QUICK THINGS TO DO TODAY:
- Need to de-clutter and clean out your car next time you sit in it waiting for someone? Do you need to restock things you might keep in your car, such as Kleenex, wet wipes, hand sanitizer, a cell phone charger, mints, lipstick, and hand lotion?
- Are you mailing out Thanksgiving cards? Do you have time to write a few Christmas or holiday cards today?
- Have you eaten fresh fruit in the last two days? An apple, banana, strawberries, melon?
TODAY’S PROJECT: Drawer Sorting and Gift Wrapping
Tonight after I get back from a birthday party, I’m sorting drawers in our three bathrooms. I’ll remove everything from the drawers, and create a few Ziplock bags to keep things together (razors; nail polishes; nail clippers; cotton pads; hair clips; hair ties; barrettes, etc.) I’ll wash and dry the drawers before I put things back in them. I intend to be merciless and throw lots of things out (old makeup, hair bows I never use, old barrettes, etc.)
I’m also wrapping gifts tonight, while I watch some shows I saved up on my Tivo. My gifts aren’t too difficult to wrap, since I am gifting items such as books and calendars. I’ll label the gifts carefully so I know who to mail them to or which gift pile to put them in in my home. I’m currently storing the wrapped gifts in a Sterilite bin in my guest room – this protects them from the cats, who like to chew on the corners of boxes that look intriguing.
I also have a couple “Thinking of you” gifts to mail out to people I know who are going through hard times right now. They need these right now, before Christmas, I think.
I’m looking forward to adding some special touches to my gift wrap to make my inexpensive gifts more fun to open. I’m adding some sequins and sparkles to some of the gifts, and gluing some fake Swarovski crystals onto some of the ribbons I’m tying around the gifts.
LOVELY BLOGS: High-Heeled Foot in the Door
This woman is starting her own interior decorating company. You can follow her progress and see some of the lovely photographs she’s found on the net for inspiration.
http://high-heelfootinthedoor.blogspot.com/
LOVELY HOME: Laura Mercier Candles
I’m giving Laura Mercier candles to a few people on my gift list this year. I think they’ll love the dessert-themed scents (pistachio and creme brulee) and the warm roasted chestnuts would fill their homes with holiday cheer. I’d like to keep one of the warm roasted chestnut candles for myself!
LOVELY KITCHEN: Pullman Loaf Pan
I’m so excited to try my new loaf pan. The sliding lid helps you create flat, square loaves to slice for perfect sandwiches. The slices will be a more even shape. If I’m baking a load of bread for myself, I don’t care what the heck it looks like – I just care how it tastes. But if I’m baking for a party, or to serve other people, I want the slices to be nice, square and even.
Pullman Loaf Pan, at Williams-Sonoma
LOVELY LINKS FOR TODAY:
Burned Garlic and Other Kitchen Quandaries Solved (NPR)
Cranberries Star Throughout the Thanksgiving Feast (San Jose Mercury News)
Fixing Up Floors in Time for the Holidays (NY Times)
Glitter Glam Nail Polish for Holiday Manicures (Refinery 29)
How Ping-Pong Created the American Suburb (Slate)
Potatoes With Crunch, Without the Cabin (NY Times)
Six Ways to Survive Holiday Travel (Reader’s Digest)
16 Secrets of Holiday Entertaining (Washington Post)
What Meryl Streep Served Steve Martin In “It’s Complicated:” Croque Monsieur (Worth the Whisk)
Where to Get Oprah’s Favorite Things Before Everybody Else Does (She Finds)
