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how to host your first thanksgiving (and actually enjoy it)
can you tell i love thanksgiving?! it really is my favorite holiday because i love all thanksgiving food, being around my whole family and i love leftovers. thanksgiving is the big holiday in our family, where everyone makes it a point to be there. christmas is usually quiet so we all get v pumped for our thanksgiving dinner.
also we announced our pregnancy last year on thanksgiving so now it’ll always hold an even more special place in my heart. remember the video?
i teamed up with pier 1 imports to share a bunch of tips if you’re feeling a little overwhelmed about your first thanksgiving, because if you are hosting your first… you’re probably panicking already. and while i’m not an expert, i talked to my mom and my friend who hosts our annual friendsgiving for 20 people and got their tips! Read More
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our dining room : the plan
you’ve seen our house a lot, but i really never show off our dining room much, and while its really not bad or anything, its just a pretty whatever corner of the great room that i never gave much thought. so i decided i wanted to give it some thought now. Read More
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friendsgiving
my friends and i have been doing an annual friendsgiving for like 7 years now, except we call ours “regretsgiving” and go around to say what we regret most from the year — and its always something i look forward to, but my friend hosts it at her house and never lets me do it. i guess i don’t mind because i don’t have to cook a turkey and a million other dishes and clean up after 20 people, but still. so when kendall-jackson asked me to host my own, i was so stoked to do a more intimate and way easier version.
for us — thanksgiving is always a big huge production. we have a large family, so we don’t usually have a small intimate gathering, it’s usually at least 14 people. so when i think of thanksgiving or friendsgiving, i usually think large. which is why i wanted to change it up and have a nice excuse to just have an easy little dinner party!
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printable holiday gift tags
yay! it’s november and the holidays are officially here! … and that also means — holiday gift tags are here! i find such joy in sitting in front of the tv watching christmas movies and wrapping all our gifts. like, soooo much joy that the whole time i’m doing it, i am saying to gid “isn’t this the best ever?” can’t even imagine how sappy i’ll be this year for arlo’s first christmas. and i always find it very exciting to top my gifts off with the cute tags i make. and it doesn’t hurt that my very supportive mom announces her delight at every gift that has one of my tags on it (proud mom).
anyway, you guys know i love doing lettering, so i was so stoked to team up with HP to try the new spectre x360 + pen. it’s a laptop and a tablet in one (and also a tent and a stand), and therefore it’s perfect for doing calligraphy directly on the screen. gone are the days i’ll sit and do messy watercolor lettering and then have to go back and scan everything like a total chump. ok well i might still do it sporadically, but this was way easier and cleaner. and way more 2017.
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rainbow pickled platter
you know by now i’m a big fan of a pretty platter of food (evidence here and here), because it’s always impressive, but also suuuuper simple to put together! plus people just love to pick at platters full of food with their hands (or at least the people i know do).
i’ve teamed up with NEWELL BRANDS, MAKERS OF BALL® FRESH PRESERVING PRODUCTS again, this time i’ve pickled all sorts of stuff to make a gorgeous crudités platter full of pickled everything — which is kind of a perfect holiday dish, because its pretty and you can leave it out all night to nosh on without it spoiling.
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DIY upcycled denim napkins
am i alone here or can you never have enough pretty serving ware?! like honestly i don’t even host dinner parties (especially these days), yet i cannot ever resist a cute wood cheeseboard or tablecloth.
so when esurance challenged me to have #madeitmine and upcycle something with meaning, i immediately knew i wanted to make a set of napkins since the holidays are coming up. and what better to use than my old maternity jeans (don’t worry, i am planning on having a second baby, but this pair was never my favorite). you know these are no-sew too, ain’t no one got time to ever learn to sew. (ugh someday i will)Read More
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arlo : four months
arlo has changed so much this month! he has so much personality, i mean, he always did — but now he’s more like a little guy versus a little baby. no one can ever believe his age when they ask how old he is. because he’s huge, but also i think because he acts older. yes i’m totally one of those moms who thinks their baby is sooo advanced. Read More
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how to setup a romantic picnic (for three)
THIS POST IS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH FISHER-PRICE.
ALL OPINIONS ARE 100% MY OWN.
i know it’ll get easier, but i’ve found it very hard to find any leisure time with the baby here. of course. occasionally during his naps, i’ll just chill and watch TV, but usually those precious free moments are spent doing laundry, cleaning, answering emails and inhaling some food. so i look forward to weekends so much more than i ever did now — when gid is home to lighten the load of tasks, and the mood. we’ve been trying to spend more and more time with the baby doing things outside the house, as challenging as they are. arlo and i are cooped up so much during the week in the house that i think some fresh air is really good for both of us.
so i was so happy when fisher-price gave us their on-the-go baby dome to try, a portable play area/nap space that shields him from the sun. honestly we’ve totally struggled to figure out what to do with him when we’re outside. we’ve tried wearing him and we’ve tried putting him in a bouncer chair under an umbrella, but it’s kind of all really challenging. the dome also folds up really compact, making it super easy to just throw in your trunk. i wasn’t sure if he’d actually like it because we buy him things constantly he doesn’t like — but he does! so stoked.
maybe it’s because we live in the valley or maybe because we’re complete homebodies, but our favorite outdoor activity is to just go out to our backyard and veg. we used to sit in our kiddie pool, or have wine or coffee on the couch, sit in the hammock, eat dinner out there — all things we haven’t been able to do since he got here. so i’m happy to have something to put arlo in finally while we’re outside TRYING to enjoy ourselves (if he allows it).
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how to have nice furniture AND cats
i get asked constantly about how i deal with having three cats and a fairly tidy house and nice furniture — and to be honest, it’s a constant struggle because all three of our cats are assholes in different ways (assholes whom i love). but here are the tips i do have, hopefully they can help you decide to adopt that cat that needs a home!Read More
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sheetpan greek chicken
after making this for the first time a few weeks ago, we quickly decided it’s our favorite go-to easy dinner. i have been doing a ton of sheet pan dinners lately, they’re simple enough to throw together while wearing arlo during witching hour and have the easiest cleanup.
