It’s no secret that I love leopard… I mean, I have leopard carpet on my stairs! Animal print goes with everything, is considered a neutral, yet it adds flair at the same time. What’s not to love? I’ve rounded up some leopard items that caught my eye. The boots are at the top of my Christmas list!
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Today I’m sharing one of last year’s favorite movie nights…. enjoy! This post contains affiliate links.
My husband and I just returned from a trip to New York City to celebrate my 40th birthday. One of our many stops was The Plaza Hotel where we enjoyed a cupcake and popped into the Eloise store. It was right there, perusing all the darling pink merchandise, that our next movie night idea was born. My daughter enjoys the Eloise books, so I knew this one would be a hit. Eloise at the Plaza called for all things girly and fun.
We ate in the dining room for this one, which always feels like a treat. My table is an antique that belonged to my grandmother and is a unique size. Taking out the leaf, it's more suitable for our family of four and fits more of the tablecloths I acquired before the table became ours.
I put down a black tablecloth and went to my wrapping paper stash for a splash of pink. This striped paper is from IKEA. I planned to use it as more of a runner across the length of the table, but this was all I had left. It worked just fine. I grabbed pink chargers, white plates, and looked through my collection of girly dessert plates. I pulled out this set which dates back to my newlywed days.
On a different day or in a different mood I might have chosen to donate these plates since they are a little outdated. This day I was happy to have them! As Eloise would say, they looked "rawther fancy."
For the centerpiece I love to use the DVD if we have it. I grabbed the tray off my kitchen table and used a pink vase I had to hold hot pink roses. I felt like this movie night table called for flowers and we enjoyed them throughout the following week.
For dinner, I did my best to make it both easy and elegant. On this particular afternoon we had a school event and my son had soccer practice. I had a brisket with bacon cooking in the slow cooker all day (not fancy but delicious). I served it with roasted brussels sprouts and these colorful carrots I found at Trader Joe's. I thought the carrots were so pretty.
I've had these little poofy coaster things forever and they added a flair that is surely Eloise-approved. My kids had Shirley Temples to drink and the color fit perfectly!
While I was running around that day I picked up these mini cupcakes at the grocery store. I served them on these NYC map napkins I brought home from my trip.
The movie was cute and funny. We all truly enjoyed Eloise and her antics in the hotel. The only thing is that Eloise says, "oh my lord," which I could do without.
As a side note, I have both a daughter and a son. Sometimes we do really girly movie nights, sometimes we do really boyish ones. I don't stress about perfectly catering to everyone every time and they don't complain.
Thank you for joining me today!
I know, I know. It’s only September… September 25th… which means Christmas is just three months away! I love Christmas so much, and I do my best each year to set myself up for less stress and more enjoyment of the season. My trick? I try to do a little Christmas prep on the 25th of each month. That way I have less work in December and more time to just sit and enjoy looking at the tree and being with my family.
Here are a few things you can get now to both be prepared… and to keep yourself from missing out. The early bird gets the Christmas worm!
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I love dated ornament frames because they are an easy way to add personal touches to your tree AND easily remember the dates year to year. These are excellent grandparent gifts as well if you add photos! Buy them now, because they tend to sell out.
I’ve shared the Neiman-Marcus annual platter before, because it’s one of the oldest tricks on my book. It’s the absolute perfect one-size-fits-all gift. It’s a great price, it comes beautifully boxed, and it can check that “has everything” person off your list.
Lego Advent Calendars are SUCH a treat and I love that they offer something besides candy each day. These go fast, too, in my experience. I love that their are versions perfect for my son and my daughter.
Personalized gift tags add so much elegance to your gifts. Not to mention, they are a timesaver when you are trying to wrap that mound of presents! I love these letterpressed gift tags. Ordering now means you’ll have them in time to wrap gifts whenever you please.
Those are a few of the tricks I have up my sleeve… now back to Halloween preparations!