Family Photos: Emotional Thanksgiving Weekend

Emotional Thanksgiving WeekendI’ll just cut right to the chase here: We had a pretty emotional Thanksgiving weekend around here. In a word, it was hard. For so many reasons. There were tears and some heartache, some of which I’ll probably blog about next week, but suffice it to say, I found myself at a loss for a majority of the weekend.

But, I got to spend the entire five days with my mom and Janelle (and Harry and Stella), so I’m trying to find a silver lining, however small it may be. I even managed to snap a few photos to chronicle our weekend and am excited to share them today, starting with the above selfie I took on Thanksgiving — with a fun photo filter, of course!

Emotional Thanksgiving WeekendI kicked off the Thanksgiving weekend with shopping and lunch with my mom, which is always a fun time! She snapped a pic of her delicious salad, while I, umm, was enjoying my mini bacon cheeseburgers too much to even think of getting my phone out capture their goodness…ooops!

Emotional Thanksgiving Weekend Emotional Thanksgiving WeekendBecause I’m the person who takes selfies with the Taylor Swift display! And because I *finally* have Reputation in my hands…

Emotional Thanksgiving WeekendAnd you know the holidays are coming when you find yourself buying seasonal-flavored lip balm and lip balm in adorable packaging! I just couldn’t resist…

Emotional Thanksgiving Weekend Emotional Thanksgiving WeekendBy Thanksgiving evening, we were all pretty spent, but, thankfully, my mom and Janelle made this delicious dinner and I smiled watching Steve Urkel learn how to swim. So, at least it ended on a calm note??

Emotional Thanksgiving WeekendFinally, this is how Harry and Stella spent most of the day on Monday — curled up and sleeping! I think they missed my mom not being home, though they didn’t seem to care that I was there! LOL…

How was your holiday, friends? I hope you were able to be with family! Do you have any fun photos to share? Did you do any shopping on Black Friday? I’d love to hear all about YOUR adventures, so be sure to post them in the comments!! xoxo

Happy Thanksgiving: What Are You Grateful For This Year?

Happy ThanksgivingHappy Thanksgiving, friends!! Well, it’s technically not Thanksgiving yet, but today is officially my Friday!!! And let me tell you, I couldn’t be more excited!!! My mom is off for FIVE whole days, so as usual, my work schedule is following hers.

Plus, our neighbors are putting up their outdoor Christmas decorations and now all I can think about is setting up a huge lawn display with an inflatable Santa and reindeer — sadly, I doubt my mom or Janelle will go for that plan, but it could be quite the adventure, don’t you think?

What are you doing for the holiday this year? We’ll be staying close to home, but that doesn’t mean our days will be boring! Nope! The opposite is true, actually. Here’s a snapshot of our plans, in no particular order because they’re ALL important…

• Eat delicious food

• Go on a classic Target trip to buy Taylor’s new album — can’t believe I don’t have it yet!!

• Binge-watch season two of Stranger Things

• Play lots and lots of Yahtzee and Bananagrams, which I’ll most likely lose!

• Read magazines that have been piling up for months

This year, I’m so grateful to be spending this quality time with my family — and of course, Harry and Stella!! The year has been flying by way too fast, and I just want to slow down. Even if it’s only for five days, you know?

I’d love to hear some of the things you’re thankful for this year, friends!!! Obviously, family is a huge one for me! I know I’ve said this before, but I really don’t know what I’d do without my family. My mom and sister mean the world to me, and they are my two favorite people on the entire planet! Not sure how I ever got so lucky, but I did.

Happy ThanksgivingHope you all have a marvelous holiday and are surrounded by the ones you love most! Oh, and be sure to eat lots of good food and take time to rest and recharge! I’ll see you all back here next Monday, but be sure to follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram! You know I’ll be chronicling my long-weekend adventures!! See you there, friends! xoxo

[Photos via We Heart It]

Hello to Spring Break…

Hello to Spring BreakWell, friends, we’ve finally made it to the weekend!! I don’t know about you, but I’m super excited to be saying hello to spring break! Like I mentioned last year, I’ve really found it helpful to give some sort of structure to my work schedule. If not, well, everything just seems to explode! I get so overwhelmed and off task — as you can probably imagine, it’s most definitely NOT a very good look for me! I like to keep my life as cool, calm and collected as I can; I hope you’re doing that as well!

Anyway, with that in mind, I’m taking next week off for spring break fun and shenanigans! My mom is on spring break next week, so I thought this would be the perfect chance for the three of us to spend some much-needed time together. We’ve already got one day planned: We’re going out to lunch and then going to see Beauty and the Beast! I honestly can’t believe I haven’t seen it yet. I’m dyyyying!!! I’ve heard such good things about it — have you seen it?

I’ll be back to the regular posting schedule on Monday, April 3rd, and can’t wait to chat with you all then! Meanwhile, if you’re in a blog-reading mood, feel free to browse the archives for a peek into my mind and life. And as always, feel free to connect with me on Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Bloglovin! See you there, friends! xoxo

Lucy Hale’s Holiday Style For Shopbop

lucy hale's holiday style for shopbop lucy hale's holiday style for shopbop lucy hale's holiday style for shopbop lucy hale's holiday style for shopbopIt’s December 1st — bring on the Christmas emojis!! Have you seen Lucy Hale’s holiday style for Shopbop yet? The actress is collaborating with everyone’s favorite online shopping site for its #HolidayHowTo campaign, full of tips and tricks for sparkling from now all the way through New Year’s Eve. I’m loving the cool vibe, aren’t you? Now all we need is a little mistletoe… xoxo

[Via InStyle]