I am sure all of you are in full prep mode for Thanksgiving. You are either packing and getting your family ready to travel or you have cooking and baking to do. I am not hosting this year, so my tasks are light. Just sides for me this year. One of the easiest and delicious sides to bring is homemade cranberry sauce. I use this recipe and love that it takes just a few ingredients. In no time at all you have bubbling goodness. Never a fan of cranberry sauce in its gelatinous canned form-this sauce is really perfect. Sweet and just a little tart. It is easy to make ahead and it travels like a dream.
I am also making gluten- free stuffing and a gluten-free pumpkin pie. To my surprise Williams-Sonoma made a gluten-free stuffing mix this year! I just need to add the onion, celery, and sausage. Thank you VERY much. And lucky for me – I am a pie crust pro after taking a class this spring. The all-butter pie crust, using gluten-free all purpose flour, should be flaky and delicious! If I do it right, no one will know it is gluten-free!
{Confession: For Thanksgiving-I would be happy with a plate of stuffing and gravy, with a side of pumpkin pie!}
Over the next couple of weeks I will be sharing gift guides for many of the people on your list. I swear gift guides are one of my most favorites thing of the holiday season. Someone else does all the hard work and you end up giving the best gifts. I love them! I have a simple rule in my house when it comes to wish lists. The list must include something you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read. All of my gift guides will include at least one item from each category.
I decided to collaborate with real live kids for a few of the guides. First up, a gift guide for a bigger boy. You will notice that this list has expanded beyond JUST toys {Most likely for boys ages 9-12}.
3. Dakine Campus Pack – This falls into the NEED category. Most boys this age need a larger pack. Books and binders are larger and take up more room.
4. KD Essential Basketball Court – It is something to WEAR. It is what all the cool kids are wearing. Shorts in the middle of winter are 100% appropriate.
5. GoPro-Hero – And this is the IT item. A video camera to catch all your crazy action. {GoPro finally priced a camera at an entry level price point. YAY!}
Who doesn’t love a throw back Thursday? I thought it might be interesting to put my own spin on #TBT! Often times I write a post and then have more to say about the topic after the fact. Whether it be new information, a total fail, or a shift in thinking. This week I am following up on five posts from the past.
I loved the comments on this post. Encouragement to just go for pastel purple hair made me smile! However, it turns out coloring my dark brunette locks pastel purple would take a good deal labor. First I would need to bleach all the color out of my hair. Only then could a colorist add the purple. Often the color isn’t quite right so the process has to be repeated. It makes more sense for me to have a darker, deep shade of purple. Not sure if I like that look. So for now, my hair will remain brown. Not because I think I am too old for purple locks, but because it just sounds like a ton of time and energy that I would rather spend elsewhere!
When I build a mom uniform, I use items I already own and also include pieces that would be great additions to my closet. These Tommy Hilfiger boots are the perfect example. Oh, those boots! I did in fact order them online, but my spirits were crushed when they arrived. These beauties were built for girls that live in places where it doesn’t actually rain. The top of the boots were so large the Seattle rain would have just poured in -soaking my socks and creating misery. Sadly, they were returned. Girls in California, scoop these up!
Trove, a restaurant which I included in the round up of All Things Seattle, was just voted restaurant of the year by Eater Seattle. Now I MUST make a date to check it out!!
It was a resounding YES! Everyone commented positively about chalkboard walls in the home. What the hell, it’s just paint. Luckily, my sister-in-law has the perfect formula for painting a chalkboard wall. I am going for it! I promise to post once I get this project done.
I may have just found the most perfect plaid shirt for this mom uniform. If you remember this uniform included mixing plaid and animal print. This J.Crew plaid shirt is made from the coziest flannel. It has a longer cut, so it was perfect with my new faux leather leggings. Paired with my Steve Madden slip-on sneakers, it is still a favorite uniform!!
The year was 2007. We were about to celebrate Little Man’s first Christmas. Somehow there was not one photo of all four of us shot during his first 11 months of life. Mind boggling! So in desperation I took my camera to the tree lot with a set purpose of getting a family picture to use on our Christmas card. We asked a stranger to snap the photo and at quick glance it looked great. When I got home and loaded it onto the computer, my mouth dropped open. Some yahoo decided it would be good fun to photo bomb my picture. Oh, I was not pleased. Pissed, actually! And since I had not, at this point, released my need to have the “perfect” family picture, I just faked it! You will see that in the picture I sent out I converted it to black and white and edited out the photo bomber. Classic and perfect.
If that had happened this year, I would have sent out the photo with the idiot in the background! Yes, photo editing can produce the most perfect picture. However, as timed has passed I much prefer to send photos that show my messy, chaotic, and fun-filled life. I won’t be faking a perfect photo this year. But, yes, I still had a to force a family picture to be taken. Why is this so darn hard??
On the top of my list this week is to complete our holiday cards! How about you?
We all of have extremely busy lives, for better or worse. So it got me thinking. What is your favorite moment during the day? Maybe it is an early morning run or a mid-day coffee break by yourself. For me, it’s the moments just before I tuck myself into bed. I check in on my boys before I head to my room. Pull up covers, take off glasses, place books on the floor, and turn out the lights. I sneak a peck on the cheek and run my fingers through their hair. And then I just look at them.
In those moments I can see all that is good in them. There is no frustration or angst. No homework to be done, no arguments about screen time, no practice to rush off to, no battle to wage. My worries, that seem to live just beneath the surface, settle. I got them through another day and they are safely sleeping. They are wonderfully perfect. I smile.
Do you feel the same about watching your kids sleep?
I really would love to know….. What is your favorite time of the day?
I have a hair appointment today. This week I realized my hair was beyond the point of just having a bad hair day. My go-to-look the past few weeks has been a wide brimmed hat. I’ve decided after quite a few years of fairly long hair, it is time for a change.
Today I am heading in for a cut, but what I really want is pastel purple hair. No, really. Ever since Nicole Ritchie rocked a purple bob in early Spring, I cannot shake this unbelievable desire to have purple hair! I was so damn straight laced in high school and college, I didn’t dare experiment with colored hair. {Note to my 20 year-old self. Loosen up, don’t take everything so seriously, and live a little.} Do I dare go there at forty? Could I say it? Purple hair. Don’t care. Oh, I desperately want to say YES!
Could I, as brunette, even achieve this color? What would it take? I also wonder if my skin tone would look washed out with this color. I wore a platinum wig on Halloween and it looked dreadful. Who can answer these very important questions for me?
What do you think? Purple hair?
Any beauty risks you are thinking about taking? Oh, please share!
Images via my for the love of locks board on Pinterest. Pop on over. Can you guess the cut I am going for today?
Ok, you super fit, beautiful things! It is time for another 30 day challenge. I have been feeling under the weather with an extremely vicious head cold, so I decided not to model the exercises. Please forgive me. If you were part of the Core Challenge last month, you will remember that I asked my friend Amy to help build a challenge that: 1. Will take less than 15 minutes a day. 2. Require little to no equipment. 3. Will give us noticeable results.
I am thrilled that this challenges focuses on arms and back! In an effort of full disclosure, I am a bit obsessed with my arms looking fit and toned. It is one of the first things I look at when I see a picture of myself. I am sure Amy would give me a fitness based reason why it is vital to have strong arms and back, but my motivation is mostly for appearance sake.
This month Amy did add small hand weights. She gives alternatives in the printable workout if you don’t have any at home. Also, I tried to find images that matched Amy’s exercises- but since she is so crafty it was hard to do. Be sure to read all of Amy’s tips on how to complete each exercise.
Start today, start tomorrow, or whenever you feel ready for it. Download and print the latest 30 day challenge here.
And just like that it is November. The time of year in the Northwest when life is spent mostly indoors. While it seems the retail world has skipped Thanksgiving all together, I wouldn’t want to miss it. I love the colors, the scents and the calm before the storm. Looking for ways to reuse those pumpkins that never got carved? Setting a Thanksgiving table?
Also, in case you missed it, Where is June? was featured in a Good Housekeeping roundup on gray manicures. Unbelievable, right? The post that just keeps on giving.
This is a totally quick share today. If you are not reading Humans of New York you must start today. TODAY! Brandon Stanton snaps a photos and interviews folks on the streets of New York. His questions are provocative, which elicit unexpected responses. His posts often restore my faith in humanity and remind me to be thoughtful of strangers. Everyone has a story.
This recent post had over one million likes on Facebook alone! It might be the best one EVER! The story below that goes with the selfie of Tom Hanks and a cabbie:
“So get this. I’m driving down Park Avenue one day and this guy waves for me, so I pull over and I ask him where he’s going. He tells me 74th street, and I tell him that’s too far for me, because my shift just ended, so he says ‘thanks anyway’ and walks away. But then I think about it, and I start feeling bad for the guy, cause hey— I got a conscience. So I call him back to the cab and tell him to hop in. And he gets in the car all excited, all animated, and he’s talking about all these things. But he’s got his cap pulled down way over his eyes, so I can’t see who it is. But pretty soon I start to recognize his voice. And when we get to a light, I turn to him, and I look him in the eye, and I scream: “WIIIIIIILLLSSSSSOOOOOOON!!!” And that really got him. He started laughing hard. He sees that I’ve got this Ferrari hat on, and a Ferrari shirt too, so he starts calling me ‘Mr. Ferrari.’ The whole ride, he keeps calling me ‘Mr. Ferrari.’ So after we get to his destination, we snap a quick photo, and he goes on his way. And I think that’s it. But that’s not it, cause get this. Over the next few weeks, I just happen to randomly pick up people that know him. People who have acted with him before, people who work with him. And every time, I tell them: ‘Tell Mr. Hanks that Mr. Ferrari says ‘hello.’” Every time I say that. Then one day I’m driving, and I get a text from one of the people that I’d driven, and it says: ‘Mr. Hanks wants to invite you to see his Broadway show.’ So I bring my lady to the show, and we get to go backstage and everything, and after the show, we’re waiting for him in his dressing room, and he walks in and screams: ‘Mr. Ferrari!’ Can you believe that story? And you wanna know the craziest thing? The name of his show was ‘Lucky Guy.’ How crazy is that? Cause that was me. A lucky guy!”
You really must follow him and read his posts in some way:
AND it’s Friday! Perfect time to plan a little something fun-whether it’s a new place to eat or a whole weekend away! I hope that I can inspire you to go out and enjoy this glorious city of ours! xoxo-d
STAY:
While I am sure it is fantastic at TreeHouse Point in the summer, I am drawn to want to stay there in the blustery months. This tree house bed and breakfast in Fall City is the stuff big kids’ dreams are made of…..
EAT:
Trove , owned by Rachael Yang, on Capitol Hill is 4 shops in one. Parfait, Noodles, BBQ and a Bar. Eager to try this spot! If it is anything like her other restaurants {Revel & Joule} I know I will love it!
SEE:
The latest exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum, Pop Departures, makes my heart beat faster!
READ:
Everyone is taking about The Boys in the Boat. It’s the story of the University of Washington’s 1936 eight-oar crew and their epic quest for an Olympic gold medal. Go DAWGS!
SHOP:
Paper Hammer has a store front in downtown Seattle, but it’s heart is in Tieton, WA. Read about Ed Marquand and his unique paper goods shop.
DO:
Most tourist will hit the Space Needle, but the Smith Tower is another spot to take in the gorgeous sights of our magical city {at a fraction of the cost}! It just celebrated its 100th birthday. The observation deck is open most days form 10am-5pm.
