"What do the holidays mean to you?" It's an interesting question when you think about the wide range of answers you could receive when you ask it. The holidays will come and go with the blink of an eye but don't you think it would be amazing to stop and take note of what we have, what we are thankful for and + also take the opportunity to get a glimpse of what makes the holidays so special for other people? Every day this week, you can stop by to find out what the holidays mean to a variety of talented ladies, some of whom you may know and others you might not... but one thing is for certain, they were excited to share their experiences with you. They are bloggers, makers, teachers, writers ...they are women who I admire. Each lady submitted a picture of their choice to show a little more about themselves and I love what everyone contributed! I am going to introduce you to each woman with one thing I love about them.

• Alaina of Extras by Alaina is ever so talented but more importantly she is as lovely as the Backstreet Boys are my favorite boy band. Did that make sense? She gets it, I'm sure. She's awesome that way.
• Ali of Ali Singer Yoga is a yoga instructor with heart. Her Yoga Hub has brought together yogis from the Boston area to unite to make a difference. She is a generous soul whose light shines bright!
• Beverly of Linkouture creates gorgeous and accessible jewelry but what I admire about her the most is her Mompreneurial spirit that keeps creative juices flowing while she spends beautiful days with her daughter.
• Ana of Scavengenius is my favorite Brazilian girl on the Boston scene. She loves her dog, snaps her everyday in the most lovely way and has a kind heart that makes me smile.
• Alicia of Alicia Tenise is a girl about town in our nation's capital. I've loved drooling over her style posts for years now because she has this authentic air about her that makes me appreciate the time and care that she puts into her posts!
• Jenny of Jenny Ravikumar is a yoga teacher, self-love guru, advanced reiki practicioner and crystal healer. As if that weren't enough, her new role as Mama Bear has got me feeling like she's truly a kindred spirit!

What could make this an even better series, you ask? My answer to you would be, 5 AMAZING brands who jumped at the chance to help us celebrate by offering giveaways to our readers. Make sure to read each gal's blurb (+ click their picture to visit their site) and also see what Michal Golan Jewelry has for one lucky reader!

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Boston Common Yoga + BIG Thank You's!

If you follow me on any of my social media platforms, you know that I have been working with a Boston Bloggers team to raise money for The Jimmy Fund and Dana Farber Cancer Institute. One of our fundraising events was a Donation Based Vinyasa class on Boston Common led by Ali Singer, creator of Yoga Hub Boston. At 7pm on a late August evening, it was pretty much the perfect time to practice yoga with some like minded people while also raising money for an amazing cause (we raised over $250 FYI, which is awesome!)

Not only did we have an amazing turnout but we actually had people walking by, wondering what we were doing, some even stopping to practice in plain clothes. I thought that was just pretty special. We had a women who was dropping her son off at college for the first time and was quite emotional. She had never practiced yoga before, so I grabbed an extra mat and she joined us. She loved it and I think that just speaks to the awesome energy this event gave off.

We had some pretty cool people involved with helping us to make this a special event! 

All photos are by the amazingly sweet Kelly Pfeister. Not only was she as sweet as they come, she also made me feel encouraged about people willing to help through service. I am so happy to have met her and am looking forward to tapping her for collaborations in the future!

Temple Flower (seen on both Ali and I) is an American made yoga and active wear company that launched this year. Not only do they make their duds in the USA but they also support charitable endeavors in India through Barefoot College. For every purchase made, they make a donation toward helping to educate women in impoverished communities. Gosh, that makes my heart warm. On top of all that, they gave all attendees to our event a special discount, which you can use too! Use code ALISINGER30 on any purchase and receive 30% off your order + free shipping!

YogaOutlet.com donated over $150 worth of yoga gear to our event to be raffled off, you know, to help get butts on the mats/grass. With almost 40 attendees, I would say that it worked! Yogaoutlet.com is one of my favorite places to grab anything and everything you might need to practice yoga at home, in the studio or on Boston Common. They really do have it all.... the girl who won the raffle emailed me the next day. She had just moved to Boston and didn't know anyone but had found our event somehow. We chatted about the local yoga scene, where she could find Ali teaching classes and I would like to think that I will see her around town sometime soon.

Biggest thanks go to Ali Singer who answered an email with such enthusiasm that I just couldn't help but be charged up to work on such a special fundraising event. She was willing to volunteer her time, invited her friend Norman to play the congas and told me that I needed a permit for the Common (which I didn't know! eek) Without Ali's help and guidance, this event wouldn't have been a success. I am looking forward to working with Ali in the future because I think it was kismet that I happened into that class at lululemon in June, where she gave my abs a workout and gave me the idea!

Thank you to everyone who came out and helped us raise money to kick cancer's butt!

Ali Singer Yoga +The Yoga Hub Donation Based Yoga on Boston Common

I happened upon Ali Singer when she instructed a yoga class at The Street back in June. She did an amazing job with a class of beginners but still challenged us so when we approached her about doing a donation based class for our Boston Bloggers Jimmy Fund Walk team, I was crossing my fingers big time. Fast forward to a few weeks later and not only has she agreed to instruct a class but she is WAY on board for an outdoor event with lots of amazing bonuses! I am hoping that if you are in the Boston area at the end of August, you'll want to attend what will surely be a great class with amazing energy! Check out the Eventbrite link here and check out all the details! Plus, anyone who donates via the Eventbrite enters for a chance to win an amazing yoga prize pack worth over $125 from YogaOutlet.com and we have special discounts from Temple Flower! We hope to see you there!