We spent a wonderful day at the Village of Rochester Hills! The day was overcast with a slight chill in the air (perfect day to break out the windbreaker), but with excellent company and exciting events, the day played out to perfection and was one to remember.
I was invited by Julianna Blankenship, the author of Sally Lumpkin’s Party and her PR rep Andrea Walker of Walker Professional Writing Services, LLC, to enjoy a reading of Julianna’s new book. The reading took place at Brilliant Sky in the Village Shops and ended up being a magical moment for my two daughters.
We arrived a little late which happens when you are trying to get 3 girls under the age of 6, myself and my MIL out of the house in a timely manner. By the time we got there, Julianna had already done her reading and had just stepped out tp get a bite to eat. Yikes! I felt terrible that we were late, so when one of the employees of Brilliant Sky asked if they could try and catch up with Julianna and Andrea, I jumped at the offer.
Julianna was so sweet to sit down on the foam tiled floor with two of my daughters to give them a private reading of her wonderful tale of 6 true friends and the importance and significance of staying true to your friendship. My girls loved the story hanging on to Julianna’s every word and staring wide eyed at the bright, cheery illustrations. After Julianna read to the girls, she gave us a signed copy to take home and enjoy again and again.
We then said our goodbye’s and thank yous and spent the next half hour perusing the shelves of Brilliant Sky. By the way, great toy store! It is packed floor to ceiling with new, innovative and kid friendly toys and books. We had a great time and had I had an extra wad of cash to spend on toys, I would have spent every last cent at Brilliant Sky!
Brilliant Sky had Melissa & Doug toys that I didn’t know existed, an excellent collection of puzzles and games and a well diverse collection of books. Basically, they had all of the coolest toys and books in one shop. Target’s toy section pales in comparison to Brilliant Sky. Heck, I could go as far to say, “Move over Toys R Us, you’ve got some serious competition!”
After picking up an educational game for my girls, we decided to take a walk through the Village. One thing that is neat about the Village of Rochester Hills is that there are “mini” parks throughout the pristine outdoor mall. We ended up stopping at two of the “mini” parks so my girls could climb on the large stone bear statues, throw coins into a fountain, jump along the hopscotch path and bounce on the stationary ride toys. We had fun and I took some great pictures!
Hunger set in, so we decided to head over to Max and Erma’s in the Village and get a bite to eat. We chose Max and Erma’s not because the food is always good, but because of the AWESOME sundae bar for the girls. Max and Erma’s has a sundae bar that is in an old fashioned bathtub and has all kinds of fun toppings fit for a princess!
It was truly a magical day filled with great sites, fun times and good eats. I made some new friends and got to explore a store I hadn’t yet had the chance to visit. Thank you Julianne, Andrea, Brilliant Sky, Max and Erma’s and Jessica Presner at The Village of Rochester Hills. This was a much needed mother/daughter day out and the day exceeded my expectations!
