Happy Christmas.

Christmas in Washington – Paul McGehee

I’m currently somewhere over Wisconsin (I think – I’m TERRIBLE when it comes to geography) en route to DC, where we’ll spend the next several days with my parents and my sister’s family, enjoying amazing food (my mom, an incredible cook, believes food is healthy as long as it’s made from scratch – no matter how many sticks of butter were used in the process. And who am I to disagree with my mom?!), watching movies, taking walks (40* will feel positively balmy compared to the -13* we woke up to this morning!), reading, and, what I’m looking forward to the most, playing with my 2 year-old mini-me niece. 

Growing up, my memories of Christmas revolve around the tree and the presents (and maybe the cookies!)… turning on our musical Santa lights first thing on Christmas morning, wrapping my presents perfectly (pre-pinterest) after spending hours at the mall shopping, ripping through the colorful paper to unearth my new treasures, and (oddly) lining up my presents in my room as if it was a store (I guess I was meant to work in retail…). My parents did not grow up celebrating Christmas but they gave us a traditional, magical experience, and I am so thankful for that. These days, we forego presents in favor of experiences, and I’m most thankful to have such wonderful people in my life, who have taught me that all that really matters is spending time with the people you love (especially while eating cookies!).

Thank you, thank you, thank you for spending some of your time with me this year… for reading and supporting The American Edit and American-made in general. I wish I could eat Christmas cookies with each one of you… but for now I will just wish you a Merry, Happy Christmas and New Year!

I’ll be back to regular posting after the new year, and I have a lot of amazing things planned for TAE in 2014. For a glimpse of DC (and maybe even my favorite cookies?), follow along:  

Ship & Shape

November 1st. Can you believe it?! I think this technically means that the holiday season has begun, but I’m just focused on managing my sugar hangover from last night (so.many.butterfingers!) with a green juice, lots of coffee, and some great reads.

My friends at Ship & Shape are launching their fall/winter collection today! These are some incredibly talented and thoughtful women who are doing really great things… from the sneak peek images they sent (above), I know this season will be better than ever! Be sure to check out their online shop!

Some of my favorite American-made brands are 25% off  till Sunday at The Dreslyn – I’d like this subtly sexy ALC dress, this classic Pamela Love ring, my favorite Rag & Bone skinnies, and this gorgeous Raquel Allegra silk tie-dye top in my closet. immediately.

One really easy productivity trick (totally doing this as of yesterday!)

This collaboration is pretty perfect.

The catalyst that led to Richard Branson starting Virgin Airlines.

Anna Wintour  on Conde Nast, having all the answers, and learning as we go.

Bonobos launches a women’s line : AYR (all year round). Bonobos produces quite a bit of their men’s lines in the US, so I hope AYR will follow suit!

and in case you missed it, Five Lessons from the Martha Stewart American Made Workshop and a visit to the Shinola flagship!

I share these articles as I come across them on Twitter, and am getting better at posting them to Facebook as well! I’d love it if you would follow along!

Martha Stewart American Made

I’m on my way to the Martha Stewart American Made Workshop! Looking forward to learning from established entrepreneurs and meeting amazing makers!

Tomorrow I’ll be checking out the American Made Market at Grand Central and then I’ll be exploring this amazing city for the next week! I’m so excited to meet with some amazing brands for TAE features and to check out all the great new shops… let me know if there is anything I can’t miss!

follow along for a glimpse into the conference!