Search Results for: neon

Shwings for your Kid’s Shoes

May 13, 2013 by Sharon Garofalow 2 Comments

How cool are those Shwings, wings for your shoes?! I have to be honest, I have seen these on the cool kids on Instagram and wasn’t sold. They were certainly not something that I had to run out and buy for my boys. How lucky then, that Shwings were included in our goody bag from the Rockin Boys Club launch party (btw, have you checked out Rockin Boys Club yet? LOVE that site!)?! Because I am now in love with these.

My oldest son is currently very in to mustaches. I hope he has no plans on growing one of his own (he is 7 but his dad still has trouble growing facial hair and he is well over 7…). His head exploded when I showed these to him. And then we were late for school lacing them on to his shoes. But it was well worth it. His feet were the talk of the class. And I got a huge laugh as I was walking away from dropping him off that morning after hearing him say to the teacher, “looks like my shoes could use a shave.” The side we have facing outward is flat black with a hint of shine. The opposite side is this really fun black glitter finish. I love that these would be right at home on girls or boys. It’s the details, people. And that touch of fluorescent green around the edges is super awesome.

I had no idea I loved neon as much as I do. And this BRIGHT coral orange made me, and my youngest son, SO happy. I worried that he might think he could actually fly with these wings. He has not yet tried, to my knowledge. Or else he really can fly. Shwings would make a great gift for every kid. Check out their site to see all their varieties. For about $8 you can’t go wrong.

*This is not a sponsored post. While I was given these for free as part of a gift bag, I was under no obligation to share with my readers. I truly think Swings are awesome and wanted you to know about them.

Filed Under: Family Life, Fashion, Gift Guides, Kid's Fashion, Orange County Resources, Things I Love, Toys Tagged With: accessories, boys fashion, gift, Kids Fashion, mustaches, Shwings, wings

Heart Garland Tutorial on You Are My Fave

February 12, 2013 by Sharon Garofalow 2 Comments

If you are looking for a heart garland to make for Valentine’s Day but still want it to be super simple, go check out my tutorial on You Are My Fave. Do it. Go now.

Filed Under: Craft Ideas, Family Life, Guest Posts, Holidays, Home Decor, Party Inspiration, Tutorials Tagged With: garland, heart, hulk hands, leopard, valentine's day

The Trend Tribe Las Vegas Influencer Weekend

October 19, 2012 by Sharon Garofalow 5 Comments

Las Vegas Strip I spent this past weekend in Las Vegas as part of The Trend Tribe Influencer’s Weekend. I had originally planned to go to Vegas for Bloggy Boot Camp. So when I was invited to get to know the amazing women of The Trend Tribe a little better, while being treated like Vegas royalty, there was no way I was going to turn that down! Our home base for this weekend was the Aria hotel and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. The hotel is beautiful and the service was second to none.

Day 1 of Trend Tribe Influencer Weekend in Vegas

1. We got in to town and headed straight for Neiman Marcus at The Fashion Show Mall where we were all treated to a complimentary makeover at the Tom Ford makeup counter. A little pampering was the perfect way to start the weekend! And that lip color – Wild Ginger, in case you were wondering is my absolute newest favorite! The perfect orangey-red!

2. Next we were whisked off to the Topshop store also in the mall. I was BEYOND excited. With the only other stores being in NYC and Chicago, I knew of the brand but hadn’t gotten to see it in person. It was amazing. I’m going to be in trouble if they ever open one closer to me (a Los Angeles one is in the works, sorry husband) . We toasted to a great weekend with a little champagne and enjoyed sweet treats by Red Velvet. Then it was time to shop. We were given personal shopping services and learned all about the store. As if that wasn’t enough, they gave each of us a gift card and set us free in the store for a shopping spree! I’m in LOVE with my finds!

3. We headed back to the Aria for our first dining experience of the evening. Sirio Ristorante is the most amazing Italian restaurant. Their handmade pastas melted in your mouth and the ambience is cozy and quiet. Perfect for date night. The visible charcuterie kitchen was a really cool feature. And I’m still trying to figure out how I can copy their bar cart that they bring to the table to create your cocktails. Did I mention the 5 flavors of homemade Limoncello??? Yeah, I’m going to need to go back there to try all of them.

4. Next, we headed to Jean Georges Steakhouse (also in the Aria). This is my favorite place of all that we went to. They just got everything right. The decor was dark and sultry with elements of humor. The cocktails were inventive and flavorful without being pretentious and the music is exactly what I would have picked if I had a restaurant. The food was traditional steakhouse with a modern twist and did not disappoint. Oh and they totally let us go back in to the kitchen! We got to meet the Chef de Cuisine and see how a real kitchen operates. So cool!! We were also surprised with the first of our many gift bags of the weekend. This one was provided by Cusp by Neiman Marcus and included our very own copy of the Christmas Book, an adorable ring, and a few other awesome items. (More on that later!)

5. Our last dining stop at the Aria was Sage. The general manager explained about their beverage program which is heavy on artisan cocktails and creative presentation. One of my favorite things that the restaurant does is provide an ‘amuse bouche’ style cocktail to guests while they are waiting for their handcrafted cocktails to be completed. What a unique idea! We learned about their barrel aged cocktails, a technique I had recently read about which used my favorite whiskey brand, Hudson. They made the most delicious Moscow Mule and even made the ginger beer table side. They treated us to several menu items, including my first foie gras experience, all were delicious, but by that point I was stuffed!

6. Our next surprise was a trip next door to the Crystals Shopping Center. The adult romantic toy store (I have to be careful how I word that as to not get pervs to my site…) Kiki De Montparnasse, closed early to hold a private party for us. They showed us all their high-end toys and lingerie and had us giggling like little kids. We played a little dress up, we had some amazing, uninhibited girl talk and SO much more! But totally not in a kinky way like that sort of came off…

7. To wrap up the night, we headed up to the Sky Suites in the Aria for a pajama party. We all looked so cute in our Marigot Collection pjs. And don’t tell your husbands, but a pillow fight actually did break out.

Then we headed off to our own rooms to call it a night. We had to be up bright and early to attend the blog conference the next morning.

Day 2 of Trend Tribe Influencer Weekend in Vegas

After learning much about the business of blogging, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for our second evening out on the town.

1. My roomie, Wendy, and I hopped in to a cab and headed to the Cosmopolitan hotel.

2. Once at the Cosmopolitan, we headed up to Comme Ca. I was so excited to try it! Their pre prohibition style cocktail menu was super fun. I had the Prohibition Punch, yum! They challenged us with a pretty forward thinking menu of things like cow tongue and bone marrow (which I had always wanted to try!) and it was totally different from anything we had done so far.

3. Comme Ca toured us through their dining room where they had this beautiful chalk art on the walls. I fell in love with this quote. Each place we had been in Vegas really seemed to take that sentiment to heart. We were constantly happy. And really well fed.

4. Next we jumped in cabs and headed to the MGM Grand hotel. We headed straight to Nob Hill Tavern where we learned about their new happy hour menu. Talk about comfort food done in an upscale way! SO good. The drinks were playful (hello, cans of PBR!) They have a really fun special every night (except Saturday and Sunday) where they tweet out the drink and that is the only way to know about it. If I were you, I would totally follow them next time you are in Vegas.

5. Ashley was such a trooper. 8 months pregnant, high heels, body con Isabella Oliver dress – she rocked Vegas like nobody I’ve ever seen. This is probably my favorite picture of the whole trip!

6. The MGM Grand is home to parts of Rock Fantasy Camp. Its this amazing program where you sign up for a week long program and get to play out your crazy rock star fantasy. You are paired up with other musicians and a rock legend to learn songs which you record and perform at the end of the week. It was so cool to see the participants faces as they rocked out on stage, in front of a live audience. It did not suck that they got to jam with Lita Ford! The crowd was so encouraging and I really enjoyed getting to watch these people make dreams come true.

7. We headed back to the Aria and after some drinks downstairs we decided to head back up to the suite for a the cutest little Karma champagne toast and A GIFTING SUITE! It was seriously like Christmas.

8. Of course the first thing we dug in to was the Ethel M Chocolates, my favorite brand of chocolates. It was the perfect ending to an amazing night!

Swag from The Trend Tribe Influencer Weekend

And now for the swag!! As if all the wining and dining wasn’t enough, The Trend Tribe had put together some amazing gifts for us to take home!

1. How darling is this Marigot Collection nightshirt?! I checked out the entire website and her patterns are so whimsical and fun. These made our slumber party so cute. I love the orange trim on these!!

2. Kiki De Montparnasse sent us home with a gift bag. The soap is intoxicating with notes of musk and flowers. And this candle can be melted and used as massage oil. Relaxation, here I come.

3. Here are the goods sent from Cusp by Neiman Marcus. How darling is that ring!! And I’ve been needing a nail color for fall that isn’t quite so neon (I’m pouting. But neon just doesn’t feel like autumn to me). Not pictured is the Christmas Book that I cannot wait to go through!

4. This is my Topshop gift card. There is nothing left on it. But I wanted to keep it as a reminder of what an awesome experience it was. That coral leather pocket might just be my new business card holder.

5. One of my favorite things in the world is seeing the Henri Bendel store right next to a gorgeous ornate church in NYC and who doesn’t get happy when they see those iconic brown and white stripes? I do not wear perfume often as I am VERY picky about my smells. This Grapefruit and Vetiver Cologne has all the notes I would pick if I was creating my own perfume. Fruity and spicy without be cloying. Thanks to Henri Bendel, I know how the cologne and body butter!

6. This darling Vegas hangover kit was supplied by Stephanie for all the girls. It was so thoughtful of her. It contained water, a candy necklace, some aspirin and EmergenC. I was so happy to get to meet her on this trip!

7. The Body Shop provided these amazing products for all of us. Those gingerbread bath sparkles smell exactly like Christmas and I can’t wait to use them! And I’m a huge tea tree oil fan so I was super excited to see these in my goodie bag!

8. This mango soap by Yardley smells like heaven. While it smells a bit citrus-y it also manages to smell creamy as well. The tropical scent is one of my favorite for bath products and the packaging is super cute.

9. Oh sweet Ethel M’s. This is my open love letter to you. I’m pretty sure that no one I know has ever returned from Las Vegas without bringing me back some of your delicious chocolates. I was so excited to see you in my gift bag as I had been lamenting the fact that I wouldn’t have time to go to your retail store while in Vegas. This really made my trip complete.

10. If you haven’t smelled Demeter Fragrances before you must make a beeline to them if you ever see them in a store. Not only is the packaging simple and perfect, the smells are so close to the real thing its incredible. But the funny part is that they actually smell better! Take ‘Dirt’ for instance. No one would look at a fragrance with that smell and think they should spray it on themselves. Unless that fragrance is created by Demeter. (Look for one called ‘grass.’ It is insane. In a good way) They are total geniuses in my opinion! The Black Ginger body oil is probably going to be my new signature scent!

11. This Vera Bradley bag is amazing. The pattern is great and the size is amazing, but I can’t get over how well made they are! They are super sturdy and lined with pockets to help keep your bag organized. It has zippered top to keep everything in tact. This is totally my new go-to airplane bag. It’s a dream come true for a tote bag hoarder like myself.

12. I am in love with this Kaplan MD lipstick color. And I totally need that lip mask after spending a few very dry days in the Nevada desert.

Ladies of The Trend Tribe I had the best time in Las Vegas. I’m so appreciative to be working with such a fine group of ladies including those above, Kadi, me, Ashley and Wendy (taken at 3 am…)

Thank you to Nicole and Stephanie for putting together such a ridiculously amazing weekend. Great to meet you Katy, Stephanie, Lala!!! Until we meet again!!

*Disclosure: I am a contributor for The Trend Tribe. On occasion, contributors of The Trend Tribe receive products, compensation and/or services gratis or at discounted rates. This practice does not influence my point of view or the outcome of the review. All descriptions are factual and accurately reflect my experience. The opinions are my own.

Filed Under: Blogger Meet Ups, Business of Blogging, Fashion, Gift Guides, Oh you fancy huh, Travel Tagged With: blog business, gifts, Las Vegas, travel

DIY Neon sign with El Wires

September 18, 2012 by Sharon Garofalow 1 Comment

I don’t know if you have heard of El Wires but I have been wanting to fiddle with them for a while now. Earlier in the summer a few gals and I were supposed to do a photo shoot and one of my projects was going to use El Wires. The shoot didn’t end up happening but I still wanted to see what these little wires could do. I love neon signs and even when the battery operated wires are turned off, the color mimics the look of real neon quite nicely.

All you need is a piece of plywood, a hammer, nails and an El Wire kit. El Wires can be found many places on line and the price varies like crazy. The 9′ orange/red color that I bought was about $8 from Amazon. But I will tell you, it was not nearly as bright as I had hoped it would be. I’m wondering if the more pricey options really are a better quality and would be worth the money. I’ll update this post if I ever decide to compare them.

First decide what shape you want to make. In this case we decided to make a star but you could do initials for a wedding, etc., then hammer in your nails.

If your husband’s drill was charged you could go ahead and make a small hole near the bottom of the board to string the El Wire through and hide the battery pack nicely in the back. If your husband’s drill is not charged plus you are afraid that you will lose your fingers if you try to use it by yourself, just tape down the battery pack and extra wires to the back of the board.

Pull the El Wire snugly around the back of the board so you can begin to wrap your shape.

The El Wires are very flexible so you will wrap them around the nails to create whatever pattern you set out to create.

Make sure to finish the shape closest to where you brought the wire around from the back at the beginning.

Tape the remainder of the El Wire to the back of the board.

And then you are done. I love how the finished product looks. The color of the El Wire is so much more vibrant than you can get with yarn or string.

This is the best I could get with my paltry photography skills. As you can see, when turned on, the El Wires were not crazy bright like I had hoped. But I can tell you that it is still displayed in my son’s room because he loved it.

What other ways would you use El Wires?

Filed Under: Craft Ideas, Home Decor, Party Inspiration, Tutorials Tagged With: craft, diy, home decor, neon, Party Decor, tutorial

Old School Skateboard inspired Father’s Day Fun

June 11, 2012 by Sharon Garofalow 2 Comments

This old school skateboarding inspried Father’s Day inspiration shoot is based on my husband and his love of the sport and his penchant for saying, “Let’s do this thing” to my boys when they ask him to do something. When Amy of Amy’s Kitchen Table and I decided to work together on a post, me doing decor and she doing food, I was super excited. I haven’t gotten to do any fun projects with her since Easter. A year ago. I came up with the idea for the look of Father’s Day for my family and asked Katherine of The Side Stuff to help with the graphic design. I took her design and changed it up a bit to make more decor. I bet the party would have been even better if Katherine would have been able to work with me on the whole thing but she’s about to have a baby any minute and I didn’t want to bog her down. If you haven’ checked out her site, GO (My fave party is her Monster Happy Hour! for moms and kids)! The ideas and decor for this is solely based on my family. I’ve got two little boys and they love to have “boys club” with dad. So I decided that Father’s Day would consist of lots of activities and, of course, if Amy is involved, delicious food.

I didn’t intend to use neon when I first thought of the idea (it’s soooooo 5 minutes ago, said with big eye roll for dramatic effect, but not by me) but I found the Todd Oldham paper tape set at Target and knew it had to be part of this. Because I still love neon. I don’t know when I’ll be over it and that is ok. If you are over it feel free to use something less offensive. I added lightning bolts to make it a little more fun. I can’t tell you why I think lightning bolts are fun, I just do.

Sometimes, since I am a girl, I am not invited to boys club. If that happens this Father’s Day my husband will be able to follow this checklist.

And then it’s time for dinner. Amy came up with a delicious menu and guess what? I got to eat this for lunch after we took pictures. Bangin! Coffee rubbed steaks with homemade steak sauce and homemade potato chips. Hop on over to her page for all of her recipes! You HAVE TO check out her blog if you haven’t already. She’s the most insane cook I know. She has that ease and common sense and creativity in the kitchen that I, and most people, lack. I love to watch her cook! And I love eating what she’s cooked even more!

Seriously, those chips!

My kids are obsessed with snow cones right now. So I decided for the “chillax” portion of the day we would serve snowcones that the adults and kids could both enjoy. My husband and I have been exploring whiskey sours lately so I found a recipe that was a bit fruitier than usual and used that in place of the standard snow cone syrup.

Serves AT LEAST four adult snowcones with some left over:

1 cup Orange Juice (fresh squeezed is best!)

5 oz. pineapple juice

1/2 cup whiskey (if making this kid friendly, use ginger ale. Leave out the whiskey, duh)

1 tsp agave

2 tsp maraschino cherry juice

Pour over shaved (of crushed ice)

Garnish with a cherry

What could be better than drinking a whiskey sour snow cone while playing a game of dominos? The kid friendly version of the snow cone is shown with the little green picks. The ginger ale keeps the color similar to the adult version and is sweet enough that the kids really enjoy it.

I really wanted to enjoy that whole snowcone, but I had to get home from Amy’s…boo to mid day photo shoots of cocktails.

Ain’t nothing more chillaxing than a red cup filled with the leftover whiskey sour after an afternoon of activities. Your Father’s Day might look a little different than ours especially if you have little girls. But I am sure dad would be just fine with having his hair brushed for a minute. But he might draw the line at makeup.

BIG thank you to Katherine for creating the main graphic for the shoot and Amy for wanting to play with me. Seriously, go check out her site and tell me what recipe sounds delicious to you. My answer, all of them.

Happy Father’s Day!

Find the recipes here!