At this point in our lives, we single girls are budgeting and prioritizing so it’s time to get creative with our resources for the holidays! Here are some fool-proof gifts for your girlfriends (and even one for your best guy friend!).
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Believe it or not another holiday season has arrived. Thanksgiving meals have been indulged in, Black Friday and Cyber Monday storms have passed, and Christmas tunes have infiltrated our favorite radio stations. It is time to get out the sparkles and glitter and put your best holiday foot forward.
By now you’ve certainly begun thinking about the many gifts you have to pick up for friends and family not to mention the ones you’re hoping someone special will pick up for you. I know I certainly have! In fact, I’ve put together a pretty dynamite wish list for the Single Girls on our shopping list. I’d certainly love to have these wrapped up under the tree with my name on them (wink, wink).
Read on to unwrap the holiday treasures we added to our list, and be prepared to have all the hard work of finding the “perfect” gift done for you!
“The bird, the pin, the song, the berries, the watch, the cracker, the dress that burst into flames. I am the mockingjay. The one that survived despite the Capitol’s plans. The symbol of the rebellion.”
A friend once told me that we don’t have to love an entire book, as long as we find that one nugget, that one lifelong takeaway that we can forever use to benefit ourselves. To my surprise, in rereading Catching Fire, I realized that the book offered more than just one nugget—it was a complete guide to becoming an independent girl.
We’re very excited to host our very first Single Diaries Friendsgiving this weekend. Not only will we celebrate Thanksgiving but we will also be commemorating The Single Diaries three-month anniversary. (Yay!) We couldn’t imagine a better way to honor the milestone than to bring together and thank many of the friends who have helped the site get off the ground.
The festive soiree will be hosted at my new apartment, a two-story townhouse with a large open living room area perfect for gathering a crowd. The only thing needed to turn the space into a haven of hospitality is a few decorative touches.
In hunt of some festive flare, I dug around to find my favorite Thanksgiving decorations and easy DIY crafts that I can easily pull together this week. If you’re hosting your own Friendsgiving event or simply looking to add some Autumn accessories to your space, you’ll find some good use for this Thanksgiving decor roundup!
Last month my friend and I saw Sara Bareilles at the Greek. I have been a huge fan since I saw Sara play at a college music festival in 2009. We all know her #1 hit “Love Song,” but this woman is so much more than that catchy albeit empowering pop song. She is at home on stage in more ways than one. Firstly, her voice is completely powerful, and live it’s a religious experience… until she drops her first F-bomb then a dozen subsequent ones. That leads me to my second point: she connects to her audience. Someone yells out “I love you, Sara,” and she’ll call it out right back. The stage is her couch, and the venue is her living room; everyone feels at home as she tells you about the experiences that informed the song she is about to play.
Before she played “Manhattan” on that September night, she discussed her decision to leave Los Angeles—her home of fourteen years—to make the cross-country move to New York City: a need for change, a bittersweet good-bye, and the knowledge that this chapter of her life was coming to an end. She hints at a break-up, perhaps because she was back at the scene of the crime. The lyrics were chillingly beautiful. Written from the perspective of her ex, the one who’s left behind, you get a sense of the pain felt from both parties.
At the show at the Greek, she dropped the veil of detachment that she sometimes puts up while discussing her journey in making the new album. Perhaps it had to do with coming back to L.A. after moving. Perhaps it had to do with playing the iconic stage. Regardless, she showed raw emotion that struck a chord with me.
It was during this song that my eyes started to well up with tears. It was during this song when I had a moment of clarity accepting that all the tension I had felt in the months prior was for naught. After a stressful day, I’ll drive home from work to my quiet apartment trying to breathe deeply and think about anything else. It finally occurred to me that what was missing from my day was the ease of surrounding family and a feeling of home.
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