BLACK FRIDAY Shopping Deals with Coupon Codes & My …

BLACK FRIDAY Shopping Deals with Coupon Codes & My Faves

Let’s get right to it people!  Putting this post together could get me in some serious trouble, as in, “One for you, one for me!”  There are some major sales happening right now if you want to take advantage.  These sales make gift giving a little easier on your wallet, but also make stocking up on your wardrobe almost impossible to pass up.  Happy shopping- I’d love to hear what you end up with. 🙂 

Ann Taylor // Save 40% Off Entire Purchase

DATES: Nov 29

CODE: TGIF

I love the black and white vibe Ann Taylor has going on.

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Silhouette Sale with Promo Code HONEY & Easy Snowflake …

Silhouette Sale with Promo Code HONEY & Easy Snowflake Decor

Happy Thanksgiving friends!  I hope you are enjoying your friends and family, good food and drink, and some extra relaxation time.  Later tonight, when you’ve had your fill, if you feel like doing some online shopping, I’ve got a coupon code for the electronic cutting machine, Silhouette.  I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out snowflakes quickly, then hung them above my son’s bed with fishing wire and thumbtacks.  He thinks they are so cool and told me, “thank you!” 

I’ve been wanting to make snowflakes for while, but wasn’t looking forward to cutting them by hand.  I like the different shapes the Silhouette had online and I’m not sure I could’ve duplicated them very well. 

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Giving Thanks Silhouette Art

Giving Thanks Silhouette Art

Hi everyone!  Are y’all getting ready for Thanksgiving?  I’m looking forward to visiting my sis-n-law and her feisty family (2 lovable rowdy kids that James loves to play with and 3 dogs!) and then my parents, brothers, and niece on Thursday. I’ll be making some desserts tonight to contribute, but other than that, there’s not much to do.  ðŸ™‚  What are your plans?  

In honor of the holiday and a major Silhouette sale (the electronic cutting tool) beginning tomorrow, I made a little Thanksgiving art for our house. 

I cut the design onto silver foil sticker paper that removes easily from most surfaces.

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Holiday Cheer Link Parties Coming Soon!

Holiday Cheer Link Parties Coming Soon!

Hi friends! The Christmas season is almost here and my girls and I are hosting another round of festive Holiday Cheer link parties! We definitely get excited about all things Christmasy and want to see what y’all are up to also. 🙂 Mark your calendars because this year, beginning Wednesday, December 4th, you can link up to two parties on a single day in 4 categories:

Merry Mantle :: Michelle & Carmel

Holiday Craft :: Michaela & Cassie

O Christmas Tree :: Me & Courtney

Recipe Cocktail :: Heather & 

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How I Get My Hardwood Floors Clean

How I Get My Hardwood Floors Clean

Of all the decisions we made when we built our house, whenever I was asked, “If you had to do it over again, what would you do differently?” My answer used to be, “I would choose different wood floors.”  Ours are so pretty, bamboo, and I love them when they are clean, but because they are super dark without much variation in the wood tone, and also very smooth, they show dirt, dust and footprints very easily.

The entire downstairs level of our home is hardwoods and we have to sweep and mop weekly. I used to use a broom to sweep or sometimes if I needed to sweep quickly,

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Welcoming Guests

Welcoming Guests

Hi friends and happy Friday!  The last couple of days I’ve been busy preparing our home (and kitchen) for family that will be staying with us through the Thanksgiving holiday.  Whenever you invite people to your home, whether it’s for an evening or an extended stay, I believe you can show you care for them by taking pride in your home and creating a welcoming, relaxing environment for them to retreat to.  

via

When people travel and arrive at my house, I love to have something yummy cooking on the stove so they can smell the aroma when they walk in the door,

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Holiday Gifts For Her

Holiday Gifts For Her

Yesterday I announced a $400 shopping spree giveaway, and I was thinking how that cash could be spent on that favorite woman in your life (or yourself!:)  I compiled a few of my favorite gift ideas for women- gifts I’ve given in the past that have been well-received or things I have and love.  Truth be told, my girlfriends  are my favorite people to shop for during the holidays!  I have a small handful of very close friends that are like sisters to me and I love picking out that perfect something for them each year.  I haven’t done any shopping yet- just getting ideas,

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Checking In & Melissa Bender Fitness

Checking In & Melissa Bender Fitness

I was so pumped with the “finish the year healthy and strong” and have loved reading your comments about your plans to do the same.  Week one getting back to the gym was really tough, I was sore, sore, sore.  But, that’s the pain that comes from being sedentary too long and it’s a good sore- if you know what I mean.  Sitting in the steam room at my gym after a hard workout is on my thankful tree list this year. 

Week two, I started to feel like I was getting my groove back.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s still difficult getting into those workouts,

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Shopping Spree // $400 VISA GIVEAWAY!

Shopping Spree // $400 VISA GIVEAWAY!

To celebrate the upcoming holidays and as a way to say THANK YOU for reading and supporting my blog, I’m teaming up with some wonderful bloggers to give away a $400 Black Friday shopping spree!  The winner will be announced this Friday.

Kelly’s Korner

Four Fit Sisters

Mix and Match Mama

The Larson Lingo

Get Your Pretty On

Pinterest Told Me To

Hi Sugarplum

Fancy Ashley

Blue Eyed Bride

One winner will receive a $400 Visa gift card to spend wherever they want.

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Popular Pins // November Winter Edition

Popular Pins // November Winter Edition

Happy Friday friends!  I rounded up a few of my favorite and most popular pins for the winter/holiday season and they are fun!  If you want to follow me on Pinterest, you can do so HERE.  I’m nearing 10,000 pins.  Clearly, I spend too much time on Pinterest.  Have a great weekend!

Navy with Silver Sparkles Manicure via Deb Shops– 101 repins

An accent nail is about as adventurous as I go with my nails.  I’ll definitely be trying this.

Black & White Tribal Cardigan via Zulily – 93 repins

An open cardigan is so easy to wear this time of year and the pattern on this one is interesting.

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Thankful Tree

Thankful Tree

Creating a “thankful tree” this time of year is really popular because it’s such a good visual reminder of how blessed we all are and so simple to do.

For ours, I created hand-written blessings with chalk label tags and a gold marker.  I asked everyone what they were thankful for and recorded the responses. My 3-year-old is thankful for, “Darth Maul lightsaber, Christmas trees, and friends.”  He also drew something, but I’m not sure what it is.

I hung the labels on faux branches inside a Pottery Barn Urn. To keep the branches upright where I wanted them,

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Cork + Washi Bookshelf

Cork + Washi Bookshelf

My goal of keeping things neat and organized in my home isn’t only for the adult spaces, but also for my toddler’s things too.  In his room, we’ve got a great Pottery Barn Kids bookshelf that is very well built and the perfect size for his room.  (I just checked and it’s on sale right now too).  We use it to store books and toys, and some decorative frames and photos on top.

To protect the shelves from getting scratched and dirty, I lined them with cork contact paper. Then I added red and blue decorative trim in the form of washi tape. 

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$100 Gilded Mint Art Giveaway

$100 Gilded Mint Art Giveaway

I was introduced to Jennifer Latimer’s original art Etsy shop, Gilded Mint, when I was looking for art for my home office.  I have her gold foil lips print framed and love it.   After seeing the art I purchased on my blog, Jennifer has generously offered a $100 giveaway and a 20% discount using code GILDED20. 

Here is a peek at some of the Gilded Mint original abstract art. 

Aren’t those amazing?!  Do you have the perfect place in your home for one of these pieces?

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Home Office Update // Ikea Doksta Table

Home Office Update // Ikea Doksta Table

Hi friends and happy Monday!  I’m particularly happy today to share with you an update to my home office that has made my life much easier.  I added the Ikea Doksta table to my office and I love it!  Isn’t she pretty?!  

I was worried about the sturdiness of the table and whether it would wobble, but I haven’t had any problems with it.  It’s not getting high-traffic use like a breakfast table so I hope it lasts a long time.  

The table is 41 inches in diameter- perfect for my room.

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Perfect White Coat

Perfect White Coat

The search for the perfect white coat is over!  Because Houston isn’t generally very cold, I always talk myself out of buying a warm coat, but inevitably there are those cold days or I go out of town and don’t have a proper jacket to wear.  I showed you a white coat I was looking at on Nordstom’s website, but then I found this one on Amazon for $122!  (A few weeks ago, I asked y’all about Amazon Prime and so many of you recommended it that I gave it a try.  I also took your advice and am trying the “subscribe and save”

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Nordstrom Half Yearly Sale // Women & Kids

Nordstrom Half Yearly Sale // Women & Kids

Some women wait half a year for this awesome Women & Kids sale at Nordstrom, and I can understand why! 🙂 So many great deals to be had, picking up a few things for yourself and also getting some gift buying out of the way early.  It feels so good to have found that perfect gift and to have done so before the madness of the shopping season really gets started.  Will you be shopping this Nordstrom sale? 

Since I don’t have time to get to the store, I’ve been looking online for a new fall/winter coat and I think it’s time to invest in some cute booties.

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Minted Giveaway // 100 Holiday Cards

Minted Giveaway // 100 Holiday Cards

My word for this holiday season is COZY.  I’m feeling like hibernating inside my house with a warm blanket, cuddled up on the couch with a hot cocoa and just relaxing and enjoying this time of year.  My son is at that glorious age where he likes to get close and snuggle up and will actually sit still for the better part of an entire movie. Good times to cherish. I’m looking forward to pulling out the holiday decor too (ok, I admit, the bins have already been brought down from the attic, but I promise nothing has been opened or put on display- just getting ideas!).

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Finishing the Year Strong Update & Tex Mex Casserole …

Finishing the Year Strong Update & Tex Mex Casserole with Egg Noodles

We last talked about our goal of finishing 2013 healthy and strong and I so appreciate your feedback in the comments.  Your courage to share where you are in your journey helps me be transparent in mine too and I feel like we’re in this together.  I got in 4 really great workouts last week, and I feel that that’s a good fit for my current schedule through the end of the year.  It takes some planning and preparation to make sure to get to the gym, but if I workout hard for at least 50 minutes, I’m good with 4 days. 

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