Thanksgiving 2009

The Etsy Bloggers Blog Carnival topic this time, is what do you do around this time of year, if anything, to celebrate a bountiful harvest. Well, y'all know I'm from the good ol' USA, so, yep, it's Thanksgiving! This is one holiday for my immediate family that tradition has been dictated by circumstances that we work around, so it can be different every year.

Last year, we had Roland's mom, and his siblings and their families, plus Laura's then boyfriend, now fiance, so it was quite the group!

We wanted to get together since Aaron, the young man in the gray t-shirt, was soon to be deployed to the Middle East. So they came from Virginia and Missouri and we all had a great time!

This year, we're celebrating twice. The first will be this Saturday when Laura and Thomas arrive from Kentucky, and Thomas' dad and his date come down from Tennessee. This will the day for cooking, and we do enjoy the traditional menu. You know, turkey, dressing, potatoes, and lots of pie!

They can only stay the weekend though, so on the actual holiday, Roland, Kyle and I will head to a local restaurant and enjoy someone else's cooking.

Maybe in some other post I'll tell you about our Thanksgivings when we lived in Prague. We still joke about the traditional Thanksgiving goose! What? You don't eat goose on Thanksgiving?

Meeting an Etsy Friend

That's me on the left, and Sarah, who runs the fabulous A Fine Distraction, on the right. We met yesterday for the first time in person. We've been chatting in the Etsy forum for over a year now (we're part of the Bittersweeets One a Day Challenge). I, of course, knew she was a fellow Georgian, but hadn't done the map math and it turns out we only live about 35 miles apart.

I could have titled this Road Trip: Sugar Hill, but meeting an Etsy friend is so much fun! I felt like we already really, REALLY knew each other, so the in person part was just a formality. Her neighborhood was hosting an Arts & Crafts event, so I took advantage of the perfect for a Sunday drive weather, and headed northeast to see her.

I even got to meet her little girls and her husband, and they are such a nice family. I'm quite certain it will not be another year before I see her again!

A Good Cause

Coffee-mate is teaming up with Dress for Success to give Cups of Confidence!

Go here to learn more about Dress for Success and how you can raise money, without spending any of your own. Click on the "Send a Cup of Confidence" link at the top of Coffee-Mate's home page. Once there, you can select your favorite Coffee-mate flavor and add your words of encouragement to a Dress for Success client - no cost to you - up to $150,000 for Dress for Success. Make sure you enter your city and state. The affiliate with the most notes can win up to $5,000 for its local program. I wrote my note for the Atlanta, Georgia affiliate.

When you click on the "About the Cause" link, you will learn lots more about Dress for Success.

Thanks for taking a minute to support a good cause.

Quilt Sale

Do you need a great baby gift at a reasonable price. Here's your chance to get one! My mom is the chief baby quilt maker at Down the Street Creations, and she's got some new ones that will be unveiled in the next couple of months. To celebrate the new production, we're offering 20% off select baby quilts currently in our inventory, and 25% off the little Pumpkin quilt. There's an additional 5% off if you purchase both toile quilts. (The prices have been marked down.)

Take a peek and see!

Front Page!

Time to put Jenna Belle Designs on the map!

Giveaway Announcement

I have been feeling uninspired about posting here on the ol' blog, but was alerted to a blog giveaway that is offering something pretty unique and fantastic. Plus, I happen to love the artist, and while I already have several things she has made, I would love to win something in the give away. BUT, I don't want to be selfish, so I'm sharing.

This is what is being offered. Isn't it cute?! It's a sponge holder, with little drain holes so your sponge can dry out and doesn't get all nasty.

If you click on the picture, you'll go straight to the Ginpins shop on Etsy. And to enter the give away, you'll need to visit the Gifted Giveaways blog. Click on their name and it will take you right to the blog.

Good luck!

Weight Loss Wednesday -- A New Activity

Today's meeting topic had to do with boredom... you know, if you eat grilled chicken all the time, you'll get bored, and then quit the program. Of course, before you started Weight Watchers (or any plan for that matter) you ate the same thing all the time, and you didn't get bored and stop eating, did you? Never mind. But there really are lots of great things to eat out there that aren't loaded with calories, so choose wisely.

You can also get bored with your activity, too. It's been around a long time, but why not try hula hooping? I just bought a sports hoop, and it seems like its going to be lots of fun.




Well, that's obviously not me... but who knows, in a week or two I could look just like her!

OK, probably not. And you can even buy your hula hoop on Etsy!! Check out hoola monsters or Full Circle Quirk and get yours today!