Thanksgiving Sanity Savers

Despite the picture of perfection that Martha Stewart and Food & Wine magazine covers portray, hosting a holiday is no easy feat. And although I love to entertain, I am a little. bit. fussy. about the details. I have pretty high expectations of myself (admittedly, totally unrealistic expectations considering my lack of domestic abilities). But I've learned two things: It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful; and some preparation can make it look (and feel) stress-free.

via Martha Stewart

Calling all Ballerinas and Princesses

Oh my! Looks like I just found my holiday attire! Doesn't get much more festive or feminine than this fancy tulle skirt. How would you style it?

Introducing...

...Lola! With heavy heart, I have accepted that my furry companion of thirteen years is most likely not going to return home. Both the Sailor and I had been struggling with the empty feeling in our house without Murph for the past month, and although he will never be replaced, we've opened our home and hearts to this sweet little girl...

 

Lola gets her name from our sushi restaurant, which happens to be in Nantucket. We've already made dinner reservations for Christmas Stroll weekend, and I'm counting down the days!

A Mini-Treasure Chest for Your Mind

Have you heard of a Little Free Library? I love this idea! The Little Free Library movement was started by a guy in Wisconsin, who put a box with books on a post in his yard with a sign "Free Books." The idea caught on, and in the three years that's passed, there have been more than 10,000 Little Free Libraries created around the world.

Three things 'round here: Eat, Be, Go

Three things I am super excited about these days...

Mini Kind Bars- Thanks to Courtney from Sweet Tooth, Sweet Life for blogging about these! I have become such a huge fan of Kind bars, especially since I found out about their Kind movement. Every month Kind supports a project with $10,000 to turn an idea to make the world a kinder place into reality. From rebuilding a firefighters home to mentoring youth to making fresh, healthy food available to inner city neighborhoods, the Kind movement is all about making the world a better place. Collective awwww! Vote for your favorite project here. Totally inspiring!

The Almond Coconut are deeevine! They're almost like an Almond Joy...minus the chocolate but even more delicious (how does that work???)

Country Couture

I'm not big on awards shows. Since I rarely watch t.v. or movies, the Emmys and Academy Awards don't mean much. But last night, the Sailor and I watched the CMAs, and I was definitely entertained by both the music and the fashion.

The best part of the show was when the cast of Duck Dynasty joined hosts Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood for a rendition of Blurred Lines-- complete with Willie's version of twerking.

 http://youtu.be/PQhvg1NqqXc 

Design Crush: Diane Bergeron

I've been bitten by the design bug! The Sailor and I did lots of house projects this weekend, and I'm happy to report that the kitchen is finally coming together. We still have a couple of major items to address like, oh, the countertop, and lighting fixtures. But the floors and cabinets are done, and the painting is nearly complete. The big reveal will come soon, but here's a look at the before.

Cabinets minus the doors- we were in the painting prep stage