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.
I have three upcoming weddings this fall and a Christmas party or two to prepare. I always like buying dresses well ahead of time so I know that I have something planned. If I find a different dress closer to the time, I have no problem making the switch but I cannot handle the feeling of not having an outfit that I am looking forward to wearing a week before an event. I’ve started the process of finding some dresses that I love for the events I know are coming up. I found one dress that I am so in love with, I had to share it!
This bow twist dress comes in several colors: Black, Cobalt, Light Blue, Pink, and Red. This dress is under $70, and the quality/shape is great for this price point! The red was probably my favorite but since I am opting to wear it for a wedding next weekend I chose to stick with cobalt.
The website suggests you size up and I highly back that recommendation. This dress has a great, snug fit, but it definitely runs smaller than my usual dress size.
You can shop my bow twist midi dress here or the whole look here .
I posted this back to work look on instagram. I made several purchases for this outfit from the Nordstrom Anniversary sale. I shared all my sale favorites on the blog. This top is J.Crew was purchased from Nordstrom. It is so comfortable. I love that the stripes don’t look too busy and the feminine detail that the sleeves add. It looks great paired for work or casually with jeans. These Vince Camuto shoes have been an all-time favorite. I can wear them to work, out on the town, or dance in them all night at a wedding. They’re so comfortable (In my opinion, they’re a better version of the popular Stuart Weitzman) I have them in a few variations and colors!
Happy National Cheese Pizza Day! This is definitely a holiday I can get behind. To make it a little healthier (okay, a lot healthier) I am going to celebrate with cauliflower pizza crust + pepperoni!
Cauliflower everything is the new everything. We are seeing cauliflower gnocchi, rice, bread, pizza, and more. I cannot speak to a variety of pizza crust brands but I have been using the Trader Joes for a while and I love it! Here is how to eat your pizza, and feel good about it.
Ingredients
Cauliflower pizza crust (freezer section of TJs)
Pizza Sauce
Basil
Pepperoni
Mozzarella cheese
Steps
1. Preheat the oven to 425.
2. Put your pizza on a baking sheet.
3. Bake for 12 min, flip with
Pizzeria Pronto® Peel.
4. Bake on this side for 6 min.
5. Remove and dress with pizza sauce, cheese, pepperoni, and basil (or whatever toppings you choose).
6. Bake for another 6 min.
7. Remove from the oven and transfer your pizza to the
wood pizza paddle , cut, and serve!
If you try this recipe, let me know what you think!
I am working on my United States visit count. I’ve visited just under 25 states and I have missed a lot of the popular ones (Colorado, Arizona, California). If you asked me which one I would visit next I definitely wouldn’t have guessed Iowa. I have been traveling throughout the U.S. this summer. I’ve had the opportunity to see some amazing places I wouldn’t have otherwise thought of. Most recently, Iowa. I was there for RAGBRAI (Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa) for the past week. RAGBRAI is a huge bike tour that takes place in Iowa every summer. It is a non-competitive ride that travels across the state. It attracts people from the mid-west, as well as, the rest of the United States and even other countries! I was working with a sponsor to support the event and got to visit every town along the way.
Each year, the tour starts on the West side of the state and travels East. However, each year it takes a different route and stops in different towns throughout the state. This year the event started in Onawa and stopped at the following host towns: Denison, Jefferson, Ames, Sigourney, Iowa City, and finally ended in Davenport. If you are a rider, you will ride through more towns than this but as support this is where you go and this is where the riders rest (or party) until their ride the next day. This is a huge event, I can’t believe that I had never heard of it before! There are approximately 8,500 week long riders plus day riders each year. These people ride their bike for 7 days and many of them camp in tents in the host towns along the way. Riders travel with support teams. Vendors and sponsors travel with riders through the race too. There are tons of vendors lining the street at each host town, the whole event is a huge production. They serve food, offer freebies, set-up beer gardens, and more. Two gentleman, Scott and TJ run the event and do an amazing job orchestrating the whole thing.
While many people camp, a number of locals open their homes to house riders (and their support teams) throughout the event. I was fortunate enough to stay with a couple in Iowa City on our way to the Expo. These people didn’t know us but let us stay in their house, use their bathrooms, and provided us with breakfast and coffee in the morning. Larry and Dee live on a small farm in Iowa City. They also handcraft artisan furniture and can custom make pieces. His craftsmanship and passion are impressive. If you are in the market for anything, here is where you can find his work. Rustic Wood Shop.Their generosity was amazing. It seems like many of these towns are full of kind-hearted people like Larry and Dee.
It was fun to explore each of the new cities and see the landscape of Iowa driving between them. The state was so much more beautiful than I ever expected and full of gorgeous, subtle, rolling hills covered in perfectly lined cornfields and soy fields. Iowa City was my favorite stop. The city was really amazing. It’s a small city but is full of sweet boutiques, lots of great restaurants and bars, and the University of Iowa’s beautiful campus. We spent a couple nights in a super cute hotel called Hotel Vetro. It’s was a modern, posh hotel that had a sushi restaurant and a cute market on the first floor of the building!
Would I ride in RAGBRAI? Right now, I am honestly disappointed to say the answer is probably ‘no’. I wish this was for me but I am so accustomed to my lifestyle, sleeping, and eating habits. I think it would be incredibly challenging to change all of them and then bike 70+ miles a day. I could see myself participating in an event like this if I was older and had children who were interested in biking and camping. Right now, I am happy to have seen the event and be part of a sponsorship and support team. If you’re interested in participating– I definitely recommend it! Everyone who does it has a blast and supports one another. The count down to 2019 has begun. You can learn more from their website.
I love sushi! Ever since I was young, I have been an adventurous eater. I love trying new foods, sometimes just to say I have tried it! Sushi, is a staple in my diet. When I first moved to Charlotte I had to find all new favorite sushi spots. It has taken a lot of research to develop my top five sushi spots and orders, but I was happy to do it!
1. Yamazaru- This is a great spot in South End. I love the atmosphere here, it is really intimate is was decorated so cute! I think they came up with some really original rolls and have enjoyed everything I’ve tried. My top two rolls here have been Mango de Tango and West Woods.
2. Ginbu 401– This place is a little further out of the city so I don’t head that way as much. When I do it’s totally worth it! It’s located in Myers Park near the Pure Barre (but not in that exact plaza). I love a lot of the rolls here, they’ve all been super tasty. My go-to’s are probably the Salmon Dream Roll and the Rainbow Roll.
3. Room 112– This is the first sushi place I tried in Charlotte. It has remained my tried-and-true favorite because of that, the fact that I can walk there, their price, plus the great (quality and size) of sashimi you get. My two favorite rolls are 112 Roll and the Sapporo Roll (photographed above).
4. New Zeland Cafe– This is a not-so-secret, little spot. It is in Matthews and is an unexpected strip mall. The rolls are so yummy and the prices are so low! I can’t make it out there very often but when I am in the area, I always make sure to stop-in. The prices are great here and they’re normally running specials– I normally order based on the specials that day!
5. Pisces Sushi Bar– Pisces is located in the Metropolitan area (there’s another location at Lake Norman), right across from the Trader Joe’s parking garage entrance. This place is great because the ambiance. Often during the weekend they will have live music. I also have some special nostalgia toward this place because Addison and I had our first date here! Two of my favorite rolls are the Screaming ‘O’ Roll and the Panthers Roll.
Thanks for checking out Colorfully Grey.