Another Give Away!

Hello dear friends.  Hope everyone is having a great week.  Mine didn't start off so great (ahem, George) but it's gotten much better.

My first give away on this blog was from the wonderful company, Bella Snail Mail, one of my favorite shops on Etsy.  Last week, I ordered another stamp for my Christmas cards.  I have not sent any cards out in a couple of years, but this year I am going to make a concerted effort.  Even if my girls won't cooperate, I will send a photo of my third favorite subject, Chowdah.

We're going to have to work on the pose and the hygiene before the photo shoot.


Bella Snail Mail has a variety of adorable stamps, self inking as well as rubber stamps.  I chose this one.  
And not because of the cupcakes.

Some other styles that are available include these.

Now for the great news.  

Bella Snail Mail has agreed to give away another one of their beautiful stamps to a lucky winner.  It begins at 6PM EST today.  It ends on Wednesday at the same time.

All you have to do is "like" the Facebook pages of Bella Snail Mail and Preppy Empty Nester.  

Then, if you would like additional chances to enter, just visit Bella Snail Mail and comment on my blog which stamp would be your choice.  

You also can receive additional chances to win if you tweet about the giveaway.  And... you can receive one more entry if you follow BellaSnailMail on Twitter.

As a final note - these stamps were my "go to" Christmas gift for my family and friends a couple of years ago.  They were a big hit!

Good Luck!!!

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Don't You Wish They Were Your Neighbors?

Hello dear friends.  I hope everyone had a good weekend.  The weather here was positively gorgeous - blue skies and warm temps.

Needless to say, my weekend was not the rosiest.  A certain someone, who will remain nameless, decided to throw his life away and get married. My only compensation is the fact that he seems to go for the same type as me - statuesque, painfully thin, breathtakingly gorgeous, and beyond brilliant.  It's not my fault that he was lucky enough to find my doppelganger who just happened to be single. 

I chose to wear my mourning outfit for the entire weekend.  I needed to make a statement in my own way.  The Mister was proud to have his arm candy by his side.

To get my mind off all the silly hooplah in Italy, I took the liberty of finding some Halloween decorations that I can only hope will be an inspiration to you. 

   

What cute little 4-year-old pirate or princess wouldn't want to climb their way through this yard for a bag of m&m's?

Forest of Mirrors

My favorite part of this pic is "Ye Olde Pumpkin Patch."

Tell me you wouldn't want your youngsters to knock on this trailer's door.

Vintage Bag Lady

I don't think the kids would have too many nightmares after meeting these clowns.  Their kid's cute too. 

Vintage Bag Lady

And for Mom and Dad... nothing says trick or treat like an open bar.

Vintage Bag Lady

This is a house that took the Paleo diet a step too far.

The staff must have been pretty busy getting this house ready for the big day. 

Times Union

Is this Chucky Cheese's house?  I knew he was making big bucks!

Times Union

How long do you think it took someone to light all those pumpkins?

the Digest

A lot going on here.  Not sure what they were shooting for, though.

homesessive

Can you imagine picking up your date for the first time at this humble abode?

ARL Now

OK, if I drove up to my house and my neighbor had this displayed as his "decorations"  I would be on the horn with my realtor within thirty seconds. 

Daily Caller

Happy Monday!

Amazing Creatures blog

Feel Good Friday

Hello dear friends.  TGIF!  Came across this video on Facebook.  I want to hire the little boy be my future lawyer,  the girl on the right to be my meteorologist, and the middle one to be my shrink.    

Happy Friday!

A Book & A Movie

Hello dear friends.  It's a dreary day here in the Northeast and we are expecting rain.  When I was a child, my mother would often say "we need the rain."  I never understood what she meant by that. Now that I am old a homeowner, I understand the statement.  And yes, we do need the rain.

Which brings me to another thought.  Sista and I were talking about this the other day.  Did your mom or grandma ever have one of these?  My little grandma never went anywhere without her little folded  rain hat in her purse.  

There was no way that my little Gram was going to let those rain drops ruin her blue hair color and permanent.

Not my grandma.
My grandma was much hotter.

Back to topic.  I go through stages when it comes to reading.  I will read an autobiography and then that's all I'll read for awhile. 

Loved this book.
Now that I read it, I consider myself one of Rob's closest friends.

I went through a historical fiction stage for almost a year.  I could not get enough Phillippa Gregory.

Thanks to Ms. Gregory, I had nightmares for years that I was going to be beheaded.

And then I went through the true story murder stage.  It  usually involved spouses.  The Mister would get very nervous whenever he saw me taking notes.

The past couple of books I have read were romances.  I'm a sucker for love stories.  For some reason, I have found myself reading books about teenage love.  I can't really understand it because I can't stand teenagers have a hard time understanding the teenage brain.  I couldn't even stand myself when I was a teen.  

If the love story makes me cry, all the better.  I enjoy a good solid sob that is prompted by a book or a movie.  However, I prefer to enjoy my cry in the privacy of my own home and all alone.  For almost 25 years, the Mister has asked me the same question.  Why are you reading that book / watching that movie if it makes you cry?  

If I Stay was very well written and well worth my tears.  I am waiting for the movie to come On Demand so I can watch it in the privacy of my own home while the Mister is at work. 

Amazon



The Mister and I truly enjoyed This Is Where I Leave You.  The casting is superb!  The movie captured all the complexities of adult children coming back to the family homestead and dealing with a parent's death.  It had some very funny moments as well as  a few touching ones.

I thought Jason Bateman was a stand-out in this ensemble.  But the real star of the film was Jane Fonda's body!  Holy guacamole she looks great for being in her 70's!  She looks great for any age!  

If I go dark for a few days, I will be in my basement opening all my moving boxes which haven't seen daylight in twenty years.  I will be knee-deep in crap collectibles in search of all my old Jane Fonda VHS tapes.  By the way, I don't think they have ever been opened either.

Hope your Thursday feels like a Friday!

Nantucket 2 & 3 Winners

Hello dear friends!  
I am happy to tell you that we have three winners of the 
Day By Day Hyaluronic Acid!

Denise Floy
Jamie Russell
Marly Zinsr

Congratulations Ladies!
  
Please contact: pamela@daybydaybeauty.com

*****

These photos are the last of our delightful day trip to Nantucket.  If you missed Part 1, you can find it here.  

My mother used to say no good deed goes unpunished.  Well, this applied to me on this trip and my entire life.  The evening before leaving, I charged my camera battery and my phone as well.  After taking about six pictures on the island, the camera battery died.  Who knows why.  Then a couple of hours later my phone went dark.  Just another day in blogger paradise.

I  did manage to use the last of the phone battery on this darling shop.  It is called Nantucket Monogram and located on Easy Street.

Talk about a preppy wonderland!

Love this bedding!

Great bag!  On my gotta have list for next year!

So cute!

Clogs AND monograms?  I'm in heaven!

One last stroll before we hop on the ferry!

If you have read Elin Hilderbrand's The Matchmaker, you know that much of the story takes place at the Chamber of Commerce. 

*****

Last, but certainly not least, I would like to wish my #2 a very happy 21st birthday.  

Dear #2...

Daddy and I couldn't be prouder of you.  You have a huge heart and and a loving spirit. You are the bravest person we know.  You have faced rough waters but have managed to sail through them with wisdom and grace. 

May you have many happy, healthy years ahead of you.

We love you!

M & D



Happy Hump Day!

Day By Day Giveaway

Hello dear friends.  Hope y'all had a good weekend.  The Mister and I had a very relaxing couple of days.  We did a little shopping, lunching, movie watching, and also went to a birthday party.  The surprise guest was a belly dancer!  I'm thinking about making belly dancing my new hobby.  I'm not doing anything, just thinking about it.

Awhile ago, I wrote a post about my new favorite beauty product. I still use Day by Day Vitamin C Serum faithfully twice a day.  It continues to do a great job shrinking my pores and plumping up my skin. You can read my blog  here.  And if you want to read all the information on the website, you can find it here.

So when Day By Day came out with a new product this summer, I was excited to try it.  I ordered the hyaluronic acid from Amazon.  I am on my second bottle and I am absolutely thrilled with it.  This little miracle in a bottle is a gel substance that is quickly absorbed into my skin.  My skin instantly feels smoother and tighter.  But the best part was it totally got rid of my milia - which is small flesh colored bumps on my cheeks.  You can read more about the benefits of this life changing product here.

Another great thing about these products is the price point.  Very reasonable and they also have a VIP program on their website that issues you a code for 20% off of every purchase.

I was so thrilled with Day By Day Hyaluronic Acid that I wrote a note to Pamela, the owner.  I asked her if she would be willing to do a give away on my blog.  She happily agreed to do a very generous one.  The give away is a bottle of Day By Day Hyaluronic Acid to three readers.
  
All you have to do to enter is:

* Leave a comment about the biggest issue you have with your skin.
*"like" PEN on facebook
*"like" Day By Day on facebook  

I have not been compensated in any way by Day By Day.  I just wanted to spread the word on one of my new favorite things.

The give away begins today at noon and ends on Wednesday at noon.

Good Luck!

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