Happy humpday! As promised I dug up some pictures of the centerpieces I did for Thanksgiving last year. I love the look of cranberries in fall decor and these went perfectly with the pretty mums I bought. If you have table decor ideas let me know in the comments! I'm still looking for inspo for this year's table.
One of my contributions to Thanksgiving every year is the table centerpiece. Though my cooking skills are improving I've never been much good in the kitchen so I usually stick to the decor. I'm brainstorming ideas for this year's look and thought I'd share my favorite ideas below. I'll be sure to share my final product once it's complete!
Happy Monday people! I'm exhuasted from traveling to upstate NY this weekend but the fresh air and beautiful views left me excited for the week ahead. Check out a glimpse of my weekend below. The views from the train on the way up were amazing. I spent the entire weekend crunching through the leaves. There were gorgeous fall mums everywhere which had me dying for a front yard to put some in. No weekend would be complete without an amazing Sunday dinner and some homemade sangria.
Friday needs to hurry up... Hey all, I know it's friday but I'm crazy busy at work and feeling kind of annoyed so today's post is going to be short and sweet. If, like me, you need something to cheer you up a little I recommend you follow the three instagram accounts below. You'll be treated to pictures from the coolest dogs and two-year-old I've ever seen. Have a good weekend! @marniethedog@itsdougthepug@insta2yearoldIf you're not into the holidays, I get it. I really do. I understand all the arguments about how commercialized the holidays are and how much pressure there is to give your loved ones great gifts and the "perfect christmas". For me the holidays have always been about family which is why I love them so much. However, if you don't get a long that well with your family members there's another way to get into the holiday spirit: try giving back. This is a hard time of year for a lot of people and those of us that are fortunate enough to have homes, food and loved ones should do what we can to make the next couple of months easier for those who don't. An added benefit? You'll look at the holiday season in a new way and may even find yourself liking it. For some ideas on how to give back check out the charities below or contact your local church, schools or homeless shelters for opporunities. My company is a drop off center for Toys for Tots every year and it's always a great experience. It's nice to know your helping children all over the country have a special Chrismas morning. To find a drop off center or request a drop off box check out their website. Help those that fight for our freedom connect with their loved ones, donate a new or unused cellphones here. Send a holiday greeting to a child with a Tribute card from Unicef. Check out how here. For more ways to give back in the New York area check out New York Cares.
This graphic really resonates me, loving lists is an understatement. I'm obsessed with them. I'm a planner and that's something that definitely comes in handy around holiday time. I start planning super early for the holiday season, mostly because I'm excited but also because I'm practical. Not only do I have holiday gift giving to do but I also have 6 close family members or friends with birthday's between the months of October and December. That's a lot of gifts and a lot of traveling to see people which equals a lot of money. The only way I can afford to get everything done is to plan early. Step number one in my holiday shopping plan is to make a list (just like Santa, kind of). Here are my tips to getting yourself organized for your holiday shopping Who?Start out with a list of every person you need to buy for. Seriously everyone. If you tip your doorman or give cookies to your mailman every year include them as well. What?Next to each person I try to list an idea that I have on what to get them or at least a couple of stores that I know they love. This way you have some sort of plan before you start looking. I can't tell you how many times I've gone out to get all my shopping done and left the mall frustrated because I had no idea what I wanted to buy anyone. When?Take a look at the calendar and figure out exactly when you're going to need each person's gift by. For instance, I exchange with my co-workers the week before Christmas because most of us take vacation time around the holidays so I need to make sure that shopping is done early. On the other hand I don't see my older brother until the week after Christmas because he comes in from out of state to stay for a few day so I usually have a little extra time to buy his gift. How (much)?Give yourself a budget for each person. I tend to spend the most money on my family members and boyfriend so I make sure to budget them a lot higher than I would an acquaintance at work. The hardest part is sticking to the budget but if you start shopping early enough and look for deals you can manage to get the most for your money.
I have a confession to make. I realize I was not posting around the holidays last year so there's something you all don't know about me. I'm literally obsessed with the holiday season. I started my Christmas shopping like 3 months ago and I almost jumped for joy this morning when I got my first red cup of the season from Starbucks. I apologize for those of you who are not as enamored with the holidays but the next two months of posts will be mostly centered around them. Today we're going to start with gift shopping. This is not only a joy (for me) but also a necessity. Don't let holiday gift giving have you paying off credit card bills with your tax return come March. Start shopping early and you can save yourself a lot of stress and money. A lot of the stores have already started advertising their specials for the holidays, check out my favorites below. H&M has stocking stuffers starting at $2.99, you can't beat that. Plus get free shipping when you spend $50 until 11/4. Free shipping is probably the best thing about holiday shopping and Best Buy has it going all season long. Forever 21 has gifts for Her, Him and even kids. Prices start at $3.90. Target also has gifts for the whole family and free shipping all season long. Plus their Black Friday Deals are usually fantastic. Amazon is one of my favorite places to shop all year long because of Prime Free 2 day shipping.
Plus you can get a sneak peak at their Black Friday Deals now. I'm trying to work up a good mood this morning after my dear Mets lost the World Series last night. It's hard but reliving the fun Halloween activities from this weekend is helping a little bit. I did two costumes for Halloween: a bank robber on Friday for our office Halloween party and then AJ and I went as Captain and Coke on Saturday night. The weekend was a lot of fun despite the upsetting loss last night - and hey, there's always next year, right? "Money Mayweather" and I at the office party Captain and Coke! This lasted for about 10 minutes and then I quickly exchanged the sign for a funny hat instead. See? Eek!
Well tomorrow is the day! I'm already fully into the Halloween spirit since we're throwing a Halloween party at work today. I've got costume number one together and I finished assembling costume number 2 last night. I'll make sure to snap some pictures to share with you on Monday. I hope you all have a fun and safe Halloween, in the meantime enjoy this throwback of me and my sister from Halloweens many moons ago.
Also, LETS GO METS! 2 days. Today and tomorrow (and actually I guess Saturday morning unless you're going to a Halloween brunch) is all the time you have left to pull a costume together. Obviously, you can all tell them I'm a little obsessed with making sure you all have a ton of Halloween treat and costume ideas since the blog has been consumed by them this week. Today, let's focus on the face. Makeup can really make an entire costume so if you're not interested in going all out focus on transforming your face into something different for this day of dress up. Below are my favorite Halloween makeup ideas, matching costume optional.
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