The best teachers deserve the best gifts. It can be hard to find a small token of appreciation for a teacher who you don’t know well personally. These gifts are full proof ways to show they deserve the finer things in life without getting too personal or spending too much money.
When the holidays start to roll around, suddenly I feel like I need some extra money. The holidays are full of extra expenses: gifts, decorations, special occasion dresses, travel, parties, and more! I don’t like to miss out on any of the festivities but I don’t like to drain my bank account either. I try to offset some of my additional expenses with a few small side-hustles to keep my accounts in the black. If you know me, there are a lot of unusual things that I am willing to try to make some extra money. I am going to share some of the best ones with you! If you’re looking for some extra spirit in your holidays try one out, or try them all!
1.) Mystery Shopping- Have you heard of this? It’s real! I haven’t found any amazing assignments or jobs that pay a ton but I will tell you that I use this website all the time so it is legitimate. I also always have a clean car that I don’t have to clean myself or pay for and even make an extra $5 each time I go!
2.) Babysitting- This one may not be for everyone but it is probably my favorite! This is definitely one of the highest paying side hustles, it’s flexible, and it can be a lot of fun! Also, it’s around the holidays so you can always scare the kids into angels because Santa is watching! Care.com also offers some other services including: senior care, housekeeping, tutoring, pet care, errands, and odd jobs.
3.) Decluttering- “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” There are so many stores, apps, and websites to sell your all the things you don’t want, need, or use anymore! You can sell clothes in places like: Clothes Mentor or Plato’s closet. They’ll tell you how much they will give you for it and then you can decide! I also love to sell clothes eBay. Clean out some of your knick-knacks, drawers, movies, books, and DVDs. Apps like LetGo and OfferUp are a great way to sell things to local people so you don’t have to worry about the hassle of shipping. Websites like Decluttr and Amazon Trade-In will buy some unexpected things too!
4.) Dog walking- With all the holiday eating and drinking this is the perfect way to make some extra money and shed some extra calories while getting a little dog-therapy. There are so many dog walking apps out there now but two popular ones are: Rover and Wag.
5.) Find Money- Okay, so, this one isn’t really a side hustle! Have you ever seen if you’re missing any money? There are a few places you can find out! Class Action Rebates is a website that shares a lot of class action lawsuits you can join. I have found a number of cases where I was eligible to participate and got a small settlement. It’s possible someone has owed you money in the past but was unable to get it to you. You can check for Unclaimed Money here. I don’t know anyone who has found theirs but it is out there!
Let me know if you try any of these side hustles, I’d love to hear what you think! Do you have one I missed, share it!
My family hosts an annual Halloween party. I look forward to dressing up for Halloween and celebrating with friends each year. I normally think about characters that I do (or have) really enjoyed in movies, history, books, or television shows. Then I try to create my own version/outfit to represent them. I haven’t been into purchasing store-bought costumes in years because I love the creative outlet to create my own costume. Also, this way usually ends up being (slightly) cheaper and results in pieces that you can mix-match through your real clothes and future costumes. It normally takes me a couple months to fully create my costume. It involves a lot of thrift-shopping and time to think about the best way to create certain pieces and do makeup (welcome Pinterest). This year I planned my costume more last minute than I usually do but I am still excited about the way it turned out!
It turns out, I prefer being the villain, maybe because I play a very different role in my real life. Last year, I dressed up as Posion Ivy from Batman. This year, I am dressing up as Cruella DeVil. I did my best to emulate the original (cartoon) Cruella DeVil from the Disney movie, 101 Dalmatians. There have been a lot of remakes, but I wanted to try and mimic the original cartoon character as much as possible!
I wanted my niece and nephew watch the cartoon version with me but it was incredibly hard to find! I wanted them to see how she looked in that version and so I could get into role! Luckily, one of the remakes is on Netflix. We watched that instead, it was their first time watching it and it ended up being a hit!
// Create the look //
// Makeup You’ll Need //
(yes, really– watch the video to learn why and how you will use it)
Start with a clean face and a moisturizer as you normally would to make sure you protect your skin. Next, I pretty much did my makeup as I normally would with as much contouring as possible. I used a lot of my mom’s makeup so my skin match wasn’t great but hey, it’s Halloween. I did green eyeshadow when the time came, but I wish I had done it more drastically.
For my eyebrows, I used a black pencil and exaggerated them and extended them to look more cartoonish and animated. However, I later watched this video and definitely recommend doing eyebrows like this! If I had a little more time I would have gotten the supplies!
If you’re interested in a Cruella DeVil costume, watch this makeup tutorial. She did such an amazing job!
// Hair Supplies You’ll Need //
and Black
Hair Spray
I have long blonde hair, a far cry from Cruella’s sophisticated changing hair. First, I showered and added a lot of product to my wet hair. I did this in hopes to protect my hair color and help the spray I would be adding wash out as soon as possible. After I showered, added product, and let my hair dry, I began the process to mimic her hair. In the cartoon, she had what I could best describe as a lob. So, I put a braid in the ends of my hair and pinned it under the top so it looked shorter. I used the clip to do this. That clip had a lot of hair to hold, so I added some pins to the bottom and side to help keep everything in place. Next it was time to add color. I had my sister do the spraying. She made sure there was a clear part by holding a paper towel along the line. First she sprayed my white side then my black side. The white was a lot harder to layer on. We used the entire bottle of hairspray and probably could have used a little more. The black had a lot left over. We also noticed that the black side looked like smooth hair while the white spray kind pooled in certain parts of my hair (as if it was wet, but it wasn’t) and dried with a more “paint like look”. By the time my hair was sprayed, it was as-if I had a TON of hairspray in so my fake lob lasted all night. (Good news- you don’t have to worry all the color came out in the shower that night too!)
// Costume Materials You’ll Need //
We actually ended up with another Cruella DeVil at the party! One of my mom’s friends came as Cruella DeVil. She purchased her costume and it was definitely to mimic the remade movie. She had a little Dalmatian with her, which was so cute! The best part of her being Cruella, is that she breeds dogs!
October is hands-down my favorite month of the year! I grew up in a fall loving house I fit right in. My birthday is in the middle of the month so I feel like there is always excitement leading up to my birthday and the hype lasts through the end of the month. Here are some of the October/fall things I look forward to in Charlotte!
1. Haunted Houses
Growing up, I took my friends to a haunted house for my birthday! Maybe an unusual little-girl’s choice for a birthday party but I have always loved the thrill of it! Going to haunted houses now still gets my adrenaline pumping and reminds me of childhood fun! I’ve been to three in Charlotte and these two were my favorite:
Scarowinds is probably Charlotte’s most famous haunted house. It is a pretty impressive showing and you can ride roller coasters for an extra thrill! They have a lot of houses set-up throughout the night. You have to wait in a pretty long line to gain entrance to each one but it can keep you busy all night!
Hickory Grove Haunted Trail is one of my favorites! I went with friends two years ago and we had so much being spooked through the woods. This haunted trail leads you on a hike where you travel through different haunted houses along the way!
2. Pumpkin picking at the Pumpkin Patch
Pumpkins are all of Charlotte in the fall. Sometimes I grab a pumpkin or two at the grocery store to save a couple bucks. The popular Pike’s Farmer’s Market has tons of pumpkins, mums, and other fall goodies to look through. Nothing quite beats the pumpkin patch though! I love to go and walk around, looking for the “perfect” pumpkin! My two near-Charlotte favorites are:
3. Apple Picking
Windy Hill Orchard is probably Charlotte’s most-famous. They have apple picking, hard cider tastings, and some yummy baked goods!
Charlotte Agenda posted an article of even more places (within 2 hours) where you can pick your own apples!
Since I haven’t tried them, I will share their great article with you here.
4. Fall Beers
Charlotte has so many amazing breweries! When fall rolls around they release their seasonal flavors. Check out some of these breweries for some of the best fall brews:
Sycamore’s (Southend) Gourd Have Mercy
NoDa’s (NoDa) Gordgeous
Catawba Brewing Co.’s (Belmont) King Don’s and Peach of Mind
If you are not a beer drinker, head over to Red Clay Ciderworks(Southend) for some hard cider.
5. Corn Maze
It’s been so long since I have done a corn maze but I absolutely love them! A lot of the times pumpkin patches will have a little one but Country Days is all about the maze!
6. Fall Foliage
The leaves changing are so beautiful! The drive from Charlotte to Pittsburgh and so pretty this time of year when you’re going through West Virginia. I certainly wouldn’t recommend it, just to see the leaves though! To see them around Charlotte it’s amazing to hike up Crowders Mountain in see the changing colors of the leaves while you can see Charlotte in the background!
Did I miss any of Charlotte’s best October activities? Share anything else we may want to try below!
// Shop My Look //
I have been wanting an Apple Watch for years. My sister has one, a lot of the bloggers I follow have them, and I really wanted one. I decided I would give one a try for thirty days. Here’s what I thought.
Day 1: I picked up my watch after work on Friday. I would get the night to set it up and all weekend to play with it. I thought, ‘Wow, this is kind of cool. It’s way more comfortable than I expected. How do I check the charge? What can this do? Where is the home screen? I had to google all of these questions and more from my phone.
Day 2: My friend and I took a really long walk and I ran some errands. I surpassed 10,000 steps before the evening. Around 5pm, I realized in less than 24 hours I already needed a charge. I thought, ‘I hope this is just because I spent so much time trying out different features.’
Day 3: Thoughts, ‘No, it wasn’t. Apparently I will need to charge it everyday. This calculates stairs. I should walk up 18 flights of stairs to get to his apartment. Look, this watch is motivating me to be healthy!’ I got over 40 flights of stairs in this day.
Day 4: I went to the pool and read during the day. I ran some errands. I watched television this evening. I got about 5,000 steps, I didn’t care. My watch needed to be charged.
Day 5: I wore my watch to work. I loved knowing what time it was all day, I don’t have another watch so this was a new addition. I went to yoga, I “only” burned 250 calories. I wondered how accurate that calculation was.
Day 6: I wore my watch to work again. The battery died so I had to charge it in the morning. I wore my watch for a run on the treadmill.
Day 7: I love this thing. How have I gone so long without a watch?
Hurricane Florence came to Charlotte this week. I missed three days of school, attended a wedding, and had a 5 day weekend. Needless to say, it hardly got worn. It doesn’t have the classy style (even with a pretty band) to be worn with formal attire.
Week three comes around and my iPhone X completely went down for the count. The screen stopped working entirely (which means the phone is useless). I had to wait two days to get into the Apple Store. The people working their were very kind and helpful however, I noticed a number of people were there for their watches.
Honestly, I don’t want to need to go their to have something else fixed. I decided to get rid of my Apple Watch the next day. I didn’t really miss my Apple Watch when I went without. A lot of the novelty had worn off at this point. I definitely want a watch but I want something that has a more classic look and will last past technological failures.
Nonexistent.
Pros(+):
– I can see how many calories I burn during a workout
– It charges very quickly
– I can answer my phone downstairs, even when it is charging upstairs.
– I love to meet goals, I have so many.
Cons (-):
– I need to charge this thing every day
– The phone pairing does not reach very far
Questions:
– How accurate is this calorie counter?
– I’ve already walked up and down the steps 5 times today and it says 1 flight of stairs.
I don’t wear a watch on a regular basis and I would like a Michele watch but definitely don’t want to lay down that kind of money right now.
Ultimate Decision: Pass. It took me less than thirty-days to realize that the Apple Watch trend was not for me. At a much lower price I could keep it for workouts and casual days but at it’s price-point I would need to rely on it for more than I could.
Thanks for checking out Colorfully Grey.