Sunday, September 28, 2014

Children's Halloween Costume Ideas Inspired by Books

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Trips to the school library are full of endless possibility, seemingly so are trips to various costume stores, thrift shops and online shops in the hope of finding that perfect child Halloween costume. Let your imagination get to work, and check out some of our tips for the best child Halloween costumes based on books:

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood

An iconic story of boyhood, friendship and adventure, Robin Hood is still so popular in children’s literature it’s hard to believe it was written over 130 years ago. Today’s Robin Hood might just be a little more badass though. Polish off that bow and arrow sharp shooter!

Little Red Riding Hood

Made famous in the variations by the Brothers Grimm in the 19th century, Little Red Riding Hood is continually readapted in literature and film, lately in TV’s Once Upon A Time and Grimm. The tale is old as time itself, and the red cape is iconic. Your daughter will look gorgeous in a red and black corset style dress with petticoat. Look out for the big bad wolf!

Where’s Wally

The Where’s Wally books have kept many a child entertained on rainy afternoons or during silent reading periods at school. They continue to be a parent’s dream come true when looking for some peace and quiet. This costume is comprised of the trademark red and white stripe jumper and the round black glasses. Everyone will be able to spot your kid from the crowd this Halloween!

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Written in 1900, there’s a pretty good chance most of us have read the Wizard of Oz, or at least seen the film or play. Like so many of these classics, the Wizard of Oz transcends generations and continues to be adapted in popular culture. The best part of the story are the many facets and rich characters to draw inspiration: Dorothy, of course, is the quintessential character, but think about the witches, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion or the Scarecrow.

Harry Potter

Last year the Harry Potter books had sold 400 million copies,  making them one of the best-selling book series in history. There are no surprises as to why, kids (and adults) can’t seem to get enough of the Potter franchise, as the last four books in the series set records as the fastest selling books in history – pure magic! The stories are vivid, entertaining and intense: is no wonder they’re reading by a vast majority of kids. It also doesn’t hurt that the costumes are pretty awesome! Check out the Gryffindor robes and a pretty creepy looking dementor (along with some other awesome child halloween costumes) on Spirit Halloween.

Cat in the Hat

Another absolute classic, the Cat in the Hat is a book that gets passed from generation to generation and proves to be a crowd favourite each time. Dr Seuss’s playful, nonsensical narratives make the perfect children’s story. From his incredible imaginations comes such crazy characters as Thing 1 & Thing 2: grab a best friend or sibling and make a dynamic costume duo!

Check out these Dr. Seuss halloween costumes on Pinterest.

Hunger Games

The latest young-adult literary craze to sweep the world, Suzanne Collins’s Hunger Games trilogy has amassed a huge following, surpassing Harry Potter as Amazon’s best seller in 2012. In a similar style to Hermione, young girls are aspiring to a strong and dynamic female heroine: Katniss Everdeen. Katniss is the leader of the revolution and is a hugely popular character within children’s literature right now. Make sure you have your bow and arrow and Mockingjay pin to complete her look.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Written in 1865, Alice in Wonderland (as commonly called) has had a long literary history. Another example of literary nonsense, author Lewis Carrol distorts normal possibility and plays with logic – perhaps what makes the story so attractive generation after generation. Alice herself is the figurehead of the whole crazy tale, and makes a great child’s costume idea, so do the Cheshire Cat and Mad Hatter. We’re all mad here!

Get creative this Halloween and think outside of the box for your child's halloween costume – right into a book. Make sure you read it after Halloween as well!

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

My Jamberry Promotion!!! And an Update

I joined Jamberry nail wraps at the very end of March of this year and have slowly been moving up the ranks. I was concentrating mostly on selling the wraps because I love them so much. Building a team never crossed my mind. But then I found myself with 10 wonderful women on my team and this last month a couple of them turned into absolute rock stars, which means they pushed me over the edge from Lead Consultant to Senior Lead Consultant! Here's the post about it on my Jamberry blog (yes, I have a Jamberry-specific blog so I don't drive you away with my nail wrap art love affair here!).

Positive thinking, loving what you do, prayer, partnerships, giving incentives to downline and customers and just trying to practice good customer service and be a good person = my keys to success.


Update: I hit Premier Consultant in April of 2015! Next stop is Team Manager!

Monday, September 15, 2014

Red Gold 2-a-Day Crock-Pot #Giveaway 9/17/14-10/8/14

So here is a link to the Rustic Italian Chicken in the crock-pot that I made last week! It was yummers! And here is me with my little carrying case of Red Gold tomatoes and apron and spoon. So fun to get mail like this! I love me some red and some tomatoes! These tomatoes remind me of when my Grandma Stump would can tomatoes and they were so bright and tomato-smelling ... sometimes tomatoes these days smell all watered-down but hers were so vibrant in every way.

Mr. Kerrie had me laughing at this point!
Here it is in the crock-pot!


Starting on September 17 through October 8, Red Gold is giving away 2 crock-pots every day for a total of 44 slow cookers! You can find all their slow cooker recipes here. And enter the promotion here!

Thanks for reading and good luck!

Saturday, September 13, 2014

My Basically Free Costco Membership and How You Can Get One Too!

Come on over and read about my Maiden Voyage to Costco ... super exciting day for me, as I have been asking Mr. Kerrie for a warehouse membership for 13 years now! Yes, I spent $350 total but that toilet paper is a HUGE ROLL and there are 30 of them and we are going to be wiping our butts with that stuff for MONTHS. Loved the 12-pack of organic mac and cheese. Almost got the 25-pound bag of sugar. I won't normally spend $350 because I had to get some fun things to try (sushi combo, spinach dip, Danimals), as well as some supplies for our local women's shelter. Oh, and Eva needed a jacket so that was about $15. I foresee getting out of there around $200 once a month ... except for at Christmastime! EEEEEEE!!!!!! They ALREADY have Christmas stuff out!


And head here to find out how I basically got my membership for free. And if three people sign up for a new Costco membership (not a renewal) using this referral link, I get my membership cost refunded entirely! That means $55 I can put toward ... well, $55 I can send to the dentist for those crowns he just put on. Oh, well!

How fast can 5 kids eat 72 waffles?

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Talk Like a Pirate Day Freebie! September 19, 2014


Last weekend we went to Krispy Kreme and got a piece of paper about Talk Like a Pirate Day!!! Dress like a pirate and get a FREE DOZEN original glazed doughnuts! Check their website for details on what dressing like a pirate entails. I think we might give it a shot this year just for fun. I'm not sure if EACH PERSON gets a dozen ... that would be insane and does anyone know if doughnuts freeze well in that case?! (OMG, just checked the site and it is PER PERSON ... 6 dozen doughnuts, here we come!)



Last year Long John Silver's participated (one of my favorite places to eat EVER), but this year I scoured Google and their website and it doesn't look like this little holiday is catching on. So ... enjoy your doughnuts!

UPDATE here on how our day went and how easy it was to get the 4 dozen donuts!


Cute little pirate dude graphic taken from http://www.livingrichwithcoupons.com/2013/09/national-talk-like-a-pirate-day-freebies-2013.html

Saturday, September 6, 2014

51% off a Collage.com Hardcover Photo Book!

Today I'm going to give Collage.com a whirl and see how easy it is to create a photo book. Collage.com is giving me a code to create a hardcover and a softcover photo book and I'm very excited but can't decide which photos to choose! I don't have time to do the physical scrapbooking anymore but would love to find a better system where I can pop pictures into a book and caption the pictures and then have it printed and mailed to me so I can put it on my shelf. My kids would love a Wyoming and a Branson album and how easy would a baby book be just popping pictures into one of these puppies and then it's DONE! No stickers, no paper, no mess! I'll get back to you once I'm done!

Create a professional photo book with a single click using Collage.com's One-Click Photo Book. Select photos of any size from Facebook, Instagram, Flickr, or your computer and they will instantly suggest a clean, professional layout that you can further customize.

Deal: Use this link for 51% off a 20-page 11.5"x8" Hardcover Photo Book From Collage.com.






Crescent Hotel Orb and Ghost Shots, Eureka Springs, Arkansas 2014

So I have to post these pictures we took on the inside of the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas over Labor Day weekend this year. I didn't look at them closely until my mom came over yesterday and we started checking them out. Then someone told me that the lobby shot with my family looked like a face looking to the left of the shot. Do you see it? Skeptics are telling me the "orbs" are dust and the "face" is a smudge on my camera but then a smudge would be in every picture I took after that in the same spot.

I have seen my dead great grandpa (Guy Beard) by my bedside when I was sick as a child and you can call that a hallucination if you want. But how do you explain the Ouija board pointer moving by itself on the floor and off the board and onto my wooden bedroom floor when I was about 12? I tossed that thing in the box and never looked back. I'm not saying I want to tangle with the spirit world; I am simply acknowledging that it is there.

What is that over my husband's left shoulder? The kids think it looks like a face.




Thursday, September 4, 2014

Our 1930s Cabin at Tall Pines in Eureka Springs, Arkansas











Onyx Cave in Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Stay tuned for a ton of posts about our Eureka Springs, Arkansas trip over Labor Day weekend! I can't promise they will come in order but they will come with pictures and then I'll send you to a post about the experience over at Bubblews. See, I can't post but one pic at Bubblews and I can post a ton here. And I make nothing writing here but I make money writing at Bubblews so I am marrying the two sites! So here are pictures of Onyx Cave from Saturday and click HERE for the post about it!