Gifting Woes

As Black Friday and Cyber Monday approach I wanted to share my thoughts on gifting and all the stuff we accumulate. Take it from someone who went from a 2,000 sq ft house full of stuff to a less than 800 sq ft apartment which contains less than a quarter of what said house did. If I haven't learned anything else from this experience, I now know the importance stuff lacks. If I can't eat it, wear it (let's be honest I still love clothes), or travel to it, then I don't have a desire for it.

The holidays make people crazy with trying to find the "perfect" gift for everyone. Each of whom probably has everything they could possibly need. We spend endless amounts of time and money trying to please each other with stuff. This year I am thankful to say the family is going on a Christmas trip together rather than buying gifts. I can't tell you how stress free I feel knowing I don't have to hunt down the perfect gift(s) and not blow my budget.

This is the advice I offer you as we move into the holiday season. Spend time with the ones you love rather than aiming to please them with material goods. Take a trip, or if that's not in the budget, volunteer together. Maybe as a family you adopt a family in need and spend the money providing for others. If you must buy gifts, why not gift experiences like cooking classes, a painting party (you know...the ones that are BYOB lol), or if there are kids involved a trip to the zoo, the aquarium, or the movies. We all know movies are expensive! If a city near you offers a museum pass or membership that could be a good option for families.

If you choose to participate in the craziness that is Black Friday, may the odds be ever in your favor. Until next post...xoxo Becca

One more pieces of advise, spend wisely and within your means...

Gifting

We're hot off the heels of Christmas, but I want to share one of my favorite places to shop for gifts year round. The year is full of birthdays, anniversaries, graduation is coming up in May, and of course the congratulatory gifts for family, friends, and colleagues. Do you fall in a gift giving rut? I do!

Throughout the year I scroll through Etsy and if anything catches my eye I'll "favorite" it for future reference. Do you shop on Etsy? I started shopping there in 2010 when it was truly an online arts and craft fair. Now I feel it has become a mix of small shops run by individuals and a lot of larger companies using it as another venue for sales. Which disappoints me a little because I like to "shop small" when I can.

Here are some Etsy purchases I gifted in the past. I would show you some recent finds, but people who may be receiving them read my blog ;)

Golf Ball Markers:   Left   Right

Herb Garden Plant Markers (Buy an herb garden starter kit here.)

Grammar Police Poster

Real Leaf Necklace

Monogram Ring Dish

Leather Luggage Tag

Tea Towels:   Left   Right

What are some of your unique Etsy finds? 

Until next post...xoxo Becca

Disclaimer:
This post is not sponsored by Etsy or any of the shops I featured. These are items I have purchased with my own money.

Gift Guide (Under $35) and Thanksgiving Recap

What an awesome holiday weekend! Get ready for picture overload.

Tablescape courtesy of my sister-in-law

TOP: Express | JEANS: Express (old) similar, similar | BOOTS: Kohls (old) similar, similar

Lexi loves her grandpa

Congrats, you're featured on the blog when you hijack my camera and load it with silly selfies

Now to the gift guide, here are a few things I ran across online and they're all under $35. Hope something gives you the idea you've been needing. Happy shopping!

Layered Necklace | Stay Fancy Wine Glass | Texas Ceramic Dish | BP Scarf
Luggage Tag | Monogram Key Chain | Notepad | Holiday Workout Tea Towel

Until next post...xoxo Becca

Favorite Pin Friday | Volume 32

Who made it through Thanksgiving successfully? Who needs stretchy pants?

Guess what, it's Black Friday. I do not, repeat, do not shop Black Friday. All those crazy people...oh no no no not something I ever want to experience.

Back to our regularly scheduled program...

As I've mentioned before, I work at a university and supervise student assistants. I always try to come up with something cute to give them for holidays. Luckily I only have three so I'm able to do fun stuff frequently. If I had a staff of 15-20 it would be more difficult (read as expensive). They'd probably get cookies and punch one day in the office lol Here are two Pins I ran across this week I thought were cute.

Touchet Soiree | Printables

Tried & True | Printables

Until next post...xoxo Becca

Favorite Pin Friday | Volume 28

Whoa what a busy week! Sorry I missed a post on Monday, but here's a quick recap before sharing my Favorite Pin Friday.

Last Friday the hubs and I attended our friends' rehearsal dinner/welcome party (they had a lot of out of town guests in for their wedding). What a fun time! Saturday was the wedding, it was so gorgeous! I wish I would have captured more photos, but I guess I'll have to wait until the professional ones are available to share a few. This week has been crazy too. I am a staff advisor for a student organization at my university and their first induction ceremony for new members was Monday night. It went well, a couple of hiccups, but that's to be expected with a first time event. Then it was bingo and drinks with some friends. Tuesday and Wednesday involved different celebrations for the hubs' birthday! Unfortunately I was sick on his actual birthday so it wasn't much of a fun day. We'll make up for it soon though. Happy Birthday shout out because I know you read my posts :P

Which brings us to today and Favorite Pin Friday. When it comes to giving gifts I like to be thoughtful (I think I've mentioned this in a previous post) so for the bride and groom I framed scrabble tiles of their name. Not only is it personalized, but we have weekly game night with this couple, so how fitting is it to have a gift made of scrabble tiles?! Inspiration from Listoric.

and for those leftover scrabble tiles you didn't use, here are some other crafty options...

Source

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Have a safe Halloween weekend everyone! Until next post...xoxo Becca

Favorite Pin Friday | Volume 8

What to do with all those Instagram pics!? I'm into social media and by into I mean slightly obsessed. I think it's a great way to stay in touch with people you rarely see or talk to on a regular basis. For me, it's a way to let my family know what's going on since the majority of them live out of state or over an hour away from me.

Now the truly obsessed Instagramers are those who have accounts for their pets....let's be honest...I love my puppy (I mean this blog is named after her), but if she had her own account what the heck would I post on my Instagram lol Probably pictures of food and clothes ;) HA welcome to my world.

So what do we do with all those digital photos we keep in "the cloud"? Well here's a few projects to bring that aspect of your life into your home.

First, this Instagram wall...isn't it fabulous!? I love the idea of a collage in mini picture frames. Hoping to try it soon.

Instagram Wall | Gimme Some Oven

Next up...DIY coasters. I made these for my sister-in-law for Christmas and followed this tutorial using 4" x 4" tiles (purchased at Lowe's) instead of the mini ones. I purchased the printed photos through an app called PostalPix, but there are tons out there and I'm sure you could probably try the CVS and/or Walgreens app.

and why not keep it simple and use hanging wire to display your life!

Left: Live. Flourish       Right: 2014 Interiors

I hope this inspires you to live OFF social media and bring your memories into your home through pictures...that's how grandma did it!

Until next post...xoxo Becca

Favorite Pin Friday | Volume 3

Got to keep up...this is week 3 of Favorite Pin Friday. Read week 1 and week 2 to see what they're all about.

This week is a project or gift idea. On one of my many random hunts around Pinterest I came across Yellow Bliss Road's DIY Christmas Gift Idea. First off, what a cute way to package up a few cookie cutters as a gift! The printables make it so easy to tackle this DIY.

Yellow Bliss Road

With my sweet tooth I knew this needed to be an addition to my kitchen and I decided to print and frame the 8x10s. On the hunt for the perfect picture frames now...

If you want to take the gift giving one step further, fill the jar with all the dry ingredients needed for the recipe and hang a cookie cutter on the outside for added detail! Happy gifting!

Until next post...xoxo Becca