I survived Thanksgiving week!

Wow, this Thanksgiving week has been INSANE, you guys! The holidays always wear me out with so much work to do before the new year + cooking, shopping & decorating for the holidays. So much more reason to look forward to this upcoming vacay!! I did enjoy our Thanksgiving with my family, so much so that we ended up at my Mom's for almost 5 hours. I slept in this morning after such a hectic week, which was nice.

Most of our weekend consisted of shopping for three days online and one day shopping in store.  We have purchased so much that I am thinking of waiting next year to get the new TV and camera. Shopping is extremely time consuming for me because I do so much research in reading reviews & trying to find the best quality product until it takes me an entire day to buy one item!

In between shopping, I was able to get some other things done during the week:

>> Made Christmas Wreath for front door
>> Put out lighted Christmas trees on deck
>> Picked up our Frasier fir Christmas tree & decorated it that same night!
>> Wrapped more Christmas gifts
>> Joined more Blog FB groups
>> Emailed companies to collaborate with for Blog
>> Applied for some Blog campaigns
>> Finished several SoFab University classes
>> Updated Twitter, Pinterest to reflect my Blog instead of Business
>> Designed a new Twitter header
>> Did my first sponsored post with Groupon!
>> Posted some items on Swap + Shop
>> Made some larabars + home-made chili + 2 broccoli casseroles for the week
>> Ordered some more kcups
>> Ordered a Cuisinart 6 slice toaster & convection oven from Kohl's (excited for this!)
>> Went to TJ Maxx Members Event
>> Finished food shopping for the week
>> Had hubby's glasses repaired
>> Bought a couple of groupon deals (Starbucks + hair salon)
>> Created some social media graphics
>> Finished all client work
>> Had pallets delivered to get ready to DIY our garage walls next year (or end of this year)
>> Finished sorting dirt pile & filling up driveway + flowerbeds
>> Painted flower pot for citrus tree
>> Re-stained deck chairs & side table
>> Spot-cleaned patio cushions
>> Planted Rosemary Christmas Tree
>> Hubby pressure-washed deck
>> Finished our retaining wall + flower beds!
>> Hubby unclogged sink drain (I have never been so happy!)
>> Washed all sheet, bedspread covers
>> Reserved parking for our upcoming trip

I'm exhausted just from typing all of this! Later this week, I plan on doing some more VA job research, wash the car, cut the hubby's hair, going shopping with my MIL & having a spa day! I'm just glad that I got through Thanksgiving & most of my Christmas shopping!

What was your most favorite part about Thanksgiving?

Savannah Thanksgiving ||

Hi Lovies! Hope that you all had a lovely Thanksgiving with your families! Mine was full of good food & wine, family, Tybee Island, boat-rides and a little bit of shopping! I'll let the photos below do the talking:)

I finished some last minute client work before heading out the door to Savannah!!

When we got back home- we went and picked out a Christmas Tree and decorated it while we had hot coca + listened to Christmas music. I made a wreath for the front door out of the extra frasier fir clippings + a table centerpiece. Christmas is my favorite time of the year!!

How to Keep Your Sanity During the Holiday Season!

It's that time of year- 23 days until Christmas! Time for gift shopping, baking, Holiday parties, spending time with family- it can be overwhelming!! Here are some of my ideas to keep the Holidays from becoming too stressful so that you can enjoy them instead of losing your sanity!

1.) Use Disposable Plates + cups! There are so many options for pretty Holiday dinnerware- don't get stuck in the kitchen loading the dishwasher all night.

2.) Go Food-shopping ahead of time- make out a list of everything and have your fridge & pantry stocked for all of the baking and cooking that you will be doing. The worst thing is being in the middle of a recipe and realizing that you have no eggs!

3.) Say No to some parties- there is no possible way to attend every party and if you say yes to everything, then you end up being stressed and annoyed.

4.) Do your gift-shopping online! I pretty much do ALL of my shopping online- between Amazon, Starbucks, Anthropologie, Nordstroms, Target. Trust me- it's so much nicer sitting at home having a cappuccino while ordering Christmas gifts instead of being in the store waiting in lines and fighting traffic!

5.) Take some time for yourself- read a book, have a hot cocoa, go for a walk. Everything else can wait, I promise.

6.) Have a fun gift-wrapping party! Having your girl-friends help you wrap gifts makes it so much more fun & adds meaning to the Holidays instead of it feeling like such a chore. Maybe even throw in a glass of wine + some cheese and make it really amazing!

7.) Don't get stuck with annoying family members. Everyone knows how it is to go to the Holiday parties & there is always that inquisitive family member that asks too many questions or tells the most embarrassing stories. My best tip is to find another place to sit or excuse yourself to the restroom- don't get stuck beside them for long periods of time.At my house- there are always family outside and inside, so there's always an easy escape.

8.) Make Cleaning less stressful! Either hire a maid for a before & after clean during the Holidays or have the family pitch in & help. Don't try to do everything on your own!

9.) And last of all Enjoy your Holidays!! Take time out with family to play board games, go to a Christmas Festival/Lights, have a bonfire with s'mores + hot cocoa, donate to the homeless, help others- do some fun things, don't let the Holidays become so stressful until there is no fun left!