Holiday

Hosting a Holiday Party

Lifestyle, Style Entertaining, Holiday, Holiday Outfit, Home, Outfits December 19, 2017

Shea and I love to have people over to our house, but since our December is filled with official visits, bowl prep and now an early Signing Day, we don’t have as much time to host as we would like. We double booked our holiday parties in the week leading up to Christmas, so we could see as many friends as we could before the holiday. I invited the ladies from work over during the week, and then after official visits ended on Sunday, we had another group of friends and their kids over. Even though I am exhausted right now, I’m so glad we fit these into our week, because we had so much fun having everyone over!

After these two parties plus hosting Thanksgiving for my family last month, I feel like I have found some good tips on how to throw a holiday party complete with the perfect table, stocked bar and even a festive outfit!

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DIY | Mini Easter Baskets

Lifestyle DIY, Holiday April 13, 2017

Each year I always plan in my head to get ahead on birthdays and holiday decorating, and each year I still find myself running behind. This year I gave myself ample time and planned way in advance to put together a little something for all of the ladies in my family to give them on Easter Sunday. We spend Easter in New Orleans, and this year my mom, sister, grandma and cousin will be there with me, so I wanted to do a little something special for them.

Now, I am no DIY-er. Shea likes to call me DI-Try. But, if you need a last minute easy-to-do DIY Easter present, then here you go! You can find all of these items at Target, so you can swing in and make one stop to put together these mini Easter baskets.

I wanted to stick to a palette of pastels and Easter-inspired colors, so that is what I had in mind when picking out items. First, I found these cute ceramic bowls in the dollar section and knew I could use them. They were $3, so maybe this section should be called $5 and under…maybe?! Anyway, I knew they would make perfect mini Easter baskets.

I headed straight to the beauty section, because I knew I could find some mini items or sets to split up that would be great goodies for my baskets. These que bella face masks were a good find and come in a variety of different treatments. I also found a six pack of Me! lavender bath bombs that I could break up to put one in each basket and a double pack of EOS strawberry lip balm to split up too. The light purple and pastel pink fit my color scheme perfectly. I added a pastel Goody hairbush and topped each bowl off with some light blue hershey kisses. The total cost of each basket is around $12, so it is also a budget-friendly Easter gift.

If the ladies in my family read my blog or look at my Instagram, I might be spoiling their Easter surprise, but I guess that’s blogging…whatevs. If I was going to put something cutesy together, I was for sure getting a post out of it! They are all moms and are always getting other people’s Easter baskets together. I am excited for them to get one of their own this year!

We are in New Orleans where we have a ghost tour planned for Thursday night, then a swamp tour on Friday, Crescent City Classic 10K plus a crawfish boil on Saturday and then spending Easter with my family on Sunday. I need a vacation to recover from my spring break! I hope you all have a very happy and healthy Easter!

Gift Guide | Stocking Stuffers

Lifestyle Gift Guide, Holiday November 30, 2016

I have been working on gift guides in my head for months, but the whole crazy football season and end of grad school stuff kind of got in the way of actually producing them. So, like most things to do with this blog, I am much later than everyone else who has put this stuff out already. Good thing I am my own boss when it comes to this website! Here is my first EVD gift guide for the holiday season – Stocking Stuffers.

When it comes to gifts, one of my favorite presents to open up is my stocking on Christmas morning. Ever since I was a kid I have always loved to see what would be in my stocking. I think it’s because I love mini-anything. Here are some items that I think any gal would enjoy receiving in their stocking on Christmas morning!

Kendra Scott nail polish
These nail polishes have become some of my favorite go-to gifts. The bottle itself is already cute plus the metallic box is a perfect packaging on it’s own. Who wouldn’t want to get a little Kendra in their stocking?

Mimosa Handcrafted Louisiana pendant
Mimosa is one of my favorite local brands, and I picked up quite a few of their items during their Cyber Monday sale. I shopped for myself, mother-in-law, husband and others. They have beautiful and unique pieces that can work for multiple people on your list.

Kismet Cosmetics lipgloss
This local cosmetics brand has affordable products that are made in the United States AND they give back to our community. With so many options on their website, you can feel good while you shop!

SFT t-shirt
There are so many unique t-shirt options available that you can pick out an SFT tee for anyone on your list. Simply roll it up and put it straight in their stocking.

J. Crew sleep mask
Put polka dots on pretty much anything and you already have me sucked in! This is such a cute pattern for Christmas and would be perfect for any of the ladies you know who travel often.

S.Bynum Art oyster tassel keychain
Sallie Bynum Anzelmo is a local artist/designer who curates the most beautiful gold oysters for keychains, jewelry dishes and ornaments. She also sells glassware and original art pieces. You will see a lot of Sallie’s pieces on the blog coming up!

Kismet Cosmetics lip scrub
I bought some of this for myself to try out during their Black Friday sale. I am sure I will love it like I do the other products I have bought from them.

Anker mini iPhone charger
I love this mini iPhone charger, because it is the size of your lipstick and can easily be thrown in your bag. Having a charger like this on the sidelines during the football season saved me many of times when taking pictures and video drained my iPhone battery.

Lalicious deluxe shower set
I received some Lalicious products as a thank you gift from a girlfriend, and little did I know that she introduced to me to now one of my favorite brands. This company has tons of gift options, and this particular set can be broken up for multiple stockings.

When it comes to packing the stocking with as many mini things that I can find, I also like to include gift cards (especially Chick-fil-A and iTunes), original brand chapstick, candy and gum as easy to get stocking stuffers.

Keep coming back to the blog from now until Christmas for all different kinds of gift guides. Each gift guide will feature local products and designers (mixed with some household brands), so you can support local businesses as you knock everyone off of your Christmas list this season!