Happy Sunday and we hope everyone who celebrated had a great Thanksgiving with their families. We too were juggling work and family time but it’s always worth the chaos getting to spend extra time together:) Oh, and we hope you loved Emily’s niece’s pretty awesome bedroom reveal, and don’t worry the DIY bulletin board step-by-step post is coming this next week. Until then, here are this week’s links!
This week’s house tour is more of a holiday house tour to start this December off with as much cheer as possible. EHD friend, Drew Michael Scott, just had his home published from last year’s Christmas and it’s full of wonderful ideas. You should also see his mantle this year🙂 Enjoy!
From Emily: Y’ALL. It’s a busy time for my romantic life what with all the holiday movies out and now SO MANY HOLIDAY ROMANCE NOVELS. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed how the publishing industry is like “Oh yeah? We can do this too” and is tapping a lot of our favorite romance authors for holiday-themed novellas or novels. I just finished In The Holidaze by Christina Lauren (a real solid favorite of mine, which was cute but pretty tame) and am excited to dig into more (recommendations?). If you are wondering what to read in the romance thriller world I highly suggest following Beach Reads And Bubbly – she has GREAT recommendations in all the thriller/romance/romantasy/erotica genres. Last year, I read Window Shopping by Tessa Bailey and I’m about to dig into the Lovelight Farms. Let me know in the comments what I should throw on my list.
From Caitlin: It finally happened: I bought a selfish gift. Last week, I sent my mom this budget-friendly heated round brush. Sure, I knew she’d like using it…but honestly, I didn’t have enough room to pack my heated brush in my carry-on, and I wanted to be able to borrow hers while visiting her on the East Coast. To that end: I’ve had this thermal brush for almost two years (I’ve written about it before, if it’s ringing a bell) and it is the ONLY hair tool I trust. I’ve never been great at styling my own hair, but this gives me professional blowout results in under 15 minutes, EVERY SINGLE TIME. You wrap your hair around it (the motion is the same as a curling wand – it’s WAY easier than a traditional iron!) and this brush adds all the shine and bounce a gal could dream of. A must-try for anyone who lacks the coordination for an actual blowout!
Also From Caitlin: My all-time favorite shaping swimsuit is on sale for 40% off. I’ve written about it at length here in the past (see this previous writeup for all the details), but I’ll just reiterate this: I keep this swimsuit IN MY CAR just in case there’s a swimming emergency. (My child self would have her mind blown if she knew that one day, we’d be confident enough to throw on a suit at a moment’s notice!) I have 3 TA3 suits – the Lacey, the aptly-named Plungey, and the more modest Squarey – and I just love wearing them 🙂
If you are renovating and also want to get in on these Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals, we just made a special post for you! HEAD HERE!
From Arlyn: I LOVE this new half-zip pullover I grabbed a few weeks ago from Gap. I bought a similar one last year for super cheap off Amazon and after 1-2 washes, it looked awful. This is NOT that. The material is awesome, it’s warm but not too warm, is a great length, and washes really well. It’s on sale for about $48 right now for their Black Friday deal, and honestly, I might try to get another one in my size in another color if it hasn’t sold out yet.
From Mallory: Holiday doormat recs coming your way! I was in desperate need of a doormat and stumbled across this one from Anthropologie…and I’m obsessed. It’s so jolly and sweet!! I also saw a DIY of it that was amazing if you’re feeling crafty (could be a fun holiday craft night with the fam). Or if you’re less of a DIY gal – I also found this one from Target that made me audibly go “awww” (and it’s only $13). It’s time to get in the spirit so why not start at your front door? Happy holidays!!!
From Gretchen: Coming to you with a new Instagram/TikTok account that brings me so much joy every time they drop a new “will it lamp?” video. Basically, this duo of artists, Clay and Rory, go thrift shopping looking for interesting items they can morph into lamps with a little creative reconfiguring. I used to LOVE making lamps out of vintage baskets and these videos remind me of just that, but way better! They’ll take a beautiful opalescent glass bowl, drill a hole in the back, and attach a light kit with a pretty bulb to turn it into the coolest sconce you’ve ever seen! They’ve been great about keeping up with the series and it’s been such a fun watch to get in the creative spirit.
Also From Gretchen: I’ve been craving an IKEA excursion for a while now and I finally braved the crowds. I’m a little obsessed with going on the IKEA app first to see what all is new or what I suddenly can’t live without, and then saving each item to a list so I have a roadmap when I head to the store. I still end up buying way too much stuff every time, but at least I feel like I’m doing it efficiently! Anyway, a while back I wrote about my plans to build out my kitchen island so it’d better serve as the backside of a makeshift wall/conversation pit enclosure for my couch. If that sounds totally confusing, you’re not wrong, but this post should explain it better! Well, I’ve been living with a new-to-me sofa, sitting backed up to the kitchen and while I love the arrangement, it’s still an eyesore because it sticks out past the island. Before I jump into a new building project, I took a commenter’s advice to pick up these shelves from IKEA first to carve out the space and hopefully make it feel more anchored. They are the perfect depth, just 12″, the same as the lip of my island, and short enough that they can tuck just below it. I bought four of them–three to line the back of the sofa and one that returns to act as a side table. They form a perfect L shape and totally give me that closed-in, conversation pit vibe I was looking for. The shelves were SUPER affordable, even more so with an IKEA Family card, are seriously sturdy, and look GOOD.
From Jess: I was looking for a more formal dress for a fun holiday event I was invited to and came across this beauty. I didn’t think it would totally work on me but I ended up LOVING it (it’s better on than it shows on the models). Anyway, if you are in need of a stunning black (or metallic) dress that can easily go formal I recommend this one. Plus, this weekend it’s 40% off…
As always, thank you for spending some time with us today and see you tomorrow. xx
Opening Image Credits: Photo by Kaitlin Green | From: My Niece’s Colorful Tween Bedroom Reveal That She Will Hopefully Still Love In Five Years:)
