Equestria Girl Minis!

mlp-playlikehasbroThis dad isn’t a brony by any means, but I have seen the new My Little Pony Friendship is Magic cartoon and also the new Equestria Girls cartoons and toys inspired by MLP. While I don’t mind the show, it’s not my thing but my daughter… Oh boy does she like My Little Pony. When Equestria Girls came out she had to have them. Now that there are smaller, mini Equestria girls sets, she now has to have these as well.

Hasbro sent over one for my daughter to enjoy and for me to review (My Little Pony Equestria Girls Minis Rarity Slumber Party Beauty Set). My Little Pony is definitely a hit in our home and has brand recognition so I won’t go into detail about that, because we all already know just by name alone this toy will sell. But how about the quality… I actually think it’s fantastic. Hasbro puts some serious effort into their toys.

There isn’t a ton of articulation but there is enough for you to have some serious fun with the figure and pose it in various ways. The little accessories that came with Rarity all fit in her hands and are all also detailed very nicely. The set included several cool little accessories that fit with Rarity’s style and the theme of slumber party beauty set. I like the smaller size over the larger ones mainly for storage reasons. But I think the smaller size makes for more play opportunities with other toys as well.

IMG_3467One of the coolest things that I was able to do with this toy that may or may not have been intentional is that I was able to save the cardboard display that was used in the packaging with the toy. Typically when we unbox a toy the toy is so fused with the packaging to prevent theft or whatever that everything but the toy gets cut up and destroyed. I was able to save this one and my daughter uses it with Rarity and many other toys. I am a big fan of the packaging artwork that toys come in and would love it if it could be used with the toy more often like this.

I can see Rarity joining the rest of her Equestria Girls very soon with these Equestria Girls Minis being very popular with Abby. Don’t forget to #PlayLikeHasbro and pick up your own Equestria Girls Minis. Read the official product description below and click here to purchase your own!

What’s one of the best parts of a slumber party? Makeovers! Get ready to imagine makeup and dress-up fun with this My Little Pony Equestria Girls Minis Rarity Slumber Party Beauty Set. Imagine Rarity giving her friends great advice and sharing beauty secrets at a slumber party with this set, which includes a vanity with makeup and hairstyling accessories! This cute, poseable mini-doll also comes with her cute kitty figure.
•Includes doll, cat figure, and 10 accessories.
• Rarity doll comes with makeup and hairstyling accessories
• Doll is poseable
• Includes cute cat figure

Hasbro provided St. Louis Dad with these products as compensation in exchange for an honest review. Please visit Hasbro.com for more toys and other games!

March Madness in St. Louis

stlncaaSunday night’s NCAA March Madness games in St. Louis were awesome. Syracuse played a great game and it’s great to see them heading to the sweet sixteen, but the talk of Sunday night is the Wisconsin / Xavier game. To my disappointment the X-Men didn’t come through with a win but I can say that it basically came down to the wire to determine a winner in that match.

Dove Men+Care with Jim Calhoun and Kevin Ollie are celebrating bonds of real strength and sent me two tickets and a gift card to the session 3 games on Sunday. The idea behind sending me the tickets is that two thirds of men bond over sports and that having those bonds are important for me as a man.

To be honest, I’m not a part of that two thirds. I am a part of the other third. My sport of choice is baseball, and my favorite team are the Cardinals, and that’s about the only part of baseball I care about. NCAA and other leagues are cool, and I really enjoy going to games. I may not know all of the players but I know the teams and have a pretty good idea of what’s going on.

orange-ncaaI struggled to find someone to go with me to this event. When I first heard about the opportunity to go to the games I immediately hit up my best friend to see if he wanted to go. He said he would love to but couldn’t. That’s okay I thought I will ask my brother, but I hit another brick in the wall with a prior commitment.

A few more no-go’s later I thought long and hard about this. I figured out that I was looking for a guy to go with me because of this whole two thirds thing that while trying to think of a buddy to go with I didn’t even realize that my other best friend was sitting right next to me and would drop everything to go with me.

IMG_3874I had it stuck in my head that this whole campaign thing was about connecting with another dude. It’s not. It’s about connecting with someone. Yeah I don’t fit in the two thirds, but there is still a third left of people that bond with someone, or no one… For me that person is my wife. I talk with her about everything, the Cardinals, comic books, my problems, my goals, the kids, and more. She does the same and we bounce ideas off each and communicate. It is most definitely a bond of real strength. She’s my best friend that happens to be my wife and I could not have asked for anyone else to be with me Sunday night when Wisconsin beat the buzzer.

Except Bill Murray, it would have been great to go with him. Well… At least up until the end. I wanted the Xavier to win as well, but still couldn’t believe what was transpiring those last seconds.

bmurray

Stylish Dad in a Wood Watch

IMG_3613Jord is known for their specialty in Wood Watches and recently reached out to St. Louis Dad to see if I would be interested in reviewing one of their fine wood watches. I checked out the details and was happy to see what made these watches so special. The watch that I chose to review was a Dark Sandalwood & Maple watch from the Sully Series. The watch is beautiful and reasonably priced. Once I had the package in my hand I began to open it up. Immediately I was impressed with the packaging that the watch is enclosed in.

The case itself is a nice light wood with a cool Jord etched logo on the top of the case. The lid to the case slides out and reveals a nice cleaning cloth but underneath is the beautiful watch sitting nicely on a Jord pillow. I really am impressed with how this watch is displayed in the case I just had to mention it.

IMG_3614The colors on the wood of the watch looks amazing. The grain is very noticeable and the face of the watch is nice and large so it’s easy to glance and see what time it is. The back of the watch face is a nice black color and has a wood finish to it as well. The clasp is easy enough to open and close but sturdy enough it won’t accidentally open when you don’t want it too.

On my wrist the Dark Sandalwood & Maple material is light. I hardly even notice that I am wearing this nice of a watch. The colors match just about all of my wardrobe so I know Jord came up with an excellent design. I have an all silver watch and it is heavy leaving my wrist a little tired after a day of wearing. I can barely tell I had a watch on when I am wearing my Jord wood watch.

IMG_3620With Father’s Day just around the corner I think this would make a great gift for any dad or grandpa. Even for birthday’s or other special occasions. Or even those just random buys. This watch is a great addition to any outfit. I really like the large numbers and the larger circle. It just says look at me! Which I can’t stop doing because this watch is just that beautiful.

I am not a big watch person when it comes to specifics within the mechanisms that make them work. I think it’s awesome to see it all go down, and I know a lot of work goes into putting together a nice time piece. Some like to know some specifics when it comes to watches. Here are the specifics for the Dark Sandalwood & Maple from the Sully Series.

  • Citizen Miyota 2035
  • display: hours – minutes – seconds
  • tuning fork type: quartz crystal
  • frequency: 32,768 Hz
  • accuracy: +/- 20 seconds /mo
  • battery: silver oxide SR626SW (equiv)
  • drive system: 2-pole stepping motor
  • scratch resistant mineral glass
  • deployment buckle with push buttons
  • case width: 49mm
  • case thickness: 12mm
  • lug ends: 56mm
  • band thickness: 25mm
  • band length: 214mm

Jord provided St. Louis Dad with a complimentary wood watch in exchange for an honest review and social media postings about the Jord products. Jord makes watches of many variations for men and women. Check out their website and social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, and Vine for more information.

Wooden Watches Men

Happy Birthday Mr. Monopoly!

mrmonopolybday

Did you know that today is Mr. Monopoly’s birthday? If you didn’t now you do. Because of this today is also known as World Monopoly Day so grab your games and get the family around the table to play the game that first game that ever taught us about managing money.

Hasbro sent over the Empire version of Monopoly for us to play for World Monopoly Day.Instead of your standard Boardwalk, Park Place, etc properties, you have brands such as XBOX, Beats By Dre, Nerf, Heinz, etc… There are also towers (Trump Tower?), tokens, billboards, money, and a few other pieces. My favorite is the XBOX controller, but I do miss the iron.

After going over the rules we all picked our pieces and began our adventure. Turns out, the kids are not that great with money. I probably should have started them off with Monopoly Junior. But that’s my mistake. My wife and I both agree that the branded theme of Monopoly Empire is really cool. We plan on bringing the game along with us to our family gatherings. You never know when the opportunity might arise to play a few rounds of Monopoly.

IMG_3766   IMG_3773

Monopoly is one of those games that has spanned a few generations and probably everyone has at least played the game once. It’s easy to follow and shouldn’t be a problem to get a game going. All you need is two players to play!

My wife ended up taking me to the cleaners in our game on World Monopoly Day. The kids gave up rather quickly, so we just split their assets like any reasonable parents. I can see many more chances to get out the game and give the kids a lesson in economics. The quality of the board and the pieces should hold up well over the years, plenty of life to #PlayLikeHasbro. Happy Birthday Mr. Monopoly thank you for all of the years of fun!

Monopoly has been around for a long time now, check out these 10 great little known facts about Monopoly.

monopoly

Hasbro provided St. Louis Dad with these products as compensation in exchange for an honest review. Please visit Hasbro.com for more toys and other games!