Author: Average Jane

Disclosure: I received free craft and drink materials related to this post but was not otherwise compensated and all opinions are my own.

Like a lot of bloggers who have been around since the early days, I get quite a few PR pitches every week. The majority of them are either irrelevant to the focus of my blog or generally not of interest, but occasionally I get a really good one and I'm happy to participate.

In this instance, it was an email with the subject line, "Special Invitation – #ItsGoingToGetUgly This Holiday Season With Maker's Mark!" Well, that was certainly intriguing! Take note, budding PR professionals: the subject line is vitally important for blogger pitches. If you don't catch me there, chances are I won't even read the email.

The message went on to invite me to a Maker’s Mark DIY Ugly Sweater Party in the form of a webinar on a particular evening and asked me to send my address and sweater size if I'd like to participate. I assumed they would be sending alcohol, so I provided my work address because my home state gets snippy about that kind of thing.

The day of the webinar, this is what arrived:

• 1.75 liter bottle of Maker's Mark in a novelty box that disguised it as a fruitcake
• A little sweater for the bottle (apparently a sought-after collectors' item)
• Bottle of Angostura bitters
• Small bottle of orange liqueur
• Small bottle of organic Crown Maple syrup
• Packet of hot chocolate mix
• Tiny jar of edible glitter
• Three small cookie cutters for making fancy orange peel drink garnishes
• A plain white sweater in my size
• LED battery-operated light set
• Fabric glue
• A bag full of different kinds of fabric trim, sequins, patches, etc. 
• Small sewing kit with already threaded needles (which was a genius idea for people who would probably be crafting while drinking)

That was pretty impressive and definitely ramped up the excitement for the webinar. 

At the proper time in the evening, I lined up all my drink ingredients, including the warm milk, whipped cream and orange that had been cited as the only items not in the kit, and logged into the webinar.

The hosts were New York mixologist Pamela Wiznitzer and celebrity fashion stylist Quentin Cortez Owens. She walked us through the preparation of drinks while he worked on a sweater and offered tips for personalizing them and, most importantly, adding the LED lights (which I haven't done yet).

The first recipe was a Maple Old Fashioned, made with the organic maple syrup instead of simple syrup, Angostura bitters, Maker's Mark (of course) and an orange peel cut into the shape of an evergreen. My shot glass-sized measuring cup has most of the measurements worn off, so I think I made mine a little weak, but it tasted great.

With that drink beside me, I was ready to tackle the sweater decorating. I hadn't given enough thought to how that was going to proceed beforehand, so I had to scramble to set up my card table as the webinar progressed in the background. I got caught up and had my sweater nicely in progress before we prepared the second drink, an orange bourbon hot chocolate. I made mine with almond milk, but I went ahead and took a chance on real whipped cream. It was sprinkled with edible glitter, naturally.

The hosts were very personable and there was a lot of fun interaction between the participants within the hosting application and on Twitter with the hashtag #ItsGoingToGetUgly, although one person tweeted, accurately I thought, "so… @makersmark may have overestimated my ability to tweet, craft and drink at same time." Still, during the span of the webinar I managed to get my sweater done and finish both my drinks. 

It was quite an elaborate program, but it went flawlessly and was a lot of fun. It inspired me to sign up for the Maker's Mark Ambassador Program, which will obviously lead me to a long-term relationship with the brand I would not otherwise have had.

Big thumbs-up to Evins Communications for the great job they did coming up with the program. I love to see blogger programs done right!

Over the past couple of months I've been taking a look at things that are bothering me about my life that would be easy to change. Among them was the terrible state of two rooms in our house that belong to me: my office and my dressing room.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I tackled my office and made significant progress getting it tidied up. I still have two big stacks of papers to deal with and I should probably clean out all the file drawers, too, but I've freed up a lot of floor space and made a spot for Kaylee to sit and look out the window, so I consider that a big win.

Yesterday I targeted my dressing room. In fact, I took before and after photos. Here was the view from the front door:

That suitcase on the floor? Yep, it had been there since my trip to Sweden in September. The cardboard boxes are Christmas gifts. The junk all over the bookcase and jewelry cabinet had been accumulating since 2010, according to the dates on documents in the lower strata (the top of the dresser to the left had a similar accumulation). And, as you can see, I'd also gotten pretty lax about putting away shoes and clean clothes.

Here's a peek at the state of my game shelves before I started:

Beyond the haphazard arrangement of the games, keep in mind that everything was covered with a thick layer of dust. Here's what the top shelf and dresser top looked like:

So, I jumped in and started putting laundry and shoes away. I also started a bag for clothes and shoes to give away at the next clothing exchange party I attend.

I took piles of stuff off every surface and examined each piece to determine whether it needed to be thrown away, shredded, taken up to my office (I know!) or tidied away in the room. I now have a little jewelry box full of thumb drives.

All of the Christmas gifts I've purchased went into a big bag so I could look at them in one place and make sure I actually have enough for everyone. I meant to wrap them all, but it was too late and I was too tired by the time I finished cleaning.

I took down all of the framed photos from my high shelves and dusted them thoroughly. That's something that hasn't been done since the last time I painted the room. I can't remember exactly when that was, but it was 2006 or before. 

I'm not gonna lie—it was a horrible project. I kept wandering away and having to force myself to go back and keep going. I went through a zillion Swiffer duster cloths and it took almost every clothes hanger I own to hang up all my t-shirts and jeans at once.

Finally I finished tidying and mopped the floor. I still need to clean out all the drawers and the small closet, but the visible part looks better than it has in a very long time.

Here's how my game shelf came out. Notice how much darker the room is in the "after" photo. This took a long time.

There weren't that many surprises hidden in the room, but I did run across my favorite stuffed animal from childhood. Meet Koala Bear:

When I was about three, my parents brought him back for me after they went on a trip and left me with my grandparents. After stuffing started leaking out, my mother patched his left ear with a random piece of fabric that had been in our barn. Once his eyes and nose disappeared, there wasn't much more to be done. He lives in a little wicker purse that fits him perfectly. I dusted it carefully and put it back on the shelf.

The other thing I found that made me do a happy dance and fist pump was an extra pair of fresh contact lenses. That means I can put off a trip to the eye doctor until after Christmas, which my budget will appreciate.

Say what you will about feng shui, but it really does make a difference to clean out a couple of terrible, cluttered rooms. It's one fewer thing I have to worry about and it just makes using the rooms so much more pleasant and hassle-free.

Next on the agenda: cleaning the rest of the house and decorating for the holidays. I'm ready!