in the spirit of thanksgiving

thlinks: thanksgiving links

Here are some Thanksgiving links from the blog last year....

• Watch the Friends Thanksgiving episodes
• Stump your guests--read up on some Thanksgiving trivia
  
• Read some Thanksgiving fun facts
• Do yourself a favor and BRINE your turkey today

...and watch the Macy's parade. Here's the line-up for Broadway shows performing:

The 83rd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade — marching down Seventh and Eighth Avenue to reach 34th Street, and airing on NBC-TV Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 26, from 9 AM-noon
Bye Bye Birdie - "Put on a Happy Face"
Hair - "Aquarius"
Billy Elliot - "Shine"
Shrek - "I'm a Believer"
The Rockettes

I will be looking for friends Mike and Stephanie as clowns again in the parade!!

CBS broadcast of "The Thanksgiving Day Parade" Nov. 26, starting at 9 AM (ET)
West Side Story - "America"
Dreamgirls - "Dreamgirls"
Ragitme - "Wheels of a Dream"

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

thankful

This year Thanksgiving seems bittersweet. Not because I am not abundantly blessed, of course. But I miss that feeling of making grocery lists, organizing the order of dishes to be made, brining the bird, setting the table, making pies, and watching endless movies with my family.

This year I am with my Wicked family, a family I love although did not choose. It's funny when you accept a contract of this kind....its like you accept your job and also in some way look around a group of new faces and have immediate family. I see these people more than I have seen my family in the last 5 years, more than I see my friends, and sometimes more than I would like to! Ha! We have come together to be a tight and loving group of people who surely have issues along the way but overall really do enjoy one another. We are having Thanksgiving dinner at a hotel which is definitely the first time in my life I have eaten out on Thanksgiving. It will surely be different! I have been blessed to have such wonderful friends out here on tour, and for that I am extremely grateful.

thankful
for my loving and supportive family
the gospel
for my health and my body
for my friends
for my job
for being out of debt
for creativity
for the beauty of this earth
for technology
for my many blessings
for hope
for comments on the blog :)
for life long learning
for goals
for great finds
for you!

holla!

I won something! A big something if you ask me :)

Nicole from A Little Sussy had a giveaway for a new blog header from LaDitta Design! Hooray! I've wanted to get a fancy-schmancy design for the blog for awhile now so this is perfect timing if you ask me. Can't wait!

Thank you Nicole and Aarean!

logo

I commissioned Marta from Marta Writes to design and whip up some fancy schmancy logo's for some business stuff. It was really fun to work with her!

Thoughts?

tie one on

Yep. This is cute.















Kate Spade

i've got a lot of living to do

pics from marthastewart.com

I'm finally finished with a project I've been working on for our beloved Wizard, Tom McGowan as he will head out to join the San Fransisco cast in a few weeks. Now I can get to all of my Thanksgiving festivities! Here's a short list of things I plan to do....

Watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
Make Pumpkin pancakes/waffles
Watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade
Plan my trip to NYC
Watch the Friends Thanksgiving episodes {love}
Bake some pies :)
Finalize my Christmas gift list
Plan a sleepover with Libby
Private Screening with cast for New Moon {more on that}
Hot Cider and some shopping!
BE THANKFUL

birdie in a basket

One of my all time fav breakfast foods is definitely what I call Birdie in a Basket.
{I've heard it called, Egg in a Hole --bleh}

I like mine with whole grain bread and jam.
I had this morning for breakfast :)
The Pioneer Woman gives a step by step HERE.

christmas colour

Love these alternative Christmas deco colours over ont Anna Spiro's ABT. So fresh!

inspiration: sport coat bag

I recently saw this in Country Living {Nov. 09}. Evon Cassier took to cutting up her husbands old sports coats and started making bags. Enter her company, CLEVERSCENE which specializes in upcycling used garments. Talk about eco-chic!

Look around your donation pile and see what inspiration you get!

sweet potato vs yam

Seriously, DO YOU KNOW THE DIFFERENCE?

Probably not. Because most people don't. You are not alone :)

Here's the easiest explanation I have found by, Jennifer A. Wickes:

Most people get confused as to what is a sweet potato and what is a yam. In the United States, most people use both terminologies to refer to a sweet potato.

The sweet potato is found in tropical America and is a part of the Morning Glory family, while the yam is a tuber (a bulb) of a tropical vine found in Central & South America, as well as the West Indies, Africa and Asia.

Differences Between Sweet Potatoes and Yams
There are two main varieties of sweet potato. The pale sweet potato has a very thin yellow skin with a bright yellow flesh. This variety is neither sweet nor moist, but more the texture of a white baking potato. The darker skinned sweet potato has a thicker orange skin with a sweet moist flesh.

The true yam is not marketed or grown widely in the United States. It is sometimes found in Latin American markets. The flesh can range in color from off-white to yellow to pink to purple. The skin color can be from off-white to a dark brown.

Both the sweet potato and the yam are available fresh from October through March. When selecting a sweet potato, choose a medium sized variety with smooth unbruised skin. With yams, choose unblemished ones with unwrinkled skin.

I also like this article and this post on the great debate.

So now you and I both know....

what we commonly refer to a YAM is actually a SWEET POTATO!

So, make your Thanksgiving recipes with CONFIDENCE that you are using the right vegetable regardless of what the grocer marks it as!

can you tell me how to get...

...how to get to Sesame Street! Happy 40th!

These Sesame Street inspired cake pops from Bakarella are sure to be the most ingenious baked good found on the internet in 2009.
I challenge you to find something cuter.

They are almost too cute to eat!

minted

Loving these NYC inspired holiday cards from Minted.
If you haven't checked out their site yet go now....loving their designs.

pennant rubber stamp roller

I've been cleaning out my bookmarks and came across this. How did I not post about this yet? Cathe is a genius, because this is the cutest darn thing ever! I can't wait to make one :)

mini pie favors

I la la LOVE these mini pie favors from SMP. I want to give mini pie favors at every party I throw. I do love pie :) Plus you can also download favor tags HERE {use for diy wedding}.

dear diary

I am horrible at writing in my journal. I know how important it is to have a record of my personal history and that there are many health benefits connected to keeping a journal. For instance the Alternative Medicine Encyclopedia says this about keeping a journal:
Journal writing produces a number of benefits in healthy people—among other things, it enhances creativity, helps cope with stress, and provides a written record of memorable life experiences. That sounds good, right?

I recently came across Penzu - a free online personal journal that is completely private. I really like their lined paper format and the ability to add pics {awesome}. I think I might give it a try....

diy smores kit

Meant to link to this post at Twig & Thistle last week, but alas I forgot. I la la LOVE this.

lemon tree paperie

Great holiday cards at Lemon Tree Paperie. Kinda love the antler one...

jewelry portrait

This would make such a great handmade gift. Thrift store/vintage/flea market frames would be great and inexpensive.

twinkle lights

I have a slight obsession with hanging twinkle lights. I want them in my future backyard, at every party I throw, and maybe even my bathroom. And talk about the subtle lighting making for good pictures....not in the bathroom of course.