I snapped that shot on the way out to Palm Springs for a weekend away with my husband to celebrate our wedding anniversary a couple weeks ago, and when I did I thought, life is so beautiful.

And I felt grateful.

On this Thanksgiving Eve, it is such a great reminder to think about all the things we are grateful for.

For me, I am so grateful for my husband and our 11 married years together, for our two daughters who are my everything, for my supportive friends, both new ones and those I have been lucky enough to know forever, for our loving families who are always there for us, for Susanne who makes Tiny Oranges just that much more fun, and for all of our collective good health. Life is beautiful.

I am also so grateful for YOU. Thank you for reading and making this dream of mine a reality.

Have a wonderful holiday everyone! In the meantime, have you ordered your holiday photo cards yet? Check out my favorite companies to narrow down your search!

Going to take the rest of the week off from posting, see you back on Monday. Happy Thanksgiving! What are you most grateful for this year? Please share…and for more Wordless Wednesday pics visit  AngryJulieMonday.

For many of you reading this, you might think, I can pass over a post on allergy-free gingerbread house kits because my kids don’t have allergies (LUCKY YOU!)

But I can almost bet that everyone reading this knows at least one person who has a child with food allergies, so please do them a favor today and pass on this blog about Sensitive Sweets Bakery, because to moms of kids with food sensitivities (like us), this business is a dream come true.

Sensitive Sweets is a dedicated gluten-free and nut-free OC bakery specializing in allergy-free baked goods. All their cakes, cupcakes, cookies and bread that are gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, nut-free and vegan.  Although they are free of many things, the one thing not missing is taste!

Special for the holiday season are their vegan gingerbread house kits!

They offer two sizes: basic and deluxe. The kits are allergy-free (made without the top 8 allergens) and are absolutely delicious.

These gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free gingerbread house kits include made from scratch gingerbread cookie walls and roof, icing mix, plastic holiday trees and rings for decoration.

Their deluxe kit also includes a tub of vanilla frosting and organic, dye-free candies from Surf Sweets.

You can order your kits online or come in their store located in Fountain Valley at 17431 Brookhurst Street.

Bakery hours are Monday – Friday from 10am – 6pm, Saturday 10am – 5pm and closed Sunday.

Call 714.968.9169 for more information or visit www.SensitiveSweets.com. Please pass it on mamas! Have a great day!

Last week I had the opportunity to visit OC brow shaping and waxing specialist, Brows by Julie at her darling new location in Costa Mesa.  In honor of my visit, I did not touch my eyebrows for almost two whole weeks. It was not pretty, but so worth it because she truly had some serious brows to work with!

Brows by Julie is giving away FOUR custom eyebrow shapings to some lucky Tiny Oranges readers, so make sure to read to enter below so you can get some gorgeous brows for the holidays!

There is a whole science behind getting the perfect shape for your face and Julie is the best OC brow shaping artist trained by celebrity brow expert, Anastasia of Beverly Hills, who has shaped Oprah’s eyebrows. Hello! 

Here is how a professional brow shaping works:

1. Trim the Eyebrows: First the brows are trimmed into a nice shape.

2. Measure the Eyebrows: This is an important step to ensure you get the right shape in proportion to your face.

3. Stencil: Using a stencil as a guideline, the approximate shape is outlined.  However, Julie relies on her natural eye for shape to customize the arch for your face and features.

4. Eyebrow is Shaped: Julie then waxes the eyebrow, and tweezes until the shape is just right.

5. Finishing Touches: After the shape is perfected, Julie then uses fillers, concealer and gel to complete your gorgeous eyebrows.

Here is my scary before photo.  Of which, the lighting makes my eyebrows look even more devilish and the afters of my gorgeous new brows.  I heart Julie!

She does an absolutely beautiful job and a professional eyebrow shaping really can open up your entire face and enhance your natural features.  I was thrilled with the job she did for me.

In addition to brow shaping, Julie also offers eyelash tinting and lip and chin waxing.  Susanne is going to test out the eyelash tinting soon.  More before and afters to come!

Hooray! It’s a Tiny Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

[Disclosure: Brows by Julie is a Tiny Oranges Sponsor and I received my brow shaping complimentary to facilitate this review.]

I’m in charge of a couple of sides dishes this Thanksgiving and I’ve decided one of them is going to be a Thanksgiving Salad of Roasted Beets, Arugula, Goat Cheese + Pepitas.  With all the dense dishes of mashed potatoes and stuffing and gravy, I love to have something lighter + green to interrupt the heaviness of the dinner plate.

What’s great about this recipe is you can roast the beets the day before and make the vinaigrette ahead so it’s just a quick assembly of ingredients on the busy cooking day of Thanksgiving.

The pepitas (pumpkin seeds) give the dish a nice crunch & introduce a festive Fall twist~

Serves about 8-10 as a side.

What you need:

2 bunches of beets, trimmed (grab red & golden if possible for a fun mix of colors)

1/3 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds, available in already roasted & salted form)

4-5 oz goat cheese (choose a good quality block & crumble fresh when assembling salad)

5-6 cups baby arugula

2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, removed from the stems & minced

Homemade Vinaigrette  (Plan to make a day ahead or if you’ve got a hefty menu, just pick up a bottle of your fave)

Ready, Set, Cook!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Wrap beets in foil and roast in center of the oven 1-1 1/2 hours, then unwrap and let cool before placing in a tupperware or bowl & into the fridge.

When the beets are thoroughly cooled, slip them out of their skins and cut each beet into 8 wedges (or more if they are large). (All of this can be done a day ahead.)

To serve, arrange the beets on a platter around the edge and make a mound of the baby arugula in the middle.  Then drizzle the dressing lightly over the greens & a using a slightly heavier hand over the beets.  Crumble the goat cheese on top of the beets and sprinkle with the fresh thyme and pepitas.

Enjoy!  Happiest of Thanksgivings to you and yours!

XO,

Your Sus Chef

I am obsessed with holiday photo cards. Love getting them. Love shopping for them. Love sending them. So I wanted to share my picks for super cute holiday photo card sites for the 2012 season!

Start your shopping NOW mamas! Lots of these companies have special deals and coupons going on now before the December craziness starts…

Minted 

Lovely designs by multiple independent designers with a ton of customizing options.

Their unique minibook cards and yearline cards also allow you to tell your family story for the year. Love this.

Tiny Oranges pick: Sweet & Simple.

<— That’s my card this year! LOVE the shape and simplicity of this design. Squeal! Photo credit: Kristin Eldridge

Tiny Prints

Huge selection and lots of price ranges.

Cute designs, easy to narrow your search to find the perfect card.

Can customize shapes, paper, backing, lots of options.

Tiny Oranges pick: Frosted Filigree.

Paper Culture

Modern and eco-friendly. For every order, they plant a tree in your honor.

Free rounded edges, free addressing + mailing service for only the cost of the stamp (what?!), all cards printed on 130lb recycled paper.  Love.

Tiny Oranges pick: Gift Tag Card.

Simply to Impress

Unique and affordable. Quick turnaround.

Different paper options to fit your budget, some designs as low as $.73/each.

Tiny Oranges pick: Coral Adorable.

Storkie

Their holiday cards had lots of designs in fun round shapes that look like little ornaments.

Tiny Oranges pick: Merry Everything Photo.

Lemon Tree Paperie

How can Tiny Oranges not give a shout out to a fellow citrus company?

They also sell traditional cards where you can adhere your own photo.

Tiny Oranges pick: Chevron Green Holiday Photo Card.

Erin Condren

Bright, happy, fun, quality card stock and delightfully unique. Been a big fan for years.

Every order comes with your choice of colored envelope and matching return address labels. We heart Erin big time.

Tiny Oranges Pick: Reflections.

Happy shopping! Have a great weekend everyone!

[Disclosure: Tiny Oranges is an affiliate for the companies above, but I have looked around all of their websites and given them the Tiny Oranges “cute holiday photo card site” seal of approval!]