· my contribution to turkey day ·

I will be making this spiced pumpkin mousse trifle from Every Day with Rachael Ray. For the past two years I have made a no-bake pumpkin pie that has a cream cheese layer, which is very tasty, but this year I wanted to try something different. However, i'm going to make a few tweaks to the recipe. For starters, I'm cutting-out the rum...we have small children at the dinner table and I don't think they'd like the rum in their dessert. And to make things a little easier, I'm going to use cool whip instead of whipping my own cream...I know fresh whip cream is better, but my whip cream doesn't hold up well. I'm hoping it will be yummy...sure looks it! Happy Thanksgiving!

· idea for santa #2 ·

Oh so cute vases and simple canvas tote from pretty random objects.

(all from etsy)

· idea for santa #1 ·

I think these handmade bags from wren on etsy are very cute and quite spacious.

· love letters ·

What happened to love letters? And old-fashioned romance?
The other day I found love letters from my high school/college boyfriend buried away in my old bedroom in my parents' house. Looking through the letters, I realized he wrote me almost once a
week for the good part of two years while he was away at college.
Nowadays all you hear about are emails and (even worse) text messages. No handwritten, thought-out letters filled with love and encouragement. Are love letters a lost art? Or are they still being written out there somewhere?

· i'm blushing ·

Have you tried these yet? My local grocery store is having a two for $5 deal, so I decided to try the chardonnay white tea and the syrah super juice. I drank the chardonnay tea and it was really nice, very mild and slightly fruity. And the syrah juice might be my new favorite grape juice...not too sweet and not too tangy. I think I'm a fan. My only complaint is that they don't have a subtle wine flavor to them...the names are a little deceptive.

· williamsburg & soho ·

A vandalizing giraffe, a still life, and beautiful architecture. A few photos from my recent visit to New York. So many things to love about NYC!

· i think i'm going delirium ·

It's funny, I had a glass of Delirium tremens last night for the first time. Why is that funny, you ask? Well, for someone who has loved the little pink elephant logo, the typography and the bottle for quite a few years...it is a funny thing that I just tried the beer last night. I mean, I like good beer (especially Belgian beer) and I like good design...so why haven't I tried the beer until now? I don't know! I honestly don't know! And it was good...and it was on tap...and served in the cute Delirium glass (which I own, I owned it without ever trying the beer...I think that makes me a little strange).

(image via japanese forms)

· let's move forward with compassion & with love ·

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There are millions of children who need help. Americans are so wealthy, yet there are so many who do not give. We need to help those who can't help themselves. Let's give to those who are less fortunate.

There are several organizations who make it easy to give. I have been sponsoring a little girl in Indonesia for two years through Compassion International. I am a strong believer in the organization and their practices. And one day I hope to be able to visit my sponsor child where she lives.

In this time of change in our Country, let us remember those in less fortunate areas of the world.

· hooray ·

Got up this morning expecting lines at the polls and to my pleasant surprise there were none! I definitely want people to vote, but I'm very thankful that I didn't have to wait two hours like the last election. If you have a Ben & Jerry's near you, and you voted, then get your free ice cream from 5-8pm tonight. Enjoy!