Gifts for All

Here is a round up of some gifts that maybe you haven't seen on all of the gift guides but may be helpful if you're searching for something a little different. 

Hope these are helpful for your list!

ONE - love these new balances 

TWO - any dad, brother, husband, father in law, friend need a super bright flashlight to keep in their car or boat?

THREE - a karaoke machine that could be great for your 8-13 year old girl?! 

FOUR - my favorite makeup bag for your mom, sister, daughter, mother in law, hostess gift, cousin 

FIVE - shhhh these socks are going into a stocking at our house! A perfect gift for any guy. 

SIX - any little boys that you're buying for? This ultimate garage is the cheapest I've seen this and it is top on Grady's list. 

SEVEN - pickleball set - how fun to gift a sister or brother in law or some active parents?!

EIGHT - I have this set from years ago and still using it. I loved getting to try each scent but also it's super nice for when you travel to have your good perfume!

NINE - I almost used these hair ties for my favorite things gift but didn't. I LOVE them though because they don't dent my hair! 

TEN - my parents gave me a portable speaker last year for my kayaking adventures. Kevin tries to take it weekly because it's made it back to Charlotte and he thinks it is his! #marriage A great gift for anyone on your list! Waterproof, sand proof, portable. 

Happy Shopping!

Randomness

I have been a crazy person over the last few days. Here are some things on my mind:

1. Our Christmas card is not my favorite. Let's just say that. Sorry Dad and thank you for taking the picture. Eeek!! Story to come when I share our card here (after they're all sent out). 

2. I haven't done my birthday thank you notes yet. On my list!

3. Our tree still only has lights on it. Ornaments to come at some point! Hopefully this week..!

4. I still haven't put the lights on our swirly trees out front. Maybe this weekend. All of the rest of our candles in the windows and spotlight on the front porch are up and looking purty. 

5. Mills had a rough day yesterday. This cyst will not close so I took him to see my sorority sister vet and she cleaned it out and cultured it. We are going to swap antibiotics and try to get it calmed down and closed. Fingers crossed so he doesn't have to have surgery. 

6. I have done mostly all of our Christmas shopping except little stuff for the kids. And I'm not doing much of that mess. Just some fun Santa gifts to put out. I also have a couple other people to buy for but I think I know what I'm doing there. Then I need to wrap all of the things!!!

7. Mix in about 7 birthday gifts I'm also doing for friends and my kid's friends and my head may explode. I honestly love it though. 

How are you guys feeling?! Almost December 1st! Tis the season!

Thanksgiving Week

Back to reality after a really fun week!

The kids were out of school half day last Tuesday so we scooted down to the beach. My parents drove down from Maryland and met us about the same time. 

Wednesday morning Dad and I went to pick up our Wal-Mart order then of course had to stop by 59 Causeway to pick up breakfast on the way home! I love that place!

We were all kind of working and messing around on a rainy Wednesday. I took the kids over to Planet Fun in Shallotte for some laser tag and bowling!



We went to dinner at Maria's which is my favorite spot in Ocean Isle for dinner when it's cold and rainy. It was delicious per usual!





When Poppa goes to Spilt Milk for some ice cream with the grandchildren!



Thanksgiving morning I got up and walked the beach. I love seeing the sunrise and I love a Turkey Trot. Found this huge shell which are super rare on the beach. 



We made a couple more casseroles then headed to Pawleys Island to see my brother and his family. That's Mills down there in the middle of the dock running back! He was SO happy and had the best day with his golden cousin Gill. 


Emily always has a gorgeous table!



Two turkeys, gravy, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, oyster casserole, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, collards, sister schubert of course and deviled eggs. Deliciousness!


This boy liked being there too! All boy all of the time!


We hung by the fire that evening then left to go back to OIB later on. It's sooo convenient that we are so close to our family...only a little over an hour away.



On Friday we messed around the island, visited the craft show and hung out. We got to visit with our friends Regina and Jeff that were in town with their family. Always a good time!


Lots of lounging and loving on the puppy. When Nannie is around, Mills is typically beside her!


Friday night we went over to our friends house for an oyster roast and a whole brisket that we picked up at the Butcher. Look at this thing - 15 pounds of goodness! Jason did an awesome job cooking it. 




And he did a great job with the oyster roast too!


All of the parents!


It was a good vibe!

Saturday we went to the OIB Christmas parade!

An NC State golf cart of course!


Grady loved the go carts and the firemen. I always love the clowns and this year there were rollerskaters in it that were awesome. 


Back in time for cocktail hour - probably our last gin and tonic of the season!



Then we went to our other friend's home for a hot chocolate bar and to see the Flotilla - the boat parade!





It was a bit cold out on the water!

This Margaritaville boat won overall! It was awesome. Playing all Jimmy Buffet music too!



Sunday we got out of there pretty early to head back to Charlotte. Grady came with me to do a couple of errands. He always is up for an errand and I love that about him! We picked out some pretty Christmas wreaths for our front door.


We picked up the other two then went to get our tree! Of course we get it home and it's the perfect height (9') but totally crooked. Haha! Oh well. We got the lights put on it and will do ornaments over this coming week. I also got the window lights on and front of the house mostly done. I'll share photos soon. I love our home at Christmas an extra amount!

Also got our Christmas cards ordered last night. Whew, glad that's over!

Talk soon friends!

Black Friday Round Up

Black Friday deals are happening! Here is a round up of some places you may be shopping. As always, thank you for shopping my links. I have loved putting together Thursday round ups this year!

J. Crew - up to 50% off everything, no code needed

J. Crew Factory - 50-70% off everything, no code needed

Shopbop - 25% off everything with code HOLIDAY

Loft - 50% off everything with code YAY

Zappos - tons of nice shoes on sale

Tuckernuck - 20% off the entire site and up to 30% off with code CHEERS. Get your holiday dresses now - this one and this one are perfect!

Nordstrom - lots of items are 30% off

Anthropologie - 30% off, discount in cart

Lululemon - if you have an account, you can shop their early Black Friday drop now

Hill House - 30% everything (even sale!) with code EVERYTHING30

Little English - 40% off with code BLACKFRIDAY now if you sign up for texts

The Beaufort Bonnet Company - pink sale is 40% off now and free shipping site wide

Serena and Lily - 25 - 40% off site wide. This is their biggest sale! 

Lilly Pulitzer - 30% off site wide

Recipe: Oyster Crackers

These are really easy to make and super nice to have around the house during the holidays. I made a batch last night and I'm so excited to have them for cocktail hour or a snack for guests!

Ingredients:

- two 9 ounce bags of oyster crackers

- 1/2 cup vegetable oil

- one packet of ranch seasoning

- 1 tsp dry dill weed

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. 

2. In a large bowl, mix seasonings with oil 

3. Add in crackers and gently but thoroughly stir so all are covered. 

4. Pour on large sheet pan and bake for 15-20 minutes. Stir a time or two throughout and don't let them burn. 

5. Store in an airtight container and enjoy!

The Greenbrier

On Friday we headed up to The Greenbrier in West Virginia. We hadn't been since I was like 8 weeks pregnant with Molly Anne so we were excited to get back there. We went for our friend Ariel's 40th birthday! Also Friday was my birthday so it made it an extra good excuse to get away. First we stopped in Lewisburg which is a cute little town nearby. We saw three golden retrievers within 5 minutes of being there. 

We had lunch at Humble Tomato per my cousin Laura's suggestion. It was amazing and Kevin and I split the Italian and Meatball sandwiches. And my drink was a margarita on the bottom with a Pinot noir floater on top. We walked around some shops after lunch and the extra cute one was Cat and Kate who I now follow on Instagram haha. I picked up a hair clip and Sunshine Tienda hat. I've wanted one of the hats for the longest time so now I'll be ready for Spring at the beach!

We scooted over to The Greenbrier mid afternoon! It's sooo pretty and decorated for Christmas which was an added bonus!



We had cocktail hour catching up with Hilary and Drew. Would you look at all of those prints?!! 



Friday night was the big celebration dinner for Ariel! My dress is from Tuckernuck and is the Hyacinth brand but looks like it's sold out, old gold shoes and earrings from Laura Cox collection. 


7 of the 9 couples here!




We had dinner at Prime 44. It was delicious. 


Then the girls walked all around the hotel checking it out which ended up being an unplanned photo shoot! 

We ended up in the casino for the night for gambling (guys) and dancing (girls)!


Saturday during the day we recovered from the previous nights activities, a bunch of the girls went to the spa (the Swedish massage was so good!) and then we met up for lunch downtown White Sulphur Springs. We went bowling in the Greenbrier bowling alley, walked in all of the shops and had a grand ole time! 

That night we had reservations at the sushi place for dinner. Wore this new dress and some old Dune heels. 


The best dirty gin martini - look at those stuffed blue cheese olives!





We hung out in the casino then ventured to the lobby bar with everyone. 


Sunday we got up super early and headed back to Charlotte to see the kiddos. We had three different groups of people help us with the kids so we could leave for the weekend. Good times! Julie picked them up from school, Kevin's parents had them for a night and a wonderful babysitter Ashlyn kept them the other night! They had a great weekend as well! 

Much needed adult time for sure! 

Happy Thanksgiving week!