Did you got lost in a spell of Adele this fall? No? Just me? 
In all seriousness though, I really can't blame my lack of posting on Adele though. I can, however, blame it on a number of other things - including teaching a new class, taking on another club, taking a graduate class at Northeastern, and settling into new school year routines. But so many things have happened over the past six months and I am thrilled to have a little bit of time this break to update the blog and prep some posts for the new year!
We have made a ton of progress on our house - and had actually made some of that progress when I last posted. We have painted most of the house, added bookshelves to the living room, and re-did the entire den. There are still some more projects to undertake in those rooms and so they aren't 100% done, but they are looking significantly better than they did six months ago. 
Overall, we have settled into being homeowners - complete with all of the strangeness that comes with saying those words. Over the next few weeks, I'm hoping to wrap up some end of the year items (book lists, one little word, and new year planning) and get you all caught up with the progress in the new house. In the meantime, I hope you are all enjoying this holiday season and getting excited for all of the new and wonderful things heading your way in 2016!
Happy holidays from our family to yours!

Last weekend, I spent my Saturday at an incredible blogging event - Wayfair's Home for the Holidays! This event, hosted by Boston Bloggers and Wayfair, was a fantastic day of events all geared towards bloggers, managing content, and cultivating friendships - new and old!

beautiful home for the holidays swag

beautiful tree with beautiful gifts from Wayfair

The day kicked off with an opening session about content from Christiane Lemieux and Heather Armstrong and then led into 4 amazing workshops - complete with SEO pointers, table setting with Abby Larson, and a few awesome DIY projects! 

in the seo session - helpful and well done!

do i spy a pendant banner?

and a basket full of awesome crafting tools?

part of the tablescape that I helped to create!

eee! loved playing with the table setting!

We enjoyed a delicious lunch from Kitchen Surfing and ended the day with an awesome cocktail party sponsored by Andegavia wines and left with a parting gift from Wayfair. The offices were incredible, the sessions were inspiring, and as always - spending time with my fellow Boston Bloggers was so much fun! 

so delicious!

signed cookbook from Jeremy Sewall and a delicious glass of andegavia wine

my super fun gift from Wayfair!

The conference was such a blast and so inspiring! I'll be posting more in the next few weeks about table settings and DIY holiday season crafts! You can also look forward to a fun series featuring my new gift from Wayfair!
How are you getting ready for the holidays? Starting to decorate? Planning new traditions? Thanksgiving - and the official start of the season - is less than 2 weeks away!

I originally prepped this post back at the end of December, and well... time got away from me. But, gift wrapping is not only for the Holiday Season! And so without any further delay, here is how I wrapped gifts for my mom, brother and Josh this year!  
Instead of buying wrapping paper and gift tags, I thought it might be easier - and more fun! - to simply customize my own! For the gifts I put underneath the tree, I customized wrapping paper with separate stamps and 2 different colors.

First, I picked stamps for each person - Mom got a fleur de lis, Josh got a tree with presents and Brother got a Joy! stamp. Then, I also grabbed three different colors to go along with my 3 different stamps. Oh! And of course, scissors and blank wrapping paper.


I discovered 1 minor detail with the silver ink however...

It was a bit, um... no longer in service. And so I used black ink for my brother's wrapping paper as well.

To create the stamped paper, I simply pressed the stamp into the ink pad, and then stamped in vertical lines with about 5 - 6 stamps per line, alternating spaces between each one.

I completely freehanded it - and I was so happy with how it turned out - perfectly imperfect! I plan on using the same method for Valentine's Day, and for future gifts that I give! 
Did you wrap presents in any special way this year? Do you have a time-honored system, or do you switch wrapping papers and tags every year? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!

Is it just me, or does it seem like just yesterday we were about to welcome in 2012? I feel like just yesterday it was Spring, then Summer, and then Fall - and all of the sudden we're just a few hours away from next year!

via

2012 was a challenging year - a tough one that asked us to take each day one step at a time. Both Josh and I spent the year working towards our career goals, and in the process learned more about ourselves, each other, and how important our relationship is to both of us. Through job searches, late nights studying, and an insanely busy schedule (especially over the past 4 months), I was able to completely rely on Josh for love and support throughout this year and I am so thankful for him, our friendship and our love. 
2013 has big things in store for us - in love, in career, and in life - and we are so excited to welcome in the new year tonight with two good friends over a delicious meal in Boston's South End. 
I hope that you're excited to ring in the new year and that you have a wonderful New Year's Eve!

We hope you're having a wonderful holiday and a great holiday season! We used this photo, taken by the fabulous Morgan Lee earlier this year, for cards to send to many of our friends and family through Minted. We had a blast taking photos - we are so happy with this picture and hope you enjoy it too! 

This morning, I showed you the list of the (mostly fantastic) books I read this year. And although most of any of those would make a great gift for any bookworm you know, here is a small collection of other items that your favorite bookworm might love...

From the top left, clockwise...
Personal Library Kit / Kindle / Book Candle / Book Plates /  Thumb Thing / My Ideal Bookshelf (signed!) / Book Scarf 
Do you love to read? What's the best book related gift you've ever been given?  I'd love to get even more ideas! 

With Christmas just a week away, and holiday gift giving in full swing for many people who are not celebrating Christmas, I thought it was time to start to finish up this year's Holiday Gift Guides! 

And, so moving clockwise from the top left,  here are my picks for some fun gifts (in all price categories) for the traveler / adventurer in your life...
The New York Times 36 Hours / 10 in 1 Adventurer Tool / Vermont Travel Thermometer /  Luxe City Guides / The Oragami Folding Kayak / Scratch Off Map / Paris Screenprint
Do you have any travelers or adventure loving people in your life? Would you get them one of these gifts? What's the best travel gift you've ever gotten? 

Happy 12.12.12!!! I'm a BIG fan of dates like this (which may or may not have anything do to with the fact that I was born on 10.10, but that's besides the point), and I think that maybe the hold a little bit of extra magic than your ordinary day. So, today, enjoy the day, and at 12:12, maybe make a little extra wish - you never know, it just might come true!
And of course, for even a little more magic, I have the next set of gift guides today - the combo Under $50 and Under $100 gift guide!

This gift guide holds some of my favorite gifts and so I'm super excited to share it with you this morning! 
Under $50...
Marley Coffee for any coffee lover (and bonus - it's organic, sustainable, and ethically grown!) Washi Tape Pack for your favorite crafter or tape-obsessed friend Cheese Knife Set for any cheese lovers on your list  Deena & Ozzy Tote for your bag-obsessed girlfriend, mom, fiance, sister, wife, etc.
Under $100...
Lily Pulitzer Serving Tray for your monogram loving friend Cabled Leather Gloves that will keep anyone warm Chalk Bank to help inspire inspiration for your favorite money saver 2013 Whitney English Day Planner for anyone who loves organization
Do you have any favorite gifts in the Under $50 or Under $100 range? Do you prefer to give bigger gifts that cost more, or a bunch of smaller gifts that combined equal a larger amount? Holiday shopping is definitely an art!

This afternoon, for the second installment of the Holiday Gift Guide - I'm featuring gifts under $25!  
1 - A golf ball personalizer for the golfer in your life; 2 - An NFL iPhone cover for your favorite football fanatic; 3 - A Tartan Scarf for the man who can never have too many scarves; 4 - Cards Against Humanity for your favorite sarcastic pessimist; 5 - A dinosaur toothbrush holder for the kid in all of us; 6 - Animal Butt Magnets for a bit of fun to add to the fridge; 7 - The NeuYear Calendar (for 2013!) for your favorite organizer; 8 - An UgMonk Mountain Tee for the man who can never have too many t-shirts; and, 9 - Craft-A-Day for your favorite crafter! 
Happy shopping!

Good Morning! Starting today, it's Holiday Gift Guide season on the blog! This week, I'll be featuring gifts within a certain price point (starting today with Under $10 and Under $25), and next week I'll be focusing on gift type, instead of price. 
Here is the 10 Under $10 Gift Guide - fun little gifts to wrap up, or stick in someone's stocking, they'd also make great co-worker gifts - or something fun for yourself!

1 - Bacon Pickles / 2 - Don'ts for Golfers / 3 - Giant Animal Eraser / 4 - Travel Salt /  5 - Paper Airplane Push Pins / 6 - One Man Wolf Pack Mug / 7 - Baggu Bag / 8 - Bacon Floss /  9 - Funky Socks / 10 - Cheese Notebook
For the traveler, the golfer, the bacon lover, the jokester, the hipster, the writer, the worker, the coffee drinker, the salt lover, the animal lover - this list can help you gift presents to so many on your list! And the best part? They're all under $10!

One of my favorite things about the holiday season - one of my favorite times of the year - is that I get to spend time with family and friends. From Thanksgiving until New Year's, I am lucky enough to get to spend a little bit of extra time with all of my favorite people - and this year is no exception! Starting off the season, this year we celebrated Josh's grandmother's 85th birthday and I got to spend some time on Sunday with a few of my favorite cousins! 

First Cousins Jaime and Jenna

Dan and Jaime

Grandma's Birthday Cake - Matzoh Ball "Soup" in her Famous Blue Pot!

Mark and Meri

Grandma with Josh and Jenna

Blurry Cousins Jennifer and I! (iPhone Picture)

My Cousins Jennifer and Norma and Me (Another iPhone Picture)

I am so blessed to be able to spend extra time with my favorite people this season and am looking forward to the month ahead! I hope you all have a wonderful Monday and I'll be back this afternoon with a month long overdue post - October's Instalife Edition! 

This may seem like a less than popular holiday to you, but to me, Passover is the best holiday of the year. To me, Passover is the Jewish version of Thanksgiving and I love getting to spend time with my family and enjoy all  of the delicious food that my family makes. This year, Passover goes from tomorrow night, Friday, at sundown, until sundown next Saturday evening. The first 2 nights are the larger dinners, called Seders, and this year, Josh and I will be heading to his Grandmother's for the first Seder and to Long Island to spend the second Seder with my family. Last year, we did the reverse - spent the first night with my family and the second with his - and while I was with my family in New Jersey, I got to help my stepmother make an outstanding meal. I did learn some lessons in the process (please note: kosher meat is already heavily salted so you do not, I repeat, DO NOT, need to add any salt to any roasts) and got to make the most amazing chocolate torte you could ever imagine.


While I don't have complete step-by-step directions, I can direct you to the recipe at Epicurious, here, and urge you to make this recipe for your Seder tomorrow or Saturday night. Or, you could also make this recipe for Easter Sunday - no one would ever know that it is a kosher for Passover recipe. I followed the recipe exactly, except that I left out the raspberry sauce and chose to serve it with sliced strawberries instead.

Gathering Ingredients in the Kitchen

Melting the Chocolate

Preparing the Batter

Finished Product!

I am so excited for this weekend and to share a bunch of Passover recipes with you next week! Do you have any favorite holiday recipes? Any must makes when it comes to family holidays?

Good Morning! Before I show you the Valentine's Day DIY project I put together, I want to share some really exciting news with you! As of this morning, this blog is officially a DOT COM! Using the .blogspot.com will still bring you here for your daily read, but the new address is officially http://www.foreverandarecipe.com. This change comes with a new e-mail address and a blog re-design is in the works! I will be sure to keep you updated on progress as I work with the very talented Katy Roberts from twentythreeohone! Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog - I can't wait to show you all of the great things I have planned!

Today, we are less than 1 week away from one of my favorite holidays - Valentine's Day! I love romance, especially cheesy/silly/goofy romance, and as self-admitted hopeless romantic - how could I not love this holiday? While Josh and I treat every day as another reason to show our love for one another, we also love that this day serves as a reminder to be extra grateful for each other's love. And so, I have a quick DIY project to help you add some extra love to your home decor!


A few weeks ago I saw this awesome picture on Pinterest from Saved by Suzy:



I immediately thought that it could be easily done on a smaller scale and still look really cool. And then the next time I was at Michael's, I spotted this frame for only $1.99 (on clearance!) and of course, couldn't pass it up!


I also grabbed a paint pen in gold to use for the project.


To make this, I used a piece of white card stock that I already owned and, free-handing the design, made rows of little gold hearts across the paper.


When I was finished, I placed it into the frame and voila! Heart Art!


A super cute and easy way to add some Valentine's Day decor to your home! This has found a home in our guest bathroom next to some candles and our hand towels. Have you made any Valentine's Day art yet this year? Have any great projects up your sleeve? You know I'd love to hear about them!

Have a great Wednesday and I'll see you all tomorrow!

PS. I'm linking up to a bunch of parties today - Creations by Kara, DIY by Design, Handy Man Crafty Woman, Someday Crafts, The Thrifty Home and Rae Gun Ramblings! Head over and check them out!