bring joy

Edible Holiday Gift: Chocolate Mint Drizzled Popcorn

dessert & bread, frugal holidays, holiday foods

I know, Thanksgiving is tomorrow & I may be getting ahead of myself making our Christmas popcorn, but I think the weekend after Thanksgiving is a great time to start thinking about the edible treats you may want to make during the holiday season.

[side note: A best of edible treats post coming up on Friday & winners of the bring joy tote giveway (I’m giving away to 3 lucky readers!)–if you haven’t entered yet, go here–it’s super easy, just leave a comment.]

Joseph & I began making some variation of “gourmet” popcorn several years ago.

I LOVE gourmet popcorn (think Harry & David), but often, it’s not vegan and they are incredibly pricey, considering that you can make your own at a fraction of the cost.

We’ve messed around with different variations (our fave is actually a peanut...

Frugal Holidays: easy DIY washi tape Christmas cards

frugal life, frugal holidays, DIY

Do you ever have things that you love to do, but never get around to doing?

I feel that way about crafty & art stuff.

Art was my minor in my undergrad studies. Though I’ve mentioned before, I never quite fit in with people who could actually, you know, draw & paint–I was just attracted to the idea of creating beautiful things.

But back to the crafty & art stuff.

I think part of my excuse for not doing it more often (though I do LOVE to pin ideas & projects as evidenced by my overstuffed DIY pinterest board) is 1) money–craft supplies can add up quickly! & 2) I have to make something that has some function, otherwise I just see it as something to clutter up my house.

Which brings me to Christmas cards.

If I could make money designing & creating cards (which, I’m sure those people...

{MM} a giveaway! + light pre/post Thanksgiving recipes

marvelous mondays

This weekend we put up our Christmas decorations–I know–before Thanksgiving? sacrilege.

(That santa ornament, FYI, was handpainted by Joseph. An ornament painting husband–so sexy, right?)

But since Thanksgiving is so late in the month, we didn’t want to wait another week to partake in the holiday loveliness of Christmas lights & greenery.

We also took our boys to the symphony–Mendelssohn’s violin concerto with some Bach thrown in as well. It was a bit of surprise, as we got some free tickets the day before (4 tickets to the symphony? That’s at least an $100 value–such a blessing). People with musical gifts amaze me & nothing takes me to a wonderful place like listening to the violin.

And, maybe due to all my longings for snow, the weekend weather was chilly & rainy–& I loved every bit...