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Oscar Party Ideas

March 10, 2023 By Autumn Rose Reo Leave a Comment

Watching the Oscars is fun, but hosting an Oscar Party to watch them is even better! Here are some easy tips we shared on Good Morning Texas to create your own award-winning party with little work and a lot of fun!

Prepare for Your Oscar Party

To set the mood for your Oscar-watching party, consider decorating your space with movie-themed decorations. You can hang up posters of the nominated films, set up a red carpet, and provide props for your guests to take photos with. Star decor and all things gold will set the scene easy! You can also order this Oscar award trophy of your own. If you really want to go the extra mile, you can ask your guests to dress in their Oscar-best and you can roll out the red carpet!

Let’s Play: Oscar Bingo

To make your Oscar-watching party more interactive, create a ballot or download this Oscar Bingo card for your guests to fill out. They can predict who they think will win in each category and the person with the most correct predictions or who “Bingo” of the night can win a prize like their own Oscar or a nice swag bag (just like the celebs take home!)

Set Up Viewing Areas

Make sure your guests have a comfortable place to watch the Oscars. Set up a few viewing areas with chairs, couches, and blankets. Consider providing a few different viewing options, such as a large TV, a projector, or a laptop.

Plan Your Oscar-Worthy Menu

No party is complete without food and drinks! Consider serving appetizers, snacks, and drinks that are movie-themed or inspired by the nominated films. We love using the names of the movies to theme the menu. Also adding gold to anything makes it extra special so you can use edible 24 gold leaf to add to your food or drinks. Edible glitter to a champagne glass will make your guests feel extra special!

Let the Awards Begin

Finally, remember that the most important part of hosting an Oscar-watching party is to have fun! Encourage your guests to dress up, take photos, and enjoy the show together.

By following these tips, you can host a fun and memorable Oscar-watching party that your guests will love.

New Jenny McCarthy App Teaches Kids How to Behave

February 16, 2015 By Autumn Rose Reo 15 Comments

I can remember the first time I saw Jenny McCarthy, I thought she was gorgeous, crazy, hilarious and at times a little inappropriate.

Several years later, big and pregnant, I read her “Belly Laughs, The Naked Truth about Pregnancy and Childbirth” and almost wet my pants reading through her pregnancy which helped to make my 38-weeks much easier. What I really loved is that she was REAL.

Oh, how times have changed.

Photo credit: A Celebration of Women.

While she is still mother-funny as you can see with new husband Donnie Wahlberg of NKOTB, Donnie Loves Jenny,” what makes her so respectable and relatable is like many parents, she wants the best for her kiddo and will go to the ends of the earth to make it happen. Frustrated by how difficult it was as a parent to find quality educational products which she could use by herself to help her autistic son Evan, she resolved to use her experience and professional connections to produce quality educational products for moms everywhere.

Jenny collaborated with Sarah Clifford Scheflen, M.S., CCC-SLP, a practicing speech-language pathologist who specializes in providing therapies to children with developmental disorders, and together they created education resource company, teach2talk™. Recently the company launched the app, Behaviors with Friends (available on iTunes.)

“Behavior issues are a common complaint from parents,” said founder Sarah Clifford Scheflen. “Behavior with Friends not only teaches children how to behave appropriately, but also provides tips to parents on how to implement their own behavior modifications.”

Behaviors with Friends uses targeted video modeling to help teach your child how to behave appropriately, solve problems, make good decisions, and properly communicate with their friends and other peers in common social scenarios and settings.

Using video modeling, lessons focus on common behavior problems for children, such as:

strategies to resolve conflicts with peers without resorting to tantrums, name-calling or physical violence;
self-management and dealing with anger and frustration in a positive fashion;
sharing and taking turns with friends;
being a good sport;
telling the truth;
bullying;
not interrupting;
being nice to friends and not taunting, and encouraging friends who are less competent instead of teasing; and
appropriate body boundaries.

“All parents want their kids to have friends,” said Jenny. “So we made these videos to help teach children and their parents how to resolve common behavior problems with friends.”

About the Founders
Jenny McCarthy is a The New York Times® best–selling author, actress, producer and comedian. More importantly, she is “mom” to her son Evan, who received a diagnosis of autism with associated language, social, and play delays in 2005. As a mom, Jenny understands every mother’s desire to help their children achieve their full potential, and was frustrated by how difficult it was as a parent to find quality educational products which she could use by herself to help her child in her own home. She resolved to use her experience and connections in the motion picture and publishing industries to produce quality educational products for moms everywhere, and in collaboration with Sarah, teach2talk™ is the result. http://twitter.com/JennyMcCarthy

Sarah Clifford Scheflen, M.S., CCC-SLP is a pediatric clinical speech–language pathologist who specializes in working with children with autism and other developmental disorders. Sarah is the founder of Scheflen Speech–Language Pathology, Inc., her private practice in Santa Monica, California, and she is also the senior speech–language pathologist on staff at an intensive partial–hospitalization program located at a major public research university in Los Angeles, California. She is a frequent speaker and guest lecturer, and her research focus is on teaching play and social skills through video modeling. http://sslpinc.com/

Win $500 Gift Card! Belk Opens its Texas Flagship Store at Galleria Dallas TODAY #BelkDallas

April 9, 2014 By Autumn Rose Reo Leave a Comment

Last week Dallas was invited to celebrate a 126-year tradition that now makes its home in Dallas with the first Belk flagship location in Texas!

The 180,000 sq. ft. store that once housed Saks Fifth Avenue, rolled out the red carpet with a pre-opening event gala full of giveaways, southern hospitality, tons of great fashion and even a celebrity-hosted runway show with Nashville star Hayden Panettiere.

Benefiting Susan G. Komen, the night’s activities began with a beautiful entrance that greeted guests as they rolled up to valet, showing that Belk was definitely prepared to make a impression.

Considering I had been to a few Belk stores around DFW, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but after mentally “pinning” about four handbags I was lusting over, including the Calvin Klein color block “Celene-like” bag one below, I figured I was in for a treat (and my wallet for a possible problem.)

I found many of my favorite brands including Michael Kors, Kate Spade, Lauren by Ralph Lauren, Free People Nanette Lepore, Laura Mercier and many more with tons of options for all ages and styles.

This Wednesday, April 9, 2014 marks the official grand opening of the new Belk at Galleria Dallas with lots fun including a gift card giveaway for the first 800 customers (and cards up to $500!)

But if you can’t make it to Belk on Wednesday, make plans to enjoy several of their grand opening events including Shoes & Champagne on April 10, April 12 & 13 at Beauty LIVE event and even a Girls’ Night Out with Cynthia Rowley on April 17!

I have a feeling that Belk will soon become your favorite go-to store for your modern southern style. (If you sign up on their website you also get a 20% discount!)

Check out more style with Belk at @BelkDallasGalleria on Facebook, @Belk on Twitter and @MyBelk on Instagram and Pinterest!

Should You Go To SXSW? 4 Tips for a Successful SXSW

March 31, 2014 By Autumn Rose Reo Leave a Comment

If you’re reading this post you probably fall into only one of two categories: you are excited to learn why you should or shouldn’t go to SXSWi OR you are wondering if SXSW is the newest version of P90X. Honestly, you might not know what either one is, but when it comes down to the conference for all things digital, music and more, it comes all down to SXSW or what’s more formerly known as South by Southwest or the conference goers as “South By.”

As the big daddy of conferences especially in the music world and now the technology environment too, SXSW, I’ve always wanted to attend. Thankfully, I was asked to be an ambassador for Pfister, so I had the opportunity to travel to Austin for three days to Austin with my blog friend from Milk and Cuddles to explore SXSW together.

My one word to describe SXSW? Overwhelming.

But overwhelming doesn’t necessarily mean something negative, it’s just a lot to take in. However, with a few points of advice, you can figure out if SXSW is for you, what to expect and how to get the most out of it.

Four Tips for a Successful SXSW Experience

1. Book:

Hotels for SXSW open as early as fall for the following year. I’d highly suggest you book one close and realize it’s going to be costly. Since I didn’t decide to go until February, I was stuck with some expensive, yet crappy choice for hotels. While it was only three miles away, each day I had to deal with a little traffic, I did have to plan my parking strategy. Many nearby lots offer parking at $25 for just the day, so I would have to have my evening plans scheduled in advance or I might have a ticket waiting for me or a car not waiting for me. However, having a hotel downtown would have made things easier if it’s within walking distance of the Austin Convention Center.

2. Bring:

Charge cords for all those smart devices, cameras, and computers are a must. While I picked up two freebie ones at SXSW, that was just a lucky circumstance. Remember, there are stations as well in the lounges (see below), but if you plan to tweet a session and the phone starts to go low 30 minutes in, I’m telling you that you aren’t finding a cord. (For other helpful things to bring, check out this post on “Last-Minute Must-Pack Items for SXSW.“)

3. Schedule:

With more than 70,000 at this conference and hundreds of topics, tradeshows and discussions you can attend, it’s impossible to attend everything you want. So you have to be choosy. I attended several sessions at SXSW and would have attended more if I hadn’t learned my first lesson early: know what session you really want to go to, make sure you are there in advance and just because it’s a few blocks away, doesn’t mean it will only take you 10 minutes to get there. My favorite session was with Dallas Mavs owner/technology genius/Shark Tanker Mark Cuban. I honestly wanted to hear a hometown hero at work and I think he represented Big D in a big way. He talked candidly and in true SXSW fashion, rolled out his new app.

4. Network:

There are social events out the wazoo at SXSW. Some are within the event, some are just in around the city. Ironically, only a few are official, so get those thumbs to working on social media looking up what’s available. There were luncheons, dinners, happy hours, tours…well anything and 99% of was free. The Austin American-Statesman had a list of events I found and so did Eventbrite. Just make sure to sign up for these too, as some of them will sell out.

As a brand representative, PR pro, and blogger, I experienced SXSW with several different points of views.

Standouts from my SXSW included:

The Paypal Social Media Lounge was a phenomenal of creating a space for attendees that they wanted to come to repeatedly throughout the event and even enjoy difference experience. Set up as a recharging station for powering up devices, attendees also could order a handcrafted barista-made coffee, meet and greet with a book author, grab a quick snack and even grab some much needed swag at the Paypal store for free. The “store” was actually a way to try out its new online store app to purchase from brick and mortar retailers with a smartphone. While Paypal was actually giving attendees a choice of a charging adapter, umbrella, hangover kit, etc., a product representative a chance to guide the attendee through their first use of the app, making sure everyone who entered the door left with the downloaded app and branded merchandise.

While I wasn’t sure what the brand was when I walked in, I can tell you that everyone wanted to be in the Circus Maximus Lounge. With breakfast, the best Tito’s Bloody Marys and really cute shirts, this coordinated effort between several technology brands had something going on at all times. I’m still not sure exactly all the company names or if they had any real importance for me, it made an impression.

I literally bumped (actually just stumbled) into the Samsung Loungeacross from the Austin Convention Center. Taking over a restaurant space, the Samsung lounge had experiences happening all over the place and it felt like several night clubs in the middle of the day. We had tacos, cocktails, customized juice blends based on our activity style – and everything had a Samsung touchpoint. For those with Samsung devices, attendees could trade in their battery for a new one on the spot.

Of course, the best part of SXSW is that it’s in Austin. No one doesn’t like going to Austin; it’s beautiful (except when it rains in the winter), laid back and full of fun places to eat and experience. From food trucks along Caesar Chavez to rolling down South Congress (SoCo), there are tons of places you can eat.

Places to eat in Austin: I enjoyed the food trucks including this crazy hot mess of tater tots with Longanisa and Sriracha one night for Be More Pacific. Then after a day of nothing but cold rain (which also makes for a different experience in Austin all together), a creamy, rich bowl homemade Papardelle from Enoteca-Vespaio and a risotto balls to die for. I’m still getting cravings for that dish as we speak. However, no Austin experience would be complete without brunch, so the only restaurant we had reservations for was La Condesa and it was worth it. A guacamole tasting, duck fries and some amazing chorizo eggs benedict on a quinoa cake – it was pretty delicious and a wise move since there was a huge waiting line after we left.

Still trying to decide? I’d suggest if you are with a brand launching a service that represents the tech demo or wants to own your place amongst your competition, it’s a must. If you are a blogger, SWSW has some great opportunities, but the sessions I attended seemed less workshop style and more discussion of social responsibility and how technology will play out in the future. However, the energy was intense and was an amazing way to immerse myself in all things in the digital world. And remember, you can always go to Austin during SXSW and be a part of the scene and not even buy a ticket. (I think my friend actually had an even better experience than me and she paid just her spending money while she was there.)

My last bit of advice for SXSW: Make sure you have a solid goal and stick to it. If you are going to hang and to check out the scene, then understand that’s what you are doing. If you are going in efforts to meet tons of people, then pound some coffee and get after it. Just make sure your agenda is clear from the beginning, so you accomplish what you set out to accomplish! Basically, it might not be a life-changing experience, but “it’d a whole lot cooler if you did.”

Celebrating Dr. Smith’s Dallas Launch with Celeb Mom Ali Landry

September 30, 2013 By Autumn Rose Reo Leave a Comment

(Syndicated from Mom2Momdfw.com)

Saturday was busy.

After the Fox Good Day Saturday segment on all things pumpkin, I ran over to Fearing’s at the The Ritz-Carlton for Dr. Smith’s Diaper Ointment expansion launch. While it was rainy and humid, indoors it was a wonderful brunch experience with moms talking about what moms end up always talking about – their kids.

The only thing that was different than my normal brunch is this time we had a special guest in our midst, a former Miss USA, model and 8-week post-partum mom Ali Landry. And she honestly was so incredibly nice, real and absolutely amazing. And I couldn’t take my eyes off her shoes.

Here are more photos from this great event hosted by Dr. Smith’s Diaper Rash Ointment.

Entrance to event

Of course I would have food shots! Here’s a fruit k-bob with yogurt drizzle (loved the napkins, too!)

Breakfast corny dogs with maple sausage.
It was also the opening day of the State Fair of Texas. Coincidence? I think not.

Loved the presentation on bite-sized pancakes with blueberry dressing.
(Did you notice the deviled egg tray makes a perfect presentation?)

Flowers were beautiful and matched my mimosa perfectly!

Me and the girls with our new bestie, Ali (well, maybe not bestie, but she seemed like one of the girls that day!)

From their family to ours: Dr. Smith ointment to take home to our babies!

Right now the company is also offering a $2-off coupon on their Facebook site to use at local pharmacies like Walgreens. Visit the Dr. Smith’s Official Facebook page to download yours now.

Saving you money and your child’s bottom too, that’s Dr. Smith’s.

“Cool Tips for Healthy Lunches” on KTXD TVs D: The Broadcast

August 21, 2013 By Autumn Rose Reo 27 Comments

Wow Mom Wednesdays:

Going back to school is a hard transition — and so is getting back to the routine of making lunches for the kids. However, did you know it’s possible to make healthy lunches that kids will love to eat and not spend all night making them? Yep, you can with three easy tips and a few examples I shared today with the amazing Pat Smith on KTXD TVs D: The Broadcast today. She’s a mama of five kids with Dallas Cowboys great Emmitt Smith and runs her own busy non-profit for women called Treasure You.

She’s an amazing woman, so I was so excited to share a little time in the spotlight and give her a few tips I think might help you, too!

Do you have any healthy lunchbox tips to share?

Also, you can check out my other TV appearances here!

This Real Housewife to a REAL Real Housewife: An Interview with RH of Orange County’s Heather Dubrow

February 4, 2013 By Autumn Rose Reo Leave a Comment

Me Mondays:

There are many days that I wish I could be a member of the Real Housewives of enterprise…on Bravo. The makeup, the hair, the clothes and of course, the houses! I’m a huge fan of the original The Real Housewives of Orange County and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, their lives seem so different than this real housewife back in DFW…

Or is it?

Heather Dubrow from RHOC
(photo: Bravo)

I recently had the chance to chat with Heather Dubrow, the only beautiful brunette from the RHOC. She’s married to a plastic surgeon’s wife, a mother of FOUR kids, a TV actress (she’s been on several sitcoms on primetime), and oh yeah, a reality star. So it was hard to think what this gal and I could possibly have in common except brown hair. However, after only a few minutes, I was totally at ease chatting with her. She was a likeable girl and we had a nice chat on just being a mom and women!

Here’s a little bit of what I learned from our chat:

About the Show:
Her husband, a plastic surgeon, has also been on reality TV shows like The Swan, really wanted her to do the show. Now she’s glad she did and she’s happy to have met the girls. “Tamara, Gretchen and Vicky are great gals.”

[Ok, my hubby isn’t a surgeon on TV, but he’s a real cut up…tee-hee!]

About her Personal Philosophy:
“I’m not perfect – I have a beautiful life that I am thankful for, but I am a real person.”

[I hear you sister!]

On Family:
“Our family go-to meal is one of my favorites to make – it’s breakfast for dinner with biscuits, eggs and bacon. It’s great because we all come together and enjoy it as a family.”

[Did you read the part about her making the food and no chef? In the winter I love to make breakfast for dinner. What’s your favorite go-to dish in a quickie?]

On Her Looks:
“I’m an active person with a healthy eating. And to keep fit, I have a trainer 2 times a week.”

[I try to be this girl everyday. I think we all do, right?]

On Her Must Haves:
One thing she must have is her mobile phone and a big bag of Twizzlers!

[I HAVE to have my Iphone and I bet I can always find a bag of Goldfish!]

See I totally could be on a Real Housewives’ candidate. Sign me up!

***

Season 8 of The Real Housewives of Orange County is set to premiere in late March! So make sure to check your listings for more info or follow them on Facebook.