SOCIAL MEDIA

Saturday, November 29, 2014

John Deer Gear Force Harvest Action Combine Review


Hi My Loves!!!

A couple of weeks ago I was asked if I would like to receive a John Deer toy and let my kids play with it and then give a review about it. Phoenix is obsessed with any kind of truck, tractor etc so I was very excited for it to come and to let them test it out. When the box arrived the kids were so excited to open it, as I said it was a present for them to play with. As soon as they saw it inside the box, their eyes lit up,  they had grins ear to ear and they couldn't wait for Daddy to open it up out of the box and let them see it in action.

It's the John Deer Gear Force Harvest Action Combine and you can find them at Toys R UsWalmartAmazon.com and John Deere dealers and it retails for $59.99.

 Here's the kids checking it out while it was still in the box. 


It lights up and makes noises (quite loud) so if you are someone who doesn't like noisy toys (they don't bother me one bit) then it might not be for you and your kids as it is pretty noisy haha. But the kids loved all the different buttons and noises it made and the lights fascinated them.


It comes with the tractor, a bull, two little men, some farm tools and a little dog, as well as two corn cubes. We no longer know where any of these little additions are, so don't bank on the toys staying in one place. They hung around with the tractor for a while and then they got eaten up among all the mess of toys in the play room. 




The kids loved trying to suck up the corn cubes with the front part of the truck. It is a little tricky though, so it might be a little easier for a slightly older child. They did get a little frustrated when they couldn't get it to go in. Then it kept getting jammed in the hole where they go in. It's not the best set up as far as it going in perfectly each time. It gets stuck in a wonky spot quite easily, but they did love it either way.






Here he is trying to get them in :)


The concentration is intense haha!


He had just gotten them in and was quite happy with himself.


The farmer man sits right in the seat. Reminds me of Chris Soules form Iowa (The Bachelor) haha! Ok I have a slight obsession with him and it's pretty pathetic that my kids toys remind me of a random man on TV.




Even the cat wanted in on it!



He loves pushing it around. He literally played with it the whole afternoon/night. He still was pushing it around today, so it's not a toy that is going to get played with for a day or two and then forgotten about. He ended up jamming the corn cubes to where I couldn't get them out. He sucked something else in it, that wasn't supposed to go there and that got stuck too. It no longer really works for it's purpose as it is jammed and the men and bull are now who knows where, but he drives it around all the time and seems to really love it. He plays with it at least once a day if not more.



Lily liked it for the first day or so and then she wasn't really interested in it. She's more into baby dolls and her very favorite minion at the moment. Phoenix definitely claimed the truck, as that's his favorite kind of toy right now… so it all worked out ;)



A note to make is that within the first hour of them playing with it, this rubber piece slipped of one of the wheels and got jammed in the wheel area. I could not get it out so I ended up having to cut it out and just removing it. That was kind of a bummer. 


Overall, Phoenix loves it and plays with it quite a bit. I was a tad disappointed with the broken rubber piece and the fact that everything kept getting jammed with the corn cube section. It might be better for a slightly older child in order to get full functionality of the corn. But Phoenix loves the lights, the noises and pushing it and zooming it all over the house so I'd say he's pretty darn pleased with it and it doesn't seem to bother him that he can't put the corn in there anymore. At the end of the day, if he likes it then that's all that matters. It gets used, he likes it and so I like it too :) I do think it's definitely on the higher price point for trucks or toys but it seems like all kids toys are getting so expensive nowadays.

I hope this has helped make your mind up incase it is on the list of potential Christmas gifts. I think that any little boy around Phoenix's age and higher would really love it and be very excited to play with it, so I don't think you can go wrong with it but I just wanted to point out the cons to it as well. 

Thanks so much for reading!

Sam
xx


Wednesday, November 26, 2014

#TOMSforTarget Haul & The Best Sweater Ever!


Hi My Loves!!!

As most of you know I have an obsession with Target. My local store is always clean, peaceful to shop in and always has new fabulous collections for the home and amazing things on clearance. So when I found out about the #TOMSforTarget collection I was so excited for it to launch. I did do a blog post on it already showing you the items I was eyeing so check that out HERE
If you are not familiar with the collection here is more information about the collaboration:

Target is partnering with TOMS, one of the top socially conscious brands, by launching a limited time offer gift collection available in stores on November 16th, 2014.  Like TOMS “one-for-one” model, with each gift purchased by Target shoppers, a gift will be made to a person in need.  
Donations will include one of the following:  one blanket via American Red Cross, one week of meals via Feeding America, or one pair of shoes via TOMS.  Feel the love of giving back this season.  One-for-One.  For All.

Online was sold out of almost everything I wanted so I quickly went to my local Target to see what they had. Low and behold….. they had the home items I wanted and a couple of clothing pieces as well. Unfortunately my Target didn't have the shoes for the kids and the shirts were not in the right sizes for my little ones but I did end up picking up a couple of blankets, a shirt for Jay, a candle and a cozy sweater. 

I'm going to show you what I picked up and what it looks like in real life ;) 

This is a super soft, thinner blanket with touches of light grey with a hint of blue and cream. Very nice quality.


Phoenix was loving this one haha. He said it was so soft. He couldn't stop laying on it haha!






This candle was so perfect for my new bedroom decor, it's like they made it especially for me :) The candle is copper gold with TOMS written on it and it comes in a lovely wooden (sturdy) box.





I also picked up this sweater. It has little gold sparkles in it which are so pretty in the light! It's soft and fits nicely. Loose over the tummy area with as lit up the side.



My model, Vanna holding it up for me. This is his, "I feel awkward and don't know what to do with this sweater" face.


Last thing I picked up was for Jay. He said this shirt is soft and comfortable and he wants more. WIN!


Can you tell he hates posing for pictures haha?? He was so fidgety :)



So that's everything I found at my local store that tickled my fancy. Hope you like everything I picked up.

I was also fortunate enough to be gifted an amazing sweater from #TOMSforTarget that literally has already brought us so many laughs. This together sweater is supposed to bring people closer together this season and it does. It's such a fun idea and I am so grateful that we got one because it was the best addition to our family Christmas pictures this year. I can't wait for you guys to see our pictures! We should be getting them next week. I'll do a separate blog post showing them all. 
Anyway, more about the sweater. Now I don't think you can purchase the sweater, which is a bummer because it's the most awesome gift ever, so I do apologize. But I wanted to share how cute it came packaged and how festive and fun this sweater is.









Gotta love Moo and her bear creeping in the background haha! They should make one for dogs and their partners :)











The kids had so much fun with this sweater. They were cracking up laughing and running around the house in it with grins from ear to ear. Best Christmas sweater ever :)

So there is everything that I got from the collection. I might go back and check out to see if they got anything else in. We didn't have that much at our store. I'd love to try and find the poncho!

 Don't forget to sign up for your Target Red Card if you haven't already so you can save your 5% off all purchases and free shipping online.  I highly recommend getting one! I saved $7 on my purchase of all of these items by using mine :) I do think they are doing free shipping with this collection right now though, whether you have the red card or not.

 Will you be purchasing any of these for Christmas gifts or for yourself? Or have you picked anything up? A lot of the items are sold out online and were very limited in my store, so be sure to head on over very quickly if you are wanting any of these! 
Don't forget to go a take a peek at the collection: #TOMSforTarget

Thanks so much for reading! Hope you all have a great weakend ;)

Sam
xx


Toms For Target: One-for-One. For All. Starting November 16th, for every Target+Toms limited edition gift you buy, we're (Target) giving shoes, a blanket or meals to those in need. #TomsForTarget

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Target via Mode Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Target.