We went without electricity for three days here in Boone. Here are a few photos from the ice storm!

Thank goodness no one was hurt (and home insurance).

Ever wonder what our daily blog roll looks like? I didn’t think so. You probably already guessed that photography and wedding related topics take up a huge chunk of our life. Well, just to show you that we are extremely cultured individuals with a variety of interests (I can’t even type that with a straight face), here are some of our favorite feeds.

Young House Love | Lots of great contests and tutorials for the DIY diva inside us all.

Neatorama | It’s…neat.

Science News Blog | Who can resist video of an octopus using a coconut as mobile home?

Twisted Physics | Werewolf genes…generators powered by hamsters…nascar vs. coyote…awesome sauce.

i can has cheeezburger | I think this is pretty self-explanatory.

What are some of your favorite blogs?

Here are a few of my favorite Etsy holiday finds this year!

Reindeer coasters — I’m a sucker for pretty much anything deer-related.

I love this bird necklace.

Just looking at this photo of peppermint cocoa makes me happy.

How cute are these? Perfect medium as stocking stuffers, tree ornaments, or vases for dried flowers…

Birch tealights are another favorite of mine.

It’s not unusual for people to decide to give gifts under $10 for Christmas, but the real challenge is giving gifts for under $10 that are useful. We didn’t just want to give out cutsey knicknacks that would just gather dust or a discount DVD that would be watched once and then shelved away. We decided that the most useful thing of all was to create an emergency kit that our friends could keep stored in their cars or under their bathroom sinks.

An emergency kit (or as we like to call it, a survival kit) is incredibly important but probably the most overlooked safety measure in most households today. Too many people rely on the hope that if their car breaks down or slides off an icy road in 10 degree weather that their trusty cell phones will save the day. What if you can’t get a signal or the battery has died? How will you stop the bleeding from a crash until help arrives? Please consider having a kit like this hidden under your car seat (and in the trunk to supplement the kit, it’s safest to always have bottled water, a small gas can with fuel treated with Sta-Bil in case you run out of gas, and some extra winter clothing).

To save some $$$, we bought a full first aid kit and then divided its contents into 5×7″ watertight boxes (a 32 ounce water bottle with a wide mouth or a tupperware container could also be used). We added a few extras in addition to the first aid kit, as well. The contents of our Christmas Survival Kits are as follows:

• Two-inch pocket knife. Cost: $1.
• Lighter. We considered matches, but for the short term a lighter is more useful. Cost: $0.50.
• Snickers Bar. It’s high in calories (energy) and chocolate can be a real pick-me-up. On sale for $0.50.
• Flashlight (2 AA Batteries included). Cost: $1.
• First Aid Kit (180 items). We’ll list the major items below. We split it evenly into two kits. Cost: $10.
• Tweezers.
• Rubber gloves.
• Emergency Blanket (the foil kind).
• Light Stick.
• Medical Tape & Gauze.
• Neosporin.
• Motrin, Tylenol, etc.
• Alcohol Wipes.
• Butterfly Bandages.
• Around twenty different Band-Aids of various sizes.

Each kit cost about $12 total. We’re suggesting that the candy bar be kept in the kit until spring, then switched out with a can of tuna or sausages (the kind with the pop-off lids) over the hot summer months so the chocolate doesn’t melt. We didn’t add things like feminine hygiene products, sunscreen or bug spray because those things are not emergency items (they can be kept in your purse or a seperate bag in the car); including those increases the chance that people will “dip” into their kits just because it’s convenient, resulting in having very few supplies when a real emergency does occur.

Is there anything you would have added to our kits that we didn’t include? Have any cheap cool DIY gift ideas you’d like to share? Do tell!