The One with Using Groupons: Madame Tussauds


Thursday, June 30, 2011

Ever since I found out about Groupon (decades after the rest of the world haha) I've enjoyed sifting through my daily email to see if there are any good deals. We've purchased a few Groupons over the past few months so I'm going to blog about our Groupon adventures over the next few days. Capiche?

Yesterday morning Chris didn't have school and I decided to work later in the day so we headed over to Hollywood (that still is soooo weird for me to say and fathom that we live next door to Hollywood!) to go to Madame Tussauds. We had a Groupon for 2 tickets for $20. Pretty good deal when regular tickets are $25 a pop!
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We arrived around 9:30am so we had a half hour to kill before it opened at 10am, which was easy to do.
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Across the street from Madame Tussauds is the Roosevelt Hotel. I don't know much about it and I'm crunched for time to look it up, but I do know that it's a cool looking building!
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Next door to Madame Tussauds is Grauman's Chinese Theater.
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All over the pavement in front of the theater, stars have imprinted their hands and feet and a message.
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"Hundreds of thousands of Hollywood’s most elite have graced the halls of The Chinese Theatre at movie premieres and ceremonies. But only a select few have been invited to join the exclusive society known as the Forecourt to the Stars. From Marilyn Monroe to Tom Hanks, Betty Grable’s legs to Jimmy Durante’s nose, Sid Grauman helped Hollywood leave its impression on not only Los Angeles but on the world."

I stumbled across the Harry Potter stars' impressions. Sooo excited for the final movie to come out in a couple weeks!
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Random Spidey....
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The Walk of Fame stretches for miles.
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Kermit the Frog? Really? They're just giving these things away! Where's the Chris and Paige and Fox star? Holler to Walt Disney, Mickey Mouse, Michael Jackson, Christopher Reeve (that one's for you Dald!), and the random star someone personalized themselves - genius :)
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We combined the Michael J. Fox star and someone with the last name Evans to make our own stars :)
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Lotsa kiddies waiting for the Disney Soda Fountain & Studio Store across the street to open. Magical.
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Every other store along Hollywood Blvd is a tacky gift shop with fake Oscars and LA paraphernalia and what not.
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The Kodak Theater where the Academy Awards are held is right next to Grauman's Chinese Theater. I'd like to go on a tour through it some day.
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At 10am we walked back to Madame Tussauds.
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Shrek was at the entrance to greet us.
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Once the elevator opened to let us out on the 3rd floor there was this wax figure right in front of us and literally, I kid you not, I thought it was a real person. Then it didn't move for over 10 seconds and I realized it was fake. I was beguiled!
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I took over 80 pictures of the wax figures, which I'm not going to post individually, so Picasa collages will do! Pretty much these wax figures are AMAZING. They look so real it's creepy!

I spy with my little eye: Jennifer Aniston + me, (high-pitched) Eee eee eee eee (that's supposed to be Psycho), Chris as James Dean, All the Single Ladies lady, Brad Pitt and a crazy fan, the best James Bond ever (aka Daniel Craig), Snoop Dogs, Fox with Forrest waiting to eat a box of chocolates, Lance Armstrong (for you Dald!), Captain Jack Sparrow, Claaaariiiiice, All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy dude, Sue Sylvester, Jim Carrey (for you Eric!), Chris putting with Tiger, Chris doing the Moonwalk with the King of Pop, and lots lots more.
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Wax figure trivia:
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Mr. Fox sitting in a big chair on the 2nd floor.
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On our way to lunch at Pink's Hot Dogs (another post for another day!) we drove past Capitol Records. Another cool building.
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I heart Groupon!

The One with How to Center Your Blog Banner Tutorial


Wednesday, June 29, 2011

You think there'd be an easy option for centering your blog banner in Blogger. I think it used to center itself, and maybe yours does it automatically from the template you use, but things are always changin' so you never know. Into HTML we go!

Go to your Blogger Dashboard.
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Click on Design.
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Click on Template Designer under the Design tab and you'll go to this screen.
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Click on Advanced on the left side.
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Scroll down to Add CSS and click on Add CSS.
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Copy this code that's in bold and paste it in the big white box.

#Header1 {width:650px;margin:0 auto}

(the code is highlighted in blue in the picture where it needs to be pasted):
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In the preview below it should center right before your eyes.
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IF IT'S NOT COMPLETELY CENTERED, try changing the 650 to 550 or 750 and keep tweaking the numbers until it's centered.

Click on APPLY TO BLOG on the top right corner.
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TA DA! Easy peasy!

If this didn't work for you, feel free to email me and we'll try to work it out.

What else do you want to learn how to do? Let me know and I'll make a tutorial!

The One with the 10 Winners!


Tuesday, June 28, 2011

My heart is so full I could cry! Thank you, each and every one of you, for your sweet comments, kind words, love, and support. It means so much to me and made every second it took to make these books so worth it! I'm hoping to do a virtual class soon, just have to figure it all out and find the time.

If you are one of the 10 winners, please email me at paigetaylorevans@gmail.com within 72 hours (so by 8am PST on Friday July 1st 2011) with your name and address so I can send you your book. Kinda crossing my fingers you don't email me so I can keep them all for myself - there, I said it, hehe :)

1) Aqua Painted Wood
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2) Backsplash Tile
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3) Fabric
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4) Hymns
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5) License Plate
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6) Plexiglas
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7) Painted Roses
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8) Rounded Edge
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9) Tiles
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10) Wood with Knob
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Congratulations to all the winners! Three more years or so 'til my 2000th post :)

The One with the Wedding On-Site Scrapbooking


Monday, June 27, 2011

I've scrapbooked on-site with Amy Tan at bat mitzvahs, bar mitzvahs, birthdays, and end-of-season soccer celebrations, but Saturday night was the first time I helped at a wedding! Verdict: just as much fun as the other events, but twice as loud and interesting due to intoxicated guests! The wedding was far, far away in Camarillo and the drive was beautiful. One of my favorite views is on the 134 by Burbank seeing LA from the backside of the mountains:
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My only question is, who was the guy who decided to build a freeway that points directly to the sun? Oh well, at least it's pretty :)
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I arrived a few minutes before it was time to begin so I took some outdoor pictures of the location.
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The view. Stunning.
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Niiiiiice.
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I'm obsessed with hot pink flowers.
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The perfect palm tree.
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Before the party started we jumped (literally!) in front of the camera to take some pics.
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Don't ask me why I'm smiling so big...haha!
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Amy's indoor pictures:
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Our neck of the woods.
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Place-cards table.
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Partying like it's 1999.
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Getting ready to work! (If you could even call this "working!")
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I need some Thickers!
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At the end of the night the bride and green (I mean GROOM, thanks for catching my silly typo malm :) had a 48 page album filled with pictures of their special night.
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I'll never tire of these events!

PS - Today is the last day to enter my 1000th post giveaway!
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Winners will be announced tomorrow morning!!!
Paige Taylor Evans © // Quinn Creatives DESIGN