Christmas Gift Idea: DIY Sharpie Ceramic Mugs

Are you looking for easy and fun gift to give to teachers or grandparents this Christmas? Try this DIY Sharpie Ceramic Mug. It's so easy and my girls had so much fun making it. It's also very inexpensive. I bought the mugs for $2 each.

You just need two things: 

Oil Based Sharpie - it has to be oil based for it to be dishwasher safe. Do not use the regular sharpie. I  purchased mine at Michaels. They are a bit expensive ($16) so make sure you use their 50% off regular item coupon.

White Mug - I couldn't find one in the dollar store so I purchased mine at Big Lots for $2. 

Bake for 30 minutess at 350 degrees

 

This was so easy and fun. We will be making more to give to their teachers, Lolas (grandmas), and piano teacher. We might add some hot chocolate packets inside or candies when we give it to them.

Friday Favorites: Moda VoxBox and Honest Company

Happy Friday! This week's favorites....

Pumpkin Bread - I made this a few days ago. I have been looking for pumpkin bread recipe that does not use a lot of ingredients. I like my food simple with very little ingredients as possible because I like to use organic ingredients. I think this is the best one I've tried. My girls loved it. I will be posting the recipe soon. 

Honest Company - I have been an Honest Company customer for months now. I love their products. I order their monthly Essential Bundle a month for $35.95 which consists of 5 products of your choice. This month I tried their Organic Lip Balm Trio and Organic Breath Easy Rub. My girls love the lip balms. I love the Breath Easy Rub. It's just like Vicks but it's organic and smells much better.

Influenster - Have you heard of them? I recommend signing up. They send you products to try and review for FREE. I received my first Moda VoxBox from them a couple of weeks ago.

Rimmel London Scandaleyes Rockin’ Curves Mascara - This is my favorite product in the box. I like the shape of the applicator. It makes my lashes look full and curvy.

Rimmel London Moisture Renew Lipstick - this lipstick is ok. I just don't like the color I received. I don't like wearing pink lipstick.

Rimmel London Moisture Renew Lip Liner - honestly I don't like this one. You can't even tell you have it on or if it makes a difference wearing one or without. 

Puffs SoftPack - these tissues are really soft. I also like the packaging. The design is cute and soft plastic which can easily fit in my diaper bag.

JERGENS® Ultra Healing® Extra Dry Skin Moisturizer - this is a great hand lotion. It's good to have with you at all times especially now the weather is getting cold which means your hand is prone to dryness. I know mine does. It keeps my hand feeling soft and not greasy. I also like the scent.

resource® Natural Spring Water - This taste just like water. But it's good to know that resource is a sustainably sourced 100% Natural Spring Water from carefully selected sources with naturally occurring electrolytes for a clean, refreshing taste. resource comes in a bottle made with 50% recycled plastic* and is 100% recyclable.

Hair Food Moisture Hair Mask - This is my second favorite product in the box. It smells really good and makes my hair feels really soft after shower. I also like that it's Paraben Free and Minieral Oil Free.

Swiss Miss® Simply Cocoa - I love this. It has no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives. It has only 5 simple ingredients. It would be perfect if it was organic.

Healthy After School Snack: Banana and Peanut Butter

Looking for healthy after school snack? Try banana and peanut butter. Simple yet so good, not to mention healthy. This is my girls' favorite after school snack. If your child is allergic to peanut you can substitute it with other butter spread (almond, sunflower). 

We also like it with Peanut Butter & Co spreads. They are not organic but they are nonGMO.

Old Factory Candle Gift Set Review and Giveaway

*Product Sample Received*

I received the Happy Holidays themed gift set from Old Factory. It contains 3 different 2 ounce candles (Christmas Tree, Candy Cane, and Gingerbread). What's great about these candles is that they are made in the USA with natural soy wax and self-trimming cotton candle wicks. It burns softly and evenly, without that smoke or odor that you usually get with other candles. They also melt really fast and in just minutes your room smells wonderful, in my case it smelled like candy cane.

Although these candles are a bit small (2oz), they last pretty long. I've been using it for the past few days, letting it burn for a couple of hours at a time and still there's more than half left.

I also love the packaging of these candles. They are perfect for gift giving. The subtle jar design perfectly match and compliment any decor and room. They look great in my kitchen. 


Giveaway: Win an Old Factory Candle Gift Set of your choice!
Contest winners need to have an Amazon account in order to redeem their prize.

Entry-Form

Disclosure: I received product sample(s) mentioned above from the company or representing PR for free. NO other payment was given. This is my honest opinion, yours may be different.

Get Inside the Fun at iPlay America!

*We were given 5 free unlimited passes. All opinions expressed here are our own based on our personal experiences at iPlay America.*

Looking for something to do this weekend? Bummed out because its too cold to go to the boardwalk? Come check out iPlay America,  New Jersey's Premier Indoor Theme Park down in Freehold, New Jersey. 

Last week we were invited to their 115,000 square foot climate controlled, indoor facility. I was quite relieved that there was parking nearby and the best part is that it was free. Speaking of free, the entrance to the facility itself is free as well. Their state of the art facility combines city and boardwalk themes for those looking for that type of experience. With over nine indoor rides, party rooms, 200 arcade games, eateries, a candy shop and a full size restaurant, there is definitely something for everyone to enjoy. 

  

Rides range from go karts (my kid's favorite), laser tag (my favorite) to more kid friendly rides and attractions such as skyscraper, dizzy dragons, bumper cars and boardwalk bowling (my wife's favorite) meant for the younger children. And for the really young kids, those who can not take the bigger rides, they have a Just iKidz play area( for children under 100lbs.) which is a playground consisting of tunnels, slides, pad hops and web bridges.  The arcade boasts over 200 games for different age groups that takes an advanced debit card called a iPA Game Card that can be purchased at the grand lobby of the facility with points that never expire. 

 

    

Although iPlay America do not allow any outside food or beverages. The facility offers a full-scale restaurant as well as other dining options to take care of your food and beverage needs. Aside from the full scale restaurant ( that serves contemporary American menu such as burgers, pizza, salads and sandwiches, as well as a bar for those over 21), there are areas where you can get hot dogs, churros, and funnel cakes (in the boardwalk area), and wraps, pretzels and frozen yogurt (in the city area.) Not to mention Broadway Sweets, their confectionary store where we got some ring pops and chocolate covered, peanut butter ball on our way home. 

They have a seven Brownstone Celebration Rooms which can be used exclusively for birthday parties and the like. As well as their Encore Event Center, a large venue for concerts and big attractions (we were told the Big Apple Circus was just there as well as Bridgit Mendler). 

What my daughters has to say:

" Laser tag is super fun!!!" -Olivia on Cosmic Battle laser tag arena.

" The race cars are even faster than our car!" -Emma's opinion on the iPa Speedway attraction.

" I love the fire truck, it goes wee wee, like that." - Sophia, on the fire truck.

The Big Apple Circus Metamorphosis

A couple of weeks ago,  we were invited to the Big Apple Circus in New York City, and I must say what an experience that was! It was such a wonderful experience that I would not hesitate to recommend it to my family and friends.

Opened in 1977 and based in NYC, it is different in that it follows the "one ring' circus tradition rather than the multiple rings that was present at the time. We were invited to their location at Damrosch Park of Lincoln Center and it was very accessible while driving (we drove from New Jersey) and had parking that was available close to the vicinity, being that it is in New York City, I imagine other means of transportation (trains, buses, taxi, etc.) shouldn't be too hard as well.

After entering a large tent, we were ushered into a large circus tent, I immediately noticed that on top the large entryway ( the performers entrance and exit into the circus ring ), where there was a band getting ready for the show, somehow it struck a chord with me as in our times of everything digital, it's refreshing to see a live band. (Like we were expecting a Broadway show or something.)
When the first act commenced, I was immediately transfixed as this was somewhat new to me ( I must have been in a circus 3 times in my entire life.) It was the opening act, but I was already amazed as I witnessed a little taste of the high flying, nail biting performances. One act after another, I was looking at my girls while they were completely focused on the different skills of the performers, the mastery of how they did their tricks, the different farm and exotic animals doing their routine and the very funny, interactive clown. The ringmaster was also very good at introducing each act accordingly and even giving a little background and history of both the circus and the performers themselves.

Going home, I asked each one of my girls what were they favorite acts:
Olivia: I like the box and the contortionist (I had to explain to her what that word meant.),
Emma (the fashionista of the three): I like the lady that was changing clothes super fast.
Sophia: I like the dog and the camel!
My wife: I like the spaceship with hanging performers.
Personally I like the two brother that were somersaulting on top of the chair as well as the high flying flyers at the end of the show.

So if you're ever in the city, and looking for an amazing time, the Big Apple Circus will be around until January of next year.  There is something there for every man or woman, old or young, specially the children as it is a wonderful introduction to the world of the Big top.

Sky Zone Birthday Discount

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Soar sky high on our main court, try your best trick into our foam pit, or challenge your friends in trampoline dodgeball, the sky is the limit! Perfect for birthday parties, field trips, corporate team-building, or any special event. 

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