There's one thing that's very important to me when it comes to cooking & baking: music. I always have it playing. It's really helpful for tuning out distractions and keeping me focused. What makes this playlist different from a regular Christmas playlist is the types of songs. For baking or cooking I like playing more jazz or standards that don't really distract and just fill the room with sound (and set the mood). It's a win-win because if there are guests around, they will be content and happy. So it basically fits both baking and entertaining. I've made a few of these over the years. I think 2012's was the most popular of the bunch, but it was also the first.

The best gift guide has arrived. The perfect gifts for sisters from another misters. The person who gives you guy advice you're likely not to take and eventually regret. The person who encourages you to "eat the burger" because life is way too short to keep eating kale. The person who orders pitchers of margaritas because life. Best friends often know things about us that no one else really does. They are there for us when we do dumb things or attempt to stop us from doing dumb things.

I am a dog mom through and through, and people are expected to spend 69 billion dollars on their pets in 2017. No joke. My dog Chloe is incredibly spoiled. She loves to wear outfits especially sweaters. She is an expert at pretending she didn't make a mess when everyone knows she did (how else did the box of Diet Coke cans get knocked over?) And she really hates cell phones because they take the attention off her. Pets have become such a large part of our family that we tend to spoil them quite a bit like they are children.

Being a parent must be rough sometimes. I wouldn't really know. I'm pretty much just a dog mom and I know she's a handful. I mean who else insists would insist on eating their Trader Joe's gingerbread dog treats on my Christmas tree skirt like it's some kind of convenient blanket?Someday I hope to be a parent as scary of thought that is. I look forward to the days I'll be piling on even more things than I already attempt to.

Christmas is probably the easiest time to make a mix because there are literally thousands of songs to choose from. I mean how many renditions of "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" are there out there? So I feel like it's really easy to just grab a bunch of classics and modern takes and toss them all together. It's apparently so easy between my Spotify and old 8Tracks account I was able to find playlists going back to my previous blog in 2012. Yeah...that's pretty far back there.

Saying "misters" feels a little strange, but in order to be fair, I just had to create a gift guide for the guys in our lives. Brothers, friends with great taste, or, if you're lucky, a boyfriend or husband. They deserve a little bit of high quality love too especially when it comes to things they may not even realize exist. Let's face it, some of them aren't known for their quality choices, right? This guide is filled with some interesting, unique, and thoughtful gifts. I mean, who else is going to enjoy a chocolate salami or a meat subscription box service? What I've learned in life are boys are pretty complex, but there's a few universal interests.

I was too young to fully understand what my parents were saying when they told me I was gonna be a big sister. I think once I figured it out the family photos of me looking less than impressed holding my new baby sister said it all. But really my sister and I were the only kids around growing up in my family for the most part so we got into a lot of trouble together. We may have had disagreements about who "borrowed" (stole) what from who and she may have been my guinea pig too many times (okay so it was real make up not play make up, mom. Sorry), but I always had her back. No one was ever going to tell her the truth about Santa or let her take the fall for breaking something she never even touched. That's what makes sisters awesome sometimes.

There's a fine line between holiday decorating and looking like your entire house took advantage of a North Pole "everything must go so you bought it all" sale. I'm looking at you, Great Christmas Light Fight (or whatever that show is called). I think my design aesthetic is fairly easy to understand: less is more and quality is far more important than most things. It's no surprise that all of my holiday decor is minimal but chic (and a little bit trendy).

Well with the long periods of time I spend in the kitchen, I must have music to accompany me. A few years ago I created a mix for my Thanksgiving prep and just something to have playing while people hang out. These mixes differ from my usual mixes in that they include jazz music. There's something about this time of year, and when I cook in general, that just says jazz to me. This time I decided to mix some "on theme" songs about Thanksgiving related things (like being thankful and mashed potatoes), and some other mood fitting songs.