Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts


Shopping Black owned is more important now than ever. On top of the fact that Black entrepreneurs face significantly more barriers in starting and maintaining a business than their white peers, Black owned businesses have been disproportionately impacted by COVID - I broke it all down visually here and at the bottom of this post. One small act you can do today in the fight against systemic racism is to shop Black-owned businesses for your holiday gifts this year. I sourced the IG following for a list of your favorites and compiled below - check out these products and let me know if there are others I can add to the list!

This is a living post, I will continue to update as more recommendations come in. Last update 11/19/2023.

Art

Ink prints: Love the art on Winnie Weston (based in Alexandria, VA! hey local to me!).

Prints and paintings: Beautiful artwork from Lindsay Bri Adams, I'm eyeing this.

Prints and canvases from Hello Allison ArtLove.

Prints: ArtxMariah creates amazing hand drawn prints and even temporary tattoos!

Prints: Black Girl Free has prints and inspirational cards made my an IRL friend of mine who paints inspirational murals all over the world (follow her IG for some real inspo).

B&W Prints from Pretty In Ink - I'm digging this Fight the Power print!

Textiles, prints, workshops from Jen Hewett.


Athletic/Athleisure Apparel

Athleisure: Solely Fit for athleisure - I have my eye on these leggings .

Running: For the runner: running mittens and face masks from White Paws Run Mitts.

Activewear: Love love the bright colors and patterns at Glamourina! Sizing goes up to 3XL. No one can have too many leggings in 2020 and these Sahara colors are perfection.

Yoga: Beach Hours is a Black and woman owned brand with fun patterns. Sizing up to 3XL. 

Sets: Roam Loud has tops, bottoms, and matching sets. I like that you can filter for the intensity of the workouts. Sizing up to 2XL. 


Books

Select one of these independent Black-owned bookstores. I get my books from Mahogany Books here in D.C. (they ship nation wide).


Boozin

Whiskey: Uncle Nearest small batch whiskey is run by the first female and first BIPOC to run a major whiskey or spirit brand ever. 

Wine: Theopolis Vineyards' California wines come highly recommended from a few friends - the Sirah was specifically mentioned.

Wine and Rosé: McBride Sisters Collection has holiday gift collections and their Brut Rosé and canned SHE-CAN Spritzers come recommended!


Candles

Adishaah Candles has some great scents in this small batch, hand poured candle shop.

3 brothers started FRÈRES BRANCHIAUX, a hand poured soy candle company that donates 10% of proceeds to homeless shelters in the US. A Forever Wakanda candle!! I cannot!

Glo Through It  : wish I could smell through the screen. Just ordered the Peace candle for myself!

KSM Candle Co has gift options from candles to virtual candle making classes to candle of the month club memberships to curated gift bags.

Mermaid Noire hand pours candles in Maryland. I have and regularly burn Yemaya and Eye of the Tiger.

Vela Negra sells black wax candles in unique scents. The Coquí candle looks divine.


Clothing

Positive MessagesNatural E Beautiful has a "Love Yourself" collections that I...love. For kids and adults.

Leisure: Really fun looks Dressed in Joy. LOVE these biker shorts.

Pre-loved: Sustainable fashion at Pulchritude. This striped pouch is a great stocking stuffer.

Hoodies: The Museum DC has sweatshirts, hoodies and hats.

Women's wear: Day to evening women's clothing at MDOTROSS, eyeing this maxi for myself or a giftcard for a friend.

Hoodies and hats from Double or Nothing Apparel.

Make a statement: IN X OUT Apparel has all the clothes with the positive messages. My SIL got this sweatshirt from me last year!

Lingerie: Suzy Black for lingerie, including plus size.

StylishAddie white for trendy clothes, I have my eye on this grey comfy looking dress.

PoliticalBailwick's Madam Vice President T and "America: Under New Management" T are perfect for about 73 million Americans.


D.C. Stuff

Ts:  Nubian Hueman's Native T and Locals Only T are great gifts for D.C. locals.

Stickers and mugs: Feed the Malik creates guides and reviews Black-owned restaurants in the DMV. Support her work AND D.C. Central Kitchen by purchasing these Bring Black Chocolate City mugs and stickers.

Apparel: Bailwick makes my favorite D.C. gear. I own this tank top, this t, and have my eye on this hoodie. Yini

Experiences: Sweatbox DC is a high intensity interval training gym with locations in DC and VA, gifting sessions is an easy idea!


Foods

Baked Goods: Brotha Bakes' online bakery has me 🤤. These cupcake jars look... just wow.

Baked Goods: Ke's Konfections for bundts, brownies, cookies, and ice cream. Harrison is getting these cookies n cream cookies in his stocking and can we talk about this cookies n irish cream bundt???

Popcorn: When you've had real good gourmet popcorn there's no turning back. Hello, Lammar Marie Gourmet Popcorn. This Double Chocolate Pretzeltopia Popcorn looks like Heaven.

Juice/Cocktails: The handcrafted juices made from all locally sourced ingredients from T is the Name look perfect. Someone send me a gintini stat. And if I were in NY I would be ordering the Capricious Sun on the reg. 

Herbs and spices: Shop Herbs and Spices has curated gift boxes so it is literally 0 work for you.

Biscuits: I'M SORRY BUT BACON CHEDDAR JALAPENO BISCUITS TO MY DOOR? Mama's Biscuits has vegan and gluten free options, and donates thousands of biscuits each month to local causes. 


General Gifty Things

Home Goods: Yowie has home goods with a whole collection dedicated to homes for plants, perfect for all those who are celebrating their first Christmas as pandemic plant parents! Also love their prints.

Stationery and Cards: Neighborly Paper for stationery, paper, and cards - spoiler alert: a lot of you will get this one from me, I can't stop laughing.

Goods: Fair trade fashion and unique goods at Nubian Hueman. Into this white sage bundle, and if you're shopping for anyone in D.C. this is it.

Flowers: Taylored Grace has beautiful florals for local delivery.

Kitchen, kids, wellness, fashion: So many great gifts from Post21.com.

Socks: I bought lots of gifts from Define Socks - the recipients loved the taco socks and the watermelons.

Journal: The Journal You'll Actually Finish provides prompts to inspire creativity and help you get your ish together in just a few days each month. 

Calendars: Practice self empowerment with these 2021 affirmation calendars from Black Girl Free.

Christmas Shop: Midnight Reflections has adorable printed wrapping paper , plus some fun ornaments like this Black Santa emoji ornament.

Plants: EcoVibe has you covered for all things plant gifting - check out their gift collections in all different price ranges! 


Kids

These make great additions to your baby registry too!

Puzzles: Every kid on my list is getting an empowering Puzzle Huddle puzzle. Obsessed. Plus 20% off with the code HOLIDAY2020!

Baby Clothes: For the bb's - Random Rompers Apparel

Clothing: Buddha Babe has all the accessories, bibs, blankets, and clothes for the BBs covered. This Local Legend long sleeve bodysuit and this Big Poppa bib are adorable.

Clothes and Toys: Little Nomad Shop has so many great gifts. #CoolAunt coming through with some sweet toys.

Teethers: Pretty Please Teethers makes natural, modern, minimalist teething toys for littles. We have the Rainbow + Rays Teether, and I really like their gift boxes.

Baby products: Eizzy Baby makes easy modern baby products. We have their silicon bibs, suction plates, and snack cups!

Representation: Little Muffincakes make products that represent diversity. We have the Make Believe Majestic Blanket and I love their pillows!

Jewelry and Accessories 

Golds: Lelia Mae has beautiful gold jewelry including personalized items and a great under $50 section.

Jewelry: I want all of it from Lingua Nigra. The I Can See the Light earrings have my name all over them.

Jewelry: Sassy Jones Boutique's jewelry and accessories make great gifts.

Jewelry from Get Bold Jewels with a founding story I love.

Jewelry: My grad school classmate runs Chapman's Jewelry out of Detroit, love that they do custom jewelry.

Jewelry: Clay earrings from Bobbi Made This. Step up your Zoom game with these green arch earrings.

Jewelry: Beautiful earrings and accessories from sister-run BR Design Co. A whole section for neutrals!!

Masks: Look good and DO good with SchnelleCares masks. They donate masks and a portion of funds to Boston orgs. The holiday collection has masks that can rival your tacky sweater AND classy New Years designs.


Office and Work Gear

Blue Light Glasses: Uvea sells fashionable blue light glasses, I like these speckles and I've never seen shapes like these!

Laptop and Cellphone Covers: Chic Geek has really fun covers for iPads, laptops, and cell phones. Real into this crocodile case and this unicorn keyboard cover.

Travel bags: TW Totes' luxury weekender, backpack, and lunch bag make great gifts for the person on your list who is returning to the office.


Skin Care

Soap: Refineful sells organic soaps in natural scents that look delish.

Soap and Body Products: Naked Bar Soap Co. has soaps that some of yall absolutely swear by. This Oatmeal Milk & Honey Butter Bath Bomb looks divine, and so does this Sugar Cookie Sugar Scrub

Skin products: Garner's Garden carries 100% natural skincare products, I'm eyeing the [extremely affordable] clay mask collection.

Bath Teas: Live Soaked is a mother-daughter team (swoon) who make bath teas. Everyone could use this Calm blend.

Body products: Nude Essentials for clean body products. My skin needs this whipped triple butter.

Sanitization: Brit's on-the-go safety kits are THE gift of 2020.

Body butter and cream: Affordable and free of harsh chemicals, Arome is great for moisturizers.

Body Butter: MedusaButters makes their products with all natural ingredients you can find in the description.  

Body Butters, oils, and creams: Chic Ezotic Body has everything from body wash to whipped butters to beard oils. This sugar bomb whipped gourmet butter  and this beard oil make great gifts.


Why Shop Black-Owned











Black-Owned Shopping Gift Guide

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Every year I spend New Year's Eve Day scrambling all over town with cold sweats looking for the perfect NYE shoe...that I can afford AND dance in (apparently the impossible standards). This year I did my research and I'm ready to go! So enjoy the shoe porn and remember, they're all $35 and under so you can look AND touch. 



If you can get past the name, they're pretty cute shoes





Can we wear these to work too? Double the pleasure with this pair.






Oh hayy sparkles!
 



YES. All of this. Yesyesyesyesyes get on mah feet!




I so would have worn these when I was 22. New Year, Younger Me?




I mean Vera designed them so they are perfect.



Hi I'm here for the tequila shots. 

 




(FYI when I ordered my coat from Overstock it came in 3 days)

NYE Shoes {on our tiny budgets}

Thursday, December 12, 2013

IT'S HERE!! TACKY SWEATER SEASON! Besides dressing up my dog, I do enjoy getting quite tacky myself, but not spending the money of course. Fortunately for me I have a mom who works at Hallmark and tells me when to hit the store (I mean REINDEER RINGTOSS HATS WHO THINKS OF THAT) for amazingly tacky Christmas gear. Below are some of my all-time favorite Tacky Christmas styles for the best prices. If you don't have a Hallmark near you, Ebay has a plethora of reindeer ringtoss and blinky Christmas light necklaces too.

Also I'm loving this Christmas-tree-skirt-as-a-skirt that's all over Pinterest right now. Also note the link to animal print santa hats is $15 for a dozen. Talk about a great party favor. If you don't have time to order online, we found leopard print hats for $8 a pop at Rite Aid last year too.

Merry Tacky Sweater Season!
Oh and note- click on the links below the picture for where to buy and DIY tutorials.

                     Happy Holla Days Sweater Reindeer Ring Toss Hats Filthy Animal Sweaters Battery Operated Christmas Light Necklack Animal Print Santa Hats Critter Sweater Tree Skirt = Tacky Skirt Humping Reindeer Sweater T Image Map

Tacky Sweater Parties: DIY and Where to Buy {on an itty bitty budget}

Friday, December 6, 2013

"Man it smells like Christmas but it looks like someone took a dump in the crockpot!"*
-the BF's reaction to crockpot cinnamon-sugar almonds. I know it's not pretty, but it is so tasty.

*This was followed by 30 minutes of giggling  over the term "Christmas nuts"

Look I love Christmas food, even red and green M&M's taste better to me than regular M&Ms. So this year I am determined to curb the cravings. Here were two big hit snacks I brought to parties over the weekend, which took about as much work as opening a bag of Christmas candy and binge eating it.



#1: Cinnamon Sugar Christmas Nuts (I know LOL LOL. But they're good and clean and sweet)
Servings: 10
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours (in the crockpot. you don't have to do anything)

Ingredients:
  • 3 Cups Almonds (I bought a 5 lb bag for $6 and used some for almond crusted green bean casserole)
  • 1.5 Cup Stevia ($2.00)
  • 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup ($.50)
  • 3 Tablespoons Cinnamon
  • 1 Egg White ($.10)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1/4 cup water
Stir the egg white and vanilla in a large bowl until it's frothy/bubbly. Now dump the almonds in the bowl and mix together until they are coated in the eggy mixture. In a separate bowl mix together the Stevia and cinnamon. Add the sugar/cinnamon to the coated almonds. Put this into the crock pot, add the honey/syrup and stir well. Heat on low for 3 hours, stirring every 20 minutes (it's about to smell SO GOOD, even though it looks like someone "took a dump in the crockpot"). After 3 hours add the water and stir it well. Continue cooking for another 45 minutes, still stirring every 20 minutes. Once they are all cooked, spread them out over a cookie sheet in a single layer and allow to cool, then enjoy the sweet treat!



 Christmassy Peppers with Hummus
(This is laughably easy, and REAL cute. Everyone was like "what a great snack where did you get this!" ha.)
Servings: (as many peppers as you want to use- 1 pepper = 8 slices)
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 0

Ingredients:
  • Bell Peppers (red and green if it's a Christmas party..presh)
  • Clean Hummus (Trader Joe's and Whole Foods have lots of options or you can make your own. I haven't ventured there yet.)
Slice each pepper into 8 slices, lengthwise. Scoop hummus onto each slice and serve.



photographic evidence of the "dump in the crockpot"

make sure they cool in a single layer

Clean Snacking: Salty & Sweet Edition

Monday, December 2, 2013

Star Trek Robe Remote Control Beer Cooler Bourbon Ice Balls Rocks Glass Set Silk Bow Ties Bamboo Organizing/Charging Station Watch Sock of the Month Club Membership Bacon Bundles Play Station Games Image Map
How stressful is picking the perfect gift for people-pleasers like us, right? I took a survey of
tons of guy friends asking for their Christmas lists and the best gifts they ever received, and
after weeding out the extremely inappropriate suggestions this is what we came up 
with (as well as the least expensive places I found to buy):



  1. $29.99 Star Trek Bathrobes from ThinkGeek.com: It's a robe AND it's Star Trek. The perfect gift for the sci-fi guy on your list (can you imagine the joy that comes from watching Star Trek IN A STAR TREK ROBE?).
  2. $26 Silk Bowties from Macy's: Really how good looking are these? This is the best price I have found for bowties that are not pre-tied (pre-tied bowties = cardinal sin according to the surveyed males).
  3. $42 Remote Controlled Beer Cooler from Amazon: This doesn't need a description. It holds 6 bottles or cans at a time + ice. 
  4. $34 Bamboo Multi-Charging Office Organizer Station from GreatUsefulStuff: Perfect for the working guy at home or at the office, or at the home office.
  5. $9.99 Makers Mark Bourbon Ice Ball Tray on eBay:  Get the giggles out of your system- I know, iceballs is hilarious- because this is the best gift I have ever given. Williams-Sonoma is selling these like hotcakes for $1,000, or you could get the simplified version on eBay.  The spherical shape of these ice balls causes the ice to melt way slower than ice cubes, therefore diluting drinks less. If you watch Bar Rescue you know ice balls are also the key to saving struggling bars.
  6. $9.99 Rocks Glasses (set of 6) from Target: To complement the gift of iceballs. Also throw in some booze and you are officially the best gift-giver ever.
  7. $155 Tommy Hilfiger watch from Macy's: Every professional needs a good looking watch. And this is a REAL good looking one. Use this RetailMeNot Coupon for 20% off  (huge shoutout to all the readers who have turned me onto RetailMeNot.com) 
  8. $40 3 Month Subscription to Sock of the Month Club: The BF is a member and it is like Christmas once a month when the new, hand-made, one-of-a-kind socks come in the mail. It's the small things, people.
  9. Starting at $19- Bacon Gift Bundles from BaconFreak.com: For the bacon-lover on your list. (also check out Bacon of The Month Subscriptions from Zingerman's starting at $99
  10. COD: Ghosts $41 on Amazon: For the life of me I cannot figure out what is so fun about pretending to blow things up on Nintendo, but this showed up on 90% of the lists so I guess there is something enjoyable about it. Amazon has the best prices I could find.

Runner ups:
  1. $19 NFL Jerseys from Target
  2. $149 Nike Fuel Band
  3. $30 Dri-Fit Athletic Shorts at Kohls
  4. Polos 
  5. iPads (I found the most competitive prices on Amazon but these change daily)
  6. Seasons of TV Shows on DVD: Breaking Bad ,   The West Wing: The Complete Series Collection, HouseStar Trek..In my opinion if you're going this route I suggest a Netflix Subscription
  7.  Boxers: UnderArmour ($20) and just plain silk ($50) were the highest ranking

Gifts for Every Guy on Your List for EVERY Budget

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Thanksgiving is my FAVORITE holiday of the year!!! This year I got a little nervous thinking am I going to gain 10 pounds over the holiday? But you know what? We don't have to! Here are 8 of my favorite Thanksgiving sides cleaned up:

  1. Almond Crusted Creamy Green Bean Casserole
  2. Garlic Cauliflower Mash (Low Carb Mahsed Potato Substitute)
  3. Baked Okra 
  4. Green Beans
  5. Mashed Sweet Potatoes
  6. Fall Kale Salad
  7. Deviled Eggs
  8. Cranberry Sauce 

Also, is it just me or does picking appropriate-for-all-ages music get a little stressful on Thanksgiving? Below is the playlist the BF made for Thanksgiving last year (you can push play and play directly from the page, or follow the link to download), and my favorite family friendly Pandora stations.


Download DJ BEACH MCCARDLE BIRTHDAY part 1

Family-Friendly Pandora Stations
Van Morrison Pandora
Motown Pandora
Ayo Pandora
John Legend Pandora
The Temptations (Holiday) Pandora


8 Cheap, Easy, CLEAN Thanksgiving Sides + Family Friendly Playlists

Sunday, November 24, 2013