Tomorrow's To Dos

G.G.G.

Posted on December 11, 2012 by tomorrowstodos

Stuff the stockings update: I picked up the last of my co-worker exchange gifts tonight, so here is the second installment (see part 1) of my favorite things for this year:

[ scratch tickets, AllSpice goodies, Von Maur gift card, Tank 7 ]

Now all that is left is a gift for my father-in-law. If you ask me, he is the hardest person to shop for. I think we are leaning towards a new briefcase, but who knows. Do you have a hard-to-shop-for man in your life? If so, hopefully this little collection of man-friendly gifts can help you out.

[ wine club, bookends, lip balm, scarf, sweater, Todd Snyder shirt, whiskey rocks ]

Posted in Holidays, Work | Tagged Co-worker gifts, Gifts for Guys, my favorite things | Leave a comment

Stuff the stockings

Posted on December 10, 2012 by tomorrowstodos

A festive weekend ahead update: The weekend went by in a flash, but I did manage to catch up on some much-needed rest. Of course that was after traipsing around Des Moines for the Holly & Ivy tour,

spending what felt like hours at Lowe’s trying to find the perfect tile for our upcoming bathroom remodel project,

and cheering on little Miss Mackenzie as she took the stage by storm as part of the infantry in The Nutcracker ballet.

And that was just Saturday!

On Sunday morning we woke up to our first dusting of snow, so I proceeded to spend most of the day wrapping Christmas presents by the fireplace.

It was horrible… and while I was tying on the final bows, I realized that I may be missing a few little things. Which is why this is the perfect time to share with you this year’s stocking stuffers list:

[necklace, gloves, soap, lipstick, backup battery, coin purse, bun kit, perfume]

Tomorrow I am determined to be officially done with all Christmas shopping. Wish me luck!

Posted in Family, Holidays | Tagged bathroom remodel, Christmas, Christmas tree, Holly & Ivy, stocking stuffers, The Nutcracker, tile | Leave a comment

A festive weekend ahead

Posted on December 7, 2012 by tomorrowstodos

Soiree sweater update: I have the best co-workers ever. They make going to work every day a treat. I can always count on them to come up with some crazy, yet amazingly awesome, ideas – like wearing ugly sweaters to our work holiday party.

I look forward to tomorrow’s events every year, and if you live around Des Moines I highly recommend both: the Holly & Ivy tour and Ballet Des Moines’ The Nutcracker at Hoyt Sherman.

The Holly & Ivy tour is the perfect way to explore some of the most beautiful homes in Des Moines, and what is even better is that they are all decked out for the holidays.

My niece, Mackenzie, takes the stage again this year for The Nutcracker ballet tomorrow night, and I can’t wait! She was an adorable mouse last year and has moved up the ranks to a toy solider this year.

Hope you all have a very festive weekend too!

Posted in Family, Holidays, Work | Tagged ballet, Holly & Ivy, sweater, The Nutcracker | Leave a comment

Soiree sweater

Posted on December 5, 2012 by tomorrowstodos

A seasonal sipper update: A big THANK YOU to my mother-in-law, Chris, for fitting us into her busy holiday schedule so that my sis-in-law and I could come over to learn the family recipe tonight. She has given me the OK to share her coveted homemade Bailey’s recipe so that you can enjoy this festive treat too! Happy holidays and happy sipping!

Homemade Baileys 1

Homemade Baileys 2

Homemade Baileys 3

[free printable gift tags from May Designs]

[click recipe card above for printable PDF]

Our annual work holiday party is this Friday and our Marketing group has decided to get really festive for it. Of course by ‘festive’ I mean we are donning super special, sparkly and gaudy Christmas sweaters. I will be wearing a sweater that my mom cross-stitched sometime in the early 90s, complete with jingle bell hat topper. It’s beautiful!

Posted in Holidays, Recipes | Tagged homemade Bailey's | 8 Comments

A seasonal sipper

Posted on December 4, 2012 by tomorrowstodos

Kansas City here I come update: It was so fun to hang with the gals in KCMO the past couple of days, but I’m glad to be home. And I am happy to report that the damage was minimal. Check out the goodies I scored!

Kansas City goodies

[J.Crew cardi, H&M flannel, heart sweater (similar), rhinestone necklace (similar)]

Tomorrow after work I’m going to be let in on a family secret, and if allowed, I’ll be letting my readers in on the secret too! My mother-in-law is finally going to teach me how to make her famous homemade Bailey’s. So stay tuned and have your mason jars at the ready to whip up a batch of your own this holiday season (if she gives me the green light to share).

Posted in Recipes, Shopping, Travel | Tagged homemade Bailey's, Kansas City, recipe | Leave a comment

Kansas City here I come

Posted on November 30, 2012 by tomorrowstodos

Raindrops on roses update: I am on a roll! I placed an order today for our Christmas cards (check back around Christmas Eve for the big reveal), and I already have three of the seven ‘favorite things’ co-worker gifts taken care of. Here is part one:

MyFavoriteThings2012_p1

[Patagonia reusable bag (similar), Sprinkles cupcake mix, to do list pad]

And without further ado, I give you my ULTIMATE TOP 10 UNDER $15 GIFT GUIDE:

[monogram mug, bow bracelet, portrait notepad, running socks, reusable bag, plaid scarf, egg crate, to do list, spiced nuts kit, cupcake mix]

TGIF! I am so excited to hit the open road for our annual girls Christmas shopping trip (last year) on Sunday. This year we are heading west, back to Kansas City, to give our plastic a little workout. Most of my Christmas shopping is already done, so I guess that means I’ll just have to find a little somethin’-somethin’ for M-E, me! Have a great weekend.

Kansas City

Posted in Gifts, Holidays, Shopping | Tagged Christmas card, gift guide, my favorite things | 1 Comment

Raindrops on roses

Posted on November 28, 2012 by tomorrowstodos

A sleigh ride update: Thanks for all the great feedback about our sleigh ride photos. I am now trying to pick which card design to go with. Please help!

Last year I received the most fabulous gift from my Grandma Dreiling that I have started to put together this year.

It is a book to hold your Christmas card photos from each year. What a genius idea! I can just imagine pulling this album out years from now looking back on each year we’ve spent living together. Interested in getting one? Good luck. They are impossible to find at stores, but I managed to track down this exact version on eBay.

Tomorrow I plan on starting to track down a few of my favorite things for our annual holiday gift exchange at work. It worked out so well last year, that I am going to do it again! And while I’m at it, I’ll put together this year’s ULTIMATE TOP 10 GIFTS UNDER $15 gift guide to share with you.

Posted in Gifts, Holidays | Tagged Christmas, Christmas card, gift exchange | 3 Comments

A sleigh ride

Posted on November 26, 2012 by tomorrowstodos

Turkey trot update: Thanksgiving 2012 is in the books, and this year I have a lot to be thankful for…

[my health – completed the Turkey Trot with my sis, Marissa]

[my fabulous families]

[our crazy holiday traditions]

[my boys]

As soon as my Thanksgiving meal food coma had worn off (and my Black Friday purchases were made), I was busy getting ready for the next holiday – Christmas. I love decking my halls with all things glittery and gold and am convinced that nothing beats sitting next to a lit tree catching up on some shows (Oh hey, Blair!).

Although, Karl could have cared less…

My to-do list is starting to fill up with holiday-related items, such as shopping for perfect gifts, wrapping presents and cookie baking, but firsts things first: we need to order our Christmas cards.

During our Branstad family Christmas card photo shoot we got the chance to have a little mini-session, and they turned out great. (Thanks Meg!) Now the only problem is picking just one for our card. Which one do you think we should use?

Posted in Family, Holidays | Tagged Christmas, Christmas card, Christmas Lights, Christmas tree, Thanksgiving, Turkey Trot | Leave a comment

Turkey trot

Posted on November 21, 2012 by tomorrowstodos

Black Friday, or Thursday update: My list may be shorter than ever this year, which is fine by me. My Black Friday ‘need to snag’ items are:

deep pocket king size sheets for the master bedroom since our current sheets no longer fit due to an amazing down pillow top that I had to have,
a Rubbermaid food storage set so I can get ride of the old, gross ones, and
an external hard drive so that I can back up all this blog goodness because I know some day soon my old MacBook is going to crash [tear].

I’m sure I’ll find something else I think I need while out and about in the wee hours of the morning, but I’m going to try my darndest to stick to the list.

Thanksgiving Day is tomorrow and I hope you all have fabulous plans to enjoy family, friends and maybe a little turkey. At least that is what I have on my to-do list. But up first in the morning, the long-awaited Turkey Trot that I signed up for a couple of months ago to make myself start a running regimen. I can’t think of a better way to kick-off the festivities (and preemptively burn the calories I’ll be consuming later) than with a run around our state fairgrounds.

My super cute nieces at the turkey pardoning. [Source: The Des Moines Register]

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! Be thankful for all that you have.

Posted in Holidays, Shopping | Tagged Black Friday, pardoning, Thanksgiving, turkey, Turkey Trot | Leave a comment

Black Friday, or Thursday

Posted on November 19, 2012 by tomorrowstodos

Weekend wishes update: Another weekend that breezed on by… at this rate, it’ll be Christmas before you know it! I was able to get a little gift shopping done, hung the Christmas lights up outside (thanks dad!), celebrated a birthday, baked some cookies (recipe), got an eye exam and managed to find time to snuggle with Karl. Not too shabby!

Tomorrow I am going to start to pull together my annual Black Friday wish list. Most ads are already online, either leaked or live on retailers’ websites, so they shouldn’t be too hard to find. I am a little bummed that retailers keep moving the time earlier and earlier every year. I mean, Wal-Mart is opening at 8 p.m. and Target’s doors bust at 9 p.m. I’m pretty sure I haven’t even completely digested my Thanksgiving meal by that time. I fondly remember a few years ago when my sisters and I would stay overnight at my parents’ house to wake up at 3 a.m. so that we could go get in line for the 5 a.m. opening time. I’m interested to see how other consumers react to the early start times. Will there be fewer people out, or even more crazies?

To be honest, there is never anything that I really need to buy. It’s just a time to hang with my mom and sisters, get a little too excited about $5 pajamas and laugh out loud far too many times to count.

Do you shop on Black Friday? What do you think of the early start times? What are you hoping to get your hands on?

Posted in Family, Holidays, Recipes, Shopping | Tagged birthday cake, Black Friday, cupcakes, Iowa, Karl, mustache, snickerdoodles | 2 Comments