5 Minute Wipes Container Makeover
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Links for 2012-09-14 [del.icio.us]
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Links for 2012-09-18 [del.icio.us]
- LEAP | Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
- EcstasyData.org: Lab Test Results for Recreational Drugs
- Moment.js | Parse, validate, manipulate, and display dates in javascript.
- Sugar: A Javascript library for working with native objects.
- PDFKit — A PDF Generation Library for Node
- Raspberry Pi with Node.js and Arduino - Doc’ Alex
- Routerpwn
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New Disney "Wreck-It Ralph" Character Posters
Disney released four new character posters for their upcoming release, Wreck-It Ralph! Check 'em out.
If you want to save the pictures, right click and then choose "Save Image As...".
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On his quest, Ralph meets tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun (voice of Jane Lynch) from the first-person action game Hero’s Duty, and feisty misfit Vanellope von Schweetz (voice of Sarah Silverman) from the candy-coated cart racing game, Sugar Rush, who may just be his first real friend. But everything changes when a deadly enemy is unleashed, threatening the entire arcade and Vanellope herself. Ralph finally gets his chance to save the day—but can he do it in time? “Wreck-It Ralph” crashes onto the big screen on November 2, 2012, in Disney Digital 3D™ in select theaters.
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If you want to save the pictures, right click and then choose "Save Image As...".
About Wreck-It Ralph
From Walt Disney Animation Studios and Emmy®-winning director Rich Moore comes “Wreck-It Ralph,” a hilarious, arcade-game-hopping adventure. For decades, Ralph (voice of John C. Reilly) has been overshadowed by Fix-It Felix, Jr. (voice of Jack McBrayer), the good-guy star of their game who always gets to save the day. Tired of playing the role of a bad guy, Ralph takes matters into his own massive hands and sets off on a journey across the arcade through multiple generations of video games to prove he’s got what it takes to be a hero.On his quest, Ralph meets tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun (voice of Jane Lynch) from the first-person action game Hero’s Duty, and feisty misfit Vanellope von Schweetz (voice of Sarah Silverman) from the candy-coated cart racing game, Sugar Rush, who may just be his first real friend. But everything changes when a deadly enemy is unleashed, threatening the entire arcade and Vanellope herself. Ralph finally gets his chance to save the day—but can he do it in time? “Wreck-It Ralph” crashes onto the big screen on November 2, 2012, in Disney Digital 3D™ in select theaters.
"Like" Wreck-It Ralph on Facebook
"Follow" Wreck-It Ralph on Twitter
Visit the official Wreck It-Ralph site
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“Saving Mr. Banks" Begins Production. Stars Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson.
Disney began production yesterday on “Saving Mr. Banks,” the account of Walt Disney’s twenty-year pursuit of the film rights to P.L. Travers’ popular novel, Mary Poppins, and the testy partnership the upbeat filmmaker develops with the uptight author during the project’s pre-production in 1961.
![Saving Mr. Banks]( "Mary Poppins in Technicolor")
When Travers travels from London to Hollywood in 1961 to finally discuss Disney’s desire to bring her beloved character to the motion picture screen (a quest he began in the 1940s as a promise to his two daughters), Disney meets a prim, uncompromising sexagenarian not only suspect of the impresario’s concept for the film, but a woman struggling with her own past. During her stay in California, Travers’ reflects back on her childhood in 1906 Australia, a trying time for her family which not only molded her aspirations to write, but one that also inspired the characters in her 1934 book.
None more so than the one person whom she loved and admired more than any other—her caring father, Travers Goff, a tormented banker who, before his untimely death that same year, instills the youngster with both affection and enlightenment (and would be the muse for the story’s patriarch, Mr. Banks, the sole character that the famous nanny comes to aide). While reluctant to grant Disney the film rights, Travers comes to realize that the acclaimed Hollywood storyteller has his own motives for wanting to make the film—which, like the author, hints at the relationship he shared with his own father in the early 20th Century Midwest.
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Tom Hanks - Walt Disney (the first time the entrepreneur has ever been depicted in a dramatic film)
Emma Thompson - P.L. Travers (novelist)
Colin Farrell - Travers’ doting dad, Goff
Ruth Wilson - Goff's wife, Margaret
Rachel Griffiths - Margaret’s sister, Aunt Ellie (who inspired the title character of Travers’ novel)
Annie Buckley - “Ginty” in the flashback sequences
Bradley Whitford - screenwriter, Don DaGradi
Jason Schwartzman and B.J. Novak as the songwriting Sherman Brothers
Paul Giamatti- Ralph, limo driver who escorts Travers during her two-week stay in Hollywood
Kathy Baker - Tommie, one of Disney’s trusted studio associates
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About Saving Mr. Banks
Before actually signing away the book’s rights, Travers’ demands for contractual script and character control circumvent not only Disney’s vision for the film adaptation, but also those of the creative team of screenwriter Don DaGradi and sibling composers Richard and Robert Sherman, whose original score and song (Chim-Chim-Cher-ee) would go on to win Oscars® at the 1965 ceremonies (the film won five awards of its thirteen nominations).When Travers travels from London to Hollywood in 1961 to finally discuss Disney’s desire to bring her beloved character to the motion picture screen (a quest he began in the 1940s as a promise to his two daughters), Disney meets a prim, uncompromising sexagenarian not only suspect of the impresario’s concept for the film, but a woman struggling with her own past. During her stay in California, Travers’ reflects back on her childhood in 1906 Australia, a trying time for her family which not only molded her aspirations to write, but one that also inspired the characters in her 1934 book.
None more so than the one person whom she loved and admired more than any other—her caring father, Travers Goff, a tormented banker who, before his untimely death that same year, instills the youngster with both affection and enlightenment (and would be the muse for the story’s patriarch, Mr. Banks, the sole character that the famous nanny comes to aide). While reluctant to grant Disney the film rights, Travers comes to realize that the acclaimed Hollywood storyteller has his own motives for wanting to make the film—which, like the author, hints at the relationship he shared with his own father in the early 20th Century Midwest.
The Cast of Saving Mr. Banks
Tom Hanks - Walt Disney (the first time the entrepreneur has ever been depicted in a dramatic film)
Emma Thompson - P.L. Travers (novelist)
Colin Farrell - Travers’ doting dad, Goff
Ruth Wilson - Goff's wife, Margaret
Rachel Griffiths - Margaret’s sister, Aunt Ellie (who inspired the title character of Travers’ novel)
Annie Buckley - “Ginty” in the flashback sequences
Bradley Whitford - screenwriter, Don DaGradi
Jason Schwartzman and B.J. Novak as the songwriting Sherman Brothers
Paul Giamatti- Ralph, limo driver who escorts Travers during her two-week stay in Hollywood
Kathy Baker - Tommie, one of Disney’s trusted studio associates
Filming Locations and Release Date
“Saving Mr. Banks” will film entirely in the Los Angeles area, with key locations to include Disneyland in Anaheim and the Disney Studios in Burbank. Filming will conclude around Thanksgiving, 2012, with no specific 2013 release date yet set.
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Trailer Thursday: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
I admit - I only watched The Lord of the Rings because the hubster wanted to watch them. I preferred the second and the third movie from the trilogy the best though. So much so that for a brief moment in time I thought of buying a replica of the ring for the hubster to use as a wedding ring (true story). The first movie was too slow and a little confusing for me. However, I am a fan of the triology and I'll be watching The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey when it is released in December. Should make for a fun date night!
The adventure follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Sorcerers. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain, first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever...Gollum. Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of ingenuity and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum's "precious" ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities... A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.
Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Elijah Wood, Andy Serkis, Richard Armitage, Manu Bennett, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton, Barry Humphries, Stephen Hunter, William Kircher, Sylvester McCoy, Bret McKenzie, Graham McTavish, James Nesbitt, Dean O'Gorman, Conan Stevens, Ken Stott, Aidan Turner
The official site, www.thehobbit.com, offers four additional endings to the new trailer. Fans can choose thier favorite to create thier own version of the trailer which is easily shared with friends.![]()
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| In 3D and 2D in select theaters and IMAX on December 14 |
About The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The adventure follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Sorcerers. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain, first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever...Gollum. Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of ingenuity and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum's "precious" ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities... A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.
Cast of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Elijah Wood, Andy Serkis, Richard Armitage, Manu Bennett, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton, Barry Humphries, Stephen Hunter, William Kircher, Sylvester McCoy, Bret McKenzie, Graham McTavish, James Nesbitt, Dean O'Gorman, Conan Stevens, Ken Stott, Aidan Turner
Watch the Trailer
The official site, www.thehobbit.com, offers four additional endings to the new trailer. Fans can choose thier favorite to create thier own version of the trailer which is easily shared with friends.
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Knott's Scary Farm opens today! Will you be there?
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| Image courtesy of Knott's Berry Farm |
Knott's Scary Farm is finally here. I am happy, and a little nervous, to say that I am going to my FIRST Halloween Haunt visit - and I've lived in SoCal my entire life!
This year, Knott's is pumping up the scare factor to celebrate 40 years of scaring the crap out of So Cal residents and visitors. Halloween Haunt will include 13 mazes and ride through attractions, 9 live shows, and four scare zones.
I don't know what I'm in for, and I honestly don't want to know too much. I'm a huge chicken, but I LOVE horror movies so this is right up my alley. I cannot wait to see what's in store and bring back a souvenir, perhaps the exclusive 40th Haunt Limited Edition Green Witch Card?
The hubster is going with me and I can foresee lots of scratches on him as I dig my nails into him while I scream at whatever clown, zombie, monster, etc. that is jumping out at me. Still - I CANNOT WAIT!!!
You can buy tickets to Halloween Haunt early, to ensure that you get in on the day you want. Knott's Berry Farm has also added additions that include a meal, front of the line passes and access to a VIP maze.
40th Halloween Haunt Commercial
Connect with Knott's Scary Farm
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Frugal Friday: Household Money Savers
As the back-to-school rush continues and we start to settle into the new school year, we can all use some quick easy tips that can save hundreds of dollars over the course a year. Some are probably familiar. Others though- ya’ll might not be on board with them, and that’s ok. Choose what you like.
In no particular order, here are some of my favorites:
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Make your own coffee at home and put it in a travel mug. I love a huge caramel big-box store coffee as much as anyone, but the (almost) $4-$5 per drink really hits where it hurts. For what it costs for 2 gourmet coffees out, you can buy a huge can or bag of coffee (and buy some flavored creamers) that will last you a month.
Can’t squeeze out anymore toothpaste? Cut open the tube. There will be enough for a few more days in there.
Use about half the laundry soap the instructions recommend, especially on dark clothes. Soap stays in the clothes- you might be surprised just how much. I have a load of darks that I’ve washed 3 TIMES since I last used soap on them, and they STILL suds up.
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Wash dark and colored clothes at the Laundromat. No, it’s not convenient, since you have to leave the house. But, I can get 12 loads of laundry done in around 90 minutes, including drying. It costs about $10 a week, but saves over 12 hours of doing laundry one load at a time, plus our gas, electric, and water bills have decreased by a combined total of about $60- $80. This might not be true for everyone, but it’s worth a try. I would recommend washing white clothes at home, though- they often need to soak and that option is not available at the Laundromat.
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Many Laundromats are near grocery stores- shop while the clothes spin and get two chores done at once.
If you wash at home, dry outside on a laundry line. Saves a lot of gas and electricity, plus the clothes are super fresh and there is no lint to speak of. Your clothing will last much longer, as the fibers do not get broken down by the extreme heat of the dryer.
Wash clothes with cold water whenever possible.
Keep your furnace and dryer vents clean and lint free. Not only do they use more energy if they are clogged, they can be a fire hazard.
Run electrical and gas appliances after 7pm, if possible. It’s cheaper.
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Go around and turn off lights and electronics. If you are like me, your kids (and *other* household members…ahem…) leave lights on like they are trying to support the electric company. If you are not using it or in the room, turn it off or unplug it.
Extra refrigerator in your garage? Huge energy user. Turn it off when empty.
Turn off the AC and open the windows. Some days it’s totally justified to have on the air (like the 106 degree days we’ve experienced in SoCal lately) but most days, some fresh air (especially at night) is all it takes to cool off the house. Just dress a little lighter, or run around with no clothes like my 4-year-old.
To keep the heat out on summer days, close the curtains or use blackout blinds.
Lower the thermostat on your water heater.
Use lemon, vinegar, and baking soda as home cleaners. Cheap, green, and economical.
Water lawns and plants in the early morning or late evening. The water will not evaporate as quickly, so the vegetation will get a better soaking.
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Turn off the water while brushing your teeth. Seriously. Why just look at it run down the drain? Picture it as money heading down the pipes. Jingle, jingle, jingle….
Slipcover old furniture or pillows, and refinish old wooden pieces. Rearrange your furniture and get rid of clutter. You might discover that a room feels brand new after that.
Re-use plastic bags. Each box of bags can cost $2 or more. If they are not torn -and haven’t held anything particularly nasty- wash them out with hot water and soap, and maybe a drop of bleach, then rinse carefully. Dry by hanging over wooden spoons (or other tall items) in a rack. My grandmother has been using the same 4 bags since about 1970, I think…not that I’m recommending using them THAT long.
There are loads of other ways to save money- these are just a few of the tips we use in our household. Used regularly, you might save enough for that much-needed family vacation. Viva la savings!
Find of the week: After all that hard work pinching pennies, it’s time to relax with some Fresh & Easy Big Kahuna wine, only $1.99 per 750ml bottle!
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Justine is a biological anthropologist, deal seeker, and stay-at-home
parent to a
rambunctious 4-year-old boy. She digs bones. And donuts. You can follow
Justine for more frugal fun and other anthropology tidbits on Twitter: @JustineBurgess1.
This is not a sponsored post.
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In no particular order, here are some of my favorites:
Make your own coffee at home and put it in a travel mug. I love a huge caramel big-box store coffee as much as anyone, but the (almost) $4-$5 per drink really hits where it hurts. For what it costs for 2 gourmet coffees out, you can buy a huge can or bag of coffee (and buy some flavored creamers) that will last you a month.
Can’t squeeze out anymore toothpaste? Cut open the tube. There will be enough for a few more days in there.
Use about half the laundry soap the instructions recommend, especially on dark clothes. Soap stays in the clothes- you might be surprised just how much. I have a load of darks that I’ve washed 3 TIMES since I last used soap on them, and they STILL suds up.
Wash dark and colored clothes at the Laundromat. No, it’s not convenient, since you have to leave the house. But, I can get 12 loads of laundry done in around 90 minutes, including drying. It costs about $10 a week, but saves over 12 hours of doing laundry one load at a time, plus our gas, electric, and water bills have decreased by a combined total of about $60- $80. This might not be true for everyone, but it’s worth a try. I would recommend washing white clothes at home, though- they often need to soak and that option is not available at the Laundromat.
Many Laundromats are near grocery stores- shop while the clothes spin and get two chores done at once.
If you wash at home, dry outside on a laundry line. Saves a lot of gas and electricity, plus the clothes are super fresh and there is no lint to speak of. Your clothing will last much longer, as the fibers do not get broken down by the extreme heat of the dryer.
Wash clothes with cold water whenever possible.
Keep your furnace and dryer vents clean and lint free. Not only do they use more energy if they are clogged, they can be a fire hazard.
Run electrical and gas appliances after 7pm, if possible. It’s cheaper.
Extra refrigerator in your garage? Huge energy user. Turn it off when empty.
Turn off the AC and open the windows. Some days it’s totally justified to have on the air (like the 106 degree days we’ve experienced in SoCal lately) but most days, some fresh air (especially at night) is all it takes to cool off the house. Just dress a little lighter, or run around with no clothes like my 4-year-old.
To keep the heat out on summer days, close the curtains or use blackout blinds.
Lower the thermostat on your water heater.
Use lemon, vinegar, and baking soda as home cleaners. Cheap, green, and economical.
Water lawns and plants in the early morning or late evening. The water will not evaporate as quickly, so the vegetation will get a better soaking.
Turn off the water while brushing your teeth. Seriously. Why just look at it run down the drain? Picture it as money heading down the pipes. Jingle, jingle, jingle….Slipcover old furniture or pillows, and refinish old wooden pieces. Rearrange your furniture and get rid of clutter. You might discover that a room feels brand new after that.
Re-use plastic bags. Each box of bags can cost $2 or more. If they are not torn -and haven’t held anything particularly nasty- wash them out with hot water and soap, and maybe a drop of bleach, then rinse carefully. Dry by hanging over wooden spoons (or other tall items) in a rack. My grandmother has been using the same 4 bags since about 1970, I think…not that I’m recommending using them THAT long.
There are loads of other ways to save money- these are just a few of the tips we use in our household. Used regularly, you might save enough for that much-needed family vacation. Viva la savings!
Find of the week: After all that hard work pinching pennies, it’s time to relax with some Fresh & Easy Big Kahuna wine, only $1.99 per 750ml bottle!
About Justine
This is not a sponsored post.
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El Rancho del Zocalo at Disneyland Park celebrates Día de los Muertos
Did you know that Disneyland Park celebrates el Día de los Muertos? YES! It's true - and I had no idea. They've been setting the scene up at El Rancho del Zocalo (in Frontierland) since 2007. The scenery includes three musicians that are approximately 7' tall, and both female and male alters with ofrendas.
You can go here to get a 360 degree tour of the setting.
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Just Released - Frankenweenie Memory Game Printable
My 4.5 year old LOVES The Nightmare Before Christmas. So when we saw that Disney was releasing Frankenweenie, it was a no-brainer that it was going to be a must-see for our family.
We're going to get our oldest kid pumped up for the movie with this easy and fun Frankenweenie memory game printable. Notice that the cards (like the movie) are in black and white - no color printing required!
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From creative genius Tim Burton (“Alice in Wonderland,” The Nightmare Before Christmas”) comes “Frankenweenie,” a heartwarming tale about a boy and his dog. After unexpectedly losing his beloved dog Sparky, young Victor harnesses the power of science to bring his best friend back to life—with just a few minor adjustments. He tries to hide his home-sewn creation, but when Sparky gets out, Victor’s fellow students, teachers and the entire town all learn that getting a new “leash on life” can be monstrous.
A stop-motion animated film, “Frankenweenie” was filmed in black and white and rendered in 3D. The talented voice cast includes: Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau, Charlie Tahan, Atticus Shaffer, Robert Capron, Conchata Ferrell and Winona Ryder.
Presented by Disney, “Frankenweenie” is directed by Tim Burton, produced by Tim Burton and Allison Abbate, from a screenplay by John August, based on a screenplay by Lenny Ripps, based on an original idea by Tim Burton. “Frankenweenie” releases in U.S. theaters on October 5, 2012.
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We're going to get our oldest kid pumped up for the movie with this easy and fun Frankenweenie memory game printable. Notice that the cards (like the movie) are in black and white - no color printing required!
About Frankenweenie
From creative genius Tim Burton (“Alice in Wonderland,” The Nightmare Before Christmas”) comes “Frankenweenie,” a heartwarming tale about a boy and his dog. After unexpectedly losing his beloved dog Sparky, young Victor harnesses the power of science to bring his best friend back to life—with just a few minor adjustments. He tries to hide his home-sewn creation, but when Sparky gets out, Victor’s fellow students, teachers and the entire town all learn that getting a new “leash on life” can be monstrous.
A stop-motion animated film, “Frankenweenie” was filmed in black and white and rendered in 3D. The talented voice cast includes: Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau, Charlie Tahan, Atticus Shaffer, Robert Capron, Conchata Ferrell and Winona Ryder.
Presented by Disney, “Frankenweenie” is directed by Tim Burton, produced by Tim Burton and Allison Abbate, from a screenplay by John August, based on a screenplay by Lenny Ripps, based on an original idea by Tim Burton. “Frankenweenie” releases in U.S. theaters on October 5, 2012.
Frankenweenie Notes
- When Tim Burton originally conceived the idea for “Frankenweenie,” he envisioned it as a full-length, stop-motion animated film. Due to budget constraints, he instead directed it as a live-action short, released in 1984.
- “Frankenweenie” follows in the footsteps of Tim Burton’s other stop-motion animated films “Corpse Bride” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas”—both of which were nominated for Academy Awards®.
- Over 200 puppets and sets were created for the film.
- The voice cast includes four actors who worked with Burton on previous films: Winona Ryder (“Beetlejuice,” “Edward Scissorhands”), Catherine O’Hara (“Beetlejuice,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas”), Martin Short (“Mars Attacks!”) and Martin Landau (“Ed Wood,” Sleepy Hollow”).
- Classic horror films inspired several of the character names.
Frankenweenie Website and Mobile site
Like Frankenweenie on Facebook
Follow Frankenweenie on Twitter
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Enter to win a pair of tickets to the Baja Splash Cultural Festival! 4 Winners!
The 11th Annual Baja Splash Cultural Festival celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month at the Aquarium of the Pacific is this Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 29 and 30.
We went to the festival last year and it was a lot of fun. There were dancers, music, artifacts, goodies for purchase and a lot of Latino pride. Don't get me wrong though, it's not just meant for Latinos - it's fun for everybody!
Event Information
When
Saturday, Sep 29, 2012 | 9:00 AM–5:00 PM
Sunday, Sep 30, 2012 | 9:00 AM–5:00 PM
Cost
Included with general admission to guests.
Free to Aquarium members; 20% off for their guests.
FREE child’s admission to Aquarium’s Baja Splash Cultural Festival http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/privpdf/priv_baja12span.pdf
Note: the coupon is in Spanish. It says you get a FREE child's admission with the purchase of an adult's general admission ticket.
Note: the coupon is in Spanish. It says you get a FREE child's admission with the purchase of an adult's general admission ticket.
Tickets
Win Tickets for Hispanic Heritage Month Festival @AquariumPacific
Enter to win tickets to the festival for this Saturday or Sunday (9/29 or 9/30). Tickets will be available at will call. Winners must be able to respond to the email I send by no later than tomorrow, 9/26, 11 a.m.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Buy a @Britax B-Agile Stroller and Get a FREE Britax Baby Carrier
Britax products are well worth the investment. I've said it time and time again, and if you're still debating about whether or not to shell out the dough for a beautiful new stroller, I highly suggest you stop thinking about it and just do it! Preferable before September 30th because if you buy a B-Agile stroller you'll also score a FREE Britax baby carrier!
Britax is currently hosting this great promotion, but it's not widely publicized, so that may be why you haven't heard about it. All major retailers should know about it, but if they don't, please call Britax' Customer Service at (888) 437-4829. They will get you your uber-trendy baby carrier to tote around your little bundle of joy.
By the way, I've talked about the Britax baby carrier before and all of its wonderful benefits. It's a serious life saver for those times when you need two free hands, but the baby wants to be carried. The B-Agile stroller isn't too shabby either. Look at how quickly you can get it closed - while using only one hand!
Disclosure:
This is a sponsored post. The information provided for this post is because I am a Brtiax Latina
Advisory Board Member and Blogger. As always, all opinions, ideas, and
stories are my own. Images courtesy of Britax.
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Macy's Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with Carlos Santana
Macy's is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month in partnership with Vanidades Magazine to salute Carlos Santana as the 2012 Icon of Style. Come and join in the festivities!
Explore Carlos Santana's influence in music and fashion along with Carlos Santana* and a panel of style makers and industry experts who will discuss his impact on Latino culture. From Latin music and refreshments to fashion presentations, the event will also offer fans the opportunity to receive a limited-edition Carlos by Carlos Santana key chain with any purchase of $50 or more of Carlos by Carlos Santana shoes and accessories, while supplies last.
Visit Macys.com/celebrate for additional information. Icon of Style dates, times and locations:
- Saturday 9/29 1:00pm Vista Ridge 2401 S. Stemmons Freeway, Lewisville, TX 75067
- Saturday 10/6 1:00pm Plaza Bonita 3000 Plaza Bonita Road, National City, CA 91950
- Saturday 10/6 2:00pm Lenox Square 3393 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30326
- Wednesday 10/10 5:30pm State Street 111 North State Street, Chicago IL 6060
- Thursday 10/11 6:00pm Herald Square 151 West 34th Street NY, NY 10001
- Saturday 10/13 1:00pm Santa Ana 2850 N. Main St, Santa Ana CA 92705
- Saturday 10/13 2:00pm Dadeland 7303 SW 88th St. Miami, FL 33156
- Saturday 10/13 2:00pm Valley Fair 2801 Stevens Creek Blvd, Santa Clara, CA 95050
(* Personal Appearance at Herald Square only)
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Assemble your family for pizza and a movie #MarvelAvengersWMT #CBias #SocialFabric
We have been waiting with much anticipation for The Avengers Blu-ray/DVD release since the day it was released in theaters. I didn't get a chance to see it on the big screen for random reasons, one of them being a young baby. When Disney/Marvel shared The Avengers release date, I knew that we would be one of the first families to head out and buy it, along with some food, for our movie night. Such was the case on Tuesday morning. I couldn't wait to wake up the kids and head out to purchase the necessities for our Avengers viewing party.
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I had to make a few preparations before heading out. First up was deciding where to get the movie. When big movies, such as The Avengers, are released, most stores have a freebie, limited edition, exclusive goodie that is packaged with the film and made to entice you to head to their store for the purchase. We did our research the week before and decided on purchasing our copy of The Avengers at Walmart.
We chose Walmart because only Walmart has the exclusive Blu-Ray/DVD/novel combo pack! The hubster got into graphic novels a few years ago and since then, whenever he brings one home, I end up reading it too. My four year old is also a huge fan of comic books and if I can get him to sit still for an hour and flip through a book, then I'll do what I can to get a book interesting enough for him to sit through.
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Walmart also had an important factor in our upcoming movie night - food! More specifically, Walmart offers Avengers-themed MarketSide pizza that would later play a big role in our movie night at home because they each feature a different Avenger on the box.
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And finally, as if a graphic novel freebie and Avengers-themed pizza wasn't enough, Walmart is also the only retailer to partner with the new (and FREE!) Avengers Augmented Reality App.
This app allows you to scan different "trigger points" at Walmart which then leads to a "Which Avenger Are You?" quiz and other amazing things to happen on the iPad including taking pictures with The Avengers and the ability to activate 3D-type graphics above The Avengers DVD/Blu-ray or Avengers MarketSide Pizza boxes (sold only at Walmart). It turns a simple shopping trip into a scavenger hunt to find all the trigger points. So when the kids were finally ready, I made sure to check that the app was on the iPad, ensured that we didn't need internet connection to use it and off we went.
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My kid was decked out in his Avengers shirt and excited for our purchase. I wanted to head straight to the entertainment section, but desperately had to stop by the McDonald's located inside our Walmart to get a coffee. I had been up since 5 a.m. and still hadn't had my first cup of coffee. I love McDonald's coffee. It's so delicious, strong and freshly brewed. It's also a deal because you get free refills!
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I grabbed my coffee and headed to the electronics section, only to be sucked into the toy section. Toy makers released some seriously cool toys for the release of The Avengers. My favorite (and yes, I almost bought it) is the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. Measuring over three feet long, this toy is humongous and I can just imagine all the fun stuff it must do.
So the kids and I are walking around the display and I notice that it has an Avengers Augmented Reality App trigger point located in the corner. I pull out my iPad, hand it over to my kid and he proceeds to scan the large cardboard display.
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I read him the questions and we answered them together. We made it our mission to finish the quiz before we left the store. We needed a minimum of three trigger points scanned for our 9 questions to be revealed. At the end of the nine questions, the app would compile the answers and tell us which super hero we most resonated with. I love all the Avengers in their own way so I knew that we would be happy with whichever super hero we got. Still... I was secretly hoping for Thor or Ironman.
We passed by so much Avengers merchandise that you'll have to head over to the #MarvelAvengersWMT Google+ album to get a good luck at what we found. Honestly, I wanted to purchase every single Avengers items at Walmart, especially the shoes. Unfortunately, they didn't have my kid's size.
We pass the toys, go around the bend and walk right into the costumes section where once again, the Avengers-fever is in full effect. We searched for the trigger point display but didn't see one. So we head over to the party supplies, pick up some cups and plates and then we end up in front of The Avengers movie display in the electronics section... finally!
My kid automatically went for the Blu-ray copy, but he didn't notice that the top row of movies had the novel in the pack. I showed it to him and he was super-excited to get the book. I warned him that his Daddy would want him to be extra careful with it because I suspected that his dad wanted the graphic novel for himself, and not to share.
Once we added the movie to our shopping cart we went to the refrigerated section for our pizza (another trigger point). We activated our third trigger point and accomplished our mission, thereby revealing which super hero we were most like.
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By the way, there are four different types of MarketPlace/Avengers pizzas and Walmart offers only one vegetarian option - the five cheese pizza featuring Ironman on the cover. So we grabbed it along with some French bread and sugar cookies (Avengers-colored) and checked out.
We had a full day ahead of us so the extra-large pizza stayed in a couple of different places as we went on a playdate at my friend's house and a DJ lesson in a city, far, far away from us. By 7:30 p.m. - almost 12 hours since leaving our home in the morning - we were ready to sit down as a family (minus the baby) and watch the movie in peace. I loved the movie more than any other super hero movie that I have seen (and I've seen A LOT!) and I agree with Chuck Walton's quote on the front of the box, "The Best Superhero Movie Of All Time".
We made it a movie night at home with The Avengers and some delicious MarketSide pizza for under $45. It was so much fun to look forward to it all day and we all had a great time watching The Avengers as a family. We stayed put for the entire movie, including the credits and two scenes that come at the end during/after the credits. I'm looking forward to doing it again soon. Possibly this weekend? Maybe this time Walmart will have more trigger points and the Hubster can try out the app for himself.
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Twitter
Avengers Character Apperances
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 Marvel. All thoughts and opinions remain my own. #MarvelAvengersWMT #CBias #SocialFabric![]()
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We chose Walmart because only Walmart has the exclusive Blu-Ray/DVD/novel combo pack! The hubster got into graphic novels a few years ago and since then, whenever he brings one home, I end up reading it too. My four year old is also a huge fan of comic books and if I can get him to sit still for an hour and flip through a book, then I'll do what I can to get a book interesting enough for him to sit through.
Walmart also had an important factor in our upcoming movie night - food! More specifically, Walmart offers Avengers-themed MarketSide pizza that would later play a big role in our movie night at home because they each feature a different Avenger on the box.
And finally, as if a graphic novel freebie and Avengers-themed pizza wasn't enough, Walmart is also the only retailer to partner with the new (and FREE!) Avengers Augmented Reality App.
This app allows you to scan different "trigger points" at Walmart which then leads to a "Which Avenger Are You?" quiz and other amazing things to happen on the iPad including taking pictures with The Avengers and the ability to activate 3D-type graphics above The Avengers DVD/Blu-ray or Avengers MarketSide Pizza boxes (sold only at Walmart). It turns a simple shopping trip into a scavenger hunt to find all the trigger points. So when the kids were finally ready, I made sure to check that the app was on the iPad, ensured that we didn't need internet connection to use it and off we went.
My kid was decked out in his Avengers shirt and excited for our purchase. I wanted to head straight to the entertainment section, but desperately had to stop by the McDonald's located inside our Walmart to get a coffee. I had been up since 5 a.m. and still hadn't had my first cup of coffee. I love McDonald's coffee. It's so delicious, strong and freshly brewed. It's also a deal because you get free refills!
I grabbed my coffee and headed to the electronics section, only to be sucked into the toy section. Toy makers released some seriously cool toys for the release of The Avengers. My favorite (and yes, I almost bought it) is the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. Measuring over three feet long, this toy is humongous and I can just imagine all the fun stuff it must do.
So the kids and I are walking around the display and I notice that it has an Avengers Augmented Reality App trigger point located in the corner. I pull out my iPad, hand it over to my kid and he proceeds to scan the large cardboard display.
I read him the questions and we answered them together. We made it our mission to finish the quiz before we left the store. We needed a minimum of three trigger points scanned for our 9 questions to be revealed. At the end of the nine questions, the app would compile the answers and tell us which super hero we most resonated with. I love all the Avengers in their own way so I knew that we would be happy with whichever super hero we got. Still... I was secretly hoping for Thor or Ironman.
We passed by so much Avengers merchandise that you'll have to head over to the #MarvelAvengersWMT Google+ album to get a good luck at what we found. Honestly, I wanted to purchase every single Avengers items at Walmart, especially the shoes. Unfortunately, they didn't have my kid's size.
We pass the toys, go around the bend and walk right into the costumes section where once again, the Avengers-fever is in full effect. We searched for the trigger point display but didn't see one. So we head over to the party supplies, pick up some cups and plates and then we end up in front of The Avengers movie display in the electronics section... finally!
My kid automatically went for the Blu-ray copy, but he didn't notice that the top row of movies had the novel in the pack. I showed it to him and he was super-excited to get the book. I warned him that his Daddy would want him to be extra careful with it because I suspected that his dad wanted the graphic novel for himself, and not to share.
Once we added the movie to our shopping cart we went to the refrigerated section for our pizza (another trigger point). We activated our third trigger point and accomplished our mission, thereby revealing which super hero we were most like.
By the way, there are four different types of MarketPlace/Avengers pizzas and Walmart offers only one vegetarian option - the five cheese pizza featuring Ironman on the cover. So we grabbed it along with some French bread and sugar cookies (Avengers-colored) and checked out.
We had a full day ahead of us so the extra-large pizza stayed in a couple of different places as we went on a playdate at my friend's house and a DJ lesson in a city, far, far away from us. By 7:30 p.m. - almost 12 hours since leaving our home in the morning - we were ready to sit down as a family (minus the baby) and watch the movie in peace. I loved the movie more than any other super hero movie that I have seen (and I've seen A LOT!) and I agree with Chuck Walton's quote on the front of the box, "The Best Superhero Movie Of All Time".
We made it a movie night at home with The Avengers and some delicious MarketSide pizza for under $45. It was so much fun to look forward to it all day and we all had a great time watching The Avengers as a family. We stayed put for the entire movie, including the credits and two scenes that come at the end during/after the credits. I'm looking forward to doing it again soon. Possibly this weekend? Maybe this time Walmart will have more trigger points and the Hubster can try out the app for himself.
More Marvel fun
Website
Avengers Character Apperances
Special Avengers character appearances will be in select Walmart stores across the country on Saturday, September 29, 2012. Below are Walmart stores in California that are participating. If you are located outside of California, please contact your local Walmart to see if they are participating.
| ADDRESS | CITY | EVENT TIME |
| 440 N EUCLID ST | ANAHEIM | 10am-1pm |
| 88 E ORANGETHORPE AVE | ANAHEIM | 3pm-6pm |
| 8450 LA PALMA AVE | BUENA PARK | 3pm-6pm |
| 1360 EASTLAKE PKWY | CHULA VISTA (EAST) | 10am-1pm |
| 1600 MOUNTAIN AVE | DUARTE | 10am-1pm |
| 7250 CARSON BLVD | LONG BEACH | 3pm-6pm |
| 2300 N TUSTIN ST | ORANGE | 10am-1pm |
| 8500 WASHINGTON BLVD | PICO RIVERA | 10am-1pm |
| 19821 RINALDI ST | PORTER RANCH | 3pm-6pm |
| 1827 WALNUT GROVE AVE | ROSEMEAD | 3pm-6pm |
| 3382 MURPHY CANYON RD | SAN DIEGO | 3pm-6pm |
| 3600 W MCFADDEN AVE | SANTA ANA | 10am-1pm |
| 27931 KELLY JOHNSON PKWY | SANTA CLARITA (WEST) | 10am-1pm |
| 26471 CARL BOYER DR | SANTA CLARITA (EAST) | 3pm-6pm |
| 25450 THE OLD RD | STEVENSON RANCH | 10am-1pm |
| 19503 NORMANDIE AVE | LOS ANGELES (SO BAY) | 3pm-6pm |
By the way, when you purchase The Avengers, there is a code printed on a flyer that will unlock even more special surprises - and you can also earn Disney Movie Rewards points with it!
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 Marvel. All thoughts and opinions remain my own. #MarvelAvengersWMT #CBias #SocialFabric
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Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland - Our first visit and a Giveaway! #HalloweenTime
We had our first Mickey's Halloween Party experience yesterday and it was FANTASTIC! It's everything that you've read about - and more! We stopped by the entrance to take a quick picture and then moved on because there was quite the crowd when we got there. The regular crowd and the Mickey's Halloween Party crowd were mixed in so it was really, really busy.
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Our second stop as we walked into the park was The Pirates League in New Orleans Square. It's here that my pirate costume was taken up a few notches as they gave me an Empress makeover.
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It was about a 20 minute process as they worked on makeup, removable tattoo, nails and accessories. Along the way, I had the pleasure of communicating with the makeup artist in my best pirate talk. Super entertaining and the time just flew by! In the end, I got to keep the makeup used on me (no re-using makeup at Disneyland) in a little black velvet bag. My niece, 6 years old, also received a makeover and she was thrilled to be made up.
We stopped by Space Mountain and used our fastpasses to get through the line quicker. My 4.5 year old had the good sense to sit this one out. My 6 year old niece? Not quite.
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It was my first time riding Space Mountain - Ghost Galaxy and had I done it before, I wouldn't have taken my niece along for the ride. I LOVED it. It was a little bit spooky, dark and fast. You ride super fast with ghosts on fire popping up every so often. Enough to freak you out and it has a 3D effect so it looks like the images are VERY close to you. I would not recommend that young children ride it - unless they are super brave.
By this time, we start seeing the trick-or-treat carriages being brought in and anyone without a bright gold wrist band is asked to exit the park and allow visitors that purchased the Mickey's Halloween Party tickets to stick around and enjoy the festivities.
So I've wondered how Disney had set to allow only those with Mickey's Halloween Party to enjoy the fun and the answer was in the wristband. Without one of those puppies, you cannot do anything fun in the park including trick-or-treating or rides. We were asked countless number of times for our wristbands, even if we were just walking down the street.
As it got darker, we strolled into the Haunted Mansion to see its Nightmare Before Christmas transformation.
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This was another first for us and one that we had been looking forward to doing for a while. We're HUGE Nightmare Before Christmas fans. It's one of my son's favorite movies and we go to the El Capitan Theatre every year to watch it. It was a no-brainer that we would enjoy this ride and we loved that it exceeded our expectations.
The attention to detail was phenomenal and the bright colors used in the scenary allowed for the kids to enjoy the ride without being freaked out. My 15 month old was a fan of it too! I think he liked the snow scenes the best.
We had some incidents so we weren't able to get prime spots for the special fireworks show, but as it turned out, we were able to get a great view of the fireworks even if we weren't directly in front of the castle.
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It was an amazing show with a great ending. I love how Disney always goes the extra step in their themed events, and the fireworks show was no exception.
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As we walked around, we were able to trick-or-treat a few times with short lines and lots of great treats. Trails are set up around Disneyland with three carts to each trail. You walk up with your trick-or-treat bag (featuring Frankenweenie and Wreck-it Ralph) and they fill up your bag with candy and other treats such as Craisins, sliced apples, carrots, dried apples and raisins. I found that I had to ask for the healthier treats and they were more than happy to give them to us. The lines go really fast and by the end of the night, we had filled up our bags (it took about three trails to do so).
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I could honestly walk around for hours just looking at the decorations. I tried to take a lot of pictures for you, but as the daylight went away, it got harder and harder. I invite you to look at the Mickey's Halloween Party album on Google+ if you'd like to see more.
Mickey's Halloween Party is a limited-time event that is worth every penny. For complete details and to purchase tickets, visit: http://di.sn/m1W .
We got home around 1:30 a.m. after getting to the park around 4:30 p.m. We had a wonderful time and we'd like to thank Disney for allowing us to visit the park as their guests.
Now for the fun part - we're giving away a goody bag that contains a marshmallow treat and TWO tickets to Mickey's Halloween Party taking place on October 9, 2012 (entry beginning at 3 p.m.). The tickets are valid only on October 9, 2012 and because I have them in my possession, I will have to mail them or make other arrangements with you to pick them up. This is a time-sensitive giveaway because of the event date. Tickets do not include parking and/or travel arrangements.
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a Rafflecopter giveaway
This is not a sponsored post. I was invited to Mickey's Halloween Party as a member of the press to facilitate my review. All photos, thoughts and opinions remain my own.![]()
![]()
Our second stop as we walked into the park was The Pirates League in New Orleans Square. It's here that my pirate costume was taken up a few notches as they gave me an Empress makeover.
It was about a 20 minute process as they worked on makeup, removable tattoo, nails and accessories. Along the way, I had the pleasure of communicating with the makeup artist in my best pirate talk. Super entertaining and the time just flew by! In the end, I got to keep the makeup used on me (no re-using makeup at Disneyland) in a little black velvet bag. My niece, 6 years old, also received a makeover and she was thrilled to be made up.
We stopped by Space Mountain and used our fastpasses to get through the line quicker. My 4.5 year old had the good sense to sit this one out. My 6 year old niece? Not quite.
It was my first time riding Space Mountain - Ghost Galaxy and had I done it before, I wouldn't have taken my niece along for the ride. I LOVED it. It was a little bit spooky, dark and fast. You ride super fast with ghosts on fire popping up every so often. Enough to freak you out and it has a 3D effect so it looks like the images are VERY close to you. I would not recommend that young children ride it - unless they are super brave.
By this time, we start seeing the trick-or-treat carriages being brought in and anyone without a bright gold wrist band is asked to exit the park and allow visitors that purchased the Mickey's Halloween Party tickets to stick around and enjoy the festivities.
So I've wondered how Disney had set to allow only those with Mickey's Halloween Party to enjoy the fun and the answer was in the wristband. Without one of those puppies, you cannot do anything fun in the park including trick-or-treating or rides. We were asked countless number of times for our wristbands, even if we were just walking down the street.
As it got darker, we strolled into the Haunted Mansion to see its Nightmare Before Christmas transformation.
This was another first for us and one that we had been looking forward to doing for a while. We're HUGE Nightmare Before Christmas fans. It's one of my son's favorite movies and we go to the El Capitan Theatre every year to watch it. It was a no-brainer that we would enjoy this ride and we loved that it exceeded our expectations.
The attention to detail was phenomenal and the bright colors used in the scenary allowed for the kids to enjoy the ride without being freaked out. My 15 month old was a fan of it too! I think he liked the snow scenes the best.
We had some incidents so we weren't able to get prime spots for the special fireworks show, but as it turned out, we were able to get a great view of the fireworks even if we weren't directly in front of the castle.
It was an amazing show with a great ending. I love how Disney always goes the extra step in their themed events, and the fireworks show was no exception.
As we walked around, we were able to trick-or-treat a few times with short lines and lots of great treats. Trails are set up around Disneyland with three carts to each trail. You walk up with your trick-or-treat bag (featuring Frankenweenie and Wreck-it Ralph) and they fill up your bag with candy and other treats such as Craisins, sliced apples, carrots, dried apples and raisins. I found that I had to ask for the healthier treats and they were more than happy to give them to us. The lines go really fast and by the end of the night, we had filled up our bags (it took about three trails to do so).
I could honestly walk around for hours just looking at the decorations. I tried to take a lot of pictures for you, but as the daylight went away, it got harder and harder. I invite you to look at the Mickey's Halloween Party album on Google+ if you'd like to see more.
Mickey's Halloween Party is a limited-time event that is worth every penny. For complete details and to purchase tickets, visit: http://di.sn/m1W .
We got home around 1:30 a.m. after getting to the park around 4:30 p.m. We had a wonderful time and we'd like to thank Disney for allowing us to visit the park as their guests.
Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland Giveaway
Now for the fun part - we're giving away a goody bag that contains a marshmallow treat and TWO tickets to Mickey's Halloween Party taking place on October 9, 2012 (entry beginning at 3 p.m.). The tickets are valid only on October 9, 2012 and because I have them in my possession, I will have to mail them or make other arrangements with you to pick them up. This is a time-sensitive giveaway because of the event date. Tickets do not include parking and/or travel arrangements.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
This is not a sponsored post. I was invited to Mickey's Halloween Party as a member of the press to facilitate my review. All photos, thoughts and opinions remain my own.
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Back-to-School is fun, even though my kids don't attend school #BritaxLatinaAdvisory
Growing up, back-to-school was my favorite event of the year. Above Halloween and Christmas, for me, back-to-school signified the beginning of a new chapter in my life. It was much like a New Year's Eve of sorts, but with new schools supplies.
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To this day, a trip to the office supply store beats a visit anywhere else. I adore looking through all the office and school supplies, learning about new organizational systems, trying out pens, etc. My kid missed the school registration deadline by two days and so he is stuck at home for another year . When he is ready to go to school, we will buy him more school supplies than he'll know what to do with and we'll ask him to do homework every night, even if his "homework" is just coloring. My niece graduated kindergarten a few months ago and she was reading by the time she moved onto 1st grade. I look forward to having him ready quietly for 15 minutes every day.
There are so many great first-day-of-school traditions that I'm looking into so I can have something consistent. I like the idea of having the kids hold a sign up with the grade that they're going into - or something similar to that. I'm also compiling ideas for a teacher's gift. Funky Polkdadot Giraffe has a back-to-school survival kit that is really cute. I also saw somewhere (probably Pinterest) a school supply "cake" where the crayons were layered at the bottom, then pencils in the middle of other school supplies being held with ribbon around the entire cake. It's really cute and with tight school budgets, probably a great idea.
My current back-to-school supplies love is the line at Staples by Martha Stewart. I adore the colors (they remind be of Tiffany & Co.) and I have the teal notebook. I use it to take notes at conferences. The quality of the pages is thick and there's a spot for a date and title of the page at the top. It's a steal at only $4.99.
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Disclosure:
This is a sponsored post courtesy of Britax and the Brtiax Latina
Advisory Board. As always, all opinions, ideas, and
stories are my own. ![]()
![]()
To this day, a trip to the office supply store beats a visit anywhere else. I adore looking through all the office and school supplies, learning about new organizational systems, trying out pens, etc. My kid missed the school registration deadline by two days and so he is stuck at home for another year . When he is ready to go to school, we will buy him more school supplies than he'll know what to do with and we'll ask him to do homework every night, even if his "homework" is just coloring. My niece graduated kindergarten a few months ago and she was reading by the time she moved onto 1st grade. I look forward to having him ready quietly for 15 minutes every day.
There are so many great first-day-of-school traditions that I'm looking into so I can have something consistent. I like the idea of having the kids hold a sign up with the grade that they're going into - or something similar to that. I'm also compiling ideas for a teacher's gift. Funky Polkdadot Giraffe has a back-to-school survival kit that is really cute. I also saw somewhere (probably Pinterest) a school supply "cake" where the crayons were layered at the bottom, then pencils in the middle of other school supplies being held with ribbon around the entire cake. It's really cute and with tight school budgets, probably a great idea.
My current back-to-school supplies love is the line at Staples by Martha Stewart. I adore the colors (they remind be of Tiffany & Co.) and I have the teal notebook. I use it to take notes at conferences. The quality of the pages is thick and there's a spot for a date and title of the page at the top. It's a steal at only $4.99.
How do you feel about Back-to-School? Do you love shopping for the school supplies and getting ready for a new school year?
Disclosure:
This is a sponsored post courtesy of Britax and the Brtiax Latina
Advisory Board. As always, all opinions, ideas, and
stories are my own. 
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A day in my life #HuggiesLatino
Huggies asked me to document a day in my life. If you've ever been interested in really knowing what happens in my vida loca, here it is:
5:20 a.m. - Baby woke up. Put him back to sleep.
6:00 a.m. - Packed a little food for the hubster. Note: Need to do some grocery shopping.
8:20 a.m. - Get the baby and change him. We ran out of Huggies diapers, so I put Huggies Swimmers on him. Note: Need to buy diapers.
Serve the baby his morning snack and put the kids' laundry into the washer. Separate the toys from the clothes. Pick up around the home, vacuum and stall the kids some more.
9:45 a.m. - 2 mile run on the treadmill. Jump in the shower. At some point, I remember that I left the treadmill on so I have to run out of the shower - with shampoo on my hair and soap on my body, and turn it off before the baby gets a chance to climb on it and attempt to run on it.
11:05 a.m. - Brew my first cup of coffee on the Keurig (my favorite machine!).
11:41 a.m. - First time I actually get to taste my coffee. Make breakfast for the kids. We were running very low on food so the baby ate some baby pineapple and a quesadilla. Made some quesadillas for my 4.5 year old and added hatch chiles to mine.
12:13 p.m. - Drive to Kohl's to pick up some sunglasses and to Sprouts for some groceries. Everything was extra cheap because it was double-ad Wednesdays.
1:49 p.m. - Finally get home. Bring all the groceries into the home along with a sleeping baby who is pretty much like a cat and all his weight is on my arm.
2:03 p.m. - Sit down at my computer to blog. Continue drinking this morning's coffee.
2:35 p.m. - Baby wakes up from nap. Change him into another Huggies Swimmers. Pick up my nieces and my mom and take them to Walmart to shop for items for their Cinderella party. Buy more Huggies Snug & Dry diapers.
5:53 p.m. - Get home after dropping off my mom and my nieces.
6:36 p.m. - Didn't have time to cook dinner so we buy an elote topped off Mexican-style. Mayonnaise, butter, Parmesan cheese, chile, salt and lemon - $1.50.
7:35 p.m. - Give the kids a shower and put the baby down to sleep.
8:17 p.m. - Sit down at my computer and continue to drink this morning's coffee. I stayed up until 2:30 a.m.
Needless to say, Huggies wipes played a role in our crazy life. It was there to wipe up messes and butts, and the diapers kept my baby nice and dry - even when I used the Swimmers. My oldest son uses the wipes mostly for cleaning his toys and his feet after he had been playing outside, barefoot. Huggies baby wipes come in real handy and we use them often, as you can see:
Like Poncho de Anda, we found the new and improved Huggies Natural Care Wipes to be great on cleaning little chubby hands and faces because they are gentle and fragrance-free for soft baby skin.
Huggies Latino Facebook page
p.s. Notice that I never said, "put laundry in the dryer" in my timeline - that's because it never made it that far. I had to re-wash it the next day.
This is part of a compensated campaign with Latina Mom Bloggers and Huggies. However, all opinions expressed are my own.
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Getting Ready for a Cinderella Movie Tea Party #DisneyPrincessWMT #CBias
Please tell me that you're as excited about Disney's Cinderella coming out on Blu-ray as I am. I absolutely adore this movie and this princess. The copy that I have is the "Diamond Edition" that was released seven years ago. Unfortunately, it was before Blu-ray players, so we don't have the Blu-ray/DVD combo pack with bonus content. This Tuesday, however, I will have it in my possession, because much like we ran out to Walmart to purchase The Avengers, we'll be doing the same thing for Cinderella.
Remember I was telling you about exclusive items that certain stores have when a movie is released? Well Walmart will have exclusive items for the Cinderella release and they include an exclusive Blu-ray/DVD gift set, 2 disc music and Tangled Ever After DVD box set, fashion doll set including Prince, Cinderella and horse and an ornament. So if you're headed out to buy it on Tuesday too, consider purchasing it from Walmart so you can get access to exclusive products that your kids will love.
It seems like shopping with apps is becoming a trend and I happen to really like shopping this way too. It involves the kids in the shopping process and it almost becomes like a scavenger hunt when the app asks you to scan certain images to reveal something special on the device screen.
Last week, we walked into Walmart with the objective of getting products, costumes, food and other goodies for our upcoming Cinderella Movie Tea Party that my nieces will be hosting for six of their friends.
Before leaving the house, I downloaded the new Royal Ball Augmented Reality 2.0 App. I played around with it for a little bit because I wanted to see how it worked. Plus, it was like playing dress-up with a doll - but without having to pick up all the tiny clothes afterwards. You too can download the app for FREE from the iTunes App Store or Google Play.
A few special tasks that you can do with this app is create a Disney princess outfit with accessories, decorate a carriage, and even attend a royal ball in your new carriage! You can then use the app inside a Walmart and unlock more games and content by scanning select Disney/Cinderella products (you'll see a special sticker on the material that has a notice about the app).
So I picked up my nieces and then drove to Walmart to pick up some necessities for the party. We were headed towards the party supplies when they spotted toys (of course!). There was this huge display of toys in the back of the aisle and they spent about a half hour just looking at all the Cinderelly-themed toys they had available. I was right there with them and I have to say, by far my favorite toy was the carriage vanity set. It's pretty big, and super cute and girlie.
Thankfully, the party supplies were located just across the aisle from the toys so we headed over there and checked out the big assortment of party supplies they had in stock.
We purchased quite a bit of products from this section for our tea party. The mini-centerpieces are going to look lovely on our table. We also purchased branded plates, cups and napkins along with some generic princess-type party favors. This allowed us to get more using our allotted budget.
And because Walmart is having a Retailtainment Event this coming Saturday, we headed over to the costume section so the girls could get special Cinderella costumes and accessories. They had two different types of costumes, one under $10 and the other under $17. We purchased one of each plus a few accessories including the tiara and shoes.
So we had our party supplies and our costumes done, but what about food? Well we headed over to their huge grocery section to figure that out. We have an idea of doing a tea party for 8 little girls so we wanted dainty foods (and popcorn for the movie). We walked around the section for a bit and finally decided on these cute raspberry cookies, individually-sized popcorn bags, Cinderella-themed fruit snacks and a few other goodies. We're going to bake white vanilla cupcakes, frost them with white frosting and then top them off with blue sprinkles. They're going to look way cute! On the menu is also tiny little tea sandwiches and they'll be sipping some fancy sparkling cider in their Cinderella-themed cups. It's going to be a very cute and fancy Cinderella tea party.
Unfortunately, we were only able to use the app for a little bit inside the store because the scannable images were not available yet. What we did, however, is create different outfits on the app and then we tried to recreate the outfit with the products available at Walmart. That was pretty fun. Kind of like recreating a $500 outfit on a $100 budget. I look forward to really being able to use all the aspects of the app when I return on Tuesday to purchase the movie.
I will be at the Walmart in Santa Ana for their Retailtainment Event featuring Disney Princesses. If you have little girls and boys who like Cinderella, I encourage you to contact your local Walmart for more information on the event. And don't forget to take your Cinderella costume with you.
And please take a second and check out my Google+ #DisneyPrincessWMT album because I took a lot more pictures of Cinderella goodies (and a few other things).
Connect with Disney
Disney Twitter: @Disney
Cinderella Facebook: FB.com/Cinderella
Disney Princess Facebook: FB.com/DisneyPrincess
I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Disney Consumer Products, Inc. #CBias #SocialFabric. All thoughts, opinions and photos remain my own.
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Wordless Wednesday: Harper Connect Leather Bag by DVF
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| Harper Connect Leather Bag - DVF - $695 |
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Dreamworks' How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular
So imagine my surprise when I come to find out that "How to Train Your Dragon" is also a LIVE show! Yes... and it's coming to the Honda Center. We're super-excited to be going in January. Thankfully, my youngest will be a year and a half by then and Toothless will hopefully not be too scary for him.
The show had a critically acclaimed launch in Australia and New Zealand and now that it's in the US, it's getting an even bigger following! It features more than a dozen dragons, some with wingspans of up to 46 feet, Viking warriors and world-class circus artists and acrobats combined with a heartwarming story (which I'm sure you're familiar with).
You can go to www.dreamworksdragonslive.com for on-sale dates and other ticket information.
Pre-sale tickets for the Anaheim, CA are available NOW. The show will take place January 17th through the 20th. I hope to see you there!
Additional tour markets in 2013 will be announced soon on their site.
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