something meaningful...

with the holidays upon us, my mind is overwhelmed with the season of gift giving and receiving. while i love a good gift as much as the next gal, i hate a bad gift more. fortunately, on both sides of my family, we have a name drawing system so that shopping and buying (and potentially giving or receiving a bad gift) is kept to a minimum. usually lists are involved, which again, minimizes (though i won't say eliminates) the possibility of giving or receiving (i'm starting to sound like joey from Friends when he wrote vows for monica and chandler) a bad gift, but totally, in my opinion, ruins the whole nature of gift giving. i think this is especially true for adults who make their own money and can most likely buy things that they need or want that fall in the range of a $20 or under gift. this year might be an exception for me, since john and i are doing dave ramsey's financial peace, meaning all of our money is tied up in an envelope cash system, making the option for spending on ones self almost impossible. but still, i cringe at the thought of telling someone what i want only to have them buy it and wrap it and give it to me. it just....seems....wrong. does it make it better to have several things on a list leaving a small element of surprise? eh. anyway, lauren has taken to making some meaningful things for some family members (forgive my vagueness, just being careful should one of these family members randomly end up on our blog) and it got me to thinking about a time when i attempted meaningful gifts. let me tell you, it's the only time i actually remember what i got someone. so, i recently came across a really cool web-site: https://www.youcanmakethis.com/index.htm. i printed off a few free patterns and am thinkin' I might just whip something up (insert loud burst of laughter at the notion of me whipping anything up without chaos, confusion, and distaster) for a meaningful Christmas! here's to, at least, the thought!

~karin

yummy thanksgiving dessert ideas...

I don't know about you, but Thanksgiving, the holiday possibly most known for its food, is not my favorite food holiday (unless we are talking stuffing, then it's a different story). I don't love turkey, I don't love mashed potatoes, and I don't really love pumpkin pie (although I had a piece of pie made by the ever so gourmet Sam's Club the other day that was quite tasty with some good vanilla ice cream on the side - I believe a quicker way to write that would be "a la mode" but I felt the need to emphasize that it was good vanilla ice cream). Anyway, I came across this list of alternative thanksgiving dessert ideas and just had to share. I will hopefully be trying a few of these during the upcoming holiday season. Though, if I'm honest, they might not make it onto my turkey day menu since everyone else insists on being so traditional...aka boring (though I should also mention, my sister tried to "go against the flow" with our thanksgiving meal one year with not so awesome results and she hasn't been able to live it down). On a side note, I wonder when I'll reach the age where my input surrounding holiday plans and menus will matter? Anyway, I'd love to hear if you try any of these yummy recipes!

http://www.delish.com/entertaining-ideas/holidays/thanksgiving/unusual-thanksgiving-desserts

~karin

p.s. As I was trying to find the link, I came across another link that you have to check out. Oh the holiday possibilities!:

http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/thanksgiving-desserts