November Beauty & The Book Giveaway!

 

For this month's Beauty & The Book Giveaway I decided to put together a giveaway for my fellow Nerdy ladies out there! I gave a hint last month about this month's giveaway being "Magical" so as you can tell from the photo of this month's bundle above, this month's theme is Harry Potter! I've included two different books, some makeup/beauty goods along with some great Harry Potter merchandise. 

October was a crazy month! It really did go by in a flash. I caught a cold and was sick for about two weeks, which was a bummer, but other than that it was a fantastic month. I decided to go as Batty Koda from Ferngully for Halloween/Uwu Con so I spent a few days working on it. I bought a base adult sized bat onesie then I hand stitched everything on to make it look like the character. We also attended a few fun events. Coming up this month I have some fantastic reviews & giveaways headed your way including some fun gift guides since the holiday season is just around the corner. I also have somewhat of an idea of the theme I want to go with for next month's giveaway bundle. Let's get into the giveaway though! 

For this bundle I included two different books. One is the unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook which features tons of recipes based off of food/drinks in the movies along with just some fun themed items. The second book is a magical film projections book. When you place one of the pages in front of a flashlight in a dark room it will light a scene on the wall, just like shadow puppets.  

❤ Included In This Month's Bundle: ❤

★ Morphe "Gold Seeker" palette
★ Dove Cinamon Pumpkin Pie body scrub
★ NYX lip gloss
★ Silver colored facemask
★ IT Cosmetics undereye cream
★ Revlon Mascara
★ False Eyelashes + Eyelash glue
★ Blush
★ Maree undereye patches
★ Green glass nail file
★ Harry Potter Wallet
★ Hermione as a cat Funko pop
★ Two Harry Potter Decals
★ Unicorn postcard
★ Ghost straw topper
★ Dragon ornament
★ Room of Requirement hanging sign
★ Wand chopstick set 

This is open Worldwide! Please remember if you DO NOT leave a comment on this blog post as your mandatory entry into the giveaway then all of your entries will be void. Doing the Daily entries will increase your chance of winning. Winners have 72 hours to respond to the winner notification! This giveaway is hosted by ME.

This giveaway ends on 11/10/2024

Giveaway entry question: Leave a comment answering at least one of these questions.

Which item in this bundle are you most excited about?

Who is your favorite Harry Potter Character?

What is another theme you'd love to see as a Beauty & The Book Bundle?

Tell me about something exiting you have coming up or something good that happened to you lately.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It is easiest if you log onto Rafflecopter using the Name/Email Address option. 

You can complete as many entries as you want, there are several one-time activities and daily activities that can earn you more entries into the giveaway. Be sure to keep an eye on my site & social media pages for more giveaways headed your way. 

Uwu Con 2024!

 

If you live in Arizona & love Anime conventions and are looking for one in the winter, then Uwu con is your answer! They usually have their event in late October or early November. Over the weekend we attended the 2024 Uwu Con & had a wonderful time. This is our second time at the convention, this year it was hosted at the Westworld of Scottsdale. Let's go over a short run down of this year's event! 

This three-day event offers interactive panels, meet & greets with voice actors, cosplay contests, a car show, dozens of vendors and more. It is a very family friendly event & we always enjoy going with the kids. It is a blast to pick out a cosplay, do some shopping and visit a panel or two. As the convention continues to grow each year, one of the things that I hope improves more and really grows is the panels. There are only a couple panels each day, it would be nice to see a bigger list of options to visit that really range from cosplay, to anime to even board games. 

The vendor alley is always fun to explore, there is a fantastic range of products that include so many fandoms from Marvel & Disney to different anime franchises. Chances are you will find some merch from your favorite characters. You'll also find a range of products including clothing, candles, custom dice, replica weapons and more. 

Getting to see & interact with others who love cosplaying as well is a blast! There are so many amazing and unique costumes at the event & they range from handmade all the way to store bought. While wondering around they have a few photo opportunity spots set up like the Uwu con themed funko box above. They also have a few late-night events for adults like a late-night dance party. I felt like the way everything was set up at this years event was better than how everything was set up last year. So even though Uwu con is done for this year, you should keep it in mind for next year! 

Here is what we purchased from the vendor alley;

Disclaimer- UwU Con. provided media passes for the convention for this review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Imaginarium Phoenix Review!

 

Imaginarium Phoenix is a light art installation mixed with photo booth opportunities galore. If you've ever wanted to visit a spot that has a ton of pretty backgrounds to take photos in front of, then this is the spot for you. There are over a dozen different photo rooms each with their own theme & set up where you can take photos. This event is only open until November 10th! So, there are still a few days left to check it out and since it is close to the end of the event tickets are slightly cheaper than they were. It is located at the back of the Phoenix Premium outlets in Chandler. Weekday tickets are $21 per person and weekends are $23 per person. 

If you are going alone, I highly recommend bringing a selfie stick or even a tripod otherwise you won't be able to get the full effect of each booth. There were a few solo people at the event when we were there that had to rely on asking other guests to help snap a few photos of them. So going with someone else or as a group may be the best option. The event starts at 7pm, we arrived around 8:30 and it was packed, the line to get in wrapped around the corner. Close to closing time around 10pm the amount of people inside started to die down and there was no line outside which still gave everyone an hour to look at everything before they closed. 

Almost all of the guests were patient & had the common courtesy to wait their turn in line for each photo opportunity, you will of course run into a few of the inconsiderate people who just don't care and will cut directly in front of you. Each photo booth line ranged in length; some took about five minutes to wait in while others took only about a minute. They had some pretty cool set ups from trippy light tunnels to spaces with flowers & swings or seats and even an under the sea room. Most of the rooms were level with the sidewalk so a wheelchair user could easily take photos in the room as well, however I would say 10% of the rooms such as the light tunnel above have a several inch lift that wouldn't be easy to get a wheelchair over.

There were also many fields of flower lights that looked quite beautiful, large light sculptures and a mystical flower forest you could explore to find a wide range of fantasy creatures to take photos of or with. Plus, at different times of the event there is a small circus performance in the middle of the venue. I personally loved the light tunnels and the rooms with different light displays, they were beautiful & fun to look at. Quite a few of the flower rooms I loved as well especially since each booth had its own color scheme which was fun & you could get some photos with your favorite colors. 

🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. (Click on the name or locate it on the right-hand side of my page).

Disclaimer-  Imaginarium provided this experience to us for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Terror Trader Arizona's Year Round Horror Marketplace!

 

As someone who is a fan of horror movies, spooky things & lover of Halloween I am so happy that Arizona has had a few horror & gothic style stores pop up within the last year or two. One of the horror themed stores here in Arizona is called Terror Trader which is a year round horror marketplace. You'll be able to browse & shop selections from a number of local small artists all under one roof. They are located at 941 W Elliot Rd Suite 3 Chandler, AZ 85225. 

Along with having a large variety of products to purchase there are also free photo opportunities with their life sized props including a coffin in one of the small rooms that you are able to stand in to snap a phot. There is also a small room which features a mini museum of oddities that is pretty cool to check out. 

Everything in the store was well organized & each local seller had their own little section that featured their products. You could find pretty much everything including trading pins, taxidermy, clothing, jewelry, props, masks and more. This spot is a great place to pick up a few creepy, spooky or awesome finds all while supporting not only Terror Trader but all of the local artists who sell their products in store. 

All of the staff were friendly when we were there, the store was easy to navigate. There were one or two small rooms that felt a little stuffy if too many people were in it at once, otherwise the store has plenty of space to roam around and look at everything. We enjoyed visiting & we will definitely be back the next time we are in the area to pick up a few more things. If you want to add another stop on your terrifying route, be sure to stop across the street to visit Spooky's Swirls where you can grab some horror themed baked treats and see their collection of props as well. 

Terror Trader also puts on events through out the year including larger pop up markets where vendors will set up their own booths and special horror movie nights at a local cinema. Be sure to check out their page to see what events are coming up, you won't want to miss out on their Spooktacular events! 

🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. (Click on the name or locate it on the right-hand side of my page).

★ This is not a sponsored post, we paid for this on our own. I enjoy sharing new places we explore with my followers.

Tianyu Lights Festival Phoenix Review!

 

The Tianyu lights festival has arrive in Phoenix & it is an event you do not want to miss! This event features gorgeous luminous art installations that are not only beautiful to walk through, but there are also several different areas that are interactive, fun for children and adults alike. We spent a little over an hour and a half exploring all of the wonderful worlds they created. Adult priced tickets are $18-$28 depending on the day & children's tickets are $18-$20 however they have a discount family pack of tickets available. They are closed on select Monday & Tuesdays otherwise they are open the rest of the week from now until January 5th! They are open from 5:30PM until 10PM. There is a bag policy so be sure to check their website before heading out & no outside food or drinks are allowed. 

They are located inside of the Camelback Ranch located at 10710 W Camelback Road Phoenix, AZ 85037. Depending on which direction you are heading from google maps may take you to the wrong entry point, the entrance for this is located next to Camelback Road & 107th Ave. You can buy a parking pass online for $10 or buy one when you arrive for $15. 

The trail is one mile long & around the halfway point you will find a small marketplace where you can pick up handmade goods along with find a small food court for drinks and snacks. The market has a lot of neat things for sale! We picked out a beautiful lantern and an awesome wire dragon to bring home. All of the prices were very reasonable. 

I have way too many photos & videos I took when we were walking the trail to fit them all onto this post, so I will narrow it down to some of my favorites and there will be a reel up on my IG for you to check out. We absolutely loved that they had not only photo opportunities set up along the trail, but many of the spots were interactive. They had two huge parakeets perched on a branch that had two small trees in front of the display, if you walked up to one of the trees and spoke into it the bird that was in front of that tree would mimic what you said. 

There were light swings, a dance floor that lit up when you stepped on each square, bubbles filled with fog that would pop & make little whisps of smoke in the air and more. I highly recommend taking your time walking the trail, if you rush you will miss handy of the hidden details in the displays. Many of the displays are on timers that will activate and do different effects, for example one of the giant dragons would breathe fire and roar. Kids are sure to love the 100-foot-long shark you can walk through! 

Some of the trail is along a dirt path & some of it is along concrete, the trail is both wheelchair & stroller accessible. It is so hard to say which of the themed lands was my favorite because there were so many spots that I loved & enjoyed. We are so happy they decided to come to Arizona, because this event was 100% worth the visit and I'd even go back to see it all again, especially now that the weather is finally starting to cool down a bit.

Does this look like an event you'd love to visit? 

🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. (Click on the name or locate it on the right-hand side of my page).

Disclaimer-  Tianyu Lights Festival provided this experience to us for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Cuteness alert - Super Kawaii Pets the card game!

 

Today I have a short & sweet review to share with you about a cute kid friendly game called Super Kawaii Pets. This is a quick and easy animal themed card game sold by Arcane Wonders for $14.99 up to four players can play at one time and games last twenty minutes or less, it is recommended for ages 8+. 

The goal of the game is quite simple, you need to adopt (draw) sad animals that are looking for a loving home. After you draw a sad animal card, you need to collect the help cards that match that animals needs which could be a vet visit, food, or some love from a human. Once their requirements have been meet you can flip them over to their happy side! You will also try to match some of your animals to location cards. The first player to reach a combination of ten happy animal cards activates the end of the game, everyone will take one last turn then count their victory points to see who the winner is. 

This game & it's rules are simple and easy to learn, it is a great game for families especially families with younger children wanting to get into the world of card games and board games. Seeing as how it is geared towards younger children it is also nice that rounds can go fairly quickly and doesn't have any complicated steps. The game box is also small so this would make a easy one to take along on trips to play in a hotel room or out camping. 

If you want to find more great board games like Super Kawaii Pets head over to check out my Board Game Reviews section.

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Arcane Wonders for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Artkive - Save space while displaying your child's artwork!

 

It is no secret that kids love to create art whether it is drawing you a card or painting a picture & as a parent of two I've been given lots of artwork by my children. Between their personal art pieces, they've done at home & artwork they've brought home from school, there just isn't enough space to keep everything. I've kept quite a bit of it & have a box full of artwork in the closet, but I always feel bad there isn't a lot of room to display some of it. That is where Artkive comes in! 

One of the services they offer is that you can send in a stack of your children's artwork, which will then be professionally photographed and made into a hardcover book which can be pulled out & looked at any time you want. I recently received the opportunity to work with them to see how the process worked. I was offered a twenty-five-page book in exchange for my review & both of my kids along with my husband and myself were excited to have some of the kids artwork in a book. I sat down with both of my kids to go through some of the artwork we've saved so we could pick out what we wanted in the book together. The kids also decided to give thirteen of the pages to my oldest & twelve of the pages would display my youngest's work.  

So how does it work? The first step is to head to their website & start the book process which will include paying a first initial payment then waiting for a box to be sent to you. The box has a plastic bag to place your artwork so that if anything happens to the box the art is still safe, along with a prepaid label. Books start out at $75 for twenty-five-pages and additional pages cost extra. If you use code MOONLIT20 you will get $20 off your book order. After you send in your artwork, you will receive updates via email letting you know where your book is at in the process. Our book got stuck for a little while on one of the steps, but everything was sorted out. It takes about two months from the time you send in your artwork to the time you get your book back.

Before they send out your book, they will send you an email asking you to proof the book. This step allows you to adjust the lighting on any photos if you wish, add a description under the artwork, and select a cover photo. When you hit submit, your book will be printed & mailed back to you. I thought the process was very simple to understand & was easy to use. Our book turned out great, I love being able to grab our Artkive book off the bookshelf to flip through the artwork. When we've had family over, we've been able to put it out on the coffee table & they've enjoyed looking through it as well. 

The point of these books of course is to free up some space in your house, so unless you select to pay an extra return free the original artwork will be recycled. My kids are ages eleven & fifteen, so they didn't think it was that big of a deal not to get the original work back since we had a copy in the book. However, some people are more attached to things like this and may want the work back, so it is completely up to you. These books would make a great gift for a family member or as a gift to yourself. Along with kids art books they have an option where you can get it turned into a framed mosaic. There is also another option called cards by Artkive where they will do the same as they did with this book, but with old greeting cards instead.

Does this sound like a service you'd use? 

Disclaimer- Artkive provided me with an art book for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.