A New Perspective on Black Friday!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all are watching/have watched the parade and started your cooking! Last week, we talked about Thanksgiving traditions, recipes, and décor, and I hope some of you tried those! This week, we’re going to be exploring ways to spend your Black Friday.

This year, REI has started their #optoutside movement to encourage people to get out of the stores and into the outdoors! This Black Friday, enjoy a hike, bike ride, or mountain climbing, as 49 parks in Northern California will offer free admission! This entire campaign started with the REI store manager, Nikki Mashapure, who wanted to “extend the family feeling and whole concept that is Thanksgiving, and carry that into the next day instead of going out into the retail madness.”

            Another way to enjoy Black Friday is by adopting a pet! This Black Friday, you can adopt a pet for FREE! From Black Friday to Cyber Monday, Zappos will sponsor free pet adoptions from the Best Friends Animal Society and its participating network partners! Zappos will donate $150 to the animal rescue organization for each pet that finds a forever home! The campaign is called “Home For The Pawlidayz” and the complete list of where to adopt is here: http://mentalfloss.com/article/71648/black-friday-you-can-adopt-pet-free

            Another way to avoid the hustle and bustle of Black Friday is to go to a movie! My best friend and I made it a tradition to see a movie every single year on Black Friday. The theater is ALWAYS empty on Black Friday & you can see one of the films that came out on Thanksgiving!

            If you are a person who loves the thrill of Black Friday, the stores open early and will be having some great deals and sales!

            Amazon, Best Buy, Kohl’s, Target, Walmart, The Disney Store, Costco, Barnes and Noble, etc. will be having great Black Friday Deals! If you want to finish your Christmas shopping (or start your Christmas shopping) tomorrow, and you don’t mind the crazy lines, grab a family member and head to the stores EARLY!  But remember, it’s still the holiday season & we need to be thankful for our families and the things we do have!

            Happy Thanksgiving & good luck on Black Friday!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is NEXT THURSDAY! Can you believe it? 2015 most certainly flew by, but it’s been a great year! Today on the blog, we wanted to feature some Thanksgiving recipes, easy DIY décor, and personal traditions from the RadioSFV team! We would love it if you could let us know what some of your traditions are, or if you try out any of our recipes and décor ideas, so that we can see how they turned out for you! We will feature some of the ones that we love on our instagram! 

            Thanksgiving Recipes:

1.     Try out Cinnamon Roll Turkeys for your Thanksgiving Day Breakfast!

http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/cinnamon-roll-turkeys/383bb9c2-3b26-462c-95b2-c141e3d378bc?nicam4=SocialMedia&nichn4=Pinterest&niseg4=Pinterest&nicreatID4=Post&crlt.pid=camp.JEfYyFHB6FOM

2.     Green Bean Casserole is my absolute favorite Thanksgiving dish! This recipe is to die for!

 http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/11/21/creamy-green-bean-casserole-from-scratch/

3.     I love these carrots so much! They look delicious, taste delicious, and have the festive colors of Thanksgiving! Definitely give them a try! 

http://thecafesucrefarine.com/2014/11/honey-maple-roasted-carrots/

4.     Sangria is such a yummy drink for the holidays. This one has the fall taste that we all crave & it is absolutely gorgeous! The presentation of this makes you want a glass ;) Try some this Thanksgiving! It’s so easy to make!  

http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/10/22/honeycrisp-apple-sangria/

            Thanksgiving Décor:

            Turkey Thankful Box: Start by painting an empty, small tissue box with brown acrylic paint. For the feathers, paint cardstock red, yellow, and orange. Then, use the same paint to splatter paint on each sheet of paper. (This is so fun for the little ones!) Then, cut out a bowling ball shape for the turkey head and body out of brown cardstock and glue it to the tissue box.  To make it easier, you can trace the feather shape on the back of the cardstock and cut them out! Glue the feathers to the back of the tissue box, glue on some googly eyes, a nose made out of a diamond shape bent in half, and a red wattle! For extra help: http://www.whateverdeedeewants.com/2012/11/give-thanks-thankful-turkey-box.html

The GIVE THANKS banner is pretty easy to make! You can pring out the letters or draw them yourself, but all you have to do is attach the letters to thin, brown satin ribbon using mini clothespins and tie big satin bows at the end!

To add fall colors to the table, try wrapping the silverware in an assortment of fall-colored napkins! This is easy and adds festive colors to your Thanksgiving table!

         Thanksgiving Traditions:

Natalie: Every year, my mom and I do the same thing. We always wake up early, make coffee, and watch the parade! The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, since I was a little girl, has always brought so much joy and gets us ready to start the cooking prep for the day! Thanksgiving used to be a much larger event in our home, but now, it’s just my immediate family. It’s a quaint and intimate way of celebrating this holiday!

Patricia: “We almost always host Thanksgiving and we’ve had anywhere from 8-30 people at our table over the years! This year, we’ll have 15. Our morning always starts with coffee, the parade, and cooking. We start early with the stuffing, gravy, and prep work. We also get the tableware ready and set the tables. Once that’s all done, we usually do some sort of exercise, like the Turkey Trot, or a simple bike ride or hike! We usually eat around 4-5 depending on the turkey!”

Karina: “Usually, the first thing we do when we wake up is clean around the house, help with the cooking, decorate the table, and whenever we have dinner, we go around the table and say what we’re thankful for. After we eat, we do karaoke and go Black Friday shopping!”

Hannah: “I always wake up to coffee and the parade! This year I’m going to my sister-in-laws!”

If you and your family are looking for a way to exercise before the feast, definitely head out to one of the Turkey Trots in your area!

           

            November 26^th:

·      Burbank Community YMCA Turkey Trot

·      Drumstick Dash 5K in Studio City

·      Lake Balboa Turkey Trot in Van Nuys

·      Turkey Trot Los Angeles

·      Turkey Trot Santa Monica

·      Tofurky Trot in Pasadena

·      Thanksgiving Day Run in La Canada Flintridge

Happy (almost) Thanksgiving!

Smile! It's Friday the 13th!

HAPPY FRIDAY THE 13^th!

            Who out there is still a bit superstitious about this day?! Even if you’re only a little stitious, or you don't get caught up in the hullaballoo of this day at all, there are still ways to get excited about today! Los Angeles is a great city for celebrating or attending events for the weird "holidays" and days that nobody else makes a big deal about. 

·      Carrie the Musical Downtown at the Historic Los Angeles Theatre.  The description of the musical online reads as follows: “A misfit at school, terrorized by her holier-than-thou mother at home, 17 year old Carrie White, nonetheless, has a secret. And when a prank at the high school prom goes horribly ‘right,’ they’ll all find out just how scary a secret can be…” There are still tickets available online! 

·      Wicked Lit Immersive theatre adapted from classic horror literature. Tickets are already sold out, but if you already snagged some, you’re in for a creepy treat! 

·      Frappula Starbucks Frappuccino. Although it is no longer Halloween time, enjoy a Frap that looks like it is bleeding from the top! With a pump of mocha on the bottom, a white chocolate mocha Frappuccino blended and topped with raspberry syrup and whipped cream, it’s so good it’s scary! It may not be on the menu anymore, but they’ll still make it for you—just ask! 

·      Bloodtini. Here’s Oprah’s recipe for a killer Pomegranate Martini—or as we call it—a Bloodtini: 1 ½ cups pomegranate juice. 2 ounces absolute citrus-infused vodka. 1 ounce Cointreau liqeur. 1 cup ice. Sparkling water (optional). Lemon, a squeeze (optional). Shake ingredients in a shaker and put in chilled martini glasses. 

·      Bloody Mary. Check out this website for a classic Bloody Mary Coctail recipe. http://liquor.com/recipes/classic-bloody-mary/#gs.tkrYc5s 

·      Friday the 13^th marathon. Tonight at 7:30, come take part in the eight-film marathon of the Friday the 13^th bulk series. Buy tickets in advance and head over to the New Beverly Cinema! 

Taylor Swift claims that the number 13 is her LUCKY number! Unlike many of us, she finds this day and number to be full of luck. So make today your lucky day, even with it’s “unlucky” title. 

(None of the photos are our own). 

Thank You, Veterans.

In honor of Veterans Day, we wanted to provide you guys with a brief history on this date—and if you want more information, be sure to get the whole story at http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/history-of-veterans-day

            World War I officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary stop of hostilities between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month! For this reason November 11, 1918 is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”

            In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…”

Fast-forward to May 13, 1938. An Act was approved on this day that made the 11^th of November in each year a legal holiday—a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as “Armistice Day.” Armistice Day was primarily set aside to honor veterans of World War I, but in 1954, after World War II had required the greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen, America amended the act by replacing the world “Armistice” with “Veterans.” With the approval of this on June 1, 1954, November 11^th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

            Eisenhower issued the first “Veterans Day Proclamation” on October 8^th of that year, that said: “In order to insure proper and widespread observance of this anniversary, all veterans, all veterans’ organizations, and the entire citizenry will wish to join hands in the common purpose.”

The restoration of the observance of Veterans Day to November 11^th not only preserves the historical significance of the date, but helps focus attention on the important purpose of Veterans Day: A celebration to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

If you live in the San Fernando Valley, be sure to check out the Veterans Day Parade that starts at 11:11 AM! It’s on San Fernando Mission Blvd and Laurel Canyon Blvd in Mission Hills.