There were a few things we did well at the small-town central California high school I attended. For starters, we routinely whooped the pants off of the rival football team from the next town over. Our cross-country team always did well in meets. Even our band was regularly invited to march in big name parades all over the state. And while there were a number of areas in which we excelled, I’d be remiss not to point out a weakness: our district so miserably failed in meeting the needs of kids with intellectual disabilities, and in doing so, I think they failed the rest of us, too.

I’m learning French. What began innocently enough as a goal to pick up some conversational basics has evolved to an all-out obsession. I have CDs in my car that sing me through various scenes in which otherwise normal individuals break out in song (French songs, at that) about the most mundane things. It isn’t every day, after all, that full-grown men and women sing their one, two, threes. Picture Big Bird wearing a beret and you can get an idea of what it sounds like.

My family has this non-negotiable Christmas tradition. Many of them, actually, but this one in particular sets the story. Every year, we clear our respective schedules and gather ‘round the Christmas tree on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We blast our Christmas playlist as—one by one—we hang ornaments from the boughs of our tree. The kids and I absolutely love the tradition because it gives us a chance to reminisce over Christmases past as we unwrap layer after layer of bubble wrap to uncover a pajama-clad Santa or a sparkly twirling ballerina or even a fragile depiction of the White House that we picked up the year we visited Washington D.C. My husband is not quite as fond of decorating the tree, seeing as he is responsible for overseeing the little kids as they attempt to hang our very breakable glass ornaments from boughs high and low. I know he stresses out about it, but it gets easier as the years go on. In fact, this year I was the only one to break an ornament. There’s more to it than the Tannenbaum, though; our traditional tree decorating night wouldn’t be complete without steaming mugs of hot chocolate. This single tradition is the one that officially kicks off our holiday season, but it’s far from the only one we adhere to.

Now that we’ve officially entered the holiday season, there are sure to be countless invitations to holiday gatherings piling up in your mailbox (or email inbox, perhaps). Maybe you’re even throwing a get-together of your own. If so, you’ll want to continue reading. Today, I’m offering five suggestions for gatherings that go beyond the average, ordinary dinner party and take it up a notch, to bring friends and loved ones together in a fun and unique way.

Of all the seasons, fall is my absolute favorite. Not only does it usher in fresh, crisp air and football (Go Cardinals!) but so, too, does it offer the opportunity to try flavorful pumpkin recipes and cozy casseroles. Those things alone set the season apart, but I like to take it a step further. A couple of years ago I scoured the craft stores in late September. I was on a mission to add a touch of fall décor to my home and I was prepared to consider my shopping splurge an investment. To my surprise and delight, though, I found that many retailers were clearing out their harvest decorations to make way for aisle after aisle of Christmas goodies. I was able to pick up quite a haul at a fraction of the retail price. And then, to fill in the gaps, I searched my own home and neighborhood for items to finish the look. Today, I’m sharing some ideas for inexpensive and festive fall décor with you.

My husband and I are very much one of those “opposites attract” kind of couples. It’s apparent in many ways, but none more so than our opinions of air travel. Whereas he appreciates the hands-off approach to letting someone else do the navigating, I’d much rather go by car and retain the ability to stop when and where I want to.

Last week I was at Costco for my weekly grocery shopping trip.  Just as I was wrestling the last of my items - a ginormous honeydew melon - onto the conveyer belt for checkout, I heard the cashier question my purchases, “is all of that stuff for a birthday party?”  I looked up to find that he wasn’t actually talking to me.  The lady behind me had a cart full of convenience foods: Rice Krispy Treats, juice boxes and enough sugary fruit snacks to send a bear into hyperglycemic shock.  

“Project X” claimed second-place at the box office over the weekend, grossing $20.7 million.

In honor of Mother’s Day, I’m sharing a rather humorous conversation that I recently had with a long-distance friend via text (with her permission). I hope you find it as entertaining as I do. While the names have been changed to protect anonymity, the story is completely true.

When I was younger, my mom’s potato salad was among my favorite of her dishes. Striking just the right balance between tangy and creamy, her potato salad was the star of our backyard barbecues. Because she knew how much I loved it, she indulged me by making two separate versions: one with raw red onion and one without.

Last Friday night my husband took me on a date night to see Kris Allen, who was in town for a single show downtown. Because I was over the moon with excitement (and maybe also because I finally had something other than boring household chores to post about) I penned a pithy Facebook post to brag to all my friends about my plans for the night. Having developed the smidge of a celebrity crush on Kris Allen, it didn’t occur to me that someone might not know who he was. You can imagine my surprise, then, when one of my Facebook friends commented, “Who is Kris Allen?”

If your gift list is anything like mine, some of the most difficult recipients to shop for are the kids’ teachers. They’re difficult for me because I don’t know any of my kids’ teachers personally, so I can’t exactly choose a gift tailored to the individual. On the other hand, I know with certainty that I don’t want to resort to a trite “Best Teacher” coffee mug or a dime-a-dozen “A+ Teacher” Christmas tree ornament. Also, while I want the gift to be memorable, I don’t want it to break the bank. With those guidelines I mind, I brainstormed five gift ideas that most any teacher would appreciate. Here they are:

Looking for something fun and festive to do with your family in the weeks leading up to Christmas? We’re lucky to live in a place where the climate allows us to comfortably enjoy outdoor activities during the holiday season. And speaking of outdoor activities, there are plenty to be found. I’ve compiled a list with details on some of the most merry holiday haps around town. Hopefully one or two of these events will be just the thing to kick start your jolly this Christmas.

When my oldest daughter—now eighteen—was a wee little thing I went to great lengths to bring life to the magic of Santa. Just before bedtime on Christmas Eve we’d stand out on the lawn and scatter “reindeer food” so that Rudolph and his buddies would be inclined to stay and graze while the big guy scurried down the chimney. And then after my daughter was tucked snug in her bed my husband and I would go about the business of proving that Santa had indeed visited during the night. We went beyond building a toy wonderland beneath the boughs of the tree; our goal was to leave no doubt that Santa was real. To that end, we’d nibble on the cookies she left for him, being sure to leave a few crumbs behind. As if that wasn’t enough, we’d even sprinkle ashes into boot print stencils on the fireplace hearth, only to feign annoyance over Santa’s mess in the morning.

With the weather hinting at cooler temperatures on the horizon, this mom’s focus turns to fall foods. As someone who cooks with the seasons, I look forward to the time of year when pumpkin and warm spices like nutmeg and cloves begin appearing in my recipes. I have a whole Pinterest board (find me at pinterest.com/suchdarcie/) devoted to cozy fall dinners and another that features apple desserts. But one meal that often gets overlooked in seasonal cooking is breakfast. Those of us with school-age children in the house tend to be in such a morning rush that we can consider ourselves lucky to get even a bowl of cereal on the table. Believe it or not, though, there are plenty of recipes out there for moms like us who want to serve a hearty and wholesome hot breakfast in a hurry. I thought I’d share two of my favorites today.

We’re closing in on election season. With this being a presidential election year you can bet that there will be plenty of scrambling by both candidates as November 6th draws nearer. Political party affiliations aside, there is one thing I think we might all agree on: that those with intrusive campaign habits aren’t winning any voters.

Growing up, there were some things my mom was not good at. To her, anything that came from a box and had to be mixed at home qualified as “from scratch” cooking or baking. My brothers and I grew up thinking it was perfectly normal to eat cold cereal for dinner. What? Is it not?

My son is turning six next week. The invitations for his party have already gone out. We’re loosely going with a Muppet theme this year. By “loosely going with,” I mean to say that the theme will be discernible only to a discriminating eye. His invitations featured Kermit and Animal. His party favors are Pez dispensers with Muppet heads. The background music is the soundtrack from the most recent Muppet movie. We’re even doing rainbow connection cupcakes as a nod to Kermit’s performance in the original Muppet movie. That’s where the buck stops, though.