Bittersweetness

It only takes a few ingredients to make bittersweetness. A twinge of sadness, a pinch of happiness, a definitive ending & a hopeful beginning. Add some tears, a little laughter, wrap it all up in a deep sense of gratitude and you have a nice cup of bittersweet.

Bittersweetness might be the most complex emotion. The waves of sadness and sweetness are perfectly equal even though it seems impossible to be washed over with both at the same time. But I think it’s also the most beautiful way to feel truly alive, right here, right now.

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Turn Your Gratitude Into Action

While there are countless things that are awesome about this time of year, I think one of the best reminders of the holidays is that gratitude is important. Obviously, right? We have a full day dedicated to being thankful, and the Christmas/holiday season emphasizes giving & being grateful for what we receive. Gratitude is a fundamental part of the holidays. 

So to honor this time of year and the theme of gratitude, I was originally going to write a list of the small things I’m thankful for. However, I consulted my best friend, Danielle (aka the queen of being grateful for all things, every day of the year), and she came up with a much better idea! When I asked her for her thoughts on gratitude, she shared with me this quote:

“Not what we say about our blessings, but what we do with them is the true measure of Thanksgiving.”

She explained that yes, being grateful for things is awesome, but if you’re just appreciative, what good does it really do? Sure, it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, but what if we turned our gratitude into action? Her example: she’s grateful to be graduating with a law degree in a few months, but if she doesn’t do anything good with that degree, is that really being grateful for it?

My discussion with Danielle really made me think. There are many, many wonderful things in my life that I’m thankful for, and yet I could probably be doing more with my gratitude for them. So this post is all about how to turn your gratitude into action. I’ve listed a few examples of things I’m thankful for & how I plan to use my gratitude to do something kind/good for others during the holidays. It’s the season of gratitude & giving, right?

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10 Tips for Pulling Off an Awesome Friendsgiving

When my group of friends and I were juniors in college, we decided to throw our first Friendsgiving (read about it here).  We had just moved into our junior apartments and figured we could all manage to make traditional Thanksgiving dishes. What started off as 10ish people wanting to sit around and eat turkey turned into 50+ friends reserving a lecture hall & my friends Danielle and Christa making not one, but two turkeys.

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The first Friendsgiving

Senior year, we had another Friendsgiving, just as big, just as fun. When we all graduated, we dropped the ball on Friendsgiving (idk, we were learning how to be adults or something), but then last year we came back in full force (albeit smaller than our original Friendsgiving) and managed to pull off the prettiest/most adult meal I’ve ever had.

Friendsgiving 2017 will be happening next weekend, and it’s safe to say that my friends and I have this whole Friendsgiving thing down pat. So, I wanted to share some expert tips on how to throw your very own awesome Friendsgiving. Gobble, gobble.

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