Bubbles, bubbles

Disclaimer: I was provided a Bubble Fantasia to facilitate this review, however all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Like all small children, my little ones are obsessed with bubbles. I've grown to despise bubbles because of it. They constantly get mad because I'm not blowing the bubbles fast enough, and then when my 4 year old tries, either the wand is inside the jar and she can't get it, or she's dumped half the jar on the ground or on herself. Someone is usually very upset by the end of bubbles. Some days it's me and some days it's her.

Needless to say, I was THRILLED when I saw the Bubble Fantasia at Blogger Bash in New York over the summer. Billions of bubbles in seconds. It was a dream and I knew I had to have it!

I can't even put into words how excited Emmalee was when it showed up! We were outside 5 minutes later getting it set up. While it was extremely easy to set up, it took 8 AA batteries! We only had 6 so we did not put batteries into the base which allowed the machine to operate 360 degrees, but since we were blowing the bubbles off the porch into the yard, it worked out just as well.

Both kids loved the bubbles.  There were so many and they had a blast running around trying to pop them. I loved that I could sit there with being yelled at for not blowing them fast enough!

The Bubble Fantasia offers 3 colored lights that flash in addition to 360 degree spinning base but the toy is just as fun if you are like us, and short a few batteries!

Have a SUPER Movie Night with MARVEL Granola Bars! #MARVELSnackBar

 This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MARVELSnackBar #CollectiveBias

School is definitely in session again and we're back to laying out clothes and packing lunches before bed. Unfortunately, the snacks meant for school, were disappearing before they could get into lunch boxes so we had to do a quick run to Target to pick up some more lunch packables! We like to stick to better for you options like applesauce, fruit and granola bars. Imagine Emma's excitement when she saw her favorite MARVEL superheroes on her granola bars! We're big MARVEL fans and Emma tried to smooth talk me into buying them so that she could "get superhero powers too'! I must admit though, it was an easy sell, they are nutritious, affordable and come in chocolate chip and peanut butter chocolate chip flavors!

Emma's school is peanut free so we grabbed a couple boxes of MARVEL chocolate chip chewy granola bars and started to head out, however, I was met with cries of "Can we please have a movie party?!" as we walked by the popcorn section. Being back at work everyday has absolutely cut into my fun time with her and her brother so I was happy to oblige to a movie theater night! We added some chocolate candies, MARVEL themed flavored waters and popcorn to the carriage and headed home.

A couple nights later we set up for our movie night and had a few friends over. I loved having healthier snacks to offer our guests and everything looked amazing on our superhero table cloth!

Because we're lovers of all things MARVEL, I added a reusable shopping bag and some collectible toy figures that we owned to the table to make it even more super! Dave pretended that his granola bar was Thor's hammer, and even went as far as printing out the top of the hammer to tape to his bar! MARVEL Super Hero Snack Bars are 40% bigger than the average granola bar (normally 24g), which definitely made them feel more super!

I also loved how each bar had a different character on it!

There are six different wrappers: Captain America, Hulk, Spider Man, Iron Man, Black Widow, and Thor. I was a bit sad that we didn't get the Hulk in our first box, but we did get the other 5 characters! I grabbed a Spider Man, David had a Captain America, and Emmalee, of course, chose "the girl": Black Widow!

On the back of the box, there is a collectible card you can cut out as well! Each box has a different card and there are 4 cards total: Hulk, Iron Man, Hawk Eye, and Spider Man. I may have chosen this box because it had Spider Man; he's always been my favorite!

Emmalee had a blast at her superhero movie night and I was happy to have snacks that were both nutritious and delicious! Our guests had a blast too! The MARVEL theme was a hit with both children and adults and the few leftovers we had made their way into Emma's lunchbox for Monday!

We had a blast at our Movie theater night, but I'm also loving all the super ideas at the MARVEL hub. You'll have to let me know which ideas are your favorite!

Our Five Year Anniversary at the Hotel Commonwealth, Boston

I'm so late getting this up but David and I celebrated our FIVE YEAR wedding anniversary last month, which is crazy when you think about how we only knew each other for 6 months before getting engaged, and only waited another 8 months before getting married! And no... I wasn't pregnant, but we did end up getting pregnant with a honeymoon baby and she was born 10 months later!

We wanted a really special night and were thrilled when we found out that Zac Brown Band was going to be playing at Fenway Park on our actual anniversary! We immediately stocked ticketing and after snagging 3rd row floor seats (!!!) we decided we were going to make a whole night of it.  We secured a babysitter, well two... one for the evening and one for overnight, and then booked our hotel.
We found a great rate for the Hotel Commonwealth, which is just a quarter of a mile away from Fenway Park which meant we could walk to the show! The Hotel Commonwealth is a luxury hotel and I only mention that because most of our hotel accommodations fall under the $100 per night mark... we don't usually do fancy, so when we pulled up outside The Hotel Commonwealth, I was already in awe of the gorgeous building.

via 

The gorgeous lobby area and the help at the front desk were even more amazing.  We had an amazing woman named Felicia take care of us.  She was warm and personable, welcoming us, asking if we were staying for the concert.  We mentioned that we had gotten tickets for our anniversary and it was our first night away together since having our daughter four years ago.  She joked that we definitely needed the night off together and to enjoy, mentioning she could put us down for a late check-out if we wanted the morning to relax. We declined, said thank you, and were off to the room.

I'm obsessed with the furniture in the lobby.  That green couch was calling my name all night and the business center is a great idea for those who need to get some work done... I may have thought about blogging before leaving Sunday morning! :)

Our room was beautiful. The best part was that they could accommodate our request for down-free bedding as Dave is allergic, but what really made me fall in love was when Felicia called from the front desk to make sure the down-free room was up to par, ensuring that they were the correct down-free pillows. It only took a second to call us but it left such an impression.

We headed out for dinner and the concert.  We ended up at Yard House down the street and the concert was just amazing.  I have no words for how much I love the Zac Brown Band.

It was simply amazing.
After the show, we wandered to a couple of local bars and ended the night at the hotel's Island Creek Oyster Bar for one last drink.

Ready to head to the room for the night, we were entirely caught off guard by the bottle of champagne that was left for us, with a sweet note from the greatest guest service person I've ever met, Felicia, the front desk lady.

A little special treatment from @hotelcommonwealth. ❤ Along with a handwritten note from the guest services girl who checked us in, remembered it was our anniversary even though it was just in casual conversation and I'm a #hotelcommonwealth fan for life. You HAVE to stay here!

A photo posted by Heather (@heathgiff) on Aug 7, 2015 at 9:56pm PDT

I was blown away by The Hotel Commonwealth.  Between the walk from the Kenmore train station (literally right outside the station!), to the gorgeous decor and amazing staff, to the walking distance of Fenway Park and tons of great restaurants, it is hands down, the best hotel we've stayed at.

We're already considering next year's anniversary trip!