Starwood Vacation Ownership

A few years ago we purchased a timeshare through Starwood (Westin, W Hotels, Sheraton, Four Points, A Loft, St Regis, Element, La Meridian and the Luxury Collection). It all started when I was planning sales meetings for work and I fell in love with the Westin hotels and the heavenly bed. I was also deeply in love with the W Hotels. We received an invitation (I'm sure you have gotten one from some hotel chain) to stay at the Westin Kierland hotel in Scottsdale Arizona for 5 nights for super cheap. So we went and if you wanted an extra $100 gift certificate you could take a tour of their villas (which are the timeshares). We did the tour and sat through the sales part and we couldn't say no, so we bought one! I love to stay in nice hotels and we couldn't always afford to when we went on vacation so this was an assurance that I could always stay at the hotels that I wanted to. Plus, we now would have a definite vacation every year at any of the 19 villas resorts in places like Hawaii, Colorado, the Bahamas and Palm Springs. The program can be confusing if you don't learn the details on how to convert your timeshare to resorts that are not the one you purchased at and how you can earn Starwood Preferred Guest points (which are different than your timeshare options) to get free nights at any Starwood hotel in the world. But, once you get that down it's easy to plan vacations and earn extra nights by using your Starwood Amex. Since we purchased it two years ago we have been to Arizona twice, San Francisco, two islands on Hawaii, New York and Palm Springs and we have not paid a cent for our room. We travel freely and cheaply and we only have to worry about airfare or gas and food. It was a big investment at first but worth it and we will have it our whole lives and can pass it on to our kids. We are going to stay at the St Regis in Dana Point for our 5-year anniversary for free this October. I definitely recommend this program to anyone interested. Let me know if you are interested and I can get you an invitation to stay at the Arizona location for 5 nights for around $450. For more info go to www.starwoodvacationownership.com.

I love Small Paul

Ok so if you know me, you know that 99% of Brody's wardrobe is Small Paul and now even Piper's wardrobe has a large collection of it as well (thanks to the warehouse sale 2 weeks ago). I love Small Paul so I have to give the lovely people at Paul Frank a shout out. My love of Small Paul began the day I could fit Brody into a 2T and I never looked back. We have purchased most of it from Nordstroms, however the warehouse sales, Ebay and a once in a lifetime 50% off the entire store in San Francisco shopping spree has helped contribute to our collection. Now they also make baby sizes too! So here are some photos to showcase some of our Small Paul outfits of the past!

http://www.paulfrank.com/clothing/smallpaul

Bellah May Stroller Sunshade

We just got back from vacationing in Scottsdale, Arizona and we spent pretty much all of our time at the pool or the outdoor mall. I used this sunshade for our stroller (we have the bugaboo) and I got compliments EVERYWHERE we went, by all different types of women (moms, grandmas, young women). I love this sunshade because the bugaboo doesn't have a lot of options for shading the baby in the carseat or the regular seat. I have purchased the bugaboo umbrella and sunshade and neither worked to my liking. So this summer I purchased this Bellah May sunshade from Hush Baby in Ladera Ranch in an adorable print (different from the one above) and it saves me everywhere I go! I never have to worry about Piper getting sun because it shades no matter where I am. The shades range from $75-$85 and my husband about died when he saw how much it was, but now he sees what a good investment it was. I definitely recommend it!!!!!!

For more info go to www.bellahmayproducts.com.

My Blankee

I absolutely love this blanket and have been using it a lot for Piper lately, it is so soft and I get a lot of compliments on it! It washes good too! Even though it is getting close to summer and this will be too warm to wrap her in, I love to lay her on it around the house. I can tell how much she loves to snuggle in it. For more info and to see their other products go to www.myblankeeinc.com.