The Best Semi-Annual Sales Happening Now

You guys it’s my favorite time of the year- sale season! I don’t get too excited over Black Friday sales and the like because I know semi-annual sales are a few weeks away, which is when I get the really good deals! I thought I’d share a few of my favorite sales going on right now because you’re going to want to spend all your Christmas money!

BEAUTY

Ulta– 50% off jumbo sizes of hair products

Sephora– Extra 20% off sale items

Tart– Up to 70% off

Bath and Body Works- Up to 75% off

STYLE

Nordstrom– Half-Yearly Sale up to 50% off

Victoria’s Secret– Semi-Annual Sale up to 50% off

Under Armor– Up to 40% off

Nordstrom Rack– Extra 25% off clearance

Toms– 70% off Surprise-Sale

Ann Taylor– Extra 60% off sale styles

BaubleBar– Up to 70% off

Francescas– Up to 80% off

Lucky Brand– Up 75% off

J. Crew Factory– Extra 50% off clearance

Macy’s– Up to 60% off

Saks off 5th– 75% off Clear the Warehouse

Kohl’s– Up to 70% off

HOME STYLE

Pier 1 Imports– Up to 70% off original prices and 25% off clearance

West Elm– Up to 70% off sitewide

Overstock– Up to 70% off clearance

One Kings Lane– Up to 75% off clearance

Pottery Barn– Up to 70% off sale styles

Crate and Barrel– Up to 50% off

*affiliate links are present, they help me pay for my blog!

Mental Health During the Holidays

Hi everyone! I’ve been pretty busy these last three weeks prepping for Christmas, which is what sparked the need for this blog! This time of the year is filled with all sorts of emotions. Some are happy, some are sad. However, I really wanted to highlight how important it is to recognize and take care of our mental health during the holiday season. It can take a real beating! Here are a few of my personal tips on managing mental health this time of the year!

Acknowledge Your Feelings

When I was a kid, Christmas was so magical and full of joy and excitement! But as an adult, its a bag of mixed emotions for me and many others. This year will be hard for David and I due to the passing of his mom over the summer. I’m finally acknowledging that the joy we normally have each year will be a little duller this time around. I’ve been running around like crazy trying to make it fantastic for him and his family, but as he pointed out to me, I can’t fill a void that isn’t my place to fill. Feeling sad this year is ok.

Take Time to Do for Yourself

Now that I’m married and have my own home to run, I can totally see how my mom would get burnt out on Christmas! It’s exhausting! Women (and sometimes men) are expected to keep the house clean, do all the cookie baking, host guests, decorate, buy gifts, wrap said gifts, and cook up a delicious meal for Christmas dinner. My mom did all this and more and I don’t know how she did it! I’m tired just doing a quarter of these things.

Taking time out for yourself and doing what you want to do to make yourself happy is great for your mental well-being! For me, it’s sitting down with a glass of red wine, a bit of cheese (or a lot), and watching a good Christmas movie. That’s my jam! And mom, because I know you’re reading this- take a break today!!

Have an Action Plan for Toxic People

Toxic people. We all have them in our lives and they usually show up around Christmas. If you know you’ll end up interacting with them around Christmas, have a plan on how you’ll deal with them. For me, there’s certain people that can make me feel bad about myself. My action plan is to simply keep interactions to a surface level so I can minimize the likelihood of finding myself depressed after seeing them.

There ya go! Those are my big 3 tips on mental health during the holiday season! Please comment with your own tips and reach out if you ever just need someone to talk to!

Target Dollar Spot Christmas Edition!

Oooh you guys! Target has done it again! Their Dollar Spot is on point this Christmas! They have a lot of inexpensive decorative items and tons of really cute things to give as little gifts or stocking stuffers! If anyone wonders where I spend all of our money, its in this little section. Like how does $1 + $3 + $5 = $56?! It just happens in that section of Target. ANYWHO, take a look at what’s in store!

Christmas Home Decor

Bar & Kitchen Gifts

Everything is between $1 and $7! As you can imagine, I’ve been restraining myself from purchasing basically everything (I mean it’s only November, right?) But you better believe I’ll be raiding the Dollar Spot in the coming weeks!

 

Christmas Tree Farm in Flower Mound & Choosing Decoration Styles

Hi everyone! It’s been such a busy December so far between Christmas parties and work. David and I both work in a similar industry so planning for the first quarter of 2019 is in full swing. We did get time to go out to a Christmas tree farm in Flower Mound to get a real tree though! I was so excited! I haven’t had a real tree since I was little and frankly, I had no idea how heavy these things were until David and I had to drag it into the house. It smells SO good though! I’m still decorating it and slowly gathering lights, ribbon, and ornaments to put all over it.

The day we went it was about 60 degrees so I sported my favorite coral Hunter Boots, a light weight Old Navy quilted vest, and this J Crew plaid blouse I found on eBay! My Hallmark loving self was hoping it would snow and fuzzy mittens would be required for the day but no such luck.

Christmas Tree Decoration Styles

I was scrolling through my Instagram feed earlier looking at how everyone decorates their Christmas trees and holy smokes, I need to step my game up! Between all the gorgeous flocked trees and the crazy amount of ornaments on them, I definitely feel a little behind on my decorating. I’ve always had a difficult time deciding if I want a “designer tree” with a color scheme and lovely ribbon all over it, or if I want an old fashioned tree with heirloom ornaments and popcorn strings. When David and I buy a home, I’m going to have both because I think both are fabulous!

Also, how cute is this doormat?! I found it at Target for $10! I put it on my front step and hung a wreath on our door! I love outdoor Christmas decorations but crazy enough, our house right now doesn’t have electrical outlets outside! I was so bummed when I discovered that! So I can’t put twinkle lights on our bushes or inflate a big snowman on our lawn. I’m way not happy about that so the doormat will have to suffice. Sigh.

 

Our Personalized Guest Book from Purple Trail!

Eeek! I’m so excited to share another sneak peek of our wedding details! I teamed up with PurpleTrail.com to create this really beautiful wedding guest book for our guests to sign on our big day. For our wedding day, I didn’t want to go over the top with personalized details because it’s overwhelming to manage and its just another stress-inducing thing for me to handle. However, small touches like a personalized wedding guest book can be a really nice addition to the big day.

A really neat thing you can do to customize your guest book is add custom pages! Believe it or not, this isn’t expensive to do and it makes signing a guest book more of an experience. We chose to do a fun page where people sign their names, offer advice, three words that describe us, and their wishes for us. You can even add a picture in the corner of . I chose a photo of David proposing to me!

Guest books are such an important part of a wedding day because they preserve the memory of everyone that was there to celebrate with you. And 50 years later you can look back at everyone who was there and appreciate that special moment in time frozen in your book! How wonderful is that?! I highly recommend browsing Purple Trail’s guest book selection. Even the cover was totally customized. If you’re getting married, enjoy every moment and detail of wedding planning! And if you’re not, share Purple Trail with someone you know who is!

-Liz

*this post was sponsored. all opinions are my own.