Why hello!
We had a lovely time Saturday night at my friend Jenn’s birthday. And guess what? Not a drop of alcohol touched these lips. I know, crazier things have happened! I was proud of myself and I felt like a million bucks this morning. It was a good thing too because Sunday was all about the Christmas shenanigans!
But first, a few exciting things to mention:
1) Glo Bakery Sale! The newest Glo Bar to hit the streets- PRESENT (Cranberry Pumpkin Spice)- is on sale 25% off now until Monday night! Click here for more info.
2) Review Glo Bars! For those of you who have sampled some Glo Bars, I encourage you to review the flavours that you sampled! All you do is click on the flavour of your choice and click on the box in the bottom left hand corner that says ‘write a review’. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to rate the bars! :) Reviews have been coming in over the weekend, so be sure to check them out (bottom left hand corner will say ‘read reviews’) on each flavour’s page.
3) Christmas Gifts: Don’t forget you can pre-order your Christmas packs and gift certificates now!
4) Monday Guest Post: My Peanut Butter Coconut Swirl pancakes are making a come-back with my guest post over at Danica’s Daily! Head on over on Monday to check it out.
5) Whittle My Middle: Check out how I have been doing with Whittle My Middle and my cardio workouts here and here.
6) Project Feed Me: Week 6 and Week 7 items are up!
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Back to our Christmas shenanigans!
Eric and I set a goal for ourselves this year- to finish our Christmas shopping by December 1st!
I know, I know. We are crazy.
With me being so busy with the bakery and him so busy with work and renovations on the house, we knew we had to get the shopping done with ASAP.
I also have a lofty goal of having all of my Christmas cards out by Dec 1st. Eek!
Our first stop was Costco, where we obliterated an entire family’s gift list. ;) Mom, Pop, Son, Daughter. Done like dinner!
Let’s take a brief moment to talk about the Costco wrapping paper, shall we?
For those of you who also buy it, you know it is the best bang for your buck. It lasts many a gift and is a mere $11.96 CAD.
Well guess what I discovered today as I wrapped my first gift?
Costco’s wrapping paper is now DOUBLE SIDED!
Just look! Two patterns for the price of one.
Genius!
I wrapped the 4 gifts we purchased and promptly placed them under the tree…
but not without a little kiss under a missing mistletoe. ;)
The second thing I am dying to tell you about:
This sparkling tea-light centrepiece is quite possibly the best $15 CAD I have ever spent in my entire life. It’s from Costco too.
Isn’t that beautiful?? It makes me so happy!
I got the last one. I could see all the evil glares from my fellow shoppers. ;)
While I was busy doing the gift thang (I also bought 4 gifts online), Eric was busy outside doing the Christmas light thang. After searching through Wal-Mart, Costco, Crappy Tire, Home Deport, and Home Hardware, we found that Costco and Home Hardware had the best prices for Christmas lights.
We did our math and discovered that it would be much cheaper for us to buy spotlights instead of traditional string Christmas lights. It turned out fabulous.
Ugly Christmas Sweater Party!
Eric and I are hosting our first official UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATER PARTY on December 18th.
As you might guess, everyone wears a fabulously ugly Christmas sweater to the party!
I looked at a few invites online and followed suit:
You’re invited to rock around the Christmas tree
In your ugliest holiday sweater!Only those wearing an ugly
sweater will be admitted to the party! Turtlenecks, ugly Christmas sweaters, reindeer antlers, santa hats, flannel PJ’s, slippers..etc..all welcome!
Fabulous PRIZES awarded to the best MALE and best FEMALE ugly sweater get-up.Rules are as follows:
1) If you don’t dress up don’t bother showing up. ;)
2) Mustaches optional but highly encouraged!
3) BYOB + 1 ugly snack
4) Feel free to stay overnight. Bring pillows and blankets and let us know when you RSVP if you will be staying over. No one is leaving the party without a DD!!!
Kindly RSVP to this invite by Dec. 1st, 2009.
Hope to see you uglier than ever on Dec 18th!
Ange & Eric
We are quite excited and we will get to work on our sweaters this week with a trip to Value Village (thrift shop). The best part of all is that I don’t have to worry about what I am going to wear or spend money on a party dress that I don’t need. ;)
Do you have a Christmas sweater? Or know someone who rocks them every season? Have you ever been to an Ugly Sweater party??
I used to rock the Christmas sweaters during my youth. Sadly, I don’t have any of them anymore. It is too bad because they probably would still fit..they are huge!
Sounds like a fun a party. I’ve been to one ugly dress party and it was so much fun!
Hilarious- it looks like a Village People Christmas! Brilliant!
Like the candle holder a lot – very pretty!
I love the double sided wrapping paper — is it sad that that is what I got excited about? haha.
tacky christmas sweater parties were so much fun in college but would be even more fun in the real world, like you are doing.
especially with the economy, i’m sure your friends will be grateful to purchase an inexpensive sweater instead of a cocktail dress.
good luck with all of your holiday baking orders. i’m sure you’ll be a busy bee!
Hi Angela,
I was just wondering if you had a chance to read this NY Times article on how hard it is to truly be vegan in a society that revolves around meat and animal by products. It’s quite eye-opening and also a bit depressing…
The best (worst?) quote I found was this:
“To be a really strict vegan is to strive to avoid all animal products, and this includes materials like leather, silk and wool, as well as a panoply of cosmetics and medications. The more you dig, the more you learn about products you would never stop to think might contain or involve animal products in their production — like wine and beer (isinglass, a kind of gelatin derived from fish bladders, is often used to “fine,” or purify, these beverages), refined sugar (bone char is sometimes used to bleach it) or Band-Aids (animal products in the adhesive). Just last week I was told that those little comfort strips on most razor blades contain animal fat.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/opinion/22steiner.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1258999957-AA67fq2m3kDPcsdzPn5QOw
Hi Angela!! I love love love that Costco wrapping paper! I bought a roll last year, and it doesn’t look like I used any there is so much of it! I also used it around my house this year to decorate, wrapping it around candle holders to change up the decor a little.
Also, I wanted to mention to you a new restaurant that opened up down the street from my work, it’s called Glow! It’s at Don Mills & Lawrence in the North York area. I just got a flyer in the mail at work, and the menu looks delicious. www.glowfreshgrill.com
I do not have a heinous xmas sweater, but I always sort of secretly hoped someone would give me one to snicker at.
Oh yeah I’ve been to an ugly sweater party, but the best part was me and my BF couldn’t find sweaters so we went with christmas themed turtle necks and vests, it was too funny. I think photos of us are long lost on an old computer or I’d send them to you.
LED Christmas Lights are extremely popular this year because they can save you upto 80% in energy bills compared to the incandescent lights
Gorgeous tea light set! I’m also diggin’ the ugly sweaters! Last year, I met up with old colleagues at an upscale restaurant for a holiday get-together. We all wore ugly sweaters! It was a blast and alot of people sitting nearby made comments on how bold we were to wear this attire in public!
Where did you buy that tealight holder??? It’s so beautiful!
Find HIDEOUSLY ugly christmas sweaters at: http://www.MyUglyChristmasSweater.com ! All sizes; including festive skirts and ridiculous holiday dresses! they’re going fast! Express shipping available to U.S. and Canada. Check it out! If you miss out this year…buy early next year! Enjoy!
I just both the tea light holder at Costco last nigth! I saw it, and was like, OMG…this is what I saw on OSG last week! Well, I they are not exactly the same. The shape of the glass is different and the holder is different. It also came with clear glass holders as well. I also picked up a pre-lit garland for our fireplace. We were in the Christmas spirit last night!
Check out my ugly Christmas Sweater!
I am so sad! We have the sparkling tea-light centerpiece from Costco as well and one of the gold ones just broke! :( I’ve searched the whole house for the box to possibly google a replacement and can’t. Do you know if “Sparking Tea-Light Centerpiece” is the exact description on the box or what company made it? I am absolutely devistated! Best decoration ever! I know it will be impossible to find a replacement as they are apparently limted but perhaps eBay or some other auction/used item site might have it, I won’t feel better unless I at least try! :'(
Also, right now Costco has a tea-light wall sconce for 19.99 that is absolutely gorgeous and would be work much more anywhere else for the same thing!
I highly recommend Costco for Home Decor!!
oopsie, I meant to say “worth more” instead of “work more”