Nursery Tour!

We will be meeting our precious baby girl in just days and since our nursery is about 90% done (finally!) I wanted to give you guys the tour :)

We went with a soft grey colour on the walls before we found out if it was a girl or boy because I knew either way I wanted a colour I wouldn't get sick of and that they could grow into and I LOVE Grey! So the dark blue walls of my husbands "guitar/music room" were painted over.

Once we found out it was a girl we decided on the theme of grey, white and bling :) This was the theme on the main day of our wedding at our reception and since baby girl was originally due ON our 1 year anniversary I thought it was only fitting.

I custom ordered her bedding from Etsy.com, her crib came from Sears, the frame is from Ikea but we DIY'd it by painting it white and will hang a blinged out initial once we decide on a name, the diaper cake was a special gift from my BFF who used the hand made flowers I made for her DIY bouquet at our wedding as an added touch and the side table was actually made with love from scratch by my handy husband 8 years ago!

It was originally a dark brown and sitting in his parents basement for a very long time. He brought it home, sanded, painted and added the crystal knobs to make it fit the nursery and it could not be more perfect!

Our glider was a custom order from a local baby boutique and up above it you can see the DIY tulle tutu mobile I made :)

Here's a close up of the mobile made with love!

We actually found the dresser below when we first found out we were expecting on kijiji and I knew I had to have it for the baby's room. We decided that instead of buying a separate a change table we would use this and just add the change pad on top.

We changed out all the knobs to crystal and I added some bling rhinestones to the drawer pulls to add sparkle. The soft minky change pad cover was an Etsy buy and the 3 beautiful cutout mirrors were purchased at Pier 1 Imports.

This corner unit was purchased from the same person we bought the dresser from off kijiji for an amazing combo price. We switched out the knobs once again and it will house all of babies books below. For now Ive added some ultrasound images, wedding pics and a print from our first maternity shoot at 28 weeks.

One of my favourite things in the nursery has got to be this rug. I had originally purchased a grey and white rug online to go in this room but when it arrived it was much darker than I had wanted and it just wasn't working in the room. I happen to be at Home Outfitters one day and noticed a pile of rugs marked half off. I was immediately drawn to the grey shade of this rug and once I saw the pattern I knew it was perfect :)

And here is the DIY tulle tutu door hanger from my last post on baby girls closet door! The bassinet (borrowed from a friend) will be where she will be sleeping for the first little while in our bedroom.

I still want to hang a few more things on the walls such as some DIY artwork I've designed and there are a few other things that need to be added but for now we are so happy with how it turned out.

We are ready and waiting.....

Baby Talk: Nursery Decor - DIY Tulle TuTu Wreath!

For my wedding last year I did a bunch of DIY projects from making all the bouquets by hand to adding 4000+ crystals to my shoes so when I was thinking about nursery decor I knew I wanted to add a few DIY touches to my baby girls room.

I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do until I saw this inspiration pic on Pinterest.

Since our nursery "theme" is grey, white and bling I knew I wanted to create something like this wreath even though I wasn't sure where exactly I would hang it.  Although I didn't find a tutorial on how to make this exact wreath I figured out my own way and I think it turned out great :)

I bought some silver tulle, string of pearls and a embroidery hoop and went to work. It took me about an hour or work until the wreath was done however I was stuck on ideas on what to put inside the wreath until I saw a small unfinished wood cutout of the word LOVE and knew it was perfect.

I painted it white, added some white iridescent glitter, silver thread to hold it up and got my final product.

VOILA, Baby girls new DIY Tulle TuTu Wreath hanging on her closet door!

What do you think??

I've also made her a tulle tutu & crystal mobile that we have hung over her glider.... will post pics soon of that!

3 "Grooming" Products My Husband Loves!

I wouldn't dare call these items beauty products for fear he may go cave man styles and not care at all about how he smelled, looked or felt SO for the purposes of this post we shall call them male grooming products!

Biore Warming Anti-Blackhead Cleanser ($12.89) - He uses this daily in the shower and loves the warming feeling.. I'm not so sure he cares how well it works (I do, and it does) but its the texture he really loves. Hey, if it gets him to cleanse his face daily I don't care why he uses it, just that he does!

FENDI Fan Di Pour Homme Cologne 100ml ($88.00) - Since this arrived at our house he's been finding excuses to wear it. Bonus for me here is I like it way more than his previous cologne which I found to be too strong. This one lasts a long time on his skin, isn't over powering but still sexy at the same time ;)

Vaseline Men Fast Absorbing Body and Face Lotion ($11.50) - What's great about this product is that it can be used for face AND body which means its a 1 step process for a man who normally hates any type of lotion. Its fast absorbing so I don't have to hear his complaints about greasy hands and it keeps his handy man hands soft especially as the weather gets dry and cold.

There you have it, products Tried, Tested & Loved by the MR!

Guess what items will be in his stocking this Christmas ;)