Karen Mendes

Some Tidbits on Disney’s MOANA & Preview of INNER WORKINGS Short! #PetesDragonEvent

While in LA last month for the Pete's Dragon premiere (if you haven't seen it, it was AMAZING!!) I had the chance to learn a little bit about Disney's MOANA which will be in theaters November 23, 2016. I was already looking forward to seeing MOANA this fall, but after talking about the movie with Amy Smeed, Head of Animation, Dave Pimentel, Head of Story, Dave Derrick, Story Artist, “Mini Maui” Animation Supervisor Eric Goldberg and Development Sr. Creative Exec Jessica Julius, now I really can't wait! I love getting an "inside scoop" on Disney movies, my kids think I'm a super star when I come back and tell them about my adventures! From what they shared with us, I really think...

We Use It! Charmin Essentials Soft and Strong

by Karen Mendes | Product Review | 0 Comments

There are certain brands that we never stray from and toilet paper is one of them. I grew up using Charmin and since I left my parents house many years ago, I've tried other brands but I keep coming back to the same thing and that's Charmin! Charmin has some new products in stores right now – Charmin Essentials Soft and Charmin Essentials Strong. Charmin Essentials Strong provides a bigger Charmin roll at a Scott 1000-like price* and Charmin Essentials Soft provides Charmin-like softness at an Angel Soft-like price. Charmin® Essentials Soft &Charmin® Essentials Strong are clog-safe and septic-safe with 3x the strength so you can feel your cleanest. Charmin®...

Disney Princess Fans : All the Princess Movies are Coming out of the Vault!!

by Karen Mendes | Disney News, Kid Stuff | 0 Comments

For all of your Disney Princess lovers, for the first time in like EVER, all of the Princess movies will be released from the vault and sold at the same time!!! Now through October 17, 2016 you will find all the princess movies in your local stores. It's the perfect time to complete your Disney Princess Collection or start one for your favorite little princess! This has never happened before and it may not happen again. We are super excited because even though my girls are 11 and 9 they still love the Princesses! My oldest LOVES Belle so I'll be getting her the 25th Anniversary edition of Beauty and the Beast on Blu-ray™ (Out Sept. 20th) for Christmas. She's going to be so excited!!...

Tips for Saving Money on What You Buy

by Karen Mendes | Tips | 0 Comments

Everyone seems stressed by money these days. No matter how hard you work, it seems, it’s very difficult to make enough money to get ahead. In fact, recent studies have shown that if a person or family has an unexpected $400 expense, most people will have to sell something or borrow the money from friends or family to pay that bill. So how do smart consumers make sure that their money goes a long way? They follow the tips below: Savvy Shopping is as Easy as 1-2-3 When you are looking to make a special purchase, it often pays to browse in the real world and shop online for the best deal. Let’s take a purchase of expensive running shoes as an example. Shop at a local shoe discount warehouse...

How to Use Accent Lighting in the Home

by Karen Mendes | Tips | 0 Comments

You might think you don’t pay much attention to lighting, but you do, we all do. Lighting affects our mood and how we interpret space. Think about some of the establishments you have visited. In your memory, does the lighting look the same? Probably not. Let’s use a gambling casino and fast-food chain restaurant as an example. Casinos are generally dark with some large, hanging overhead lights. There is no natural light to speak of. Why? Because if you aren’t able to decipher the time of day, you’ll sit in your chair and continue to gamble. What you thought was gambling for an hour was six, but because the light never changed, you weren’t able to tell. Fast food restaurants work...

The Bare Necessities of our Lives #JungleBookBluray

by Karen Mendes | Disney News | 0 Comments

In honor of the blu-ray release of The Jungle Book this week, I thought I'd share with my readers some of the Bare Necessities in our family. Family is truly the most important thing to me, and over the past 2 years I've realized it more and more. One thing I haven't shared too much on the blog is my husband's cancer diagnosis. We found out in June 2014 that he had stage 4 colon cancer, which is unfortunately terminal. At that point we took a long hard look at our lives and figured out what was truly important to us - or in other words the bare necessities that we needed in our lives. Time Together We never enjoyed time together before, the way we do now. After his diagnosis, he and I...

How to Tell Flea-Market Trash from Treasure

by Karen Mendes | Frugal Ideas, Tips | 0 Comments

The flea market is a fun and exciting place that offers an experience like no other. It’s like an organized garage sale where you can get handcrafted items that are unavailable anywhere else in the world, or great second-hand items at incredibly fair prices. But, not all items are of authentic quality – so how are you supposed to know the difference? Don’t Be Afraid to Get Dirty There’s a reason that your local flea market offers such great prices when compared to brick-and-mortar retail stores. They’re dirty, dusty and often unorganized – but that’s part of the fun of treasure hunting! Would Indiana Jones have found the Ark if he was scared of getting messy? Okay, so you might not find an...

Things to do after hitting a parked car

by Karen Mendes | Tips | 0 Comments

Accidents happen and many of them involve parked vehicles. According to data analyzed in a 2009 Allstate Insurance study, 69 percent of hit and run accidents in the U.S. involve parked cars. Being involved in an accident isn’t a crime. You commit a crime when you leave the scene of the accident. If you’ve hit a parked car, there are several things you should do – one of the first is to calm down. Hitting a parked car happens to many people. You’re not the first and certainly won’t be the last. Things to do after hitting a parked car Don’t leave the scene – it’s against the law It’s against the law in every U.S. state to leave the scene of an accident, even if it involves a parked car. It...

The Jungle Book Blu-ray Exclusive – Interview with Brigham Taylor and Rob Legato

by Karen Mendes | Blog Trips, Disney News, Entertainment | 0 Comments

The Jungle Book was originally made in 1967. I saw it years ago when I was a little girl, but the songs are still in my head many years later. I was pretty excited when I heard they were remaking a live action version and so were my kids. They knew the songs, but had never seen the movie. Disclosure: I received an all expenses paid trip to LA. While there I interview talent from behind the scenes of The Jungle Book. No one told me what to say or how to think. These are all my words and 100% my own thoughts! Interview with Brigham Taylor and Rob Legato While in LA earlier this month for the Pete's Dragon premiere, myself along with 24 other bloggers, sat down to talk with producer...

Talking with Wes Bentley from Pete’s Dragon on Being the Nice Guy for a Change

by Karen Mendes | Blog Trips, Disney News, Entertainment | 0 Comments

Pete's Dragon has to be one of my favorite movies right now. Not only is it a great movie about finding your family and where you belong, but it has a great cast of actors and actresses! Hopefully you've been following along and have read all the exclusive tidbits I've shared with you. My last interview for this movie is with the very handsome Wes Bentley. Another very down to earth actor who I really enjoyed listening to (and looking at!). Disclosure: I received an all expenses paid trip to LA for the Pete’s Dragon premiere and junket. No one told me what to say or how to think. These are all my words and 100% my own thoughts! Wes Bentley from Pete's Dragon Wes Bentley plays Jack...

Oakes Fegley & Oona Laurence from Pete’s Dragon talk Dragon Snot and Life After the Movie

by Karen Mendes | Blog Trips, Disney News, Entertainment | 0 Comments

While I was in LA last week for the Pete's Dragon premiere, I had the chance to sit down with the young stars of Pete's Dragon - Oakes Fegley and Oona Laurence. Below you can read about these stars from Pete's Dragon talk dragon snot and what their favorite Disney movie is. These two kids are amazing and so smart. Acting has not gone to their heads at all and they are down to earth, pretty normal kids. We also talked to them about their roles in the movie, what they are doing next and what they loved about making this film. Disclosure: I received an all expenses paid trip to LA for the Pete’s Dragon premiere and junket. No one told me what to say or how to think. These are all my...

Diet Dr Pepper® Summer FUNd Sweepstakes at Walmart

by Karen Mendes | HOT Deals, Summer, Sweepstakes | 0 Comments

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Diet Dr Pepper®. The opinions and text are all mine. We are trying to have the most fun we can this summer. One way we know how to do it best is by entertaining. We have a nice in ground pool and I fixed up my deck area this summer. It was in need of a paint job, the deck needed to be stained. It needed a makeover for sure! My husband told me to do what I want, so I did! It went from this.... To this..... Huge difference, right?! The yellow and the blue from the first picture were fading big time and it just didn't look good anymore. And the white was so dirty, no matter how much I washed it, it just didn't look clean...

Read about why Bryce Dallas Howard Reads Blogs and her Role in Pete’s Dragon

by Karen Mendes | Blog Trips, Disney News, Entertainment | 0 Comments

While in LA for the Pete's Dragon premiere, we also sat down with Bryce Dallas Howard and talked about her role in the movie, going to New Zealand, reading blogs and more. She's not only beautiful but she's so nice and down to earth. She was actually upset that we had to end the interview because she enjoyed talking with us! Disclosure: I received an all expenses paid trip to LA for the Pete’s Dragon premiere and junket. No one told me what to say or how to think. These are all my words and 100% my own thoughts! Bryce Dallas Howard Reads Blogs Not everyone is Hollywood is aware of what we do as bloggers. Some have never read a blog and are sometimes a bit confused on it. But not...

Pete’s Dragon Movie Review – Some Secrets are Too Big To Keep

by Karen Mendes | Blog Trips, Disney News, Entertainment | 1 Comment

Pete's Dragon is nothing like the original, so if you haven't seen it that is OKAY! You can still go see this one and know what's going on. So read on for my Pete's Dragon Movie Review and some great images as well! Disclosure: I received an all expenses paid trip to LA for the Pete’s Dragon premiere and junket. No one told me what to say or how to think. These are all my words and 100% my own thoughts! Pete's Dragon Movie Review While in LA this past weekend, I attended the world premiere of Pete's Dragon. (Make sure you read about the fun I had at the Pete's Dragon movie premiere too!) I couldn't wait to see this movie from the first time I saw the trailer. It stars Robert Redford...

Pete’s Dragon World Premiere in LA!

by Karen Mendes | Blog Trips, Disney News, Entertainment | 3 Comments

Monday night I was in LA for the world premiere of Pete's Dragon. I was invited to walk the green carpet (instead of red!) and attend the pre-party at the famous Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Blvd. I've stayed at the Roosevelt before so I was excited to be back there because it's beautiful and has so much history inside! Disclosure: I received an all expenses paid trip to LA for the Pete's Dragon premiere and junket. No one told me what to say or how to think. These are all my words and 100% my own thoughts! There was a lot going on but the first thing I did was take a ride with my friend Elliot. Who is Elliot? Why he's the dragon in Pete's Dragon and he was there giving...

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