Summer Reads

I have come across people who have said they don’t recognize racism, they don’t see the difference, or even say that it is just an excuse people use to get what they want, while secretly being thankful for their inherited privileges such as the colour of their skin while others can’t change theirs. How many people can genuinely say that they have not judged someone consciously or unconsciously based on a person’s looks?

Summer Activities: Board Games and Creative Workbook

To keep ourselves occupied during the many rainy days we have had this summer, we have been playing a couple of fun board games and doing creative projects. This trivia quiz game, Totally Trivia, and a hilarious speed drawing game, Speedy Scribbles are quite engaging. We agree with the author of The Bright Book that art helps process thoughts, emotions, and ideas, and this workbook has been inspiring are creativity.

Stories of Migration by Women from Around the World book giveaway

The most recent anthology I have been reading is an inspiring and timely collection of stories about migration, written from the perspective of twenty women. Somewhere Stories of Migration by Women from Around the World edited by Lorna Jane Harvey brings a refreshing and uniting voice to this compelling and trending topic of migration. 

Double Ditto giveaway

Double Ditto has become our favourite new game! It is the perfect party game where everyone can play! This game can be played with more than four players over 10 years. It is fun to predict what our family and friends will say before they actually say it. It’s not that they lack originality, it’s just an unspoken super power that exists once a relationship evolves to a certain point. This is an easy game to learn and play, which will be fun for the whole family.

Celebrating Cultural Heritages and Giveaway

There are different months dedicated to celebrate and raise awareness about different cultures and heritages in Canada. It is important for us to know about each other's heritage and hold on to ours. There is much value in learning this to become people who have empathy and kindness, which certainly is lacking with recent events we have seen around the world despite the global pandemic.  

A World of Animals Book Giveaway

A World of Animals is a unique how-to-draw book that takes young readers on a journey around the globe. This book teaches how to draw more than 175 animals including critters from seven continents. There is a double-sided poster with a world map showing which part of the world the animals live in and the other side of the poster groups the animals by continents. There are a couple of sticker pages which would make young readers feel excited. 

Novel, Poem and Practicing to Draw

Finding inspiration from all around us isn't always easy. I am always grateful for anyone that inspires to see the beauty in little things, which sometimes gets lost between our everyday routines. This reminder to look beyond the surface of things was on a few books we looked at recently; poetry journal by Sabina Laura, the novel Misfit in love by S.K. Ali, and two drawing books from Step by Step Studio series.

Win this Inspiring Embroidery Book

I love embroidery work and enjoy doing them often, it is a satisfying and calming activity to do. Freshly Stitched Modern Embroidery for Absolute Beginners by Celeste Johnston is a colourful book that anyone who enjoys embroidery will find it fun to look through and get inspired to stitch the designs. This book combines my love for gardening and needlework, and I am sure it will inspire you too.  

Win a copy of Flavorbomb

Flavorbomb: A Rogue Guide to Making Everything Taste Better is a cookbook with a singular goal: to help us become better cooks. Author Bob Blumer shares all the tips, tricks, hacks, and techniques he learned from hosting Food Network shows, breaking Guinness World Records, working with some of world’s best chefs, and crashing food stalls around the globe.

Entertaining Educational STEAM themed toys

These SmartLab tiny toys are fun and really cute, it would be adored by children over eight years, as they learn and experiment using the tiny tools that come with each themed kit.

Books that unravel the mysteries of the universe, oceans, and museums

Unravelling the mysteries of the universe has been a human fascination since the beginning of time. From recording observations of stars, planets, and celestial sights to space travel, and even ideas of living in Mars has crossed the human mind. This book is a beautiful way for us to learn about the things we've wondered by understanding the science behind the mysteries. 

Decorating our home with Mixtiles

Mixtiles are a perfect way to print memorable pictures to display it in any room of our homes. With the current situation in the world, we decided not to travel this year - not even to explore anywhere close to home. We spent a lot of time looking through pictures, talking about our memories, and picked a few pictures of memorable places from our travels to display in our office/craft room. 

Art, Space, Spies and Giveaway

We have been reading two DK's Visual Encyclopedias to gain knowledge about different types of Art and to ponder about Space. We have also been learning about the history of spies from Ultimate Spy. 

Painting Rocks and Books that inspires us to draw

We love books that simplify and teach us how to draw easily with techniques that anyone with any artistic skills can grasp and become good at. The Ten-Step Drawing Series are fabulous books we highly recommend, as these books are fun and have an approachable way of teaching how to draw for aspiring illustrators, doodlers, and art hobbyists. 

Novels for teenagers and adults

We can't believe how quickly August is coming to an end. This summer, we got a chance to read a lot more novels. Here are a few of the titles we recommend...
10 Things I Hate About Pinky - Young Adult/ Adult
Destination Wedding - Adults
The Black Kids - Young Adult
The Last Dragon Rider An Adventure in Presadia - Children

National Geographic STEM kits and Giveaway

We have always chosen to entertain our children with STEAM toys that not only provide fun entertainment, but also teach a variety of different skills such as creativity and logical thinking. These toys related to the fields of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics help children grow in educational and productive ways.

For the love of animals and Giveaway

We love watching different types of birds come to our garden. Over the years, we invested in adding features to attract birds and other pollinators from bird feeders, pond, water features, bee hotels, bird houses, and more. We find it exciting to observe the birds, and have been reading books such as DK Canada's fully updated 2nd edition Pocket Birds of Canada to identify the types of birds that visit our garden.

Garage door styles to spice up the look of a home

Every homeowner would want both the interior and the exterior of the home to not only be functional but also to look presentable. One factor that adds to the curb appeal of any home is the garage door! Choosing one that fits the whole look of the house would be great. According to Garage Door Repair Langley, problems with garage doors can easily be resolved, so we don't encounter repairs and look for people to do the job. 

Learning about the wars of the past will teach us to be careful of our actions

It is sad when parts of our history keeps repeating itself, it is as though humanity hasn't learned anything from its past actions. We know many people have sacrificed their lives for justice, and we are still seeing a world of injustice around us, it is probably because of peoples' ignorance. I think it is important for us, as parents, to teach ourselves and our children about past events, hoping they will be kind and not repeat the past that has led to many problems we face today. The consequences of colonization, slavery, greed for land and power from generations past are still haunting us in the injustices and wars we see happening all over the world. When humans haven't created life, they don't have the right to take it or judge it.  We can all do our part by learning, becoming more empathetic, and always remembering to treat others better than the way you want to be treated.

Rolling into summer with this 3 wheeled scooter

The Primo Foldable Scooter is a fantastic starter scooter for children ages 3+. This lightweight 3-wheel scooter has a patented push button folding system allowing us to put it into trolley mode, so it can be conveniently stored on coat racks or in the garage. This also makes it easy to take with us when we go to parks. This stylish, functional scooter is guaranteed to deliver a lot of fun.