Bye, November! Holiday Travel & Packing Tips

November was a whirlwind of fun in the Benjamin house. The first weekend was my brothers birthday. The next week, we spent a long weekend in San Francisco. We came home and promptly hosted our Friendsgiving #KikkomanParty - our first Thanksgiving as a married couple. We wrapped up the month by celebrating Thanksgiving with family and kicking off holiday shopping with Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. December will be just as exciting and chaotic!

Homemade Pressure Cooker Cranberry Sauce

This past weekend I volunteered to bring the cranberry sauce to our family Thanksgiving. I am all too familiar with the bland, overly-sweet cranberry log. Fresh cranberries run $1-$2 a bag, and for a group of 30, I could make a double batch of my homemade sauce for $4 (since I already had sugar at home). Packed with flavor from the fresh berries, my homemade pressure cooker cranberry sauce was a hit. Ready in under 10 minutes, it's a great go-to for holidays and easy to customize.

Bring Hope #into17

Thanksgiving is often a time to reflect on the year past, a chance to express gratitude.  According to the CDC, 25 million Americans suffer from depression each year. That's about 1 in every 12 people, so chances are, you know someone battling depression. During 2014,42,773 turned to suicide and almost 494,169 visited the hospital for self-harm behavior. Despite these alarming statistics, suicide, self-injury and depression are highly stigmatized and treatment, research and awareness campaigns are underfunded in comparison to other charitable organizations. For those battling depression, self-injury and suicidal thoughts, the holiday season is not always so bright. It can be wrought with anxiety or loneliness. Although this is not my battle, I have been on the sidelines. For this reason, every day, especially during the holiday season, I count my blessings that despite any dark periods, my family is still whole. I take these weeks to hug tighter, love bigger, and most importantly, pay it forward to those still looking for help.

Friendsgiving: My Kikkoman Brine a Juicy Bird House Party

Flexing with my pies!

Earlier this year I signed up for House Party, a website that sends you branded party kits (for free!) to help promote new items and generate buzz around specific products and brands. Each month several parties are posted to the home page, members apply, complete activities to get product information out there and then hosts are selected. I was selected to host the #KikkomanParty, a Kikkoman themed party to generate some buzz about product line and how it can be used at Thanksgiving.

Your Next Move

Life is like a game of chess. We see several choices ahead of us, and we make our move based on the situation that we perceive to have the best possible outcome. But the player on the other side of the board, be it an actual human or some outside force, may make an unexpected move. And suddenly we're faced with a potential outcome we didn't see coming....In those moments, we have to ask ourselves: Do we surrender? Or do we keep playing in the hope that we will somehow be able to make it out that situation on top?

 You still have moves left to make, even if you can't see them right now. So please don't give up because the road ahead seems impossible. Don't give up because you think you won't win. You have no idea what victories you'll win in the future if you stop playing in the present.

So keep playing.

Always keep playing. 

Excerpt from "A Game of Chess" - Kat Turner
To Write Love on Her Arms Blog