Vlogs

The Macy’s Believe Campaign 2012 is making wishes come true this holiday season with our help. This is one of my favorite holiday traditions for kids.

Every year I bring my girls to mail their Santa letters at Macy’s in their magical oversized red Santa mailbox. For every letter Macy’s receives, it will donate $1 to the  Make-a-Wish Foundation up to $1 million dollars, and if you mail it on National Believe Day 2012, which this year will be on Friday, 12/14, they will double their donation!

Here is how it works:

1. Write a stamped letter to Santa and address it to “Santa at the North Pole.” Click here if you want to create a letter on the Macy’s site (so cute!) You can also write your letter at the store, as they have stationery there. Just remember your stamps!

2. Go to Macy’s and find Santa’s mailbox to drop it in. Click here to locate a Santa’s mailbox at a Macy’s near you.

3. Macy’s will deliver them to the post office to mail to Santa.

And here is a little video of my girls mailing their letters last year at the Macy’s in Fashion Island. Such a fun Christmas outing for kids! I seriously love this Macy’s Believe Campaign.

During these busy December days, I use my iComfort Sleep System by Serta and Motion Perfect Adjustable Base as my own holiday retreat to bring me peace and make my spirits bright.

From elevating the feet after a long day of shopping to using it in TV mode for family movie night – here is a demonstration of all the ways my iComfort mattress and Motion Perfect Adjustable Base help me through the holidays!

[Disclosure: I am a very blessed participant of the 2012 Serta blogger program and received my iComfort mattress and Motion Perfect Adjustable base complimentary to facilitate my review. 100% of my opinions are my own. I love my bed so much it makes me want to cry. Seriously.]

After Susanne made this dessert for our how to video, of course I had to have a bowl to try it out and it is A-MAZING!

Great for a potluck or dinner party, or just for your family for a special treat on a summer night. The perfect crowd pleasing simple summer dessert.

Enjoy!

Have you ever made your own vinaigrette?  You probably have most of the ingredients already in your kitchen, it’s fresher than the store bought options (some have 20+ ingredients!) and something about it feels fancy!   Oh, and did I mention how fast & easy it is?

Here’s a video of an awesome basic kitchen skill to add to your repertoire~

What you need:

1/4 cup White or Golden Balsamic Vinegar (or vinegar of your choice)

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon shaved shallot (or onion)

2 tsp brown sugar

salt & fresh ground pepper

1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Ready, Set Whisk!

Whisk together everything but the Olive Oil until well combined.  Then gradually whisk in the Olive Oil.

Use right away or store in the refrigerator for about 1 week.

Let come to room temperature a bit before tossing with your fave greens & veggies!

Would love your feedback in the comments below & please let us know if you have ideas for future cooking videos? Thanks!

XO,

Your Sus Chef

Last week I checked off one of my Life List things. Life List = Bucket List but I prefer it as I think it sounds a little more uplifting, don’t you?!  And one of my Life List things was to take a horseback riding lesson.

(Side note: I had a bad experience on a horse one time on the beach in Ensenada when I was about 19 so I hadn’t been back in the saddle since and had always wanted to tackle this fear by taking a lesson the RIGHT WAY!)

And there is no better place in Orange County to do so than Ivy Gate Farm in San Juan Capistrano. Ivy Gate Farm is a hunter / jumper training facility in OC and trains people of all levels from children up to adults, beginner (like me) up to people that go to the top horse shows. I wrote about Ivy Gate HERE if you want more info on the amazing facility.

And it was completely exhilarating. I am also afraid it might be a tad addicting.  My experience is outlined in the short video above. Hope you enjoy!

[Disclosure: Ivy Gate Farm is a Tiny Oranges Sponsor.]