I have a male reader!! Ok, maybe three since my husband and brother-in-law subscribe to my RSS feed. My friend Jon told me about the Zip-Bin and it sounds awesome!! He said, “”We have gotten a few of them, the farm one, the princess one. The small ones are nice for traveling. Kids can load them with toys and bring them to grandma’s or a friends house. It seemed like a good thing for your website since you have some unique stuff on there…” I love when a dad refers a toy (and reads my blog)!! Thanks!
Sent to me from my friend Sarah- “Are you always wondering if the new movie that is out is going to be appropriate for your child????? I was just having this conversation with friends on Monday night and then stumbled on this website. It gives reviews for movies, dvds, games, etc. What a lifesaver, I just had to pass along!!! Check out Common Sense Media.”
Thanks Sarah, I bookmarked it!
Jillian Michaels is kicking my butt! Seriously. I bought her No More Trouble Zones DVD to kick off my renewed interest in having loose jeans and I am SOOOOO sore today that it’s really not that funny. There is a move called “surrender” and while I was doing it, I knew I was going to regret it in the near future. It’s exactly what my body needs, but oh does it hurt!! I have to say that I find her a little bossy compared to the girls over at The Firm. Either way, I need to tap into all my workout dvd’s this month – let me know if you have any favorites!!
Now that it’s officially November 1, I am going to start talking about two things on my mind: entertaining and working out!! Since I usually delay working out, we’ll discuss that in my next post. As for entertaining, here is my number one/go-to appetizer during the holidays.
Brie & Cranberries
8-inch round of Brie Cheese (cut off top coating)
3 cups cranberries
1/3 cup currants
1/3 cup water
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon cardamom
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon allspice
Place Brie in a pie-sized plate
Bring the rest of the ingredients to a boil in a non-aluminum pan
Simmer, stirring for 5 minutes
Pour cranberry mixture over Brie
Bake at 300-degrees for 10-15 minutes
Serve with crackers
I think it’s safe to say all kids like to carry things around in things. (I know that was a big and meaningful sentence!) Anyways, this year I am going to buy some red and green suitcases from Land of Nod and put the boys’ presents in them under the tree. This achieves many objectives: 1. to not have to wrap their gifts 2. to have a gift in a gift 3. to have very cute gifts under our tree! 4. to reuse these in our playroom as storage after. I may have to wait for them to offer free shipping though- it’s just a matter of time, right?
My mom gave me these Keen Vail boots two winters ago from Garnet Hill. I love them!! They are so practical and comfortable. As Colorado just got DUMPED on this week, I pulled them out again. I didn’t do a big search for them- but here is one spot I found quickly that carries all the sizes. Looks like you can find it for less depending on your shoe size. Here’s to looking good when you want to cry that it’s snowing in October.
Aren’t these personalized ornaments sweet? You need to order by November 1st, so check out the options quickly if you like them as much as I do. They have boys, girls and baby ones- this would be a great gift for a new baby. She also makes personalized stamps, look here if you are interested.
In my family, we start looking for our holiday cards in September which is probably why I used to have a small stationery company - to be able to get them at wholesale for everyone! Now that I am back in the real world and need to find my cards at retail prices, here are some of my favorite online stores to look around. Some of my favorites: paperculture , minted, paperspring, shutterfly and tinyprints. There are lots of “deals” so be sure to look up coupon codes before buying- it’s worth a quick check! And not to be Emily/Suzanne Post, BUT — when listing your names on your holiday card, here are some grammar rules:
1. boy and girl- girl name proceeds boy. i.e.: Suzanne and Josh Lucas
2. family with kids- boy name proceeds girl and kids. i.e. Brad, Angelina, Maddux, Zahara, etc etc etc etc etc etc Knox….
** And one more thing- please don’t send a holiday letter like this example – “After we got back from taking all the kids to Scotland, Ted was promoted and I was voted best mother of the year by my entire state…” – no one can stand it!! Having said ALL of this, I hope you send me a card this year!!
This is a fabulous idea for kids and adults. Saw these jello jigglers at hostess with the mostess. I need to find these gummy body parts- let me know if anyone has seen them somewhere!
As holiday decorations are already out in the stores, I am starting to think about my list!! If you want some ideas, you can do a quick find on my blog by going to the right column and under “Categories”, then scroll down to “gifts”. You will see about 10 ideas and then click “Older Entries”, and you will see another 10 ideas and so on. I hope you find it helpful! And please tell me your holiday gift ideas- I will try and post as many as I can over the next two months! Happy shopping.
