Happy Halloween!

"Pixie, kobold, elf, and sprite,
All are on their rounds tonight;
In the wan moon's silver ray,
Thrives their helter-skelter play."
~ Joel Benton

Wake County Parade of Homes

The Wake County Parade of Homes has been going on for a couple weekends now and the hubster and I decided to check out some of them.  He was a real trooper in going to look at a few ton of homes, and I loved looking at some of the staged ones, and also all the different layouts and features the different builders had to offer.  I picked up several good ideas, and took pictures of some of my favorites!  Have a look...

 My favorite house from the outside...inside is just as cute but it's three stories and we're looking for a ranch or at least a first floor master in our next house.  It is adorable though!

 Some of the homes had some fun accent walls

Love this bathroom wallpaper

The grey and yellow was a popular color choice in several of the homes...for good reason!

 

These doors were in several of the homes...I love the detail on it!

 

I will have this backsplash in my next kitchen!

 I'm loving the built-ins and the tile in the fireplace!

 Wouldn't this be a great entertainment space!

The framed mirrors and lights in this bathroom make it look like anything but builder grade!

I had a lot of fun checking out the homes, finding some ideas for my next home, and the builders and stagers did an excellent job!  What about you...if you live in the area have you had a chance to check them out yet?  There's still one more weekend left!

Wine and Design - Also Known As The Post In Which I Actually Did Well At Painting!

The hubster and I tried out one of those art classes that are popping up everywhere. The BYOB ones where they provide all you need to paint and you supply the snacks and drinks.  Instant date night, and tons of fun!  My hubster insists he has no artistic ability, and I've posted before about how my craftiness skills do not include painting, but both of our paintings turned out awesome!  We went to Wine and Design in Cary, NC, and it was by far one of the funnest dates I've been on! The night we went was Starry Skyline, and you got to choose from 5 city skylines.  I chose San Francisco (the city has stolen my heart) and the hubster did Raleigh, NC.  Check out the results!

Fun right!?  I love them, and they're currently on display in one of our guest bedrooms.  It was really cool how we were all being guided to paint the same picture, and yet all of them turned out different.

So, have you tried out any of these classes? Where's your favorite place to paint?

Fun Fall Decor

I've been gone for a while, with only the occasional sponsored post written by me.  Did you notice?  Well lets just pretend it didn't happen and carry on where we left off shall we?  Here, look at these awesome things I found on a recent shopping trip at Target.  Ooooh, pretty pictures; forgetting my lack of posting already aren't you!

Aren't they lovely!? I'm loving the owls, but I'm pretty sure the hubster might get upset at bringing in another one...I already have 12 in my living room alone (hey don't judge, it's tastefully done :D). For now I'll just gaze from afar (at least until after Halloween when they're marked down).  Anything you've been drooling over for the Fall season?  Don't you just love Target!?




Update: After posting reviews and sponsored posts, I realized after I posted this that it might seem like one too. Really, it's not; I just loved what I saw when I was wasting time the other day and thought I'd share with you.  However, if Target has an interest I wouldn't turn it down...just saying!

Famous Footwear - Back to School Sale!

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

School's starting back soon (seems to be the theme of most of my recent blog posts!) and Famous Footwear is having a fabulous back to school sale!  Time to go pick up some new shoes for the kiddos (man their feet grow so fast!) and yourself (oh how I'm suck a sucker for a cute pair of flats!).  They offer such a variety of shoe types, from tennis shoes to sandles, boots, dressshoes, and even a narrow and wide (yes!) categories, all for men, women, and children!  The back to school promotion is Buy One Get One Half Off, plus a 15% off coupon...what an amazing deal!   Follow the link to pring off your coupon and redeem it in-store now through August 18th BOGO + 15% off Famous Footwear Coupon. 

If there's not a Famous Footwear near you, or if you just don't have time to go into the store to shop, you can order online at at www.famous.com and have them shipped to their favorite store for pick-up at no charge, or to your home for an added convenience (did I mention I have a slight obsession with online shopping...no lines, no having to get all cute to go out, and a lot easier to look up reviews of the product before buying...LOVE IT!). 

Oh, and if the 15% isn't enough for you, you can join Famous Footwear's rewards program and get 20% off to use in stores until August 18th.  You also get 1 point for every $1 you spend at Famous Footwear (in stores or online) and can cash in the points for up to $100 in certificates in a year! You'll have access to other special offers, including one when you sign up, and best of all it's free!  So go shop, and send me a link to what you buy so I can see the fabulousness that you're wearing!
 

Summer Vacation - SAVE in San Antonio

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

So the Summer's coming to an end, but it's not over yet!  There's still time to get out there and explore!  I love visiting different places around the US (visiting every state is on my bucket list), and recently I've become aware of SAVE – San Antonio Vacation Experience.  It's a site that offers discounts for attractions and hotels in San Antonio, with more than $600 in savings available!  On their site there are also Limited Time Offers, so be sure to check those out and plan your vacation!

Unfortunatly, I'm not going to be able to take another vacation this summer (bummer!) but it's still fun to plan one out and see all the wonderful things there are to do!  Using SAVE – San Antonio Vacation Experience, I learned there are so many attractions in San Antonio I wasn't even aware of! 

So, my dream vacation experience in San Antonio for a long weekend would start off staying at the Westin (hands down the most comfy beds ever!) where you can get discounts from SAVE for room prices starting at $119.  After checking in and putting away luggage, change into swimsuits and head to http://www.splashtownsa.com, 20 acres of family waterpark fun featuring 40 waterslides, the 1/2-million-gallon wave pool, the 1/4-mile-long Siesta Del Rio, a huge kids' pool and activity pool with water volleyball, water basketball and more! The SAVE discount is up to $42, and now through August 10th the waterpark has "dive in movies" on Fridays, where visitors can enjoy family-friendly movies while hanging out in Splashtown San Antonio’s wave pool. 

The next day I would go to http://seaworldparks.com/en/seaworld-sanantonio/ !  Sea World is my favorite park, and while I've never visited the one in San Antonio, it looks fabulous and SAVE offers $10 off each ticket!  I usually don't stay at an amusement park all day, but if it's anything like the other SeaWorld park I've been to, then with all the shows and exhibits to see then it'll be an all day affair. 

The next day I would split the day between the San Antonio Zoo (http://www.sazoo-aq.org/ - $2 off admission with SAVE)

and Six Flags Fiesta Texas  (http://www.sixflags.com/national/index.aspx - multiple discount opportunities avaialbe through SAVE, including everyone paying kids price!). 

Before heading home on the final day, the hubster and I always take a tour of each city we visit, and the Grand Trolley Tours offers a historic journey through beautiful San Antonio on a 60 minute ride, where you can use SAVE – San Antonio Vacation Experience for a $3 discount.  On the way out of town (or into if you want to do it like the normal people) stop by the San Antonio's Official Visitor Information center and get a free gift if you purchase over $15 worth (perfect place for souviners for those who weren't lucky enough to have all the fun you just did).

So that's a jam packed itenerary, but with SAVE – San Antonio Vacation Experience offering so many discounts and offers, what would be a pricy vacation suddenly got much cheaper!  Follow@SAVEinSA on Twitter for more updates on deals, Limited Time Offers, and other ideas for iteneraries.  Do you have any vacation plans coming up or any experience using SAVE – San Antonio Vacation Experience ?  Let me know so I can live vicariously through you!

Astrobrights Paper

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

  So the school year is coming up soon (oh no, where did Summer go!?) and there's so much to prepare for the upcoming year.  As a school teacher this time is both exciting and hectic!  There's meetings to attend, curriculum to write, and the most fun part (for me at least) decorating the classroom!   I've spent the whole summer on Pinterest gathering inspiration from all the great and creative classroom theme ideas I've seen, as well as coming up with some new ways to organize everything! 

  With 20something kids and just one of me organization is key, and that's where AstroBrights papers come in!  These are papers that come in 23 different colors and are perfect for all sorts of things!  My plan is to use it to print all those forms on that you have to send home at the beginning of the year.  Print each one on a different color paper, that way when they all come back in a big pile it's easier to sort by color instead of having to read each paper to know where it needs to go.  Another idea I'm toying around with this year is assigning each child a different color, and that way all their stuff can be easily identified and there won't be any arguements over who the glue stick belongs too (can you tell I'm with the young ones! :D)...just cut off a square of that childs color, ModgePodge it right onto the supply (glue stick, crayons, notebooks, folders, etc.) and then there's no question about it.   AstroBrights papers would also make a great addition to the kids self evaluation notebooks - there's about 5 different sections in there, and with the bright and bold colors of the papers, it would make it really easy for the kids to identify what section to flip to if the AstroBright papers are used as dividers (plus it'll help out for my little ones who are still struggling with reading)! 

The possibilities are endless for uses in the classroom, but AstroBright papers have so many more uses: afterschool chore charts, flyers for your neighborhood garage sale (wouldn't a bold color get so much more attention than that white printer paper you've been using!?), and much more. 

Oh, and do you want to get off on the right foot this year with your child's teacher...enter the "Give a Brighter Year" sweepstakes and you could win a cash prize and $30,000 worth of school supplies for the school of your choice!  AstroBrights is also having a "Make Something Astrobright" design challenge, where you can join in the fun and share your projects for a chance to win prizes.  You can share via Pinterest or Twitter and use the hashtag #goastrobrights.  So got check out AstroBrights papers on Facebook, get your creative juices flowing, and have fun with what's left of your summer with the bold and beautiful colors available!