Make Your Halloween Party SPOOK-tacular With These Halloween Cocktails

I have searched Pinterest, Google, and even liquor company's Facebook pages in search of the ultimate collection of ideas for Halloween Cocktails. Now I'm going to share them with you, my followers. These are adult cocktails, so if any one of you are having a Halloween Party this year or go to one and any of these cocktails are being served or you're the one doing the serving please come back and leave a comment on this post as to how awesome or horrible the cocktail recipe was! I say horrible, because sometimes a mix of things "sounds" good on paper, but truth be told once you mix it all together and take a sip you wish you were a zombie and had no taste buds!

CHEERS to a Happy Halloween!!

Photo Credit and Recipe go to Three Olives Facebook page

Photo Credit Hostess With The Mostest Daily Blog

by Alex Straus, Suite 700 at the Hotel Shangri-La

Vampire's Punch

18 oz. SKYY Infusions Cherry

8 oz. Lime Juice

6 oz. Cranberry Juice

2.5 oz. Grenadine

lemon-lime soda

Fresh cherries, pits removed

Wash and remove pits and stems from fresh cherries, and muddle in cocktail shaker. Combine the rest of the ingredients except 7UP in bowl and stir. Top with lemon-lime soda and muddled cherries. (Serves 12)

Photo Credit & Recipe MarthaStewart.com

Blood Shooters

1 1/2 cups fresh blood-orange juice (from 7 to 8 blood oranges), chilled

6 tablespoons Solerno or other blood-orange liqueur

Directions

Combine blood-orange juice and liqueur in a large pitcher. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Pour into test tubes or small glasses.

Photo Credit & Recipe Courtesy Midori

Midori Melon Eye-Tini

1 ¼ parts Midori Melon liqueur

¾ parts Skyy Infusions Citrus

½ part agave syrup

2 parts Canada Dry Green Tea Ginger Ale

2 parts sweet and sour mix

3 orange wedges

2 fresh basil leaves

Strawberry sundae syrup

In a shaker combine Midori, vodka, agave syrup, orange wedges and 2 fresh, torn basil leaves. Muddle. Add ice and sweet and sour mix. Shake. Add ginger ale. Stir and strain into chilled martini glass that has been drizzled with sundae syrup to give bloodshot eye effect.

Photo & Recipe Courtesy Bacardi

Bacardi Zombie

31⁄3 parts Bacardi 
Superior Rum

1 part grenadine

1 part triple sec

2 parts sweet and sour mix

2 parts orange juice

Pour all ingredients into a shaker filled with ice. Shake and pour into a tall glass. Garnish with fresh fruit. Option: float a small portion of Bacardi 151 Rum on top

Drink Responsibly and Do Not Drink & Drive

Dressing Up My Dog For Halloween!

Do you dress up your pets for Halloween? I know a lot of families do so and take their dogs with them while taking the kids trick-or-treating! I think it is great to include the family pet for Halloween. With all of the costume options our for pets now you can literally coordinate a group costume even including the family dog!! 

I've been dressing up my dogs for years. This year due to Zero having a doggie cold we didn't make it to our dog club's contest. We went for dinner, but left Zero at home because we didn't think it would be fair if she was sick to get the other dogs sick too. Last year Zero won the WLTC Halloween Dog Costume contest with the below costume. She was not happy to have it on as the pumpkin seems to irritate her.

In previous years I've dressed my dogs up as a Princess, Vampire, Witch, and Skunk! I have just as much fun thinking of what to dress the dogs up as as I do what should I be too! It's a lot of fun now that dog costumes are becoming more and more popular with a ton of options and size available. Below are some of my dogs and their costumes!

Have fun with your dogs on Halloween and dress them up to! They can make wonderful companions for walking with the kids while out trick-or-treating!

Personalized Candy Options Order In Time For Halloween

Halloween, Thanksgiving, and then Christmas all coupled together with Football season make it the perfect time of the year to customize candy gifts and party favors. How can one customize candy you ask? Simple - My M&M's offers customers the option to customize M&M's with Halloween themes, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and even your favorite NFL Team! Pick your color(s), then your image (if you choose one), and decide how you want your M&M's packaged! Buy them in bulk or choose from a wide array of packaging options.

Put a ghost, witch, or trick-or-treat on orange, black, and green M&M's for your children's Halloween parties to give out to their friends as favors. Host a Super Bowl party in February and have the two teams emblems put onto an order and set out for your guests to snack on or take home as a favor. There are so many options one can do with a personalized M&M's order the options are limitless. Take advantage of their current sale and get your order in today to insure delivery by 10/26/12, just in time for all of your Halloween Festivities! 

I personally love that M&M's has this option available. I've received personalized gifts like this in the past, have seen favors at Weddings. In celebration of the Buffalo Bills season this year I'm going to order some blue and red M&M's with their logo on them for a football game viewing party I'm planning during December. Win or Lose my guests are at least going to have an all time favorite snack to munch on. Once I start eating M&M's it seems I can't stop! I love the peanut ones more than anything else and if I had to choose one candy to eat the rest of my life, it would be Peanut M&M's. I also collect the dispensers, each year there seems to be a new one released and one of the packaging options is the dispenser. My friends have always thought my dispenser collection was pretty neat-o. The dispenser option will be my choice for my Bills order. 

MY M&M’S® candy personalized with words, colors, faces, logos - Order Now!

Discloure: This post is part of a brand share program I belong to. Opinions of this brand posted on this blog are 100% my own.

Amazon Halloween Shop Up to 60% Off Costumes For Adults & Kids

Every year we have multiply Halloween parties. One always includes kids and the others are for adults only, on top of charity events, and bar parties. Halloween is less than two weeks away and I have yet to decide what to be this year. I'm looking for different! I plan to Shop Amazon - Halloween Shop for up to 60% off costumes. I'm an Amazon Prime member, so this means which ever costume I decide to choose I can take advantage of the free two day shipping and get it quick. You too can get the costume you are looking for by shopping Amazon's Halloween Shop!

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate. All opinions about stated on this post are 100% my own

Twitter API Limit Changed Using Third Party Apps - Why We All Hit Twitter Jail In Parties

Anyone who does Twitter Parties knows you always have a back up account because on those busy party days and nights you get locked out of your main account by hitting your API limit or known to us party participants as "Twitter Jail". Twitter Jail is when you have reached your maximum tweet limit either for the day or for the hour. Twitter has these limits in place to help those behind the scenes manage services better.  As per Twitter's Support Information 

What happens if I hit a limit?

If you do reach a limit, we'll let you know with an error message telling you which limit you've hit. For limits that are time-based (like the direct messages, Tweets, changes to account email, and API request limits), you'll be able to try again after the time limit has elapsed.

The Tweet limit of 1,000 updates per day is further broken down into semi-hourly intervals. If you hit your account update/Tweet limit, please try again in a few hours after the limit period has elapsed.

I previously used to be able to do three big twitter parties an hour for three hours straight without hitting my API limit, but within the past month or so that has all changed. I can barely get through two parties an hour for two hours without hitting twitter jail mid tweet through the second hour. I've seen everyone's tweets saying wow how did I hit jail so fast, or I barely tweeted, twitter is being wonky. YES we've all hit "twitter jail" at one point and for those of you who are feeling like you can't get as many tweets in the past month before hitting that API limit I'm here to tell you that you are not crazy! You are indeed getting fewer tweets per hour and day when participating in parties using Tweet Chat or TweetGrid.

This lower API limit doesn't apply to those that use twitter directly for parties, tweeting, or those who use Tweet Deck. Why does Tweet Deck not fall under a third party application? Simple Anwer - Tweet Deck is owned by Twitter. This should explain why when you get the fail whale on Twitter's main site you also lose your feed on Tweet Deck.

Now for those of us who are veteran Twitter Party goers we use third party applications to track the hashtag, hosts, and chatter for the parties. These third party apps are what is lowering your API limit per day and/or hour. How is that you ask? Twitter has changed their policies regarding use of third party applications to tweet. This recently [month or so ago] change is what now is causing all of us to see all our fellow tweeps on their so called "jail" names mid way through any given party! TweetGrid, Tweet Chat, along with Hootsuite are all considered third party applications that when used to keep track of and/or keep up with anything on Twitter (including Twitter Parties) will cut your tweeting short!

Twitter's logic behind changing the API Limits for third party applications is to try and drive the traffic back to their main site or get more people involved in using Tweet Deck. Honestly, I use Tweet Deck daily because it is live stream of updates thanks to Adobe Air Technology. The use of Tweet Deck has also given me a quick on the trigger advantage in first answer or first so many answers parties and contest. I can normally get a RT or reply tweet in there before anyone else because of this live streaming ability of Tweet Deck. 

So there you have it the most asked Twitter question I keep seeing in the past month, why do I keep ending up in Twitter Jail so soon? Now you have an answer and we can all thank Twitter for lowering the third party applications API Limit! To me, this is nothing other than a #FAIL and selfish act on Twitter's behalf! 

Diamond Candles $5 Discount Good Until 10/31

Diamond Candles released yet another new Fall scent tonight! Enchanted Forest.. I couldn't wait to get my hands on. Sounded absolutely delightful for Fall.  With my purchase I was able to get another code for you, my followers, to purchase your own Diamond Candle - Click the link below to get your discount.

$5 Discount Off Diamond Candles Order Good Until 10/31
(These discount links are limited so make sure to do your order quickly)

Embrace Halloween With A Movie - Printable Horror Movie Coupons

I'm a huge horror movie buff! I love when Halloween comes around because every spooky movie that has ever been out all the sudden resurfaces on my to watch list. From vampires to aliens to scary dolls even a vampire dog, there is a Halloween related movie for everyone! Here are some printable coupons for horror movies on DVD - print them before they are gone

Vistaprint Offering FREE Holiday Labels

With the holiday season getting closer, now is the perfect time to stock up on holiday labels! Choose from thousands of designs, or create your own! Showcase your own or even your children’s creativity and upload your own designs of the prize-winning drawing hanging on your refrigerator, so everyone can admire your little artist’s creation. Personalize your own mailing labels for all the holiday cards you send out to family and friends. Label the care packages of your famous homemade chocolate chip cookies and brownies you send to your children in college to get them excited to come home for the holidays. You can even add a special photo of the newest members of your family when you mail your New Year’s letter detailing all of the wonderful changes to you family in 2012. And for all those gifts, you can add “to” and “from” fields to create your own special gift tags for your equally special presents. Click here to start creating your FREE labels. 

UNJUNK Your Halloween & Get UNREAL™ - REVIEW

Halloween will be here in a few weeks and kids will be out collecting mass amounts of candy trick-or-treating. It was this specific holiday and all of that hard earned trick-or-treat candy that drove a 13 year old kid to a desire to "unjunk the world".  Nicky Bronner had his Halloween candy confiscated by his parents which caused a feud. Nicky had then decided he wanted to take the junk out of candy and with the help of his father he set out to do so.  After Nicky connected with Chef Adam Melonas, came a many trial and error,  Nicky & Chef Melonas finally found the perfect recipe for unjunking junk food and the UNREAL™ Brands were brought to life. Nicky and Adam found the way to take the junk out of candy by eliminating the use of corn syrup, hydrogenated oil, artificial flavors, GMO's, and synthetic colors. They produced candy made from responsibly sourced ingredients such as traceable cacao beans, sustainable and organic palm kernel oil, dairy from free-range cows, all natural colors from plants like beets and red cabbage, eliminated 30% sugar, increased the protein to 60%, and added 250% more fiber than compared leading brands. UNREAL™ has indeed  UNJUNKED Candy!

The Good Deed That Made My Day

Every now and then someone comes along that just makes you feel, well, feel awesome! Recently I had a person like that come along and I'd like to share my story about her and how she went above and beyond and didn't have to!

As everyone knows I'm an avid sweepstakes person and also twitter party participant, which should be obvious because I do host a Twitter Party Calendar on my blog. I don't participate in every single party out there that I have posted on my calendar, but I do quite a few of them. I've won prizes and received them within days of winning and I've won prizes I had to constantly bug hosts over asking where they were. I've won small prizes like rubber bracelets, t-shirts, and snap bands and on the other end of the spectrum I've won large prizes like a tablet, laptop, and Sleep Number bed all from Twitter parties. Rarely do you come across a host that goes above and beyond when it comes to prizes, getting them to you, and fixing an issue if it is wrong. Most times you just have to choke on what you get and end of story (trust me I've had this happen and it's upsetting to expect one thing and get another)

Marshmellow Ghost Softlip Lip Balm Giveaway from Two Classy Chics Ends 10/23

Halloween is fastly approaching and of course every company has Halloween related items they released this time of the year. Softlips has hopped on the Halloween bandwagon too with the release of their Marshmellow Ghost Lip Balm duo that is only available in the check isles at Target Stores.

Two Classy Chics are giving their followers and readers a chance to win Softlips Marshmellow Ghost Lip Balm Twin pack. There will be 5 winners in all! Simply head on over to their giveaway page here and follow along with the widget to get your entries in. Giveaway runs until 10/23

Disclosure: In exchange for this blog post I will be compensated for entries in TCC's Marshmellow Ghost Lip Balm by Softlips Giveaway.

Picture Credit: Two Classy Chics

Wordless Wednesday 10/10

ZERO

mygofter.com Your One Stop Shop For Everything Baby

Whether you are an expecting Mom, first time Mom with a newborn, or a Mom who has been down this road before there are certain essentials that a newborn baby or any baby of any age will most definitely need. Are you aware that as a parent to a newborn baby you will go through approximately 4700 baby wipes in the first two years of your baby's life? On average the first year parent will spend between $5000-$10000 just on baby essentials like diapers, wipes, clothing, furniture items, car seats, diaper bags, and so. Wouldn't you rather be spending more time with your baby instead of out going shopping from store to store in search of all the necessary essentials? The expecting Mom would probably much rather not be going from store to store in search of last minute baby items either. I bet you never really gave much thought to how much time is consumed shopping in stores and how much of that time you could be spending with your children or relaxing instead. There is solution to this time issue and that solution is the mygofer service. 

Wordless Wednesday 10/3

The remote?

Warner Bros Dark Shadows Interactive App & Blu Ray Combo Pack GIVEAWAY Ends 10/15

Trapped for 196 years by an evil witch ex lover (played by Eva Green) Barnabus Collins (played by Johnny Depp) is now released into a 1970's world and begins his mission to save the family business! But saving the family business does not come without some struggles. The creative mind of Tim Burton brings Barnabus Collins' story to film in Dark Shadows. On October 2nd Warner Brothers released Dark Shadows DVD and Blu-Ray. Along with the release of the movie also comes the release of the Dark Shadows app!

The Dark Shadows app is an interactive app in which you can get your Horror-Scope, scroll through memes, play Barnabus' Terrorific Trivia, and take the Are You CREEPY Enough? Quiz! Share the app with your Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Tumblr followers so they too can be entertained!

In celebration of the Blu-Ray release and app release Kathy's Calm To Chaos Life is giving their followers the chance to win a Dark Shadows Blu-Ray Combo Pack!

  

GIVEAWAY - One Kathy's Calm To Chaos Life follower will win their very own Dark Shadows Blu- Ray Combo Pack. Giveaway will run until 10/15/12 at 12:01AM est! I have made entries easy, simply interact with the app, share on Facebook, Pin to Pinterest, or even tweet! Do all the entries or pick the ones you'd like. Interact with the Dark Shadows app and then enter to WIN!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I am working with Warner Bros in conjunction with this giveaway. Warner Bros provided me with the app code. All opinions are 100% my own.

Pink Candles & Pink Jerseys Oct Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Now that we are into the month of October it's time to bring awareness to a major cause that plagues not only women, but men too. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. There are a ton of companies who put out products in to support this amazing cause.

Left you can see Yankee Candles' Mandarin Orange Breast Cancer Candle. It smells amazing! Subtle yet strong, calm yet invigorating. I found this candle at the gift shop in Seneca Niagara Hotel and Casino!

Next you have the NFL who turns PINK for the entire month of October. Players, coaches, and staff from every team wear pink themed or pink trimmed uniforms including sneakers, socks, gloves, even jerseys. Not only do the player do this, but the NFLShop offers a wide array of items for fans to buy to show their team support as well as raise awareness to Breast Cancer.

Below you can see my white Boxer Zero sporting a Buffalo Bills Pink Jersey! Even the dogs get in on the support..

So remember THINK PINK during the month of October!

Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post. Nor do I have any affiliation to the above mentioned companies. I'm simply showing my support for a cause.

Glade Expressions® Collection Spray & Oil Diffuser Kits - REVIEW

Pineapple & Mangosteen, Lavender & Juniper Berry, Fiji Apple & Cardamon Spice, Cotton & Italian Mandarin - do just reading the combination of above make you go ohhh I bet that smells awesome? What if I told you that you can have these wonderful combinations of true-to-life layered scents all while having a new home decor item to display? I bet you're hamster wheels are going full bore right now leaning off the edge of your seat wanting to hear more? The new Glade Expressions Collection will give you all of the above, wonderful scent combinations and hip home decor, at a reasonable price and can be found found in grocery and supercenter stores every where. These scents come in a spray kit and oil diffuser. Both of which are refillable, so you only need to buy the kit once.

Covergirl & Olay Tone Rehab 2 in 1 Foundation and Pressed Powder - REVIEW

Covergirl and Olay have teamed up once again to launch a new make up campaign. Covergirl & Olay Tone Rehab 2 in 1 Foundation (liquid and powder) were created for purpose of covering discolorations, lines and wrinkles all while hydrating your skin and approving skin tone over time. Containing Olay Serum acheiving the perfect skin tone is just an application away. Just one pump instantly does the trick for full or partial coverage (based on your preference) then finished off with the pressed powder for that perfect air brushed flawless look. What makes Covergirl & Olay Pressed powder so unique is that it contains gold pearls, yellow iron oxide, and silk mica. Both the liquid foundation and pressed powder come in a wide array of shades to fit every women's skin tone.

Sweeten Without The Calories Naturally With NECTRESSE Sweetener

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of NECTRESSE™Sweetener for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
I have always been a loyal customer of Splenda, because I'm a type II Diabetic and it's one of the few things I can use that will not spike my blood sugar. I appreciate the fact that Splendra strives to create sweeteners that fit the tastes and appeals of everyone. So when Spenda released NECTRESSE™Sweetener and I was offered the chance to try it I hopped on the opportunity.
NECTRESSE is the only No calorie all natural sweetener on the market. Derived from Monk Fruit, a green melon fruit from Asia that has been grown in family orchards for centuries, allows it to be 140 times more sweeter than sugar, all while maintaining it's all natural quality. NECTRESSE is available in single serve packets or an easy to hold canister and is available in grocery, drug, and superstores around the country or can be purchased online. NECTRESSE can be used in place of sugar in all recipes types that call for sugar as an ingredient, this even includes baked good.

Amazon My Habit 60% OFF Top Brands! Join Today

The Holidays are coming now is the time to create gift lists. You can buy those expensive gifts without breaking the bank by joining Amazon My Habit!

BECOME A MEMBER INSTANTLY Membership is always free Up to 60% off coveted brands FREE SHIPPING + RETURN SHIPPING in the US. Not in the US? That's OK they ship INTERNATIONALLY to 50+ countries!

Layaway Items At Kmart & You Could Win Big

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Kmart for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

There are 99 days left until Christmas (I know you're saying did she just mention Christmas, it's only September). Now is the perfect time to start composing your holiday lists and budgets. With the economy is such a ruckus lately and the price of fuel on the rise again there are bound to be holiday gifts on wish lists that you or your family simply can't afford to dish out the cash for all at once.  Layaway programs have always been a good way to get those much needed and wanted items allowing shoppers the option to make payments. I can remember growing up and hearing my Mother and Grandmother always talking about doing a layaway or paying on one. I can also remember all of those wonderful toys and other items I would wake up to on Christmas morning. During the 80's auto industry layoffs money was extremely tight due to my Mother being one of those laid off for years, yet she always found a way to make the holidays happy and joyful, a layaway was her way of doing it.
Kmart has the perfect solution for your layaway needs and also is giving you the chance to win big! Each participating store each week from now until November 17, 2012 is giving you a chance to have your layaway paid for during  Kmart's Big Layaway Giveaway  (No purchase necessary see rules for more information and prizing). Not only is there a great giveaway going on but Kmart is also offering free layaway from 9/9/12 until 11/17/12 and will waive any service fees during the promotional period. This means an extra $5 or $10 (depending on the duration of your layaway) in your pocket that you can use to put towards the items in your layaway.

If the Big Layaway Giveaway isn't enough incentive to do your holiday shopping at Kmart maybe a comparison to it's competitors will be. Kmart offers layaway service year round, no minium amount, online layaway option, and even online payment option. As the grid will show no other competitor even comes close to the options you have for being able to do a layaway at Kmart. You can even do a layaway in a different state and eliminate not having enough room to pack gifts if you are going out of town for the holidays. Kmart offers low prices and the same items as their competitors making them having the winning combination for you.

Twitter Party Calendar Poll

Happy Hump Day Everyone! We are halfway through the last week of September! WOW how this year has flown by. I have a question for ALL my calendar followers... Please leave any and all comments on this post. How would you all feel if there was a log in system to view the calendar? Either log in via your Facebook or your Twitter ID? Please let me know your thoughts... and let this be a WINSday for you!!

BeachMint Instant Win & Sweepstakes Ends 9/27

BeachMint Instant Win & Sweepstakes: You could win BeachMint Favorites or an EBAY gift card in the Fashion Vault Sweepstakes! Enter daily until 9/27/12!

Watch Videos Earn Real Cash - Join Jingit Today

                          It’s a Win-Win

With Jingit, you can earn real cash, instantly for watching ads online; or checking in and shopping for select products at your favorite stores; even for giving your feedback to leading brands by taking brief surveys. In return, those brands get your attention!

Colorful Fall Gardening With Miracle-Gro

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Scotts Miracle-Gro for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Here in the Northeast we are already experiencing cooler night time temperatures, even though some days we still get up to 80 degrees. The summer growing season is quickly coming to an end, but that doesn't mean you still can't pack your flower gardens and containers with colorful Fall gardening options. There are many hardy flowers and ediable plants, such as mums, pansies, hens & chickens, and kale that can create a colorful fall time container garden when planted together. I have a wooden pumpkin shaped mini wagon that I plant a festive fall piece into every year. It becomes the highlight of my porch or patio (where ever I may place it that year). 

Find beauty in the Fall is now easier than ever with the assistance of the internet. You can find inspiration and ideas for creating an arrangement all over the Internet. Pinterest has become my favorite place find and pin the ideas I like and would like to create. This year I've chosen to do a mum, pansy, ivy, hens and chickens arrangement that I found on Pinterest and re-pinned. This display is suggested as being a window box display, but I loved the color combinations and feel it will go well in my pumpkin wagon planter.

When planting any of my container projects the first thing I start out with is Miracle-Grow Potting Mix. 

Miracle-Gro Potting mix has always given my container gardening projects the healthy environment they needed to grow and thrive, all while allowing for proper drainage and airflow due to the rich organic materials that also provide six months of continuous release plant food. Check out Miracle-Gro Facebook page where you can connect with fellow gardeners to share stories and tips.

To complete my pumpkin wagon I'll need the following

• Bag of Miracle-Gro Potting Mix
• Orange Mums
• Yellow Mums
• Ivy
• Hens and Chicken

The wagon is approximately 8-10 inches deep. I'll begin by filling it half up with the potting mix. Once the potting mix is in then place the orange and yellow mums in the center, mixing them to create a colorful mixture. Fill in the empty space with more potting mix. Place the hens and chickens around the outter edge of the wagon potter leaving a space in the wrong of it to place the ivy. Hens and chickens will plan themselves, you can lay them gently on top of the mix and they will grow with no problems.

As you can see with a little creativity and some Miracle-Gro Potting Mix you can create wonderful gardens of all types for the fall.

Fiber One® Nutty Clusters & Almonds Cereal $1.25/1 Printable

Fiber One® Nutty Clusters & Almonds is the newest flavor to the Fiber One cereal line. Bosting just 11 grams of fiber (43% of the Daily Value), 23 grams of whole grain (at least 48 recommended daily), and 180 calories per serving it is packed full of crunchy goodness. 

You can print a coupon for $1.25 off 1 here and try Fiber One® Nutty Clusters & Almonds Cereal today!

Disclosure: I received this information and the coupon offer from General Mills through MyBlogSpark

Julep Pinterest Color Challenge You Could Name The Next Color

Julep is hosting a Color Challenge on Pinterest. They are asking their fans and followers to pin images that inspire their favorite color. The top boards will be posted on Facebook for a vote. The highest voted board color will then be put into production and the winner being able to name the new color. How cool would that be, to have your very own nail polish color that you named? You can't win if you don't participate, so get to pinning!!

How does color inspire you?

Where do you look for inspiration? Fashion, nature, food, etc.

Pick a color and start pinning images that represent and bring color to life.

Tag your pinned images with #JulepColorChallenge #CreateYourJulepColor

Once your board is complete go here and fill out the entry form. 

Just follow the steps in the graphic below to get started.

Check Out eBay Daily Deals

Each and every day, you will find a huge selection of highly discounted, top brands and products. They go fast – so act quickly!

The holidays are quickly approaching, make sure you don't miss out on a Daily Deal!  

disclosure: this is an affiliate ad

NEW Betty Crocker Cereal Muffin Mix $0.80/1 Printable Coupon

Better Crocker has taken muffin mixes to a new level. They have now given such cereal favorites as Cocoa Puffs, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Reese's Puffs some what of a make over. You can now enjoy all three of these flavors as muffins! In celebration of these new muffin mix flavors they've released a printable coupon.  You can go here to print your $0.80 off any one variety Betty Crocker Muffin Mix.

Disclosure:I received this information and the coupon offer from Betty Crocker through MyBlogSpark

Progresso®'s Two New Creamy Light Soups - REVIEW

It's pretty much almost fall time which equates to more soup consumption. Soup is pretty much a staple in my household during the fall and now I have two new soups to enjoy. One of which I've fallen in taste love with - Creamy Potato with Bacon & Cheese and Chicken Pot Pie Style! Tell me  your mouth didn't just water and stomach growl just a tad?  Did the waist band of your pants tighten up hearing creamy? Well fear heavy creamy soups no more. These two soups are part of Progresso®'s new Light Creamy soup campaign that is endorsed by Weight Watchers®. Each soup carries 2 PointsPlus value per serving allowing everyone from a stay at home Mom to Weight Watchers® Members to enjoy a creamy scrumptious low calorie lower sodium delight without sacrificing taste.

Free Customized NFL Pens From Pens.com

Pens.com is offering a discount deal for two FREE Customized NFL Pens!

Simply head on over to Pens.com and click on the banner above. Click on Customize Now button which will take you to the customize screen. 

Step 1. Personalize It - Enter what you'd like on your pen in the "Your Imprint" Box or you can check the top box and not put an imprint on the pen. Note: Due to NFL Rules only Personal Names allowed - I don't know if this excludes blog names, I'll have to wait and see if the order rejects or not.

Step 2. Choose a Design - click on the NFL Conference which your favorite team is in. There seems to be two selections of each team, their normal color logo and the pink logo.

Step 3. Select Quantity 2

You'll want to check the box on the left side after Step 3 that you have double checked your order. Add your order to your cart. Enter Promo Code NFLFREE in the promo code box, this will adjust your order to reflect the discount. Offer says shipping applies, but when I completed my offer there was no shipping, set up cost, or handling fee. So this was a totally FREE deal! You can have the option of adding in a credit card number or simply select "Bill Me Later" Seeing this is a freebie you obviously won't be billed. To complete your check out just create a free account if you don't already have one.  Below is a shot of the pens I ordered. I choose the Pink Buffalo Bills pens and put my blog name on them. I can't wait for them to arrive!!

Thanks goes to Couponing 4 U for posting this freebie! If you are confused on any of the steps you can head on over to here original post here where she has provided screen shots of the steps!

**the site runs slow on certain screens just be patient**

Survey Opportunity Be Entered To Win 1 of 20 $25 Visa Cards

If you have 15 minutes to share your food buying and grocery shopping habits (with the bonus option of entering to win one of 20 VISA gift cards worth $25), please check out this survey from my friends at The Motherhood:https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/G9BVBSB

The results from the survey will be presented at a conference later this month, and your feedback will play a huge part in influencing executives at major food brands and companies as they make decisions regarding product development and prioritizing the issues that are important to moms.

There’s an option to submit your email address at the end of the survey – anyone who completes the survey and provides an email address will be entered to win one of 20 VISA gift cards worth $25. (The email address is just a way to notify the gift card winners and won’t be shared.)

Thanks in advance for your help! If you’d like, you are welcome to share the survey with other moms, too!!!

Disclosure:I will be compensated for this post

JOSÉ OLÉ(R) brand $3.00 Back To School Coupon Starts 9/5

JOSÉ OLÉ® brand products let you add a little more Olé to any day - especially school days! And to help you fill the freezer for those hungry tummys, JOSÉ OLÉ® is releasing an incredible $3.00 off ANY 2 items coupon ($3/2) for a limited time only.

That means you save $3 on ANY 2 JOSÉ OLÉ® products, and if you choose 2 individually wrapped JOSÉ OLÉ® Burritos or Chimichangas, they could be absolutely FREE!

The JOSÉ OLÉ® brand brings your family a fiesta of flavors by using only the finest ingredients, like real cheese, tender cuts of meats, and authentic seasonings. All JOSÉ OLÉ® brand products — Mini Tacos, Taquitos, Quesadillas, Chimichangas, Burritos and more — are great-tasting, easy to prepare, and always get smiles from the entire family.

And you can also help add smiles to more kids' faces by helping to generate up to $25,000 for the good work done by Children's Miracle Network Hospitals®. For every one of these special coupons that is printed, JOSÉ OLÉ® brand will donate $1.00 (up to $25,000) to Children's Miracle Network Hospitals®.

Whether you need some fast and easy family dinner ideas or some quick, satisfying after-school snacks, JOSÉ OLÉ® brand has the products and recipes to meet your needs. Taste the Fiesta® with JOSÉ OLÉ® brand!

Download instructions for the special, limited-availability $3.00 coupon (starting at 3:00 p.m. ET on September 5th)

To get your coupon and big savings on JOSÉ OLÉ® brand products:

1. Click on this link and go to the JOSÉ OLÉ® brand Facebook page starting at 3:00 p.m. ET on September 5th. http://www.facebook.com/JoseOleFrozenMexicanFood
2. Click on the tab that reads “Back-to-School Coupon” (If you can’t see the tab, that means that all of the coupons are gone)
3. “Like” the JOSÉ OLÉ® brand if you haven’t already.
4. Click the “Print” button.
5. Print the coupon.
6. Head to your grocery store, pick up two packages of delicious JOSÉ OLÉ® brand products in the freezer section, and enjoy a fiesta of flavors for your Back–To-School needs!

And while you’re on the JOSÉ OLÉ® brand Facebook page, click on the "More Olé in Life" tab to find out about their daily Instant Win Game, "Surprise" Coupons, fun Party Planning ideas, recipes, and plenty more!

Good luck!!

Disclosure: I was sent this information as part of The JOSÉ OLÉ® brand Team

Pillsbury Bagette Chips & Mott's Medleys Fruit Snacks Printable Coupons

Pillsbury®Baguette Chips

With 21 chips being a whole 130 calories and a lot of gourmet flavors to choose from Pillsbury Baguette Chips are the perfect way to add crunch to your salads, soups, dips, or just alone as a snack. Print your coupon now for $0.75 off one bag 7oz or larger today! Print here 

Mott's® Medleys Fruit Flavored Snacks

Fat Free, Gluten Free, and only 80 calories Mott's Medleys Fruit Flavored Snacks are the perfect addition to add to your child's lunch! Available in assorted fruit or berry these snacks contain 100% of recommended daily Vitamin C. Print your coupon for $0.60 off one box today. Print here

Disclosure: I was provided the above coupon links for being a member of MyInsite.

Which Portable Computer Suits Your Needs - Notebook, Netbook, Ultrabook, & Tablet

With back to school going on some schools require that students have a laptop. What does this mean for parents? This means you are about to invest in some sort of portable computer and should know the difference among classes of laptops. Some laptops are geared for just web surfing, fine tuned for hard core gaming, or touch screen capable and no thicker than a pad of paper. Among them all is the perfect one to fit your budget and your family's needs.

The term laptop has become some what of a generic term for simply meaning a "portable computer".  The word does not specifically mean a computer to set on your lap, as there have been cases that doing so has caused second degree burns to legs and laps due to the heat thrown from the bottom of one of these portable computers. There are many different classes of laptops and I'm going to break down each type for you to allow you to better understand what exactly each type was made to do. From there you'll be able to make a  more informed educated decision on which device is best suited for your family's needs and also which device fits into your family's budget.

5 Year Old Isabella Sara Tennant - Fundraising - Laid To Rest Today A Victim Of A Tragic Murder

It has been a somber week here in the Western New York Area as a community is in shock and mourns the loss of a precious little girl. On Monday a news alert came out around 9 am alerting viewers of a missing 5 year old little girl in Niagara Falls. Within a few hours the grim discovery was then announced that her body had been recovered in a garbage can a few blocks away from where she was spending the night at her Great Grandmother's house. This story and horrific incident hit home HARD. The little 5 yr old girl is Isabella Tennant. I've know Isabella's Dad, Mike, for what is 20 years now. My girlfriends and I hung out with him and his friends. Ohh the younger years! They were wonderful. I crossed Mike's path all the time out and about, whether it was at a bar or some local event. He was always Mr Smiley a smile to which was passed right onto his daughter. I even one time met "Bella" as she was so fondly called, I believe she was 3 or 4 at the time. Mike's birthday was Tuesday not to mention he is getting married soon. My friend my heart physically aches for you and I wish there was something more I could do. 

Bella's precious body was laid to rest today with over a thousand people showing up to pay their respect and condolences. People whom the family knew and also people who they didn't. The outpouring from the community just makes your heart heal just a little bit. 

Photo courtesy of WGRZ NBC Channel 2

"When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure"

Author: 1 Corinthians 13:7

Wordless Wednesday 8/29/12

It's really been that HOT up here in WNY! Where is the coolest place your dog has found to gain comfort from the heat? Here is Zero's!

Going To College? Rent Your Textbooks & Save Big Bucks

When I was first introduced to CampusBookRentals.com I sat here for quite a few minutes going hmmmm where was this service when I was in college? I used to spend big bucks on college textbooks and after the semester was over at least half of them were not eligible for any buy back program because a new version was coming out! I can tell you I have a huge two foot long by 2 foot high box just packed full of my old college textbooks! Yes, I even carted those books from the old house to the new house last year. Sentimental value or maybe I felt a need to stay attached to them seeing I paid a good buck to get them. All to further my education, but also at the expense of my wallet.

What if I said this wallet saving service meant renting your textbooks? Rent them, yes I did say rent! Well why not? You can rent everything from a dress to jewelry to a car and a home, why not textbooks too? CampusBookRentals.com is a service that allows you to rent textbooks for a fraction of the cost compared to buying your books at the college bookstore or online retailer.  To give an example of the savings they offer college students on rental vs buy I did a little investigating. I'm considering going back to college to finish my Masters Degree and/or Certification in Computer Forensics. The one book that is required for the one class in the Computer Forensics curriculum is Digital Evidence and Computer Crime: Forensic Science, Computers & the Internet Third Edition which is currently available to purchase for $70 or I could easily just rent the same book/edition from CampusBookRentals at the cost of $19.36. This is a 72% savings! Check out here and see the savings difference!

With CampusBookRentals.com they make it easy to search for the books you need with their user friendly easy online ordering system. Simply Search, Order, Receive, Use, and Return the books when you are finished. Wallah! I bet you are saying it can't really be that easy, can it? Sure it can, just watch the video below and see for yourself how easy it is to rent college textbooks. They give you multiple options on how fast you want your books shipped (standard shipping is FREE both ways) and more options for return dates (days, weeks, full semester, or select your own return date)

When you rent your textbooks from CampusBookRentals.com you aren't only saving money, but you are also supporting Operation Smile. Operation Smile is an organization that provides life changing cleft lip surgeries to underpriviledged children in need. CampusBookRentals.com has pledged to donate part of the proceeds from every textbook rental to Operation Smile in order to cover the cost of 1,000 surgeries. To learn more about the good Operation Smile does and how you can help check out their website here.

Don't let going to college break the bank! It's expensive enough to begin with. Rent your books from CampusBookRentals and support a great organization at the same time. 

FTC Disclosure: I was compensated for this post. All opinions expressed are 100% my own

Keep Summer Alive American Family FREE Summer Drinks eBook

Keep Summer alive with the American Family summer drinks FREE eBook! Simply register on  American Family and you can download your free drink eBook!

$0.60 off Mott´s® Medleys Fruit Flavored Snacks

If your children are back to school or are getting ready to go back to school now is a good time to stock up on those lunch box snacks! Mott´s Fruit Flavored Snacks are made with real fruit & vegetable juice* and natural colors+ and flavors and available with year round Double Box Tops! To help you add Mott´s Fruit Flavored Snacks to your kids´ snacking routine. Download and Print your coupon below!

$0.60 off the purchase of (1) Mott´s® Medleys Fruit Flavored Snacks 

Disclosure: I received this information and the coupon offer from Mott´s® through MyBlogSpark

Keep Gadgets Safe With Master Lock 5900 SpaceSafe Portable Safe - REVIEW & GIVEAWAY

Here we are, back to school time. What is one of the biggest concerns facing parents and students during this time of year? How to protect their those expensive gadgets and valuables from being stolen. Statistical fact: There is a laptop stolen every 53 seconds! That number is astronomical! Not only are laptops stolen but keys, credit cards, MP3 players, smart phones, digital cameras, and the list could go on and on. Master Lock has once again stepped up to the plate and introduced a new product that will help you and/or your child(ren) keep all those little expensive and ever so important gadgets and valuables protected, locked up, and secure with their SpaceSafe™ Portable Safe.

The SpaceSafe™ Portable Safe is a light weight, water tight, durable portable safe made of shock absorbing material that you can put your valuables into for safe keeping. You can set your own combination, which also is concealed by a rubber flap, listen to your music or even charge a device with the ever so clever access port, and even carry it around like a purse or secure it to something with its integrated cable strap.

Win Microsoft Office From Shoppin' Queen

I have had quite a few of you ask me if I ever see sweeps, contests, or blog giveaways for Microsoft Office for Windows or Mac. Especially with Back to School right upon us, a lot of schools are requiring students to have this program on their computers. I know when I attended college it was mandatory we had a version of Office for our college work. 

 A fellow blogger, Shoppin' Queen, (or as most of you should know as @geekbabe on twitter)is giving away two copies of Office for Windows or Office for Mac on her blog. 

You can see her post and enter to win here

Good Luck!! 

Join FabKids & Get Your First 3 Piece Outfit For Just $25!

FabKids just launched on August 2nd, 2012 and is led by ShopStyle founder and father of two Andy Moss, in partnership with Mom and actress Christina Applegate, who serves as Creative Partner. FabKids is a monthly outfit club for stylish girls sizes 2-8. Each month, members receive outfit selections personalized just for their girls. Every outfit includes 3 pieces and costs just $49.95. All outfits ship free and are backed by their FabKids 100% satisfaction guarantee.

To celebrate the launch of FabKids they are offering all new members the chance to buy a complete FabKids outfit for just $25! That means you get a perfectly styled 3-piece outfit -- that normally retails for $49.95 -- for nearly half off! Just enter the code “FIRST25” at check-out. Their inaugural Back-to-School collection offers over 100 ready-to-play outfits that are available for sale exclusively on FabKids.com.