Home Sweet Home!

Four years ago we purchased our house in Oneonta, NY and moved the children across the state to a new adventure.  I won't lie, I was not a happy camper.  I never wanted to leave the suburbs of Buffalo, and I certainly didn't want to move the children away from their family.  In fact, I always thought the day I would put a for sale sign on Irving Place, would be the happiest day of my life.

Well, I was wrong about so many things.  Now that we are embarking on moving back to suburbia, I have many mixed emotions.  I look at all the friendships we have made, and my heart is aching, especially for my boys.  Brandon is leaving the only home he remembers, and Adam is leaving his best friend.  Moving Adam away from his dear friend is very difficult.  One may ask, how close can two 7 year olds be?  Sit in the same room with them for 5 minutes and you will see.  I am thankful that Adam's little friend's parents are great.  They both have committed to helping the boys stay in touch. I am also thankful for social media to help stay in touch with all of our friends we have made in Oneonta.

I now look at this time we spent here as a learning experience.  I am also so blessed to have met some incredible people and families. 

So will I miss everything about Oneonta??  Uummm.....NO!  I will not miss the 120 year old house I live in.  We have a sale pending on a newer home in Lakeview, NY.

Oh, and our house in Oneonta sold in record time....three days! 

So we are setting out on a new adventure.  The boy's and I will finish the school year in Oneonta and will be renting an apartment for several months.  Fun times ;)

Jay will be starting a new job as a district manager, for a company not in the retail industry.  We are welcoming his new hours, and more time for the family.  I am also thrilled to be moving home!  I have missed so many of my friends in Buffalo!!!

Hey, I just thought of something....new house=more blog material!

Neat Packaging Idea For Holiday Treats

I learned long ago, during my days of having a gift basket business, that presentation is key.  You can take an ordinary item and really dress it up with a few simple tips.  I still hold true to that philosophy, especially when giving a gift.

It's holiday time and passing along sweet gifts to our friends and loved ones is so enjoyable.  I like to make food gifts.  The gift is simple, but I like to dress it up a bit in packaging.  I like to put vanilla sugar in mason jars fitted with holiday fabric and ribbons.  I like to wrap a loaf of bread on a festive platter.  The list is endless.  Today I am going to share a neat idea for packaging small holiday treats.

I have been invited to a cookie swap.  This year the hostess put out the idea of packaging the cookies to make the swap easier and more festive.  This is how I packaged mine this  year.

 

Each cookie swapper will receive a iced sugar mitten with two sugar stars dipped in chocolate.  Here' what the cookies looked like before the packaging.

 

 

 

 



The cookies on their own are delicious and festive.  However, nestle them in a cellophane bag, topped with a piece of card stock, and a sweet holiday label, and it becomes a great gift.

I used holiday post cards for my card stock that I found at the office supply store.  Then I just printed a label in a coordinating color and viola, package complete!

This is an inexpensive way to dress up any holiday treat.  Think about filling the bags with chocolate clusters, or your favorite trail mix.  Personalize the label to show a nice holiday sentiment.  Go ahead get creative, I give you permission ;)