Movies to see in 2014

Last year I did a blog post of my must-see movies of 2013. As 2013 comes to a close, I ended up seeing 30 of approximately 60 on my list. That's not a super high ratio, but I saw all the ones I really wanted to see, and the rest I'm sure I'll make my way to at some point in the future. And to be fair, a couple of the films had their release dates changed or I just couldn't find a way to see the movie, so it's all good.

I'm writing this post at the beginning of the year, but movies are announced all the time, so like I did with last year's post, I will regularly come back to cross off ones I've seen.

All titles link to their theatrical trailer (or their IMDb page, in the case that the trailer has not yet been released), and the movies I'm most jazzed about seeing each month will have the trailer directly in the post (again, once they've released one).

You can also just view my full playlist of the trailers here.

So here is my list of movies I'll be checking out this year (by release date)

January

Gimme Shelter

A.C.O.D.

American Hustle
The Wolf of Wall Street

G.B.F.

That Awkward Moment

February

Barefoot

Labor Day

Charlie Countryman

Cavemen

Vampire Academy
Welcome to Yesterday
Her

March

Divergent
Noah

April

The Quiet Ones

The Other Woman
The Motel Life

May

Neighbors
Blended
Maleficent

June

22 Jump Street
The Fault in our Stars

July

Sex Tape

Magic in the Moonlight
Wish I Was Here

August

What If
Let's Be Cops
If I Stay
The Giver

September

Addicted

October

The Interview
Gone Girl
The Maze Runner

November

The Hunger Games: MockingJay 1
Fury

December

Into the Woods
Annie

Release Date TBA

Tar

Palo Alto
Free Ride
Poltergeist

Toddler Holiday Gift Guide

You all know by now, my favourite site to shop at is Zulily. They have new deals every day, with great items for the whole family. Right now they even have an entire men's gift section I'm having a hard time resisting. Anyway, since the holidays are approaching it's time to think about gifts! I've bought quite a few of Liam's toys and books off of Zulily over the years (the discount can be pretty unreal sometimes), and right now they have an amazing selection, so I thought I would do a quick post of some of their items. This is not a sponsored Zulily post or anything haha, but I will include referral links if you'd like to sign up that way:

http://www.zulily.com/invite/obbsandlala

My son is 3 this year, and these are all items he currently has and loves, has loved in the past, or I know would love to receive this Christmas.

Wooden Toys

Melissa & Doug Stackers

Kid Kraft Wooden Blocks | Click N Play Animals

Train Sets | Melissa & Doug Lacing Beads

Active Toys

Dushi Push Cars

E-Z Forts | KaZam Balance Bike

Pretend Play

EverEarth Work Bench

Doctor Doll | Grocery Toys

Melissa & Doug Doll House

Art & Music

My Wall Easel Kit

Baby Acoustic Guitar | Sticker Books

Melissa & Doug Symphony Set

 Just for Fun

Esthex Dolls

Mic-O-Mac Construction Kit | Calico Critters

Non-Toys

Cloud B Sleep Turtle

Tadpoles Play Mats | Brown Deluxe Chair

Vapur Quencher | Carseat Cinema
Eric Carle Collection

Lotus Bumz Diapers | Hats & Gloves

Leveret Holiday Sleepwear | Ben Bat Sled Set

Keep in mind, these specific items I'm talking about are on Zulily right now for these prices, but they could sell out at any time, and if you're reading this post 2-3 days from now, they will be gone (sales usually only run for 3 days). Either way, I guess the "guide" portion of this is still relevant! If they are sold out on Zulily, I made sure to include the brand name of most of the items so you can do a quick internet search for them if you love something but missed the sale. Thanks for reading!

xoxo
Lala

Foxes, Chevron and Paisley, OH MY!

This morning I uploaded a new video, "New Cloth Diaper Products 2013" where I talked for an obnoxious 17 minutes about all the new fluffy announcements from the year, with the focus being on recent announcements from trade shows like the ABC Kid's Expo. Even though I won't be purchasing any of these new items any time soon (spoiler alert: Liam is now 70% potty trained) I definitely still immerse myself in the cloth diaper world (that goes without saying I'm sure..did I mention the seventeen minute video I just made all about the poop catchers..?)

Anywhoozles, here are the new things from 2013 that I think are the most exciting. This year was definitely not huge on accessory announcements, so mostly it's all about the new prints for me.

Blueberry Paisley | Tots Bots Orchard | Rumparooz Charlie

AppleCheeks Steel Me | Best Bottoms Fox Trot

Sloomb Honey Fox | Nicki's Diapers Chevron | GroVia Drift

Okay, and here's my notes on some stuff...

Best: 

• The revamped GroVia newborn is super intriguing to me. Encased leg elastics and an improved inner sounds exactly what people have been looking for. Not gonna lie, I will definitely be purchasing some for my someday newborn stash.

• The fox, chevron and paisley prints in general. So trendy, so cute. Isn't it weird how we all suddenly start to love the same thing at the same time? Owls were all the rage, then hedghogs, and now foxes. But seriously, all the new fox prints are so cute, I could cry.

• Sloomb is really impressing me with their fitted prints. I cannot get over their recent collections, especially the new Sarah Watts prints..like seriously. Words fail me.

• While I don't love a lot of the prints Tots Bots is releasing, I know that is personal preference, and I have to commend them on how busy they must be! Releasing trainers, swim diapers, fitteds, all-in-ones, all in different designs and prints - they must have an army of people working on these! haha

Alright:

• Keep in mind that I've never been the biggest Cotton Babies fan, when I tell you I'm just not feeling it. The new prints (while amazingly original) are not my style at all, and the almost 50% price increase on the Econobums cover just does not do it for me. The wool dryer balls and wet bag options (rumours are there are more sizes and prints coming) keep me interested though.

• The overdone prints. There's nothing wrong with releasing a print that everyone's done already..but they just get so repetitive and boring to me! Best Bottoms has a camo print now, AMP has a busy animal print, Bummis released the polka dots..it's just all been done before! This year has been SO print heavy, and I know people go crazy for them, but I just wish more companies would focus on coming out with some gorgeous solid colours. 

Meh:

• Fuzzibunz has given up. At least that's how it feels to me, as a huge Fuzzibunz fan girl. They released some new prints and colours that you can literally find on hundreds of $5 cloth diapers..and just haven't stepped up as much as I wish they would. As a company who prides themselves on being an original and innovative diaper company who have paved the way for other diaper brands...I feel like they just could not care any less at this point. The $20 price tag no longer matches the level of brand effort in my opinion...they need to really revamp their brand; new original prints, a new product, line, something, anything!

And that's it for now. If you didn't get a chance to comment on the video, please let me know in the comments of this post what announcement you're most interested in. Is it the new Thirsties diaper? The Nicki's Diaper products? Or are you loving the foxes as much as everyone else? Even if you're not currently cloth diapering, there's nothing wrong with appreciating new fluff or putting your two cents worth into things.

Thanks guys!

Lala

What's In My Wristlet?

I don't know when it happened, when I went from being a crazy giant bag lady, to a simple clutch/wristlet kinda girl. Last week my optometrist commented on my lack of baggage and said something along the lines of "I've never had a young lady come in here before, not carrying her entire life in her purse." My inner self was like "Yes, I'm finally low maintenance!" haha. 

Now that Liam is 3, he doesn't require that much "stuff," he can eat anything we buy out and about, he can entertain himself with his surroundings and not a diaper bag full of toys...he's easy. So really all I have to do is pack my little clutch full of stuff for me, and we're out the door!

Merona Wristlet | Keys & Keychain | Cards |  Eye Drops | Revlon Concealer | Hourglass Child Lipgloss | MAC Myth Lipstick | Blistex Lip Balm | iPhone & Case | Hint Mints | Change

Merona Wristlet: This is my new favourite wristlet, it's not too big but not too small and totally my style. I actually picked it up from Target (score!)

Beauty Products: Blistex lip balm is a must this time of year, when all the skin on my face begins to dry out and crack (ew), and then I also bring whatever lip colour I'm rocking that day. Lately, it's been Myth by MAC, paired with Child from Hourglass (sample size). Revlon colorstay concealer in Fair is also a necessity.

Other stuff: Obviously my license, bank card and library card go with me (actually, I'm pretty sure that's Liam's library card) along with my keys and super cute keychain I got from Ardene, eye drops when my contacts are feeling a bit dry and my Hint Mints (cinnamon flavour - aka amazing). Oh and some change, because a loonie and quarter are essential since I never remember which grocery store cart takes which! #momlife

iphone: This is not the most exciting item, I'm like 3 models behind (tragic, right?) so showing that to you isn't going to welcome oohs and ahhs, but at least my phone case is pretty beautiful! It's by All For Color and called Pretty Posies. It's so my taste, I could puke. I just love it.

Well that's it for today, thanks for reading! And thanks to Tanya Burr for inspiring this post <3

xoxo Lala

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Lipstick TAG

I found a tag video on Youtube called the "crazy about lipstick tag" and decided to film and answer the questions myself, you can find that video here. When filling out the description, I went out to find the originator of the tag, as I always do so I can include the link and give proper credit. Well when I went to do so, I found that the original questions were from this blog, and as the tag has gone around youtube, I guess the questions have been altered. I thought I would go ahead and answer the questions I missed from the original blog post, in my own blog post :)

What was your first ever lipstick?

Funny enough, I just stumbled upon it the other day when reorganizing my collection, I had no idea I still had it! It definitely needs to be thrown away, as that purchase was probably 8+ years ago now (man, that makes me feel old). Anyway, the name has rubbed off, but all I know is it's a disgusting deep but bright magenta/hot pink/so gross on my skin tone I don't even know how to appropriately describe it colour. One of those things I bought just for the sake of owning my first item of makeup.

What is your most worn lipstick?

My "most worn" lipstick is definitely not my "all time favourite" lipstick, which is why I didn't include it in the video, as it's not that worth mentioning I don't think. Anyway, my most worn lipstick is without a doubt, Myth by MAC. I could live without it (I have a few other MAC nudes I actually prefer) and it's not my all time favourite, but I find myself using it the most for some reason haha, try to understand that girl logic ;)

What is your favourite brand for lipstick?

Revlon and MAC are always at the top of my list because of their  quality but also their finish options and colour selection, but Buxom also really impresses me.

How many lip products do you currently have in your handbag? (Including balms and glosses)

Four, which would be a pretty average number for me. I always always have a chapstick (either Blistex Lip Medex or an EOS lip balm) in my bag, then the lipstick and lipgloss combo I am wearing that particular day, along with a back-up lipstick (almost always a nude) in case I find myself getting tired of my current lip colour, which occasionally happens when I'm rocking a really bold lip. So 4 products.

What lipstick do you use to rock a red lip?

I rarely do reds, but when I do it is Strawberry Suede by Revlon. It's matte and creamy and perfect. If I'm doing an bold orange lip (which is more common for me) it's Sail La Vie by MAC.

How do you store your lipsticks?

I just purchased the Alex 9 drawer from IKEA for make-up storage, and my lipstick is still in the process of being organized. Right now I have a little shelf above the Alex that fits all of my Revlon lipstick (my most worn overall brand) an acrylic organizer for daily makeup on top of the unit (which fits  up to 12 lipsticks, so my MAC lipstick collection fits perfectly) and then one drawer inside the unit is dedicated to all the stragglers (along with stains, balms, glosses etc.)

What lip products are you currently lusting after?

Oh man, this answer could go on and on.  There are a few MAC shades I would love to get my hands on (specifically from collections I can no longer find) as well as a couple Korres products, but mostly I'm lusting over Too Faced La Creme Lip Colours (Juicy Melons is at the top of my list) as well as Tarte Glamazon lipsticks which I've always been obsessed with (but have never found the nerve to buy) especially in the colours Bold and Enlightened.

Thanks for this tag Maxi, it was definitely a fun one :) Lipstick addicts unite!

-Lala

Favourite Cloth Diaper Prints

These are my current favourite cloth diaper prints. I'll list the brand name, but keep in mind you can/will likely find each specific fabric pattern in multiple brands and types of diapers.

Chevron is so trendy right now, it's all over home decor items, clothing, accessories etc. I'm apparently a huge trend follower, because I love me some chevron/zigzag/squiggles... whatever you want to call this pattern. This grey chevron diaper from the etsy shop TheEliMonster is beyond

precious.

AMP has probably one of the cutest cloth diaper designs out there in my opinion. The frilly looking leg gussets, the rounded tabs..and we can't forget the amazing print options. This elephant print named Wee Trunks is almost too much to handle.

I didn't want to put diapers on this list that weren't readily available, but when I looked at this Goodmama 795 Jo OBV (according to her Flickr..but I can't find it anywhere else), I couldn't not include it. After all, it's at the top of my Goodmama "have to have it" list, the delicate floral print is right up my alley. I could easily make a top 6 list all of goodmama, they are just so freaking cute!

I know this diaper isn't for everybody, but seriously...whoever created the print on this Baby Wizard must have gotten a hold of my brain and made this diaper specifically for me. The leaves, the orange and navy and grey, the random goose...or is that a swan? Either way, it's a win.

This is my only cheat, because it's not technically a cloth diaper, but it's a cloth diaper accessory so it's allowed, I've decided. But seriously, have you ever seen such a glorious array of colours and geometric-wonderfulosity? I had not until finding this Etsy seller PETUNIAS.

Lastly, this beauty from Ananbaby (and the 2,349,823 other brands who also sell it) is probably my favourite. Sometimes I'm in the mood for calm and cool colours and prints, and sometimes I just want a bright colour and pattern explosion; this bird design definitely provides that!

Thanks for reading my loves, let me know your favourite prints of the 6 I listed, or better yet, tell me your favourite print! Go ahead and link to the diaper or brand, so we can all appreciate the art of the fluff.

Liam's Thomas the Train Birthday Party

Thomas the Train, Thomas the Tank Engine, Thomas and Friends etc etc. Whatever you want to call it, that was the theme of Liam's birthday party. He's loved Thomas for quite some time now, so during his annual camping birthday weekend I threw together some train themed stuff. Honestly, I started getting stuff together only a week before the party, and put most of it together in like 24 hours, so I could have done more or done better, but Liam loved it so it was perfect :)

I had an original plan to make train cars for the cupcakes to sit in,  à la this blog  or even cute cupcake wrappers..or something. But when it was all said and done, I ended up running into Walmart and picking up some cheap cupcakes haha the boys loved it...and the moms loved their horribly stained hands (what dye do they use?!)

I also had 2 picture frames with photos of Liam in them, but unfortunately I didn't get a great picture of, but these are the two photos I took for the frames:

I got this "chug chug, chew chew" idea from here and thought it was super cute. So I just threw together a couple different designs in Photoshop and printed them out on some glossy paper. I love the water bottle labels because it's such a simple idea but really adds something to the whole theme. 

And finally, the banner. I love this banner. It was so fun to shop for fabrics and put together! Obviously I didn't have some fancy backdrop or nice crisp white walls or something to take pictures in front of, just nature haha, so the full effect is probably not quite there.

And Liam's face when you tell him to smile. He's a hoot.

Thanks for reading! I'm already thinking about ideas for Liam's 4th birthday! Check out my Pinterest board for birthday and other special event inspiration, as well as my Youtube for an upcoming video montage of Liam's birthday weekend!

-Lala

Liam's Alphabet Room

I adore Liam's room, it was the first room we put together when we moved into this house almost 2 years ago. I love clean lines, soft muted colours and beautiful flowy decor, but when it came to my toddler's room, I wanted a crayon box explosion type look. Colours everywhere, nothing really matching..but all matching at the same time. We went with pine furniture and white linens, and then a rainbow of colours everywhere else.

As our time enjoying this wonderful home is coming to an end (shocking news, I know), I wanted to share some of my favourite parts of Liam's room.
Of course the first has to be the one that takes the most space...and took the most work.

The alphabet wall.

I had had this idea for quite a while before we finally moved and I could make my dreams of an alphabet wall a reality. In that time, I found a bunch of other bloggers who had done similar alphabet walls, and got even more inspired! These letters (while not perfect, or perfectly aligned haha) came from everywhere and anywhere. That "U" is a horseshoe that my grandfather had for probably 60 years above his workshop door. The "B" I found deep in a bin of junk at the thrift store, and covered it in a page from one of Liam's books, that I probably cut wrong 3 times before finally getting a usable scrap. That "W" was part of an iron sign that said "wine" until we took a grinder to it. Every letter was bought from a different store, painted or glued or cut or mended; it was a blast.

The bed.

A custom pine log bed, made by a local furniture maker/artist. I love the structure, the colour and all the little imperfections of the wood. The pillow and pillowcase are from Superstore, the white blanket is Coyuchi and the rainbow blanket was found at Winners (Piccolo Bambino brand).

The little details.

I found this awesome recycled magazine wastebasket at Bed, Bath and Beyond and the owl and piggy bank were thrifted (but I do think the owl bank originally comes from Chapters/Indigo). I thought it would be good to integrate some white decor into the room, so the colourful-ness wasn't too overwhelming. I think these break up the colours well, but still look like they fit in. 

and you can't complain about the view.

If you want to see more; like my cloth diaper organization, cute wall canvas art and how we store toys in his room - make sure to check out our room tour video :)