Shutter Love Tuesday

Theme: "Laughter"

This is my first ever entry into the Trendy Treehouse's Shutter Love Tuesday! I'm no photographer but the imperfections of this snapshot make it perfect. To me.

Post-It Note Tuesday - - It's Gonna Be One of THOSE Days!

NOVICA - - In Association With NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC {a review}

As a blogger, I often receive emails from companies/websites extending offers to write reviews. More often then not, I turn them down. I feel like I have to really want to back you up to write a review. Allow me to point you to NOVICA, who is quite worthy of a review!


The first thing I noticed when I clicked the NOVICA link was that they are associated with National Geographic. That's rather huge in itself. When I think of National Geographic, I instantly envision the world. You know, how others live outside of the United States and the beauty and diversity that comes from various cultures.

To understand NOVICA, you need to read their mission:

We want to give artists and artisans around the world a global platform to express their true artistic talents and to spur their creativity. And, we want to provide you with access to unique, hard-to-find items at great values that only the Internet infrastructure can allow.

At the deepest essence of our philosophy, we want to create a bridge between you and the many talented artisans across the globe.

We want you to know about who you're buying from. We want you to feel that attachment to the product and to the hands that created it.

In the spirit of the Internet, let us bring you together.

NOVICA. The World is Your Market.

Fabulous, right?

NOVICA generously offered me a $75 gift certificate for any items on their website in return for this review. Here is what I have chosen:


I'm not exaggerating when I say I received my shipment confirmation within an hour of ordering!

There are mountains of items to choose from including their Fair Trade Corporate Gifts, Eco-Friendly Green Treasures, and Unique Gifts! From home decor to a wide variety of items from different regions, NOVICA has something for everyone!

Their website is easy to navigate and it's very user friendly. You can choose from a plethora of options once a category is chosen such as "gifts for her" or narrow your search by dollar amount. This is an important feature as an online shopper.

Are you in a crunch to purchase a gift for someone? You know, the holidays are right around the corner! Why not consider a gift certificate to NOVICA? You can choose to have the gift sent right to the recipient's email if you wish to make it even easier.

So drop what you're doing and visit NOVICA. It's sure to become your first stop for all future shopping!

Blog Crush

I read a lot of blogs. Loads of 'em. A few months back I stumbled upon my latest crush. Up until now, I've been keeping it a secret. After reading her post today I had to let you all in on it. Brace yourselves because you are about to be marveled!

A Fanciful Twist

What's the best way to describe this site? Think Alice in Wonderland. Old school Alice coming to live in this century without changing a single thing about herself. Everything remains whimsical, magical, home grown and anything but ordinary!

Vanessa is the girl behind the blog {my Alice}. She's an artist, a gardener, a cook, a baker, a wife, a lover of life... I could keep going {No, I'm not being paid for this whatsoever. Vanessa doesn't even know who I am!}.

I love everything about Autumn. The shift in the season. The decor. The smell. Halloween. And most of all, pumpkins! As I said, Vanessa has her own garden. She grows pumpkins and they are gorgeous. One of her more recent posts is her journey through baking a pumpkin pie directly from her garden. The idea of this blows my mind.

I've always wanted to be that mom. The mom who makes everything from scratch. The mom who grows her own garden. The mom who sews. The mom whose kitchen always permeates with something yummified from scratch. The creative mom. A Fanciful Twist brings this to life for me.

I have a huge bloggy crush on Vanessa and A Fanciful Twist and I just want to share it with anyone who will listen. I love being able to visit her world and looking back through her eyes. Not only looking but seeing, with such vivid colors and textures.

It's blogs such as this one that inspire me to think outside the box. Enjoy!

Costumes 4 Less - - Halloween is right around the corner y'all!

Halloween!! My favorite day of the year. This year I wanted to purchase my little one's Halloween costume early because last year we were stuck with what was left. He still made a fantastic Superman! This year? He's going to be an Indian:

I chose to work with Costumes 4 Less this year because the variety of Halloween costumes is insane, and I only looked for my toddler! I honestly don't know how I decided so quickly. Look, I realize some of you are still hanging on to Summer but the cooler weather is coming and Halloween kicks off the holiday season. Shop for your Halloween costume early and save big time. Not only will you save by purchasing your costume(s) from Costumes 4 Less, but you'll save on shipping as well. When you shop last minute online, you end up paying more on shipping than on the actual costume itself. Shop now, get what you actually want and have your Halloween costume shipped ground. Instant savings!

Are you looking for something specific? Use this:

Find your favorite costumes here

Costumes 4 Less has something for everyone!

Costumes 4 Less has my seal of approval. Shop today and come back to leave some feedback!

I've Read 'Em All! *GASP* What To Do Now?

Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn.... You have completed me. For years I pushed you away. I even made fun of all the hype. Now? I'm part of the hype!

I stretched the hell out of the time it took me to read Breaking Dawn. I knew it was the final book and I just couldn't bare to let it all go. I just closed it. The saga is over. For the first time anyway.

My favorite? For me, it was Breaking Dawn but Twilight is such a close second, it's almost a tie. Allow me to explain. Twilight was the first, the set-up of everything. The character introduction, the setting, the tone. How I fell in love with this story from the first sentence. Then there was the first kiss and well, the first everything! Breaking Dawn was that all over again but from the point of view of marriage. Everything was told "just so" and it left me wanting more.

I'm a hard sell when it comes to books. I don't like having to read those stories where people automatically say, "If you can just get through the first 100 pages, you'll love it!". Really? So I'm going to be bored for that long? Thanks but no thanks.

This saga was nothing like that. I'll admit, getting into New Moon was a bit of a stretch for me because I'm pro-Edward ALL. THE. WAY. Then Jacob started being all sweet and cute and adorable and well, he was just being Jacob. Never once did I think to "switch teams" but I did allow a place in my heart for this wolf. SPOILER ALERT.... {Look away if you haven't read the books yet, you've been warned!!} When I found out Jacob imprinted on Renesmee I was excited. It was time for him to move on and it was never going to happen unless he imprinted. Again, never once did I think this was creepy because of other imprintings that take place in the books, it was already explained so there wasn't a hint of, "Dude, she's just a baby!".

My head is spinning right now since I just finished reading the saga, I'm sorry. I instantly had to start rambling and what better place to do that then one's blog? HA! This wasn't meant to be a review. A lot of you out there, my "followers", have been questioning what was taking me so long to finish reading the books so I just had to shout that I am indeed finished. Thanks for listening to my ramblings, my Facebook updates and my Tweets.

I've seen the first two movies. The first one was, EH! The second one was a smidge better. I've heard great things about Eclipse. I don't see how anyone can bring Breaking Dawn to light in its true form.

I do hope that some day, SOME DAY, there will be another book to go with the final chapter's title in Breaking Dawn, "The Happily Ever After". For me, it wouldn't necessarily have to involve the Volturi. Just an old fashioned tale of vampire wedded bliss complete with a half mortal-half immortal daughter..... Yes?

Wordless {Wordful} Wednesday - - Adult Beverage of the Week

Preface: I am royally exhausted with this old editor shit Blogger!!! Fix it or Word Press has my name on it. In fact, I'm already set up and ready to go. It'll just take some shifting, I'd just much rather stay put...


The cooler air is upon us. Well, not really for me since I live in Florida but it'll get here eventually (think Thanksgiving). I'm sort of using this post as a "Please get outta the 90's Florida, I can't take it anymore!!"... Is it working Florida, are you seduced into it yet?

With that in mind, I love cider. Especially hot cider. Especially hot cider with RUM! I'm not a big fan of spiced rum but go ahead and take this recipe and do what you love.

Hot Buttered Apple Cider with Rum

Reprinted from: Once Upon A Chef

8 servings

Ingredients

For Spiced Butter:

8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick) at room temperature
¼ cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
⅛ teaspoon salt

To make:

Half-gallon (64 ounces) all natural apple cider
Spiced Butter
cinnamon sticks (optional)
rum or apple brandy (optional)

Directions

1. Make spiced butter by combining butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt in a small bowl. Use a plastic spatula to transfer butter mixture to the middle of a 12" x 12" piece of plastic wrap. Fold plastic wrap over butter mixture and shape into a log, twisting ends to seal closed. Refrigerate until ready to use.

2. Bring apple cider to a simmer over medium heat in a large pot, then turn heat to low. Remove spiced butter from plastic wrap and cut into 1-inch pieces. Add to hot cider and stir continuously until all butter is melted.

3. Ladle buttered cider into mug, garnish with cinnamon stick and top with a shot of rum or apple brandy if desired. Serve hot.

I cannot wait to make this....

Photo: Yahoo!

I love Fall.

* 5 Minutes For Mom * Live And Love...Out Loud * Seven Clown Circus *

* A Beautiful Mess *

Post-It Note Tuesday - - The one where I can't find my car!

My post looks like shit, right? Blogger, you are totally letting me down. Word Press anyone?

What I talk about while driving....

Last weekend was the last before school started. My older sons were spending time at my mother's house so it was just me, the hubs and our baby boy. On Saturday evening, we decided to go out to dinner at the last minute.

We took the scenic route. The road that runs parallel to the ocean. The sun was thinking about setting at this point, so it wasn't bright out but not dark either. I was driving. Large bugs kept flying directly into my windshield {assholes} and at first I thought they were birds. Nope, dragonflies and such. Then I noticed, there were a lot of birds in flight. I decided at this point that they might actually be bats.

That's when this conversation took over, more or less:

Me: What is the point of bats. Like, what do they do?

Hubs: I don't know. What's the point of cockroaches?

Me: So do you think that bats are like.... cockroaches of the sky?

Hubs: ....

I get that a lot from him. The silence. It's usually accompanied by a look. Seriously though y'all, I'm not afraid to say what's on my mind.

Why do bats exist?

Unless this freak show is about to morph in the one and only Edward Cullen, I want nothing to do with it!

As a side note, I haven't posted in a while because Blogger is being a biznitch. I go to compose and the darn website just thinks and thinks and never allows me to write. I discovered that if I revert back to the old editor, I can continue to bring you the sperm but I don't like the old editor. What's a girl to do? Am I the only one having this problem. HELP!

CafePress - - Get Your T-Shirt HERE!

CafePress offers the best selection of personalized gifts and unique t-shirts, clothing, mugs, art and posters. And hello? Can you say affordable?

I am always on the hunt for that one special present to give to my husband at Christmas. Years ago, I visited CafePress and became an instant fan. I got him a t-shirt that year and he still has it.

So I knew when the folks from CafePress contacted me to host a giveaway I just had to get on board. I didn't even blink when I responded to them. Yes, please! Not only am I hosting a giveaway of the t-shirt of your choice from CafePress, but they also extended the offer for me to select a t-shirt of my choice in return. Thank you!

What did I choose? Something for my husband, of course!

He's a HUGE Miami Hurricanes {college} football fan. He already has a lot of t-shirts and hats with their mascot on it . So I wanted to get him something a little different. Plain but still "him". I think I did good!

{Our youngest son's middle name is even "Cane"}

So how do you get entered to win your very own t-shirt from CafePress? Easy! First, you can be a resident of the U.S. or Canada to play along, then....

-Follow my blog via Google Friend Connect and leave me a comment {just leave a comment if you're already a follower} - - One Entry
-Sign up to receive my blog entries right to your inbox and leave me a comment - - One Entry
-Like my fanpage on Facebook - - One Entry
-Follow me on Twitter {lotsOspermies} - - One Entry
-Like CafePress on Facebook - - One Entry
-Follow CafePress on Twitter - - One Entry
-Tweet about this giveaway and link back to it - - One Entry
-Visit CafePress and tell me which t-shirt is your favorite - - One Entry
-Post my blog button to your sidebar and leave me the link - - One Entry
-Post about this giveaway on your blog and leave me the link - - One Entry

That's TEN possible entries. You MUST leave me a separate comment for each entry you have completed for it to count. This giveaway will end on Monday, August 23rd at 12:00PM, EST. You can choose any t-shirt, no limit on price.

Good luck!!

Do You Believe?

Where do you stand on the topic of ghosts?

I'm all about everything to do with the supernatural. Always have been. Always will be. In fact, I live for Halloween. It's the one day out of the year you can be something other than yourself and get away with it. Plus the decor? I'd keep it up year-round if my husband would allow it.

I love a good ghost story. Horror is my genre. I want to hear your creepiest stories. I want you to keep me from wanting to close my eyes during the brightest of days.

The story for me that stands out {not really scary but the fact that it's true and that it happened to me makes it creepy} took place when I was in eighth grade. My best friend at the time was over and we took out the ouija board (please don't call it a wee-gee, at least go with "Talking Board"). We had a rather strong contact with a spirit and we asked this spirit to blow out the candle we had lit, sitting next to the board. And he did.

We were in my basement, where contact was always the strongest. The flame wasn't blown out. There were no drafts and there were no chances that I or my friend blew it out. You know when someone licks their fingertips and puts out a flame with them? That's how it happened. One moment the flame was lit and flickering and the next moment, it was out. My friend and I ran up the stairs so fast!

I had a bar {as in alcohol} in that basement. It was probably twelve feet or so in length. I also had an old table from Burger King in my basement {I had friends who envied this table}. Often times, we would use the ouija board at the Burger King table. What's so significant about the bar and the BK table? Well, when we asked the initial "Is there a spirit with us" question, you could hear what sounded like delicate footsteps from one end of the bar to the other before the planchette would move to "Yes".

I love unique ouija boards. Check out this one I purchased years ago. Hand made, hand painted. So beautiful. It has never worked for me though:

Over the years, I have read my share of ghost stories that were down right evil and others that just plain sucked. Do you want to be guided to the best collection of stories available on the internet {in my opinion, of course}? Obiwan's UFO-Free Paranormal Page. It'll knock your socks off.

What are your stories?

Writer's Workshop - - Eyes Like the Ocean Blue

I haven't played along with Mama Kat lately. When I saw this prompt, I knew what I had to do....

My Xavier has eyes like the bluest of oceans and lashes any woman would kill for. And he gets it from his daddy: