Wednesday, November 28

Energizer & Crayola Team-up to #PowerCreativity

Crayola Glow Book
Just before the holiday Zion and I had the opportunity to attend a special Power Creativity event in New York City.  For a couple of hours we had a good time checking out really cool new Energizer battery powered art products.  We played with some of Crayola's newest offerings - a wide array of different Energizer powered toys perfect for children of all ages.  We also learned about Energizer MAX Batteries - which hold their shelf life for 10 years!!  A great fact to know considering I've had to toss many dead batteries that did nothing but sit in their box for several months!
 
 
If you are still looking for a few gift ideas for the kids, check out all of the recommendation on Crayola's gift guide!  They have great ideas sorted by age and type!
 
And while you are stocking up on creative toys for the kids, check out Energizer Flameless Wax Candles.  I love the authentic look, smell and flicker effect of these flameless candles.  I can't wait to use these for my holiday table and decor.  They have different settings as well so I can turn them on and they'll switch off automatically in 4 hours.  For Energizer deals and savings, visit them on Facebook.

Have you ever used flameless wax candles?  What did you think of them?  Have you finished your Christmas shopping?

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Energizer. I attended an event and received a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

Tuesday, November 27

Thanksgiving in Ohio

We just returned home yesterday after our weekend in Ohio for the holiday!  It was such a great time visiting with my husband's side of the family.  I couldn't wait to share these fun pictures from our visit.  Hope you and your family had a beautiful holiday as well!  

   
Thanks to our dear friends who flew out to Peru for the holiday, we were able to rent their car from them, and make the 9 hour treck on Wednesday last week.  Zion did amazing the entire car ride, snoozing a couple of times.
 
Zion enjoyed the company of her cousins.
Thanksgiving at the Baxtron's is always a memorable experience - my favorite foods this year were Dad's collard greens and hubs' cheesy green bean casserole.  Mom also spoiled us with candied sweet potatoes! Yummy!
All the brothers were reunited for the Christmas holiday which meant a lot of laughter, loud discussion and trash talking - all in love of course!
   
After filling her tummy to the full, little miss Zion enjoyed apple pie ala mode while the adults played a bit of Pokeno.
 
Zion's favorite thing to do over the weekend was grab the house phone and tell us she was having an important conversation or "just busyin'" as she liked to put it.  We also did some searching for new Ohio State gear.

 
I got some new Ohio State socks (which will be great for crossfit ;) and we dressed Zion in her cheer gear for The Game.

 
Jerry took me out to a couple of new places this trip - the first being Adriatico's pizza.  We had the deep dish pizza with beef and pepperoni...a big hit!

   
Game day was a blast - every one in the house was decked out in Scarlet and Gray as we cheered on The Ohio State Buckeyes to another victory completing their perfect season.
 
We finished our trip by having a late evening date at Jeni's - seriously the best ice cream I've ever had in my life, and that is saying a lot!  Then we stopped by the place where Jerry proposed to me 5 years ago on Thanksgiving.  

How was your holiday?  Did you travel?  What was your favorite part of your holiday?

Saturday, November 24

Burts Bees Intense Hydration


Just finished trying out the Burt's Bees Intense Hydration Skincare line thanks to BzzAgent!  I loved trying the Cream Cleanser, Treatment Mask and the Night Cream.

My favorite was the cleanser - which smells like a sunrise - a refreshing citrus scent.
The Treatment Mask was also really interesting - you don't rinse it off, instead you wipe it off and then massage the remaining into your skin.

The Night Cream was a little heavy for my skin, but perfect for protecting dry skin in the Winter.


I received complimentary product for this review via BzzAgent, however; all opinions expressed are my own!!

Friday, November 23

XSRE Casting Call! Albany, NY

 

Saturday November 24th 2-4pm

via XSRE Pinterest
If you are like me and saving your shopping for after the craziness of Black Friday - then let me suggest you put XSRE on your schedule tomorrow!  XSRE is not just one of the best accessory stores ever -they carry shoes, handbags and apparel too!  

Check out some of their gorgeous burgundy items just in time for the holidays:
via XSRE Facebook
If you are in the tri-state area this weekend, you won't want to miss their Open Casting Call from 2-4pm at Crossgates Mall!  Not only will you have the chance to check out their latest items - you'll get to play dress-up, get your picture taken by a professional and have a chance to be featured as an XSRE Girl on their website and ads!  This is the perfect opportunity for your fashionistas out there!

Let me know if you make it out there!! I'll most certainly vote for your picture!!

This post was compensated by The Blogger Connection, all opinions expressed are my own.

Wednesday, November 21

Simple Fall Wreath Tutorial


I had a moment this week to finally put together a Fall wreath, and I know you will love this simple DIY!  For the supplies, I found them at Target of all places in the dollar spot!  I think I spent $6 on the vine wreath and silk flowers, the rest of the items were leftovers from last year.  To copy this you'll need some yarn and ribbon.  I chose colors that were warm and rich, reminding me of the last days of warm sunshine before Winter.


1.  Begin the wreath by winding some yarn around it.  You can start the yarn by tying it directly on the wreath, then cut a decent length of yarn so you can go around the wreath twice in a spiral pattern.  Once you have it how you want it, tie the end piece on as well and trim any excess yarn.


2.  Next, twist some ribbon around the wreath, also in a diagonal/spiral manner.  I used ribbon that had a bit of wire molding to it so it stayed in place, but you can glue the beginning piece with the hot glue to keep it where you want it.  After you get it placed how you like it, trim it and glue down the ends so it stays in place.


 3.  Next, you'll want to add your silk flowers and other plants.  For this part, I clipped the stems of the sunflowers so they were only an inch or two from the base of the flower.  With vine wreath you can weave the stems easily into the wreath.  I would recommend you experiment first with the placement of your flowers until you are satisfied with its look, then put some hot glue directly on the stem, and slide the stem back into place.  I was able to pull apart the branches of my berries and weave them throughout the vine wreath without needing hot glue at all.  And finally, I took the leaves and put a bit of hot glue on the stems and placed them where I wanted them.


4.  I chose to use a coordinating ribbon for a bow - and then I couldn't figure out where I wanted to place the bow.  There is really nothing to this bow, and its quite simple to create using ribbon that has a bit of wire molding to it.  You pretty much just loop the ends around and tie a small not, then play with it until it looks pretty.  ;)  Once you figure out where you want your bow - top or bottom, or even if you want the bow I should say, then glue it in place.


5.  Voila!  Simple Fall Wreath - inexpensive, festive, Fall!  After the glue is dry - simply hang it on your door using a wreath hanger.  Thanks for sticking around to check this out!

 I'd love to hear your simple Fall decor ideas, so please feel free to leave links in your comments below!