Christmastime is Here

If there was any question about the holidays being here, it was most definitely answered this week. You know Christmastime is here when suddenly it's Friday afternoon and the last thing you remember is listening to The Splendid Table on Sunday morning. Instead of calling the week that's been a mess/disaster/other negative term that I'm apt to use, I'm instead taking the week at face value: a lovely week of family and Christmas preparations and maybe not so much getting work done.

Lezbehonest, there's been a lot of the bare minimum going on around here when it comes to work, but if we can't let go of endless to-do lists when the holidays draw nigh, what kind curmudgeons are we?

The Etsy holiday rush basically wrapped up on Monday and I took that as my cue to put my feet up and have another cup of tea. All week I've been looking at the work to-do list and asking the following questions: What do I want to get done today? What needs to get done today? What will happen if it doesn't get done? Can it wait until after Christmas? I realize this sounds a bit like procrastination, but I assure you it's more about lowering expectations, because it's ridiculous to expect that we can maintain a typical workweek (at least when you have the luxury of working from home) and wrap all de presents, do Christmas baking, and have a clean and festively decorated home.

My brother and his girlfriend were around at the start of the week for a quick holiday visit and Andy and I got into town on both Monday and Wednesday to spend some time with them. Despite the fact that the heavens like to open forth with snow whenever my brother and I are near (whether it's on his turf in Michigan or here in MN), safe travels and good visits were enjoyed by all.

Mom made us pose for a Christmas card photo

We received a slight reprieve from the subzero temps throughout the week. That said, it's been below zero more often than not this week. This fact has not stopped Andy from using the new snowmobile. He just puts on approximately 40 lbs of clothing and heads out regardless.

Folks dressed up like Eskimos

We finally got our Christmas tree yesterday. I was kind of thinking that we might be able to get away with not having a tree this year, thinking that perhaps the assortment of holiday knick-knacks would be good enough. That said, I'm glad we got the tree (even if it does displace some living room furniture in a cabin with no place for displaced furniture) - it's so nice to have the Christmas lights on in the morning and evening, especially as the darkest day of the year approaches tomorrow.

Except for one last outstanding package, all of the presents have been wrapped and placed beneath the tree with care. I'm glad to see the presents all gathered in one place because it makes it so clear where my holiday gift budget went. I'm not even mad.

The Christmas baking is basically done, except for some quick stuff on Christmas Eve (Is it bad that I'm already kind of weary of Christmas cookies?) and all of holiday cards and packages have been mailed. I'm so prepared for Christmas that I'm going to have to start doing actual work. Le sigh.

Andy and I went for a ride down the snowmobile trails yesterday. It was pretty, but cold. I'm pulling on the bib snowpants next time.

Happy Solstice!

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Christmas is Coming Flash Sale

With any luck now, your Christmas shopping is down to a few last minute stocking stuffers and hostess gifts. Around here, the wrapped presents are slowly accumulating in a corner of the backroom and I'm just waiting for a few more packages to arrive. I'm feeling pretty good about things.

If you're someone who needs a deadline to really get going on any project, be it Christmas shopping or anything else, here's a deadline for you. This Monday marks the last day things can get shipped without worrying about (pricey) expedited shipping, which makes this weekend a perfect time to wrap up holiday shopping.

To inspire you to push through that last slog of shopping and as a thank you for your support and kind words all year 'round, I'm offering a flash sale between now and 11:59 P.M. Sunday, December 15 at my Etsy shop, Yes Sir, Yes Sir! At checkout, enter the coupon code SERENITYNOW to receive 20% off your entire purchase. Coupon code is good for all merchandise and no minimum purchase required.

Happy shopping and thank YOU!

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Preparing to be EXTRA Festive

Has anyone else heard Mariah Carey's EXTRA Festive version of "All I Want For Christmas is You?" Apparently, it's been around since 2010, but my friend Sarah and I just noticed it on our Pandora feeds with this year's batch of Christmas stations and there has been much LOLing go on around here about what the heck "EXTRA festive" means.

I have to admit that Mariah Carey's Christmas album (the NON-festive version, "Merry Christmas" from 1994) is the only pop Christmas album that I really truly (embarrassingly) enjoy. For the most part, the pop music industry tends to strike out pretty spectacularly during the holiday season. I mean, there are only so many pitchy versions of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" or "Blue Christmas," one can endure and the "original" Christmas songs on the top 40 stations tend be even more shades of awful. So good on you Mariah for actually producing  a Christmas album that has brought endless amusement to my Christmases.

I'd also like to thank Mariah Carey for inspiring me to have an EXTRA festive this Christmas season. I'm not sure what extra festive means exactly, but I'm pretty sure it involves glitter and eggnog and probably very loud, emotional singalongs of "Jesus, Born On This Day." This holiday season, I'm declaring everything EXTRA festive, from the cookies to the cards to the decorations. I hope you'll join me in this insanity festivity.

Hey, look at the Christmas cactus getting all extra festive. I don't think this plant has bloomed in December since I got it in 2008, so I'm pretty impressed. *slow clap*

To be honest, other than getting some presents wrapped and a few cards trickling in, it hasn't been particularly festive in these parts. The tree will go up either later this week, or more realistically, next week, and then you better believe, this cabin is going to be all sorts of EXTRA festive. Also, my brother and his girlfriend are visiting next week and there has been talk of a cookie bake with my mom, so soon we all will be merry, merry.

In other news, I've been spending a bit of time charting out 2014. I haven't critically planned out an entire year in well, ever, and the process has brought up some interesting points:

1) If I want to run a half marathon the first weekend of May, that means I should start training on President's Day. That'll be interesting. Because there's not like snow or ice on the road at all in the middle of February. No sirree, Bob.

2) I also realized I've been devoting too much time on, or at least overemphasizing the importance of, this here blog. When all is said and done, a goal of three blog posts a week eats up too much of my writing time and also makes me feel guilty when I don't get to scheduled posts. However, given the above ramble about Mariah Carey, you may be relieved to know that I'll be posting here just 1-2 times per week from here on out, a goal that should be do-able in the summer and winter.

I'm really determined to make 2014, and what's left of 2013, a time for growth and return to things I really want to do. I've started writing 500 words a day on the current fiction WIP and it's amazing how much better that makes me feel about the whole day and how quickly the words start adding up.

We set up the bird feeders last week and pulled out some old venison ribs from the freezer for the birds, squirrels and pine marten. The marten's been coming every day since and thinks he (she?) has a pretty good deal.

I know it's been cold all over the U.S., but I just like to point out that the picture above is of frost on the inside windows of our bedroom. Brrr! Remember to bundle up and stay extra festive.

One last thing, remember those bridemaids mittens? Here's a link to see them in use on the bride's big day. I'm not thrilled with how the mittens match (or rather don't) match the dresses, but I did not choose the yarn and sometimes my inner perfectionist needs to be told to take a hike.

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Thanks Giving and Snow

For the last couple years, Thanksgiving has marked the beginning of winter in these woods.It's an odd little coincidence. Last year saw us driving home for Thanksgiving festivities in a sloppy snowstorm; this Thanksgiving morning we woke up to 3 inches of fresh, fluffy snow. I guess it's kind of pretty.

The lake (the part we can see at least) iced over the day before Thanksgiving. When Andy and I were driving into town on Thanksgiving morning, we realized that the lake was open for less than 28 weeks in 2013. Didn't really need that reminder that I live in the land of endless winter. Meh.

So did everyone have a good Thanksgiving?

We had a lovely, albeit it busy, few days around here. I worked on the annual community Thanksgiving dinner on both Wednesday (prep) and Thursday (actual cooking and serving) that our church puts on for anyone who doesn't feel like putting on a big Thanksgiving dinner themselves. We usually feed about 100 people each year. My contributions this year were a pumpkin and a cranberry/cherry pie. Despite my best efforts, my pumpkin pie did weep ever so slightly. Apparently the weeping happens when the filling gets overcooked and egg in the custard seizes up and starts squeezing out the filling's liquid, but I was too slow with my instant read thermometer to catch the pie before the filling passed 150 degrees. Better luck next time. And also, yes, I do have that much time on my hands to obsess over such things.

I didn't actual eat dinner at the church, but instead headed over to Andy's mom's house around 3 with a bag filled with leftovers. (Winning!). Apparently lots of people went non-traditional with their Thanksgiving "feasts" this year - we had sushi (not made from the aforementioned leftovers), my grandfather had fondue and my brother had pirogies. And no, I do not know what that is all  about.

The smoked herring is attacking!

I'm not afraid to admit that we went to bed at 9 on Thanksgiving night and that I was out like a light. It was a good day.

Did anyone brave Black Friday sales on Friday or (heaven forbid!) Thursday? For the most part I completed my Christmas shopping last weekend and am feeling incredibly on top of things and also not brokeity broke broke. (You can check out my tips for saving Christmas moola here.)  If you still need to pick up some things, remember the Cyber Monday sale going on over at Yes Sir, Yes Sir today. Get free shipping for any order with the coupon code SHIPFREE and today only, all orders over $25.00 receive a complimentary holiday ornament. 

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Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday

At last, we can turn up the holiday tunes, pull out the Christmas ornaments and settle in for a month or so of Yuletide spirit. You know what that means - time to pull out the naughty and nice list and start that holiday shopping. All weekend long, you can enjoy free shipping at my Etsy shop  - where you'll find all sorts of hand knit goodness to stuff into stocking or for a lovely handmade present for some lucky lady in your life.

And check out the supply section of my shop if you're all like, "But Ada, I already know how to knit. Why on God's green earth would I pay you for something I could make myself?" You can snag some pretty good deals on brand spanking new yarn and other supplies at the moment because I got a little crazy with the stash busting this morning.

Happy Holidays! Thank you for considering shopping small and local!

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5 Tips to Save Christmas Cash

It's not even really beginning to look like Christmas around here, but judging by the amount of holiday catalogs stuffed into our mailbox on any given day, the Christmas season is nearly upon us. Indeed, the merriest day of the year is a mere 45 days off. (Gasp, shock, HORROR!!) With Thanksgiving being so late this year, I have a sneaking suspicion that Christmas shopping might get a little hectic this year, so I thought I'd give you a heads up and share some of my favorite ways to make the holiday season easy on you and your wallet.   

1) Ebates. I just discovered Ebates this spring and am wondering where it's been all my life. Basically, it's a cash back online shopping site. Companies contract with Ebates to promote themselves. When you access those companies' online stores through Ebates, you get cash back on your purchase. Every quarter, Ebates pays out the cash back you've earn. We're talking real dollars which are deposited into Paypal, or you can have an old-fashioned check sent to you if that's how you roll. I don't do very much online shopping outside of the holidays, and I've already earned nearly $20.00 using Ebates. My only gripe is that Cabela's is not associated with Ebates, because if they were, Ebates would owe me about a gazillion dollars right about now.  It seriously takes seconds to sign up for Ebates, so what are you waiting for? Sign up!

2) Swagbucks. Swagbucks is another kind of gimmicky website that allows you to earn gift cards buy earning points (aka Swagbucks) on their site. You earn Swagbucks through searching the internet, interacting with the website (participating in polls, viewing advertiser offers, finding codes, etc.), and making online purchases through Swagbucks. If you're the sort of person who is pretty impervious to advertising, it's worth your while to check it out. I haven't spent a dime through Swagbucks, yet have earned more $50 in Amazon gift cards. And who couldn't use some Amazon cash, immaright? Go earn yourself for some Swagbucks.

3) Christmas fund. It's no secret that I'm a little obsessive when it comes to making sure I have enough cash on hand for the holidays. Here's the thing: last year, I started setting aside just $10.00 a week towards a "Christmas fund" to spend on presents and other holiday expenses. And do you know how much money I had on-hand for Christmas stuff last year? Over $500! Now, just imagine if you were setting $15 or $25 a week - whew! Setting up a Christmas fund is a really painless way to make holiday finances go a little smoother and although it's a little late to fully utilize this tip for Christmas '13, it's worth keeping in mind come New Year.

4) Don't buy presents. Not to sound all Scrooge like, but I don't really buy my friends Christmas presents anymore. Unless you're immediate family, fugetaboutit. Over the years, it's just become clear that none of us need another Yankee candle or Bath and Body Works body wash. Our income levels vary significantly, so although it is fun to give and receive presents, we find it much more satisfying (and less stressful!) to enjoy a game night or a nice dinner out together in lieu of a gift exchange. This Christmas, consider spending time with your friends, not money.

5) Shop Cyber Monday sales. It sure is nice that there's a whole day devoted to online holiday discounts, especially if you're like me and think that Black Friday sounds like hell on earth. While I don't do my holiday shopping exclusively on Cyber Monday, I do think it's worth checking out the sales to see if anything you were already (key word here) planning to buy will be on sale. Why pay more for something than you have to, eh? 

6) Bonus: Check up on your credit card. If you earn rewards on your credit card, November is a great time to log in and see where you're sitting with those points. If you can get cash back, you can pocket a little spending change. If the points are redeemable for merchandise or gift cards, see if any of the items might be appropriate for people of your gift list. It's a great, free way to give your Christmas budget a little stretch. 

What are your money saving tips for the holidays?

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The Holi-daze

I think we can all agree that Christmases that fall in the middle of the week should be banned. I mean, what's the big idea here? All party, party, party on Monday and Tuesday and then back to work on Wednesday? I think not!

Both today and yesterday I've half-heartedly attempted to get actual paying work accomplished, but I haven't made much (any?) progress on my projects. Mostly I've just been sitting in the glow of the Christmas tree, gunking up the screen of my new iPad (thank you Andy for introducing technological sophistication into my life) and counting getting iTunes to update on my ancient workhorse of a laptop an accomplishment. I've also been hoping that this pile of afghan edging will knit itself up and attach itself to the actual afghan. (Is it too much to ask for a Christmas miracle?!)

Side note: when/if I get married I am requesting many much hand knitted afghans. This is the fifth wedding afghan I've worked on to date (three of which I knit in their entirety . . . queue smallest violin in the world) and this chick has had it. My apologies to any couples getting engaged this holiday season . . . I'm totally giving you a salad spinner.

Also, it should be noted that I'm trying out the Blogger iPad app for the first time with this post. I have absolutely no idea where the photos I selected for this post are actually being placed.

iPad app suggestions and . . . go! I don't play games (I seem to find *plenty* of other things to vie for my procrastination energy), but would love suggestions for apps related to knitting, cooking, finance, etc. etc. The most obvious apps (Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, Etsy) were already installed during a very fun Christmas Day. At least it was fun for Andy and me. My parents, who spent most of the day watching us poke away at said iPad, might have a different take on the day, although we did manage to tear ourselves from the glowing bluescreen long enough for some Trivial Pursuit and dinner.

Hope you've all had a very merry holiday season so far. I'm gearing up for the great annual New Year's Eve crafting "weekend" which starts . . . tomorrow! Excitement!

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When I say "Happy Holidays," I Mean It

There's one seasonal conflict that I've never understood: when people get all up in other people's grill because they wished them a "Happy Holidays" instead of a "Merry Christmas."

"Well, excuse me," I want to say to these little Ebenezer Scrooges. "Apologies for wishing you well during this season of glad tidings."

Bah humbug.

 
To me, thinking we ought to wish people a Merry Christmas any more than we should wish people a happy anything else of the season smacks slightly of a superiority complex. You know, the one where you think your religion is superior to everyone else's.

FYI: thinking your religion is the best of all historically has not treated our world very well. *cough, Crusades.* *cough, cough, suicide bombers*

I have no issue wishing you a Merry Christmas, especially when we're within a week of the actual December 25th date. I really do hope you have a merry one. I fully acknowledge that the majority of us who engage in the December holiday season are Christmas celebrators. But I don't think that gives us a free pass to ignore everything else that's part of the holidays.


It just seems downright hypocritical to demand "Merry Christmas" greetings this time of year when one the main reasons why we celebrate Christmas on December 25 is because early Christians couldn't tear our pagan fingers away from our solstice celebrations, no matter how hard they tried.

How to solve that tricky problem?

Just declare December 25th as nine months after the immaculate conception so that we can all celebrate the birth of the son (erm . . . or sun?) four days after the winter solstice. The ancient Roman feast of Saturnalia, held annually from December 17 - 23 long before anyone heard of this J.C. guy, involved feasting and gift giving, which one could argue is really what our modern holiday season rotates around, rather than the birth of Christ. (Sorry good Christian men - consumerism was winning even before you had your savior.)   

The Temple of Saturn in the Roman Forum

We all love feasting. We all love gift giving. We all love the return of the sun. So it's really no surprise that other religions (namely Judaism) also have major celebrations this time of year.  

When I say "Happy Holidays," I'm not doing it out of a desire to be politically correct. I'm doing it because I'm lazy. Because in those two little words, I just wished you a Merry Christmas, as well as a Happy Hanukkah, Solstice, Saturnalia, Kwanzaa, St. Lucia Day, Epiphany, Yule, and another other holiday that falls between December 6 - January 6.

Happy Holidays guys! May they all be wonderful and filled with love, warmth and happiness.

 

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Heigh Ho Holidays

Two holiday traditions have come and gone for 2012. A batch of peanut butter balls shitballs has been made and I took part in a wonderful (albeit, very subdued) holiday get-together on Friday evening.

Shitballs 2012: They ended up with little caps this year to use up some of the extra melted chocolate

Friday night's festivities - a wine and cheese party/surprise baby shower/slumber party - turned into a slumber party holiday movie-a-thon, heavy on the slumber, although a glass or two of wine and some delicious cheese (mmmmm cranberry stilton) was consumed by all. (Being an adult can be so cool sometimes.)

Our baby mama didn't make it due to a cruddy weather forecast, but we had a wonderful time playing games and eating cake!

On Saturday, I caught Catch Me If You Can (meh - I wouldn't recommend it) at the Minneapolis Orpheum and I spent yesterday with my brother who was home for the weekend. Oh, and I also slept 11 hours last night. (Back to the whole being a super cool adult thing . . . ;)

So now I'm back at the cabin, attempting to not turn into a holiday stress-bot.

A rather extensive holiday to-do list remains:

• Wrap presents
• Make Christmas cookies 
• Get tree
• Decorate tree and cabin 
• Send Christmas cards 
• Send Christmas packages 
• Finish buying stocking stuffers

Andy stated last night that some the Christmas stuff probably needs to trump some of our work "to-do" lists this week and I think he's right.

I'm having an interesting holiday season as a retailer for the first time ever. There's not only Etsy orders rolling in, I'm also doing some gift shop sales as part of my day job. Turns out, people really do wait until the last minute to do their shopping. Although I know there's nothing I can do about getting packages to people in time once I hand over the orders to the mail lady, I still worry about gifts making it under the Christmas tree on time! I implore of all you tardy Christmas shops - place those orders now!

On another Christmas-y, gift-y note, check out this amazing bread recipe that I posted as part of Margot's Christmas Cookie Countdown at Newfoundlander at Heart.

 Can you believe it'll be Christmas Eve in just a week? What the heck?!

As we all look forward to the holidays ahead and also work to comprehend Friday's events in CT, I hope we can all keep the true spirit of the holiday season close to heart. Regardless of the season, the most important thing we are charged with each and every day is letting our loved ones know just how much they're loved.

 

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Holiday Traditions

I spent a little time this week thinking about holiday traditions that have developed in my life over the years. As I made a mental list, I was surprised by a pretty obvious trend: my holiday traditions center around friendships rather than family.

Source: fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net via Nicolas on Pinterest

I suppose it's silly to be shocked by this revelation. My maternal grandparents were snowbirds during almost my entire childhood and as their only grandchildren, we didn't develop any holiday traditions on that side of the family, although we usually did (and do) have one sort of holiday gathering with my aunt and uncle. My father's family all hails from Chicagoland and although Christmas trips to Chi-town dominate my childhood holiday memories, since both my brother and I graduated high school, our trips to Chicago have become increasingly infrequent and less tied to the holiday season.So, for the time being, friends get to dominate my holiday season. It's quite lovely.

Here's a list of some of my favorite holiday traditions:

An annual wine, cheese, and gab fest with the girls from my college's student newspaper. For a bunch of former muckrakers, we clean up rather nicely. ;) This year's get-together is tomorrow. Eeeee! Excitement!

Make a batch of shitballs (peanut butter balls) with my friend Sarah. We've been making these each Christmas (although sometimes not until February, depending on how accommodating our schedules are) since we were sophomores in college, when we made the dreadful mistake of adding water to our melted chocolate. (Oh, the culinary mistakes one makes at age 19.) The chocolate ceased and our peanut balls took on a less than appetizing appearance, although I remember them still tasting pretty good. You say, shitballs. I say, warm Christmas feelings.  

Of course holiday movies factor into my Christmas traditions. Each season I like to watch Love Actually by myself or with my mom, Elf with anyone who happens to be around, and The Holiday . . . because Jude Law in glasses totally makes up Cameron Diaz's less than amazing performance. I got pretty brunt out A Christmas Story during my teenage years, but it's still a classic, I will watch a scene or two if it's on in the background.

The annual craft-o-thon over New Year's with a wonderful group of women bonded by crafts, college, and Ireland is a newer (and wonderful) addition to my holiday festivities. The picture below is the only one I could find in my files where we all look relatively normal. And trust me, any appearance of normalcy is clearly a facade.

Find the perfect Christmas tree with Andy. We have yet to do this. We've been holiday spirit procrastinators this year.

Not quite a holiday tradition yet since I've only done it twice, but I do try to make a batch of potato latkes at some point during Hanukkah each year.

 
What are some of your holiday traditions?
 

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All I Want For Christmas . . .

For the last week or so, my social media feeds have been bombarded with tales of holiday decorating. Around here, it's been hard to get into the holiday spirit - mostly because it's been feeling more like late March than early December outside.

Today, temps soared into the 40s, which means a lot of the snow we received over Thanksgiving weekend disappeared. I can't say I'm sad about the warmer temps, but it is a little disconcerting. Holiday spirit feels a little sparse at the moment, but it will finds its way to this little cabin in the woods soon enough.

In the meantime, I'm doing my best to come up with a Christmas wishlist, but you guys, it's looking disturbingly and disappointingly adult-ish. Back in my teenage years, I used to love creating my Christmas lists. Now, I find myself struggling each year to come up with a decent list. I really do try to live as simply as possible - partly because of principle, partly because of necessity (the cabin is pretty small) - and I've never been much of a shopper. We are so blessed, that we don't really need new stuff and I hate having stuff that just sits around.

So without further adieu, here's my amazingly awesome Christmas wishlist of 2012:

Item #1 . . . the super sexy, ultra fun two drawer file cabinet!!!

But seriously, I need this. The elastic on the accordion file that I've had since college is just this side of shot. And it's so fun to get all your paperwork in order. Am I right?

Next up?! Paper towels!

Okay, I actually think these reuseable towels from Mamamade on Etsy actually are pretty kick-ass. I'm not sure I can totally divorce paper towels, but I love the idea of have these available to wipe up the vast majority of kitchen messes.

Speaking of messes in the kitchen, we could use a new compost bin.

Turns out that compost bins that have been hijacked (aka bitten) by black bears are actually kind of leaky. After reading that last sentence, I'm kind of embarrassed that I just admitted that we've been using a damaged compost bin for the last year +. How cheap am I? (Answer: very cheap.)  

I've been dying to get my hands on a copy of Marisa McClellan's Food in Jars  since it released this spring.  She's my canning guru.

Ooo, and some more ReCap lids for my Mason jars would be awesome!

One actual shopper-ish item that I've been lusting over for years are the Gussy Sews products. I just think they're adorable.

Posey Market Tote

Dashing Deer Pouch

Other more frivolous favorites:

This print from G is for Grow on Etsy:

Happy London Print

And this Minnesota necklace from Shop Oh So Antsy on Etsy. Except the heart must be moved to the Arrowhead region. Sorry Cities dwellers - the Twin Cities is not where my heart is!

Minnesota Necklace

What are you hoping to find under the Christmas tree this year?

 

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Back to Work and Cyber Monday

"I don't want to go back to work today," Andy said when he came into the bedroom yesterday morning to say goodbye before he headed off to work and I headed off to sleep for another hour.

Oh, did I hear him. Last week was a "light" work week, to say the least. It was a week where one of my chief objectives on my to-do list was "bake two pies." (I did: a cherry cranberry and a blueberry.) By about 11:30 a.m. last Tuesday, I tossed in the towel on the idea of having a productive week and headed off to a journal making workshop. *cough* crafting afternoon *cough*

Not that productivity is the only measure we should use to judge our lives by. It was a week filled with family, friends . . . dare I say, "community" and it was a very nice week indeed. I hope you all had a very nice holiday too.

But goodness, it's hard to get real excited about "getting work done" after a string of days in which the biggest decision that was asked of you was whether you wanted ice cream or whipped cream with your chocolate pecan pie. (Answer: both.)

So here's a little Cyber Monday sale to ease you back into the harsh, demanding work world. Use the coupon code "CYBERMONDAY" when you check out from my Etsy shop to receive 20% on your entire order. As an added bonus, I'll throw in a handcrafted, felt mitten ornament with any ornament over $25.00. This sale is only on through midnight tonight, so do yourself a favor and get some of your Christmas shopping out of the way.

Please note, I'm having a hard time keeping my owl cozies in stock. If you were thinking of order some for stocking stuffers (or for yourself - I won't tell), drop me a line so I can give your owl cozies first priority.

Happy Cyber Monday! I wish you all a gentle, peaceful return to work.
 

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