Christmas in September
Are you a Christmas prepper or a last minute shopper? Go ahead and play your favorite Christmas album and start Christmas in September. Here are a few tips to help you avoid the financial and emotional stress of last minute Christmas shopping. Start now and stay within budget. First, make a list of those you will give gifts to. Family, friends, coworkers, teachers, and the dog sitter. Prioritize your list and make note of any gifts that need to be mailed ahead of time. Next, write down any gifts you already have or want to buy. I keep a running list and add to it throughout the year if I see or think of things they might like because I will certainly forget it when it’s time to shop. Some years I use a theme to help me organize my shopping. One year it was new games for everyone and another year it was books. This blog post talked about putting together travel bathroom bags for kids. Magazine or monthly box subscriptions are another fun way to spread out the cheer. Then think about the budget you have for gifts. This will look different for each person and each season…
Travel Review: Food Tours
What is the best way to get to know a new town? Food tours are a great way to get to know a new town. Want to get the lay of the land, a quick history lesson, and some restaurant suggestions? Take a food tour on your first day of vacation. Want to see your hometown in a new light? Take a food tour. Want a fun date night with friends? Take a food tour. Our first food tour was a free food tour by foot in Washington DC on a family vacation years ago. We were hooked! Since then we have gone on food tours on vacations across the globe, always delighted with the tours and the tourists. On a typical tour, you will meet at a designated spot to start and end your tour. Your tour guide will give a brief welcome and let the guests introduce themselves. It’s fun to hear whether people are local or just visiting. Usually, the tour is a leisurely walking tour of the town, visiting 4-6 restaurants within a few hours and a mile or two of distance in total with some history of the town or restaurants thrown in. Some restaurants…
Product Review: Bankroll Coffee
Can drinking coffee make you a millionaire? I self identify as a coffee snob. No doubt about that. For Christmas my kids got me a coffee bundle from Bankroll Coffee, and it was the perfect gift! Good coffee, catchy packaging, and amazing prices per cup. Names like Double Down, Morning Drip, and Diamond Hands grace the bags. I can’t even pick a favorite, but maybe Hodl, the espresso roast. Eventually, I’d like to try the decaf, Buy the Drip. If you read my earlier post, you’ll know that I make cold brew coffee at home. I always have some regular and some decaf in my fridge. Check out my cold brew coffee review here. Graham Stephan, with his interest in personal finance, real estate, and investing, has an interesting recipe for brewing coffee at home and saving money to invest so you can be a millionaire when you retire. According to Stephan, millennials spend more on coffee than they do on retirement! He says in his video that he wants to create a business that will continue to grow on its own without him having to be constantly involved as the influencer. I resonate with that business goal. That’s what…
Give Thoughtful Care Packages
Do you have a “go to” list for care package items when a friend is in need? Bookmark this page for your “go to” list for thoughtful care package items. Be the friend who gives generously and thoughtfully when a friend is in need, without asking “what do you need.” Whether it’s the stress of caring for a sick family member, sitting bedside with the dying, or trying to hold the family together after a traumatic incident, the same basic needs exist…food and rest. Putting together a small package of helpful items and dropping it off on a friend’s porch says so much. It’s a hug, a prayer, and a meal all wrapped up in one. Before you stop reading because your friends live too far away, most of this could be done by restaurant or grocery delivery services, too. Don’t let distance keep you from helping out. Over the years, friends have generously and thoughtfully taken care of my family during hard times. I remember a meal taken to MY house for my kids because I was away at my parents house caring for them. I remember a bag full of homemade cookies that got us through 4 am…
Product Review: Pinch of Yum
What’s your go-to website for recipes? Finding healthy, exciting, and approachable recipes can be a challenge in the giant universe of cyberspace. It’s not that they don’t exist, but that there’s so many websites to choose from. Let me introduce you to one of my favorites. Pinch of Yum is one I discovered in the last few years when a friend shared a yummy recipe I had tasted at her house. Now I regularly find myself clicking on the links in their newsletter or searching the blog for a recipe featuring whatever food items I have on hand that night so I don’t have to go to the store just to make dinner. The ability to sort recipes by categories like quick and easy, dinner, Instant Pot, vegan, tacos, freezer meals, etc. make it easy to find particular things. Another thing I love is the beauty of the website! Not only are the recipes a delight to taste, the website is a feast for your eyes from the fonts to the colors to the photos. Whether you want printed recipes, videos to follow, or explanations, you can get them at Pinch of Yum. If you are looking for a way…
Season’s Greetings
Remember that amazing hostess gift you got last Christmas that you thought you could make for others this year? Remember that amazing hostess gift you got last Christmas that you thought you could make for others this year? Nope. You forgot. Me, too. I hate it when that happens! You have a great idea, and you forget to use it. I have a tip that has helped me out many times when I want to remember Christmas gift ideas. Open your calendar app or paper calendar and choose a date early in next November. I create an event called “note to self” where I type things in the event notes such as “remember you have plenty of tree ornament hooks” or “make spice mix jars for teacher gifts this Christmas” adding links or pictures when appropriate. This little tip replaces sticky notes that get lost on the counter. You can use it to remind yourself to purchase and mail a birthday gift ahead of time or to schedule an appointment for the car inspection next year. This tip will only work if you actually use a calendar, but that’s a whole other topic! Speaking of those amazing little gifts, here’s…
Pie and Praise
When was the last time you asked guests to bring pies, with a slice missing? When you ask the hostess what to bring, rarely do you get told to bring a pie with a slice missing. (And rarely do ALL the guests comply.) “Pie and Praise” night is an opportunity to gather with friends before the start of the busy holiday season and to reflect on all you have to be thankful for in the past year. It is so easy to complain about how much work you have to do to get ready for the holidays, and in doing so, miss out on the joy of the season. That’s why I created “Pie and Praise” nights. I wanted to gather with my friends and family BEFORE Thanksgiving and Christmas and to count our blessings together. I also wanted to try out some new pie recipes! This was the winning combination! A night with friends spent catching up, eating pie, and reflecting on all you have to be thankful for. Cultivating gratitude is a great way to begin the busy holiday season. Why do you leave a piece of pie at home? To show some love and appreciation for your…
Summer Salads
What’s your favorite summer salad? BLT’s are always a favorite summer meal when the garden tomatoes are sun ripened to perfection, but wait until you try an easy summer BLT salad! Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Salad takes dinner to a whole new level of healthy summer goodness. Chop up some fresh lettuce and summer tomatoes. Add some perfectly cooked bacon (whatever your definition of perfect is) and top with homemade ranch dressing made with plain Greek yogurt and spices. If you need a side, Texas toast or potato chips are a good addition. I have a recipe for ranch seasoning that you just stir into plain yogurt or sour cream for a quick dressing or dip. This is literally one of those quick meals that comes together with the items you have on hand! Adding avocado kicks it up a notch in sophistication that leaves you wondering if you need to change the title or not. Like country farm cousin meets Manhattan city cousin in the summer. Ranch Seasoning Mix 1 t garlic powder 1 t onion powder 1 t salt ½ t pepper ½ t dried parsley ½ t dried dill Use this base recipe to double, triple, or…
