My name is Dallas and my blog is called Southwestern Ontario Foodie. I write about local foods that I’ve sourced within Southwestern Ontario through farmers and at the market. As a family we eat 85% local and, as a result, cook seasonally. My motto is ‘Eat Fresh, Eat Local, Eat REAL Food’.
~Guest Blog by Nadine~
Nadine is the Chuck Norris of knitting. She dreams of a rural Amish life and the hills alive with the sound of music, but some days she’s simply happy with a frozen pizza and keeping up with the Kardashians. She blogs about her adventures at http://corazenia.wordpress.com when the kids climb down from the roof.
 As a mother, I have noticed that the things I used to enjoy I no longer have time to do. If you are anything like me your days seem to have fewer and fewer hours every day. Christmas can seem daunting when you think of all the people on your Christmas list. How do we find the time to physically get out there and shop for everyone. Well the simple solution I found was doing most of my shopping online. I can relax and browse several online stores all at once after the children are in bed. Pick what I want with a few simple clicks and it is delivered to my door. BEWARE though. Not all online shopping experiences are created equal. I should say not all online RETURN POLICIES are created equal.Recently I received an OLD NAVY hooded sweat shirt for Christmas. The person who bought it put a lot off thought into the fact that I did not own a sherpa hoodie yet, but am a hoodie kind of girl. They even remembered that green is one of my favorite colours. When I opened it of course I was grateful and expressed much appreciation. Unfortunately when I got to try it on there was a problem. The sleeves were unusually short. They rode up my arms and it just was not going to be a comfortable wear. I did not want to offend the giver or let them know the item was anything less than perfect and appreciated. No worries though because I live in the same city as 2 Old Navy stores so I figured I would just exchange it myself.
This is where I discovered that doing my online shopping for Christmas gifts at Old Navy may NOT be the best idea. All I wanted to do was exchange for a bigger size (if the sleeves were longer) OR receive store credit towards something else if the same sweater would not fit. I found out that this was NOT possible according to the staff at the NORTH LONDON location (Hyde Park RD). At first the only options given to me were to have a gift card mailed to me (which would take approx 2 weeks to recieve) OR have the purchaser return it. My issue with option 1 were that they may no longer have any larger sizes available in 2 weeks and waiting hoping a gift card arrives after turning over the product felt wrong. Beyond that I do not have a lot of extra time. A return should not cost me time and gas for TWO trips to the store. My problem with option 2 is that I do not want to bother the purchaser. They put time and effort in. They were kind and generous. I do not want them to be upset they did not get it just right. Nor do I want for them to have to put further effort in. Later I was told that if I had gotten the invoice from the purchaser I could use that. However they still would not allow an exchange or store credit even with an invoice. I was informed that with and invoice the only option would be to have the amount of the purchase returned to the purchasing credit card. This would not work. Then the buyer would feel they had to go out and buy something else!! It meant the only option to not involve the person who bought me a gift was to get a gift card mailed to me and make ANOTHER trip to Old Navy at a future date. I personally bought for several members of my extended family off of Old Navy this Christmas. I am now incredibly concerned that if something does not fit they are going to have a huge hassle for a return. My family members live over an hour and a half away. A trip to return something and then a trip to use their gift card once mailed to them would end up costing them as much in gas as my gifts likely cost. Not to mention the time and effort it would take. I do not understand such a policy. You would think a store as large as Old Navy would want to have the simplest policy possible in order to make gift giving from their store as straight forward and appealing as can be.
To read more about how this turns out for our member ….. http://forum.londonmoms.ca/105553-buyer-beware-old-navy-online-shopping-not-what-cracked-up |
) gift, and something I want! Entertaining yourself? Grab a set and be ready to tell your guests where you got them!
I’ve got you covered and will let you know what it is, why it is so cool and how you can get your hands on one of these coveted little friends this season.
Most of us are very familiar with the popular name in toys, Mattel. But, did you know that it has been around for over 65 years? It is a trusted name for a reason. Mattel got its start in a garage workshop way back in 1945 in Southern California. They did not start in toys though. No, they started out making picture frames. However that quickly merged to doll furniture that was made from the scraps of the picture frames. Thus began the life of a toy company that would thrive in unimaginable ways. From Barbie being introduced in 1959 to the hundreds of incredible top name toys we’ve seen throughout the years. Mattel has proven to the consumer that they provide high quality, innovative and trustworthy products.
That brings us to the special friend that came to visit our house. Willa (the purple Fijit) came to us mid-November. You would think it was actually Christmas morning the way my daughter squealed with delight. She quickly set to work getting to know Willa and all the cool things she could do! Fijits recognize 30 plus phrases and have more than 150 words in their vocabulary!! This meant that she was constantly surprising my daughter with something new and fun. It was literally hours of entertainment!! She introduced herself, responded to questions, danced and even told some very cute jokes that had my children rolling on the floor in hysterical giggles. Willa became a best friend to my daughter and a top priority score for her thieving 2 year old brother. Yep that is right, Willa our Fijit Friend was SO entertaining that even my two year old is now obsessed and determined his sister should share!
Well clearly it got a 2 thumbs WAY up from my expert toy reviewer, but why did this mom think it is so cool? Aside from the fact that anything that entertains my children for longer than 5 minutes gets vote from me, it is cute, entertaining and so lovable. They have a super soft rubberized body that is squishy and makes the fijit cuddly despite being robot-like. Also with each Fijit having a distinct personality it is easy to find a friend that suits your child’s personality. The number 1 reason I love this toys though… it encourages a kid to just be a kid and enjoy the world of their imagination. There are so few years when they get to just be young and enjoy their toys through the eyes of their own imagination, but Mattel has hit the mark to encourage just that with their Fijit Friends. Way to go Mattel!!! You have definitely got a whole house full of fans here.
As promised I also have the scoop on how you can get your hands on one of this top notch toys, which is sold out EVERYWHERE! Londonmoms.ca has one for that has very generously been donated by Mattel. To get your very own green Fijit (named Sage) , enter our giveaway! Here’s how…
1. email jill@londonmoms.ca with MATTEL in the subject and your full name and usernames in the body of the email ** THIS entry will count towards the GRAND PRIZE contest as well! **
). My hands are no longer cracked, my cuticles are finally softening. It’s light enough for your whole body and worked really well on my dry elbows. I used it on my one year old’s sensitive skin as well with great results. I am anxious to get a bigger bottle before I run out! 