Top Tunes to Show Your Love

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Whether it is spent snuggling with a romantic partner, spent with family, or celebrated with a special child, here are some tunes for your Valentine's Day playlist to show your love to those around you!

Cara

My list is divided into 3 categories (since choosing music for me is much like eating potato chips: once I start, I just can't stop...):

Swoony and Sappy:

• Misty - Ella Fitzgerald: As you can hear in the video above, no one does love quite like Ms. Fitzgerald. My favorite version of her singing this is on Verve's Compact Jazz: Ella Fitzgerald album. 
• I can't help falling in love - Elivs Presley 
• How I will say I love you - Tony DeSare: It has beautiful, simple lines underneath a sweet melody - even if the lyrics are a little stalker-ish

Sweet and Sad:

• I will follow you into the dark - Death Cab for Cutie
• They're in love, Where am I? - The Weepies
• When you go away - The Weepies

Cheery, Bright, and Hopeful:

• All will be well - Gabe Dixon Band
• I was made for sunny days - The Weepies
• Keep on the sunny side - The Whites - O Brother Where Art Thou
• If There Was No You - Brandi Carlisle: A simple, sweet, and supportive tune.

Melissa 

In February 2003 I discovered and subsequently fell in love with Josh Groban while going through a very intense breakup. Subsequently, every Valentine's Day I go through a Josh Groban kick. His song When you say you love me makes me feel like a heartbroken seventeen-year-old. Also, if you haven't listened to Mindy Gledhill's album Anchor you need to remedy that immediately. The entire album makes for a whimsical Valentine's playlist, but her song All the pennies reminds me of being a dirt poor newlywed with nothing but love.  Finally, it may be cheesy and slightly cliche and ridiculous, but ever since I was a little girl I thought the most romantic song in the world was a toss up between Lady in Red by Chris De Burgh and Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton. Hey, it was the 80s.

Lindsey

I have been listening to songs with this post in mind trying to pick the perfect ones.  Something beautiful and romantic.  But I'm just not feeling it.  So a lot of my songs are more toward the sad and sweet side, but still beautiful.  

• Sad Songs and Waltzes - Cake
• Possibly my favorite Cake song (if I HAD to choose just one). 
• Rambling Through the Avenues of Time - Flight of the Conchords
• On the lighter side of things with a twist at the end.  Brett is telling Jemaine about a girl he met while walking around New York City while Jemaine is trying to watch TV.
• I've Just Seen a Face - Jim Sturgess - Across the Universe
• Originally a Beatles song, but this cover is upbeat and happy and I love it.
• You Could be Happy - Snow Patrol
• This is a post break-up tune. It'll help with the necessary post break-up wallowing.
• Question - Old 97's
• Really just a super sweet and catchy proposal song.
• The Ballad of Love and Hate - The Avett Brothers 
• Just a wonderful song.  My favorite line comes in at the end "He says, "Love, I'm sorry," and she says, "What for? I'm yours and that's it, whatever. I should not have been gone for so long. I'm yours and that's it, forever.  You're mine and that's it, forever." 
• Another runner up from The Avett Brothers that is worth a listen is I and Love and You.  They'd pair nicely on a mixtape.

Lis

Martha Reeves and The Vandellas - It's Easy to Fall in Love With a Guy Like You. It's an older song that reminds me of falling in love with my husband.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNMR46BPems

Jill

There are so many love songs out there in the world, but because my husband and I have vastly different tastes in music, very few of them have the emotional impact on me that I thought they would have by the time I got married. It actually hasn't caused too many problems in our life so far (other than there being no hope of us ever going to a live concert together because there is no artist or group that we would both be willing to spend 60 bucks on), but when we were planning our wedding we hit a major speed bump when we tried to pick "our song" to dance to. We love dancing with each other and I usually just ignore the fact that I don't like country music so that we can go out country dancing and have a grand night out. For our wedding, however, we wanted something that was special to both of us. We almost didn't make it, but at the 12th hour we stumbled on OneRepublic's "All This Time" and we were saved. We had both waded through the dating pool for quite some time before we found each other, so singing the words "all this time we were waiting for each other/ all this time I was waiting for you" while we danced on our wedding day created more than the perfect moment for us.

New Traditions

Holidays are so much fun. Every single is marvelous, and sometimes quite strange (We celebrate Columbus, but not some of the geniuses who made our modern life possible, explain that to me). But no matter the holiday, every one celebrates it their own way. In my family all holidays are low key.  Even Christmas is chill and fairly relaxed and deliciously lazy.

Let me tell you a funny story.  My wonderful husband comes from a very crazy and awesome family.  The first time I met them? Groundhog Day. During their annual Groundhog Day party. That's right everyone, they celebrate that. And literally every single other holiday they can figure out how to celebrate.  We all went on a mini vacation to celebrate 11-11-11. I'm not kidding. They are so much fun!

Don't get me wrong, I love the way my family does things. It's my comforting home routine. We have our specific meals at Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Years.  I look forward to them every year.  The first year I spent any holidays away from my family was the first year I was married.  We went down to my grandmother-in-law's home for Thanksgiving.

Along with 100 other members of my husbands family.

 I was completely shocked. I grew up in a home of 6, and we occasionally had others over, but our biggest number was 15, and we were all exhausted afterwards. Not to even mention the different food they served.  For one, we arrived 4 hours before the meal was scheduled to be eaten. And we peeled pomegranates for hours.  I had never even had one before.  I am now quite skilled at seeding them, its probably one of my more random talents. Then when we did eat, I was unfamiliar with half of the items being served. Pomegranate salad: delicious and unhealthy. Broccoli salad: not delicious, in fact quite the opposite (although I am the only one who thought that!) Coconut cream pie: I guess this one is normal, but my family is sheltered.  And there was no chocolate chess pie. Never heard of it? You have a void in you life that you didn't realize existed until just now. And it needs to be filled with chocolate chess pie. Imagine a chocolate pie that is akin to brownies, but much creamier. Words cannot describe.

Anywho, back on track.  I was in shock, it was a strange sense of culture shock.  It never occurred to me that people did things differently than we did. Small minded I know, especially considering I have lived in more than 10 states, in Europe, and like to think of myself as educated.  I felt like a small town girl making my first foray into the big city, and I was unprepared.

But I loved it.  LOVED it. Suddenly not only were there strange disgusting dishes to be tried, but a whole host of other traditions I never realized existed.  Now I want to do it all.  I want to celebrate Columbus day (even if I find it to be an unexplainably stupid holiday).  And now that I have children, I love making up traditions.  We have Easter egg hunts on the morning of Easter to make the kids work for their candy.  We open Christmas presents early throughout December because I am so impatient and it stretches out the magic just a little more.

Sometimes growing up and learning new things can be hard, but other times it can open up a world of great new things to try. Delicious and disgusting and exciting new things.  Seriously go out there, burst your own little bubble of comfort and look at something new.  Because pomegranate salad or chocolate chess pie certainly make that journey worth it.

Confessions of a Costume Cheater

Last year was my little girl's first Halloween. I thought briefly about making her a Halloween costume, but in the end, having a newborn was exhausting enough that I decided to just go ahead and buy the cute ladybug costume at Costco. It was warm, it was cute, it was easy, and I could re-use the shirt and the tights. I would be more ambitious next year. (Note: I also thought about making costumes for me and my husband and did not. Oh well.)

Her dad collected and ate candy on her behalf. Aw.

This year, I started thinking about it early. I had so many ideas! I could use this tutorial to make her an adorable penguin costume! I could try this one to make her a hedgehog costume! Finally, I had it narrowed down to either a chicken or a flamingo. I'd found boas, I could sew them onto a shirt, make her a hoodie with the appropriate additions, and bam!

And then I had some Kohl's cash, and I found this cute little panda hoodie with ears, and I spent all of $2 on it. My husband asked if we were going to use it for Halloween and suddenly it sounded like a great idea. It was cute, it was warm, it was already made. I put together a no-sew tutu (because I knew how to do it and already had the tulle from her birthday), made some felt panda feet (which were probably unnecessary, but only took one viewing of the Disney Sleepy Hollow and a couple of scraps of felt), pulled out some hand-me-down tights from the back of the drawer, and we had a costume.

This panda prefers cheese sticks to bamboo.

Part of me felt a little disappointed in myself for again for taking such an easy route on Halloween, especially as my friends' homemade costume pictures started rolling through my Instagram and Facebook feeds. Look how cute they are! Why didn't I do that? If might have been incredible!

But seriously, what do I have to prove? Yes, I want to improve my sewing skills, and yes, I would like to be able to make things for my daughter. I am SO impressed by the skills of some of my friends, and I hope that with a little more practice, I too can whip up some awesome, creative, brilliant costumes, mostly because I think it would be satisfying to do so. Maybe when my little girl is old enough to put in a request, we can pick things out together and create something magical. But should I feel like a failure because I didn't spend countless hours on her costume when we'll probably just walk around our neighborhood for half an hour this year?

Of course not.

Taking the easy way isn't always the best policy, but sometimes, it's okay to cut yourself some slack and take a shortcut. (I know I'm not the only one who wonders if I'm a failure as a mother for not  hand-sewing the entire costume as well, because Paige asked me the other night if she was a failure because she'd been out of town and they just moved and so she's going to have her little guy wear his skeleton pajamas instead of making him the Charlie Brown costume she'd imagined. And no. She is not a failure. She is awesome.) In a social media world where we put everything we do on display constantly, we sometimes feel unnecessary pressure to go above and beyond in circumstances when it really doesn't matter that much. Spending many frustrating hours with my sewing machine (I am a better seamstress in my mind than I am in real life) wouldn't make it a better Halloween. My daughter won't really know what's going on anyway, but she'll probably enjoy the extra candy that I don't normally keep around the house. The fact that I did not deconstruct an amazing thrift store find, dye it, and reassemble it as an incredible Pinterest-worthy costume will probably not hold my child back. Why do I feel like I should stress myself out making something by hand that won't make her any cuter, and that she's not guaranteed to wear anyway?

Exactly.

It does not get cuter than this, friends.

So this Halloween season, if you made a beautiful costume from scratch, I salute you. I can't wait to see it, and maybe I'll add it to my inspiration board for next year. But if you went ahead and bought one at Wal-mart and called it good, well, I'm right there with you. And our kids still look pretty cute.

Creepy Movies for Halloween Night

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Okay, let's talk Halloween movies. I like spooky movies. I do not like graphically gory movies, and anything that is going to leave ultra creepy images in my head for weeks is not my thing. I want some spine-tingling and some good jumping, and then I want to leave it alone. (The Ring creeped me out a lot more than it should have, and The Woman in Black SERIOUSLY freaked me out, although I also thought it was pretty good.) Your definition of a scary movie is probably not the same as mine, but there's a pretty good mix here, and if you're sick of watching Hocus Pocus every year, perhaps something will strike your fancy.

This is another post that is a collaboration between me and my friend Ann, whose tastes lean more toward the creepy and gothic ghostly than to Stephen King. I haven't seen everything on the list, but I'm confident it's a good one.

The Others. I don't know why this movie is so perfectly creepy to me. It's a little jumpy, but mostly eerie and atmospheric, with a beautiful flip that makes the dark less frightening than the light. I love it.

The Last Exorcism 

The Woman in Black. I had seen this play and read the book, and both were just sort of creepy. This one scared me to death, especially because I was pregnant at the time and had to get up in the night ALL THE TIME. It's got a great cast and is well done, but it really did scare me.

The Haunting of Hill House. A million times better than the late 90s remake based on the same book, this classic black and white number is wonderfully creepy, even if some of the expressions are kind of hilariously dated.

Wait Until Dark. Audrey Hepburn makes being blind so scary - and classy. I love to watch this one with friends who have never seen it and wait for them to jump.

Vertigo. Ann says, "I personally find this really scary, but I don't know if anyone else will." I think it's a great movie, and although it's more psychological than anything else, it's still creepy and wonderful. Plus, Jimmy Stewart.

Psycho.  I love how haunting the climax of this movie is, no matter how many times I've seen it. I also recommend the recent biopic Hitchcock, which tells the story of how this ended up being a movie against all odds. (That one is not really creepy, but totally worthwhile.)

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (I also secretly liked the Nicole Kidman remake of this.)

The Skeleton Key 

Cape Fear (1962). Gregory Peck tries to protect his family from Robert Mitchum, who wants revenge because Peck's character put him in jail. Creepier than it sounds.

The House on Haunted Hill. Okay, this movie is pretty campy and old, but SO GREAT. It's Vincent Price at his finest. I've watched it more than once, and it was on Ann's list too. It won't terrify you (although it might make you jump once or twice) but it's a great one for a Halloween party, especially one where not everyone wants to be scared. The best part? It's available on Netflix instant watch, so if you can't get anything at your video store (do any of those still exist? The scary movies were always gone when I got there on Halloween anyway) this is a great option. (My friend Debra, who introduced me to this, also loves Vincent Price's House of Wax.)

Nosferatu. This silent movie version of Dracula is a far cry from the sparkly sexy vampires of today's movies and TV, but it is seriously creepy. (It's also available on Netflix for streaming, or on Youtube.)

Vampyr. A German movie from 1932 that you can watch here.

The Bad Seed. Unfortunately, the Hayes code kind of ruined the end of this movie, but it's still a really fun, and the little girl does a great job of being a psychopath.

The Innocents. A creepy old movie based on The Turn of the Screw. I still don't completely understand it, but it was creepy and fun to watch.

Something Wicked This Way Comes. Not as creepy as the book, but it's still a pretty decent (if oldish) creepy movie. I love the concept of a creepy carnival.

When a Stranger Calls (either version - the old one is much scarier than the new one)

Arsenic and Old Lace. More funny than creepy, but so wonderfully Halloween.

The Village. Yes, M. Night Shamaylan is kind of over, but this movie feels like fall, doesn't it? It's just creepy enough, and the colors are just beautiful.

The Stepford Wives (1975). You guys. It's a feminist horror movie. And it is SO SCARY. The new one is not at all scary, but the old one is really quite terrifying.

Secret Window. This movie is one of my husband's favorite scary movies, and the climax is quite wonderfully scary. (He wants me to put Ernest Scared Stupid on this list as well, but I just can't bring myself to do it.)

ET is not scary, but if you just want a movie that just takes place at Halloween, here it is!

Disney's Ichabod Crane, which you can totally watch on youtube. It's not really scary, but it has lots of singing by Bing Crosby.

The Goonies


What are you going to watch on Halloween night?

Pumpkin Month: A Love Story (or, 11 Fantastic Pumpkin Recipes)

When Jill and I were roommates in Bloomington, Indiana, we discovered a mutual love of pumpkin recipes (and holiday food in general - we had a truly epic Thanksgiving while we lived together as well) and with our roommate Ann, we declared October to be pumpkin month, and started to make every delicious pumpkin recipe we could find - pumpkin shakes, pumpkin pastries, pumpkin rolls, pumpkin cookies, dinner in a pumpkin, plus some butternut squash soup that we snuck in on a technicality. (If you don't believe me, here is the blog post I wrote halfway through the month, and there were more pumpkin and Halloween festivities before the end. Also, I had totally forgotten about Brewster's ice cream in Indiana, but now my mouth is watering for that pumpkin pecan ice cream. Mmm.) It was the most delicious, beta-kerotene filled month of my life, and every year I strive to recreate it with mixed results that are never quite as wonderful as the original.

However, over the years that means we've collected some pretty darn amazing pumpkin recipes, and we're going to share a few of our favorites with you here.

I (Meg) have about a million pumpkin recipes pinned on pinterest, some of which I've made and some I'm saving for later, but I've made all of these listed here and recommend them highly. Yum.

Perfect Pumpkin Roll, from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. I love this recipe because it's kind of fancy and exciting to make (I'm always just a little bit terrified that the whole thing is going to break into a million pieces, but I've made it many times now with uniformly excellent results) but it's not so difficult that you have to carve out more than about an hour for it. In fact, as I type this, I have the cake part of one cooling in my fridge. It's incredibly delicious and so pretty. (I have also made this pumpkin roll from Ina Garten, which is excellent but needs some fancier ingredients that take a little more tracking down, and it tastes a little fancier too, so consider your audience when you pick.)

Everything Good in a Pumpkin from Dorie Greenspan. My sister-in-law recommended this recipe to me a few years ago, and she makes it for Thanksgiving every year. It's really exciting to cook right inside a pumpkin, and the results are quite delicious. I recommend making sure you're using a pumpkin pie pumpkin (the littlish round ones, I think also sometimes called sugar pumpkins) because a big jack o' lantern pumpkin just drowns out the deliciousness inside. (I speak from experience. When I lived in south Texas, I couldn't find anything but ordinary pumpkins, and it was okay but not amazing.)

Dr. Dean's Pumpkin Bars. When I was in college, I had this wonderful professor who brought these amazing treats for our midterms and finals, because she was an amazing human being. They are so good, super easy, and the recipe makes a TON. If you need something to take to a big party, this is your recipe. I posted it on my blog years ago (without pictures - it was a pre pinterest world) but it's a wonderful moist pumpkin cake topped with the creamiest cream cheese frosting imaginable. Trust me.

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Bread. This is the most delicious pumpkin bread EVER. I made it for a friend last year and she asked for the recipe and made it about 6 more times while the pumpkin was out. Truly, it is quite something, and it's easy and yummy.

Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta with Pumpkin Sauce (about halfway down the page in the post from that link). This is a quintessentially fall meal. It's warm and filling and squashy and herby. I love it. It makes a LOAD, so make it for lots of people, plan on lots of leftovers, or cut it.

Double Chocolate Pumpkin Cake (or cupcakes) from Picky Palate. Moist, delicious, subtle, and full-on chocolatey goodness. The cake itself doesn't really taste like pumpkin, and the pumpkin butter cream is incredibly subtle and lovely. It's a good recipe for those among you who are not pumpkin fanatics but want to be seasonal anyway. I've made it as cupcakes more than once, and they are divine.

  * * * * *

As for me, Jill, one of the biggest discoveries that I made during that inaugural Pumpkin Month was that pumpkin was meant for more than dessert dishes. Savory pumpkin?! What the what?!

Needless to say, I was skeptical. Ann won me over, however, with her Dinner in a Pumpkin (which I have since adopted as my own yearly October tradition) and I haven't looked back since.

Pumpkin, Apple and Cranberry Bake. Okay, so the recipe is technically for butternut squash, but the month of October just makes me do crazy things like swap pumpkin in the place of other squash. This is a delightful side dish with either type of squash in it, although with both butter and brown sugar making an appearance, its place of being served with dinner instead of after it for dessert is debatable.

Penne with Creamy Pumpkin Sauce. This one uses canned pumpkin, so if you're not in the mood to hack into a whole pumpkin (and scoop out its innards. Shudder), this is the recipe for you. Add chicken and you've got yourself an amazing fall meal.

Pumpkin Soup. This recipe combines my two fall favorites- pumpkin and soup. This particular soup has just enough richness to fill you up and who can deny the need for something hot and creamy on a crisp fall day?

Pumpkin Ricotta Ravioli. Okay, confession: I haven't actually made this recipe yet. I want to so badly, though, but I have never made my own pasta and I am more than a little intimidated. As soon as I muster my courage (and buy a ravioli press), this recipe will be the first fresh pasta I try. If any of you have the skills, try it out for me and let me know how it goes!

And to end on a sweet note, these Chocolate Pumpkin Turnovers were part of our very first Pumpkin Month all those years ago and I love them still today. They are the perfect balance between the chocolate and the pumpkin and as an extra bonus, they are super easy to make! So go forth and bake!

Why Holidays are Not My Thing

My least favorite section of Target is the back seasonal section. I can handle it when it's Back to School or Summertime, but I otherwise avoid it. It's not that I don't enjoy tiny stuffed bunnies or anything green. I just hate holidays.

My mother was the queen of holidays. We had Santa and his reindeer flying from a tree to the roof of our house. We had an army of spooky plywood creatures that took over our yard every Halloween. I could sit inside my Easter basket.

I am more like my father. His favorite Christmas phrase was Bah Humbug.

The year I was pretty sure I could be a minimalist or those two years I was too poor to buy gifts for anyone and ended up with this are only part of the reason for my dislike.

While Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving are high on my list of holidays to hate, the two at the top of my list are Mother's and Father's Day. While I understand that these days are parent-focused, I am usually forced to suck it up and play the dutiful child.

On July 2nd 2011, I woke to a phone call from my mother. My father had died of a heart attack. I was not surprised. This was not his first heart attack. Two weeks prior, he had married my step-mother. My father had become a different person since dating his future third wife. He was less angry, less abusive, and less mean. I was proud to sing at their wedding.

Like most children, a little bit of my personality comes from both of my parents. Unlike most children, I have no genes from my father or my mother. My parents flew to Brazil to pick me up when I was three weeks old. My birth mother was 17 years old and was unaware that she was carrying a child for most of her pregnancy.

A loving child remembers to celebrate Mother's and Father's Day. I have a birth mother, a mom, a step-mom and a mother-in-law. I have a birth father, a deceased dad, a step-dad, and a father-in-law. I have never seen two of my parents. I don't know whose nose I have.

It's unfair for my mother to not receive a proper Mother's Day because I am too distracted by the fact that I am still missing one of mine. It's unfair for my step-father to not get a call on Father's Day because I am doing my best to forget the day even exists.

About a month after my dad died it finally hit me that he was gone forever. I was listening to this and tears finally left my eyes.

Thanks, Katy Perry. Now I don't hate the 4th of July.

Remember: Some Scattered Thoughts On Memorial Day

I love Memorial Day - and not just because it usually includes barbecues. I've always loved going to the cemetery to put flowers on my great-grandparents' graves, and later on my grandparents' graves. It's one of those reflection kinds of days that makes me think about where I come from.

I'm fascinated by cemeteries because they're so full of stories about people's lives. I remember going to one as a teenager and finding a headstone for a family who lost something like seven children before they reached the age of three. I always ache for the wives or husbands who lived for 30 years after their spouse passed away. I try to think about the people who have passed on and the people they left behind.

I spent some time in Europe taking a class about World War I. We visited several military cemeteries, including some that were entirely full of unknown soldiers. It breaks my heart to think about the families who never really knew what happened to their loved ones because they were only identified as missing.

The other day I was wandering around Columbus, IN and found this amazing war memorial. It had about 25 pillars, and on each one there were names of people who had been killed in wars in the past hundred years. Some of the pillars also had letters from soldiers to their families, followed by their death date. It was such a powerful way to think about the tragedy of war to see a letter about how excited one boy was to drive his new car when he got home, followed by a death date a few days later. There's something about last letters and last words that makes them hang in the air in a very special way.

There's a collection of poems I love called The Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters. It's entirely a collection of epitaphs, and taken together, all of these snippets of people's lives give you the full picture of life in a small town. This has always been my favorite because it's so full of the simple wonder of an ordinary life.

Lucinda Matlock

I went to the dances at Chandlerville,
And played snap-out at Winchester.
One time we changed partners,
Driving home in the moonlight of middle June,
And then I found Davis.
We were married and lived together for seventy years,
Enjoying, working, raising the twelve children,
Eight of whom we lost
Ere I had reached the age of sixty.
I spun,
I wove,
I kept the house,
I nursed the sick,
I made the garden, and for holiday
Rambled over the fields where sang the larks,
And by Spoon River gathering many a shell,
And many a flower and medicinal weed--
Shouting to the wooded hills, singing to the green valleys.
At ninety--six I had lived enough, that is all,
And passed to a sweet repose.
What is this I hear of sorrow and weariness,
Anger, discontent and drooping hopes?
Degenerate sons and daughters,
Life is too strong for you--
It takes life to love Life.

I'm not really sure what all of these thoughts mean together. I think I just want to say that it's important to me to remember those who have died. It reminds me that I want to live well.

Saturday Snapshot: Happy Easter!

International Women's Day

...was this past Monday. Yes, we missed it. But we want to recognize it anyway, because celebrating women is always something we're on board with.

There's a website to tell you all about International Women's Day, including a slideshow of Reuters pictures from that day around the world.

And, 11 Women who are Changing the World, including people like Nujood Ali, who was forced to marry when she was ten years old and managed to get a divorce; Somaly Mam, who was sold into sex slavery as a child and has started a foundation to end human trafficking and slavery; and Marie C. Wilson, who's working to get women more involved in politics.

Women don't have to be international figures to be influential. Do you know any women who are changing the world?

Giveaway #3

Great comments, Lovely Readers! Keep 'em coming!

For the final giveaway, I'm going with a mom/baby-centric item, since I know a lot of you are moms.

Burp rags!



Fancy schmancy, soft and cozy burp rags. They are made with minky and either flannel or a home decor fabric. We used these with my youngest nephew and they were so convenient and not ugly, which is always a plus. You get your choice of girl or boy colors or coordinating girl and boy colors.

Giveaway #2

Today's giveaway might be my personal favorite. I made these hankies for my brother-in-law for his birthday. He almost always has two hankies with him - one for him to use and one for other people (I usually need one in church on Sundays when my eyes go berserk and start getting so watery that I look like I'm having an emotional breakdown). His were looking a little less than crisp, so I embroidered some new ones:


With this giveaway, you have a chance to personalize the colors. I will stitch them up and get them right out to you! So when you comment, make sure to include the three colors you would like to be used.

Resolved

Lindsey
I say I don't believe in New Year's resolutions, but that's pretty much a lie. What I don't believe in is making resolutions just because it's the beginning of a new year. I generally take the spring time to step back and look at what I would like to work on in my life. Something about all the green and sunshine makes everything seem possible. Still, I have resolutions that are somewhat constant, things I need to recommit to in order to stay focused. I resolve to:

• focus on what could be and not what is - there is always potential for something better.
• be happy.
  
• be less critical of myself. I sure give me a hard time.
• do my part - as long as I am trying, the rest will fall in line.
  

Miri
I don't believe in New Year's resolutions. They're unrealistic and, more often than not, are forgotten by the end of January anyway; so after over a decade of abandoned far-fetched goals, I decided to stop making them, and forgo the associated guilt. (Now I just do something fun, like give myself a number of books to read for the year. I do have goals for my life; I just don't feel like I need to make new and exciting ones just because it's January.) However--in the spirit of this post, here are some of the things I'm working on right now:

• being honest about my feelings with myself and others
  
• assuming the best about people/giving them the benefit of the doubt
• learning that what my body looks like just isn't important
  

Megan

I believe in New Year's Resolutions, but it doesn't mean I'm any better than Miri about keeping them. I just think the beginning of the year is a good time to assess what's good and what isn't in your life, and to think about what you can do to make the bad things better. I tend to make lists that are too long to really remember, but at least I'm thinking about them, right? In any case, here are a few of my resolutions for becoming lovelier this year:

• Physical: I will stop wishing I looked like Zooey Deschanel. I don't have her clothes, I probably can't pull off her hair, and neither of those things make me ugly. Also, earlier last year I was doing really well at getting a little exercise - at least some sit ups and pushups and brisk walking. I'm going to do that again. (Although the walking might have to wait until spring.)
• Emotional: I will try to stop obsessing over things I can't control. I have been better in the last few months at being happy with my life, but sometimes I forget how good it is right now because I worry too much about what happens next.
• Mental: I will spend less time watching TV shows and more time reading. I love reading, but sometimes my Hulu queue makes me think it's more important to catch up on all of my shows. It's just not as satisfying to say I've seen every episode of three different crime dramas as it is to say I finished Anna Karenina, and watching Dollhouse right before bed gives me really weird dreams.
• Spiritual: I will try to fulfill my church responsibilities without being reminded every month. I will also work on finding quiet moments; I clutter my life with a lot of noise and don't spend enough time thinking quietly, and I would like to remedy that.

We would love to hear some of your goals for 2010 as well. We hope that at least one of them is to write for this blog, because we would love to get more voices here so that we can all learn from each other.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year

Don't worry, Lovely Readers! We haven't forgotten about you. The break has been nice (and necessary with traveling and holidays and such) but we will return on Monday with a giveaway!

Hope you all had a very merry Christmas and a happy and safe New Year!

A Short Vacation

Okay, lovely readers, we are going to take a short break so we can spend the holidays with our families, open presents, wear ridiculous sweaters, eat insane amounts of delicious food, etc. We hope you do the same.

Merry Christmas!

Be Jolly

I tend to only think of the word jolly in terms of Saint Nicholas or the Green Giant and, in turn, vegetables and a tummy that shakes like a bowl full of jelly. Not being a fan of a tummy that reminds someone of jelly, being jolly isn't really something I think about.

Since I am a nerd, I looked up the definition of jolly at Dictionary.com and Merriam-Webster. Happily enough, the British really make great use of the word jolly. Thank you the British! Jolly good job! But for our purposes today we are going with Merriam-Webster:

• full of high spirits: joyous
• given to conviviality*: jovial
• expressing, suggesting, or inspiring gaiety: cheerful
• extremely pleasant or agreeable: splendid

Aren't those lovely definitions? I think so.

Now here comes the meat and potatoes portion of our post (I guess all that up there would be the salad?). Be jolly all year long, folks. Carry your high spirits into January, on through Easter and right past Halloween. Be cheerful and splendid and joyous and, most importantly, be sincere. Being all of those other things without really, truly wanting to be just isn't worth it for anyone. Save some ding-dong ditching for May. Send some letters to friends (Yes. Write. With a pencil. Use the postal service. It's fun...sometimes.), or plan a Christmas in July party. Keep your eyes open for opportunities to be jolly. Make it a permanent part of your personality because, honestly, it can't hurt to be considered "extremely pleasant or agreeable."

And now for the dessert portion...because I'm a giver.

From a Google image search. Here.

*That would be "relating to, occupied with, or fond of feasting, drinking and good company." I'm pretty sure that is my favorite definition ever.

A Thankful Heart

This would technically be a Christmas song, but I think it's the perfect transition. Also, I love it and it makes me happy. Hope it does the same for you (goodness knows we need a post Black Friday shopping pick-me-up)!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bpb9EbmvM5M

Happy Thanksgiving

Of course, in the spirit of the season, you will get a list (we really do LOVE lists!) of some of the things we are thankful to have in our lives. Please feel free to add your own lists* to the comments. Let's all be thankful!

Lindsey

I am thankful for...

• family and friends
• Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Macadamia ice cream
• sweet smelling babies
• my nephews and niece
• my creative talents
• good TV shows (being specific would take another whole list)
  
• books and a bookshelf to put them on
• strawberries (covered in chocolate)
• creamy soups
• a new room full of things I love
• my health (even though it sucks most of the time)
• music
• my iPod (Robin Sparkles) and my laptop (Cheese)
• my mom
• hot actors to drool over
• blogs (and the people who read them)
• parentheses
• Glee
  
• being able to spend so much time with my nephews
• Google Reader, Facebook, IM, Skype - technology in general
• Sufjan Stevens singing The Friendly Beasts
• the camera game
• Old Navy and Target
• my sister and brother-in-law and the support they give me
• children's programming that doesn't make me want to smash my head into the wall
  

Miri
I am thankful for...

Mike, my cute husband. Living close to family. Having brand new nieces and nephews. Contact lenses. Reusable shopping bags. Planes that let us cross the country in a few hours. Owning a car. Living close to where I work. Having my personal library at home. Libraries. Free wi-fi connections at bookstores. Slip-on shoes (because I hate tying shoelaces). Kitchen appliances that make cooking easier. Fully cooked bacon from the store. My laptop. Mike being able to play the guitar. DVD players. Friends, roommates... countrymen... That I got to go to college. Comfy blankets. Board games and people to play with. Sunday dinner with family. Digital cameras. Facebook. BBC movies and mini series. Cell phones that can use the internet. Comfortable jeans. Flat-irons. Half-Price Books. Online banking (for what it's worth, which isn't all that much if we're being honest). Disposable diapers. The Food Network. The holidays, especially Christmas. Disney movies. Blogger, for making blogging easy. Cute earrings. Music. My iPod. Shoes. Sweaters. Fall, my favorite season of the year. Dishwashers, microwaves, washers and dryers. Musicals. Wal-Mart being open 24 hours a day. Books!


Megan

I am thankful for...

• Cell phones, Skype, IM, Facebook, and blogs for keeping me in touch with my family and friends while I'm in the wilds of Indiana.
• Cards from my mom (this time Thanksgiving dinner aids)
• my parents, brothers, sisters-in-law, nephews and nieces
• My church and my branch.
• the BBC (yeah, Miri already said it, but I'm currently watching Rupert Everett as Sherlock Holmes, and I feel great about it)
• cook books and cooking blogs
• Bloomington, especially now that the square is full of Christmas lights, but also when the leaves were in full color and when it was warm enough to go to the lake.
• My amazing roommates, past and present.
• NPR, particularly Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, This American Life and All Songs Considered.
• Stella (my car).
• The National, Andrew Bird, Damien Rice, Paul Simon, Bon Iver.
• America's Next Top Model, for making me laugh.
• Good movies. Old movies. Stadium seating in theaters. Popcorn.
• Indian food, sushi, Wendy's.
• The Office. Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
• Gregory Peck, Paul Newman. Jimmy Stewart.
• A job, especially one where I get to work with my brother.
• SLIS.
• Lee Pace/Pushing Daisies.
• Springform pans and subsequently cheesecake.
• Mountains. England. Oh, how I miss them.
• Shakespeare, especially in performance. Tom Stoppard.
• Opera, especially Mozart.
• French toast, waffles, omelets. The Cyber Cafe with its life-giving danishes and pumpkin-cream cheese muffins.
• Jane Eyre.
• Billy Collins, T.S. Eliot, Emily Dickinson.
• Book club, British Sunday, dinner group, Institute choir.
• Pie, our kitchen, the upcoming holiday and the people I have to spend it with even though I can't go home.
• That I'll be going home very soon.
  

*It may go without saying, but these lists are in no particular order. I promise you all we are more thankful for our mothers than we are for technology, ice cream and contact lenses.

Be Thankful

I have had a rough year. So much happened and there were so many things going on inside my head that I began to doubt everything about myself. I struggled to make the most simple decisions and I basically allowed myself to just shut down. I was overcome with thoughts of things I had lost: a job, my independence, a social life, even unknown opportunities. Eventually, I learned that it was best for me to stop and just focus on the things I did have in my life--the things that would always be there and the things that made me happiest.

It's not an easy thing to do. You have to remind yourself constantly and you have to recognize when you are letting yourself get bogged down by "I wish" and "I want" and "what if." I go through my ups and downs with this exercise and sometimes I ignore it on purpose (those would be my mopiest times). But the truth of the matter is that I have so much to be thankful for... my life just isn't normal right now, and maybe that's the best part.

The moral of this story is to remember to be thankful all year round. Be thankful for all of the things that make you who you are and all of the people who love you for them. Be thankful for chocolate and babies and silly things like vampire movies and Psych marathons and finding the perfect pair of fuzzy slippers. Be thankful for the washer and dryer (I know I am...without those lovely pieces of machinery none of my clothes would get clean, at least not by me). Be thankful for the little moments and the big moments. It's easy to let things fly by without notice... choose to find those things and give thanks.