This is the first year that I have EVER gone out in public on black Friday. Ok maybe that isn’t true but it was the first time I ever battled the mall, good lord.

We parked about a mile away from the mall and walked off some of our Thanksgiving meal, which by the way was fantastic if I do say so myself. Shane and I whipped up some pretty awesome food. We splurged on a free-range organic turkey which was absolutley divine. It was cooked perfectly, perfectly seasoned and just perfectly perfect.

The mall was as crowded as we imagined it would be but Shane was able to get a great deal or some clothes. Kaili and I hit up the kids play area while he waited in line.

After doing some damage at a few stores we went back home and continued shopping online. I can’t wait to show you my Christmas present!

Our neighbors across the street just put up their Christmas lights {over achievers} now the pressure is on to get into the holiday spirit. I am trying to expose Kaili to Santa Claus via pictures and videos. Something is telling me pictures aren’t going to go as smooth as they did last year.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

I have come across some pretty clever tricks to help with some every day PITA things.

• Meatballs- Love eating meatballs but hate getting the mushy meat in between your fingers? I know I do. Roll the meat mixture into a log form. Cut into 1 inch pieces, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and put them inside a colander. Roll the meatballs around the colander and voila, instant round meatballs with clean hands.

• Fix broken makeup -Do you have a favorite compact powder or bronzer but hate it when it breaks into pieces. Fix it by adding  a few small drops of rubbing alcohol into your broken makeup compact, after you add the alcohol to the broken powder you will notice it seep into the powder causing it to become soft. Smudge the soft soaking powder around, making it into a paste-like substance and re-form it by smoothing it out with your finger. Let it dry overnight for best results.  
• Keep your Halloween Jack O Lantern from getting moldy- Carving a pumpkin is no simple feat and they usually get moldy before the holiday even arrives. Keep them fresh by using Silica gel packets.  Once you carve your pumpkin, remove gel beads from packet and embed them into the inside flesh of the pumpkin. 
• Remove crayon from the wall- Is your little Picasso creating his masterpiece on your walls? Just use WD-40 for easy clean up. Apply a small amount to the surface and rub away with a clean cloth.
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• DIY Chip Clips- Do you have any of those plastic hangers with clips on them lying around? Well turn them into a chip clip  by breaking or sawing off the clips from the hanger. Now you have an instant chip clip, or in my case a chocolate chip clip.