Thanksgiving by Numbers

I found these Thanksgiving statistics from StatisticBrain.com to be interesting. 

Thanksgiving Holiday StatisticsData

• Total number of Turkeys that are consumed on Thanksgiving Day  51,000,000
• Total U.S. spending on Thanksgiving dinner food $2,375,000,000
• Average household spending on Thanksgiving dinner $54.18
• Average household spending on Thanksgiving weekend $302
• Number of families that will travel for Thanksgiving 39,000,000
• Number of places in the U.S. named Plymouth 37
• Average cost per pound of Turkey $1.15

Thanksgiving Related Food StatisticsData

• Average number of Turkeys raised in the U.S. each year 248 million
• Annual consumption of turkey by the average American 16 pounds
• Annual tons of green beans produced 656,340 tons
• Pounds of sweet potatoes produced annually 2.4 billion pounds
• Value of all pumpkins produced annually $117 million
• Pounds of cherries produced annually 266 million pounds
• Barrels of cranberry produced annually 7.5 million barrels
• Total value of turkeys produced in the U.S. annually $4.37 billion

Source: StatisticBrain.com 

DIY Thanksgiving Pinecone Wreath

For some reason this past year I have been into holiday wreaths. I really prefer simple wreaths. I was thinking of a Thanksgiving wreath that I could make or buy depending on if I found something that I really liked. I looked and looked and finally saw one online that was a simple all pinecone one. I had every intention of going to the park and picking up pinecones. Growing up I remember seeing pine trees everywhere, but now living in the downtown Houston area I rarely see pine trees in our neighborhood area. I was at Hobby Lobby picking up some crafting supplies and happened to see bags of pinecones for 80% off, so I ended up buying two bags for $2 each (which saved me time) and I bought the wreath form there as well and had a 40% off coupon, so it ended up being just a little over $2 for it. 

It was extremely simple to make. Literally all I did was hot glue the pinecones onto the wreath. It smells good because the bag of pinecones had cinnamon sticks in it as well. 

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Ways to "Green" Your Thanksgiving

There are plenty of things you can do this Thanksgiving season to make it a “green” one.

• When shopping for food bring a reusable bag
• Plan meals ahead of time so you don't over buy
• Try to buy local, seasonal and organic food 
• Shop at farmers markets and support local shops. Houston has a ton of great places to pick up local foods. Some of my favorites are The French Bakery, Revival Market and House of Pies
• Try to buy items that do not have a whole lot of packaging
• Stay at home with family
• If you're hosting Thanksgiving, ask guests to bring their own to go containers
• Don’t use paper plates and plastic utensils. Break out the china, silverware, cloth napkins, etc.
• Try to buy turkeys grown without hormones and antibiotics
• Recycle your glass, plastic and aluminum foil
• Recycle the turkey fat
• Donate leftovers to a shelter
• Compost your scraps
• VOLUNTEER at a local shelter
• Make your own decorations, reuse the ones you have or buy some from a resale shop
• BE THANKFUL 

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Happy Veterans Day!

I know this is coming so late tonight, but Happy Veterans Day! Thank you to all the men and women who have served for our country, we couldn't be more appreciative. 

My grandfather, father, father in law and cousin have all served in the past.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!!

Bryan and I keep seeing pictures of our family and friends kids all dressed up for Halloween so I thought I would share a picture of our "baby" all dressed up in his Halloween shirt. We have had this shirt for years and rarely put him in anything (sometimes jackets/sweaters in the winter if he'll be outside a ton because he gets cold).

Not many trick or treaters come by, but we are hoping since four families with toddlers/babies moved on our street this year that someone will come by. 

Have a spooky night!

Seasonal Produce Guide

Recently I was talking to a couple of people / clients about various produce that is in season because it is getting hard to find some produce in the grocery stores. I love this seasonal produce guide from Style Me Pretty. I often frequent various farmers markets in the Houston area and love trying new places. Last week I mentioned about pick your own fruit farms. I am still hoping to go to one in Tomball within the next couple of weeks. Froberg's in Alvin has awesome selection of produce.

ecomodernconcierge.com

BooksApp

I read somewhere about the BooksApp on some blog (I can't remember which one). I love it. You can inventory your books by entering the ISBN number or scanning the barcode. When you do that with most of the books a picture and info about the book is automatically put into the app.You can put notes into the app regarding each book, who has borrowed the book (s), etc. You can export a csv file to your computer and have it for your files. I have a ton of books and love this app. Although, it does take a little time to enter all the books if you have a lot. 

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