Boom Boom Pow!

 

I've got that boom boom pow!! Haha. Yesterday we had a family Halloween party and some of the costumes were great. I know I love looking through people's Halloween photos and seeing awesome costumes so I'd thought I'd share some photos from yesterday. That's me above and I created my own superhero identity. Overall, I was happy with how my costume came out but since I used purple as my main color a lot of people thought I was supposed to be Hit Girl from Kick Ass. But whatever, that's ok, because she is almost as awesome as me! Heehee.

Liv as Spider Girl!

The hubby as the Punisher

My sis in law, the Ompa Loompa

Me with my sis who designed her Poison Ivy costume!

What about you?! What are you being for Halloween??!

A Well Deserved Getaway

Boardwalk in Atlantic City

I have been absent from my blog because I have been busy catching up with everything after my anniversary getaway to Atlantic City.  October is super busy for me, particularly with my one Etsy shop that makes adult tutus. I have been making Halloween tutus like a machine since we've returned.

Anyways, we spent 4 days in Atlantic City. We used to go there ALL the time. We love to gamble and just love strolling up and down the boardwalk even though it can be seedy at times. We went with limited funds and did quite well because we managed to make the money last and gambled a lot and had some scrumptious food. Oh and of course we had one night that we drank like fish. Don't quite remember the end of the night but that's ok, we ended up in our room safely and with money won from gambling. Don't know how that happened. Haha.

We spent one afternoon strolling the beach and I took my camera hoping to capture some good shots. I have been obsessed with silhouettes lately so here are a couple of my faves from our trip.

All in all we had a fabulous trip. It was good for us to actually to have some quality alone time. We missed our girl so much but this was truly relaxing and well needed.

Now make sure you stop back soon because I am working on a super fun post about Tips for your trip to Atlantic City. You won't want to miss that!! Have a good night!!

Treat Yourself Giveaway Hop

We're just a couple of weeks away from Halloween and there's one thing that's on everyone's mind... treats! Welcome to the Treat Yourself Giveaway Hop, hosted by So Easy Being Green and Viva Veltoro! In this Hop, you'll find lots of special treats to keep your entering giveaways until it's time to go out and gather your own! Be sure to hop around to all the giveaways in the Hop Linky below, and don't forget the ultimate treat... the Treat Yourself Grand Prize!

 I am excited to be offering you a chance to win the ultimate yummy treat! A $25 giftcard to Ghirardelli!!You can enter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

   Thanks for entering a chance to treat yourself to my giveaway, now it's time to hop around to all the others, including the delicious Grand Prize. One lucky Winner will be treating themselves to a Year's Supply of YumEarth Organic Candy, a Roku 3 Streaming Media Player, and 4 yummy bags of Lovely Candy Co. Superfruit Chews, Fruit Chews, Chocolate Swirl Caramels, and Chewy Original Caramels!

ENTER THE GRAND PRIZE

  

Make sure you take the time to check out all these amazing giveways!

Viva Veltoro, So Easy Being Green, the Blogging Mamas Network, and the Treat Yourself participating bloggers are not responsible for sponsors who do not fulfill prize obligations.

Shop For A Cause Giveaway

Hello Everyone, today I wanted to share with you not only a giveaway but also causes that are near and dear to my heart. We will be putting power behind our purchase this month by giving away $100 to Sevenly, $100 to FashionABLE and $100 to Noonday Collection. We hope that you will not only enter the giveaway, but that you will also visit these sites and consider making purchases to support the causes.

Sevenly
Sevenly was created in June of 2011 and has a very unique concept. Each week, they have a Cause Campaign where customers purchase products and $7 of each sale is given toward the cause. This is amazing to watch. At the top of their site, you can see their weekly goals - not just monetarily but socially as well. This means that you can use your social media influence to help raise awareness even if you aren't able to give monetarily each week.

FashionABLE
FashionABLE is also a company that supports women around the world. The fashionABLE mission is to create sustainable business for Africans so they aren't dependent upon charity, but instead earn the dignity of a job. They are focused on long term solutions to fight poverty and investing in women. Through your purchase of a scarf, you are ABLE to provide an opportunity and a women is ABLE to have a choice.

Noonday Collection
Noonday Collection has a wide variety of jewelry, accessories, home items and gifts that are hand crafted by Artisans all around the world. Each artisan is paid a fair and competitive wage for their skilled craft thus giving them life-altering opportunities. Because Noonday practices Fair Trade guidelines, your purchases enable them to earn more than they would in another job thus enabling them to put their children in school, buy chickens or expand their business in their local community. When you host a trunk show, 10% of profits can go towards raising funds for a friends adoption. Noonday also gives some of its profits to help place orphans in families.

Simply Clarke / Simply Be / Stay Crafty My Friends / Fueled & Aflame / Venus Trapped In Mars

Endlessly Beloved / Kate & Trudy / Jade and Oak / Life Style Love / Let's Get Bananas

Sleepless in DIY Bride Country / Well Worn Soles / Boone + Owl / All That Glitters / Being Mrs. Beer

Two Miracles / Colorful Commotion / Dancin' With A Dolly / Confessions of A Northern Belle

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I Can Hear It Already

I cannot believe it but today was my 5 year wedding anniversary!!! Where does the time go??! We didn't really do too much today because tomorrow we are leaving to go to Atlantic City for a few nights. Just the two of us (of course, since it's AC)!!

You see, my hubby and I have been together for a total of 10 years and in that time we have been to Atlantic City countless times but obviously not since I was preggo with Olivia 2 years ago. We, okay I, am obsessed with the slot machines. Partially, because I usually do quite well.  We love gambling so much we considered Vegas for our honeymoon BUT after a trip to AC before our wedding where I didn't have good luck we changed our mind.

I was so pissed the whole trip because I wasn't winning that I ruined our whole vacation. I then decided Vegas was not a good idea because if I wasn't on a winning streak, I didn't want to be grumpy on our honeymoon.

Anyways I am SUPER excited for tomorrow. So much so that I can truly hear the slot machines ringing in my ears already!! I love that noise!!! Ahhhh.....Heaven!! (Okay, I am nut....) Talk to you when we return!!

Here are a few photos from our wedding 5 years ago....

 

Awesome Ad Space Giveaway

My fabulous sponsors and I are hosting an Ad Space giveaway this week! Free ads equals lots of EXPOSURE for you and your blog!

Little Muffin Ad Space from Confessions of a Northern Belle (me)

200 x 150 Banner

Fah-bulous Ad Space from Noor's Place

300 x 160 Banner

VIP Ad Space from Dancin' With A Dolly

200 x 200 Banner

Da Bomb Ad Space from I Have A Messy Bun

350 x 240 Banner

200 x 200 Ad Space from Everyday Thoughts

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pumpkin Decorating For All

I truly love this time of year! I already painted pumpkins twice already this year. This past weekend my sister and I and our families went to our parent's house to decorate pumpkins. In the past, everyone carved but we had a free for all this year. Everyone did what they wanted.

A few people still carved and I decided to paint a minion. I saw something similar to this a month or so ago and had to give it a try. I don't particularly like carving and much prefer painting so this project was great for me. What was even better was the fact that it was super easy to do. It is basic shapes so even the artistically challenged should be able to pull it off.

Some people got the things to stick in the pumpkin to make a face. My mom found Mr. Potato head ones and I found a Minnie Mouse for Olivia. You can find great kits at Target. These kits were great for the little kids and for this who feel that carving and painting are too difficult. The results are great and simple to attain.

Here are our results!!

Meet Jen!

Hello everyone! I hope you had a spectacular weekend! I would like to take the time out to introduce you to one of my VIP sponsors, Jen from Boone + Owl. She has the cutest life + style blog. Make sure you head on over there and check it out. But before you do so I wanted you all to get the opportunity to know her a little better. I asked her a few questions and here is what she had to say:

1- Why do you blog?

I blog to share and connect. I love meeting people and making new friends, and to me blogging is a wonderful avenue for that. I share everything from fashion to tasty recipes to a little encouragement for the day. Though, fashion is my favorite part! Having a creative space that reaches out to so many people is amazing. It opens up fantastic opportunities. 

2- Describe yourself in three words.

I am terrible at this! If I had to describe myself I think I would go with how my friends describe me - Bubbly, loyal, and patient.

3- Share an embarrassing story with us.

Okay. Let me set the scene for this. About six years ago I was walking with a handful of friends out of a restaurant, across a parking lot, on a windy day. I was all dolled up and blissfully wearing a skirt that I had snagged from my sister. Picture this okay - Walking at the front of the group, in broad daylight, in front of three picture windows where ten to fifteen marines were sitting - Big gust of wind - skirt up around my waist. There was nothing that could be done. It all happened too quickly. All twenty plus friends and strangers near by were graced with by backside. I have an aversion to skirts now.

4- What song would be your life anthem?

This changes frequently. I love music. I'm always listening to something and adding a new song to my Spotify library. I genre hop so things vary quite a bit.  I don't know that I have a singular song that I would label my life anthem. Currently though Find You On My Knees by Kari Jobe is my "anthem". To me it represents the fact that no matter what's going on in life, I can find God right there to lift me up and guide me, and I can take encouragement in that.  

5- What TV character do you most relate to?

Elena Gilbert - Because I have studly vampire brothers vying for my attention constantly! It's exhausting.

In all seriousness, I don't watch much television. If I do sit down to watch something It's usually Say Yes To The Dress. I can never get enough of wedding shows!

6- Where do you ideally see yourself in 5 years?

A couple of years into marriage, and steadily growing my blog and business. Of course, there's no telling what the future will really bring, but, that is definitely my ideal.

Jen and her best friend

Well...Isn't she just fabulous?! I am so glad to have found another amazing blogger in this great, big blogging world! So make sure you head on over to Boone + Owl and show her some love!

An Electric Weekend

Happy Tuesday!! I know I am a little late with my weekend recap but better late than never. On Saturday night we did the NYC Electric Run. Basically, it is a 5K run at night with cool "lands" designed with funky lights. It was fun but not without some stress beforehand. The normally 45 minute drive to the arena in Brooklyn took over 2 hours and we hadn't picked up our race packs ahead of time so we had to do that once we got to the venue. And the lines were insane! I am always early to things so this was giving me a lot of anxiety. Once we finally started the run I was able to calm down a bit and enjoy the view. Here are some photos.

 

 

 

So the run was fun and all but I think it definitely could have been cooler. Maybe I was just irritable from being so late but there were big stretches of darkness between the set up lights. I also couldn't help but think this was the perfect set up for a sociopath. They could have easily hid in the brush and grabbed people as they went by in the dark. There also seemed to be a lack of security for this type of event hence a sociopath's dream. Okay, maybe a watch a bit too much CSI, Law and Order and Criminal Minds but one can never be too safe. I would do this again next year but leave much earlier and just tailgate beforehand.

A few more things. You HAVE to head over to A Worker At Home and check out the review they did on a necklace from my newest Etsy shop My Funky Heart. There is also a giveaway for a free personalized name necklace! Head over there and enter now!

A sneak peek from post...

Hmmm...What else? If you are planning on ordering a tutu from my Etsy shop Oh So Pretty Designs do it soon!! I am getting swamped with Halloween orders and the more orders I get the sooner the cut off will be for Halloween orders. Don't delay!!

Well have a glorious day!! Catch you on the flip side!