Giveaway: Discovery Science Center Private Holiday Event

I am so excited for this giveaway today!!!!

The Discovery Science Center is throwing a fabulous holiday party for bloggers and

local media on December 12th from 6-8pm and I get to give away a family four-pack of tickets

for one lucky family to be able to attend this exclusive event!

That night you'll be able to explore the Indiana Jones and the Adventure of Archeology exhibit

as well as see the over 100 entries in the annual gingerbread competition at the Science of Gingerbread exhibit.

There will also be the opportunity to decorate cookies and snap pictures with Santa.

This is an exclusive media event, but I'm excited to be able to offer 4 tickets to one lucky winner today.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spa Night: Pampering with NIVEA

I try to have friends over at least once a month to unwind, watch TV, chat,
eat yummy food, and just generally take a break from being "mommy".
This month I had the girls over for a spa party!
I got to shop at Sam's Club for NIVEA lotions and fun things to make the evening
relaxing and memorable for some very deserving ladies.




I know that everyone thinks that Southern California has great winter weather,
and it really does, but it still gets dry here during the winter and I'm always looking
for a great lotion to keep the dry winter skin at bay.
Buying NIVEA at Sam's Club is such a great value because you get two large bottles
and a travel lotion for less than $10. I think that is fantastic!
(You can read about my complete shopping experience in my Google+ Story.)

Because I wanted the night to be extra special I made up some fun treats for the

ladies to take home with them, so they can remember to pamper themselves on a regular basis.

I used my Silhouette SD  to make some adorable Fall gift boxes to hold some of their

NIVEA goodies and included some extras that I thought they'd enjoy.

The girls were excited to try the NIVEA and they all remarked about how great it
felt going on and how smooth their hands felt after they had used it.
I got several texts the next day thanking me for having them over and giving them
a little break from daily life and letting them pamper themselves with facials,
food, and manicures complete with NIVEA



Having the spa party was a good reminder to pamper myself on a regular basis,
and that it can be done at home with good friends and a great evening.

You can find out about more NIVEA products on their website,
follow them on Twitter, like them on Facebok, and find more great ideas
for enjoying NIVEA of your own on the #NIVEAmoments Pinterest board.

 
I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Beiersdorf for NIVEA.  #NIVEAmoments #CBias #SocialFabric. All opinions are my own.

Bring it on Breaking Dawn Party: Breaking Dawn Photo Props

Who's ready for Breaking Dawn II to hit the theaters this week?

I am so freaking excited!!!!

Except for the first movie - because I was 36 weeks pregnant - I've seen

the movie opening "morning" at midnight.

It is so much fun to wait with friends, be silly, and have a great time

enjoying the CGI madness that is the Twilight Movie franchise. 

And what's even more fun is that I've connected with Marissa of rae gun ramblings

virtually over the years over our love for fun young adult fiction.

She had this great idea to bring together some fabulous bloggers that are also Twi-hards

to share some fun ideas to get the fever for the release of Breaking Dawn II.

 Breaking Dawn Party Peeps

The Reading Fever ● Vixen Made ● Truly Lovely ● Funky Polka Dot Giraffe

Housewife Eclectic ● Lizy B ● Sew Delicious ● Rae Gun Ramblings

To help get you in the mood to PAR-TAY! this Thursday night -

my group gets to see it at 10:00pm - WOOT!

I've made some rad Twilight Inspired photo props!!!

I used my Silhouette to cut out the shapes and then I put them together.

I used skewers I already had and secured them to the props with hot glue.

We've got the infamous chess pieces, Billy Black's hat, a wide variety of mustaches
in honor of Charlie Swan, wolf faces, and of course - vampire lips!

Then I got JT involved for a little photo booth action.

I hope you enjoy!!!
Most of the images are from the Silhouette Store.
The wolf pieces I designed myself.
You can download the cut files for the words and wolf pieces HERE!

Product Review: Pony Royale Party

Isabella and I had the grand opportunity to hose Pony Royale Party
for some of her little friends a couple of weeks ago.

Isabella was so excited to share one of her favorite toys with her friends.
And the fabulous people at Pony Royale sent enough ponies for each of
the little girls to take two ponies home with them.

We started with some yummy snacks and let each girl choose the
two ponies that she wanted to take home to live with her.
They were all so excited!

After choosing their ponies, each little girl got to playing!
The cool thing about Pony Royale is that you can change
the manes, tails, crowns, saddles, and other accessories.
They are totally interchangeable, so there are so many possibilities
for playing "dress up" with your ponies.

 

The ponies also have a Dressing Carousel where you can store all

the great accessories, groom the manes and tails,

and let your ponies admire themselves in the mirror.

I also love that each pony has a name, corresponds to a month/birthstone,
and has a little story behind their personality.
It makes it so much fun to get to know your pony and
helps aid the pretend play.

Even the mommies love them!
One of my friends sent me a message and said,
"Thanks so much for inviting us and for the awesome Ponies Royale. Love them!"
And she says her girls can play with them forever and use
them more than any of their other toys.

You can find out more about Pony Royale on their website,
follow them on Twitter, or like them on Facebook.
They are available online and in select stores.

Disclosure: I was sent the ponies from Pony Royale for review and to host a party for Isabella's friends. I am sharing my experience with you because Isabella and I love the ponies! 

All the thoughts & opinions are mine.

Back to School Feast {2012}

Tonight we had our first annual Back to School Feast.

I planned to do one last year,

but I never pulled it together to have one.

So, I decided this year we were going to do it!

Of course, Back to School Eve fell the same night

as soccer practice and the day after our big Labor Day BBQ/swim,

but I was resolved we were having one!

So, I asked JT what he'd like to have for dinner to celebrate.

I was thinking he'd choose pancakes, homemade pizza, dino nuggets.

Nope.

He chose the golden arches.

He wanted the toy.

And this awesome hat.

So, it wasn't a fancy evening,

but it was an evening where we came together as a family,

ate dinner at the table, chose a scripture as our family theme

for the year, talked about going back to school and starting

in a new school (we had to switch schools this year due to boundary

changes within the district), had a Father's blessing, 

and enjoyed each others company.

Our scripture comes from 2 Nephi 28:30

 I think it is the perfect theme for a new school year.

And we rounded out the evening with a  delicious dessert.

That makes the evening fancy, right?

 I made a printable of our scripture to display in the house

so we can remember what is guiding our actions

and our daily choices this school year.

 

{Download Here}

If you want to see really fancy Back to School Feasts,

you have to check out:

NieNie Dialogues

Glitter & Gloss

Eli's Lids

Bringing Up Burns 

Do you do anything special 

to celebrate a new school year?

Hunger Games Party Ideas

Happy Birthday to me!!!!!!
Who's ready for the Hunger Games movie opening?
I know the movie opens on the the 23rd, but if you're a nut
like me, and you're going to see the Midnight showing,
then your pre- PAR-TAY! will be taking place tomorrow.
I threw a Capitol Feast in honor of the Hunger Games a couple of year ago,
so I wanted to share my menu with you,
and give you some more ideas I've rounded up
to make your Hunger Games pre- PAR-TAY awesome.

If you ask my husband what the Hunger Games is about,
you'll probably get this answer,
"Oh, I'm so hungry, let's play some games."
He thinks he's so funny.
But let's be honest, if you're throwing a party,
it is all about the food :)

At my original Hunger Games Capitol Feast I served:

*soups & stews
specifically clam chowder & corn chowder
in honor of the soups & stews consumed by Katniss

*salad
I picked a yummy one out of the refrigerated section of Costco :)
But you could get fancy and whip something up.

*various breads
Bread is HUGE in the Hunger Games,
so you gotta have your carbs present to REPRESENT!

*CHEESE & grapes
It really isn't a party without a cheese platter.

*hot chocolate & rolls
Turn on that Cocoa Latte machine,
grab a bag of rolls of Costco,
and let your guests go to town.

*ORANGE JUICE
Not only does this beverage remind me of my
darling Grandpa Meyer, but it was the
first food I thought of when I thought the Hunger Games.
Can you imagine remembering what it was like
to taste OJ for the first time?
Yummy!

And the piece de resistance . . . . . .


These radtastic FLAMING cupcakes by Lady Cupcake's Corner!


They look really stunning on a candlelit table.

Some things I'm considering for this year's festivities:
1. Twig Arrows 2. Effie Inspired Flower
3. Coal Necklace 4. Bookmarks

In honor of the Hunger Games and my birthday,
I have a couple gifts for you!!!

First is this fun 8x10 print.
Print it.
Frame it.
Be proud.

DOWNLOAD HERE

And the second is a rad little invite.
It was inspired by a photo I saw on Pinterest,
it only linked to a photo, so I decided to make my own!


DOWNLOAD HERE

Fine Print:
Please feel free to use this printable for your personal use. Please be kind and give credit where credit is due. Any questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact me.

This post originally appeared as a guest post on Rae Gun Ramblings
on March 16, 2012.

2nd Annual Cookie Exchange - 2010

So, this was my second time hosting a cookie exchange

and it is so much fun.
I love seeing all the different cookies that everyone comes up with.
However, you know what's not fun???
Making 9 dozen sugar cookies from rolled dough
that have to be frosted :)

This was my kitchen after they were all done.
When I was done, I felt like throwing my hands up
Top Chef style :)

Here is the invitation I made for the party.
I've had strict rules as as to what counts as a "cookie"
for both last year and this year.
It causes some of the ladies distress, but I think it's fun.
Maybe I'll ease up next year . . .

I have a group of friends from my Wtown years that
still try to get together once a month and do something.
The group has grown as friends and family members of the originals
add in, so it's a fun, eclectic group.
I also invited a few non-Wtown friends
and I was so excited when Kara-Noel said she'd come.
She's so fun!

This was the spread!

My high maintenance sparkly snowflake sugar cookies.

Yummy molasses cookies

Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies (one of my faves!)

Jell-O Cookies
aka Rudolph Noses

JT sporting a rudolph nose :)
He was supposed to be in bed, but kept sneaking out.

This is RAD group of ladies that came this eyar.

We voted this year on:
1. The Prettiest Cookie
2. The Most Awesome Display
3. Fan Favorite

I actually won prettiest cookie and fan favorite,
but that's lame to win my own prizes.
I should've excluded myself,
but it's also nice to hear others liked my cookie.

So, the first runner up for prettiest cookie
were Kara-Noel's Caramel Thumbprints
(another one I adored!)
and she won an ABC Cookie Recipe Book made by me.

The first runner up for Fan Favorite was a
three way tie - and after picking a number 1-10
Cory's Mint Chip Cookies won, so she claimed the apron this year!
(Umm, one year I won't wait until the day of the exchange to make the apron
and my cookies and all three winners will get an apron!)

And the winner of the Most Awesome Display
was Marianne with the darling sleigh!
She won a candy can dip bowl.
I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture
of Marianne and Kara-Noel with their prizes.

We also vote for the most festively dressed.
Jaime won AGAIN with her Christmas tree outfit.
She even lights up!

And she won a pair of Love Stitched earrings.

A new addition this year along with the cookie exchange,
was a handmade gift exchange.
But we made it into a game and it was hilarious
to see everyone stealing all the awesome handmade gifts.

Here are my spoils!

I can't wait for next year!!!!!

Oh! And the winner of the CSN Stores giveaway is
.
.
.
.
.
CORY!!!!!!
You have 48 hours to respond to the email!!!

Coming up . . . my Christmas tree and Nativities . . .

And don't forget to enter the Eclectic Whatnot giveaway!

ETA:
I forgot to attach my recipe cards!