Happy Thanksgiving

Enjoy turkey and pumpkin pie,
Laugh with family and friends,
Give thanks,
Best wishes for a very happy Thanksgiving!

Holiday Catalog Shopping - Williams Sonoma

The Williams Sonoma catalog arrived in my mailbox and has some great gift choices.

First, how cute is this Sandwich Cookie Cake? The cake pan comes as a set with the cake mix. This would be great for the mom or dad who likes to cook with their kids, as what child wouldn't want to make a giant cookie!?


For the chocolate lover with a sense of humor, these Peppermint North Poles are sure to get a laugh!

Finally, you can't go wrong with this set of gingerbread chef mugs. Any hostess can always use a set of matching holiday mugs at the ready to serve coffee for unexpected guests.

The holiday fair season is in full swing, so I've been busy, busy, busy! This past Wednesday night was a fun artisans night at a local country club. Tomorrow I'll be up early for a fair at North Andover High School in North Andover, MA. Selling at fairs can be a lot of work (i.e. dragging our incredibly heavy table from the parking lot!), but it can be so much fun too! I love helping people pick out the perfect hat or pair of earrings. You also get to really see different people's shopping styles: some will come up to the table, browse for a minute, pick up one item and with clear decisiveness buy it right away! Others will try on 10 hats before making a decision! I probably relate to the second group better as I am definitely a more deliberative shopper - I need to really look at EVERYTHING before I can make up my mind. However, I greatly admire the shoppers who have the ability to make a quick and decisive choice - that is definitely a great trait to have as the holiday shopping season begins in earnest!

Other upcoming fairs:
Saturday, November 28th, Somerville High School, Somerville, MA
Saturday, December 12th, Salem High School, Salem, MA

Holiday Shopping - Ulta

The annual influx of holiday catalogs flooding my mailbox started about a week or so ago. While online shopping is a great way to avoid the holiday season mall crowds, sometimes it can be difficult to quickly browse through a website to find the perfect gift. For that, I still love old-fashioned, printed catalogs. You can quickly flip through them, looking for what catches your eye - circle your favorites, add notes, rip out pages, etc. So, I thought it would be a fun idea to start a new blog feature: gift guides based on my favorite catalog finds. My goal is to choose my favorites from every catalog that graces my mailboxes - we'll see if I can do it!

First up: Ulta Beauty. This catalog is for all the "girly girls" on your holiday shopping list! Here are my favorites:

Woodwick Candle in Cashmere - you can never go wrong with a candle, but to keep things from getting too dull (i.e. the ever ubiquitous Yankee Candle jar), Woodwick candles crackle when they burn, creating - in the Words of the Ulta catalog - "the soothing sound of a crackling fire." Working from a bigger budget? Pair the candle with a cashmere scarf!


For the makeup lover - Benefit Cosmetics Celebutante Set. This is the perfect gift for the sister or friend who is always trying new makeup. With pocket-sized portions of Benetint and High Beam, two of the brand's most well-known products, and Dallas - in my opinion one of the best bronzer's out there (I use it all summer to give my face a sunny glow), this set is sure to please.


For your friend who always has perfect nails - Burt's Bees Polka Dot Perfect Mani Pedi Set. This set has all sorts of cremes for hands and feet and a cute bumble bee print nail file. With many people "going natural" and trying to avoid chemicals in their makeup and skincare, Burt's Bees is a great brand to choose if you're not so sure of the recipient's preferences.


Finally, a classic that needs no explaining - Chanel No. 5. In fact, it's such a classic that it's not available on Ulta's website! So you'll have to head to your local Ulta store. I, however, might suggest going to the Chanel store instead and having it gift wrapped? That would make such a special and classic gift all the more special don't you think?

Blogger Get Together

A few of us Boston-area bloggers had a mini-get together last night. It started out as a larger gathering, but ended up being just three of us. I still had a lot of fun meeting Seersucker Scrapper and and KLC of Tales of a Northern Belle! We enjoyed dinner and drinks (if you're ever at the Macaroni Grill - you must try the Cosmopolitan Cello, it was so good!) and fun conversation.

Today, I had the day off in honor of Veterans Day. What a nice treat it was to have a free day in the middle of the week!

Always ask!

I have been looking for a new, everyday handbag for quite some time. (In fact, I promised myself I would treat myself to one in celebration of starting my new job - and that was back in July!) Finally, on Saturday I came across exactly what I was looking for at Nordstrom in the sale section. It's a beautiful soft leather, has straps long enough to go over my shoulder even with a coat on, and features both gold and silver hardware. The one negative: it was purple. A very pretty purple, but still purple nonetheless. Not exactly your go-with-everything, wear everyday color.

Now usually my assumption with sales is that generally all they have available is out and it usually tends to be more unusual colors. In my experience, basic black and tan handbags seem to be the first to sell out at full price. I was shopping with my mother, however, and she said: "Why don't you ask if it's in black?" I replied, "I'm sure it's only the purple on sale, why bother?" My mother insisted (you know how mothers are!) and as a salesperson was walking by right then, I decided to ask. She stepped over to the computer and when she came back said they could ship it in black to me at no extra cost and at the same sale price!

Lesson learned: Always ask!

(I couldn't find the bag on the Nordstrom website, the above pic is from Zappos where it's still full-price: it's the B Makowsky Ibiza Satchel.)

A Fall Wedding Project

I wanted to share some photos of my latest custom jewelry project, earrings and necklaces for 4 bridesmaids for a wedding this month. The maid-of-honor connected with me through my Etsy site to make a ring for her over the summer (you may remember me posting a pic of the ring back in Jult) and after the bride saw the ring she decided to surprise the bridesmaids with necklace and earring sets. The bridesmaids are wearing black dresses and each is accessorized with a different color (fuschia, peridot, and hyacinth) with the maid-of-honor in all 3 colors - quite a fun idea for a fall wedding I think, don't you?