It’s almost that time of year, the most wonderful time of the year. A season full of traditions and time with those near and far. One tradition that is dear to my heart is the holiday card. While social media keeps me connected to my friends and family, I absolutely love receiving a beautiful photo card or letter in the mail. So today I’ve partnered with Basic Invite to offer a few tips for for keeping this year’s greetings gracious both inside and out!

When to order
No time like the present! I like to order my cards in advance and pop them in the mail after Thanksgiving.  I simply love decorating my mantle and door way with the faces of our friends and family.  Sending cards early allows me to enjoy receiving holiday cards as they arrive in my mailbox and not weighed down by the burden of getting them out.  Visit Basic Invite and use promo code HOLI30 for 30% off your holiday card order!

Picking the Card

It’s always helpful to pick a card that best represents your family and your year!

From brightly colored cards {pop of color}

Formal {Peace on Earth}

or even cards that simply sum up the year {Year Snap Shot} without a lengthy letter, each card should best fit your families style.

On the Card
When it comes to holiday cards, the message and the family name matters most. What personalizes cards is our names. Knowing a few gracious guidelines for printing your name will help you send your very best: In etiquette, it’s always “Ladies first” which means the woman’s name always goes before the man, when printing the family names inside a holiday card, remember: ladies first, and then children. Here are some examples:

Family
The Lockard Family
Mindy, Ty, Elle, and Maggie
Mindy and Ty Lockard
Elle and Maggie

Couples
Mindy and Ty Lockard
The Envelope
The rule of etiquette, says the printing on the envelope should match the card. If there’s handwriting on the inside, then the envelope should be handwritten. If it’s printed, then the envelope should be printed. Here are some examples of how to write out your family name. I always like to handwrite a personal message on my cards and then hand address my envelopes, but that’s just me. Here are a few suggestions for writing or printing your envelopes.

Married Couple
Formal: Mr. and Mrs. Ty Lockard
Casual: Mindy and Ty Lockard

Family (with children’s names)
Formal:
Mr. and Mrs. Ty Lockard
Isabelle and Maggie
Casual:
Mindy and Ty Lockard
Isabelle and Maggie

Family (without children’s names)
Formal: The Ty Lockard Family
Casual: The Lockard Family

Unmarried Couple
Ms. Mindy Knight
Mr. Ty Lockard

Christmas List: Who to send to?
When it comes to etiquette, I always believe you cast your net wide in sending greetings to friends, family and colleagues. Before you order cards, go through your list and update, prune if necessary (perhaps that coach of your daughter’s soccer team, 5 seasons and three sports ago can be taken off), and add new 2016 friends. Always plan to have an extra 20–125 cards so that when a card arrives from friends not on your original list, you can reciprocate. And make sure to update your list when those cards do arrive, so that you have them for the next year.

Seasons greetings my gracious girls here’s to always putting our most gracious foot (or should I say card) forward!

This post was brought to you by Basic Invite, the love of holiday cards and etiquettes are my own! 

{ 0 comments }

Back-to-school is in full swing. Which means the lazy days from summer and those slow moving mornings are far behind us.

Tomorrow on #FamilyRecipe I’m partnering with Bob’s Red Mill to chat favorite #FallforBreakfast ideas. Because while it’s the most important meal of the day, it can feel like the most hectic meal of the three, or five if you’re a snacker like me.

Here are a few of my favorite ways to make the morning easy and healthy!

What you need in your pantry

• Bob’s Red Mill Oatmeal Cups
• Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Oatmeal
• Bob’s Red Mill Muesli (GF, Paleo or
• 2 Organic Apples
• Raspberries
• Blueberries
• Milk (we like unsweetened coconut)
• Yogurt
• Real Maple Syrup
• Cinnamon
• Egg

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Grab-and-Go Oatmeal Cups

(Side note, I over did it on on oatmeal back in 2012… as in we ate it every day back in 2012. So let’s just say my girls aren’t begging for it in the mornings. But they do beg for these cups and I LOVE it!)

What you need:

• 3 Cups Bob’s Red Mill GF Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
• 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Paleo Style Muesli
• 1 & 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 cup real Maple Syrup
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• 3 egg white, beaten well

PREPARATION:
Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 12 medium muffin cups with cooking spray, I prefer coconut.

Place oats, muesli and cinnamon in large bowl and mix.

In medium bowl, combine milk, syrup, cinnamon and egg white; blend well. Combine the oat and liquid mixture and let rest until the oats are soft 5 to 10 minutes. Spoon mixture evenly among muffin cups.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until set and allow to cool on a wire rack!

Serve warm with yogurt and berries or serve cold on the go!

Other Ideas! These are great to make ahead and keep in the freezer and last up to 2 months.

Makes 12

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Make ahead Grab-and-Go Swiss Style Oatmeal

What you need…

• Bob’s Red Mill Fruit and Seed Muesli
• Yogurt
• 2 organic apples grated
• Berries
• canning jars

In a bowl combine one quart vanilla organic yogurt, a package of Bob’s Red Mill Muesli and grated apple. Stir well and fill jars 3/4 full!

top with fruit, seal with lid and pop in the refrigerator!

Makes 8

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Instant Oatmeal Cup

What you need…

• Oatmeal Cup
• Spoon
• Hot Water

Open the lid and remove the seal…

.

add hot water. . .

cover for 5 minutes and enjoy.

Let me tell you they are as delicious as they are easy. Great for breakfasts or even a “hot” lunch.

Serves 1

 ————————————————————————————————————————————-

For more fun ideas join tomorrow’s #FamilyRecipe chat on twitter!

{ 0 comments }

Oh my goodness, I am so excited to share a little something I’ve had up my sleeve this summer.

Tomorrow, we will launch a #SummerintheCity Series with Fox 12 Oregon and Uber.

How fun is that?

If you haven’t taken Uber, this series will help you get to know the service.  If you have taken the service, this series will give you creative ideas for expanding the way you use it.

So tune in Tomorrow on Fox 12 Oregon for our first of four segments,  tomorrow’s topic is #UBER101. I introduced my mom and brother to Uber Portland. Tune in for their reactions.

Oh, and for those new to Uber you can use this link http://t.uber.com/gooddayOR to get started & PROMO CODE: GOODDAYOR for $20.00 off your first ride!

Stay tuned for all the

{ 0 comments }

Fourth of July is just around the bend.

Which means soon you will be tossing burgers on the grill and lighting sparklers with friends.  So to help you get a get a jump on your 4th of July planning my sweet girls and I stopped by KING 5 in Seattle to share a few fun and festive DIY ideas for your table this coming holiday.

Join me next week on @TheGraciousGirl’s Instagram for five days of Fourth of July and BBQ tips and tricks sponsored by Kroger.

{ 0 comments }