Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Merry & Bright, Happy & Healthy

Here here!
Friends! Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season, a Happy Channuka, a Merry Meri(!) Christmas and the start of your most joyful year yet. For this bookend'ed holiday week, Dr. H and I are taking our overdue Anniversary Adventure and this year a winter wonderland excursion of epic proportions is on tap.

Our adventure will include this:
exploring the Finnish Laplands by Husky

and this:
we will be riding in a Sven sleigh and visiting a Sven farm!

and hopefully a little of this:
Fingers & toes crossed for an Aurora Borealis siting!

We'll wrap things up by ringing in the New Year surrounded by this:
A very Copenhagen New Year!

shine bright!
So until next year, here's wishing each and every one of you a Merry & Bright, Happy & Healthy. If you're looking to do some blog reading, check out my Seek to Be Merry Year 3 Recap HERE and just in time for Christmas, there's an amazing reading of the Grinch Who Stole Christmas HERE. See you in 2015!! Xox - Meri

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Classifieds: Lonely work-from-homer seeking office-dwelling friend with peppermint bark (or brownies. or cookies).



It is no secret that I'm still struggling a bit with my new daily routine of working by myself, for myself, at home. There are more than a few moments that I'm not exactly proud of, like the time I was so overwhelmed by work that I skipped showering and was caught by Dr. H wearing the same t-shirt 2 days in a row... or when I ate pizza for every meal... for 36 hours straight. (It's amazing what you'll find yourself ok with when you know no one is watching.) Well yesterday I hit a new low (or level of craftiness, depending on your angle). Yesterday at around 5pm I emailed my husband and said "feel free to bring home 
peppermint bark, brownies or a small sampling of any other good treats that have been delivered to your office." And by "feel free" obviously I meant DO IT and by "small sampling" I meant BRING ME ALL THE THINGS. 

I'm not proud that I have resorted to eating other office's seasonal "thank you" deliveries and homemade treats, but really, what choice do I have?! I can't miss out on holiday over-indulgence (and post New Years complaining), but I don't have an amazing admin bringing in her "famous italian cookies", or leftovers from the holiday party or fattening gifts from happy clients and partners (next year!?). I'm just a lonely work-from-homer seeking an office-dwelling friend willing to share his/her peppermint bark. #NoShame.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Hump Day Distractions

So true.
Hellllooo out there from blustery, soggy NYC! For grey day number 2 here in the city the weather gods have at least given us snow flurries instead of steady rain and for that I'm grateful (#desperate). Here to help you over the hump and through this gloomy weather are some goodies from around the web. Enjoy!

* Looking forward to more stunning snowy days ahead, like THIS.
* I want YOU. I want you so baaaaaad babe.
* For my fellow yogis
* What you and your kiddos should not miss this holiday season in NYC.
* Adding this to the dinner queue
* Because everyone knows someone who is always complaining that they're cold.
* A nifty little tool for anyone who uses Google on multiple devices. 

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Your Annual Gift Guide Guide!

Tis the season for trees on the street & shopping!
Every year my favorite bloggers scour the web for the chicest, most thoughtful and unique gifts for everyone on your list. Every year instead of doing the same, I collect their lists and share a list of my own... Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the Seek to Be Merry Gift Guide Guide, a guide to some of the greatest gift idea lists on the web. So whether your looking for Mom, Sis, husband, girlfriend, co-worker or kiddos, there's inspiration here for you. Happy shopping!

* For the Ladies (Mom, Sis, Friends, etc)
List 3 (for a cozy, Nordic loving gal)
List 4 (for the organic lover in your life)
List 5 and List 5.5 (both for your jetsetter)
List 10 (for a gadget loving gal)
List 11 (all under $100, mostly under $30!)

* For the Gentlemen (Dad, Hubby, buddy)

* For the Kiddos
List 3 (for babies and mamas!)

* For Co-Workers
List 2 (for when you want to be thoughtful without spending too much)

* For your Holiday Hostess

* For Everybody Else...
Pinterest has a great curated list of every sort of person and every sort of gift they'd enjoy. Check it out HERE.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Seasonal Eats and Treats

Tis the season!
Brrrrr! Baby it's cooold outside!! A crisp 23 degrees here in NYC with a forecast of more snow for the weekend, winter has most certainly arrived! Since the weather outside is frightful, this is the perfect time to share some of the seasonal goodies I've been curating and collecting. Here's hoping these fun eats and treats help make the next two weeks extra merry and bright :)

What a ridiculously adorable way to add a bit of cheer to your holiday table!! This festive "snow globe" (but actually salt shaker) craft is sure to have your guests smiling while the season their food so click HERE to Pin it, click HERE for original post (via Country Living).

Santa Claus is coming to town and my oh my does he look tasty! Click HERE to Pin this tasty treat or click HERE for this cupcake and a few other Santa inspired sweet treats (via Kids Kubby)

Salty and sweet make the perfect seasonal treat!! Though finding circle shaped pretzels may be a bit tricky (or maybe that's just in the tiny grocery stores we have here in NYC!?) these treats are super easy to make and are sure to be a hit with your holiday party crew. Pin it HERE or click HERE for step by step instructions. (via Shugary Sweets)

Want your house to smell like Christmas cheer!? Keep this pot of fresh winter wonder boiling during your holiday get together as the perfect compliment to your holiday tunes and treats! Pin it HERE.

The perfect bite-sized holiday themed dessert! Easy to prepare and adorable to display, these Dipped Minty Marshmallow Pops are an awesome low maintenance sweet treat to put out after the big meal. Pin it HERE, full instructions HERE (via Liv Life)

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

The most important thing to prep for the holidays...

Well hello there!
With the holidays fast approaching, everyone is buzzing about appetizers, desserts, gifts and hosting, so I thought I would take a few steps back from the chaos and talk about something really important: your hair. Specifically, how you my friend, can be the envy of all at the table with a simple, sassy hairdo. Now before you go "but I can't!" I'm here to say "oh yes you can!" Many updos are far easier than you would expect and just require a bit of patience, good product and maybe a test run the day before, to achieve perfection.

This style from The Beauty Department is great "for shorties" like myself. Can't really use a curling iron? No problem, sleep with your hair slightly damp and in a bun the night before for gentle, natural body. Can't do fancy french braids? (Me neither!) Try these knots (like tying your shoe) for a way simpler way to achieve the same texture. Full post HERE. Pinterest HERE.

Another simple to execute but totally adorable style from The Beauty Department. This look is great for girlies with bangs, side bangs or just one who rocks a bun. The final result is charming and fresh with very little fuss. Full post HERE. Pinterest HERE.

Well, it doesn't get much easier than this! The "Tuck and Cover" from My Soul is the Sky requires only shoulder-ish length hair and 2 elastic hairbands to give you this classic-meets-bohemian look. Full post HERE. Pinterest HERE.

Bed head has never looked so good! This sexy braided look from A Little Bit Of... is casual "hippie-chic" and in my opinion perfect for a hearty Thanksgiving meal followed by backyard football and couch lounging. Absolutely one of those styles that tricks people into thinking you have crazy hair stylin skills! Full post HERE. Pinterest HERE

Merry Meri Hair Tricks of the Trade:
* Try a style out for the first time when your hair is wet. Even though this may not deliver a lot of body, wet hair has great hold for styling and it lets you practice the moves required to get the style right.
* Never use clean hair!! Wash the night (or ideally day) before for optimal oily/non-silky hair. If you have bangs or front angle pieces and are worried about looking greasy, pull those out and wash/blowdry just that front section before starting to style. If your hair is unavoidably freshly washed and dried, try spraying with a light hold spray first to make it less soft.
* Accessorize to hide imperfection!! (A personal favorite.) This past weekend I successfully copied a style I had done by a pro by using black hair flowers (approx $3 at Forever 21) to hide my whispy-stick-outs and sloppy bobby pin job. H&M and Forever 21 have an awesome inexpensive collection of pins, clips, scarves and flowers to add some sass to your style (while secretly hiding its flaws!)
* Have the right tools on hand. Tiny clear elastics, lots of bobby pins, light hold spray and heavy hold spray (for 1 final spritz at the end if it's a tighter style).
* Don't wait until the day-of to try a new style for the first time, especially if you aren't used to styling your own hair. Take some time on a quiet Saturday or Sunday morning to sit in front of the mirror and play around. Improvise based on your own hair's length and texture and don't be afraid to pull it all out and start over (I usually do at least twice!)
* Click HERE, HERE and HERE for a few other styles that I turn to on a regular basis for hair wow'ing!

PS- In case you were wondering how the plans from THIS post were coming, I was on an un-avoiding ROLL last night! Closet, sheets, laundry, dinner... I even scrubbed the stove top. Game on Fall Funk.