'Tis the Season to Be...Shopping?

Black Friday that starts at 8pm on Thanksgiving night, Small Business Saturday that starts the evening of Black Friday, Cyber Monday that starts at 6pm on Sunday night...what's next? Opening presents on the 24th? Or New Year's Eve Eve parties?

Thanksgiving night I was playing cards with my future in-laws and getting ready to watch the Patriots game. We were laughing, eating too much, and talking football. The tall grandfather clock in the foyer struck eight and I laughed and said, "Oh good! Walmart's open; let's go start our shopping!" Everyone laughed and we all kind of took a minute to realize where we were and who we were with; we truly were thankful to be together in that moment.

I've done the Black Friday shopping thing before. While I understand the kinds of deals you can get when you shop on Black Friday, isn't it more important to spend time with your family instead of getting cheap gifts for them? And, let's be honest, how much of what you buy on Black Friday is really for your family? The two times I went Black Friday shopping, I did get most of the gifts on my list, but I also was sucked in by the amazing sales and bought a lot of things for myself.

It feels like we are pushed to buy buy buy for our family because that will show them that we love them. But are the presents what we really remember? I don't remember any of the gifts I got for my family on either Black Friday trip. I don't remember the things I got for myself on either trip. I don't really remember the gifts I've received for Christmases that aren't things I still use frequently (dress form, Cricut, sewing machine). I do remember the Thanksgivings and Christmases I've shared with my family in terms of conversations, dinners, and laughter.

I absolutely am about to take advantage of Cyber Monday to buy our Christmas cards. I love VistaPrint's selection and there are some great deals today. Other than that, my fiancé and I actually might be making all of the presents we give to people this year. I feel like homemade gifts mean more to family. My mom knitted me socks a couple of years ago; I still wear them and think about my mom every time I do. I've cross-stitched a couple of things for my grandparents and they framed them and hung them in their house. My dad wrote a book of poetry and gave it to us a few years ago and I still have it on my bookshelf. These gifts mean so much more than just running to the store, getting into a brawl, grabbing something off a shelf, and wrapping it.

My challenge to you (and myself) this holiday season is to take a second to stop, take stock of your family, and be grateful. My family isn't perfect, but I am so grateful to have every one of my relatives in my family. If you choose to give gifts this year, give something that you know means something both to you and the recipient of the gift.

Be in the moment every moment this holiday.

L to R: Emily (sister), me, Bridget (sister), Brandan (brother)

Feel-Good Friday: Holiday Baking!

As many of you know, I love to cook and bake. I've been working so hard for the past couple of days because my fiancé has a giant craft/bake sale at his school this weekend. I wanted to share some of what I made with you!

It's Fall, so I thought it would be fun to make leaves. Since I don't have any leaf cookie cutters, I figured out that I could use real leaves! I washed the leaves and then painted them with chocolate. Once the chocolate dried, I peeled the leaves off and was left with beautiful chocolate leaves!

After I made all of the leaves, I made a template for a box (coming soon as a freebie on my site!) and wrapped the leaves up!

I also made a bunch of cupcakes and decided to play with them a little bit. Also, the best way to individually wrap 5 1/2 dozen cupcakes without having to cut a billion boxes is to use the little clear party cups. 

These are candy cane cupcakes: I dyed the batter red and added crushed candy canes to it. The frosting is just regular vanilla with crushed candy canes sprinkled on top. I left the big chunks because I thought they added character!

These are chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting and yellow fondant stars sprinkled with dyed sugar for sparkle. I made the fondant myself and it turned out perfectly!

I added peppermint extract to chocolate batter to make chocolate mint cupcakes. The frosting is just vanilla dyed green. I thought about adding mint to the frosting, too, but it would have just been too overpowering. 

I love snowflakes, coconut, and chocolate; it's such the perfect winter combination! Double chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting and coconut fondant snowflakes. 

When I say I love snowflakes, I mean I really love snowflakes! These are just regular white cupcake with chocolate frosting and blue sugared fondant snowflakes. It's a shame I have to give these up and I don't get to taste them...!

Obviously, Thanksgiving is only a few days away, so I had to do something special for it! Chocolate-Oreo cupcakes with candy turkeys on top. There is an Oreo at the bottom of each one of the cupcakes. I adore these! I hope they sell well.

Wrapping the cupcakes is so easy with the little cups.

Here is my favorite picture of the cupcakes! I don't know why I like it, but it seems very artsy and it made the perfect background for my phone. 

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

Thankful Thursday: Helping Others

Polar Fleece Sandy Scarves

It's Thankful Thursday again! This week has flown by. I guess I'm a bad judge of time with my new medication, though!

Here's something I never thought I would be thankful for: having fibromyalgia. My fiance has told me from the start that a day will come when I realize how my condition makes me a stronger person and makes me more able to help other people. That day is today. I will always have hard days, but it's all worth it because I get to help others.

I've spent the last two weeks making things for other people. I've made 17 scarves for the victims of superstorm Sandy, chocolate leaves and cupcakes for my fiancé's choir's craft sale, and I've messed around with some other craft ideas. I love making food and clothes for other people! I think it's the best thing about me having to stay home.

Knitted Sandy Scarf

Chocolate Leaves

I also put in a video to be Anderson Cooper's co-host on Anderson Live. I'm waiting to see if I got accepted into the top 5, and then people will vote on the finalists. I will be able to help more people if I get my name out there more.

Here is my audition video. Even if I don't get on Anderson Live, I still want to inspire help people, so please share the video with your friends!

I hope you all have a wonderful day! I am going to be spending the entire day in the kitchen, finishing up cupcakes and making all the boxes for the holiday goodies. Keep an eye on my tweets to see photos of what I'm up to today!

What are you thankful for on this Thankful Thursday? Please share!

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

Thankful Thursday

I think one thing most people can agree on from the past few weeks is how awful all the political ads were. I heard countless people saying that they couldn't wait for the election to be over so the ads would be off television, and I felt the same way.

Yesterday I turned the TV on to watch the news and the majority of the ads were for Christmas deals! This was very disconcerting to me. I understand the importance of shopping early and being prepared for Christmas, but there are ads for "Pre-Black Friday" now. What is Pre-Black Friday?! Apparently, it's going on this weekend at a few stores: you get the same prices and deals you would get if you went to the stores on Black Friday.

But what about the giant holiday between now and Black Friday? Thanksgiving tends to get ignored on television. If you look at it from a marketing standpoint, why shouldn't it be ignored; other than food, what can you get people to buy for it?

But is it appropriate for stores to blatantly bypass Thanksgiving and go straight to Christmas? I don't think it is, and apparently, neither did the department store Nordstrom:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/nordstrom-vs-christmas

I love this! I think Nordstrom has the right idea. Full disclosure: when I saw this, I immediately was confused because November 27 is not a Friday this year. This photo was taken in 2009. Regardless, I think the idea is great.

Let's celebrate Thanksgiving! Give thanks for what you have instead of looking ahead to what you can buy at a good price.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi