Dinner and a Movie with Marvel Avengers and MarketSide Pizza

I didn't get to see Marvel's The Avengers in theaters (grandma and grandpa took the kids without me!) so I was anxious for it to be released on DVD. When I was asked to treat my family to dinner and a movie featuring the Walmart Exclusive Marvel Avengers Blu-Ray/DVD and Graphic Novel combo pack and MarketSide Pizza, I didn't hesitate. Pizza and comic books are kind of a no-brainer for me.

We love comic books in this household. And superheroes. Just between you and me, I've always been more partial to the Marvel universe than that other realm. The Marvel superheroes always have more humanistic flaws that I can relate to. They sort of teeter on the brink between superhero and supervillain. Well, you can see how I'd like that…

Anyway, back to shopping. I decided to go to Walmart while the kids were in school because it's Halloween season and I don't like arguing over candy and costumes. Especially while I'm trying to concentrate on serious business. Like, for example, using the augmented reality Avengers app Super Hero AR to enhance my shopping with Avenger-y goodness– another Walmart exclusive.

Using the app on your mobile device, you can scan special Avengers displays throughout Walmart and unlock a "Which Avenger are You?" quiz as well as interactive animations and sounds. Kind of cool! This big display lets YOU interact with the Avengers. 

Point your mobile device at it, using the Super Hero AR app, and be surrounded by the Avengers!

You'll also want to pick up a MarketSide pizza or two, emblazoned with your favorite Avengers. I tried to use the app on the signage above the pizza display but it wouldn't work for me, sadly. Captain America = Pepperoni, Iron Man = Five Cheese, Hulk = Everything. I got cheesy breadsticks, too. Nom nom.

When I got home, I was impressed with how nice the Walmart exclusive Avengers graphic novel is. It's full-sized and full-color, with glossy, thick pages. I was expecting something smaller and more perfunctory but this is the real deal for Avengers fans. Jasper ran off with it, immediately.

We also used the app to check out the AR features on the DVD packaging and pizza box. So cool- you get a whole little Marvel universe to interact with. This is way more impressive in person, I have to tell you. It looks very 3D and you can see it in 360º! Squint at my screen shot and you can see all the Avengers hanging out on top of skyscrapers, as superheroes are wont to do.

The kids love eating in front of the TV, especially all together. The movie is a bit long for younger kids and Roo said there were too many bad words.

Roo also says that Captain America is cute and that daddy likes Black Widow. I concur.

Jasper was ready for bed before the movie was over but he has added the Avengers graphic novel to his bedtime reading queue.

To see my whole shopping/Marvel Avengers Superhero AR app experience, check out my Google + album.

Keep up with all things Avengers by liking Marvel on Facebook and following @Marvel on Twitter.

In accordance to the FTC Guidelines and the WOMMA Code of Ethics, I am disclosing that I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Marvel. #MarvelAvengersWMT #CBias #SocialFabric. As usual, all opinions are my own.

Simple Fix

I wish I could tell you that I'm an organizational diva. I'm not. In fact, the office repainting project I'm undertaking is giving me hives. I love a beautiful room and design in all its myriad forms but, in reality, I'm kind of a toss it there and hope for the best kind of girl. Sad but true.

It's especially sad because I have lots of lovely things that are underutilized simply because I can't find them when I need them. Jewelry and shoes are two of my favorite things and also two of my biggest problems to sort/display. My friend Tonya made a gorgeous jewelry organizer out of an old press type drawer but she's a craft genius and I'm… not. Besides which, the 105º-plus temperatures have made me rather disinclined to do anything much that would require leaving the miracle of air conditioning.

So here's my compromise: I found magnets shaped like aluminum pushpins in the office supplies section at Walmart. I stuck them to my trusty ÄTRAN medicine cabinet and then hung my pretties up.

Not too shabby for a minute or two of sorting. My kind of DIY project!

Break the Color Rules with Glidden Testers

My husband is an artist and we have tons of colorful paintings and sculpture displayed throughout our home… not to mention the omnipresent scattered kids' toys that add a riot of color to any given space. We try to keep our decor neutral so it doesn't clash with everything else in our lives. As a result, our walls are plain, stark, boring gallery white. I was happy to undertake the challenge to "Break the Color Rules" by repainting one room in my house.

First I visited Glidden.com to see my paint color options. Unsurprisingly, they are vast! I really like the Glidden Color Palette tool, which lets you visualize what a color will look like in a room with a click of the mouse. You can "drop" colors onto walls or moulding. In fact, you can even click to make the color swatch fill your entire computer screen so you can use your monitor as a giant paint swatch! Awesome.

Another excellent website feature is the paint calculator. You add in your measurements and it tells you how much paint you need to buy. Handy for the math-phobic like me. The website will generate a printable shopping list for you, too. Technology is a beautiful thing.

In the end, I decided I wanted to see the colors in person, so I headed to Walmart to buy some of the new Glidden Testers. These 2 oz. bottles of paint feature an easy-to-use brush attached to the resealable cap. Each bottle covers 2 square feet, so you should be able to get a decent idea of what the color will look like on your wall– no holding up a tiny paper swatch and squinting at your room, trying to visualize your results! Even better, they are stocked in a pretty huge variety of colors so you can pick a bunch and test them out. See my ThisMoment story below to fully experience my shopping trip!

My mission was to "Break the Color Rules" so I wanted to choose bright hues that I would ordinarily shy away from. Since I've decided to paint my home office, I also totally disregarded my husband's art school-honed sense of color theory. I just picked shades I was drawn to, the way you would shop for shoes or a handbag. It was exhilarating! I highly recommend scoping out some colors the next time you're shopping at Walmart. Obviously, I couldn't control myself. I was supposed to pick out three colors for my room and I ended up with six. But what a lovely half dozen!

From top to bottom: Bittersweet Chocolate, Black Tulip, Spanish Olive, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Blooming Fuschia and Vibrant Day Lily.
My husband HATES the pink. Ha!

The Glidden Testers are also about the same size as bottles of acrylic paints at the hobby store, so if you're a DIY aficionado, you might want to pick some up for crafting– house paint typically has excellent coverage and the rainbow of colors available is impressive. Hey, you know what? There's a coupon link on my sidebar that will give you $2 off per bottle, bringing the price down to less than a dollar in my store. Stock up, mini-Marthas!

The paper swatches are pretty accurate; they look about the same on my wall as on the cards

Aren't you dying to see what I come up with? Me, too! There are plenty of other Social Fabric community members embarking on their own painterly makeovers, some with the same "Break the Color Rules" mission as mine and still other brave souls are actually letting their readers vote on their color schemes! Yikes! You can check out everyone's progress on the Glidden Testers website or search the hashtag #GliddenTesters on Twitter.



In accordance to the FTC Guidelines and WOMMA Code of Ethics, I am disclosing that this project has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Glidden Testers/Paint #collectivebias. All opinions are, as usual, strictly my own.

Elmer's + Barbie = Glue and Glitter

Did you hear there's a new Barbie movie out? No? Well, you obviously don't have a little girl between the ages of 3-9. We were asked to check out Barbie: A Fairy Secret and create a craft project inspired by the DVD, using Elmer's products. We bought a lot of glittery goodness and now Roo wants to be a stylist with a magical purse. I am not going to explain that, you'll just have to watch it yourself!

To see what we made, check out the Whrrl story below!

More check-ins at Walmart Supercenter #1507

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Disclosure: This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. All opinions are, as usual, strictly my own.