Here's To You

The holidays are around the corner and so are plenty of holiday parties and entertaining. That means it's time to start thinking about menus. Courtesy of Fine Living: Food and Drink, here are quite a few holiday spirits from which you can choose to use during your festivities!

10 Toasty, Cold-Weather Cocktails
Hot "Rasapple-Rum" Cider
My Mama's Marvelous Mulled Wine
Chai Yai Yai
Cocoa Raspberry Heaven
and six more

10 Holiday Cocktails
Creme Brulee Martini
Gingerbread Martini
White Christmas
Pumpkin Martini
and six more

9 Hot Winter Cocktails
Nutty Irishman
Cranberry Hot Toddies
Vanilla Hot Chocolate Seduction
and six more

I'm all about the drinks with Bailey's Irish Creme. Hmmm... I can taste it now!

If for some reason you can't find a toddy in those 29 suggestions, try Bar.com. You are sure to find a recipe at a site with that name!

411 Wristband Winner

Congratulations to Lisa D. of Idaho for winning one free set of the Mabel's Label's 411 Wristbands! We hope she loves them. Thank you again to Mabel's Labels for sponsoring the giveaway.

Murder In Malibu

I've always wanted to do one of those Murder Mystery parties, but the ones you see at game stores seem a bit... well, tacky. Recently, I came across M3, Murder Mystery Maniacs. There are a ton of murder mysteries to choose from. First, you can pick from Corporate Murder Mystery Events to Murder Mystery Parties to Teen Murder Mystery Parties. From there the options are plenty. Under the Murder Mystery Parties you will find 1920's Mobster Mystery, The Halloween Horror, The Bad Santa, a Murder in Malibu, Murder at Midnight (for New Years), Man Overboard, The American Icon (based off American Idol), and The Office (based off the TV show characters) just to name a few. Who would play Dwight from The Office at your party?

The Murder In Malibu sounds like loads of fun.
"You are going to Jay Leno’s posh mansion in Hollywood for his annual Guest Appreciation Party. Everyone in attendance has either been a guest on show... A scream rang out. Jay Leno was found collapsed in the wine cellar and pronounced dead from a gun shot wound. One of you is the killer and the rest of you need to find out who it is. When you have found someone with a motive, a gun, and who was near the wine cellar this evening, then you may have discovered the true killer. "
You may invite 10-50 people to this party. Here are a few examples of the Actors that might be invited.

RICHARD SIMMONS - the famous exercise enthusiast. Come dressed in x-small red andwhite striped shorts, with a red tank top. Don’t forget your sweat band and pearly white Reeboks. (OMG, I already know who I would send this invite to and have them come as Richard Simmons! What a riot.)

JACK NICHOLSON – the famous actor. You are on fire after the hit, The Shining. Come
dressed in khaki pants & Tommy Bahama Shirt. Don’t forget your shades and Cheshire grin.

MICK JAGGER – the famous Rolling Stones singer. You should come and dress like the
#1 rocker you are. Tattoos, sleeveless t-shirts, and bandanas make nice accessories!


MADONNA – the famous pop-star. Come dressed in either clothing reminiscent of the
eighties or go for Madonna’s current look, which tends to be a track suit of some kind. Aviator
sunglasses would be a nice touch.

MARTHA STEWART – the famous talk-show host. Come dressed in a sweater poncho
and your nicest pair of khakis. A button stating INMATE OF THE YEAR would be a nice addition.



The M3 website contains a ton of information about invitations, how to run the party, what to read to guests, props, what a party might look like. Once you click on a party, click View Online Sample on the left. A document will pop up with all the informaiton you'll need to know for that party.

For your next party, try the Murder Mystery Maniacs and see how zany and fun it really is!

411 Wristband Giveaway

Reminder: today is the last day to enter for the Mabel's Label's Giveaway!

Carve It Up

The last two years, I've posted this around Halloween. Kids seem to really enjoy it.

Let your kids carve this virtual pumpkin by vidugiris.com and your kitchen stays nice and clean. The kiddos can enjoy a few minutes of fun by creating a bunch of funny and scary faces on the pumpkin. They could even use this as a templet. Once they create a face they love, make note of it and carve it on to your real pumpkin.

Click the pumpkin to get started with your drawing tool. Once you see your drawing tool, left click and drag to make different shapes. When the Picasso in you is finished, click Done to see your pumpkin all lit up!

Happy Halloween!

MIL Day + Giveaway

Today is Mothers-in-law Day.
In all honesty I had absolutely no idea this day even existed (sorry Kate), until I came across the book The Daughter-in-law Rules by Sally Shields. Sally wrote this book after her own life experiences of constantly being at odds with her mother-in-law. She decided to take matters into her own hands and "give in" once she "realized the bond between a mother and her son is impenetrable and there was no way in Kalamazoo [she] was going to get him to take sides."

After reading this book, my first reaction was, "Wow, I'm pretty dang lucky. I have a good relationship with my mother-in-law. Of course there are a few things in the book to which I can relate, but man I can't imagine going through life being at odds like this with my mother-in-law." However, I quickly remembered quite a few of my friends and their stories regarding their mothers-in-law. So, I know this book definitely resonates with many, many daughters-in-law out there. And if this is you, keep reading you will enjoy this! Here are a few snippets from the book, The Daughter-in-law Rules.

"By No Means Criticize Your Husband To Your MIL.
Even if you are especially mad at your mate, do not tell your MIL about it. She may not (D’UH!) take your side and you will end up feeling far worse than before. Save your marital gripes for your girlfriends, your own mother, or better yet, your trusty Daughter-in-Law Solutions Worksheet. (Just apply it to your husband!)"

"Tell Your MIL What a Great Job She Did As a Mother.
And truly mean it! After all, you chose to marry her son! This will most likely bring her to tears."

"Send Thank You Notes To Your MIL.
No matter what the gift, make sure you send your MIL a handwritten note to express your appreciation. But just in case she says, 'Whatever you do, DON’T send me Thank You cards! We're family!' a simple phone call will suffice. And be happy that she finally considers you part of the family unit!"

Giveaway Alert!
Would you like a copy of The Daughter-in-law Rules by Sally Shields? All you have to do is email me by Friday, October 31st: reachus@emilyallyn.com. In the subject type DIL Rules. We'll pick 5 winners to receive a free e-book.

Last thought: if today is Mothers-in-law Day, it begs the question, is there a daughters-in-law Day? I Googled it and found nothing. Silly me, of course not. Is there a Kid's Day? Every day is Kid's Day. So maybe every day is Daughters-in-law day. What do you think, Kate?!!? (Kate would be my mother-in-law.)

A Nod To The Oval Crib

Sometimes you just need to throw the word practical right out the door. Round/oval cribs are impractical because you have to use the mattress and sheets shown with the crib. What if you use the crib for your second child and you don't like those sheets anymore? Not to mention the cribs are always well over $1000. But they are adorable and a fresh perspective on the crib, not to mention everyone will always comment on how fun and different it is. Plus, because they are a bit spendy, you can bet your bottom it is made well and will last.

The crib pictured above is from Land of Nod and called the Stokke Sleeep Sleepi System 1. You don't necessarily have to throw the word practical out the door when using this system. As my youngest would say, "It's magic." It conforms from a bassinet, to a crib, to a toddler bed. It sells for $1249, but this crib includes 2 mattress sizes - one for use as a crib/toddler bed and one for use as a bassinet. Now that's a deal! To use as a toddler bed, you simply place the mattress position on the lowest level and remove one of the side panels (shown below). And to use as a bassinet, you move the matress position to the highest level and remove both side panels (becomes a circle bassinet, not shown).

I also need to mention it has wheels. If you've never purchased a crib before, make sure you buy one with wheels. Trust me the first time you try to change those sheets, you will be thankful you have those wheels to easily move that crib away from the wall. If you have someone who changes the sheets for you, think about making their life easier and get the wheels!

• Beechwood construction
• Eco-friendly
• Four adjustable mattress heights
• Lockable wheels
• Assembly required
• Stained Espresso or painted White

Land of Nod. Love that store.

Going Once, Going Twice...

50% off our little democrat and little republican onesies and tees!

This is your last chance to grab one. Once they are gone, they are gone. Get yours today; our stock is getting slimmer and slimmer.

If you are still undecided, heck get both. Then don the winner after the election and show your pride!

You read it right, 50% off!

411 + Giveaway

These wristbands by Mabel's Labels could be a life saver, literally. Imagine yourself and your child(ren) at the park, the mall, the amusement park, on a field trip, or at Disney World. Now imagine yourself digging in your purse for your wallet. Where is it? You can't find it. And you dig some more. You know it's in there. There's your sunglasses. There's your lipstick. There are your keys. There are some wipes. "Uggg, where is it?" You mumble to yourself. "Oh, there it is." You look up from your purse and say, "found it, Sarah, let's go honey. Sarah?" You look around and you can not locate Sarah. A few minutes pass while you are frantically looking, looking, looking. Just then your cell phone rings. "Mrs. Anderson? I have your daughter, she is safe. We are outside of the Starbucks. Great idea, by the way, to have that wristband on her." You can image how you feel now.

Yes, it is a scenario I hope you never have to live through. And I know you'd rather not think about it. So, instead of thinking about it become proactive and check out the 411 wristbands from Mabel's Labels. The concept is smart and useful; they are resistant to water, sunscreen, chlorine and perspiration You can label your wristbands with "If lost, please call:" and list your phone numbers. And you can always add any pertinent allergies or special needs your child might have.

Some people might argue they don't like putting their child's name on anything for fear of the worst outcome from the scenario described above. It's a personal preference. You decide what to put on your labels. My two favorite are the Treasure Hunt and The Summer Day designs.

They have a ton of other labels on their site that are very useful. Another great asset to this mom-run business is 10% of all wristbands sales goes to the organization Autism Speaks.

Giveaway Alert!

The kind people at Mabel's Labels are giving away one set of 30 wristbands to one lucky Emily Allyn reader. You get to pick your design and you get to decide what you want on the label. Woo hoo! It's worth $21.00, but it's yours for free!

What you need to do:

Easy. Go to our Tell A Friend page and tell at least one friend about our Emily Allyn shopping site. That's it! The only thing I ask, please tell a "real" friend (do not use another email address owned by you). And of course you can tell as many friends as you like! As always, I will not contact that friend unless they sign up for our newsletter.

The giveaway will end Tuesday, October 28th at 11:59 pm. The winner will be notified by email. (I will have your email from the telling a friend form.)

Good luck!

One Person's Trash...

Is another person's piece of art.

We all have trash. It's smelly, it's icky, and it's unsightly... until now. Make your trash into a piece of art, whether it's in your yard, driveway, or your store's garbage. The pink with white polka dot bags are a fun way to say, "Yes, like you I have trash, but at least I know how to make it pretty." These vibrant, large, 55 gallon, bags are made with biodegradable PVC. That is huge. But that's not all. They even come scented. Cover up that damn Diaper Genie smell or the fish you had for dinner last night.

Fall is here. After raking up all those leaves and jumping in them with your kids, pile the leaves into one of these fashionable bags. While they sit outside and wait for the trash collector, your lawn or driveway will look better than your neighbor's. And your trash collector might even thank you for giving his truck a makeover.

Umi Shoes Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to Marlena of Davenport, IA! She is the winner of our Emily Allyn and Umi Shoes Giveaway. Marlena will be receiving one pair of the cute black leather Ithica Shoe in a size 10 (USA)!

Thanks to everyone who participated.

Watch next week for our next giveaway - of course you'll love it!

American Girl

I have two boys, so please be grateful that I am posting this :)

If you live in Minnesota or plan on visiting the Twin Cities any time soon and you have little girls, you will be thrilled to know American Girl is coming to the Mall of America. What took them so long? No idea.

The Grand Opening is November 15-16, 2008. Just in time for Christmas. How timely.

While you are shopping you may also enjoy a bistro offering brunch, lunch, and dinner. Girls may celebrate birthday parties or special occasions. If your American Girl doll needs a hair stylist, one will be present in the hair salon. Other special events will be taking place, you may learn about more at the American Girl website.

Now, on to Tom Petty's version of American Girl.
Sing it with me:
"Well she was an american girl
Raised on promises
She couldnt help thinkin that there
Was a little more to life..."

Umi Shoes + Giveaway

You have until tomorrow - Tuesday, October 5th - to enter our Umi Shoes Giveaway.
Hurry, don't miss out!

Debate

My thoughts on the debate. You may not have asked, but you will get them! If you would rather not read this or do not agree with me, that is fine. I believe everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Feel free to scroll down to my other fabulous posts.

Let's face it, the bar was set pretty low for Governor Sarah Palin. I agree with the political analysts, this was not a train wreck for her. However, after the Couric interview she really didn't have anywhere to go but up. In my opinion she started out pretty strong, but in the last half hour she became tiresome, a bit of a broken record, and some of the cutesy winks and comments became more apparent.

If you haven't watched the Couric interview, watch it. If for no other reason, so you know to what others are referring. There are 3 short clips to watch. (To make the screen bigger, click the icon with the squares inside the circle found in the bottom right hand of the video area.)


First Thought
It was interesting to me when Palin made the comment during the debate about not doing more interviews with "mainstreem media" - referring to the Couric interview. But I ask you, as vice president isn't it important to be able to speak intelligently to the American people and to the leaders of other countries? Sarah Palin will not be afforded the opportunity to practice her speeches and debate tactics for one to two days every time she speaks to the American people and the leaders of other countries. She will be asked questions like she was in the Couric interview. That is the reality.

Does Senator Biden give the best interviews? No. He can get long-winded and repeat himself over and over again. But just as the political commentators were surprised that Palin was not a train wreck, they were surprised that Biden kept his answers brief.

Second Thought
Palin also said to Biden, "I may not answer the questions that either the moderator or you want to hear, but I'm going to talk straight to the American people and let them know my track record." Aren't you supposed to answer the questions posed to you in a debate? Isn't that the point of a debate, to debate the issues raised? Some may say it is an "art" to skirt the issues and talk about what you want to talk about in a debate. But that's not what America wants to hear. They want the answers to the questions asked, period.

Joe Biden answered almost every question asked of him before coming back to the issue of his choice.

Third Thought
Getting to the end of the debate, Palin expressed her views on the job of the vice president, believing, like Cheney, the vice president can exert more power when needed, "Yeah, so I do agree with him [Cheney] that we have a lot of flexibility in there, and we'll do what we have to do to administer very appropriately the plans that are needed for this nation." It is scary she would say that not to mention a bit naive.

Biden's response where he finally shows some tough emotion, "Vice President Cheney has been the most dangerous vice president we've had probably in American history... The only authority the vice president has from the legislative standpoint is the vote, only when there is a tie vote. He has no authority relative to the Congress. The idea he's part of the Legislative Branch is a bizarre notion invented by Cheney to aggrandize the power of a unitary executive and look where it has gotten us. It has been very dangerous."

Fourth Thought
I may sound like I am being harsh with Governor Palin. Truth is, as a woman, I honestly did not want her to fall flat on her face and relive her Couric interview. As Geraldine Ferraro said after the debate, "I wanted my granddaughters to be able to look at this debate... and see that a woman could go toe to toe with someone who has had tremendous experience in the Senate and someone who is an incredible candidate for vice president of the United States. That to me is very very important." I concur.

Fifth Thought
Another woman, an undecided voter, who was interviewed after the debate said of Palin, "I like her. She just seems like someone I could sit down at a table with and have a fun conversation." I've heard this sentiment a few times in the last few weeks, so I want to address it. I agree, Governor Palin seems like a very nice person. She can be downright adorable. She can throw some solid zings at the Democrats. She can be feisty. She is smart. She is good in front of a camera (hey, she used to be a sports anchor - oh man, we all had bad hair in the 80's, didn't we? I digress.). But in all honesty, that does not qualify her to be Vice President of the United States of America. And it certainly does not qualify her to be President of the United States of America, which is a viable outcome.

Joe Biden on the other hand sought the presidential nomination twice. Biden has been a Senator since 1972 - 36 years. He has served for many years on the Foreign Relations Committee as well as the Judiciary Committee. For a detailed non-biased read on Senator Joe Biden, see this Wikipedia page.

And for a detailed non-biased read on Governor Sarah Palin, see this Wikipedia page.


Bottomline - besides presiding over the senate when there is a tie vote and offering advice to the President, the main job of the vice president is to be ready to take over should anything happen to the the President. Is Sarah Palin ready to be president of the United States? No. Is Joe Biden ready to be President of the United States? Yes. And I think most would agree.

Come Sunday, this debate will long over in most of our minds. We will then move on to talking about the next Presidential debate that is on Tuesday.


I'm just sayin'... in my opinion.

Oprah Bound?

Could our Emily Allyn products be on their way to the Oprah show? Cross your fingers for us!

For Immediate Release
Oviedo, FL (August 27, 2008)
Contact: Kimberly Morales & Becky Ocasio / 407-687-1543 / info@stylecafemoms.com

Style Cafe Moms, an online “resource cafe for the trendy mom”, strives to be the top online support system for business owners and those who have developed their own product and need affordable advertising and exposure. In addition to advertising, Style Café Moms offers boutique and product reviews as well as a shopping guide, recipes, celebrity dish and of course, the Style Café Moms Celebrity Basket.

Style Cafe Moms, offering an array of services for a businesses advertising and promotional needs, however they still looked for more unique opportunities to promote the businesses that they represent, and with that the Style Café Moms Celebrity Basket was born – a venue allowing several businesses to receive extraordinary distribution and publicity. Style Cafe Mom's celebrity baskets are the ideal setting to launch a new product or create awareness of an existing product, by delving into the celebrity realm and offering businesses the opportunity to introduce their product(s) to some of the biggest celebrities.

The recipient for Style Café Moms most recent basket was sent to the Oprah Winfrey Show. Her talk show, better known as The Oprah Winfrey Show has earned her multiple Emmy Awards and is the highest-rated talk show in the history of television. This basket included “Mommy & Baby Must Haves” to be reviewed by Oprah and the producers of the show for a possible segment.