Over the weekend, Milk + Bookies, a non profit organization that inspires children to give back using books as currency, hosted a fun story time event featuring books, fun activities for the entire family and a few celebrity readers.

During the Westfield Culver City event, celebrities such as Busy Phillips, Constance Zimmer, Mason Cook, Alexis Bellino, Elizabeth Rohm and Caroline Sunshine read to the children from several of my own personal favourites:

• The Giving Tree
• Knock Knock Jokes
• Miss Rumphries
• Puff The Magic Dragon
• If You Give A Mouse A Cookie

Lots of fun was had by all! Along with the various activities and book reading, Busy Phillips and her daughter Birdie munched on Isabella’s cookies while reality star Alexis Bellino posed with her husband, their son and two daughters at the Milk + Bookies photo booth. Elizabeth Rohm ended up donating books to the Venice Boys + Girls Club and Disney star Caroline Sunshine hosted a dance off on stage.

At the end of the event Westfield Culver City donated $7,500 to Milk + Bookies to support their work and charitable efforts.

Photo Credit: Konkal Photography

Huge smiles and happy tears were a trend at Ooh! La, La! Couture‘s 2nd Annual Tutus4Tots held last week in California. Little girls were escorted through racks of colorful dresses by young Hollywood celebs who posed for photos and signed autographs. The girls couldn’t wait to try on the beautiful tutus and were thrilled to bring them home. One of the mothers brought the room to tears when she thanked everyone, saying that it was her daughters’ first birthday and she couldn’t afford to give her a present… She was so grateful to have a beautiful new dress given to her.

Disney star Bella Thorne partnered Oh! La, La! in order to bring attention to the importance of giving and donating to children in need. She was joined by fellow “Shake It Up” cast members Roshon Fegan, Adam Irigoyan, and Davis Cleveland; Billy Unger (Disney’s Lab Rats); Morgan Lily (2012, upcoming X-Men); Jadin Gould (Battle Los Angeles); Kathryn Newton (Gary Unmarried, Bad Teacher); Pia Mia Perez (Recording Artist); Kaitlyn Maher (the Search for Santa Paws); Elsie Fischer (Despicable Me);Ashlee Keating (Universal Recording Artist); Daphne Blunt (Radio Disney); Emily Grace Reaves (Hannah Montana the Movie), Avalon (Minnie Mouse Shorts); Alexis and Natalia (Hollywood Teenzine)

Thanks to the success of OLLC, K.I.D.S. has received over $272,000 worth of new dresses to the charity. The current donation will include over 300 dresses worth approximately $24,000.

In addition to the dresses donated by OLLC, China Doll Shoes generously donated a new pair of shoes for every girl in the room.

Additional donations that helped make this event special include: Penelope Wildberry, Pink Pewter, Top Trenz, Gaby! Be Gorgeous, Be Happy!, and Bracelets by Caley Camarillo.

Photo Credit & Source: Ooh! La! La! Couture

One more day! The 84th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade will be taking place in New York City, tomorrow morning and we have all the details, times, maps and information for those who are planning on attending.

On Thanksgiving Day, over 800 Macy’s volunteers will take up the task of entertaining millions of people who will line the streets of New York City for the big Parade. It’s a crazy job, but these clowns are up to the challenge.

Following is a list of the clown units featured in the 84th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade:

Birthday Party Clowns
Circus Clowns
Corny-Copia Clowns
Confetti Clowns
Funny Farm Clowns
Funny Firefighter Brigade Clowns
Gnomes
Half Baked Holiday Sweet Clowns
Hi! Roller Skating Clowns
Holiday Clowns
Jester Clowns
Keystone Cops & Robbers
Malt Shop Clowns
Parade Studio Artist Guild
Patriotic Clowns
Pirate Plankster Clowns
Pool Hall Clowns
Pre-K Clowns
Rag Doll Clowns
Safari Clowns with Butterfly Nets
Santa’s Toy Box Clowns
Silly Seaside Clowns
Sleepy Clowns
Spacey Clowns
Springtime Clowns with Bees
Western Clowns

Directions: The parade will begin at 77th Street and Central Park West, marching south on Central Park Wset. It will then turn east on Central Park South. When the Parade reaches 7th Avenue, the procession will turn south at the corner of Central Park South and march to 42nd street. It will then travel east along 42nd Street from 7th to 6th Avenues. At 6th Avenue (Avenue of the Americas), the parade will veer south and march to 34th Street. At 34th Street, the procession will head west to Herald Square, ending at 34th street and 7th Avenue.

The event is free and no tickets are needed. The best place for watching the parade is along Central Park West is available on the west side of the street. If you need a hotel during the festivities, the best place to find a list of accommodations is through www.nycgo.com.

If you would like more information please contact the Parade Hotline at 212 494 4495.

After their first two stops in Chicago and Boston, the LEGO® KidsFest Tour is wrapping up the 2010 season with their last event of the year. If you haven’t had a chance to attend this fun family event and live in the Hartford, CT area, this is your chance!

The LEGO® KidsFest Tour will be stopping at The Connecticut Convention Center on December 3-5, offering LEGO lovers a three-day interactive experience filled with fun creative experiences and activities for the entire family.

The event will be divided in five timed sessions over three days in Hartford. Each session will offer the same activities, but are scheduled at different times to enable traffic control. Because this is such a popular event that has sold out every time in the past, it is recommended that families purchase tickets in advance to ensure a spot in their preferred session.

The LEGO KidsFest Hartford schedule is as follows:

Friday, December 3, 2010
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
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Session 1: 9:00am – 2:00pm
Session 1: 9:00am – 2:00pm
Opening Session: 4:00pm – 9:00pm
Session 2: 3:00pm – 8:00pm
Session 2: 3:00pm – 8:00pm

Among the many attractions, families will find:

• LEGO Model Museum: more than 40 life-sized models made entirely from LEGO bricks
• LEGO Master Builders: live demonstrations by the guys who play at work
• LEGO Creation Nation: build a personalized LEGO creation to add to a huge map of the U.S.
• LEGO Mystery Mural: build a mosaic tile to add to a giant mural to help reveal the image
• LEGO Race Ramp: build a car, then race it down the ramp against friends’ and family’s creations
• LEGO Games Arena: play new LEGO board games like Minotaurus and Creationary
• LEGO Cool Creations: a gallery of LEGO creations brought from home to put on display for all to see
• LEGO & LEGO DUPLO® Construction Zones: preschool & school aged kids build what they imagine
• LEGO Dioramas and Displays created by the community of regional LEGO fans and hobbyists
• An opportunity to enter to Win a Trip to LEGOLAND® California

For detailed information, to purchase tickets and to register for LEGO Club meetings, visit www.LEGOKidsFest.com. Tickets will only be available at the door if the session has not sold out in advance. Organizers strongly recommend that tickets be purchased in advance to attend the session of choice. Visit www.LEGOKidsFest.com for updates day of event.

Photo Courtesy of LEGO KidsFest

Really, who doesn’t love Sanrio? Known to bring smiles to people of all ages for decades, Sanrio is now celebrating their 50th anniversary with a fun line-up of events – including a tour, inspired by their “small gift, big smile” philosophy.

Part of the nationwide celebration will include a cross-country mobile pop-up shop tour and special anchor events in Los Angeles and Miami. These festivities will pay tribute to Sanrio’s fans whose overwhelming support through the years has helped the global company grow into a $5 billion business with such popular characters as Hello Kitty®, Little Twin Stars®, My Melody®, Patty & Jimmy™, Tuxedosam™, Keroppi®, Badtz-Maru®, Chococat® and many more.

Launching at the end of October, the super cute mobile unit will travel on a cross-country tour making its way to the East Coast. Cities will include Las Vegas, Austin, Atlanta and New York among others. The pop-up shop will offer a highly edited selection of “50 must have” collectible products, including several items developed exclusively for Small Gift, celebrating the legacy of Sanrio and their characters. Special edition tote bags and tees to vinyl figures and laptop sleeves will be available exclusively at the pop-up shop. The mobile unit will also carry iconic Sanrio items and special product collaborations from such companies as Aerial7, Lomography, Mimoco, Loungefly, Girl Skateboard Co., tokidoki and Demeter Fragrance.

Fans will have a chance to meet and greet with some of Sanrio’s characters, snap photos and participate in special fun activities. The mobile pop-up shop tour will include a character product retrospective, art show, pop-up shop, interactive activities and special event programming throughout the length of the celebration,  running from late October through mid-December.

Sanrio will also be hosting anchor events in Los Angeles and Miami, bringing a multi-dimensional experience to fans of all ages.  The Los Angeles event will launch on November 12 and run through November 21 and the Miami event will launch December 2 and run through December 5 to coincide with Art Basel and will be aimed at Sanrio fans and the art community alike. Both Los Angeles and Miami events will incorporate charitable components specific to each city.

To commemorate their golden anniversary, Sanrio will share a memorable experience and smiles with fans across the country while offering a variety of keepsake items and limited edition products to commemorate the event. A special 50th Anniversary iPhone App will provide fun facts about all the characters and allow fans to track all 50th Anniversary events, including truck location and product releases. For continually updated information regarding Small Gift, please visit www.sanrio.com/.

Source: Sanrio

National Geographic is inviting young photographers around the world to take part in the 2010 National Geographic International Photography Contest for Kids. This competition is being conducted in partnership with the U.S. edition of National Geographic Kids magazine (also available in Canada) and 12 local-language editions of the magazine in Bulgaria, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Russia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Contestants ages 6-14 from the U.S. and Canadian may enter now through Nov. 1, 2010, by submitting one photo in any or all of four categories: People; Animals; Scenery; and Humor. Photos can be black-and-white or color, shot with a digital camera or with conventional film. Entries can be submitted online or via mail. Entry forms and official contest rules can be found here.

A panel of four National Geographic experts: Melina Bellows, National Geographic Kids magazine editor in chief; Annie Griffiths, National Geographic photographer; Steve St. John, National Geographic Image Collection senior editor; and Jay Sumner, National Geographic Kids photo director, will be the judges of the competition.

The Prizes:

One grand-prize winner from the U.S. / Canada regional contest will be selected from the four first-place category winners to receive a trip for four to Toronto, Canada, courtesy of Tourism Toronto and the Delta Chelsea Hotel. The five-day, four-night trip includes CityPasses to explore Toronto’s attractions, including the CN Tower, the tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere; the Ontario Science Center; Casa Loma; the Royal Ontario Museum; and the Toronto Zoo.

The four first-place and four second-place category winners also will win digital camera kits as well as National Geographic books. The international grand-prize winner will receive a trip to National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Source & Photo Credit National Geographic Society

September 18-19 will see the sixth annual Fairy Houses Tour come to Portsmouth NH and the city’s historic South End will once again be filled with tiny whimsical fairy houses built by children, artisans, families and gardening clubs.

The self-guided tour, which is raising funds for non profit organisations in the local community will make its way through the city’s historic locations including Strawbery Banke, Prescott Park, Governor John Langdon House and the Wentworth-Gardener House and has been proudly Sponsored by the Friends of the South End neighborhood association.

The Fairy Houses tour itself is inspired by children’s book author and illustrator of the award-winning Fairy Houses Series®, Tracy Kane,  whose successful series has created a fairy houses boom, with the tiny, magical houses springing up all around the country and indeed the world! Tracy will also be on hand at the event to sign books and greet families so it is a great opportunity for fans to meet her in person.

A highlight of the upcoming tour is said to be the Enchanted Forest, where families will be able to get involved and build their own fairy houses! Amidst all of this there will be more top entertainment as excerpts from “Fairy Houses – The Journey” is performed by the Southern New Hampshire Ballet, there will be an “Artisans Showcase” featuring fairy houses built by local artists and crafts people. Plus, the New Hampshire Theatre Project will provide “Fairy Guides” to help direct attendees. And of course, the Incredible Bubble Machine.

The self-guided tour will be conducted from noon till 4 pm both Saturday and Sunday, Sept 18 & 19. Advance tickets go on sale September 1st at Prescott Park and G. Willikers Toyshop at 13 Market Street. Tickets will also be available on the days of the tour. Advance prices: children $4.00; adults $10.00, seniors $8.00. Family discount ticket $20.00 admits two adults with two children. Day of tour prices: children $5.00; adults $15.00; seniors $10.00. Tickets include admission to all historic homes on the tour. Free parking available on Peirce Island.

It is expected that this year will be bigger and better than ever, with record breaking attendance, so to find out more go to http://www.fairyhouses.com.

Nicole, Dickey and Elina

Every mom needs a little pampering and something as simple as having your hair done can make you feel like a million dollars! Nicole Feliciano from Momtrends and Elina from Mamaista.com, know their stuff when it comes to Mom Style. These two fashionable moms put on an event that was one of the highlights of my weekend at BlogHer 2010.

Located at the Hair Rules Salon on 9th Avenue in New York City, iCandy Strollers and Hair Rules sponsored an evening of primping and pampering. Dickey, the founder of Hair Rules is simply genious when it comes to styling. Just ask Michelle Obama, Alicia Keys, Sarah Jessica Parker, Rihanna and the other celebrities he has worked with over the years! After developing his own line of hair products, Anthony Dickey founded his own salon that gives off a vibe all it’s own – relaxed, yet classy. Hair Rules New York is also the very first and only multi-textural hair salon in the U.S., that offers the healthiest approach to hair care and styling.

Child Mode & Momtrends

I was lucky enough to have my hair done by this styling guru and have to say I was ready to bring him home with me. I’ve found my go-to salon for when I’m in the City again!

Signature cocktails, fruity concoctions and light refreshments were served by classy gentlemen waiters and enjoyed by some of the top fashion and beauty bloggers.

The highlight for me was an introduction to a new member of the iCandy family, the Peach. With it’s sleek chrome detailing, one hand smooth folding, pop in and out seats and smooth ride, this could very well be the Mercedes of strollers. I dedicated an entire post to this beauty, that can be viewed here.

Photo Credit: Nadia Carriere and Elina Furman

Vera Sweeney, Nadia Carriere and Audrey McClelland

When two fashionable women such as Vera Sweeney and Audrey McCelland put on an event, what else is there to expect put pure fabulousness? From the location, to the guests to the sponsors, everything was stylish, fun and as light and bubbly as a glass of champagne.

Twelve amazing fashion and beauty sponsors came out to give advice, tips and samples (by samples I mean full-size products) to 350 BlogHer attendees!

Skechers Shape-Ups started the day off by giving out trainers to some of the attendees who decided to take part in the morning Skechers walk. These shoes shape and tone while providing an additional workout thanks to their cool technology.

Celebrity stylist Robert Verdi stopped by to help the attendees figure out their size with the new Miraclebody Jeans. These jeans literally make you look 10 lbs lighter and I don’t know how they do it, but the fit is perfect. They feel as though they are custom-made. Amazing!

I met the oh so talented fashion designers Liz Lange and her sister Erica Wagman. These two women have put together a smart and informative website, Shopafrolic where you can find fresh, new and stylish fashion picks.

Lia Sophia showed off pieces of their Fall 2010 jewellery line and gave each Blogger the choice between 4 of their beautiful pieces. I’m hooked and hope to find a rep in my are, this jewelery is gorgeous!

Hanes introduced their new ComfortFlex Fit Bra that provides a comfortable and flexible fit, without the wire. As there are no cup sizes to worry about, you have the choice of three: Small, Medium and Large – easy peasy.

Tide has come up with a brilliant product that I could have used during my travels to NYC (you won’t catch me anywhere without it now). Swash eliminates the need for an iron or fabric freshener for moms who are forever on the run or out of time (note: all mothers). The Tide Team gave a demonstration on how easy it is to use their product. You simply spray, give your clothes a little pat over, pull slightly and the wrinkles disappear. Amazing!

Remington really got it right with their three booths. While introducing everyone to the new Remington Pearl line, celebrity stylist Richard Marin and a team of stylists gave the attendees of the event a pampering session of hair styling using their new line of hair products. The Wet-to-dry flat iron is a must-have!

E.L.F Cosmetics had professional make-up artists providing free makeovers to the ladies and proved that beauty and makeup doesn’t have to break the bank. Their prices are incredible, which is surprising considering the quality of the products.

Other sponsors included celebrity hair stylist Sarah Potempa, Powermat, Kodak, Kmart Design and more.

I asked Vera and Audrey a couple of questions in regards to the event:

CM: Where did the idea for Getting Gorgeous come from?

Getting Gorgeous was born during the Disney Blogging Conference earlier this year. Audrey and I sat together by chance and REALLY hit it off. Next thing you know we were blood promising to work together forever. It took about 6 months to put the event together and we couldn’t be happier with the results.

CM: What made you both decide to partner up on this event?

I think we decided to join forces once we saw that we were so like minded. It also doesn’t hurt that we instantly bonded on a personal level as well.

CM: Will this be an ongoing event? Are you coming to BlogHer 2011 in San Diego?

Yes, this is absolutely going to be an ongoing event. We have 2 conferences firmed up and are currently working on a third. Our HOPE is that we can do 4 or 5 a year on a larger scale and then do several intimate gatherings in NYC for local bloggers.

For more information on Getting Gorgeous or to sign up for their next event please be sure to visit their website!

Photo Credit: Moosh In Indy, Eric Thomas, Mishelle Lane and Nadia Carriere

The summer is nearly over and we are already nearing the home stretch. Lord & Taylor is holding a day of fun and fashion for the entire family on Saturday, August 21, 2010. This fun School-la-la event will offer various activities, a chance to win $150 kid’s wardrobe, and a Back to School Fashion Show, featuring kids from each store’s local area modeling the newest, latest and greatest in fall fashions, will will be held at every local Lord & Taylor from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

From 1pm-5pm there will be various special events, and at 3pm, there will be a Back to School Fashion Show, featuring kids from each store’s local area modeling the newest fall fashions! This event will take place at every Lord & Taylor location, where over 2,200 children between the ages of 4 and 11 will participate in local shows.

This is a great way to get your children excited and ready for back to school in a fun and fashionable way. School-la-la is sponsored by Guess Kids, Nina Kids, Quiksilver, Roxy, and Sperry Shoes.

Visit Lord & Taylor’s School-la-la for additional details. And don’t forget to stay In The Know!