News from the Nest, November 21

Good November Morning, my friends!

Those of us in the U.S. are in the midst of the sprint toward Thanksgiving this Thursday. I hope that you can find joy in the chaos. So much of the true intent of Thanksgiving and Christmas gets lost in the busy-ness of it all.

Full confession time here. For the first time in I don’t when I will not be preparing a Thanksgiving meal this year! 😮 Neither our son nor my mom will be home for Thanksgiving. It will just be three of us, so we are excited to join our neighbors for Thanksgiving day! Our daughter will be home for only three days, and we are excited to have the time to decorate the house and bake cookies. It will feel different, I’m sure.

• I told you last week that I’d also have a little embroidery project for you. Well, here’s the scoop and a little insight into the blogger’s life. When I publish a project for you, you’ll know that I’ve actually made the item. In the process, I photograph the steps so that when I share it with you, you can clearly see what you need to do to make the item. Well, I’ve made four of these little Velvet Christmas Trees, and each time have been so consumed (or distracted) that I have forgotten to photograph the last few steps. So today, I will make the fifth tree and WILL PHOTOGRAPH THE D#@*&D last steps so I can publish this for you! If you don’t want to wait until next Monday for the project and pattern, reply to this email and let me know. I’ll email it to you as soon as I get it published.

in the kitchen

• If pie-making is on your to-do list this week, make sure you check out my pie crust recipe and tips for success. After years of trial and error, I mastered this recipe and am now my extended family’s “official” pie crust maker.
• If you are baking cookies soon, definitely make sure to take a few minutes to read these Baking Tips for the Best Cookies.
• We use them all the time, but do you know what baking soda and baking powder actually are, how they are alike and different, what they do, and how to know if they are fresh? If not, this Baking Soda and Baking Powder post will be interesting.

oh, Christmas charcu-‘terie’ 🎄

I know, it was a stretch! But, the days after Thanksgiving are heavy noshing days for us and we will surely be putting our charcuterie board to good use!

popular with our readers

The top two most popular posts with our readers this past week just really made me happy! They underscore that I have a whole bunch of kindred spirits out there in this digital world!

• This list of handmade gifts was the most-read post on the blog this past week. In my mind’s eye, I can see all of you elves busy preparing gifts for the upcoming holidays!
• Nipping at the heels (pun intended) of the handmade gifts post was the Three-Ingredient Dog Treat recipe! So you like-minded elves are also making treats for your pups or for your favorite pup friends! Either way, pups are getting goodies!
• My original Knit Christmas Stocking pattern was right behind. If you know basic knit skills, you can knit this stocking. I have step-by-step instructions and videos!

more gift ideas

I’m going to keep this collection of gift idea lists going. Last week I shared gift ideas for Book Lovers and Hostess Gift Ideas.

• Let’s talk about gifts for that creative person on your gift list this week! I’ve gathered various gifts, including craft kits and subscriptions, for that person who is always looking for something to make or learn something.
• And if your gift list includes someone who likes to cook, check out these stocking stuffer gifts (small gifts) for cooks!

• And don’t forget these gifts that keep giving! They are gift ideas that will save the recipient money.

• And here’s a little shopping tip I’ve just discovered. It’s happened to me twice, which doesn’t guarantee it’ll happen again, but it is always worth trying! So, I’ve twice put something in a cart on an online store (not Amazon), including my email address and maybe even my mailing address, and then changed my mind and closed the site down before I put payment info in. Both times, I quickly received an email saying something to the effect of “Hey, we noticed you left something in your cart. Here’s 20% off to go back and finish the transaction!” Once again, it is worth trying!

do you want to learn to knit?

I have been slowly working on writing and videoing classes for those who want to learn to knit. I recently received some reviews for my knitting videos on YouTube that made my day. If you have been having trouble learning how to knit, let me help you! You can see all the “How to Knit’ posts in chronological order here.

…it’s been SO difficult for me to find someone who is moving slowly & repetatively & simply & clearly enough for me to finally catch on to knitting & crochet bc it is NOT currently in my wheelhouse & I just can’t even convey how grateful I am to have found you. So idk…I guess I’m commenting to say mostly this: if you ever get discouraged with this or feel like “why bother” or something? Bother because you’re excellent at it & because you’re made to explain this stuff to ppl who aren’t naturals at it. “

Jessica

thankful for you!

Finally, it is only appropriate that today I take a few minutes to thank each of you for making this little ‘job’ of mine so enjoyable and rewarding. Truthfully, my feet hit the ground daily with my head full of ideas I want to share with you. If only the clock would slow down so that I could get them all done.

I could still publish my ideas and share my project to the ether without you all, but…that’d be really lonely! Knowing that you are all out there, in different time zones, on different continents, reading and writing back to me is a joy that I don’t have words for.

I’ve told you that I have been approached by people who want to buy this little blog of mine. And I can honestly say that I turn them down without even hearing their offer. This is more than a job to me; it brings me joy and gives me purpose.

So, thank you for making it so much fun!

This doesn’t come close to showing my gratitude for each of you, but I thought Thanksgiving Place Holders might come in handy with Thanksgiving this week. Print them off on card stock and cut them outside the dark lines. Then, fold the cards in half and write names on the front.

Just click the image below to access the free, printable download of these Thanksgiving Place Cards. They come in a sheet of four.

Once again, I am thankful for each one of you!

Hugs,

Thanks for making my day by SHARING!!