Etsy Spotlight: RedCatArtBeads

If you are having trouble thinking of a gift for a lady this holiday season, RedCatArtBeads is the perfect place to go for super cute jewelry. The jewelry is all custom made, and some are even her own personal design.

If you are like me, you want to own this necklace so badly! I love the fun colors, because you could wear it with any colored shirt. I would also be willing to bet that no one else will be wearing a necklace like this. I would be able to wear this to work, or also out on the town. This necklace has so many different looks.

Giveaway: Dots Planner Printable

I don’t know about you, but one of my favorite things about starting a new year, is starting a new planner. I love looking all around for the best one, because I will be stuck with it for a whole year! I write everything in it. I would be lost without my planner. Uncreative Mommy (don’t let her name fool you!) is an Etsy seller that sells every kind of planner you can think of! Her's are great because you do not need to wait until the new year to start it :) She sells grocery lists, cleaning calendars, blog planners, menu planners, babysitter information, and so much more! She gives you the tools to create the almighty, customized planner!

Etsy Spotlight: Little Punkin Munkie

You cannot have too many ornaments on your Christmas tree. I just do not think it is possible! I have a weakness for cute ornaments, and Little Punkin Munkie  is filled fabulous cupcake ornaments. These ornaments are very unique and you will not find anything like it in stores!

I really have such a big weakness for homemade ornaments. Look at how cute these are! I am sure if this ornament was on your tree, you would get a lot of compliments.

Etsy Spotlight For The Holiday Season

I did not know what Etsy was until I started reading blogs, which was a few months ago. It is such a wonderland of wonderful products. I love how easy it is to search for different items. The creators are so talented. You never know what to find, and I think it deserves a lot more exposure.

With the holiday season coming up, it is now time to buy decorations and buy presents for other people. Over the next few weeks, I will posting about some great Etsy sellersand their products. Feel free to contact me if you are interested. in being featured. I hope you will love their products as much as I do J

Holiday Toys Then & Now

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I am in the Christmas spirit!

Well ladies (and guys!), I am officially in the Christmas mood. I am going to put up my Christmas tree tomorrow. It is in the attic along with most of the other decorations, and I do not feel like tackling that just yet. So I will be doing that tomorrow. Look for photos then. I did have a small pink tree in the basement that I put up. I got the tree and the ornaments from Target last year. I do not have a tree topper for the tree, so I used a full sized Penguin ornament.

Support for Special Needs and Replace My Contacts are giving away an iPad2!

I’m posting this to enter a contest offered by Replace My Contacts at Support for Special Needs! I want to win the iPad2

Support for Special Needs and Replace My Contacts are giving away an iPad2!

Go to Support for Special Needs! to win!

You do not want to miss out. Very easy to enter!

Sugar Cookies with frosting and m&ms: recipe

I love cookies and m&ms. Together they are the perfect treat. I tried a new simple recipe today and wanted to share. It is great for the holidays!

Ingredients for cookies:

·         1 stick butter, softened

·         ¼ cup solid vegetable shortening

·         1 cup granulated sugar

·         2 large eggs

·         ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

·         2 ¾ cups all purpose flour

·         ¼ teaspoon baking powder

·         ¼ teaspoon baking soda

·         ¼ teaspoon salt

·         1 cup m&m candies (the mini ones)

Ingredients for frosting:

·         ½ cup butter

·         4 cups powdered sugar

·         2 teaspoons vanilla

·         4-6 teaspoons milk

UPrinting: Giveaway

 I am excited to be hosting a giveaway for UPrinting. UPrinting is a great company that makes Nightclub Flyers.  You can choose between Shiny UV Gloss or Chic Matte for your paper. The paper is thick and durable 14 cardstock. The flyers are available in standard or custom made sizes. I love that if you are not extremely creative (like myself!) you can download a template to make the creation process a bit easier. UPrinting is here to save the day with their professional looking flyers.

  

Who Knew I Would Actually Like Scrapbooking

I am by no means an artsy person. I wish that I was, but I was not blessed with the talent. When I look at a craft or art project someone did, I typically feel two emotions.

·         I am so amazed at how cool it looks

·         I am so jealous because I cannot do something like that

Scrapbooking is just one of the many things I wish I could do. (Until now!!) On Saturday I decided I might as well give it a shot. I went to Michael’s to pick up my materials. Now I was not expecting the huge variety they had. There was rows upon rows of paper, stickers, letters, shapes, etc etc. I easily spent one hour there. I had such a hard time trying to pick the best combination. I would start at the paper. I would spend a long time narrowing my choice down. Then I would look at the stickers and realize that those super cute stickers would work perfectly with a background I did not pick. I was constantly changing my mind. I will save you all those details!

My younger sister and I

What Would I Do Without My Kitchen Aid Mixer?

So I recently purchased the stainless steel Kitchen Aid mixer off one of the tv shopping channels. After I purchased it, I had serious buyer’s remorse.  I could not believe I had spent over $250 on a mixer! When I already had one! I told myself that I was going to return it as soon as I got it. All I could think about was what I could do with all that money. About a week later, the package arrived on my doorstep. I took it out of the main box. The mixer was alluring and I knew I could not send it back! So I didn’t J

History and Highlights of Black Friday

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I got this graphic from http://www.cheapsally.com/blog/black-friday-history-infographic

The Forever Moments: Great Gift Idea

Online shopping can be tricky sometimes. You know what a product looks like online, but what does it really look like in person? Today I received a package from The Forever Moments . I had been their giveaway winner. They were so generous in that I was able to pick out a layout and a frame. I picked out the “My Little Monster” layout and the Solid Wood Frame (Country White). 

I do not think this picture does the layout justice. If you look close, you can see that it is not a mass produced layout! You can tell someone cut the paper, laid everything out, and glued it together. You can just tell that someone spent a long time making it. I was so impressed with this company.

Look What I Bought Today!

So for those of you who did not know, I LOVE Scentsy. It is one of my favorite items. One of my friends asked me today if I wanted to buy anything. She knew I can’t turn down Scentsy, so that is probably why she asked! Well I ended up buying 12 new scents!!

Veterans Day

Today is a day that you pay tribute to the veteran's of our country. I am thankful for the people that served and who are serving because I am able to live a free life because of them. Without them our lives would be completely different. Never forget the ones that serve and risk their life for YOU. So thank you to each and every veteran.

This is a great video showing pictures of veterans over the years.

Winter Wonderbucks Cash Giveaway

What is Winter Wonderbucks?

Winter Wonderbucks is a cash giveaway event open to all interested bloggers and businesses. It will run from Thursday, December 1st to Sunday, December 18th. There will be one grand prize shared across all of the blogs that participate. The grand prize will be a Paypal cash prize or Amazon gift code (winner’s choice)! The amount of the prize will depend on the number of blogs participating. The event will focus on Twitter and Facebook pages.

Well, I had a job interview today.....

……And boy was it was nothing like I was expecting

The position deals with taxes which I enjoy greatly. I arrived ten minutes early and wore a nice black suit. The two interviewers were very nice and warm. However, the the questions threw me off guard!

Maybelline Mascara and Burt's Bees

Today I decided to treat myself to two new beauty products!

·         Maybelline New York Great Lash Blackest Black

·         Burt’s Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Crème

I have tried Maybelline’s mascara in the past. It has been some time, so I did not remember if I liked it or not. The mascara means business when it says it is the Blackest Black. I like how it made my eyes pop, since the color I so dark. It went on smoothly on my lashes. I had a bit of a problem with clumping. I think the problem was that I did not curl them first, so I think I will try that next time before I put on the mascara. I have worn it all day today and it looks like I just put it on. In my before picture I was wearing no makeup, and in the after picture I was only wearing the mascara.

Twenties Girl: Book Review

Twenties Girl by Sohpie Kinsella is written just like all her past books. The story is about Lara Lington, a twentysomething woman, about her struggles with her new job, love life, and parents. However, there is a big twist. Her great aunt, Sadie Lancaster, just died but her ghost is following Lara. Sadie needs Lara to find a necklace before she can move on to the afterlife. The book is cute and the ghost is seen in a fun light (not dark and scary)This is a great read. It is witty and humorous. Lara and Sadie form a unique relationship that is unlike anything else. The characters are adorable, the book is a light read, and many secrets come out that you can’t see coming.

I give this book 4/5 only because there were some points that were predictable. However, there were so many twists that I did not see coming.

Details

Title: Twenties Girl

Author: Sophie Kinsella

Pages: 448

Price on Barnes and Noble: 8.98

Summary off of Sophie Kinsella’s Website

Lara has always had an overactive imagination. Now she wonders if she is losing her mind. Normal twenty-something girls just don’t get visited by ghosts! But inexplicably, the spirit of Lara’s great aunt Sadie – in the form of a bold, demanding Charleston-dancing girl – has appeared to make one last request: Lara must track down a missing necklace Sadie simply can’t rest without.

Lara’s got enough problems of her own. Her start-up company is floundering, her best friend and business partner has run off to Goa, and she’s just been dumped by the love of her life.

But as Lara spends time with Sadie, life becomes more glamorous and their treasure hunt turns into something intriguing and romantic. Could Sadie’s ghost be the answer to Lara’s problems and can two girls from different times end up learning something special from each other?

The Holiday Season

Well it is offical! I am in the holiday spirit. I went to Target today just to look around and they had Christmas items everywhere! Their dollar aisles were filled with wonderful goodies :) I think that is my favorite section of Target! There was Christmas stockings, rugs, ornaments, signs, bags, cards, etc. I was in heaven.
Then there main seasonal area had Christmas trees, lights, ornaments, candy, you name it, it was there! I normally get excited about the holidays right before Thanksgiving. This year I am already excited. At work people talk about how they are already starting their shopping. Here in blogland, it is filled with ideas for Christmas presents, great giveaways, etc. Then stores are bringing in their seasonal items. I feel like everywhere I turn, there is Christmas items. I just cannot help getting into the holiday mood.

So I had picked a few things out that I wanted to get.. All from the dollar section of course.. Reindeer socks, cute monkey ornament, holiday lotions, and a few other things. I get to the checkout and this nice girl was ringing up my items. When I was about to pay, I released I left my debit and credit card at home! Could you believe it!? I was sad that I had to leave my treasures there. I may just go back tomorrow....


When I got home, I searched on Etsy and found these five items that are so cute I had to share! You need to check them out.




 

Christmas Trees with Pink Pom Poms set of 3   The Yarn Barn

 

Christmas Decorations Fridge Magnets  DWL Jewelry

Counting Down Yipeeee...Christmas Advent Garland JaneSays

Elf Movie-Fun 'COTTONHEADED NINNYMUGGINS' And The Sign Says

Otto the felt Octopus - Unique Christmas Ornament The Offbeat Bear

Don't Know the Proper Amount to Tip?

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What is in my mailbox today?

I won this very Oxy Clinical acne system. I have been dealing with acne for atleast six years nows. It is very persistant especially when I work out six days a week. I have not tried this product yet, but I will over the next couple days. This pack should last four two to three weeks which is great.I like that this pack contains three different Oxy products, so I can try them out. I am very excited for this and will keep you all posted on what I think! 

*Disclaimer: I won Oxy Clinical Acne Solutions Pack in a giveaway. Oxy does not sponsor or endorse this post. These are my opinions.

Halloween Hustle 5k

So on Saturday I participated in the Halloween Hustle 5k. The race benefited Helping Hands, which provides housing and resources to homeless people. I feel like this is a pretty great cause!

This was my third 5k race and had a great time like always! My time was 31:11, which is about 30 seconds better than I did in my last race. I felt like I walked quite a bit. I felt like I walked frequently, but my walking lasted for a few seconds. I need to work on pushing myself to keep jogging. 


I loved that there was pizza, soda, and ice cream waiting when you crossed the finish line. The race had only about 50 participants, so you were able to eat as much as you wanted. What a great way to end a race.

On November 19th, I will be running in another 5k. By then I hope to have a time under 31:00!!

Power Wheels Dune Racer Giveaway

Welcome to the Power Wheels Dune Racer Giveaway!

Bucks 4 Black Friday giveaway!

Bucks 4 Black Friday is brought to you by Formula Mom and Tales From the Nursery!

This is a great way to earn some extra cash before the holiday madness begins! I am sure that if you are like me, you would love to have an extra $145 in CASH.

A collection of fabulous bloggers have come together to bring you a great cash giveaway in honor of one of the busiest shopping days of the year! Beginning today through November 20th, you will have the opportunity to win $145 to fund your Black Friday shopping madness! The winner will choose between Paypal or an Amazon gift card.

To enter, please visit the pages below to follow the sponsoring blogs on Twitter and like them on Facebook. Then complete the Rafflecopter form below and you will be entered for your chance to win some shopping money!

Follow Sponsoring Blogs on Twitter here

Follow Sponsoring Blogs on Facebook here

Please note: The Rafflecopter form is the same on all participating blogs so you only need to enter on one of the blogs. Duplicate entries will be deleted so there is no need to enter on more than one blog. It will not increase your chances of winning!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

I hope everyone is having a great Halloween day! I am on my lunch break right now and wanted everyone to see this before they went trick-or-treating. I will be the first to say that I miss trick-or-treating. If I still could do it, I would in a heartbeat! As a kid, I loved picking out what my costume was going to be that year, which was always such a tough decision. I had been a witch, an m&m, and Cleopatra. Those are the only ones I can think of. Then I loved waiting all day for school to be over so I could go trick-or-treat (let me tell you, it was the longest day ever!).  I remember I always tried to start on my candy adventure before people had started turning their lights on. I was expecting them to be waiting on me and not the other way around! When it was finally time to go, I would try to go to as many houses as I could. I had to get more and better candy than my friends. And boy, over the next few days all I would eat is candy. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, dessert, and midnight snack! I was always jealous of my friends because some would still have good candy left over when it was December. That would never happen for me though, because mine was gone in a week!

Since I am too old to go trick-or-treating, I went trick-or-treating at the gas station.

So everyone have fun tonight and be safe! Kiddies, enjoy your trick-or-treating time. I hope you get lots of good candy from your neighbors!

giveaway: $10 eGiftCard to Target

Enter to win a $10 eGiftcard to Target. Please use the Rafflecopter entry form below. 
Good luck!!

26 Days Until Black Friday!

  

Are you guilty of looking like this when you go shopping on Black Friday?   I know I get pretty excited when the final Black Friday ads are delivered in my mailbox. I get in the spending craze where I think everything is a good deal and I must have it all. Last year I waited in line at Target. I am so excited that Target opens at Midnight this year. That will be so nice if I end up wanting things from there. But anyways, it really was my first time waiting in line on Black Friday. I had on a long sleeve shirt, a sweatshirt with a hood, a coat, two layers of sweatpants, socks, boots, a scarf, gloves, hat, and wrapped in a blanket. But guess what!?  I am sure you could guess that I was still cold. I was extremely envious of the people hanging out in their oh so warm tents. When there was about one hour until the store open, the tent people had to take them down, store manager's orders. By then I was happy they had to, because I was so cold. I felt that everyone should be as cold as I was! 
Since last year was my first real Black Friday experience, I was overwhelmed when they store open. Now granted, I have seen segments on TV that in big cities people run in the store (sometimes even leads to death). However, I was not expected that. People are just overtaken by the sales! But I got my stuff in ten minutes MAX. Another surprise, I was not expecting the line to grow at such an exponential rate! Boy it was a long line. 
After Target, I also went to Shoe Carnival and Gander Mountain (I am sure there is more, but I can't remember anymore.
I feel that this year I will be better prepared. I have made some tips for myself to having a better Black Friday. And who knows, maybe this will help you out too? :)

1 When waiting in lines for hours before the store opens, alternate with someone. Why should both of you be cold when one can be waiting in the nice warm car and then switch. 
2 Layers and layers of socks! I hate it when my feet are freezing which happened last year. I will be wearing as many as a can 
3 When the doors open, be ready to RUN! This is no stroll in the park
4 Only buy what you were intending to buy. I ended up picking extra stuff, just because I thought it was some "great deal", which I find out later it wasn't. So again, stick with your list. 
5 Bring snacks. Waiting in line is a tiring activity! 


What are your personal Black Friday tips you have learned to shop by?

Blog Hop Friday!

It is officially the weekend for me! It is time for some much needed blog time and blog hops. If you are a new follower, feel free to say hi! I love meeting other bloggers J

Food On The Go

Between work and school, I feel like I am not home much during the week. I need food that is quick, easy, and convenient. I end up eating a lot of frozen type meals. My main go to brand is Lean Cuisine. I love how many different choices there are and they have roughly 300 calories each. I feel that it is not the most expensive brand, but not the cheapest either. Now I know this is not the most healthy food to eat, but it is better than getting fast food. So that must count for something, right?

What about you ladies? What is your go to meal when you are a woman on the go?

I bet these people didn't get hired

On careerbuilder.com, hiring managers shared the wackiest pieces of information people included in their resume. I just had to share this!

1. Candidate included that he spent summers on his family's yacht in Grand Cayman.

2. Candidate attached a letter from her mother.

3. Candidate used pale blue paper with teddy bears around the border.

4. Candidate explained a gap in employment by saying it was because he was getting over the death of his cat for three months.

5. Candidate specified that his availability was limited because Friday, Saturday and Sunday was "drinking time."

6. Candidate included a picture of herself in a cheerleading uniform.

7. Candidate drew a picture of a car on the outside of the envelope and said it was the hiring manager's gift.

8. Candidate's hobbies included sitting on the levee at night watching alligators.

9. Candidate included the fact that her sister once won a strawberry eating contest.

10. Candidate explained that he works well nude.

11. Candidate explained an arrest by stating, "We stole a pig, but it was a really small pig."

12. Candidate included family medical history.

I copied this information from careerbuilder.com

Spooky Scents from Bath & Body Works

I love that each time I go into Bath and Body Works, they have new, fun scents. Over the weekend, I picked up three great Halloween scents, but the store at a lot more than three festive scents! I picked out a bottle of lotion, hand sanitizer, and anti-bacterial hand soap. I was drawn to these products, because the bottles are black. I have never seen an opaque bottle, since they are normally see through. One of the main reasons I shop at Bath and Body Works is because their products are not tested on animals.

The lotion is called Wicked Spiced Pumpkin. It is 3 Oz, which is a perfect on the go item. The warming smell reminds me of a fresh baked pumpkin pie with a hint of cinnamon. The lotion is made with shea butter, jojoba oil, and vitamin E.

The hand sanitizer is called Forbidden Apple. It smells just like a freshly cut granny smith apple. The smell is very clean and pleasing to your senses. This product is enhanced with Tahitian Palm Milk. The label has skulls on it, but the hand sanitizer is anything but scary.

The anti bacterial soap is called Sour Drop. This product makes you want to wash your hands, because it smells so lovely. The smell is fairly strong, but in a very good way. The soap is enriched with a blend of honey, coconut milk, and olive fruit extracts.