Holiday

It’s February! This means that, other than it being the middle of carnival season for us here in Louisiana (thank you Jesus for King Cake), it is also the time of year for Valentine's Day. The holiday where pressure is put on you to buy your special someone chocolate, jewelry or flowers. Even worse, if you are a teenager, society tells you that if you don't have a valentine, you are lame ... and the schools are in your face about buying items to support various clubs by sending Valentine's Day cards. By now, you can probably see that I’m a hater of Valentine’s Day. There are some of you going “heck yeah, me too!” While others are left wondering "why...

Kids watching Elf. Cookies baking. Alexa playing instrumental Christmas music. Evergreen candle and tree both lit. It's the most wonderful time of the year! Except according to all secular "rules," Christmas is over. It's December 27th, so I guess I should be in that post-Christmas funk, eating my feelings. But I'm really enjoying this holiday season. I'm Catholic, so I've always celebrated the Advent season between Thanksgiving and Christmas, while Christmas Day started the "Twelve Days of Christmas" leading to epiphany, which then meant time for King Cake and Mardi Gras! Still, though, it was tough to keep the Christmas spirit going when everyone says it's over. Our tree stays up until January 5th (maybe later if I'm being honest),...

I don’t remember believing in Santa Claus as a child. I remember at one point, when I was young, my mother telling me that Santa Claus was pretend, but that it was “fun to pretend.” This was enough for me, and we never ruined the idea of Santa for other children nor did we feel left out of the fun. We got presents – that was enough? Right? I always assumed that when I had kids of my own, I would approach Santa Claus the same way: he isn’t real, but it’s fun to pretend. I told myself that I didn’t want to lie to my kids, or blackmail them into behaving by threatening that “Santa is watching,” and I...

Disclosure :: this post is sponsored or "under"written by our friends at tasc Performance, but includes the authentic opinions of the writer (one of our team member's husbands).  Update Your Underwear Drawer This Christmas ... With Tasc A tale as old as time, well maybe not all the time, but a good bit of it. Undergarments. Undergarments are something that most of us men don't even think about regularly because we've had our "favorites" forever or simply just purchase what we have always known. Insert Tasc Performance. Based in New Orleans just down the road from us, they're making a unique, natural and custom fabric derived from bamboo. From even the un-packaging stage, you can feel the difference in tasc Performance materials. Recently, I've had the...

It's here!!! As I write this, Christmas is exactly one month away. Our family LOVES celebrating Christmas, but something I've started thinking about more this year is how to simplify the Christmas season so that it is more fun, more meaningful, and more memorable. Here are a few things I started doing years ago, as well as new things I want to implement this year. When my boys look back on their Christmases as children, I don't want them to remember stressed out parents or a calendar that is too full. I want them to look back with joy on a season full of great memories and experiences. Keep the expectations of children and holiday activities realistic. Before I had children,...