Ghoulish Gatherings this Halloween with Personalization Mall #Halloween @PMallGifts

 Ghoulish Gatherings this Halloween with Personalization Mall

By Erin

*Disclosure: I received these items in exchange for this post. All thoughts and opinions expressed remain my own!*

Are you excited for the Halloween season yet? Halloween is just a few short days away, do you have everything you need or are you already thinking of how to go even more all out for Halloween next year? Personalization Mall has everything you need for that special Halloween look you’re going for. Here’s my collection of my favorite frightening gifts that cover all of your Halloween and Party needs, from customized decorations, to personalized candy bowls for your special trick-or-treaters, all the way down to the smaller details like personalized wine bottle labels for your ghoulish gatherings!

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Here are my top 5 items for this Halloween! 🙂

1) Disney® Personalized Maleficent Coffee Mug

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What better way to get in the Halloween Spirit every morning, than with Maleficent herself?! Maleficent is one of the most popular and recognizable Disney Villains, and she will help you curse those mornings and get through your day.

2) Halloween Welcome Mats

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There are some adorable Halloween Welcome Mats to choose from. Get your guests and trick-or-treaters in the mood for some Sweet Treats, while reminding them to wipe their feet! 😉

3) Vintage Halloween Personalized Wine Bottle Labels

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Looking for something different or unique to have at your next adult halloween party? Or as a very special hostess gift to take along to your next gathering? Take a look at these awesome freaky labels! The ghosts and ghouls attending your haunting party can take their pick of poison, fresh blood, or witch’s brew! Tasty! Which would you like to try first? 😉

4) Spider Web Personalized Stickers and Treat Boxes

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I saw these and knew they’d be perfect to hand out to the students that I tutor and teach as you can personalize them with the name of your choice. This would be perfect to hand out to friends, co-workers, or for kids to hand out to their classmates at school or to their good friends. I love the look and the colors in this, and it is the perfect size to put in some yummy holiday treats!

5) Trick Or Treat Have Some Sweets Personalized Candy Bowl

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Halloween wouldn’t be complete without the perfect bowl to put your Trick-Or-Treat sweets in! The bowl is VERY heavy, but it is very large as it will hold 5 quarts of your favorite treats! I love the saying on the bowl, “Trick or Treat, have some Sweets!” and the fun Halloween colors make it very festive. It is the perfect bowl to keep my candy in for all the trick or treaters that come by.

I think we are all set for Halloween now! What are your “Must Haves” for the Halloween season?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 🙂

Knott’s Berry Farm’s Boysenberry Festival & Giveaway #KnottsSpring @Knotts

Knott’s Berry Farm’s Boysenberry Festival

By Erin

*This is written by me for GigaSavvy. I do not work for or with any brand mentioned in this article, nor do I have any official relationship with them. I’ll be attending a media event for the Knott’s Berry Farm Boysenberry Festival with complementary passes. All thoughts and opinions remain my own.*

Boysenberry Pie. Boysenberry Lattes. Boysenberry Trifles. Oh my! Now all we need is a glass of boysenberry wine! As a foodie at heart, Knott’s Spring is my all time favorite time of year here at Knott’s Berry Farm, because of all the fresh and tasty bites and sips to choose from. This is one fun spring food fest that you won’t want to miss! You can celebrate this spring during Knott’s Berry Farm’s Boysenberry Festival that is harvested in the theme park’s historic Ghost Town. From March 28th- April 12th, 2015, this 16-day festival returns with an unforgettable lineup of exquisite Boysenberry Bites, dazzling entertainment, gourmet food and the Wine and Craft Brew Tasting Garden, plus the limited time return of the classic Bear-y Tales characters in a pie making kitchen, and more!

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Ghost Town: The History

A little bit of fun history about Knott’s that you may not know, as this fun festival celebrates its roots. Back in the 1930s, Walter Knott harvested the boysenberry, which is a cross between a loganberry, red raspberry and blackberry. It was named after its originator Rudolph Boysen. All boysenberries in the world can trace their roots back to Knott’s Berry Farm. That’s pretty neat!

Boysenberry Plants This spring you can purchase authentic boysenberry plants from Walter & Cordelia Knott’s Original Roadside Boysenberry Stand (recreated for the special event). The Knott family sold freshly picked boysenberries from the original stand. Guests can capture the moment and the memories at boysenberry themed stand-in cutouts, like wanted posters, a boysenberry farming family and more. Watch special demonstrations including a chainsaw wood sculpting, glass blowing and blacksmithing. Meet the Ghost Town’s mayor, Mayor Desmond Ryder and his lovely wife, Josephine. From day to night, Ghost Town has never looked so lively.

Tasty Boysenberry Treats to Try

Knott's Spring

Deep Fried Alligator Pieces & Fries with Boysenberry Aioli

Fried Cheese Curds paired with a Spicy Boysenberry Dipping Sauce

Craft Beer and Wine VendorsBoysenberry wine and Belgium Boysenberry Beer, located inside of Ghost Town’s Wilderness Dance Hall, will feature an assortment of wine and craft brew labels, in addition to a variety of boysenberry inspired gourmet food that’s just bursting with flavor.

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Boysenberry Trifle (vanilla cake piece, frozen boysenberry, soft serve ice cream, and whipped cream)

Berry Market™ Boysenberry BBQ Sauce smothered on an assortment of other delectable treats (an original Knott’s Berry Farm creation)

Fish and chips sandwich with boysenberry tartar sauce

Boysenberry ICEE Floats

Boysenberry Frappuccino and Latte (served at the new Gourmet Coffee Hut which proudly serves Starbucks drinks)

And more!

You can find more charbroiled treats cooked on open-air barbeques throughout the streets of the festival. Additional fee for tastings. Guests who want to take home the exquisite sauce can do so by stopping by the Berry Market, General Store in Ghost Town or by visiting knotts.com.

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Flowers, And Candy And Hearts, Oh My

Flowers, And Candy And Hearts, Oh My

By Erin

Vaelntine’s Day can be a sticky subject for many. People either love it, hate it, or could just care less. Those that have someone to spend it with may love it. Those that are single may hate it and have Anti-Valentine’s Day Parties or refer to the day as “Single’s Awareness Day.”

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Being single myself, I can’t really say the day has much meaning to me right now. I am my own Valentine.

The times I have been in a relationship though,  I haven’t minded it. It was nice to have someone to spend it with, but I would rather have my Valentine  365 days a year for the rest of my life. Not just on one very commercialized holiday to do something special to show my Valentine I care and to tell them that I love them. It should be something you do throughout the year because you want to and truly love and cherish the one you’re with. Not because some holiday tells you that you are supposed to do this.

In conjunction with the whole #putitintheuniverse idea, this is me putting it out there, on the things I’d love my future Valentine to do for me or with me any day of the year.

Until then, I’ll just be treating myself to a few of these things when I can.

Happy Valentines Day 2015

 1) Spa Day

What girl doesn’t love a good spa day? A day filled with relaxation, a facial, massage, manicure and pedicure sounds wonderful to me!

Burke Williams has a package that pretty much covers this. 😉

True Love

Indulge in a Spa Pedicure with a 50-minute Pure Relaxation massage with enhancement -and- a 50-minute Spa Style Facial with peel. Just $259 (regularly $328), $279 in San Francisco (regularly $360).

Glen Ivy Hot Springs is also a wonderful place to spend a spa day laying out by one of the pools, enjoying some spa treatments, and a healthy snack or lunch.

Spa Day

 

2) A Special Meal Together (Dinner, Brunch, Lunch)

Wether it’s dinner, brunch, lunch or breakfast; as long as you’re together to enjoy a great meal at a place you love or are curious to explore is sure to create a special moment. Here are a few of my favorite places (I have MANY favorites!!) that I have had the pleasure to be able to dine out at. From left to right: Club 33 at Disneyland, Darren’s in Manhattan Beach, and Dominique’s Kitchen in Redondo Beach.

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3) A Getaway Weekend

Taking a drive up the coast to one of the central California cities of Pismo Beach, Morro Bay, Cambria, Carmel or San Luis Obispo is always a special and romantic weekend in my book. The beach, amazing food, wine tasting, horseback riding, shopping, just exploring to see what new things you can find, whatever your hearts desire, you can probably find it somewhere around one of these places. Santa Barbara, San Diego, Mammoth, Big Bear, the river, and Vegas also make for some fun quick getaway weekends in California. No matter where you live though, each state has it’s own unique places and cities to check out. What are some locals you enjoy visiting?

A couple of my favorite places to stay at for a weekend away include:

The Madonna Inn: A very quirky and unique place, with an amazing steak house and spa complete with infinity pool. Each room is different, no two are alike.

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Blue Dolphin Inn of Cambria Inns: For an amazing ocean view and for some equally amazing sunsets; stay at the Blue Dolphin Inn. With breakfast, fireplaces, and the ocean just outside your door, you won’t want to leave this beach paradise.

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4)Flowers

I’m always a sucker for a beautiful arrangement of flowers. I love nature and pretty things, I spend much time in my own garden, taking care of the roses, flowers, and fruit trees. It’s nice to be able to take some of this beauty and bring it indoors, even if it’s only for a short bit. My favorite place to ever have gotten flowers from is Disney Floral & Gifts. A little bit of magic and pixie dust just makes it that much more special.

Flowers

5) Chocolates/Favorite Candies

A sweet treat can brighten up any day. One of my favorite kinds of Chocolates I’ve EVER had is from this place, called Pure Madness Chocolate. It’s heaven in a box…. seriously.

Chocolates

6) Wine/Beer Tasting

Wine or beer tasting always leads to a fun adventure. Find some new favorites or revisit  some old loves. No matter where you live, you should be able to find a winery or a tasting room not too far away. One of my favorite places to go around here is to Malibu for some wine tasting. It makes for a beautiful drive, and there are many wonderful wineries and eateries (since you’ll need something to go with all that wine or beer 😉 to choose from. A little bit farther away, but still doable for a day trip in Southern California, is in Temecula, there are many great places to choose from there as well. Cheers!

Wine Tasting

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