Tesalate Towels: Your “Wild Card” for Mother’s Day

*DISCLOSURE: I RECEIVED THIS PRODUCT COMPLIMENTARY FOR REVIEW PURPOSES. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE MY OWN.

So we’ve heard all the hype about these Aussie towels, they’re fun, they’re beautifully designed (they have tons of cute ones, btw) and they boast about being rapid dry, compact, ultra-absorbent and sand free. Sure that’s great and all but what makes it a perfect choice to give to your mom this Mother’s Day? I mean let’s face it, not everyone enjoys the beach and frankly with this current lockdown situation I’m not sure if any of us are going to enjoy the beach anytime soon. Plus, who would want to give their mom a beach towel for Mother’s Day, right? That’s what I thought until I was gifted one and came to realize that all the “hype” IS true.

So I got the Tesalate Into the Wild XL and yes that particular size of towel at 160cm x 160cm / 63 x 63 inches is good for two (or one with multiple kids, haha) all of their claims hold true but what I’ve come to enjoy about this specific towel is its versatility. Yes, I am in love with their designs, it was hard to pick just one design and every mom would just adore this towel during a trip to the beach because you’re not packing all the sand from your kids’ sand castle or beach toys and you won’t have to lug around a beach towel soaked in water but its hard to believe that I enjoyed this towel so much at home while on quarantine.

Here are 4 ways I’ve used my Tesalate towel at home (so far):

1. Sunbathing Towel

The most obvious way to use a beach towel is to use it as it should be but not at the beach so sunbathing in the backyard it is (for now anyway). Staying indoors for quarantine has gotten my skin so pale so when it got a bit warm I decided to soak up the sun.

 

2. Personal Blanket

It still gets a little bit chilly here in Indiana so I’ve used it to keep me warm and cozy while I binged watched my series or caught up with some of my books during my downtime from the kids.

 

3. Picnic Blanket

The size I got was just a perfect fit for all of us, we did a spur of the moment picnic with mostly unhealthy snacks and enjoyed spring in our backyard. Cheeseballs FTW!

 

4. Teepee Rug

We were playing pretend for the afternoon and the kids and I decided that this would make a perfect area rug for their teepee. They pulled out the feather headdresses I made them and voila!

 

And this is why I’m convinced that this towel would be a perfect “wild card” present for Mother’s day—you can just use it as a “cool” towel but if you want to it can be so much more than that. I mean what mom would not want an “all-around” towel, something you can enjoy at the beach and also at home or something you can enjoy with your kids, with your spouse or  just by yourself. I’m still trying to discover new ways to use my Tesalate beach towel, I have a feeling it would go well with crafts but for now if you’re still unsure about them, click on this link and go check them out.

Enjoy!

~Rhea

Easter Basket Ideas 2020: Toddler Girl & Boy

Never in my wildest dreams did I picture being on lockdown and on self-quarantine for Easter but from the looks of it, I don’t think Cassie and Xavi will get to do an Easter Egg Hunt with their friends this year. The Corona Virus is still continuing to increase in numbers and it hasn’t even reached its peak so this year’s lists have a lot of things we can enjoy at home while we’re doing our share by practicing social distancing.

We’re doing a BIG Easter gift , a playset from Coco Village, instead of going crazy on their baskets because of our current situation so we reused their baskets from last year and I also included in their baskets some items that I’ve been hoarding for them. Clothes and shoes were the last on my list because we still have a lot plus I don’t think we’re going anywhere any time soon, we’ve been living in our Pjs for the most part so without further ado, here’s this year’s Easter Basket Ideas.

Btw, here’s the bundle deal from Coco Village: the kitchen, the mini market and a shopping cart all for $199. Don’t forget to use the code: LETSPLAY at checkout if you wanna get your kids the entire set.

http://www.philbernard.ca

http://www.philbernard.ca

1. We are the Gardeners Book ||

Joanna Gaines is still “all the craze” and we snagged this book with its spring-perfect illustrations from Ollie’s for $3.99.

2.Dream World: 20 Frameable Prints of Emily Winfield Martin’s Bestselling Children’s Book Illustrations ||

Thought I’d show you the prints that you’re getting if you’re purchasing the box. The fantasy-feel of these illustrations make the perfect display for Cassie and Xavi’s room when we redecorate it. We were lucky to find it on sale at our local Ollie’s for $2.99.

3. Educational Insights Hoppy Floppy’s Happy Hunt ||

The perfect Easter game to play with your kids ages 3+ (and yes, you can still play with it after Easter). Its a great first exposure to board games as it teaches our little ones fine motor skills while having fun.

4. Wonder Nation Girls Denim Blue Stripe Sandals With Ankle Strap ||

Not sure why these sandals give me a “Mediterranean getaway” feel but they’re comfy, they have cute striped bows and are convenient to put on and take off. #momwin

5. Cry Babies Magic Tears Fantasy House||

Obsessed—-ever since we got exposed to Cry Babies, Cassie would not stop talking about them so we are grateful for Cry Babies for sending us a bunch of their Fantasy House line to add to Cassie’s Easter basket.

They are these cute little babies that have their own houses and when you bottle feed them, they cry real tears, their pets have a line too and they also have their own cartoon series, just a heads up.

6. Wonder Nation Striped Sleeveless Dress ||

Was surprised when Walmart came out with this beaut . I fell in love with the colors and I think its the perfect dress for Spring and Summer.

7. Educational Insights Playfoam Pals Unicorn Magic 2-pack ||

Another gifted item from Educational insights that Cassie is excited to play with—thank you.

Right now there are two things she is looking forward to: playing with the squishy playfoam and the surprise waiting for her inside.

8. Squishmallows Easter Plush Toy||

Buttery soft and squishy—that’s all you need to know.

1.Squishmallows Easter Plush Toy ||

Again, buttery soft and squishy—- I wouldn’t be surprised if your kids want to collect them all.

2.Hearth and Hand 6 pk Play Animals||

Yes, we always get excited over the wooden toys Hearth and Hand comes out with but Xavi has been wanting to play with Cassie’s doll house and what better way for them to play together if he had some animals to contribute to their pretend play, right?

3. Color Matching Egg Set||

There are different versions can teach your little ones about shapes, numbers, colors, etc.  Right now we want to focus on numbers for Xavi so that’s what we got for him. Learning numbers through Eggs—- I though that would be an Egg-citing add on to the Easter basket. 😀

4.Piper Finn Oxfords ||

Probably one of our most favorite brands, they have the cutest shoes from Oxfords to Mary Janes. They’re stylish and comfortable you wouldn’t want your kids to ever outgrow them.

5. Magnetic Wooden Dolls – Career Jigsaw Puzzle ||

Perfect for developing Xavi’s matching and sorting skills and a great way to introduce him to the idea of “occupation”.

6. Dinosaurs Jumbo Sorting & Counting/ Matching Game ||

Xavi is obsessed with anything dinosaur right now, this will serve as a great stacking toy and when he’s ready we can eventually transition it to a sorting game to teach him fine motor skills.

7.June and January Tank Jumper ||

If you’re big on color basics and mix n match then June and January is the brand to know. Their jumpers are a fresh add-on to any kids wardrobe.

8. The Little Homie Books (First 50 Words with 50 Cent and Where are My Homies At?)||

Where my Homies at? Hahaha.

I don’t think a lot of the people I know (now) enjoy Hip Hop but I know I did back in the days. These books are a cute and a fun way to introduce your kids to some legendary Hiphop icons.

For add ons, the tattoos from Ducky Street are always fun, they have the cutest designs and are ver affordable.

There you have it guys, I know this Easter is somewhat out of the ordinary but I hope you have a blessed celebration indoors. Be safe, Stay healthy and have a Happy Easter!

~Rhea

Playhouse Halloween Makeover | Halloween Decor on a Budget from DOLLAR TREE

*DISCLOSURE:  This post is NOT in anyway sponsored by Dollar Tree.

The kids playhouse has been due for a fresh coat of paint but since we were out for the most part of summer, we never got around to painting it. I figured in it’s current “grungy” state, we might as well start decorating it for Halloween. If you’ve been following us for awhile you know how much we try to enjoy this season with all the opportunities to play pretend and dress up. Well, this year we decided to “dress up” the playhouse as well but challenged ourselves to decorate the playhouse with a $25 budget and we all know shopping at the dollar store is probably the only way to get this challenge done so the kids and I headed to our local Dollar Tree and this is what we ended up getting.

4 Halloween Themed Flower Stems

2 2-pack glittery spiders

2 Black Creepy Cloth

2 White Creepy Cloth

2 Hanging Ghosts

1 BEWARE sign

1 spider web with spider decor

2 rubber rats

2 styrofoam Pumpkins

2 styrofoam tombstones

2 plastic skulls

2 plastic skull fence

1 cauldron pail

The talking doorbell was on clearance from BIG LOTS post Halloween from two years ago. I bought it for less than $5.

Here’s the BEFORE and AFTER for comparison.

BEFORE

AFTER

Here are the back details of the house 🙂

Xavi and Cassie enjoying their mini haunted house

I’m sure we could have gotten more stuff from the Dollar Tree since they had a lot to offer like string lights shaped like skulls, pumpkins and bats, giant spiders, clip-on bats, etc. but a challenge is a challenge besides I’d like to think less is more.

How did we do with the 25-dollar challenge? Not bad right? I know Halloween is still a ways to go but I hope this inspires you and your kids to decorate your cubby house this Halloween season. Enjoy!

~Rhea

Picture Day Outfit Ideas| Affordable Toddler Girl Outfits from WALMART

*DISCLOSURE:  This post is NOT in anyway sponsored by Walmart.

As most of you know, my little Cassie started “Big Girl” school this year and her schedule for class picture day caught me by surprise. Being a first time school mom, I was unaware that they did that in the early part of the school year, in fact they’re having photos done this week and so I thought it would be great to come up with affordable picture day outfit ideas for all moms out there who are on the same boat as I am.

So I challenged myself to stick with clothes from Walmart just because its the nearest retail shop to our house, now this post is no way sponsored by them and I myself find the clothing items from Walmart as a hit or miss but I do know for a fact that they’re very affordable so I took up the challenge to look for cute stuff that were less than $15. If you’re a mom looking for last minute ideas, here are some outfits that won’t break the bank, links to the outfits should be on the said items below.

OUTFIT #1:

(HEADBAND: Amazon/ TOP & SUSPENDER SKIRT: 2 piece outfit, Wonder Nation from Walmart, $12.44 / SOCKS: Amazon/ SHOES: The Humble Soles)

 

OUTFIT #2:

(HEADBAND: Amazon / DRESS: Short sleeve collar dress, Wonder Nation from Walmart, $7.88 / SHOES: white, Children’s Place)

Take note that this dress would be a great dress if you’re child wants to go as Wednesday Addams for Halloween and I just thought that you’d want to know that it also comes in the color Navy Blue.

 

OUTFIT #3:

(SWEATSHIRT: floral long sleeve, Garanimals from Walmart, $4.88/ PANTS: military green, Garanimals from Walmart, $4.88/ SHOES: purple pink jelly Mary Janes, Wonder Nation, $3 on clearance; now $1.50 online, cheaper than what I bought it for)

The link I attached for the outfit was for a set, you get the pink leggings with it but you actually have the option of buying them separate which I did so I could opt for the green ones.

 

OUTFIT #4:

(DRESS: Long sleeve ruffle, Wonder Nation from Walmart, $8.62/ SHOES: black ballet flats, Wonder Nation, $1 on clearance/ BOW: Handmade)

This dress also comes in a white and blue stripe one for a more nautical vibe.

 

OUTFIT #5:

( TOP & SUSPENDER SKIRT: 2 piece outfit, Wonder Nation from Walmart, $12.44 / LEGGINGS: mustard / Old Navy/ SHOES: Cat and Jack)

And that’s it —5 outfits (mostly) straight out of Walmart and by the way my daughter didn’t mind wearing any single one of these outfits. I just got a note from the teacher saying that if we wanted them to wear something more fancy for picture day, we can send clothes with them and they would help the kids change back when they’re done taking pictures. Seriously, who has time for that? These clothes are cute yet comfortable, our daughters can wear them the entire day.

Hope this post helped, Happy School Picture Day!

~Rhea

Summer Family #Twinning |Matching Family Swimwear by Yaffi Fashion

*DISCLOSURE: I RECEIVED THESE PRODUCTS COMPLIMENTARY FOR REVIEW PURPOSES. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE MY OWN.

Before I knew I was going to be a mom to a beautiful baby girl, I already knew I was going to be that type of mom who would match with her kids. True enough, I was blessed with Cassie, a very pleasant baby girl who didn’t give me any trouble with her monthly photos or OOTDs (Outfit Of The Day, in case you didn’t know what that meant) and eventually when I started accepting my #mombod we started to do #twinning. I remember getting a lot of compliments and DMs asking where I get our matching outfits from and ‘Twinning’ wasn’t even full blown at that time. I always had to explain that I would go through her closet and go through mine and just see if there were any pieces that kinda looked similar and then I’d come up with an outfit. Now, if you wanted to match with the whole family that’s a totally different ball game, at that time not a lot of shops or online stores carried, “Mommy and Me”, “Daddy and Me” or ” Matching Family” outfits.

Fast forward to today, I’ve somewhat ‘normalized’ the idea of “twinning” or “matching” within our family (as cheesy as it may sound) to the point that when we go to church on Sundays, I’ll dress the kids up similarly and my husband will just pull out a top or a polo shirt thats within the same color palette, It’s quite impressive actually. This summer, I fell in love with those cute matching family swimwear but I knew bringing up the idea with Marco would be pushing it so I didn’t even bother asking but then Yaffi Fashion happened and they were nice enough to gift us with TWO sets of these matching family swimwear and Marco being the trooper that he is, when he saw me and the kids dressing up in our cute blue stripe swimwear before heading to the pool, he came up to me and asked “Where’s mine?” and smilingly I handed him his swimwear.

Yaffi Fashion Blue Stripe Matching Family Swimwear

If you are in search of matching family swimwear for this summer or even for a holiday getaway then Yaffi Fashion is the place to go, they just made twinning so convenient and affordable, it’s amazing the numerous designs and colors you can pick from, your husband will have no excuse. They have stripes in different colors, solid colors, florals, and an option of either one-piece or two-piece for the women/ girls. I’ve been twinning with my girl for almost 4 years now and its been a struggle to find things for Marco so he could match with us and that is another reason why I love them, they have a lot of options for the men and the boys almost as many as the women and the girls, so I was able to include Marco and Xavi in this ‘twinning’ business. Haha, sorry guys!

Also you might want to check out their other inventory, they also carry cute Mommy and Me dresses, Kimono tops and matching family pajamas (hint: Perfect for Christmas) without breaking the bank.

Yaffi Fashion Pink Floral Matching Family Swimwear

Here are photos from the first time we used our matching swimwear, for size reference I’m wearing a size S, Marco is wearing a size XXL, Cassie who is 4 years old is wearing a size 4T and Xavi who is 1.5 years old is wearing a 2T (it works perfectly with his swim diapers on).

Here’s a photo of us after our day at the pool, can I just tell you what Marco told me after we took this picture?

He said, ” Hey sweetie, these were actually very comfortable I honestly didn’t mind wearing them.” And if you don’t believe me, you can ask him yourself.

If you’re the type of guy who wants pockets in their swimwear, they carry those too, in fact the other pair of swim shorts Marco had (the pink floral one) had pockets and he especially loved those so be sure to go check them out. I’ve linked the specific swimwear that we got below our photos. I will also link their website, their Facebook page and their Instagram page below so click away.

Yaffi Fashion Website| Yaffi Fashion Facebook | Yaffi Fashion Instagram

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

~Rhea