Category : Life

It’s officially the week of Thanksgiving and we’re ready to celebrate! Things I’m excited for:

+ Spending time with family and friends. We’re stretching Thanksgiving this year and partying (re: eating) all week long. On Thursday we’ll be spending the day with Todd’s side of the family, on Friday we’ll be with my side of the family, and then on Saturday we’ll be hanging with friends. My pal Bev and I have already decided to lock ourselves in Iris’ playhouse with a bottle of wine. Sorry, kiddos – mamas will be ready for a break.

+ Having my house smell like a Christmas tree. I love, love, love having a real Christmas tree, mostly for the fresh pine scent, but also for the tradition of picking out just the right one. I’m also completely obsessed with this Roland Pine candle by Soap and Paper Factory. This is the third year that I have bought one – I hope they never ever stop making them because I don’t know what I’ll do. Probably die.

+ Broccoli-cheddar casserole and buttermilk pie. I make the same things every holiday – the casserole is my mom’s recipe and the pie recipe is passed down from my dad. Very southern, very comfort-foody, very much my favorite, but also very unphotogenic food so there will be no photos.

+ Enjoying our very organized closets. I spent this past Sunday (and I mean all day Sunday) going through and organizing my closet and Iris’ closet. Mine only took about an hour and hers… well, she has a ridiculous amount of clothes so it took FOREVER. I’m not sure how long this whole organized thing will last, but it sure feels good to reach into a drawer and not pull out a pair of leggings that are two sizes too small. While I’m donating a ton of stuff, I also have a nice little stack of clothes that I’ll be selling over on my Instagram shop in the coming weeks.

+ Freshly Picked Black Tuesday Sale. Tonight I’m giving away a pair of soft-soled Freshly Picked moccasins on Instagram. If you aren’t a winner, don’t be too sad. They’re having a big Black TUESDAY sale tomorrow morning (11/24) and will be 25% off select styles in the shop (with even bigger discounts on apparel).

+ Time. Very thankful to have a nice chunk of days off from the daily grind. I’m sure I’ll be very ready to send Iris back to school next week, but until then – I’ll soaking up every minute.

“Whoa! Slow down little lady.” – What Iris said to me recently as I filled my wine glass. And that’s what I’m saying to this month right now. I can’t believe we’re already halfway through November! Christmas will be here before we know it. I just hope December doesn’t go as fast, but I’m sure it will. Here’s a short update on what we’ve been up to lately.

Razorback basketball season has officially started! We have season tickets, so we try to go to as many games as we can. It’s always tricky with Iris, but it’s getting easier (the ice cream bribe at half-time seems to work pretty well).

A film crew recently came to Fayetteville to do a piece on Iris’ CVS birthday party. It’s for a UK show about funny kids, but there’s a chance it could air in the US too. I’ll keep ya posted. Iris did great… mostly. For some reason during the interview segment, she kept grabbing my BOOB! I have no idea what that was about. She has never done anything like that, so.. really lovely that she decided to get all hands-on when the camera was rolling. Hopefully they’ll edit that out, but I’m sure my face will be beet-red (or make that CVS red).

Iris and I had an afternoon date on Saturday. We ate at our favorite local restaurant and then went shopping along the town square.

Todd built (from scratch!) Iris an amazing playhouse for her fourth birthday. He has worked nearly every day on it, but as of this weekend it’s officially finished. Now comes the fun part – decorating it and moving in some toys! I’ll give you guys the grand tour soon.

We went to “Bring Your Parents to School Night” at Iris’ Montessori school. Iris showed us some of the work she’s been doing lately: Moveable alphabet, pink tower, and stroking work.

That’s all for now… Stayed tuned though because tomorrow I’ll let you know about a giveaway that I’m hosting!

Recently Iris met up with Fayetteville’s own Barrett Baber who just advanced to the live playoffs on NBC’s The Voice! Barrett is set to perform tonight (Tuesday 11/10) and whether or not he survives to the next round all depends on votes from the public. Iris is gonna vote. You should too!