Thanksgiving With Friends

Last weekend we had a special Thanksgiving with friends. It's become somewhat of a tradition to have "family holiday" meals at Adam's house. It started in June when it was decided if a turkey wasn't cooked soon it might go bad. So Adam decided to host a Thanksgiving dinner in June. Everyone brought side dishes and we went around the table and said what we were thankful for. Pretty awesome. And then we decided that we needed to do this more often! And I just happened to have a ham in the freezer that needed to be cooked, which led to Christmas dinner in July. Complete with a white elephant gift exchange and ugly Christmas sweaters. :) We were going to continue through to holidays but then real life caught up with us all. So this past weekend we decided to have the real Thanksgiving meal at the appropriate time of year. 

We ended up with 12 people once Jackie arrived--biggest turnout yet!

The funny thing about these dinners is it always makes me feel like we're playing grown up. And I seriously think it's because nobody's parents are there! It sound so strange but I just really love that there's another great group of friends who all like doing things like this. And really over half of the people in this photo I've met in the last year! How fun is that? 

Tyler was in town from C-bus! And there's my lovely roomie of course.

I have now had 3 Thanksgiving dinners in the past week (friends, work, and family) and I've not had Turkey at any of them! When I was preparing my turkey today, the only thing I could think of was how big the breasts were, and how the turkey probably could barely even walk because it's been genetically engineered to grow breast muscle faster than its bones can grow to support its body. Of course I don't know that about this particular turkey, but not knowing is all I need to know. 

Can you believe there isn't any meat on this delicious plate? 

After dinner the boys went and bought some dice and tried to teach us Bunko, which is supposed to be a really easy game. 

But only about half of us actually understood the instructions (whether this was due to the wine or the explanation I have no idea). So we resorted to the perennial favorite--beer pong in the basement. :) Is there a traditional Xmas dinner in our future next month? :) 

First Sale: Thank You NY!

Hi everyone! It's only been a few days but a lot has happened. 

1) One of my bestest friends and roomies got ENGAGED!

Claire, Crash and I had champagne with cranberry juice in celebration before dinner earlier this week. Such a fun time catching up! (Note: Crash you look amazing so I don't want to hear anything about this pic!)

2)My business cards arrived today! They said from the start that they would be delivered today, but I've tracked these things multiple times a day, every day since I ordered them a week ago. Obsessive (I agree). Check out these little guys!

I mean how cute are these boxes? They say, "Open them, Quick!" at the bottom.

Look at these all pretty and fanned out. This is obviously the image/"portfolio" side of the cards.

The front!

We have taken some pretty nice photos with our new camera, and when I ordered these there was not quite enough of my cards to put on them yet. So here's a photo of an old, pretty bridge we saw on a bike trail over our anniversary weekend in Northern Ohio. 

Here's a sample of a card on the back of one of my business cards. There's almost 50 different photos. And you can upload up to 100

      

3)And last but certainly not least: I sold my first card!!!! TO SOMEONE I DON'T KNOW. Who lives in NY. I was floored! This is the conversation I had with Brian when I called to tell him: 

Me: "I really was starting to think that eventually my family and friends would start to feel sorry for me and buy a card or something."

Brian: "Well I was going to give it at least a couple more weeks before I started buying things and shipping them to an anonymous address."

But seriously, the gentleman who bought the card (a Cynical Sentiments card, btw) is a saint. I have ZERO feedback on my shop and have been open for about 2-3 weeks. He has a lot of faith and trust, which I appreciate. Now fingers crossed the card gets there soon and in once piece and that he and the recipient love it. 

Back to Brian: What a supportive husband I have. And really, support is keeping me afloat right now. I'm a very confident person, but I also like to do things 110% and go way above and beyond most of the time. Which means I'm pouring everything I have into this business right now without any idea if I'll ever see a return on it, and let me tell you: that is a really scary thing for me. Probably once (okay more like 5) times a day I ask Brian, "What happens if nobody ever buys anything?" and he tells me that's ridiculous and unproductive to think that way. 

So help me spread the word! If handmade cards and paper crafts aren't your thing--pass along my information to someone who might take an interest in my business. I have a Facebook page that I would love for you to be a part of as well. Thanks for your support and encouragement and I hope to hear from you soon.