Black Friday Madness

The Craze, The Crowds, The Deals.

As today stretches on, it's like I can feel the city preparing itself for tomorrows festivities. Everyone seems to have already checked out of work mode and are mentally on Holiday break. Even as the freezing rain is sweeping through New York, 

it hasn't dulled the excitement that is buzzing around Thanksgiving! 

My mouth is already watering just thinking about all the sweets and fall goodies that tomorrow will bring.

Though there is something darker looming closer as well. A craze that has swept our nation and seems to grow out of control every year. Once, a fun easy going day where generations of families could go out shopping for their loved ones and bask in the glow of a great deal. It was an extension of Thanksgiving, a way to bond and bring in the next holiday. It was Black Friday. It since has turned quite sinister, evolving into a monster that spans longer and longer each year, Black Weeks would be a more suited title. There is now Shop Small Saturday, Cyber Monday and "Don't Stop Sunday" probably isn't far behind. Companies battling each other, each trying to out do the other. Starting sooner, lasting days sometimes weeks longer, and the deals and tactics getting more and more outlandish. Now, it's fairly common to read about fights breaking out and people even being trampled as the big name stores open their doors in the wee hours of the morning. I'm not sure about you, but this doesn't sound like the "Holiday Spirit" to me!

Since New York City is the breeding ground for shopping, it's safe to say I will be boarded up in my home with my boy and my pups (probably slightly bloated from the day prior's festivities) like the apocalypse was here. I don't handle rush hour subway crowds very well so I shutter to think about ones on Black Friday.

 Just the mere mention of it makes me feel like this…

So for those of you crazy enough to risk not only your patience, 

but possibly a limb or two here is a list of the biggest deals going on in NYC: 

• Toys "R" Us: Is an early opener at 5pm on Thanksgiving. Good-luck with that I'll be halfway through my dinner at this point.
• Walmart: Our second runner-up opening at 6pm on Turkey Day and have a one-hour in-stock guarantee. One hour? Better be first in line. . . 
• Best Buy: Also played into the early start and will be opening at 6pm this year Thursday. Offering deals like a Kindle Fire HD 7 for $99. Almost makes it tempting. Almost.
• Old Navy: Opens a 7pm Thanksgiving and is offering everything for half off. And the first 500 customers (in all of America, mind you) will be entered into a $1 Million sweepstakes
• Target: One of my personal favourite go-to shops has fallen for the trend as well opening its doors at 8pm after turkey dinner. I'll be having seconds by this point. 
• Macy's: The legendary Macy's is starting at 8:00 sharp. I can see the madness already.

Now for those of you who are bunkering down like me, don't fret it doesn't mean you're doomed to full priced holiday gifts this season. In fact the wonderful technology driven world we live in today ensures that almost every big name store is offering similar if not the EXACT same deals online as they are in stores. So you can cuddle up with your loved ones and a hot cup of cocoa, maybe even a slice of that leftover pumpkin pie (just saying) and scour the savings online in the comfort and warmth of your own home. Once again, I do not understand the people that rather battle it out with strangers or be ran over by that coupon clipping granny, but hey more power to ya!

Here are my Black Friday (and Saturday, and Sunday, and Monday..) Online Shopping Tips!

1. Check out Black Friday it's going to be your best friend this week. A website with an alphabetical (and searchable) list of every sale going on out there. It's updating constantly to keep up with the current deals. Look for your favourite stores, click, shop and save!
2. Don't have a favourite store in mind? Take a look at Slick Deals offering the best promotions and deals out there for products. You can search by category ('shoes' 'apparel' 'travel') and even has a tab of complete freebies just waiting to be redeemed! What are you waiting for?
3.  Fat Wallet is another similar shopping tool. I think it's slightly more difficult to navigate but still plenty of deals just waiting to be taken. You can even sort through deals by the % off their offering.
4. Froogle. Never heard of it? Neither had I. It's owned by, you guessed it- Google, but it's purely for shopping. Type in that lovely gift you're searching for and it instantly price compares across the board. No more searching for hours comparing prices trying to save a penny or two- it does it for you. Where has this been all my life??
5. And last but certainly not least, when your prizes of glory are gleaming in your victory cart and you're about to close the deal check out Retail Me Not  for those last minute savings, enter any online store and it pulls up all the available coupon codes for extra bonus savings. I use this every time I buy anything online!

And of course because as maddening as the whole thing is, I have to be apart of it too (from the safety of my own home, of course) Take 40% off all statement necklaces from 10 PM Turkey Day (after you're pleasantly stuffed and the kids have been put to bed) to 11:59 PM EST Friday Night! 

Plenty of time to mull over these adorable stocking stuffers, hint to the Mr, and treat yourself to that something special to sparkle this Holiday season. 

*Shop My Chloe+Isabel Collection!

Hope these tips have helped those avid Black Friday shoppers, 
no matter which way you chose to do it.
Happy Shopping and
May the Deals Be Ever in Your Favor!

 

DIY-Advent Calendar

An Easy Daily Activity Advent Calendar

Since I've been having trouble sleeping recently and I always love a good craft I decided to whip up a super easy DIY activities advent calendar to be all ready for December. I grabbed some things from my craft room and got started. This can be recreated with things you have around the house!

Here's What You'll Need:

• Scissors
• Red & Green Paper
• Markers
• 25 Manilla tags
• Red Ribbon
• Thick ribbon any colour (I picked green polka dot)
• a used Christmas card
• Tape

 

Cut out strips of coloured paper leaving the front a little shorter than the height of the manilla tag so it pops up from the front. Fold the back down and tape down to create a loop for your ribbon to be strung through. I used markers to create "stitches" along the pouches to give it a more handmade look. 

Make sure to tape up the sides to prevent the tags from falling out the sides!

String your ribbon through the backs to create a long chain. I alternated green and red, but you can mix it up however you feel. I used green and red markers to number each one. I cut out holiday characters from a used Christmas card and taped them onto separate pieces of paper and inserted them into the chain to break up the numbers. I used my thick polka dot green ribbon to make two large cute bows to dress up the ends of the wall hanging.

 I'm a big believer in experiences over gifts, so instead of filling our pouches with little presents or candy (when let's face it the Holidays are already filled with enough tempting sweets and treats) I filled them with various activities to do with the boy. I cut up strips of the extra red ribbon and tied them to each manilla tag, as an easy pull tab from each pouch. Then I labeled each tag with an activity with markers, if you have kids this would be fun to have them help out with this part. 

The holidays can be stressful enough with a laundry list of things you need to buy and get done, so I had to put some thought into where each activity went. Put the activities that require a bit more time on a weekend, and the activities that are easy to do during the week when you might be caught up in work things. This is supposed to make December more fun, not more stressful so don't overwhelm yourself with activities that are going to be too hard to complete. Plop them in each slot and you've got yourself a personalized advent calendar! 

Stuck on ideas? Pick some of these and mix in some of your own traditions or favourites!

• Donate something to a local charity
• Drink hot cocoa
• Go iceskating
• Attend a Christmas Party
• Do a random act of kindness
• Have a game night
• Make apple cider
• Go Christmas caroling
• Bake fresh cookies and decorate them
• Make a snowman
• Crank up the Holiday music
• Eat a candy cane
• Share your favourite holiday memories
• Sleep under the Christmas tree
• Build a snowman
• Go window shopping
• Kiss under the mistletoe
• Check out the neighborhood lights
• Have a gingerbread house competition
• Take a holiday picture
• Make a wish for the new year
• Send a Holiday letter
• Eat breakfast for dinner
• Go shopping for stocking stuffers
• Make paper snowflakes
• Watch a cheesy Christmas movie
• Volunteer together
• Go Sledding

Enjoy Your Christmas Countdown!

Vegetarian Twist on a Classic

An Old English Favourite

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

Along with being a Midwest Girl, I'm also an English one. I have dual-citizenship and am very proud of my English roots. Cottage Pie or also known commonly as 'Shepherd's Pie' is an English staple and one of my personal favourites growing up! Once you get the base of the recipe down it's so easy to substitute ingredients and make a million different varieties. Any night we had this as a kid I was always looking forward to it. It's great for a Fall time dinner because it's hearty and warm.

My version of the famous recipe is so veg-heads like myself can enjoy the old classic as well. It's also great to use for a healthier version for those of you watching what you eat or more health conscious, I have cut out all butter!

Here's What You Need:

• 1/2 cup Vegetable Broth (Or you can make your own like I did!)
• 4 Large Whole Potatoes
• 2 tbs Milk
• Olive/Vegetable oil
• 1.5 lbs Pack of Soy or tofu beef or sausage
• 2 cups of your favourite veggies diced. I used corn, carrots, onions, peas and zucchini (*cheap trick: grab a bag of frozen medley and viola!)
• Soy sauce and Teriyaki/Steak sauce or traditional Worcestershire sauce
• Salt, Pepper and any other seasonings of choice
• 9X13 greased pan

Here's What You've Got to Do:

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. Boil your whole potatoes (peeled or not- your choice!) in a large pot of water
3. Sauté your chopped veggies (you'll want to start with the tougher ones first like carrots) in a dollop of vegetable oil over medium heat. 
4. Mix in the other vegetables half way through cooking, continually stirring
5. Once all your veggies have started to cook mix in the tofu sausage, 2 teaspoons of soy sauce and 2 teaspoons of teriyaki sauce (or 1 tbs of worcestershire instead) continuing to stir as it cooks.
6. Once the tofu sausage has began to brown mix in half a cup of vegetable broth and let simmer
7. When your potatoes have finished cooking, start mashing them and add in salt, pepper, and any other seasonings to taste. (*Thyme is a good one) and a touch of milk until the potatoes are of a soft, mashable texture.
8. After you've greased the pan pour in the mixed tofu sausage and veggies, spread to fill the entire bottom of the pan.
9. Next, start putting on the mashed potatoes patting them down with a spoon as you go
10. Once the whole pan is covered with a layer of potatoes create peaks with a fork to insure parts will brown really nicely.
11. Stick in the oven until bubbling and browning (about 45 min) then take out and let cool for 5 minutes
12. Slice, Serve and Enjoy!

Made this veggie Shepherd's Pie for the boy for the first time this month and he loved it. 

It's now his new favourite as well. Try it out!

Yum. Yum. Yum. 

Winterize Your Wardrobe

How to Repurpose Your Summer Clothing. . .

The worst part about living in New York is quite frankly the closet space (unless your famous or just dripping in money) you are left to the most measly sized of closets. I was dreading the move here for this particular reason form the very beginning. Given back in Kansas I was livin' the dream. I had four closets and one was just purely dedicated to my shoes! It took me ages to sort through everything and after many headaches, and a few tears I got rid of about 2/3 of my closet and about 1/2 of my shoes. . . although a few extras might have snuck their way here. I swear I have no idea how that happened. . . When I arrived to New York I thought the boy was going to kill me we had my clothes coming out of our ears. They were EVERYWHERE! And he only recently discovered a few weeks ago I've been storing sweaters in our coffee bar drawers. . . oops. 

What felt like months, I finally had everything situated and home for all my treasures. I even managed to bag up another round of donate items that I couldn't part with in Kansas. I had to 'divide' my closet, which I haven't had to do since I lived in a little shoebox of a flat in London. Where I put all my winter clothes in tubs and stuff them under the bed and leave all the valuable hanging space and dresser drawers for everyday things and summer goodies. Well, as the leaves have been turning and the air around us keeps getting more crisp I've had the dreaded task of switching out my light, bright summer clothing with my bulky, heavy winter outfits. I fiiiinnallly just finished playing musical 'tubs' with my clothes and our bedroom has ceased to look like a littered dressing room.

This new divided closet brought about a new problem however. Before, in Kansas all my clothes were on display and readily available so I could mix and match as I pleased. Now, the likeliness of me digging under my bed to find that 'one skirt' that matches perfectly with my jacket is well- None. So, I decided to hold back any summer clothes I saw winter potential in, and proceeded to pack up all the clothes that screamed- it's 100 degrees! 

I love mixing and matching clothes that you might only have seen one purpose for, it's like a favourite hobby of mine. It's a great way to get extra milage out of the clothes you already have and make new outfits you might never have thought of. They tend to end up being some of my favourite outfits. 

Here's some examples of how you can get creative 

and get those extra wears out of the items you love!

Don't be afraid to add pops of colour to your cooler weather clothes. This is one of my favourite summer dresses, it's bright and cheery yellow stripes are sure to put you in a good mood. I paired it with a muted gray sweater so the yellow wasn't too overwhelming. I belted the top to keep that cinched waist of the dress I love. Add your favourite ankle boots, a chunky necklace and you're ready to go! 

You'd think this light weight turquoise crop top had seen the last of it's days when the weather veered south of 80, but think again! I gave it a whole new life by pairing it with a heavy long-sleeve white top, dark wash denim jeans and blinged it out with some jewelry and fun suede knee-high boots to make this a perfect go-to for any causal day. 

This backless summer dress lends itself to the fall colour palette making it a simple transition to your winter wardrobe. I pulled out the plum colour from the print and added some tights, threw on a solid chunky knit cream sweater and added a thin braided belt to add some more texture to make a shape out of a bulky sweater! I added a fun military inspired boots to keep that edgy chic look and one of my favourite vintage clutches. My back is covered from the cold viola, now I can wear this dress all year long. 

Key Items to Look for:

•  Already have a fall colour palette (plums, deep reds, browns, oranges, tans, blacks, dark greens)
• Can easily be paired with a long sleeve shirt to give it a new life
• A fun dress that matches a sweater you own

Easy Add-Ons to Instantly Winterize:

• tights, tights, tights! 
• Winter boots
• A great sweater or awesome jacket

What Are You Waiting For? Go Winterize Your Wardrobe!

Fall Favourites

Pumpkin, Spice and Everything Nice

Fall is by faaar my absolute favourite season! 

The air turns crisp, the leaves start to turn, you get to break out your favourite comfy sweaters, dust off your boots, warm up with some hot chocolate and add pumpkin to just about anything you eat. Besides everyone knows layering is the best part of fashion, I mean come on there are so many more options this time of year!

-FAVOURITE FALL PASS TIMES-

Curling up with a good book and a warm cup of tea

Taking a walk through Central Park to see all the changing leaves

Tour a winery

Roasting marshmallows for s'mores over a bonfire

Taking the pups for a walk around the block

Sip on fresh apple cider

Carrying on family traditions or starting your very own

Meeting up with friends for a delicious cup of coffee

The Holidays! Food and Family!

Trying out old (or new) family recipes

Cuddling up with the boy under a heavy blanket and watching a good movie

Watch a hockey game

Making adorable Fall outfits-just because I can

Baking/eating/consuming/smelling anything apple or pumpkin

Making a list of everything you have to be thankful for this past year

Visit a museum

Being a kid again and playing in the leaves with the boy

Laying under the stars with a blanket and bottle of wine

Here's one of the Boy and I's new favourite fall treats:

Baked Cinnamon Apples

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
2. In a oven safe casserole dish mix:
• 4 cups of diced apples, any variety (I like to mix red apples with one green!)
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup sugar
3. I top it off with an extra sprinkling of cinnamon, because who doesn't love cinnamon
4. Throw it in the oven for 30 minutes and viola! (It makes your house smell amazing too!)

*Serve with Vanilla ice cream or whatever you have in your freezer- in our case, chocolate.

You can also serve this as a Fall side dish and hearty it up with two cups of oats