Holidays - The Everyday Hostess

Holiday Gift Guide: For the Hostess November 20, 2017

Holiday Gift Guide – For the Hostess

How is it already Thanksgiving?! This year is just flying by and the holidays are now in full swing! So you know what that means – holiday gift guides! With Black Friday and Cyber Monday coming up, there is no better time to start your Christmas shopping.

We are starting off with our gift guide for the hostess. These are the perfect gifts to give your loved ones who enjoy entertaining or for the host of an upcoming Christmas or NYE party! Be sure to check back over the next few days as we share our gift guides for her, him, the jetsetter, the fitness fiend, and the homeowner (or in our case – the future homeowner!).

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Friendsgiving Dinner November 19, 2017

Thanksgiving Tablescape Decor

Happy almost Thanksgiving! If you’re hosting this year, chances are that you already have your tablescape planned and designed (at least in your head!) and may be looking for that extra flair to give your table a truly festive feel!

I always love using our fine china we received at our wedding as the foundation of our holiday tablescapes and then adding holiday specific items to give it some extra pizzaz! For Thanksgiving, of course, that means lots of “Thankful,” “Grateful,” and “Gather” decor. So i’ve shopped around for us all and gathered my favorite last minute holiday items to add to your Thanksgiving table this week! Enjoy!

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Entertaining October 7, 2017

Ghoul’s Night Out Halloween Party!

Looking to host a spooktacular party this Halloween?! With the help of our dear friends at Swoozies, we’ve got you covered! We hosted the most adorable “Ghoul’s Night Out” party filled with some of our favorite decor and now have all the inspiration you need to host your own ghoulishly good time!

the everyday hostess halloween party with swoozies

With a black and white color palette and pops of orange, this festive set up was completely outfitted by Swoozies, which is the perfect one stop shop for all your holiday gatherings this year!

Enjoy!

the everyday hostess halloween party with swoozies

Easter April 1, 2017

Every Gal’s Favorite Easter Basket

Easter is just around the corner, so you know what that means! Time to start decorating, picking out your favorite Easter recipes, and putting together your Easter baskets for your loved ones!

So often, we think only our littles would enjoy an Easter basket! I mean what else can you put in a basket besides our kids favorite, candy, toys, movies, and stuffed animals?!

Well if you ask me, everyone deserves an Easter basket this year, no matter what age! You just need to be a little creative about what you put in it! To help spur a little creativity, Swoozies and I have partnered up and I have put together the perfect Easter basket for the 20 or 30 something year old gal! This basket is centered all around you and what the ladies want this year! So check it out!

Holidays January 27, 2017

What to Wear: Valentine’s Day Date!

Okay, Ladies! Whether you are celebrating Valentine’s Day this year with your leading man or your favorite gal pals, it’s time to find that perfect eye-catching outfit!

To help with this year’s shopping, I’ve done a round up of some of my favorite flirty looks that are sure to turn heads! Happy Shopping!

Holidays January 1, 2017

2016 Highlights

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a fabulous New Year’s Eve with your friends and family!

New Year’s Eve is my favorite party of the year, as Landon and I host our annual NYE Fondue Dinner Party! This year was a bit trickier now that we are in a smaller apartment, but if you checked out our Instagram story, you saw how we transformed our 700sf apartment and hosted a formal sit down dinner party for 20. (Yes, that did involve removing all furniture from our house and either cramming it in our closet or storing it in the hallway- sorry neighbors!) Logistical issues aside, this was absolutely our most successful fondue party yet, filled with delicious food, wonderful company, and lots of love and laughter.

Now, I could not be more thrilled that 2017 is here because this is the year that we get married!!! We are officially on the 5 month countdown, and I have no doubt that this will be the best year of our life!

But of course, we can’t forget to thank 2016 for all the incredible memories and times we had! Starting with our engagement (YAYAY!) and of course all the success with the blog and the fabulous parties that we were able to throw.

Though it’s super hard to narrow down, I wanted to highlight some of the top moments and posts from 2016 (in chronological order)!

Kate Spade Valentine’s Day Party and Alice in Wonderland Tea Party

We started off the year with two incredible styled shoots. Our Valentine’s Day brunch with Kate Spade that I got to enjoy with fiance and future in-laws and our Alice in Wonderland Tea Party with Holiday Warehouse. Both shoots helped start the year off with a bang and allowed us to work with a team of incredible people.

2. IBB Design Collaboration

One of my favorite teams to collaborate with this year was IBB Design. If you haven’t checked out their store or their magazine, definitely do so! I had the great honor of being published in both their summer edition about How to Host a Summer Soiree and winter edition about How to Host a NYE Dinner Party this year.

The Everyday Hostess and IBB at Home Summer Soiree

3. We Got engaged!

The absolute highlight of this past year, and my entire life, was our trip to Nashville in June where Landon proposed! It was the most incredible day of my life and I am so beyond honored to get to spend the rest of my life with him. Check out the full proposal story here!

4. Wedding Wednesday Series

With the start of our wedding planning journey, we started a Wedding Wednesday Series to document the process and everything that we are learning along the way!

5. Geode Styled Shoot in BONT

In September, we collaborated with a showstopping team on a Geode Styled Wedding Shoot at the Dallas Quarry, which was featured in Brides of North Texas Magazine (BONT)! This was my first time being featured in BONT, and needless to say I am still in shock!

6. Fall Inspired Brunch

One of my best “friendors” Lindsay of Lindsay Davenport Photography asked me to collaborate with her and style a Fall Inspired Brunch before the birth of her new baby boy! We had so much fun designing and planning this brunch for her 2016 wedding couples and the end result still has me seeing hearts!

7. LikeToKnowIt!

At the end of November, we got accepted to LikeToKnowIt! Blog wise (that does not include getting engaged!), this is 100% the highlight of my year! Being accepted into this program has been one of my main goals since starting our blog in 2015. We can now share easily shoppable links to all of our favorite products and party decor with you on the blog, and if you sign up for LikeToKnowIt, you will receive your favorite products directly to your inbox when you like our posts on Instagram!

8. Christmas Winter Wonderland

To cap the year off, and for the second year in a row, I partnered with Holiday Warehouse to share our tips and tricks for Decorating the Perfect Christmas Tree. This is always one of my favorite shoots and posts of the year because we get to spend hours at Holiday Warehouse dreaming and looking at all of their gorgeous Christmas decor and then styling our own tree at home! Plus the post was also featured on WFAA!

Most importantly, we are so grateful for each and every one of you. Thank you for following us and helping us to make our dream a reality. We absolutely love what we do and cannot wait for another spectacular year!

Happy New Year!

Entertaining December 20, 2016

How to Host a NYE Dinner Party

As featured in IBB At Home Winter 2016 Edition

Just because you’re done with turkey dinners and gift wrapping, the holiday season isn’t over! The fanciest of them all is circled on my calendar for December 31st! New Year’s Eve is often one of the most lavish nights of the year filled with glamorous parties, glitzy dresses, and festive dinners. Revelers have high expectations for the evening, so I’ve put together these tips and tricks to help ensure your NYE dinner party goes off with a bang!

1. Guest List and Invitations – A well-designed invitation gives your guests a glimpse of just how glamorous your NYE party will be. It’s the first chance to sweep them off their feet, so make sure your invitations help portray the elegance and experience you want to create.

2. Location – New Year’s Eve calls for opulence and grandeur. The best way to set your NYE party apart is through a swanky location. I love the idea of a rooftop dinner party with a show-stopping skyline view to really wow your guests, but if that’s not in the cards for you, think of these non-negotiables: extra space for mingling, a TV screen for the NYE broadcast, and a visible clock for the countdown!

3. Decor – Decorations set the ambience and formality for the entire evening, and it’s impossible to go over the top on New Year’s Eve. It’s a night that calls for all things glittered, sparkly and metallic. The most popular color palettes seen in NYE decor is black, gold, silver and white. If you want to go somewhere in between, I love champagne and pewter tones, or if you want a pop of color, emerald is the perfect hue to pull in!

4. Menu – By the time NYE rolls around, many of us have already been cooking and hosting so many holiday dinners, that it’s nice to keep the menu simple! For this reason, I love serving a variety of cheese, meat, and chocolate fondues. It’s a great, interactive way to involve your guests and minimize the prep work on your end, plus it also provides hours of entertainment for your guests! If you want to add an extra special touch, create personal menus for each guest that correlates with the invitation you sent out!

5. Champagne Bar – NYE is not complete without some bubbly, so be sure to stock up on extra champagne for your soirée! Design a “Pop Fizz Clink” bar to display a signature cocktail as well as a selection of champagnes for your guests!

6. Countdown Plan – The countdown to midnight is often what guests look forward to the most! What is better than ringing in the new year with your special someone and enjoying a midnight kiss? Create something memorable for the moment and make sure to announce the countdown with a microphone. Pass out party hats, horns, confetti, sparklers, or even arrange or a big balloon drop!

Finally, relax and celebrate with your guests! This is your last big gathering of 2016. Grab yourself a glass of champagne, enjoy that extra strawberry dipped in chocolate fondue, and reminisce about all that 2016 had to offer.

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Photography by Lindsay Davenport Photography

Styling and Planning: The Everyday Hostess

Straws/Straw Flags/Napkins: Sequins and Lipstick

Invitations and Menus: Amazing Design Studio

Calligraphy Bar Sign: Slinging Inks of Bella Grafia, Inc.

Christmas December 14, 2016

Festive Christmas Tablescapes

If you read our Christmas Tablescapes Round-up last year, you know how much I absolutely LOVE setting the table for Christmas! I love designing tablescapes on normal days, but Christmas is a whole other ballpark! 😍 I could spend days perusing Pinterest looking for ideas and unique themes to incorporate into my holiday scape!

So! I decided to share the wealth of my endless Pinterest stalking, and gathered some more of my favorite festive holiday tablescapes to help inspire your Christmas decor this season as well!

Pier One

The White Buffalo Styling Co

100 Layer Cake

Holidays December 12, 2016

Green Monday Deals!

Today is Green Monday – The last main day retailers are discounting their goodies before the holidays! So time to get in all of your last minute orders and finish up that shopping! To help take advantage of some of the extra special deals going on today, I’ve linked some of my favorite retailers with their promo codes.

ANN TAYLOR | 40% off with code SHOP40

ASOS | 30% off December Picks – no code necessary

BANANA REPUBLIC | 40% off with code GIFTS

H&M | Extra 30% off 1 Item with code 8996

JC PENNEY| Up to 30% off with code GOGREEN

LANDS END | 40% off with code SNOWFALL

LOFT | Up to 40% off with code STYLEEVENT

LORD & TAYLOR | Extra 50% off with code FRIENDS

NORDSTROM | Up to 60% off designer

POTTERY BARN | Extra 20% off with code DELIGHT

URBAN OUTFITTERS | Extra 25% off

WEST ELM | Up to 30% off with code BEMERRY

Christmas December 7, 2016

Holiday Gift Guide: For the Hostess

We are officially in Christmas party mode, which we just LOVE! What’s more fun than picking out your favorite festive outfits, getting all dressed up, and celebrating the season with your loved ones? We can’t think of much!

Before you run out the door to your next gathering, don’t forget to grab a gift for the hostess! Whether you are looking for a full on Christmas present or just a token of your gratitude, we’ve got you covered with our gift guide for the gal who loves to host! As someone who looks for every reason to host a party or bake something and is elbows deep putting together a wedding registry, I can promise these gifts are a safe bet for any hostess!

Nordstrom Champagne Flutes | 2. Monogramed Decanter | 3. Nordstrom Faux Fur Throw | 4. Capri Blue Candle | 5. Le Creuset Dutch Oven | 6. Wusthof Knife Set | 7. Cravings Cookbook | 8. KitchenAid Mixer