Image Source: Smitten Kitchen

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Wishing you all a wonderful holiday with family and friends and delicious food! I will be taking the rest of this week off to spend time with my family and enjoy some shopping. I hope you all can find some great deals in your Black Friday shopping adventures.

P.S. If you are still looking for something to make for Thanksgiving, this sweet potato cake with marshmallow frosting looks delicious.

It’s crazy to think how quickly the holidays are approaching. Thanksgiving is only a day a way, and Christmas is less than a month away. This all means, it is time to kick it into high gear for holiday gifts. I already shared one holiday gift guide here and today I am sharing gift ideas that are all under $25. It is full of fabulous finds that I am sure any of your loved ones would be more than happy to receive. 

Sweater: H&M, Pants: Jcrew, Jacket: H&M, Earrings: Bauble Bar, Watch: Nixon, Nail Polish: Essie, Purse: Zara, Flats: Jcrew

When it comes to dressing for Thanksgiving, I am all about being comfy and cozy. Every year my go to piece is an oversized sweater and when paired with these stretchy ponte pants, it could not be a more ideal combination for a holiday that is centered around food. To finish off the look add some comfy leopard smoking slippers, sparkly earrings, a watch to be punctual, and a wine colored coat, and you will be cozy and stylish for all of your Thanksgiving day festivities.

With Thanksgiving only three days away and it being a holiday centered around food, I rounded up some of my favorite dishes that would be a great addition to any Thanksgiving meal. For appetizers, you have candied pecans for those who love their sweets and for those who prefer savory options, there’s homemade ricotta and pigs in a blanket. Finally, to accompany all the turkey, stuffing, mash potatoes, and cranberry sauce, you have popovers with their crispy crust and soft inside. Here’s to a holiday filled with friends, family, and lots of delicious food!

With holiday prep in full swing, I could not resist sharing with you these adorable photo props. They would be a great addition to any holiday party and will definitely add some fun to photos. You can check out more details and purchase them here at Paper Source.  Have a great weekend!

When I moved into my apartment last year, I wanted to add some color to my room, but did not want to have to worry about repainting the walls when I moved out. Caught in a dilemma, I looked for inspiration in interior design magazines and came across a room that had the back of a bookshelf painted a different color. I loved the way it added an extra pop of color to the room and knew it was exactly what I had been looking for. And to top it off, the process to transform my bookshelf was very easy.

I had planned a really awesome outfit for today, but mother nature was not in a good mood and provided less than ideal photo conditions. So instead of pretty photos of me, I have brought together some great pieces to create the perfect fall chic look. From a silky shirt, to some fur, to a little sparkle, and just the right amount of leopard, this outfit incorporates all of my favorite items in a totally fall chic way!  Now just imagine these pieces on me and it will almost be the same as if the weather had cooperated.

Let's talk nuts. It seems every year they pop up during the holiday season. From receiving them as gifts to munching on few before your holiday feast, it can be hard to resist them. While the standard salted and roasted nuts are delicious, I find seasoned nuts to be my preference. From savory to sweet, the additional flavor adds just enough of an extra dimension. One of my favorites is candied pecans. They are simple to make with only three ingredients and taste as good on their as they do sprinkled over ice cream or a salad. 

Sweater: Gap, Jeans: Gap, Shoes: Sam Edelman, Purse: Banana Republic, Sunglasses: Ralph Lauren, Necklace: H&M, Watch: Nixon, Bracelets: David Yurman, Jcrew, H&M

After being quite chilly at the beginning of last week, think mid-30s and snow one day, the weather in the city this weekend was like a mini heat wave. It warmed up to the mid-50s and was the ideal weather for me to run around with bare ankles in my boyfriend jeans. While I am normally a skinny jeans type of girl, sometimes there is nothing better than a comfortable, slouchy boyfriend jean and a cozy sweater. 

Happy Friday everyone! This week has been one of the long ones. It has felt never ending, so I could not be happier for the pending weekend, but before we get there, let’s talk about Girl Scout Cookies. It seems with every year that Girl Scouts come around selling cookies, it gets harder and harder to resist buying a box or two (or more, don’t worry I won’t judge). From Thin Mints to Samoas (or Caramel Delights for some of you), these cookies are too good to resist! And now, I have a little secret for you. Did you know you can get Thin Mints and Samoas year round at the grocery store? You may be thinking I am playing a joke on you, but I'm really not. Girl Scout Cookies are made by two different bakers, that’s why some Girl Scout Cookies names differ. And, one of these bakers is a subsidiary of Keebler – you know the cookie company with the Keebler Elves. Well those smart Elves had the brilliant idea to make the same Girl Scout cookies everyone loves for grocery stores, but under different names, Grasshoppers for Thin mints and Coconut Dreams for Samoas. So now no matter the time of the year, you can get your Thin Mint and Samoa fix. 

If you are lucky enough to live in New York or have visited, you may be part of the cult following of Momofuku's Milk Bar. With a couple of locations around the city and an online shop, Milk Bar is the brain child of baker Christina Tosi. She combines interesting ingredients to create amazing treats that anyone with a sweet tooth will appreciate. From her crack pie that gives you a major sugar high to her cereal milk concoctions, her treats are truly unique and unbelievably good. So, when she came out with a Milk Bar cookbook a few years ago with the recipes to the majority of these treats, I quickly picked it up. I have made many of the recipes over the years and among my favorite is the pistachio cake. The recipe in the book pairs the cake with a lemon curd, but I have changed mine to whipped cream raspberry filling. The result is sweet, but not overly sweet and the milk crumbs add the perfect crunch to the cake.

Dress: Zara, Shirt: Gap, Boots: Tory Burch, Necklace: Sandy Hyun, Watch: Nixon, Sunglasses: Ralph Lauren

As of late, I have really been challenging myself to incorporate older pieces in my closet into my daily outfits. With all the online shopping, window shopping, blog reading, advertisements, etc, I sometimes think I get too caught up with wanting new things, that I forget about the existing items in my wardrobe. And, when I remember these forgotten items, I have one of those why have I not been wearing this moments. Take this dress and these boots, I have had them in my closet for years, but have not worn either in a long time. I have neglected them for so long, they almost feel like new additions to my wardrobe. Leaving me to think, the best place to shop can be your own closet.

Sweater: Club Monaco, Pants: Jcrew, Boots: Stuart Weitzman, Purse: Coach, Watch: Nixon, Hat: Target

When I was home last week, I had the opportunity to go through my Mom’s purse stash. She has built-up quite the collection over the years, as she cannot seem to part with a purse that may come back into style one day. This Coach purse, I am wearing, is the perfect example. She bought it back in the nineties and wore it when I was a kid until trends changed. Now, years later the long strap style has come back and I was lucky enough to let my Mom let me borrow it. Now I am hoping to convince her to let me keep it!

Happy Friday everyone! In this weeks Friday Find, I have a little different find for you due to a problem I encountered this week. During the week, I was going through my camera photos and deleting old photos I had already saved to my computer. After finishing my clean-up, I realized I had accidentally deleted a set of photos I had yet to save to my computer. Panicking and wishing for an undo button, I googled and googled for a solution and finally came across the software Recuva. Recuva is a data recovery software that can aid in restoring deleted files and disks and is very easy to use. It can recover files from your computer to your camera and best of all it's free. After my panic this week, I cannot recommend Recuva more for those accidental deletes.

Nail Polish is a fantastic accessory. It’s inexpensive, dresses up your finger and toe nails, and can add that extra pop to an outfit. Coming in a rainbow of colors, it is easy to collect more than a few bottles. While I love the idea of displaying all my bottles with their stunning shades and sparkles, space constraints quickly make a growing collection hard to display. Unhappy about this, I was very excited to find a simple way to store all my pretty nail polishes: A glass cookie jar. I got mine here from Williams-Sonoma and love that it easily holds my present collection and has room to hold many more bottles as my collection expands.

Skirt: Forever 21, Sweater: Gap, Purse: Rebecca Minkoff, Shoes: Jcrew, Watch: Michele, Necklace: Jcrew, Sunglasses: Ralph Lauren

Remember the Budget or Covet on faux leather skirts? Well, I couldn’t resist purchasing the budget option from Forever 21 and absolutely love my purchase. It looks amazing and cannot be beat for the price. I am pairing it with everything from form fitting sweaters and blouses tucked in and chunky sweaters un-tucked. It’s easy to dress up or down and is versatile enough to go with almost anything. This is one of those pieces everyone should have in their closet. It may be a budget item, but it has easily become a favorite and I am definitely coveting it.