The much-loved Paddington is back in this hilarious new movie, all about this loveable bear and his search for a family in modern-day England.
Paddington, the bear from the much-loved series by Michael Bond, is coming to DVD/Blu Ray on April 28th.
Not familiar with the story of Paddington? Paddington is a Peruvian bear who travels to London in search of a new home after his home is destroyed. He is sent to London bearing a tag that states: “Please look after this bear. Thank you.” His label was styled after the labels that were attached to children that were sent out of London during the war by their parents to families outside of the city to care for their children. Paddington is noticed by a kind and loving Mother who is with her two children and husband. They decide to take him in for the night. What harm could this possibly cause? Only if they knew! On top of this, a taxidermist catches wind of his arrival and wants to capture this rare bear to add to her collection. Paddington shows his ‘adopted’ family about love, kindness and the true meaning of family.
Full of adventure, mishaps and hilarious encounters, it is easy to fall in love with Paddington. He is sweet, kind and loveable. Paddington is a movie that you and your family can cherish for years to come.
Here is a trailer of our sweet friend:
Our friends at Entertainment One are now giving one of my readers the chance to win their own copy of Paddington! My Canadian residents, eighteen years of age and older can enter via the Rafflecopter form below – good luck!
Set in the majestic and historical city of Florence, The Artisan’s Star follows the Barati’s family, their perfume shop and the passion of artistry.
About The Artisan’s Star
Elio’s perfumery in Florence is marked at the gates with a mosaic star. The shop immerses him in the artisanal world he loves but he harbors a regret. When a young man, he had created his own perfume but with his stubbornness he boxed it away before it ever came to fruition.
A second star now lights his life, his daughter Romina who is also an artist. She matches her father in talent, ambition and wonder for the world.
Changes are slowly coming to Florence and gone are the days of the true artist. When Romina tells her Father she does not want to carry on the family business, he tries desperately to hold on to the Florence he cherishes. He is forced to confront the lost opportunities of his youth as well acknowledge that tradition and modernity can co-exist.
My Thoughts
I have only been to Italy once in my life and in that short time that I was there I fell in love with the magic and tradition that is Italy. The streets are full of history and art is everywhere you look. You feel as though you are walking through history as you walk the streets. Florence is one of those cities that comes to life with its history. The Artisan’s Star had me wishing for another taste of Italy and inspired me to create some delicious recipes including amaretti cookies (and maybe some grappa too!).
The Artisan’s Star is a powerful book of the arts and how times have changed age-old traditions. Elio while young did not understand the beauty of his hometown and the traditions his Father tried to foster in him. As time goes by and life changes him, he takes on the responsibilities of his family perfumery even though this was not his dream. He gave up on his dream to ensure tradition stood strong. He is caught in the past not able to let go. This is a trap so many of us can fall into. Many times throughout the book we are witness to his struggle to let go and live in the present. At times it had me re-visiting my own life choices and how I wish I had pursued my own love of the arts but realized it never is too late to give up on your dream.
This is an incredible novel from start to finish that opens up slowly to Elio’s world and the artistry world of Florence full of tradition but rapidly changing environment. You will fall in love with the characters and the setting as Gabriella takes you to a world alive in the senses.
Gabriella Contestabile is an author, educator and owner of Su Misura Journeys, a boutique travelling company connecting people to the artisans of Florence. She emigrated from Italy to New York City in 1959. She currently lives in New York with her daughter, husband, mother and their Shih Tzu Oreo. The Artisan’s Star is her first novel.
My home is my sanctuary. It is where as a family we come together to relax, eat, laugh and enjoy each other’s company. I want our home to reflect our uniqueness and personalities. In order to do this sometimes we have to think and make purchases outside the box.
Artollo is a creative studio founded in 2011 designing limited edition Art prints, posters, watercolour prints, vinyl wall decals, mini decals, mugs, t-shirts and more! Artollo consists of a group of artists located in Brooklyn, New York who are dedicated to bringing you the best selection of art elements for your home, office, restaurant, children’s room, nursery or teen bedrooms.
You can find a great variety of unique designs on their website which also includes wall decals and onesies. You literally have easy one stop shopping!
We received this print for our youngest son:
He loved it! It suits his personality perfect and he decided he was the Elephant leader and the three followers were his cousins and brother (of course since he is the youngest this makes the most sense!). The print is on a water-colour textured paper with a similar look and feel to a water colour painting which I loved. I love working in water colours and have created my own designs for them using superheroes. This print was just fantastic and felt like it was created for my son alone. We put his print in a frame that we had picked up over the weekend and easily hung it up in his room.
One of the most unique sections on the Artollo site is their wall decals. I fell in love with their nursery selection (what child would not want to have their room look like this!). It feels like a story that came to life in their room.
The art designs vary in price on the website and all are within a very reasonable rate for the quality and unique design you receive.
Artollo is offering one of you the chance to win your own unique design from their website! My Canadian and American readers can enter via the Rafflecopter form below – GOOD LUCK!
As many of you may know I am the Mother to two beautiful young boys. I have also suffered with PCOS, survived four miscarriages and seven years of failing to conceive. This has never been an easy topic for me to discuss because of all the pain and frustration that goes along with miscarriage and failing to conceive. But the truth is, we are not alone. 1 in 5 couples will have difficulties conceiving. Many of my female readers reading this post will have lived through a miscarriage or infertility. We can each take a positive step at this very moment with patience and forgiveness. The Stork wants to help take care of the science part (because let’s face it if you have been dealing with fertility issues you understand that becoming pregnant comes down to science) with their home conception aid.
My journey started over eight years ago after the birth of my first son. I have always loved children and wanted a large family but this was not meant for me as we soon found out after I miscarried three times in one year. The pain of these miscarriages was awful and haunted me for months afterwards. I kept thinking what would my child have been like? Following these miscarriages came the worst six years of my life. I could not conceive at all. I was barely having monthly menstrual cycles. I saw an endocrinologist, a gynecologist, a homeopath and finally a fertility clinic. I put myself through rounds of vitamins and medications that made me so sick I couldn’t leave the house at times. I also knew that I could not afford the fertility treatments that I wanted so badly. That hurt even more.
Here are some tools to help you on your journey to pregnancy and parenthood:
Be Patient.
Pregnancy does not just happen right away so be kind to yourself and be patient. These little miracles can take time to happen. Some couples can even take up to a year to conceive!
Be Forgiving.
Do not be hard on yourself. It is not your fault that becoming pregnant is not happening right away. Don’t blame yourself or your partner. Learn to be kind to yourself.
Try to focus on the positive.
While it can seem impossible to see the light at the end of the tunnel, it will come. In the meantime focus on the positives in your life. Focus on de-stressing, eating right and getting enough exercise. Take time out for you even if it means reading a book in the bath! These little things help.
Speak With Your Doctor
Take the first steps to talk with your doctor. They may want to order blood work to rule out any causes for infertility. They may order other tests but it is always a good idea to keep your family health care team informed of your concerns and what is going on with your health.
Try a Home Based Conception Aid
The Stork has invented a safe and private way to help couples conceive at home. Dealing with fertility treatments can be personal and most of the time we crave our privacy (I was one of those individuals – it hurt to sit in the waiting room at the fertility clinics and it hurt to see others in the middle of their pregnancies). I was hurting and wanted to be able to take control of the situation more.
The Stork home conception aid uses a cervical cap insemination method. The Stork uses a condom like sheath that collects the sperm and a tampon like applicator to deliver the sperm close to the cervical opening. This helps to increase the chance of pregnancy (the success rate of this method is 20% which is comparable to the 16-21% success rates of IUIs). The Stork home conception kit is drug free, safe and a cost efficient first step on your pregnancy journey. The Stork provides a first step in fertility treatment for couples that are experiencing low sperm count, sperm mobility issues, unfavourable vaginal environments and ovulation timing.
Here is how it works:
The best part:
The Stork and Working Mommy Journal want to give you the chance to win your own Stork home conception aid!
Canadian residents can enter via the rafflecopter form below – good luck!
If you are looking for more chances to win check out Influence Central’s The Stork Social Engagement Contest (with a grand prize of a $500 Visa gift card!!). You can enter here.
Disclosure: I am part of The Stork at-home conception aid campaign with Influence Central and I receive special parks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.
Bound together across time, two women will discover a powerful connection in Kristy Cambron‘s new book, A Sparrow in Terezin. Connecting across a century through one little girl, a Holocaust survivor with a foot in each world, two women will discover a kinship that springs even in the darkest of times. In this tale of hope and survival, Sera and Kája must cling to the faith that sustains and fight to protect all they hold dear—even if it means placing their own futures on the line.
Kristy is celebrating by giving away a basket filled with goodies inspired by her new book!
One grand prize winner will receive:
A set of poppy notecards
A poppy pin
A copy of I Never Saw Another Butterfly
A copy of the Mrs. Miniver DVD
Literary tea bags
Tumbler
A copy of A Sparrow in Terezin
Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on April 28th. Winner will be announced April 29th on Kristy’s blog.
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Paddington, the bear from the much-loved series by Michael Bond, is coming to DVD/Blu Ray on April 28th.
