Food Appreciation Week, the Roundup

Thanks to all who participated in the Food Appreciation Week! Here's the roundup of foods the community has given thanks for: 

meals, meats & etc.: quesadillas, chicken, biriyani, smoked salmon, tuna, mushrooms 

vegetables: tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, lettuce, beetroot 

fruit & berries: apples, pears, peaches, cranberries 

sweets: ice cream, chocolate 

cheeses: Gouda Robusto, mozzarella, mascarpone, tilsiter, feta, brinza

Plus, there's a mini food appreciation list from a community member's 3 year old daughter! She put banana, cake, soup, bread, ice-cream and nuts on hers (and she meant eating it all at once!)

Anything else you would add?

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Food Appreciation

"There is something beautiful about the baking process. The way flour feels in your hands or the sound of eggs cracking on the edge of a bowl. Baking is a gathering of interesting materials, a mixed medium art piece of sorts, that ends in a cake instead of a canvas."

Beet Cake by Tiger in a Jar

Give Thanks, Give Cookies

Giving thanks is sweet, giving thank you cookies can make the act even sweeter - how cute is this gift idea? See more here, and for the recipe and a step-by-step guide click here.

 

Food Appreciation Week

When I wrote my Most Appreciated post on most viewed and most commented blog content during my thanksgiving year, I also took a look at what was popular in the post-'365 thanks' period, and one of those appreciated posts was All the Food I Was Thankful For. 

Remembering this post inspired me to proclaim this week a food appreciation week (you'll see what I have in store in the name of it soon!), which I immediately did on TTYP's Facebook page, and then on Twitter too. Yesterday I felt appreciative of berries, and today I'm appreciating mushrooms!

What foods do you appreciate?

Something New

The blog has a new updated look! Check it out and let me know what you think. Me and my brother find it to be looking kind of newspaper-ish, but we both like it. And in fact, it's the first time my brother actually likes the look of my blog! Oh finally.

There are also some new categories on The 'Thank You' Project: thankful stories, thankful finds, thankful videos and thankful places. I feel it brings more structure to the blog!

And last but not least, I have a question! Would you guys want to see me introduce another, an all new Thankful Survey, enhanced and improved based on your requests and suggestions? Personally, I really enjoyed seeing the results of the first one, and I have a feeling the new one I have in mind is going to be even more interesting to analyze.

Merci: a Thankful Concept Store in Paris

Merci is a concept store on 111 Boulevard Beaumarchais in Paris and is home to a whole lot of lovely things, judging by the photo report on Morning by Foley - exactly the kind of space I can see myself wandering through for a long time, especially if I'm with a friend who's just as into the idea! Mercis (French 'thank yous') can be found everywhere throughout the store, and as you can imagine this fact cannot not to delight me. The place is now on my must visit list for the next time I am in Paris!

Photos courtesy of Morning by Foley

Most Appreciated

I'm feeling like taking a look at this blog's most appreciated content, and by 'most appreciated' I mean most viewed and most commented posts dating back to my thanksgiving year. After all, it's always interesting to see what other people search for on the internet and what lands them on your page, and I am most definitely interested in taking a look back at some of the best conversations held within the original The 'Thank You' Project.

I still find it kind of amusing that so many people keep stopping by my Honesty post, which is the most viewed entry from my year of thanks. Frankly, I don't even know what exactly drives them there and why there. The second most viewed post is Not Your Average Young Girl, followed by En Route. They're all good fun and I still can relate to everything I mentioned in each one of them!

When it comes to the most commented posts (or is it better to say the ones that inspired the most conversation between you and I?), the leading one is They Keep Talkin' About It, 'Cause They Can't Keep Up with Your Pace, where I dish on my love/hate relationship with the city of Moscow, and the one that apparently made many of you want to visit. Number two most commented post is One of the Things I'd Like to See Disappear Forever, and let me tell you, I am so glad so many are with me on it! Third most commented post is Little Joys of Life, which is a good reminder to be thankful for the little things in life.

One thing I realize now after reading these precious comments of yesteryear from all of you lovely thankful people, is that how much joy and warmth these memories bring to my heart right now! I appreciate every single one of you, and this post is my official notice of gratitude to you for making my thanksgiving year so special. I mean what I say! It's a little bit possible the year wouldn't have been such a success if it wasn't for you taking such an active part in it. THANK YOU! 


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A Lady and a 'Thank You': Experts Weigh In

Following up on my original post on a lady and a 'thank you' situation from a few months back, I'm bringing you an update on the matter! Remember me saying I actually went ahead and wrote to some of the etiquette professionals asking for help? Well, Miss Manners has never gotten back to me (should I email her again?), but Maralee of Manners Mentor Blog and Julia, one of the editors at Real Simple, did! Maralee says:

“ Dear Julia,

I was sad to read about the situation you encountered in the shop entrance. Please know that the man in question was rude and presumptuous to you on several levels. You were absolutely correct to thank him for holding open the door. To not have done so would be to fail to acknowledge and encourage the small kindnesses of daily encounters.

At no time in history was a lady ever taught it was rude to thank another person, male or female. Even if you had been “wrong” in thanking him, his offense, pointing out the supposed bad manners of someone else was worse. Unless we happened to give birth to the one whose manners we are correcting, or the person has specifically hired us for that task, it’s the one who is doing the correcting who is rude. ”

As for the Real Simple's reply, I don't know the answer to my initial question yet, but they emailed me saying they wanted to print the question in the Modern Manners section of the September issue of their magazine. Here is how they said they would print it (totally not the way I meant it, as I feel no shame when a man is being a gentleman to me, but whatever):

“ Should a woman say thank you to a man who holds a door open for her? Or turn around and hold the door for him? I feel guilty just walking right on in. ”

I guess you and I will know their take on the subject once the magazine hits the stands in September - Julia the editor promised to send me a PDF if I remind her, plus it's supposed to make an appearance online at some point too. However, if any of you happen to get a copy of the magazine, I would appreciate a photo or a scan!

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Something for a Stylish Thankful Person

How about these stylishly reinterpreted 'thank you' shopper bags in embossed lambskin leather? Yes, please!
 

Inspired by over-the-counter designs from New York City stores, the bags by Los Angeles based Cast of Vices forgo the usual plastic and come in leather instead: a small bag is 17.5" x 8.5" and retails for $178.00, a medium bag is 21.5" x 12" and would cost you $218.00.