Thursday, December 22, 2016

Christmastime Traditions: ZooLights at the Oregon Zoo

One of our family's most favorite Christmastime traditions is to start the season of with a visit to ZooLights at the Oregon Zoo. A few weekends ago, we had the opportunity to attend one of their media nights.

Christmas Traditions: ZooLights at the Oregon Zoo

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Halloween Costumes: Half-Homemade

I know - we're past Halloween, and even past Thanksgiving now, but I really wanted to share with you the costumes I put together for the kids this year - and maybe they'll serve as inspiration for someone else's costumes next year. Or maybe you're like me and occasionally gift costumes for Christmas gifts.

Harry Potter, Batgirl, Wonder Woman, Processor McGonagall costumes, cosplay

My kids have always had definite ideas about what they need to be for Halloween. Are your kids that particular? Sometimes, I think it might be fun to dress them up in a while family theme. I won't deny good fun it is saying how excited they get as their costumes begin to take shape, though. 

Monday, November 14, 2016

Jord Wood Watch

It's almost Christmas! Okay, almost sort of. But if you're looking for a truly unique gift (or an especially special treat for yourself, regardless of the time of year), you should really check out Jord Wood Watches.

This post was sponsored by Jord Wood Watches.

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I was recently contacted by Jord Wood Watches to see if I would be interested in sharing their amazing watches with you. I'll be honest, with everything going on in my life lately, I generally casually check out the website, then move on, but - you guys - their watches are gorgeous!

Maybe you've seen woods watches online or in person, maybe you haven't. Personally, I'd never seen a watch like this before, so I was more than happy to sign on to share this with you. And not only am I just showing you how amazing they look, I'm also so very happy to share a GIVEAWAY with you.

But first - you have to see the watch I have been happily sporting lately:

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This is the Fieldcrest design in dark sandalwood. I have it paired with some real jade beads I picked up on my trip to South Korea a couple years ago. And, yes, those are winter boots in the sand at the beach.  That's how we roll in the great PNW when we head to the beach in the fall.  Or maybe that's just me.

Anyway, Jord makes men's watch styles as well as women's watch styles, with lots of gorgeous designs in both shops - in case you're wanting to buy watches for all the men and women in your life (which I couldn't fault you for).

And because the people at Jord  are awesome and generous, they are offering up this giveaway for a $75 e-shop gift code towards the purchase of ANY of their watches, AND you'll be gifted with a $20 e-shop gift code just for participating. Just click on the following link and fill out the quick and easy form to be entered! (Giveaway runs through November 20, 2016)


Good luck to those who enter! And please let me know which watch you would love to have! I've got some posts coming up on all the sewing I've been keeping busy with - including the Halloween costumes my kids were outfitted in! (If you follow me on Instagram, you've already seen them). I know, it's past Halloween, but I watch Christmas movies year-round, and I believe it's never the wrong time of year for sharing pictures of cute kids in cool costumes.  
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Thursday, November 26, 2015

Believe

It's Thanksgiving, and that means it's a great opportunity to take stock of the things in our lives we hold most dear and count ourselves most thankful for. That includes being thankful for the opportunity to help others.

This year marks Macy's 8th annual Believe campaign in partnership with Make-A-Wish. Inspired by the 1897 letter written by Virginia O'Hanlan asking the editor of the New York Sun if Santa Claus is real, Macy's encourages children today to believe as well - in Santa Claus as much as what he represents "love and generosity and devotion."
Macy's 8th annual Believe campaign - raising money for Make-A-Wish

Every year, I take my kids to Macy's where they can write and mail their letters to Santa. In return, Macy's donates $1 (up to $1 million) for each letter to Make-A-Wish. In total, Macy's has donated $90 million dollars, with $10.8 million coming from the letter writing campaign.

Friday, October 30, 2015

Taste of Thanksgiving: supporting local schools

If we've ever had a conversation about school fundraisers, you'll probably know I'm not a big fan of most. Tiny packages of gummy worms for $12, a roll of wrapping paper for $10, a candy bar I could buy at the grocery store for under a dollar somehow costs me $5. And the incentive prizes? Unless I can manage to help my son make 20 separate sales, he's coming home with the same prizes he might bring home from Wunderland Arcade. School fundraisers are a pet peeve for me.

I love things like old school jog-a-thon's that cost next to nothing to put on. You know there's little to no overhead, no skeevey company trying to profit off the under-funding of a child's education, using my kids as fun-size sales people. I also love school activities that bring in a revenue - the book fair (because I love books, and I love my kids to have books, and if the school gets a bit of profit, that's a bonus), school carnivals, silent auctions, spaghetti dinners, pancake feeds. You get the idea.
Jog-a-thons and Thanksgiving dinners to support local schools

But with all the good (and the not so good) fundraisers that the kids, the teachers, the PTA, or the PTO are working on, there always seems to be more need. At my son's Parent/Teacher conference today, I asked his teacher what it is she needs for the classroom right now. Of course, this was something I could reasonably purchase out of my own pocket. She told me baby wipes. Baby wipes. She buys them out of her own pocket for the kids in her class to use to clean the classroom (she uses disinfectant wipes at the end of the day to go back over everything). And she's out. If she's needing to buy cleaning supplies, and that's what they are in her classroom, with funds from her personal budget, just imagine what else she could use. And think about what else the school could use. Mini chalkboards for teaching handwriting in the kindergarten. Updated computer software and hardware in the computer labs. Tablets for the classrooms. Tissues. Pencils. Pencil sharpeners that don't overheat before you've finished sharpening half a box of pencils for your son's class.