Halloween Cookie Pops!

That’s right, I’m here to tempt you with some yummy treats today!
Justin gave me the idea for them when I was talking to him about wanting to come up with a cute Halloween treat post. He was all excited and told me I should make cookie pops that look like tombstones, and use one of his favorite cookies, the Mother’s Double Fudge Cookies. They’ve got the perfect shape for tombstones and they are pretty tasty. I’m sure he wanted me to make them just so we’d have an excuse to buy a package or two of them, and he could eat the leftovers.
Supplies needed:

Pick up some Mother’s Double Fudge Cookies, some baking chocolate, candy melts (not shown), and some cake pop sticks.  I prefer to dip the cookies in actual chocolate instead of the candy melts, I mean seriously, what’s better than chocolate cookies dipped in more chocolate?  That’s what I thought. ;)
First thing you do is insert the cake pop stick into the cookie…

Then you’ll melt your chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave. Let it cool down some before dipping the cookie into the chocolate. After you’ve dipped the cookie into the chocolate you can place it on foil or wax paper to harden. I put mine in the refrigerator so that they would harden faster. Then it was time to get out the candy melts and decorate!

I dipped a toothpick into the melted candy melts and used it to create the letters “RIP” and the green grass on the tombstones. 

For the white chocolate dipped cookie pops I decided to get inspired by Dias de los Muertos and decorate them to look like skulls. I wish I would have picked up some black candy melts too, but I forgot about it, and just used some black icing instead. Still tasty and still able to decorate them with a toothpick!


So what do you think? Will you be serving these awesome cookie pops at your Halloween party?

Make 3 pairs of Earrings for under $10!

This is one of the easiest ways to create some cute earrings when you’re on a budget.  And you don’t need any fancy tools to make them. 
First thing: Head over to Michaels, Joann’s, Hobby Lobby, or even Walmart and buy some of their pendant charms.  I bought 2 sets of charms when I went to Michaels and both of them came with 3 pendant charms.  I think each set was $3-4 dollars. But you know us crafty/creative gals don’t ever go to Michaels without our 40% off coupon, right? 

All of the pendants were silver like above.  I decided to leave the smallest ones like they were and just added my earring posts… They’re cute silver leaves and go with a lot of clothing options.

I took the next size up of the pendants and painted them gold using my Martha Stewart Crafts Paint.  I sealed them with a layer of Mod Podge, but you could also use a spray acrylic sealer, or just leave them without any kind of sealant.

I added gold earring posts to them to match….

Then I took the two largest pendant charms and gave them a quick coat of paint with a can of black Rust-Oleum spray paint.  20 minutes later they were dry to the touch and I added silver earring posts.

And now I have 3 new pairs of earrings that I spent less than $10 on. 
The color possibilities for an easy DIY project like this are endless. You could create any color earrings to match any outfit, do an ombre effect with the paint, or even keep them as their original color, it’s up to you. Nothing better than budget friendly accessories right?

Our time in Vegas

Our Vegas trip to celebrate our 6th year anniversary was so great! We had such an awesome time seeing everything we could see, walking the strip, and even making $100 listening to one of those lame timeshare presentations.  I had the best road trip partner ever, and loved that Justin and I got to spend time alone.

About 30 miles outside of Vegas it started storming. It only lasted a few hours, but man, I thought we were going to be stuck in our hotel room the whole week. Good thing all the rain stopped, and the water dried up by the time we went out that night.

We stayed in the Monte Carlo. It was definitely okay for us, but I could not stand that it didn’t have free wireless internet in our hotel room. For me that was a huge disappointment, especially since I had to work part of our trip. Next time we go to Vegas we are finding a hotel with Wifi!

Our first night on the strip we walked almost the whole length of it and back. We checked out Senor Frogs, and both got Margaritas that were awesome, and toured the inside of the Bellagio…

My favorite view was of the Eiffel Tower at night, from across the street by the Bellagio fountains. It was probably as close to Paris as I’ll ever get in this lifetime. And the Statue of Liberty at night was really pretty too.

The fountain show was beautiful, and I want to go back and just hang out and watch them longer next trip.

And since I had the opportunity I met up with my friend Cara from Always Expect Moore at the Mandalay Bay hotel and we had lunch with her and her little ones, then checked out the Shark Reef there in the hotel.

Justin called this a unicorn fish. I thought it was a pretty appropriate name.

My friend Alissa warned me there was a 3 story M&M store and I couldn’t stay away.

And I tried Pinkberry for the first time. I must say, their Chocolate Hazelnut it delicious!

Later that night we went out, ate at P.F. Changs, and went to a club/lounge. I ended up making friends with two trannies. Only in Vegas, right?

Thank you guys for all of your suggestions and tips on what to see and do in Vegas. We can’t wait to go back!

Heading to VEGAS Baby!

Justin and I are celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary this year and we are heading to Las Vegas! We will have almost 4 whole days without the kiddos, and even though I love them both to pieces, it’s going to be amazing to spend time alone.  After we got married we never had a honeymoon, and we’ve only been on one other trip while it’s been just the two of us.  So needless to say we are both so excited to go.

I would love for you guys to share your top “things to do or see while in Las Vegas” with me!  You can leave me a comment here or on Facebook, or tweet me.

NEXUS 7 Tablet GIVEAWAY!! Come enter to win!

That's right, I'm showing my love for all of you, and participating in another awesome group giveaway!  The ladies I've teamed up with are all awesome, and I'm so glad I get to call them friends.  We are so excited to be able to giveaway a brand new NEXUS 7 tablet to one lucky reader.

Check out the Nexus 7 Tablet’s amazing features and specs!

• Made for Google Play
• Explore over 600,000 apps and games, the world's largest collection of eBooks, millions of songs, thousands of movies, and a growing selection of TV shows and magazines.
• Nexus 7 comes with all your favorite Google Apps -- like Gmail, Chrome, Google+ and YouTube -- putting the best of Google in the palm of your hand.
• This tablet weighs in at 0.7lbs, has 8GB of internal storage, and 8 hours of battery life.

Instead of spending $199 on a new tablet, these 11 bloggers are giving you the chance to win your very own 8GB Nexus 7 Tablet today!


Please use the super simple Rafflecopter form below! Please note this giveaway is open to US residents only and ends at 12:01 EST on Tuesday September 18th. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received no compensation for this publication. My opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Always In Wonder is not responsible for sponsor prize shipment.

World Market is having a twitter party with Pollinate Media Group

Cost Plus World Market is teaming up with Pollinate Media Group for their first ever Twitter Party!  And this twitter party is going to be awesome! We’re going to have lots of fun chatting about all the ways you celebrate fall, and how much you love World Market.  AND of course there will PLENTY OF PRIZES!! (Gift cards to World Market!) 
PARTY DETAILS:
When: Tuesday, Sept. 11, from 8-9 pm EST (5-6:00 PST).
Where: On Twitter, using the hashtag #WorldMarket_MN
Who: Be sure to follow the hosts @pollinatemedia, @alwaysnwonder, @growingupthomas &@worldmarket
Custom Tweetgrid:  http://is.gd/0FOFWi
BE SURE TO RSVP ON THE RAGS TO STITCHES BLOG! Only those who have RSVP’D have a chance to win a prize!
And the big reason World Market is having a Twitter party is to celebrate their return to MINNESOTA!  On September 13, 2012, World Market is having Grand Openings for stores in two locations:
Rosedale Marketplace                        Southdale 494 Shopping Center
2401 Fairview Avenue North           4250 West 78th Street
Roseville, MN 55113                             Bloomington, MN 55435
The celebrations will include free food sampling, live music, giveaways and raffles. Plus, customers can shop either store and discover incredible deals on furniture, décor, global foods and more.
All week long World Market will be celebrating the Minnesota store openings and on Saturday, September 15, shoppers will have the opportunity to meet celebrity guest Maksim Chmerkovskiy.
**You can see all details of the Grand Opening Events online at World Market (http://www.worldmarket.com/minnesota) and you can print off two coupons that are valid for use at the new Minnesota locations.

You can stay up to date with World Market’s in-store promotions, deals, and fabulous finds by following them on:

FACEBOOK / TWITTER / PINTEREST / GOOGLE+