2013 holiday gift guide: for the person who has everything

In this season of giving, it's very, very easy to get caught up in buying, especially during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday madness. Retailers scream deals at you, and you accumulate an incredible amount of stuff. Yes, you're giving it away (well, most of it... I won't lie, I buy a healthy amount for myself during the deal season), but there are things you can give that don't cost anything but your time. And for the sister or uncle who have everything, think about giving a donation in their name to a worthy cause that they would enjoy (in the past I've donated to animal shelters, the World Wildlife Fund, and the Red Cross).

If you're in the mood to give your time this season, here are some ideas on what you can do:

Host a food drive
For the past three years, I've done this at work with help from a couple of coworkers. With a little bit of effort, we have collected about 10,000 lbs of food for the local food bank. That's a year and a half's worth of feeding a family of four three meals a day. (Find out if your local food bank will pick up the items - most places are glad to do it for large donations.)

Send a card
There are a few organizations that send cards to wounded veterans or troops overseas. The Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes asks for cards to arrive by December 6th (so you still have time!).

... or a care package
One organization I'm fond of around the holidays is Adopt-A-Platoon, through which you can send a care package to troops overseas. We've made it a Thanksgiving tradition to involve family members in writing out cards to include in the care package.

Volunteer
Check a volunteer site like VolunteerMatch.org to see if there are soup kitchens in your area that may need help. Or read your local paper - they're bound to do stories on individuals who run charitable organizations this time of year. And if you can't find a place that needs help at the holidays, check back in the summer months when their volunteer numbers are low.

Do you have a favorite organization that you support during the holidays?

definition via dictionary.com

BaubleBar giveaway

I'm thrilled to be teaming up with four amazing bloggers to bring you a BaubleBar giveaway for the holidays.

There will be TWO winners, one for each necklace, randomly selected via rafflecopter. You have all week to participate, and the winners will be randomly selected at midnight on December 6th and announced on December 9th on Preppy Panache (and contacted via email). If you're contacted, you'll have 24 hours to claim or prize or another winner will be selected. We want to make sure that the winner receives it in time for most of the holiday festivities. Good luck, everyone! And now for the roll call of bloggers teaming up to bring you the bling:

Preppy Panache // A Sequin Love Affair

Penniless Socialite // Nightchayde // ruffle and curl

a Rafflecopter giveaway

cozy knits + Christmas tree shopping

We went Christmas tree shopping during yesterday's crazy cold day. It's a lot easier (and cheaper) to have an artificial tree, but there's something I love about walking around a tree farm to find the perfect tree and then bringing it home. I'm so glad I had hidden a new pair of gloves in my bag, but I do wish I had worn something a bit cozier, like some of these knit options.

girl gifting

One of the best things about having sisters - who wear practically the same size as me - is that shopping for Christmas is that much easier. Where I struggle with purchasing clothes for others because I can never figure out their size, it's rarely an issue with us. If I think the shoes are comfortable (in my size), chances are so will my sister.

And with all of the deals popping up over the past few weeks, and which I'm sure will be around for the next few weeks too, there's no harm in adding 2 to my cart*, right?

*This year I have vowed off any in-store shopping. It's all online shopping and packages galore!

Here are some sale items I'm considering (and some not on sale, just because):

giving thanks

If you haven't seen this list yet, you should check it out. It's very timely during this holiday week.

I'm so, so thankful for what I have and what I am able to give. I am continually reminded of the incredible people in my life, the opportunities I've been given, and fabulous things that are to come. Tomorrow we will be hosting a raucous dinner at our home - happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

recap: four week vacation

Your employer has given you four weeks to do whatever you want - outside of work - and you have to take all four weeks at once. So what would you do and where would you go? 

See some gorgeous new places...

make some new friends...

and find some new favorite places...

What a great vacation it was. Two weeks on the west coast, including a beautiful wedding of two of our friends (complete with dolphins in the background - for real), followed by two weeks at home doing everything I don't normally have time to do (like go to the gym). I have a newfound love for kale (thank you, Lovely's Fifty-Fifty of Portland), determined that I need real help when it comes to packing for a vacation (we had to mail ourselves packages - twice - because we didn't have enough room in our suitcases), and decided that I would 100% love to have a job where I could bring Sprout to work with me every day (someday?).

Sidenote: I also added two states to my 50 before 50 list!

2013 holiday gift guide: shop local

one // two // three // four // five

six // seven // eight // nine

Small Business Saturday is coming soon, and this year I'm inspired to give gifts that are meaningful and support small businesses. A personalized dog bowl for my sister's new puppy, monogrammed jewelry dish for my newly married bestie, and an adorable animal print for our friends with a new bundle of joy, all supporting local artists and business ladies, are some of my top picks for this giving season.

Do you make a conscious effort to support small businesses?