holidays | So Pretty is as Pretty Does.

Nov 30

Perfect Gifts for Her {psst…”her” is me}

You know how flight attendants remind you that before helping others, it’s important to put your own oxygen mask on first? That’s my philosophy on gift giving. With that in mind, here’s my “Black Friday/Small Business Saturday/Cyber Monday/Totally made up Tuesday” gifts for me guide.

The amount of hummus and banana ice cream I make is reason enough to upgrade to a larger food processor; this eight cup KitchenAid should do the trick. And, here’s a 20% off code for any small appliance from Best Buy.

Nov 26

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A non-Thanksgiving Post

Spending time with people you love, participating in traditions, eating tons of food. Pretty perfect, right? I, like many of you, love Thanksgiving. My husband and I are lucky enough to have two Thanksgivings each year. The first is celebrated on Thursday with his side of the family and our second feast is with my crew on Sunday. And, while there are so many gorgeous decorating ideas and presumptuously sumptuous recipes out there to try, I am just not feeling it this year. Don’t get me wrong, I’m so thankful for the chance to spend time with those I care about. But to be honest, the holidays are stressing me out. So, you may see posts in the near future about a fantastic cheese board I’m putting together or my continual journey to make the perfect pecan pie. But today, the day before thanksgiving, I’m simply sharing some photographs I’ve taken of street art. Because, a little distraction can be pretty nice during the holidays, and is certainly something for which I’m very thankful.

{independent alley gallery, Istanbul}

Nov 20

The five minute autumn wreath

Whew, it’s been a busy November! Full of new endeavors, like pursuing my real estate license, and new projects both here at home and the mountain house. Due to the long-term nature of these projects (painting the exterior of my house, winterizing the mountain house), I don’t know how many will turn into great blog posts, we’ll just have to wait and see. But, I definitely want to share this incredibly simple and inexpensive semi-DIY holiday wreath.

Oct 21

Halloween Tombstones to DIY for

As the month of October marches on, as do my attempts at inexpensive DIY Halloween decor. And, what front yard is Halloween ready without spooky and pun-filled tombstones? That’s not a rhetorical question, no front yard is complete without these. Here’s how I made these tombstones for $7.

Oct 2

DIY Halloween {Spooky Steps}

Over the weekend, I started to get excited to decorate for Halloween, but with so many projects going on right now, I’m really trying not to spend much time or money on spookifying (hey, it could be a word) the house. To that end, here’s an easy and inexpensive way to let the neighborhood know you’re ready for trick-or-treaters using s idewalk chalk.

I chose my back steps for this display for two reasons. 1) The steps are under the patio roof so the chalk won’t wash away the next time it rains and 2) due to our parking set up, it’s the way most people enter the house. Read more