Halloween 2022

Happy Halloween Friends!  

It's been a long time coming, but Halloween is finally here!  It's a warm 60°+ outside today, so it doesn't particularly feel like it should be Halloween.  And sadly, Eliot and I are not really having a very spooky celebration around here...   

Our Neighborhood's Halloween Block Party had to be postponed due to one of our neighbors testing positive for COVID last week, so our big party scheduled for last Saturday will be taking place this upcoming weekend instead.  Unfortunately, Eliot and I will be leaving for Trenton right about the same time the block party is starting.  (We are going home for a quick overnight trip to help Mom and Dad out on Sunday.)  So we're probably going to miss most of the event Saturday afternoon and evening.   

I'm hoping we can at least pop out long enough to say hello to our neighbors, give someone else our Halloween candy to pass out, and drop off the prizes for the kids contests that we were in charge of getting.  Eliot and I have decided that we are not going to bother dressing up in costumes or decorating our car for Trunk or Treat since we'll be leaving before we probably even do that stuff.

Eliot and I have basically been celebrating Halloween since August, so I'm not too torn up about it.  Going to Disneyland and seeing the fireworks and spooky decor there was my Halloween highlight.  Still, I'm hoping that we'll get to enjoy a little bit of Halloween cheer.  Eliot wore his new Disneyland Halloween Spirit Jersey to work.  I might put on a Halloween movie later on tonight.  Eliot's trying to get me the last McDonald's Boo Bucket that we're missing.  We've already eaten most of the candy that was supposed to be for the Block Party, so we're going to refill that.  And since I'm staying home in my pjs today, I'm hoping to wear something spooky to my sewing class tomorrow!

It's not much, but it's something!  I'll pop back in sometime next week to fill you in on any fun Halloween activities or festivities that we were able to participate in!

Happy Halloween!!!  °o°

National Candy Corn Day 2022

Happy National Candy Corn Day!  As you may recall, a year ago today I admitted my complete addiction to all things candy corn.  This time of year is filled with orange, yellow and white products for Halloween, and this spooky season did not disappoint!

I look forward to the new candy corn merchandise each year, and over the past few years, it seems as though retailers have finally caught on to it's popularity.  Now, they are making tons of merchandise and cashing in on the sweet treat.  

This Halloween season, I've added a few new candy corn items to my collection and I thought that I'd share them with you today in honor of National Candy Corn Day!

The first thing I purchased this year was my candy corn Pair Eyewear Topper.

My next purchase was this Minnie Mouse Candy Corn Witch Sweater from Torrid.

Hot Topic and Her Universe came out with a bunch of candy corn items.  Naturally, I gravitated towards the Disney stuff first.  I got this Candy Corn Disney Dress.

I also got this year's version of the Disney Candy Corn Hooded Sweater.

Later in spooky season, I had Hot Cash to use so I bought this Candy Corn Tank Dress from Hot Topic.  It's a bit chilly in Maine this time of year, but it will be great to layer! 

I also had to get this Candy Corn Sweater Vest from Hot Topic.  I absolutely love argyle prints and sweater vests, so this was also a no brainer!

Mid-October, I got a happy surprise when I got an email notification that the Harvey's Candy Corn Tote Bag was back in stock.  I had literally just gotten out of the shower, so I hopped into my bathrobe, ran downstairs to my laptop and ordered it on the spot.  I had signed up for the restock notification back at the beginning of September when it was first released.  It was literally right before our California trip, so I skipped the release since I didn't want to spend money.  As soon as it sold out, I signed up for the restock just in case I'd get selected for it.  Thankfully, by the time I got the email, I had money available so I got it!  It's the perfect handbag to go with my candy corn outfits!

Finally, my favorite addition to my collection this year is my new Candy Corn Jeweled Headband by Brianna Cannon.  I just discovered her shop a few months ago and I'm totally obsessed.  This knotted headband is cute, fun and fashionable.  I love all of the jewels and how sparkly it is!  This will look great with all of my candy corn outfits!

As you can see, I have got quite the collection of candy corn cuties in my collection!  I absolutely love everything and I can't wait to start putting outfits together!!!

Happy National Candy Corn Day!!!  °o°

Maine Mariners Opening Weekend 2022

It's been another busy week in the Cady house.  I've been busy blogging, working on getting a ton of orders out for both businesses, preparing for Halloween festivities, and trying to work on cleaning and organizing the house whenever I find a spare minute.  It has been crazy, but it's also been pretty fun for the most part!

Knowing that this past week was going to be absolute insanity, Eliot and I took a bit of a break last weekend.  I know, I know, we were just in San Jose the previous weekend taking a break too... but this was another well deserved timeout after all of the hours of hard work that we've put in the past three weeks.

I mentioned last Saturday that we had four hockey games to watch or go to... it just so happened that last weekend was the Maine Mariners opening weekend.  Eliot and I have been looking forward to hockey starting back up for months, so us taking two weekends off to watch our local team and our Sharks seemed well worth the sacrifices we would have to make during the work week!

Last weekend was extra busy since the Sharks were also playing on Saturday and Sunday.  So both days we watched the Sharks on television, and attended the Maine Mariners games in person.  It was a double, double-header weekend full of hockey!

The Sharks game on Saturday was at 1:00 PM since they were playing the New Jersey Devils.  Eliot and I try to watch all of their games, but we make an extra effort to watch all of the Sharks east coast games since they're actually in our time zone and we don't have to stay up late for them.  This game was pretty uneventful, with all three goals being scored in the 2nd period.  Unfortunately, we lost the game 2-1.  As soon as it was over, I was running to go shower and get ready to head up to Portland for the Mariners game.  Thankfully, that hockey game was a bit more entertaining... 

The Saturday Mariners game was really exciting since it was their first home game of the season.  We actually had to buy our tickets the night before since I'd read on Facebook that they were almost sold out.  By the time Eliot got our tickets, there were only 4-5 double seats left in the entire arena so I'm glad we got them the night before!

When we arrived at the arena, you could feel the excitement.  The game was at 6:00, but we got there early so we were able to watch warmups for a few minutes.  There were more people there then we'd ever seen.  We actually had seats only a few rows back from the glass which was cool... but the angle we were at didn't completely have netting over it.  I was a nervous wreck watching the puck, but it was still fun to be so close to the ice and so close to all of the excitement!

And exciting it was... The Mariners gave up two goals in the first period but then we scored a goal late in the second period.  The visiting team scored again in the third period.  We scored again, and a few minutes later the same player that scored got into a huge fight with the other team's captain.  Things got quite feisty on both sides in the final few minutes of the game, but the Mariners ended up losing 3-2.

On Sunday, our schedule was the complete opposite.  The Mariners were our first game at 3:00 PM.  Eliot and I didn't get up to Portland quite as early and we arrived right about the same time the puck dropped.  We were able to get seats in our regular section though, so that was more comforting and we settled in to enjoy the view.

This game was the Scooby Doo themed night, so the Mariners were all wearing special jerseys.  They had a Halloween feel to them, and some of the fans were dressed up in costumes for it.  There were a lot less people in the stands for this event, even though there was an open skate after the game.  (We later found out the the Saturday game set a franchise record of 5,386 fans in attendance.)

The game started off slow, but things opened up later in the first period.  The Mariners played well and went into the third period with a 2-1 lead.  We scored a gorgeous power play goal late in the period.  Then we got an empty netter.  The other team got a goal a minute later, but we scored one final empty netter to win the game 5-2.

After the game ended, Eliot and I got out of the arena quicker than usual since we were trying to get home to watch the Sharks game which started at 7:00 pm.  We stopped at Chili's to pick up a to-go order, then we went straight home to arrive just as the Sharks game was starting.  Thankfully, this game went better than the day before.  

The Sharks had a great start against the Philadelphia Flyers, especially since they were playing a back-to-back.  (It was probably the best they've looked all season so far.)  We ended up winning this game 3-0 making us 500 on the road trip.  

All in all, it was was a fun hockey weekend and a great break from of the hard work we've been doing the past few weeks.  It stunk to lose both games on Saturday, but Sunday definitely made up for it with both the Mariners and Sharks winning!  

Plus, Eliot and I got to debut a few of our new hockey jerseys.  On Saturday, he wore his Power Rangers jersey and I wore my Maine Mariners sweatshirt that we bought at the end of last season.  Then on Sunday, we both wore our new Harry Potter jerseys that Eliot's parents bought us in San Jose the previous weekend!  They were a hit!

Most importantly, Eliot and I enjoyed spending time together and we were glad we got to attend opening weekend for the Mariners.  We aren't going to be able to make it to all of their games, but we've got our eyes on a bunch of their weekend games this upcoming season.  I think we're in luck, because there are quite a few of them... so I see plenty of hockey dates in our future!  Go Mariners!!!  °o°

Fun Find: Disneyland Halloween Videos

Frightful Friday Friends!  Eliot and I have been crazy busy this week, so today, I thought I'd pop by to quickly to share a few videos with you.  After spending some spooky time at the Disneyland Resort out in California a few weeks ago, I thought it would be fun to share some Halloween footage from the west coast!

Instead of Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, the west coast features the Oogie Boogie Bash over at California Adventure.  The event seems more geared to adults to me, although I'm sure there are still plenty of children that attend.  The Oogie Boogie Bash features different special attractions such as a popular villain experience.  There is also a different parade called the Frightfully Fun Parade which you can view below.

I love seeing the different floats over at Disneyland!  This definitely features more of the spooky stuff and villains versus the cheerful Boo To You Parade at Magic Kingdom.

The next stop on our Disneyland Halloween tour is none other than the Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay.  This is one of my favorite parts of the holiday seasons at Disneyland.  They do such an amazing job every year!  The video below actually shows you everything from the outside decorations, to the Stretching Portrait Room, to the ride queue to the actual ride!  It feels like you're really there!

The final stop on our tour is the Disneyland Halloween Screams Fireworks Show.  I love to finish a Disney day watching the fireworks.  Thankfully, Eliot, his mother, my family and I were able to see the Halloween fireworks once during our trip... However, we were viewing them from halfway down Main Street so we had a totally different experience.  This video shows all of the projections on the castle really well.

And there you have it... my super quick tour of a few spooky highlights at Disneyland Resort during Halloween Time!  I hope you enjoyed our quick trip out west.  

Have a Happy Halloweekend!!!  °o°

News Views: 10/27/2022

Hi friends!  I'm just stopping by for a quick pop in today.  There were a few fun Disney news announcements this week and I was itching to write about them!  

On Tuesday, Disney announced that Blizzard Beach was (finally!) re-opening on November 13th!  I've been waiting for this news for-ev-er and I'm so excited that it will be opening before our trip in January.  (Hours aren't posted yet... but hopefully it'll be open during our stay!)  And for the first time in forever, they've added elements from Frozen to the park!  I literally squealed out loud when I saw the adorable snowgies that they've added to Tike's Peak!  I definitely have to get a photo with them and Olaf!

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This morning, Disney Weddings was featured on Good Morning America.  They did a tie in with GMA where they broadcasted a wedding live from Epcot.  I didn't watch the actual event, but I saw footage of it later and the stunning photos.  I was blown away by the beautiful space theme and all of the modern, celestial decor.

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This morning the Magic Kingdom was host to a special kickoff of National Veterans and Military Families Month.  The main event was the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds air team performing a flyover demonstration soaring 500 feet over Cinderella Castle and Main Street USA.  I saw a few videos of it online and it looked incredible.  They framed the castle so well and I'm sure it was a spectacular thing to experience in person!

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This afternoon, I finally saw the news that I've been waiting for... the Festival of the Arts is going back to Epcot January 13th to February 20th!!!  Eliot and I have been holding our breath for the official news.  An inside source told us the 13th was the opening day of the festival, but I didn't want to fully believe it until it was announced.  Now, I can say with 100% certainty that we'll be there for the opening days of the Festival of the Arts right at the end of our supersized Walt Disney World trip in January!!!

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Finally, in news a little further from home, today Disney also announced the names of the three new ports of Fantasy Springs at Tokyo DisneySea.  The three new additions are Frozen Kingdom, Rapunzel's Forest and Peter Pan's Never Land.  The expanded area of the theme park is not scheduled to open until spring of 2024, but it looks like it will be worth the wait.  Every time I see renderings for it, they take my breath away.  I'm obsessed with the Arendelle Castle and Rapunzel's Tower.  I'm also excited that they included so much water and waterfalls throughout the areas.  I think it really brings the lands to life!  I can't wait to see what they look like in person someday!

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Ahh, this has been a very exciting few days of Disney news for me since these are all some of my favorite things: Blizzard Beach, shows at Cinderella Castle, Festival of the Arts, Frozen, Rapunzel, theme park renderings, waterfalls and Disney Weddings!!!  I hope you enjoyed today's installment of my News Views blog segment!  °o°

Magical Merchandise: Baublebar Disney Christmas 2022

Ok, so it's technically still spooky season but I think it's time to switch gears a little bit because today there are exactly two months until Christmas Eve!  I've been holding off on posting Christmas merchandise so far, but since I've been doing spooky season since August, I thought it was time to move on.  I've done a few humongous Halloween merchandise posts, and I don't think there's anything else I could show you anyways!

However, stores are starting to get their Christmas items out... and a few online stores have also released their Christmas collections!  So it's time to dive in to the holly jolly!

Today, we're taking a peek at the 2022 Baublebar Disney Christmas Collection that was released back on Friday October 14th.  These items literally took my breath away, and I don't know how I'll ever pick only a few!  Let's check them out!

First we have these adorable Mickey Mouse Mistletoe and Santa stud earrings.  I've always loved the Mickey mistletoe design and these are really cute!

The Mickey Christmas Tree stud earrings are also a small design that packs a punch!

I'm head over heels for these Mickey Wreath earrings.  They're so pretty!!!

I love this year's version of the Christmas Tree earrings.  They're really sparkly!

If you want something a little less in your face, but still Disney, these Wreath earrings have hidden Mickeys throughout them.  Fun and magical... yet a bit more subtle.

I love how these Merry & Bright Ornament earrings are more simple and elegant.

I love the earring sets, and this Tis the Season Disney Set is a really cute one!

These Mickey Snowflake earrings are one of my top favorites in the collection!  They are so beautiful and I love the blue and purple tones!

I'm so glad that they brought the Holiday Traditions earring set back this year!

This Minnie Mouse and Ornament Set is also really cute.

These Deck the Halls Minnie Mouse earrings are sure to sparkle!

This year's version of the Mickey Nutcracker is gold tone and more elegant.

My absolute favorite new design this year is the Mickey Mouse Let There Be Light hoop earrings.  Hoops are all the rage, and I'm obsessed with Christmas lights!!!

The final piece of jewelry from the 2022 collection is this new Frozen earring set.  I think it's absolutely perfect for the holidays, winter, or a day at the parks!

The latest trend are the Mickey bag charms.  Baublebar has been making them for a little while now, but this is the first time they've have them for the holiday season!  After the two new Halloween designs, I suspected we'd have at least two new designs for Christmas... but I never dreamed that they'd come out with five new ones!  

My absolute favorite is the Santa Mickey charm.  He was teased a few weeks before the release and I was stalking my email to see when they would finally drop.  He's so cute and definitely on my must get list!  He's perfect for Christmas!!!

I also like the Christmas Tree Mickey charm.  He's the other one they teased.

I was so surprised to see the Candy Cane Mickey charm!  This is another one that I absolutely love.  It would look great on all of my peppermint and gingerbread bags too!

The little Reindeer Mickey is super adorable.  He's currently sold out, but you can sign up for him on the waitlist like I have to be notified when he's back in stock!

Finally, Nutcracker Mickey is the last new design.  He's also currently on the waitlist!

And that's the Disney Holiday Collection from Baublebar's website, but they also have some items available at other retailers like Shop Disney, so keep your eyes peeled!

Aren't all of these absolutely stunning?!?!  I usually hold myself to only getting two pairs of earrings each release, but I'm not sure how I'll ever hold back on all of these designs.  (Maybe I can forgive myself since I didn't buy any Halloween earrings this year?)  I'm not sure what I'll be adding to my collection, but you can be sure that my ears will be sparkling with at least one of these beauties this holiday season!  °o°

National Color Day 2022

Whew... this has been a week.  I'm glad it's finally the weekend, but there's no rest on the horizon.  Eliot and I have a huge pile of orders to mail out today.  We've got four hockey games to watch/to go between today and tomorrow.  We've got more orders to work on for next week.  And I've been behind on my blog posts all week.  Truthfully, I'm still feeling a bit burnt out, and I've been exhausted ever since Eliot and I got back from our quick trip to San Jose last weekend.  But I'm moving forward...

Today, I wanted to pop in really quick to say hi in real time.  A lot of my other posts this week have been back-dated, but I did have this one post on time.  If you like to read everything that I write, make sure to pop back and check out everything from this week because I snuck a few in from last Saturday through yesterday!

My other reason for stopping by is that today is National Color Day!  I thought that was a fun occasion that I wanted to mark over here.  If Eliot and I weren't so crazy busy today, I probably would have gotten out one of my rainbow outfits to wear tonight, but I'm just going to stick with my normal clothes.

However, I've got something else planned to incorporate a little bit of color around here!  Check back next Wednesday for a fun and colorful DIY!  I actually haven't made it yet, but hopefully I'll be able to get it done by then so I can get my post up on time!

I've got another full week ahead of me, but I'll definitely be around here as I've got a bunch of posts planned for next week too!  Have a wonderful weekend friends!

Happy National Color Day!!!  °o°