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Be Bold, Go Gold: Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

Sometimes the things that need our attention the most are the things that are easily overlooked. I know that I’ve seen plenty of things about Going Gold for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, but haven’t really done anything about it. Most of the time my thought process is that it is very sad, but I’m just me. What can I do? I wish that I had the power to do more, I wish I had the power to find a cure. I wish I was able to give unlimited funds to a cause that could find the cure. But sometimes doing something small is better than doing nothing at all. So here I am.

Be Bold. Go Gold. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

I credit Taylor Swift with being the first person to opening my eyes to childhood cancer. I know, I know, I credit her with just about everything and anything I can. But if I may, let me bring you way back to the beginning of my love affair with her. It all started with a song called Ronan. It changed my life. I immediately looked up anything and everything I could in relation to this song. I found Maya and read her story about the most beautiful little boy I had ever seen. I read her blog until I cried, then I kept on reading. I started following her blog before I followed blogs, before I even had my own. I’ve been reading her blog ever since, and every September I think: I should do something. I know that I’m just me. I know we can’t afford to give all of our money away to this cause. But I also knew that I wanted to do something this year. Anything.

I created this little print, put it in a gold frame, and picked up a bunch of gold candy for my gold-dipped dish. I put it on my desk at work, so that every time someone sneaks their fingers into the candy, I can tell them I’ve gone gold for CCAM. So while that’s not doing much, at least it’s helping to bring some awareness to people that may not have noticed before.

Be Bold, Go Gold // September is Childhood Cancer Awareness MonthI will be making a donation this month as well, so if you are like me, and wish do do something (anything!), here’s a great foundation you can donate to. It is the foundation Maya started in honor of her son, Ronan. Remember, even if it’s only $5, it is something. Every penny helps, and every penny brings them closer to a cure. I’m challenging every one of you to donate at least $1. You’d spend that one dollar on so many things, why not donate it?

So if I may, let’s all Go Gold. Let’s make September as bright and sparkly as October is pink. Why are we so much more aware of Pink October than Gold September? Why do we wear pink shirts and pink bracelets in October, but nothing in September? Why does the Empire State Building go pink in October for Breast Cancer Awareness month, but refuses to go gold in September for these poor little babies? Why are we okay with that? Take a stand. Go Gold.

DIY

And We Are Officially Two! Two Year Anniversary Gift Idea

2nd Anniversary Gift - Cotton and ChinaAnd just like that, I’ve been married for two years! One day you wake up, ready to walk down the aisle and the next thing you know, it’s two years later and you wake up just wanting to sleep in a little bit longer. For a few reasons (I had pneumonia last week, my in-laws were in town, and the big one: we are going to Disneyland next weekend to celebrate), we didn’t make a big fuss out of our actual anniversary. We exchanged gifts and went out for some sushi. (Only a few fish were harmed in the making of this anniversary)

I know it’s real surprising, but I really wanted to make Brendan’s anniversary gift by hand. I wanted it to be something traditional, as I did last year. Since the traditional gift for the second anniversary is Cotton and the modern gift is China, I really struggled with how to combine them. Eventually I realized that a few dish towels and a new set of china was not going to cut it, so I aimed for something Chinese instead. After nixing the idea of a photoshoot in Chinatown with some cotton candy (the bigger problem here is that I do not have a friend I could rope into this), I decided to go a little nontraditional. Chinese takeout with cotton candy. New spin on an old classic?

2nd Anniversary Gift - Cotton Candy and Chinese TakeoutI bought white takeout containers at Michael’s, found a little fabric that resembled a Chinese print, and fashioned my own Chinese takeout container with matching fortune cookie. Filled the box with some cotton candy, added my own ‘fortune’ love note, and done! Now if that isn’t the best spin on the 2nd Anniversary gifts that you’ve ever seen, I don’t know how much more I can do to please you. Seriously. I spent weeks trying to combine China and Cotton into one gift. If you have a better idea, I am ALL EARS.

2nd Anniversary Gift - Cotton and ChinaWarning: To avoid a “Pinterest Fail” – Do NOT put the cotton candy in the container the day before you plan on giving this gift. I would suggest filling it a few minutes before you gift it. Let’s just say a “friend of mine” did this, and ended up giving her husband a box of depleted cotton candy/rock hard sugar that may or may not have resembled the colors of cotton candy. On that note, I am off to make my husband a new 2nd Year Anniversary gift. 😉

DIY

A Glass of Wine & A Little Sunshine

A Gift of Wine and SunshineAs previously mentioned, I am NOT looking forward to fall. I would forgo the PSL’s, the colored leaves, and the football for just a few more weeks of summer. Remember just a few short months ago when everyone was on Facebook complaining about the winter-never-ending, and begging for shorts weather? Now those same people are online begging for Fall, claiming they cannot wait to get their hands on everything and anything pumpkin. I am quite settled exactly where I am, thank you very much. Don’t rush me. I don’t want to wear boots with leg warmers, I’ll stick to my bikini. Good thing I live in California, we still have weeks of good weather left! (knock on wood)

Because I love sunshine so much, I’m apparently the queen of sunshine gifts. I seem to be making one of these every month, as you can see here. However, this time I wanted to change it up a little bit. I typically do a ‘Box of Sunshine,’ that is mailed to a friend or family member that needs a little brightening up. But last week, our neighbor was going through a tough time. Now, I’m not denying how great the boxes are, but what’s even better?

A Glass of Wine & A Little Sunshine

Wine. Wine and cookies. Duh. Wine and cookies make everything better. The only thing missing is a cheeseburger. But that’s definitely just me.

So I designed a new little tag for the wine bottle, tied up some cookies (with this little tag), and voila. A much more appropriate sunshine gift for your friends. This way, they can drink their troubles away. I can’t possibly be the only person that does that right?A Glass of Wine & A Little Sunshine

DIY

Giveaway Alert: Adult Coloring Book

Adult Coloring Book GiveawayI don’t know about you, but I was not too excited to return to work after the nice long weekend. Why is it that when you get that extra day off work, it is even harder to return to work than it is on a typical two day weekend? I couldn’t fall asleep last night, so of course I woke up feeling groggy and sick this morning. Not the best start to another work week if you ask me.

But because I don’t want your week to start off on the bad note that mine did, I’m hosting my very first giveaway!! I had so much fun with my adult coloring book pages that I figured I’d give one away to one of my readers. This book is the best I’ve found so far, because all the pages are fun quotes you can hang up at work, frame for the house, or even give to your friends to cheer them up.

Adult Coloring Book GiveawaySince you can’t get your adult coloring on without some sort of utensil, I bought the 72 pack of colored pencils to go with it. With that many options, your pages will definitely stand out. Am I the only person who gets seriously excited for a new coloring book and a SEVENTY-TWO pack of colored pencils?! Hello options!

Adult Coloring Book Giveaway Prize Details

Here are the RULES for entering:

1) Leave a comment below telling me why you can’t wait to get your coloring on.

2) For additional entries, visit Rae of Sparkles on Instagram for more details!

The winner will be chosen at random. The contest closes on September 11th, 2015 at 11:59am. Winner will be announced on Facebook, and will be contacted based on their email address provided for comment. Good luck! 

Adult Coloring Book GiveawayAnd just in case you don’t win your own copy, you can print the Today is Going to Be Awesome page for free on In The Playroom.