Yesterday I was invited by TJX, which is the parent company to Marshalls and TJ Maxx, to preview some of the new spring fashion trends for this upcoming season.  I love to shop, and I especially love shopping for clothes & accessories, so I was thrilled that I got an invite to this event, which was held at the Ames Hotel in Boston.

The thing I love about both Marshalls and TJ Maxx is that their prices are unbeatable.  The thing about both stores is that they offer the lastest fashions by well known designers at much lower prices than department stores.  I think one of the misconceptions that some people have about these particular stores is that because the clothes are discounted, they must be damaged.  With TJ Maxx and Marshalls that just simply isn’t the case.  They have a team of buyers that are ready and waiting to scoop up the great deals and get them onto the racks at great prices.

I have to say, I have a thing for bags.  And shoes.  But especially bags.  The bag pictured below was the first thing I saw when I entered the room and I just love it.  And it’s only $39.99.  My birthday isn’t until July, but if anyone sees this in their local store and wants to buy it for me, I will happily take it and put it to very good use.

For me, the one thing I noticed above all else yesterday were the accessories.  Whether it was scarves, hats, bags or jewelery……accessorizing is key!

And be still my heart.  Look at these colorful bags.  I wish I could have one of each. I noticed all sorts of vibrant colors all over the room and I love it.  There’s nothing like bright colors to make you stand out in a crowd.

They actually had a bunch of price comparisons set up throughout the room.  The top from Marshalls was only $19.99 while the exact same thing was triple that at Nordstrom.  The price tags were all still on them so we could see for ourselves that the items truly were exactly the same.

And there’s stuff for the guys, too:

Animal prints are going to be big this season, too.  Roar.

There were so many gorgeous things to look at and I totally wished I could have taken one of everything home.

Before we left, Laura from Being Loopy and I tried on some shades:

There were a whole bunch of fashionistas in attendance at the event, but there were also several Boston bloggers & it’s always nice to see familiar faces. I am so inspired to go shopping this weekend and pick up some of the new duds.  I saw so many things I liked at this event.  The prices really were incredibly low and like I said, I saw so many gorgeous clothing items and accessories, I think I I could easily spend hours in my local store.  And I might.

**I received a swag bag that included a gift card, Michael Kors sunglasses and a Ralph Lauren wallet for attending this event.  All opinions expressed are strictly my own and were not influenced in any way.  No form of monetary compensation was exchanged**

Yesterday I was invited, along with several other Boston area bloggers, to go to a really fun event, which was hosted by SeaWorld and Mom Central!  It was held at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge, MA, which is an absolutely gorgeous facility.  I was excited to attend this event because on the invitation it said that the folks from SeaWorld were going to be  talking about protecting our environment as well as bringing along some exotic animals, so I kept my six year old home from school because I thought he’d really enjoy it. So, off I went yesterday morning with my two little guys.

As well as providing a fabulous lunch and amazing swag bags, the SeaWorld representitives brought along four very cool critters along to show us.  The first guy they brought out was this Spoonbill Bird:

Pretty cool, huh?  But wait, it gets better.  Next they introduced us to this Alligator.  Yes, I said alligator:

Don’t worry…the SeaWorld rep held onto him the whole time.  Phew.  Oh, and here’s a fun fact for ya: do you know the difference between an alligator and a crocodile?  I do, I do!  A crocodile has a pointed snout and the alligator has a rounded one.  So now you know, and knowing is half the battle!

Lastly, we were introduced to two adorable penguins (which were my personal favorite):

There was a point during their talk when they let the penguins walk around a little bit, but sadly we weren’t allowed to touch them.  Apparently it’s some sort of law in Boston, but anyone who goes to SeaWorld Orlando, gets to pet these guys.

I had a great time chatting with some wonderful area bloggers over lunch but most importantly, my boys had a BLAST!  I am so glad that I decided to bring my six year old along with me to this, because he talked about it the entire ride home & for most of the day yesterday.   I haven’t been to SeaWorld Orlando in many years, but now I can’t wait to go back  again!  Hopefully real soon!

**Luncheon and gift bags were provided at no cost to me.  All opinions expressed are strictly my own and were not influenced in any way**

Some of you may remember that I mentioned last week that I’d been invited to a dinner in Boston hosted by MyBlogSpark. I was pretty excited about it, because Chris and I don’t get out alone very ofter, let alone into the city.

The dinner was held at a cute, trendy restaurant in the South End called Myers & Chang (it took us a little longer to find it than I expected due to a little Garmin (GPS) mishap! Once we were inside the restaurant and seated, we looked over the specially prepared menu (see below).

Chris went with the Hot & Sour Soup and I got the Mama Chang’s Pork Potstickers. Both were delicious. Then for the next course, we shared each other’s Thai Ginger Chicken Salad and Chilled Dan Dan Noodles.

Then it was time for the main course and we chose the Beef & Broccoli and the Sweet & Sour Chicken, which were served family style (in one big bowl and we served ourselves onto our own plates). Below is a picture of the Beef & Broccoli, which came out first. We were too busy eating by the time the Sweet & Sour Chicken were served to take pictures of that. Both dishes were out of this world!

Then, it was dessert time, which is my favorite part of any meal. Chris got the Chocolate and Cocoa Nib Terrine with Vietnamese coffee sauce and I went with the Coconut Cream Pie. We ended up sharing each other’s because they were both fantastic!

At the end of the meal, the folks from MyBlogSpark handed out fortune cookies to everyone and each one had the same “fortune”:
“Surprise! The entree you sampled this evening was a frozen dinner from Wanchai Ferry”

There was a wave of shock that ran through the entire restaurant. The Wanchai Ferry food was as good as, if not better, than restaurant quality food. It was absolutely delicious and not one person in that restaurant suspected that we were eating frozen dinners.

On our way out we all got a few coupons for free Wanchai Ferry products to have at home, and as soon as I walked in the door when I got home that night was add Wanchai Ferry to my shopping list. I was completely impressed by how good the food was, and as a Chinese/Asian food junkie, I’ve had my fair share of lousy frozen Asian meals. Wanchai Ferry was absolutely delicious and I will be serving it in my home from now on!

HUGE thanks to the folks at MyBlogSpark for the night out and the nice surprise. All the food that night was delicious and the folks at Myers & Chang were very gracious hosts. We needed it and had a blast!

**Dinner, product coupons and a $50 gift card to cover parking/gas/babysitting expenses were provided by MyBlogSpark. No other form of compensation was exchanged. All opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own and were not influenced in any way**