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Cheers!
Morgan
Christmas Shopping on Etsy
I am not a black Friday shopper by any means. I do my Christmas shopping early and usually online. I prefer the no lines and endless options online. One of my favorite stops for gifts is Etsy. I love all of the unique finds and personalized options. When Christmas shopping I try to pick out items that the recipient would normally not purchase themselves. My go to items are tassel garlands, art prints, stationary, and monogramed goodies.
Here are a few of my favorite shops:
1. Studio Mucci – Festive Garlands for any Occasion
2. Elizabeth Mayville – Beautiful Prints for Gallery Walls
3. Shop Ampersand– Artwork, Bags, and T-shirts
4. When it Rains Shop – Custom Stationary, Invitations, and Personalized Gifts
5. White Elephant Designs – Monogrammed Goodness including Ice Buckets and Cups
What are you favorite Etsy shops?
Holiday Gift Guide for Your Besties
Buying gifts for my girlfriends is my favorite part of the holidays. I try to find budget friendly pieces that I know they will love. I also try to purchase items I know they would not buy for themselves such as luxury shower gel and fun coffee mugs. Here is my holiday gift guide for your besties:
Shop this Gift Guide
What are you favorite gifts for your besties?
Chambray + Hunters
I could not imagine fall without my Hunter boots. I love wearing these boots with jeans, dresses, and athletic wear. When the weather is chilly, I have cable knit boot socks to help insulate the boots. I was first introduced to Hunters when I lived in Charleston. The city would flood like crazy and these were the only boots that would save us when walking to class. For fall days, this is the perfect outfit especially when playing in the leaves or picking wildflowers. This dress has become a weekly staple for my wardrobe.
J.Crew Chambray Dress | Burberry Scarf | Tory Burch Handbag | Hunter Boots | Ray Ban Sunglasses | Kate Spade Libra Bracelet | Kate Spade Watch
Sprinkle of Glam Holiday Wish List
With my favorite holiday Thanksgiving over, it is officially Christmas time. Here are a few items that have been on my wish list for Christmas. Nashville is expected to have a very chilly winter this year, I am wishing for sweaters, bean boots, and a heavier jacket to prepare. As I have mentioned before, I am not a black Friday shopper and will instead be participating in cyber Monday.
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What is on your Christmas wish list?
Thankful
Happy Thanksgiving! I wrote a blog post on being grateful about a month ago, that is just as true today as it was when I wrote it. This post is one of the more difficult ones to write as I reflect on the word thankful. As I am at home surrounded by family and friends that I adore, I am overwhelmed by how thankful I am. The only noun that really describes this year is growth.
I am thankful for the opportunities that have came my way this year. Some I thought were not for me, but the people in my life knew better. I just needed a little encouragement from those closest to me to take on a new challenge.
I am thankful for friends. This year my friend group grew from 4 to 14! Moving to a new city is hard, and it took some time for me to find my place here. It is amazing how much more fun life is when you have friends by your side.
I am thankful for creativity. In a world full of boring black outfits and crunching numbers, I am thankful to have an outlet to express my creative side.
I am very thankful for you! Thank you for taking a few minutes out of your Thanksgiving to read my little blog. I hope Sprinkle of Glam becomes a happy place for you!
Each year my family goes around the table and expresses what we are thankful for, each year I struggle with what to say. This year is going to be exceptionally tough to express just one thing!
What are you thankful for this year?
Thanksgiving Family Traditions
As you probably know by now, I LOVE Thanksgiving especially the traditions. Most of my family is from North Carolina and they make the 14 hour trek to Tennessee to enjoy Thanksgiving with us. Since we typically only see our family once a year, we have a great time catching up. Over the years we have developed quite a few Thanksgiving traditions.
Sprinkle of Glam Thanksgiving Apple Cider Bar Cart
Preparing for Thanksgiving
My dad is a Whole Foods fanatic. It is rather funny to see my very country dad sipping on a green juice looking at quinoa and organic turkeys. When I was in college, he would pick me up from the airport in Nashville (about an hour away from my parent’s home) and we would take a detour to pick up organic goodies for Thanksgiving. We have kept this tradition alive and normally shop for groceries the Monday of Thanksgiving week. The night before Thanksgiving, my cousins and I enjoy a pre celebration at the family farm, which typically leads to mischief!
Thanksgiving Morning
On the morning of Thanksgiving, we have coffee and breakfast early in the morning with yummy treats such as pumpkin roll, ham & cheese breakfast sandwiches, cinnamon rolls, and breakfast casserole. I am considering baking these pumpkin biscuits this year! No Thanksgiving morning is complete without mimosas of course, even my grandmother will get in on the action.
Thanksgiving
My mom and I usually cook Thanksgiving dinner together. I love this time to bond with her and do one of my favorite activities, cooking! If our timing works out we enjoy our meal in the early afternoon, giving the men of the family plenty of time to watch football. When we were younger to keep us occupied while dinner was being cooked, we made turkey cookies (similar recipe here). However, even though we are all in college or post college now we still ask to make these cookies every year.
We invite anyone in our neighborhood that does not have family close by to also join in. For a couple of years our neighbors, who are British, joined in on what they referred to as “traitor’s day”. My family hosts dinner at our family farm and the scenery is just perfect for the occasion. Before we dive into the delicious meal, we take a moment to go around the table and say what we are thankful for. Each year I find this part of the day to be difficult. It is hard to narrow down just one thing I am thankful for when there are so many reasons to be thankful.
After Thanksgiving
All my family members usually dress up for Thanksgiving dinner and then immediately change into sweatpants. Once the food coma sets in, its nap time city! My mom and I will start putting up Christmas decorations, which can be quite a feat since she has four full size Christmas trees. I have never met anyone who loves the holidays more!
I would love to hear from you, what are your family’s Thanksgiving traditions?
Boots
I cannot think of a more iconic shoe, than the boot for fall and winter. For early fall, boots with dresses and skirts work for the season. When it begins to be a little colder, I wear skinny jeans tucked in with boots. Once full on winter hits, layering wool and boot socks keep my feet warm with any outfit. I especially love wearing fleece lined leggings to keep warm.
Riding Boots
My go to brand for riding boots is Frye. I have purchased other brands, including cheaper options, but these boots last and can withstand several seasons. I typically take my boots to be polished or resoled after the season to keep them in top shape. I started out with the Paige boots and eventually expanded my collection to include the black Melissa Button and this year the cognac Melissa Button back zip. I could not be happier with my boots and typically wear these everyday starting in October until March.
Rain Boots
Even though I love my Frye’s, I cannot wear them in snow or layers of fall leaves. During inclement weather, I wear my Hunter rain boots. I purchased the boots with the adjustable back buckle, this gives me more room to add boot socks to keep warm. Through rain or snow, these boots have been a staple in my wardrobe for the past few years. I even wore these on a ski trip to colorado, with boot socks of course to keep me toasty! I also use these boots for decoration in my apartment. The dark green color is perfect for Christmas decor!
What are your favorite boots for fall and winter?
Favorite Weekender Bags
Short trips are always the hardest to pack for. I have been doing a lot of traveling lately and have been loving my J.McLaughlin weekender bag. I invested in this bag when I decided it was time to purchase some “grown up” luggage. That Vera Bradley duffle from my college days was starting to look a little young for me to carry on business trips.
I am typically an efficient packer, I try to pack similar colored outfits to minimize the amount of clothing I bring. This is the perfect bag for a weekend trip and I love the monogram. I can usually fit all of my items for a 3-4 day trip in this bag. With the holidays coming up, it is the perfect time to invest in a quality weekender bag.
I rounded up my favorite weekender bags for all of your travels:
1. J.McLaughlin Monogramed Large Sailcloth Duffle
2. Kate Spade Saturday Small Weekender Bag
3. J.Crew Montague Leather Weekender
4. Longchamp Le Pliage Large Travel Tote Bag
5. Louis Vuitton Monogramed Keepall 45
What is your favorite weekender bag?
Tips to Not Become Overwhelmed this Holiday Season
It happens every year, I feel like I am ready for the holiday madness, but I become overwhelmed with stress. This year, I decided I would take the time to enjoy the season and not feel busy by preparing early. After all, the holidays are meant for enjoying time with family and friends not stressing over silly hostess gifts.
*My Christmas cards this year gifted from Tiny Prints
Tips to Not Become Overwhelmed this Holiday Season
1. Put the tree up early and take it down late. I put up my tree the second week of November and boom it is done. Even though I want to enjoy the season of Thanksgiving without Christmas intruding, this makes my life a lot easier. I typically take my tree down after New Years when I am exhausted from the holidays and just want to stay in. Also, my grandmother always said it was bad luck to take down your tree before the new year, this to me is permission to procrastinate.
2. Address Christmas cards in November. I ordered my Christmas cards through Tiny Prints beginning of November. I then went ahead and addressed them. I will wait until a more appropriate date to send out, but this way its done and I can worry about other pressing matters.
3. Purchase hostess gifts now. I know I will be attending a few holiday parties this year. I purchased a few generic hostess gifts and keep them wrapped and ready for when I attend a party. This saves me time and I do not have to scramble at the last minute to find the perfect bottle of wine.
4. Set a date for holiday parties with friends such as friendsgiving ahead of time. Since everyone is so busy during this season, my friends and I planned out friendsgiving the first week of November. The date is set and we do not have to worry about other obligations not allowing time to celebrate with friends. I created a calendar category on my iCal that is for the holidays so I do not miss any important events.
5. Start Christmas shopping early. I began shopping in October when I would see things on sale or something I knew a friend would love. I hate buying a gift just because I need one and not buying something I know the recipient will love. For any last gifts I finish up on cyper Monday. I do not fair well with long lines and being patient in stores for black Friday. This takes a lot of stress out of holiday shopping and allows for thoughtful gifts.
With these tips, you will be kicked back enjoying Christmas movies while sipping on eggnog instead of feeling stressed over the holidays.
Do you become overwhelmed during the holidays? If so, what helps you relieve that stress?
Sprinkle of Glam 