Have y’all heard of Bamboo Pink? I’m fortunate enough to have a friend of this little blog that sells Bamboo Pink jewelry. I’ve mentioned it a few times in sponsor posts, but wanted to host a trunk show for my friend, Catherine, who sells it. And it’s just in time for you to grab some Christmas presents for those jewelry-loving friends and family on your list!

Click here to shop around and place an order!

“bamboopink features only the finest crystals as well as seasonal colored stones including colors of garnet, amethyst, turquoise and coral, bamboopink jewelry will always be on-trend yet classic for everyday wear. Chic and trendsetting, the line is composed of a myriad of earrings from hoops and charms to studs to show-stopping chandelier drops, stackable rings as well as bold and funky cocktail rings for day into evening looks. Collectable pendants and chain necklaces make bamboopink the most versatile fashion jewelry collection around.”

One of my favorite things are the hoops that you can buy and then add charms to them to customize your earrings to fit your mood for the day. There are so many options of charms and just as many options for hoops!

I am also obsessing over these different leather bracelets. I’m actually dying for an orange one, but y’all know orange is a “no no” in this house! Ha!

And I’m an earring fanatic and can never have too many pairs. These are so gorgeous and so colorful!

Of course bamboopink also has rings and pendants in so many styles, colors and metals.

If you’re interested in shopping around and learning more about bamboopink, just click here!

There are commercials on the TV already playing Christmas tunes to advertise, it’s coming through our radios and there are Christmas lights and garland on the street lights and on the fronts of stores. It’s here!

…Guess what! The Lulu McGee Christmas collection is up and ready for orders! Hurry and get yours placed. And you have a few more days to use the 10% off discount code… BLUEEYEDBRIDE11 … at checkout!

…I have officially finished my Christmas shopping. I wanted to be done before Holiday Market begins this weekend, so I’m not running around like crazy in a couple of weeks. I bought all of the toys on Yoyo.com and got everything else on Amazon.com. The internet makes everything so easy! If I had a buddy who was willing, I’d brave the stores on Black Friday, but no one ever wants to go with me! Ha!

…I’m going to start prepping casseroles today. Love it! I love to watch Home Alone and The Family Man while I cook during the holidays.

…I’ve got my tunes playing this morning while I write and respond to emails. My favorite Christmas albums are Michael Buble, Amy Grant “A Christmas Album” (the original), The Martins, Joy Williams, Barlow Girl, Carnie and Wendy Wilson (yes, the Wilson sisters from Wilson Phillips), Mariah Carey, Celine Dion and I have a few of the “Now That’s What I Call Christmas” albums that are so good!

Right now, my favorite songs are Strange Way to Save the World (4Him), A Baby Changes Everything (Faith Hill), The Magic of Christmas Day (Celine Dion), Hallelujah Light Has Come (BarlowGirl) and Here With Us (Joy Williams). Obsessed is the better word. I just love Christmas music so much!

What is your favorite Christmas album?

Isn’t it funny (and kind of a shame) that we rush right past Thanksgiving on our way to Christmas? I’m not criticizing, because I do it, too. My tree isn’t up yet, but I have a list of all of the things I need to get out of storage to get my house ready for Christmas by Friday!

Last year, I wrote a post about how I wish I could slow down during this season. And I’d love to. I really would. But it’s just the time of year when there is so much going on. People love to host parties and there are events to go to and church commitment and volunteer commitments. I’d really be content to sit around every night for the next 40 days and just watch Christmas movies and drink hot chocolate.

But, that’s not what’s happening. I have a list of things to accomplish, groceries to buy before the madness begins, presents to buy and wrap, rooms to decorate and Christmas cards to mail.

And then life happens and it’s never what you plan. We were supposed to take our family Christmas card pictures yesterday afternoon. We all got dressed and ready to go. I was having a particularly good hair day and then it started to rain. So we postponed the pictures until Friday, but that’s just one more thing that didn’t get crossed off my list.

I think these things happen so that God has an opportunity to effectively remind me that He is in control, and I’m not. I don’t know why we had to postpone our pictures, but we did. And we’ll get them done before 2012. It will be fine.

Despite needing to carve out time to send last minute Holiday Market emails, bake Thanksgiving casseroles, attend Hudson’s school party, attend a church Thanksgiving service and get down all of our Christmas decorations, I want to really take time to be thankful.

I mean, I’m always thankful. I do know how much I have to be thankful for and how much I don’t deserve the wonderful blessings in my life. But I don’t want Thanksgiving to be a stop along the way to Christmas celebrations.

Part of the reason I like to do things early is so that we can make Christmas last as long as possible and really be able to enjoy it. But I do love Thanksgiving and what a great day it is and what it means. It’s a holiday that always seems to be all about the food. But I think we “feast” to celebrate all that we have to be thankful for!

I’d like to start a new tradition where we all write what we’re thankful for throughout the month of November as we prepare for Thanksgiving. Then we can read them all on Thanksgiving Day. (I’m thinking my mom tried to do this with us when I was in high school and I laughed at her, but now it’s something I really want to do!)

So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving traditions, please answer a few questions for me.

1. Do you eat stuffing or dressing? (We eat dressing)

2. Did you ever dress up as a pilgrim at school? (I totally did and need to share the picture with you)

3. What is your favorite dish at Thanksgiving?

4. Are you all about the turkey? Or all about the sides? (It’s definitely all about the sides for me)

5. Do you have a pumpkin pie at your house? Do you eat it? (I like pumpkin pie, but I know a lot of people don’t)

6. Do you watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in your pajamas while cooking every year? (It’s my favorite thing about Thanksgiving)

7. What other traditions do you associate with Thanksgiving? (We watch Christmas Vacation before bed every year on Thanksgiving Day)

Congratulations to Evett! You won the Ashley Brooke Designs Holiday Cheer giveaway!

I’ll be in touch with you about redeeming your items!

Visit Nina’s blog to see if you are the winner over there!