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How about a good, old fashioned, catch-me-up post?
We live in a pretty small town and, with that, comes all sorts of interesting things. The neighboring town (still in our same school zone) holds a hay bale decorating contest each year and the elementary school always participates. Sophie was chosen to be on the team this year and they just happened to be decorating on a day I was at home sick. I ran Hudson to school for my sister and then swung back by to snap a few photos for the yearbook. The kids had so much fun decorating and I wish I could show you their finished Blues Brothers inspired creation, but I’ll refrain from sharing photos of the other kids. Instead, just picture how hilarious eight elementary school aged kids wielding spray paint can be!
I promise I’m not going to share 87 gift guides over the next month or so, but I have shared some pretty fantastic gift options over the last few weeks. I was hoping to share the Counterman Holiday Gift Set today, but it sold out in a matter of hours?! Beautycounter is launching a new men’s line next year, but they offered a gift set for the holidays and it is fantastic. I did manage to snag one for Josh’s stocking, but about ten minutes after I shared the set on Instagram, we got the sell out notification. There will be a limited number available again on the 27th, so if you are the least bit interested, please let me know! There are plenty of other inexpensive sets available right now, which you can find in this post from last month, and for the rest of the holiday season you can shop all of our gift guides using the button in the sidebar.
P.S. Did you notice that we have a little blog update in progress? The gift guide sidebar button is one of many new items and an updated logo and mini refresh are forthcoming. It’s been almost two whole years since we made the switch to Word Press and I finally feel like I know exactly what I need and how I want everything to work. If you have any complaints or suggestions, I would love to hear them!
I had every intention of sharing some Thanksgiving DIY projects on the blog this month, but November wasn’t conducive to projects at our house. Instead, let’s revisit a few of my favorites from years past. Josh’s grandmother (and now his mom!) made the best cornbread dressing I have ever eaten. I shared the recipe last year and we’ve already started making our cornbread for this year’s family get together. You might not have an entire month ahead of you, but there is still plenty of time to fill a week’s worth of these cards out before Thanksgiving. It would also make a great conversation starter at the dinner table next Thursday! Need something fun to share with your guests? Try these DIY recipe cards for the adults at your table and these printable placemat color sheets for all of the little people.
I shared this photo on Instagram earlier in the week and got so many lovely comments. We’ve been living in our house for an entire year and haven’t make a single step towards making it our own. Granted, my parents still live with us and we haven’t made the sale official, so nothing major can happen without our pending construction loan. The problem is, I’ve been avoiding making it feel like home and I’m tired of apologizing for the lack of furniture and the departure from my normal style. I’m making it a point to live in my house during this holiday season and you’ll see a lot more of its interior than usual — styled and decorated or not!
In Wednesday’s post, I mentioned making my sister’s Hashbrown Casserole (on the left) and had several people ask for the recipe. Maybe I should do a better post with photos of the process at some point, but on the off-chance you want to add this to your Thanksgiving rotation, here’s a quick rundown. It’s super simple, but so delicious. It puts the Cracker Barrel casserole to shame!
Ingredients: two bags of shredded potatoes (thawed), one medium onion (finely diced), one small container of sour cream, one can of cream of chicken soup (I’m going to work on a from scratch gluten free option for this at some point), four cup bag of shredded cheese, 2 TB of butter, and salt & pepper to taste (the more the better).
Directions: Sauté onion in butter until transparent. Mix all ingredients (except cheese) together in a large bowl and add to greased casserole dish, bake on 350* for 45-60 minutes. Add cheese to the top and allow to melt.
I realized today, that I completely forgot about our Little Letter link up last Friday. Let’s chalk that up to being out sick for a few days and furiously trying to catch up for the rest of the week. I tried to fit another round in my calendar for this month, but I’m not sure there is any room. Just save up all of those adorable letters and we’ll try again on Friday, December 8th. Pinky Promise!
