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5 GREAT HOLIDAY COOKIES

I have to confess... I'm a total sellout. Thanksgiving is two days away, Evergreen garlands hang perfectly tied with bows to the stair rail, my buffet is decorated with greenery and pinecones that are befitting of this years "clean and green" Christmas theme and a wreath hangs from the front door.

Another confession? we're celebrating "cancelled Thanksgiving" this year. Truth be told, its my birthday, and I just wanted to have fun getting ready for the holidays with them - its one of the best times of the year, amiright?

One of my favorite ways to get into the holiday spirit is to bake a whole bunch of cookies and bring them to friends and neighbors. Here are a few classic cookies and a few maybe new to you that are too yummy to pass up.

1. Hot Chocolate and Marshmallow Cookies: these are the.best.ever.

2. Perfect Sugar Cookie Cut-Outs: This recipe claims to be moist, tender and keep the shape of the cutouts.

3. Oatmeal Creme Pie Cookies: These cookies look SO good. If they're anything even similar to the oatmeal creme pies of childhood days - yes please :)

4. Chocolate Crinkles: SO, so yummy. If you love chocolate - these are a must.

5. Thick and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies: The gingerbread's we make always turn out the slightest bit crispy, I'm excited to give this recipe a go this year.

My family's favorites include wreaths, peanut butter kisses and sugar cookies - what are your family's favorites?

sugar cookie image, gingerbread image, crinkle cookies image

LAST MINUTE HOSTESS GIFTS

Mid-week holidays always have a way of creeping up amongst the hustle of the holiday season, and if you haven't gotten around to stocking a few things to bring to your favorite hosts this Thanksgiving - here are a few items you can find at shops in your neighborhood [hopefully ;)]

click to shop:

BLACK IN THE BEDROOM

If you haven't ever followed the One Room Challenge, I highly recommend it. In a short 6 weeks designers and bloggers transform a space and the results are amazing. While there were so many truly transformed and incredible spaces this round - I can't get the bedroom that Jessie Miller over at Design Daredevil created for her client. It. Is. Gorgeous.

While I feel myself gravitating towards even more white in my home than we already have, the cozy, sexy, enveloping feel of this bedroom certainly gave me [and the color white?] reason to pause.

go visit Design Daredevil - you won't believe the before photos!

The clean white bedding against the dark walls in these next two bedrooms I particularly like. Symmetry is a design element that I deeply appreciate and the balance of light and dark simply works here:

MINI MOMENT: PALE BLUE

Blues are being forecasted again as a color trend for 2015 so maybe its due to their increased popularity this year, but I feel like pale [almost dusty] blue is having a mini moment right now.

I kind of love it. This shade is such a pretty color and adds a lightness and life to the spaces it ever so quietly adorns. Just a little bit seems to be enough, and can be paired with so many colors and patterns without feeling like it clashes.

Does pale blue speak to you?

photos: one / two / three / four

5 TIPS FOR A GLAM GIRLPAD

In a few weeks my sister is moving into a new apartment with a girlfriend, and since they have both acquired a few things in their travels - they're having a difficult time figuring out how to make it all come together and keeping their budget in check. I think there are a few tricks of the trade when you are renting apartments and potentially changing styles or roommates every so often.

1. Select a sofa in a neutral color, preferably one that has sections that could be rearranged. I love this Ikea Kivik sofa because each piece can be moved according to what best fits your space. You can add corner pieces, chaise pieces and pick up new slipcovers any time. The singular pieces even look great on their own as a chair. This will make it easier to move from place to place with the same piece.

2. Choose a piece of furniture to invest in. Something for the long haul. In this case, these chairs. They're beautifully made and their classic style is timeless.

3. Add color with accessories - not paint. When I was younger I always dreaded moving and what made it worse was painting the walls back to white. White is a good clean color and its much easier to change accessories as your style evolves than painting.

4. Buy affordable dual duty pieces. A side table with drawers [storage] A clear coffee table that serves its purpose yet doesn't visually clutter the room. A garden stool that looks good in any room. A natural material rug that can be moved from your living room in one apartment to your bedroom in the next.

5. Purchase or create art from sites like Society 6 or Etsy that you can frame simply and hang in a grouping. It can pull your whole scheme together and make it feel polished.

Magenta Madness:

DONT MISS: NORDSTROM'S ANNIVERSARY SALE!

Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale started on Friday and this year it feels to me like there is more on sale than ever before. I love this sale because I don't do very much shopping over the summer and fall always feels like such an appropriate time to update my closet [and a few things around my house]. The sale started Friday [7/18] and goes through August 3. Let's get started, shall we?

I have seen cutout pumps everywhere for this fall. I love that these Sam Edelman shoes fit the trend but don't feel complicated.

One of my all-time favorite watches is a vintage Rolex thats gold with a cerulean blue face. This Vince Camuto watch feels a little reminiscent.

I see these Nike shoes everytime I walk through Nordstrom and the fun zebra print paired with neon pink always speaks to me - now that they're on sale, I might look a little closer.

This Cashmere Cardigan seems like the perfect piece to pair with any outfit this fall, not to mention warm and cozy for traveling.

Jeans - we all love them right. The wash on this Joe's Jeans pair looks like they've been well loved for years.

Jacquard is such a flattering fabric and the pink on this Halogen skirt will keep summer lingering into the fall months - it on extra sale!!

Voluspa candles are some of my favorites. So many yummy flavors that carry through a room. Amber Lumiere is my personal favorite.

This cute Cara cuff link would add to a stack of bracelets nicely.

The Clarisonic Opal is part of my beauty routine. It's sonic power helps to infuse anti-aging serums into the skin while hydrating, firming and restoring skin around the eyes in just 30 seconds.

SOFT + FEMININE

Ever since seeing this gorgeous bed a few weeks ago [it's on sale!], I've been dreaming of bedroom schemes centered around it. I think it calls for something soft and feminine, perfect for the baby blue tones that have been inspiring me around the web [ok, maybe just pinterest] this week! Topping the look off with some light blue silk draperies would be extra dreamy...