One of my favorite things about living in London is the great aroma coming off of the Kellogg’s plant some days. Last week I was reminded of that as I left a building on Dundas Street and was overwhelmed by incredible sweet and slightly smoky aroma hanging in the air. It took me a few minutes to realize it was cereal. One of my favorite things about being a member of the Kellogger’s Network for bloggers is the fact that I get first crack at some of the great new products shortly after they are developed. Last week we found…

This is Cupcake, one of the five guinea pigs we own. She is a sweetie, just not the brightest. One night we tried to train her to climb up a little log incline to get back in her cage. Her brother and sister did it in three seconds and she circled the cage 14 times before we picked her up and put her back in. She got the looks – the brains not so much. My kids laugh hysterically at how silly she is. Wordless Wednesday is a photo meme. I often link up over on Tara`s View of the…

Wordless Wednesday is a photography meme I often take part in here at thriftymommastips.com. Sometimes we link up various photos and connect with various other sites and hop around leaving comments on each other’s sites. Today I want to say a word or two about friends. This picture is us – Margarita Ibbott and Paula Schuck at Blissdom Canada recently. Together, we are linked moms. Separately, we have our own blogs and handles and know a thing or two about social media. Margarita has a fabulous new design on her blog Downshifting: Your Home, Your Family, Your Life. You can…

Remember this review back here. This Room-eez removable personalized decorative wall decal made my daughter’s day when we reviewed it on thriftymommastips.com one month ago. She has a unique name and she is a karate ninja girl so let’s just say it’s unusual to find anything personalized that makes sense for Ainsley. Oliver’s Labels Room-eez fit the bill perfectly. They have the cutest personalized growth charts and wall decals and they are super simple to create.  When you log in to their site, you get this little popup window that shows you the colors available and the little animated figure…

  Kate White, editor in chief of Cosmopolitan magazine, one of the world’s sexiest women’s magazines for many decades, was one of the greatest highlights of my conference experience and women’s networking sessions this past weekend.   White left her position as editor in chief just last month. She has since hit the book tour and speaking circuit with her new book, I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This: Success Secrets Every Gutsy Girl Should Know. This past weekend she gave a keynote address at She’s Connected in Toronto, a conference where brands and bloggers meet. It was, for me, one…

What’s in a seal? When shopping do you really need to look for awards? Seals? Endorsements? Shouldn’t a toy, or children’s product sell itself? Why do I need to look for awards or reviews or even The Parent Tested Parent Approved seal of approval? Why would a brand want or need to  submit their toy to the scrutiny of the PTPA testing panel of parents across North America?To answer this question I took a hard look at how I shop as a parent. From the moment I became a parent 11 years ago I was suddenly a savvier consumer than…

  Turn almost any digital picture into an artistic personalized nightlight. Well, what’s cuter than that? I had the chance to order and personalize a Vizardz nightlight for PTPA recently. Vizardz.com makes it easy to upload and order a cute nightlight for your family. I liked the ability to make this nightlight whatever I wanted. That said, the picture specifications are such that not many of my kid’s pictures worked for the shade part of the light. It has to be a horizontal picture for the photo to look its best and I really had only three pictures in all…

True story. In university I pretty much existed on Rice Krispies. Rice Krispies treats and cookies were my staple foods and – coffee of course. Canada Dry Gingerale too. I ate them for breakfast, snack, lunch and dinner too. I was poor and I was busy working three jobs and juggling school and studying. Anyways Rice Krispies treats are easy and fun and tasty too. Yesterday when this Halloween kit from Kelloggs arrived, well I knew my kids and I would have fun after school building early Halloween memories and some super fun snacks too. I am almost embarrassed to tell…