Karen Mendes

NEW Black Stainless KitchenAid Suite of Appliances at Best Buy – Just In Time for the Holidays!

NEW Black Stainless KitchenAid Suite of Appliances at Best Buy – Just In Time for the Holidays!

Disclaimer: The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free. Best Buy has a new suite of Black Stainless KitchenAid appliances in stores now, just in time for the holidays.  I know I'd love a new look in my kitchen and I'm all about being practical for holiday gifts so this would definitely make me happy! Now you may be thinking, what is the difference between black stainless appliances and just regular black appliances, besides the price tag?  The KitchenAid black appliances have a softer, warmer look than the traditional stainless steel without the shine of regular black appliances.  The are designed...

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Disney’s Queen of Katwe

Disney’s Queen of Katwe

  While in Los Angeles last month for the Pete's Dragon event, I had the opportunity to attend an advanced screening of Queen of Katwe starting Lupita Nyong’o. It's an amazing story of a young girl from Uganda named Phiona, who falls in love with the game of chess.  She gets it in a way that most don't and before long, her coach realizes she can achieve so much due to her ability to play chess like no other. Her mother Harriet, who is played by Lupita Nyong’o, is a single mother with a very strong will who works hard for her family.  She doesn't understand how chess can help her daughter and doesn't see why she should let her continue to learn from this coach. Phiona is an amazing...

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Turbo Jet 2-in-1 Building Set from K’NEX

Turbo Jet 2-in-1 Building Set from K’NEX

Turbo Jet 2-in-1 Building Set Build a supersonic jet, then build a heli-plane with rotating propellers. Over 400 K'NEX rods & connectors are included, plus a battery-powered motor. Build a jet with motorized, rolling wheels and an open-and-close cockpit! Then take it apart and build a heli-plane with working, motorized propellers that you can adjust to spin vertically or horizontally. All K'NEX rods & connectors are proudly made in the USA. This toy is recommended for builders ages 7 and older and sells for $29.99.  It requires 2 AA batteries, not included.  You can find it in stores now!

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Revvin’ Race Car 2-In-1 Building Set from K’NEX

Revvin’ Race Car 2-In-1 Building Set from K’NEX

Revvin' Race Car 2-In-1 Building Set Build a revvin' racecar, then build a powerful ATV. Includes 370 K'NEX rods & connectors are included, plus a battery-powered motor. Build a super-fast, motorized racecar! Then take it apart and build a powerful motorized ATV than can take on tough terrain. All K'NEX rods & connectors are proudly made in the USA. This toy is recommended for builders ages 7 and older and sells for $29.99.  It requires 2 AA batteries, not included.  You can find it in stores now!

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Hot Snapple® Tea Stock Up Sale at Walmart

Hot Snapple® Tea Stock Up Sale at Walmart

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SnappleRollback #CollectiveBias   I like to have drinks on hand for when we are heading out to a sporting event.  Plus I love a good stock up sale and Walmart has a great one on Snapple right now. Stock Up on Snapple 64 Oz. Peach, Diet Peach, and Kiwi Strawberry- Buy 2/$3 on Rollback at Walmart! Buy your favorite Snapple flavors for only $1.50/64 Oz. bottle (originally $1.98) from now until November 30th. Don’t miss out on your chance to enjoy more of your favorite Snapple drinks when you shop at Walmart! Make Time for Snapple!

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Storm Reid Cast as Meg Murry in Disney’s A WRINKLE IN TIME!!

Storm Reid Cast as Meg Murry in Disney’s A WRINKLE IN TIME!!

The Walt Disney Studios is at it again with another great book that will soon be on the big screen!  They announced today that 13-year-old Storm Reid will play the lead role of Meg Murry in the upcoming Disney live action adaptation of Madeleine L'Engle’s A WRINKLE IN TIME!!!   Said director Ava DuVernay,"After an extensive search that spanned multiple dimensions, we're overjoyed to welcome Storm Reid to WRINKLE IN TIME as our beloved "Meg." Storm is a tremendously talented young actress who embodies the hopes, dreams and spirit of a character much loved by audiences worldwide for generations. I can't wait to work with Storm as we chronicle Meg's epic quest, alongside Oprah Winfrey,...

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

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...

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We Use It! Charmin Essentials Soft and Strong

We Use It! Charmin Essentials Soft and Strong

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®...

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

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

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!!...

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Tips for Saving Money on What You Buy

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...

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How to Use Accent Lighting in the Home

How to Use Accent Lighting in the Home

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...

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The Bare Necessities of our Lives #JungleBookBluray

The Bare Necessities of our Lives #JungleBookBluray

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...

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How to Tell Flea-Market Trash from Treasure

How to Tell Flea-Market Trash from Treasure

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...

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Things to do after hitting a parked car

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...

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The Bare Necessities of our Lives #JungleBookBluray

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

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...

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