Got a lot of things checked off my list today -and made good progress on my article 
I have the bones written – just need to fill in the gaps.
I took a break from writing when I hit some writer’s block to wrap up some of our Xmas gifts. And by "wrap" I mean "bag." The theme of this year is REUSE!!
All of our gifts are wrapped in reused materials – bags, boxes and ribbons!
Pure Bars? Musslemans!? These will hopefully be useful to store other gifts as the are opened on Christmas morning and the paper is thrown away.
Who can’t use a nice Eco tote bag!?
Wrapping the gifts got me super excited for the holidays!! We’re leaving for our 10-day trip on Christmas Eve. To Hillsborough for 2 days and then Bald Head for a week.
Today was a 3-square-meals kinda day. I got pretty hungry for a snack around 5 and then got distracted by a visit from Karen and was ready for a delicious insta-dinner at 6:30. HANGRY!
Matt called and said he’d had a sandwich late in the afternoon so I could just make something from the fridge for dinner. Suited me because we have LOTS of food to eat up!
Sweet 2 Repeat last night’s soup
A big bed of spinach with about a cup of bean chili, cheese and greek yogurt – plus hot sauce!
Chips + a few crackers
A sample taste of Matt’s latest brew. Not bad. Not bad at all! His darker beers are spot-on delicious!
Going to eat a Mint Hershey’s kiss, read over my article intro and then go read a book. Wish I had some of you here visiting to play with!
{ 50 comments… read them below or add one }
what a great idea on the gift wrap/bags!
What a clever idea! Reusing gift bags! I’m going to wrap gifts like that now!
You’re definitely going to be green for the holidays
Reusable wrapping is a great idea, not to mention, faster and easier to do!!
Love the bean chili, looks delish.
Jenn
First off, mint hershy kiss?? I’ve never seen that! Sounds delicious! As much as I love really good dark chocolate, there’s something about a regular hershey kiss that brings back so many fun memories!
I plan on wrapping a few gifts in reusable bags too. Great way to package gifts in a gift!
I discovered them about a week ago – yummy!
Great idea — wrapping paper always seems like a waste but this is a way to recycle and save money.
dinner looks so good!
Glad you are going green for the holidays!
I love that idea.. perfect for this time of year, and it’s like two gifts in one.
Have a lovely night Kath!
I would love if my husband brewed beer!
that’s awesome you got all of your wrapping done by reusing bags that other people can reuse too! way to be green!
creative way to reuse! thanks for sharing
We always re-use boxes and bags. If someone opens a gift and there’s a brand name or a picture on the box, there’s a good chance that’s not what you got lol.
That is the best wrapping idea! Love that!
I love to re-use! I’m a big fan of wrapping presents with the comics out of the newspaper
Your dinner looks yummy, and your trip sounds fun! 10 days?? That’s awesome!
I absolutely adore your gift ‘wrapping’!!! If I received those gifts, I’d be more thrilled about the eco tote than the actual gift! Maybe that’s an exaggeration, but I love the idea!
Wish you could come sledding with me!!
I’d love to try one of his dark beers! They always sound so delicious!
Oh, those gifts are so neat!!! What a great idea with all the wrapping. And I bet it feels good to have that accomplished!
Great use of old materials for gift wrap! It is great to see someone who unabashedly reuses.
I luuuuuurve the cloth bags!
Loving the wrapping on the gifts–I’ve heard of people using handmade reusable gift bags but I think I like your way better (less work!). I used some of my stash of paper bags from Trader Joe’s as wrapping paper for some food-related gifts but they didn’t turn out as pretty as I’d hoped.
Those cloth bags are a great idea! I might have to steal that one!
I love your use of the bags! And then people can reuse them… spreading the reusable love.
Love your take on wrapping gifts!
Lucy’s “Green Santa” book would give you two thumbs up!
Love this wrapping idea – hope it catches on!
We had chili for dinner tonight too! Great cold-weather food.
Love the gift bag idea. Very eco-chic
great idea for reusing the bags, kath. every little bit helps!
What a great theme. I plan on wrapping presents in shopping bags that I’ve gotten over the years from department stores.
What a clever idea about the wrapping! Plus the bag is like a gift, too! Very nice
Way to go GREEN! The pic of the presents on your bed is really pretty.
Adorable idea re: gifts, and am so having chili for dinner tonight!!
Great idea with the gift wrapping!
My Mom actually sewed lots of bags out of a fabric with christmas motives about 15 years ago, and we’ve been using them to “wrap” our christmas gifts every year.
Not only is ist eco friendly, the fabrics also look far better than any wrapping paper.
love your ideas of gift wrapping. this year, i used last year’s wrappers, and didn’t even buy ONE new one!
That’s such a great idea to use reusable bags as gift bags! Good luck on your article
LOVE the idea of using reusable bags for wrapping! I’m totally stealing that idea.
What a clever (not to mention useful) idea!! Those are like 2 gifts in one!
love your idea of reusing this year to wrap presents. probably makes it alot easier too instead of all the wrapping…
i’m all about reusing! Great for the environment and your wallet!
I LOVE the mint hershey’s kisses. Have you tried the mint m&ms?!?! They’re AWESOME!
That soup looks even better the second time around
I’m dying to find that bob’s redmill 13 bean mix now!
My boyfriend and I save all the gift boxes and bags from gifts (especially the ones that I get from my students.) I think we have wrapped each other’s gifts in the same bags for 4 years in a row! I love your reusable bag idea.
I wrapped all my gifts like that too! It’s like getting an extra gift, with a re-usable bag.
I’ve gotten into a habit of eating a couple Hershey’s kisses (dark ones) every night before bed. I had bought some to have around the house for holiday festivities and now they are calling out my name constantly!
Oh well – at least they’re little. I just can’t say no to a piece of chocolate…
Kath, I really like how you reused bags to wrap your gifts. I have been using newspaper or brown bags, and I like how environmentally friendly wrapping can be.
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that bedspread! My Grandma quilted my bedspread with those same colors. <3
Is the flax oat bran a product you make yourself or purchase? have never seen it
It’s a Great Harvest Bread Company loaf.
That is such a good idea to wrap presents using reusable bags! If we got the newspaper it would also be a good wrapping material.