five things i'm thankful for

Happy Thanksgiving! After working eight, grueling retail days in a row I am so thankful to be able to wind down with my family. So I wanted to sit down and talk about a few things I am thankful for in the spirit of this holiday! These are in no particular order... I'm equally thankful for them all!

First on my list would be my husband. He works so hard, especially this time of year. Working grocery can take the wind out of your sails for the holidays and he doesn't have much time for himself, but he still finds time to be with loved ones when he can.

Secondly would be our dog, Fletch. No one will ever understand my bond with my dog. We moved him to a new house in a new town and we have been up to our ears in work ever since. I broke down feeling so terrible about the fact that we've been so busy and I feel like we've been neglecting him since we moved back to Iowa and I've been working full time again. But he is even more happy when I come home at night and I make sure to give him extra cuddles when I can. 

Third would be our health. As we get older you never know what can go wrong. We have had so many loved ones with illnesses and we have been very fortunate to have them all fight through it. It's comforting to know what a strong family we have. 

Fourth on the list are my best friends. You know who you are. I don't know what I would do without you ladies. I make bad jokes, I complain, I'm dramatic, I tell stupid stories, I sometimes drink too much, but you're still there for me to talk to every day. Whether I hang out with you often or occasionally go out for sushi with you, it always feels like no time has passed, and I cannot wait to continue to make memories. I had to re-evaluate some friendships this year but I'm thankful to know who is truly by my side. 

Lastly would be my family and my husband's family who have been so supportive over the past few years with all of our moving and job changes. Whether they drove all the way down to Missouri or Iowa to help us out with our house, just to hang out with me when I was missing them, or helping us financially, I am so thankful. 

I could just blanket statement say, I'm thankful for friends and family, but each have given me their own reason for me to be thankful. While I love shopping, I'm a little vain and I love material things probably a little too much, it's these things mentioned above that mean the most to me, and I want that to be known. So Happy Thanksgiving, and enjoy this time with your families! Thanks for reading! XO

host/hostess gifts | thanksgiving

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Are you hosting Thanksgiving, or even Friendsgiving this year? If not, you're probably relying on someone else to do all the hard work for you, so what better way to say thanks than with a hostess gift? I know that I like to sit back and let my mom do all the work on Thanksgiving, not that she would let me help, but I know a lot of hard work goes into preparing the perfect Thanksgiving meal. My sister and I will sometimes bring her a nice floral arrangement for the table and she's completely content with that, but if you're looking for something different, look no further! I've gathered up a few festive gifts for the host/hostess in your life, and all but one are $50 or less!

I love being festive, so the more holiday themed items I can have, the better. I know that once I start hosting my own Thanksgiving, I will be going all out with the décor, and the serving spoon is no exception! That's why I like this one appropriately stamped "Thanks and Giving" -  I can see several "test tries" of my mom's mashed potatoes with this spoon! These white and gold acorn salt and pepper shakers and these leaf cork coasters are adorable, and would add to the décor on the table as well as serving a purpose! My thought with this "Oh So Thankful" ceramic dish is that you can make a side dish in it and leave it for the host/hostess to keep - that way you don't have to worry about leaving a dish behind or toting a dirty dish home - just make sure to tell them it's theirs to keep, or they may just think you want them to clean your dishes for you! My sister and I used to love making wishes on the wishbone, and this magnetic wishbone comes apart and goes back together, so if there are kiddos in the host/hostess' home, this is the perfect gift to entertain them, and make sure everyone gets their wishes in! There are typical gifts that are still great for the host/hostess, like this candle or these wine stoppers - pair either with a bottle of champs or wine and you'll be in my heart forever! A lot of people eat their Thanksgiving meal at different times - some do lunch, others do dinner. At our house, we eat dinner, so during the day my mom makes some delicious homemade appetizers, like homemade pizza rolls or little cheeseburgers on rye bread. (Sounds weird but I promise - it's the most delicious! I may post the recipe!) This serving tray and these appetizer plates would be a great gift for my mom to serve her apps on! And this "Get Stuffed" serving platter would be perfect to set that turkey on right in the middle of the table!

Once we get settled into our new house (hopefully in the next couple weeks!) I'm hoping to host a Friendsgiving, but I'm thinking by the time we get everything organized it will be more of a Friendsmasgiving instead! For last years tips on a successful Friendsgiving click here, and be sure to check back for some other fun festive posts in November! Thanks for reading! XO

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fall in iowa // amana colonies

I absolutely love this time of year. When summer turns into fall and all the cute clothes and accessories that come along with it. Usually around this time, my sister and mom and I take a trip to the Amana Colonies in Amana, Iowa. They have a couple restaurants with delicious food, and the most adorable little shops with all sorts of clothing and wine and cheese and amazing Christmas decorations. This year we got an early snowfall, so it didn't feel as fall-y as normal, but there are still bright yellow and orange leaves on the trees - kind of strange. But it was still fun nonetheless. This weekend there are tons of Christmas events starting - check it out at www.festivalsinamana.com.

jalapeño popper chicken chili

I'm back in Iowa for Thanksgiving and to celebrate my mom's birthday (see the pretty flowers I got for her from Trader Joe's on my Instagram - @theblondestyleblog). Last night we got the first snowfall of the year and Mother Nature was not messing around - it's full on winter outside! So I'm staying in with my sister and one of our bests to watch the Iowa Hawkeyes go to 11-0 against Purdue. 

how to // host a successful friendsgiving

The holidays are just around the corner, which means holiday parties are also quickly approaching. I love a good party, especially if I'm the one hosting. The planning is one of my favorite things to do. With most of our friends spread out across the country, we try to get together and have an annual Friendsgiving and/or Friendsmas. We are hoping to all get together on Saturday, so I thought this would be a good time to share my plans for a successful Friendsgiving. 

first of the month faves // november

Happy November! I cannot believe October is over and the holidays are almost upon us. I have so much to look forward to in the coming months; my best friend is driving up from Dallas to stay with me, I'm heading back to Iowa to spend a lot of time with my family, my sister and I are going to take our annual Christmas trip to Chicago and we are also going to have all of our friends in town for our Friendsmas party. This time of year makes me so happy, so I figure this is a good time to share with you all a new series of blog posts I like to call First of the Month Faves. Here's the November edition!