PSA: Dogs and Halloween!

About now you are all going to the store and bringing home candy for the children who come trick or treating in your neighborhood. Here are some safety tips.

If you have a dog who counter surfs or gets at food in the pantry you might want to stick with a non chocolate candy this year. The rule of course is that the darker the chocolate the more toxic it is. That being said an entire bag of peanut butter cups or fun sized snickers will leave any size dog with quite a stomach ache and the potential for worse. IMHO I don't feel the risk is worth it. Not that any candy is healthy for a dog to eat but candy corns and gummies are a lot less toxic then chocolate.

Leave the dogs home on Halloween in a safe and secure room in their crate.You don't know if a kid will be wearing a costume that will freak out your dog and the reaction is either going to be fight or flight. Plus with all the crowds you don't want them to get stepped on by accident. Walk them in their costume during the day so the neighbors can see and comment everyone will be happier especially your dog.

Halloween night make sure to have the dogs in a safe and secure location preferably in their crate before you take the candy out and the first kids come by. Wouldn't want the dog to run out the door by accident when you open it for a group of kids. Even the best trained dog could forget themselves and put their mouth in the treat bowl or run out the door with all the commotion and excitement.

If this is your pets first Halloween with you this is not the time to show off to your neighbors by having a giant dog barking on the other side of the door or a stressed out little one who wants to run and hide. If you are having a party at your house and people will be dressed up or there will be a lot of kids running around put the dog away in a room with a sign on the door saying something like sleeping baby so no one tries to go in and play and the next thing you know your dog is missing.

If you have kids who are going around make sure the candy is in a dog safe container the minute it comes in the door. Best if it goes on a top shelf in the pantry or the fridge or freezer and given out by an adult. Any extra candy that you have from passing out should be stored the same way.

Walking your dog after Halloween. Take a flashlight along with you and a pocket full of appropriate treats in case they find something half eaten or still in the wrapper on the ground so that you can make a trade your treat for the one they found on the ground. All it takes is a second because they can smell it before you can see it. Keep dog treats in your pocket for several days after Halloween for when you are out walking you will be surprised at how much candy you find out there now that you have a dog to walk and keep away from it.

Everyone including your dog can have a safe and Happy Halloween you just need to plan ahead.

Felissa is an Independent Stella & Dot Stylist located in Miami, Florida. She facilitates Trunk Show for women and their friends all over South Florida.To view the jewelry or book an event visit www.stelladot.com/felissahadas or email her Felissahadas@gmail.com

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How to choose Jewelry that will make you HAPPY!

In this article I will be putting links to different pieces for you to look at and think about. Click on them all to help you look at pieces you never would have on your own. Are they you? Do they make you smile? Do you "get" it? Can you picture yourself wearing it?

Happy doesn't necessarily mean you are keeping up with the latest trends or buying the exact same piece your friend is wearing. Only you can know if you will be happy wearing it or if it will never see the light of day.

To me never seeing the light of day is an unhappy purchase and I know for me I would much rather want to wear the piece of jewelry to sleep because I don't want to take it off then to never put it on in the first place. I have quite a few piece of jewelry real and costume that fall into the not wanting to take it off ever category.

In order to really be happy with your purchase I recommend you take a minute and really look at yourself with the item on or at least spend some time looking at a picture of the item. Try something else on while you think about the original item. Do your eyes and heart keep getting drawn to the original item? Is this an item you wish you owned? Then go ahead and purchase the item.

Does it make you smile when you look at it? If this piece of Jewelry makes you smile when you look at it chances are you will feel happy and comfortable wearing it. Not only will you find yourself coming up with excuses to wear it but random people will come up to you on the street and ask about it. People would not come up to you if you are hiding the piece of jewelry or if you are unhappy or bashful while wearing it chances are it will not look right on you and stick out.

Can you see yourself wearing the item? What will you wear it with? Do you need to wear it with a cocktail dress or could you also pair it with Jeans and a tank top, tee, or turtle neck and be just as happy wearing it? For instance when I first saw the Garden Party Necklace I thought I would need to wear it with some kind of fancy outfit that I could never find. Plus it is giant and I never used to wear statement necklaces. Sure I might have oogled them at Tiffany's or Cartier or window shopping I just never thought it would be an everyday thing for me to wear a statement piece. Guess what I wear the Garden Party all the time with Jeans, a black shirt, and sneakers and women stop me to ask where I got it.

Is this piece too colorful, too big, too bold, too gold, too silver, too long, too short? If any of those things about the item really bother you, I suggest you look for something a bit more your style. I am not saying give up on those things completely but you need to look at the entire piece and love it. If there is something about it that bothers you figure out what it is and look for a piece without that issue.

Sometimes you see a piece of jewelry and just don't get it. If you are somewhere where they care more about helping you then making a sale in 2 seconds let them show you how to wear pieces you would not have considered. For instance I truly did not "GET" the Adrienne Mixed Chain Necklace. I saw the video about how to wear it and I said ok I sort of understand it. Several weeks later I saw it in person on someone and fell in LOVE. I have paired this necklace with everything from Jeans and a tee to a skirt and blouse. I let a young girl play dress up with my jewelry and she saw it as a belt and that is how she wore it.

However if the piece is gold which is something you don't normally like and can you still see the entire piece and love it then I say go for it. Take that step out of your comfort zone you will be happy you did.

If you find yourself always reaching for the same type of jewelry maybe it is time to take a look around at what other women have on and if you like it ask where they purchased it. If you don't like it think about what you don't like about it so you can avoid that in your next jewelry purchase. This exercise will open your eyes to the amount of jewelry women wear even ones you didn't think wore any you would be surprised they do they might even wear bold statement pieces that you just never noticed before. Obviously if the point was to get noticed then they didn't do a good job but at the same time they figured out how to wear the item without sticking out like a sore thumb which means they probably love the piece of jewelry and that is something you want to strive for in your next purchase. Be in love with the piece of Jewelry, feel confident wearing it, feel happy when others notice it and smile.

Don't be bashful invite a Jewelry Stylist to be your personal shopper and help you figure out what you like and let her know that you have never really gone jewelry shopping before and would love some help picking the jewelry and figuring out what to wear it with.

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Felissa is an Independent Stella & Dot Stylist in Miami, Florida. She does Jewelry Trunk Shows for women both in their home and at their offices as well as private viewings. She will let you take your time trying on all of her jewelry and give you tips on what to wear it with. You can contact her at felissahadas@gmail.com to book your event.

Felissa is looking to expand her Stella & Dot Team join her as a Stylist today and let her coach you to success.

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