*You can click on the pictures in the collage to access the link!* I've split this up into two posts so you can view the second post here. 

Whew, well it's that time of year isn't it. The time to start buying presents. With it being Black Friday tomorrow, I figured it was the appropriate time to post these gift guides. I've posted mostly from retailers that are very easy to shop with.

I want to go ahead and thank everybody who may use the links that I provide in these posts, I do make a small commission on the links if you use them and purchase from them. I've put a lot of time into putting together these gift guides for you with products that we LOVE and CHOOSE every day so it would mean the world to me if you used the links to show your support for this little blog of mine :)

Also another disclaimer before we dive in, I'm a big fan of sticking to your budget. Just peruse the finance section of my blog and you'll quickly see that I am a big fan of purchasing what you need and when it fits your budget. With that being said, you'll see that these gift guides may hold some pricey items. I am also a fan of saving up my money to purchase items of quality that I know will last for a while. With this knowledge, do not feel like you HAVE to purchase anything. These gift guides are meant to serve as a source of inspiration for all of your gifting needs.

With no further ado, let's dive in.

GIFT GUIDE FOR HIM 




GIFT GUIDE FOR HER 

My Personal Favorites 
1 + 3) The Laneige products: I don't go to sleep before putting this lip mask on and the face mask has helped me out of some dire and dry situations, worth it!
9) Every girl needs a nude lip, seriously! Tarte would be my favorite nude lip right now
As you can tell from this list, I'm very big on self-care items and every woman deserves to treat themselves once in a while so any of these picks would be great!!

GIFT GUIDE FOR THE FUR PARENT

Snail mail is my absolute favorite form of mail, whenever I do get a piece of mail delivered to me by a friend, there’s a joy that is different than when I get a text from them.

I don’t send out snail mail often but when I do it’s for Christmas! Are you that person that proudly displays the Christmas cards they’ve received on their fridge? We definitely do that in our house and we want the people we love to know and see how we have been doing for the past year and this is our favorite way to do it! My favorite part of this season would be seeing all of the Christmas cards with photographs!

For the past two years, I’ve worked with Basic Invite on our holiday cards. You can see our cards from our first year of marriage and then our second year of marriage. As you can see in our card for our third year of marriage, we’ve added a furry little companion and his name is Banjo and he is basically our child.

If you’re looking for holiday photo cards for 2019, Basic Invite is the place to go!

Basic Invite is my favorite to use for the following reasons:


1) Easy to use, aesthetically pleasing web design platform


2) ADDRESS CAPTURING SERVICE (mark my words, this will save you time you never knew you could have taken from you)


3) Completely customizable


4) Unlimited options & Colors


5) FOIL OPTIONS - give me all the gold! 


For all of my fellow entrepreneurs and hustlers, there are even corporate Christmas card options. Don’t sleep on Basic Invite, right now they are offering 15% off with coupon code: 15FF51. Go ahead and order your cards now so that you have enough time to send them out for Christmas!

Fall is right around the corner and I am tucking away the memories of Summer 2019 and preparing myself for a new season. Literally and figuratively.



There’s just something about a new season that lights a fire in my soul for change. I’ve always thrived in seasons of change, most people shy away from it, I welcome change with open arms.

And so, I am looking forward to Fall being here. The crisp cool air, the changing color of leaves, the nights in snuggled under fluffy blankets, and lots of nights hearing the tea kettle whistle. I’m eager to welcome nights with stew and chili, weekly crockpot dinners, and the excitement that comes as the holiday months approach.


There are certain rituals I partake in with each new season and something tugged at my heart that somebody needed to hear this or would be inspired by this. And so, here are some ways that you can prepare for this new season.



1. CLEANSE + REFRESH

Each new season, I do the following to cleanse + refresh:


Deep-clean the entire home - I’m talking baseboards, throw open every single window in the house to circulate the air, mop, clean the leather couches, dust the blinds, things I don’t usually clean during the week to allow for a new start in our home.


Ward-robe clean-out - as the air gets cooler, I choose a weekend to bring out all of my fall/winter clothes. I do the Marie-Kondo method, if it doesn’t bring me joy it automatically goes in a pile for donations. In the same way, I start to put away my summer clothes and if I didn’t wear it all season it automatically goes in the donate pile.


Tech clean-out - I do this for my work computer and organize my files, get rid of any irrelevant files, and try to make my work space more efficient and prepare it for this season. For me, our busiest season is in the summer so I make room to prepare to tackle the things I didn’t necessarily have the time to during the summer.

I also do this with my personal computer and my cell-phone. If you guys have been following along, you know I am a big fan of that delete button. I will probably delete all the pictures I don’t need, curate the ones I love, and try to start with a blank slate!