3 Tips to Choosing YOUR Perfect Holidays Cards on Shutterfly

Last week on Facebook, I made an announcement to my friends and family that almost left a tear in my eye. 

I hate to inform you, my Holiday card will NOT be the first you receive one you receive this season.

You have no idea what this means to me. Usually by now I have my finished cards in hand, labels printed and stamps bought, just waiting for the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to hit the post office. But this year, the day before Thanksgiving will find us half way across the country, visiting with Jason's family in Nebraska. And the weeks leading up our trip (a 10-day road trip, BTW) swamped with shows, school things and OH YEA - the Kawaksai Disease Foundation Gala. So, I "let it go." {breathe in... breathe out}

Yes, it's killing me. 

But just because I won't be sending them out "on time" (to me!) doesn't mean I'm not LOOKING. Because you KNOW that the moment I get home and upload my 5000 pictures from the Sony NEX F3 (my Sony Moms product for November) of my kids in all kinds of cool places like The Rocky Mountains and Moab, UT, I will have those cards out before you can say "Jingle All The Way..."

And since I obsess, I thought I would give you a few HipMamaB tips to think about when you are choosing your perfect Holiday Cards.

 
cards shown include: Modern Squares, Best of Wishes and Definitely Naughty. 

1) Personality

What is your family's overall personality? Are you a classic family? Preppy? Modern? Whimsical? Silly? What do you want people to immediately think when they open your card? Then find a card template that matches what you want your card to say about you. 

Also is there a color that best represents your family? Ours is {duh} turquoise... so cards that have that primary color in them are definitely more "us."

cards shown include: What Fun, Double the Merriment and Wishing Holly Jolly

2) Picture(s)

Are you planning your card around a picture or your picture around your card? There is no right or wrong answer to this one. You may have had special pictures taken specifically for your cards or you may have taken an amazing vacation that you want to share. You may want to stage a photo for a specific card you like, or you may have multiple pictures you want to use. And once you have your images in hand, play around and make a few different cards to see which card works best!

card: Frames of Happiness

3) Fonts

It's the marketing person in me, but I strongly believe in you are what your typeface is. Yes, I'm the person that spends 25 minutes going through font lists when creating documents and photo collages, and flat out refuse to even walk into shops and spas that use Papyrus or Curlz in their logos. 

Fonts say a lot about your style, and can card from timeless to tacky in .2 seconds. Even if YOU are not really a font person, step out of that box and think about final impact on typeface with a card. So don't go playing around with them. Chose a card with a font that speaks to you and just fill in your name and walk away. That is the beauty of card sites like Shutterfly!

Those are the things I think about when creating my annual card. And NO, I would never think of going digital. It's part of the spirit to get the mail and display all your cards - so don't even think about taking me off your list.

If you are more on top of things than I am this year, until November 14th Shutterfly is offering 40% off cards with the promo code: HOLIDAY

*disclosure: This is a sponsored post from Shutterfly.com. 

All you need is love... and champagne

Here's the thing - we almost NEVER go out on Valentine's Day. Our very first Valentine's Day together, Jason made me a beautiful dinner BEFORE we went out to party with friends. We've always thought of it as "amateur night" for restaurant goers. I remember one boyfriendless Vday in college, when a group of girlfriends and I went someplace "fancy" like Red Lobster to drown our relationshipless sorrows in all you can eat crab legs dipped in butter, and I remember seeing old married couples there, dressed up and waiting for 45 minutes for a table. AT RED LOBSTER. On Valentine's Day. 

Pretty much, Valentine's Dinner out is like amateur night. It's like going to an Irish bar on March 17th - it's for people who desperately need an excuse to go out to dinner. We love eating out. We don't need a special occasion to enjoy a good meal out - so why bother to do it on the ONE night that everyone else feels the need to and fight the crowds?

ESPECIALLY when my husband is SUCH a good cook? And we all know there 'aint nothing sexier than a man who can cook...

Last week the nice people over at BevMo sent me an email reminding me of one of my favorite champagnes, Schramsberg. 

Schramsberg Blanc de Blanc sparkling wine is one of the best sparkling wines on the market. It has rich and honeyed flavors of orange, sweet limes, Meyer lemons, vanilla and toasty bread. It is perfect served with fresh oysters and caviar, or aged Gouda and other hard cheeses.

Know what else it pairs nice with? Just a glass. :)

But if you are at a loss of what to prepare tomorrow night, never fear - they also offered the perfect suggestion. Scallops!

So just because you don't have a babysitter doesn't mean the night can't be special. Get some cheese, a (few) bottles of wine and/or champagne and make it a special night at home. 

Seared Sea Scallops with Braised Leeks, and Caviar Sabayon

Submitted by Chef Cyril Frechier Rover's, Seattle, WA

• 4 leeks trimmed, white part only
• 4 large diver Sea Scallops
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs or Brut Napa Valley
• 1/2 oz. caviar
• 8 oz. butter
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. Walnut oil
• Sea salt
• White pepper

1. Braised Leeks - Trim and clean leeks. Lay in a shallow casserole, cover with water up to 2/3. Add 1/4-cup butter and one teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, partially covered. Cook over moderate heat until whites are soft, about 30 minutes. Keep warm in the cooking water.

2. Sabayon - Beat the egg yolks and place in a small saucepan. Over low heat, add the Blanc de Blancs a small amount at a time, whisking constantly until thickened. Do not bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add 4 ounces softened butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Scallops - In a sauté pan on high heat add olive oil. When hot, sear scallops until golden brown on the outside and still moist in the center, about one minute per side. Lightly season with sea salt.

4. To assemble - Remove leeks from cooking liquid and slice lengthwise. Toss in a small bowl with walnut oil. Season with sea salt and pepper. Divide onto four plates. Place sea scallop on top of leeks. Gently mix caviar into sabayon and spoon over scallops. Serve immediately.

I kinda hate December

I'm going to be honest here. As much as I decorate, bake, take pictures and smile, I kinda hate the month of December. I try so hard to like it. I do the cards, the tree and crafts for my kids because for them it should be magical. For me, it's not. 

There are many annoyances that go into my dislike of the holidays, but there is one main reason...the first Christmas we had as a family with kids, the year that should have been this month of happiness as we introduce our first child to this time that Hallmark tells us should be all about love and magic, we spent worrying that our baby was going to die. 

December 2, 2004 Lucas started showing the first signs of Kawasaki Disease...by December 5, 2004 he was admitted into Rady's Children's Hospital. December 6th I held my precious 9 month old as they sedated him to do an EKG on his heart and felt the life slip out of him as he was put into a deep sleep - one that he would wake up from 2 hours too early, screaming and thrashing, and inconsolable. We kept telling ourselves we were lucky...there was no lasting heart damage, they caught it in time, he was treated and he was going to be okay. But we spent that whole month, one that should have been filled with parties and joy, in and out of multiple doctor's offices, wondering if our baby was going to live.

The week before Christmas I lost it in a doctor's appointment. My OB and Pediatrician were in the same office, so they pulled me out of the room and talked to me and diagnosed me with Post Partum Depression. I wasn't sleeping, I wasn't eating. I didn't do cards and by the 20th of that month I hadn't even bought a present. While some may have looked at that month and focused on the positive, that my child was healthy and was going to be okay, I focused on how the first Christmas with my first child was ruined... and that was something I could never get back. 

Flash forward 3 years to December 2007. Zoe, born November 1 weighing 4 lbs 15.5 oz at 38 weeks, was barely 4 weeks old. She wasn't gaining weight. She was nursing every 2 hours for 45 minutes at a time. I couldn't put her down for more than 10 minutes. She was so little...and I wasn't sleeping, my c/s incision was infected, I wasn't working and since I'm self employed, there was no disability. We were budgeted to the penny and something happens with Jason's car that rendered it useless for 2 weeks and cost us almost $1000. Once again, mid-December, my OB diagnosed me with my old friend PPD. In addition to losing Lucas' first Christmas, I then, also lost Zoe's.

I make the effort, I do the things that I know I need to do, but for the time being, the spirit and magic of the season is lost to me. I try to build happy memories to replace the sad ones by going overboard with things like handmade decorations and gingerbread houses, but then I just get stressed out and anal retentive about everything BEING PERFECT. People kinda make fun of me for almost always sending the first, or one of the first, cards they get in the mail. But the real reason is because if I don't get them out before December 1, I know they just wouldn't get done. 

I've come to a place where I expect to hate this month. This year, December has brought death into the lives of people I love and drama where none needed to be. We are only 8 days in, and this month has already exhausted me. But I'm still giving it the old college try. I have a wonderful husband that puts up with my December Blahs. I am a founding partner in what is turning out to be a very successful website launch. I have clients that I'm happy and excited to be working with. And I have some amazing friends. Old friends and new friends; people that touch my soul in different ways.

And most importantly, I have this:

2 Happy, Healthy, Silly Kids