It is that time of year to start ordering Christmas Cards! I have to admit I love Holiday Cards. I get so excited when I go to get the mail and there are Holiday Cards in our mail box. I love seeing pictures of my friends and their children that I don't get to see on a regular basis.
Time and time again I always find my favorites on Minted. I especially love their Foil Collection.
The past two years I have done cards from the foil collection.
Right now you can use code CHEERS for 15% off + free recipient addressing on your card!
Our card from last year:)
I rounded up my 10 favorite foil designs on Minted but there are so many more fabulous options!
and best part is Minted has graciously offered one reader the chance to win $125 to use on their site! Just leave a comment with your email address and favorite greeting card or what you would use the $125 towards! Contest ends Friday 11/20 at 5pm.
Every year we have a tradition where my parents treat all the grand kids to Holiday jammies. We always order them early so the kids can enjoy them for awhile. Although my kids wear theirs all year long- they love holiday pj's! Hanna Andersson Pj's are our favorite. The quality is excellent and they wash and wear really well. Below is what we picked out for this year. The boys all got blue with Santa Claus and Frances got a red and green zip up pair.
I also treated the kids to some slippers. Sterling had out grown his old ones and Frances never had a pair. Of course if her big brother was getting a pair she wanted a pair too. These both light up and the kids love them. They would make a great Christmas gift too!
Melissa and Doug have a great selection of these giant stuffed animals- HERE
These are great gifts to leave out under the tree. Sterling has already informed me he wants the dolphin and boxer this year.
I wanted to share a few gift ideas for the kids.
These are all gifts for the most part that we own and love and the kids play with frequently. I love getting personal recommendations from people about what toys are their kids favorites. So these below are ours.
I bought this nativity set last year as a treat for the kids from "Fred" our elf. I set it out Thanksgiving night and they loved it. It really is such a great nativity set. I like that it is wooden and kid friendly.
We have a friend who has this and it is so cute. I put this on Frances Moon's Christmas list. She is a purse lover and I love that you can personalize it.
So true story I saw a kid drawing on one of these at the doctor's office and I asked his mom where it was from thinking it was going to be far more expensive than it was. I ordered Sterling one and he loves it. It is great at his age for practicing wririntg and just doodling.
This is great for travel or play at home. Both Sterling and Frances love play houses. This one is great because it comes with the people and furniture. You don't have to purchase them separately.
We have the Simon Game and wood blocks and use them often. Sterling also has the pirate costume, he loves to dress up. Nordstrom has such a great toy selection right now. Don't forget they will price match and offer free shipping.
Happy Friday! My one of my best friends is in town this weekend and I can't wait to hang out with her and her family!! We have lots of fun stuff planned.
Since we talked about Thanksgiving sides yesterday I found this one on Pinterest I may have to try out.
I have been reading Me Before You for about a week now. It is a great read and thought provoking about living as a paraplegic and quality of life. I can't wait to read the sequel that just came out next.
I have to be honest for a long time I kind of snubbed Loft. I thought it was a store geared towards older women. Then I started seeing several people and celebrities wearing items from Loft that were cute, really cute. So I stopped in and have been hooked ever since.
Loft is having 40% off the entire site today. No code just enter your email address.
I have found some really cute stuff there lately and you can't beat the prices. A few of my favorite recent purchases:
Caught my little man snoozing last night with all his friends. I love how he lines them all up:)
I stopped in Target this week to buy some globe lights for our pergola and of course had to browse. Their Christmas collection is on point this year. There were so many decorations I wanted. I couldn't resist this adorable Advent Calendar for the kids.
I am currently working on Sterling's room and making some changes. It has not been updated since he was 2.5 and he wants some big boy updates. I just ordered this adorable duvet cover and pillows- thank goodness he choose something I actually like too. I found them at a new to me site called Unison Home.
New favorite breakfast. Thank you to whoever recommended adding a fried egg to my avocado toast. Matt and I love adding jalapenos to our toast it gives it great flavor.
This Sweater + Necklace are on repeat lately. As in I have worn them 3 times this week.
Lastly one of Matt's clients is in the running to have his Doritos video aired during the Superbowl. Watch it HERE and vote for him:) That is really him and his son in the video.
I love a good veggie side dish. I could take or leave the Turkey at Thanksgiving but the sides are what I am all about. Each year I like to add a couple new side dishes to our Thanksgiving Dinner. I made this Broccolini a few weeks ago and it would be the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving dinner. Best part is the kids loved it. Sterling helped me make the cheese sauce and I think anytime the kids actually can help you cook they are more likely to eat the food. You could easily make this the day ahead and reheat. It saved well as we ate it again the next night.
2 pounds broccolini 2 1/2 cups water Salt and pepper 2 tbsp unsalted butter 2 tbsp all-purpose flour 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 cup shredded Provolone cheese
Instructions 1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat broiler.
2. Trim the bottom inch off of the broccolini. Bring a medium pot of water to boil over high heat. Add the broccolini to the pot, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until nearly tender, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer the broccolini to a paper towel-lined baking dish and set aside. Reserve 1 cup of the broccolini water and drain the rest.
3. In the same pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly until golden, about 1 minute. Whisk in the broccolini water and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and, whisk in 1/2 cup Parmesan and the Provolone until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
4. Transfer the broccolini to a baking dish and drizzle sauce over the center of the stalks. Top with the remaining Parmesan. Transfer the baking dish into the oven and broil until cheese is golden and broccolini is tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Serve immediately.
I also wanted to share a few tried and true favorite side dishes we have made in the past. I highly recommend any of these for the big T Day. If you have any favorite side dishes please do share as I am still planning out my menu for this year!
Lastly if you need an appetizer idea I made this cheese ball last year and it was huge hit. Not only beautiful and festive to look at but seriously delicious.
