Mother Love

The holiday season is officially here!

And one of my favorite things about this season is making my list of Christmas gifts…adding people to my list and writing out ideas of what to purchase for each one. I love gifts, and it’s interesting that as I get older, I truly do love giving them more than getting them. #maturity

I’ve been inspired this year to do more “shopping small,” trying to find gifts from small businesses or hand-crafted shops or local entrepreneurs. I still can’t totally get away from the big stores like Target, but I’ve found it’s actually more satisfying to purchase something from a small business or a socially responsible business that provide jobs for those in need (like Noonday or Live Fashionable!). It kinda feels like you are actually gifting twice…once to the recipient and once to the business/person you purchased from. I don’t have my own business so I can’t say for sure what it feels like to have people purchase my products, but I can imagine it’s pretty cool to watch your hand-crafted items leave the inventory shelves!

I know there are a million gift guides all over the internet, but here’s a few more ideas to add your list.

A great bag like this or this.
Some pretty jewelry pieces like this, this, or this.
Magazine subscriptions to some fun mags like this or this.
Or something pretty to drink out of like this or this.
Accessories like this, this, and this are always a fun gift to receive.
Tickets to a concert, orchestra, art class, or cooking class…or a gift certificate to a spa for mani, pedi, or massage.
This or this for a little pampering.
For the coffee lover, this or this.
For the foodie, this or this.
And just a few more random ones: this, this, and this.

Happy shopping, dears!

What about you: do you enjoy the gifting part of the Christmas season?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

We had a really nice Thanksgiving holiday!

My mom’s side of the family was all together at my grandparents in South Carolina over Thanksgiving, so we left in the afternoon on Wednesday to head there for the weekend. Ayla did so well and ended up sleeping for the majority of the trips both ways…which was so nice! We had a big Thanksgiving meal on Thursday with all the goodies…deviled turkey (my grandmom makes the best!), mashed potatoes, sweet potato souffle (my grandmom makes the best!), homemade dinner rolls, stuffing, corn, seven layer salad, and of course a big spread of pies for dessert. There really is something so special and comforting about Thanksgiving food, right? It just speaks of family and belonging and satisfaction. I told Ben on our trip down that it really is such a good feeling to have family to belong to, to travel home to. Sure, we have our issues and imperfections and quirks that drive each other crazy sometimes…but to know that there are those people who will just always be family is such a gift.

We spent a few days at my grandparents house and then the rest of the weekend at my mom and dad’s house. Ben and I managed to sneak away for a little date morning on Saturday, after some other plans with other people ended up falling through at the last minute. We settled in for the Clemson-Carolina game for the afternoon after we got back from breakfast, and it was pretty fun to see our team pull out another win for an undefeated season! My mom’s sister and her husband came down in the afternoon to spend the evening with us at my parent’s house, so more quality family time to finish out the day.

We went to church with my parent’s on Sunday morning, stopped for a quick lunch at Whole Foods, and then spent the rest of the afternoon at my uncle’s coffee shop for a surprise party to celebrate my grandparents fiftieth wedding anniversary. Fifty years! I love that, and I truly hope that Ben and I are able to celebrate fifty or sixty or seventy years of married life to each other in our lifetime. We had a dessert buffet and more coffee (my family likes coffee) and it was a good time of celebrating the love of two of the dearest people to me. We left for home from the party in the afternoon, and made it through the crowded roads and pouring rain to our little home sweet home that night. It was such a fun holiday, but there really is nothing like coming home, right?

Also!

Congrats to CINDI JAMES, the winner of one of Katie’s gorgeous, hand-crafted clutch bags! Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway, and if you didn’t win, you can still purchase any of Katie’s products from her online shop. Her bags and home decor items are such perfect Christmas gifts for your mom, sister, or a friend!

What about you: what feelings and sentiments do you associate with the Thanksgiving holiday? Did you travel for the weekend?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!