Things are in full swing around the studio but I wanted to take a few minutes to write to all of you. I know some people get annoyed when the Christmas ads, decorations, music, movies, themed foods and everything else start around Halloween, but I'm personally someone who wants it to last as long as possible and is sad when I have to take my decorations down. This is my favorite time of the year and I love everything that comes along with it. I'm so busy this time of year that all the decorations, music, movies and foods remind me to slow down a little and enjoy my favorite time of year. I'm not going to lie I've already wandered through holiday decoration aisles and bought a few things, ordered the new holiday latte at Starbucks, and watched some Hallmark Christmas movies late at night.
Last year was the first year I hosted Thanksgiving at my place and it was so much fun and I can't wait to do it again this year. My boyfriend takes care of the turkey since I'm vegetarian and my friends and I take care of everything else. It was so much fun searching for recipes last year and this year I'm going to stick with most of them because they were delicious. I've added a link to the mashed potatoes recipe I used. The gouda made them extra delicious.
It's so easy to get overwhelmed and stressed out during this time of year and then the magic of the season completely goes away. I remember when I moved away from the Northeast and I thought Thanksgiving and Christmas would never be the same without my family, snow and all of our traditions. But over the years I've forged my own traditions and whenever I start to feel overwhelmed during my busiest time of the year I take a break and enjoy one of these new traditions. I'd love to hear some of your favorite traditions. A few of mine are going ice skating, drinking hot cocoa, turning up Christmas music and decorating my house, sending out Christmas cards & baking cookies.
Today I'm working away on getting orders shipped out to my wonderful retailers, but I started off the morning taking a few fall themed photos for Instagram. Then I reordered my business cards from Oubly and saw they were having a sale on Christmas cards and since I love the gold edging so much on my business cards I ordered some cards too. They have 25% off so if you want to get a jump on your holiday cards I recommend checking their site out.
New stacking rings and midi rings in my Etsy shop
I really would love to hear about your favorite holiday traditions no matter what holiday you celebrate and where. I really hope for all of you out there that you find the time to spend it with the ones you love and remember everything you have to be thankful for and not get too overwhelmed and forget to enjoy it.
Be bold. Live Beautifully.
-Amanda