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Happy Thanksgiving!

November 23, 2017 by jessica Leave a Comment

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you have an amazing Thanksgiving holiday filled with friends, family, and more food than you can possibly eat!

xoxo,
Jessica

Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: thanksgiving

5 Ways to Stay Sane This Holiday Season

November 17, 2017 by jessica Leave a Comment

5 Ways to Stay Sane During the Holidays

Despite how fun the holiday season can it, it can also be one of the most stressful times of the year! Personally, I get excited for all of the holiday hoopla, travel, and gatherings in advance — and then I can feel my blood pressure rising when I’m in the midst of it! There’s a lot to do between pleasing as many family members as possible with an appearance, making travel arrangements, buying the perfect gifts, baking your signature cookies that “you simply must bring,” and squeezing in your 9-to-5 responsibilities on top of it. With the holidays fast approaching (can you believe Thanksgiving is next week?!), I wanted to take a step back before the gift guides start and share some of the tips I’ve learned on how to make the holiday season as stress-free as possible.

A little bit of planning goes a long way.
Sit down with a day planner and go through the next month and a half, marking in travel dates and holiday parties as completely as possible. Once your schedule is firmed up, book any plane tickets and hotel rooms that you’ll need. Advance planning will help you get the best rate and will eliminate any pressure of finding something at he last minute. If you’re having trouble making it to a family gathering, suggest doing it earlier in the month or even in January. Not all holiday gatherings need to happen in the last two weeks of December. Additionally, write down a list of the gift recipients you need to shop for and the items you need to bake. Is there anything you can buy in advance? Can you make cookie dough and freeze it until you’re ready to bake? Anything you can do early will help ease the pressure once we’re knee-deep in the holidays. After the new year, reflect back on what did and didn’t work this year. Did you host a family dinner and found yourself with too much turkey or too little stuffing? Did your mom mention a fantastic gift idea for your dad next year? Keep a notebook specifically for the holidays to jot down your notes so you can reference it next holiday season.

Stick to a budget.
I couldn’t find updated statistics, but the average American spent $882 on holiday gifts in 2015 and was anticipated to spend $929 in 2016. On. Gifts. Alone. This number doesn’t include holiday travel, decorations, and groceries. Knowing that, it’s not surprising that the holidays are a major source of financial stress. Look at your finances with a critical eye this year and choose a reasonable number that you can stick to with your budget for travel, decor, and gifts. I know it’s tempting to tack on a last-minute, splurge-worthy gift that your recipient will just love, but no one wants you to go in debt as a result. Next year, consider setting aside a small amount of money per paycheck in a holiday savings account. I use Capital One 360 for savings and I have one specifically dedicated to the holidays that I put $25 per paycheck into. I don’t notice that amount is missing, but with 26 pay periods, I end up with $650 to put toward holiday spending at the end of the year. I usually still spend a little bit more when it’s all said and done, but accounting for another $300 or so is much easier than a full $900+.

It’s okay to say no.
I jokingly talk about how the holidays are just made for disappointment. It seems that no matter how hard I try, there’s no way I can reasonable fit in every party and every family gathering. And you know what? That’s okay. Pick the holiday gatherings that are most important to you early and add them into your aforementioned holiday calendar. Treat these as your priority items and then consider each additional invitation as it arrives. If you want to go, great! Add it to your calendar. If not, follow up with a thoughtful card expressing your gratitude for being invited, a simple “I have other plans that evening,” and wish the host a happy holiday season. You don’t need to go into detail with what those other plans are — and don’t feel guilty if you’d rather stay in with a bottle of wine and a TV show to binge watch. (If you’re turning down a close friend or relative, send along a small gift, too. I love these kitchen towels so much that I already have two and I’m going to go back for more, and a luxe candle is always a hit.)

Take time for yourself.
The most important piece of advice I can share is listen to your body. Your body shows signs of stress before you even know you’re feeling that way. Are you getting less sleep? Feeling like a cold is coming on? Have mysterious aches and pains? It’s a sign to stop and take care of yourself. In addition to exercising and eating better meals than just holiday cookies, schedule in time to pamper yourself this holiday season and do things that you enjoy. If you love being at home, snuggle in with a cozy blanket and a book. Thinking about pulling the trigger on an item you’ve wanted all year? Now’s the time to do so, assuming it won’t put you in debt! Need a little holiday escape? Take a weekend trip to a nearby city for a change of scenery, or book a day at the spa. (Dave and I always head to Chicago for the annual Christmas market as a way to kick off the season and spend some quality time together.)

Find the humor in things.
I hate to say it, but there are things that will go wrong. One of your relatives might bring up politics that you vehemently disagree with. Your holiday meal might get scorched in the oven. Your Christmas lights might randomly burn out. Or, in the case of my New Year’s Day 2016, you might find yourself with a flat tire the day you’re planning to leave your parents’ house. Shit happens. And it’s so much easier if you can find the humor in things and crack a joke. Ignore your weird relative (roll your eyes only in your head, though), put in a frozen pizza and serve it with sides (or keep some extra rolls and sandwich meat on hand), appreciate that you have fewer lights to pack away this year, and enjoy an extra day with your folks (board games and cocktails help). Besides, any truly awful holiday experience makes for a good story the next year!

Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: health, Holidays

Weekend Reading

November 3, 2017 by jessica Leave a Comment

Weekend Reading 11.03.17

Weekend Reading:

  • Ninja cats.
  • I just love the unique shape of this satin special occasion bag. It’s like a present for all of your essentials.
  • Ugh, this is not a good PR moment for Zara.
  • Have you ever wondered why you don’t purchase vanilla extract in the liquor store considering it’s alcohol?
  • Part of the reason I haven’t been shopping very much lately (or at least keeping what I’ve ordered) is because I’ve set the bar pretty high for things to purchase. If I’m on the fence about it, it goes back. If it needs more than just a simple alteration (or Spanx), it goes back. If I’m not having a “Holy sh*t! This is even better in person/on me!” moment, it goes back. I don’t want to have a wardrobe of things that I talked myself into. One of those “OMG, I love it!” moments happened when I tried on this coat. It doesn’t look like much online, but it’s so cute in person, and the fit is incredibly flattering especially if you have full hips. When you have the hood up, there’s a little tab to button to keep the chill out. Ah! I’m just over the moon with it! (I went with grey and my regular size 8 for J.Crew coats. I’m typically a small in their sweaters and a size 10 in pants, so the swing shape is appreciated.)
  • Within two seconds of meeting you, this is what people are judging you on. (It’s not your clothes.)
  • Target is getting a Sephora-esque makeover! (Let’s just hope no one sues for a herpes outbreak like this woman. Use those testers at your own risk!)
  • Lele Sadoughi’s newest earrings are gorgeous!
  • Thank you, Emily, for making me feel like our wood paneling is on point. (Learn how to paint wood paneling here!)
  • Raspberries are unexpected addition to your Thanksgiving meal.

Five Under $50:

  • A dark floral shirt dress.
  • If you’re not much of a dress girl, how about a velvet jumpsuit for the holidays?
  • Add some prep to your ponytail with these velvet bows. Go with the”golden brandy” color to keep it from looking juvenile.
  • “Fiction” is the perfect fall nail color.
  • A polka dot wrap dress in emerald green.

Earlier This Week:

  • The one thing I purchased last month.
  • Coveting pieces to kick off the holiday season.
  • What we were up to in October. (Plus, a snapshot of Dave’s Halloween costume. You can see mine on Instagram.)
  • I had the opportunity to stop by the Google Home Mini pop-up donut shop and take home one of the gadgets (c/o). It’s the size of a donut and basically takes care of many of the tasks Siri would. My favorite feature is having it read recipes. It’ll dictate each step and wait for you to finish working on that one before continuing. It’s easier than checking your phone with food-covered fingers throughout your meal prep!

***
image via Collage Vintage

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Weekend Guide Tagged With: weekend guide, weekend reading

Life Lately

October 12, 2017 by jessica 1 Comment

Life Lately

This is the busiest time for me at work, which I’m sure you’ve gathered given my radio silence so far this week. It’s hard to set aside time for a hobby when a couple of hours to get through a post means I’ll be burning the midnight oil later that night on the work that pays the bills. Instead of staying completely mum this week, I thought I’d share some of the photos on my phone from the last few weeks. Most of these aren’t edited (our living room walls are white and not that weird cream color), but, hey, I’m crunched for time. 😉 And with that, a little peek into the life of Dave and myself over the last few weeks:

  • Our bar cabinet finally arrived and we couldn’t be happier with it. We haven’t had a chance to style it, but that duck lamp is totally staying on top. (Sources: bar, lamp, pumpkin, planters)
  • Enjoying lazy weekend mornings at home. The blanket isn’t cheap, but it’s such great quality. And I’m loving my new robe.
  • Trying on Halloween masks at Target. I’m still tempted to go back and buy this one. We’ve been throwing around a few costume ideas, but we haven’t settled on one yet. This would make dressing up so much easier. (I can’t wait for our first Halloween with trick-or-treaters!)
  • I think we’ve picked out our wallpaper! We’re going to hire someone to hang it because we’d hate to screw up something so expensive, so I’m going to wait a couple of months until I feel like we won’t be straining our budget to make this happen. (During the flurry of buying things for the house, we also ordered this media console.)
  • We went out for afternoon drinks last Saturday at one of our favorite bars. While I was snapping that leafy photo, a tornado unexpectedly touched down roughly a mile from our house. I’m so thankful that our house is fine. (It was a weak tornado, as far as those things go, and most of the damage was done to trees, signs, and awnings. Phew.) The shoes are from Madewell and required no break-in time.
  • There’s a random tomato plant that sprouted up in the small grassy area between our house and driveway. It’s been producing quite a few cherry tomatoes. It’s a fun surprise, even if it’s not the best place for it!
  • I casually suggested we buy a record player some day so we could adorably play vinyl as we cook together. Apparently when you express an interest in electronics to someone who loves technology, “some day” came awfully soon. Dave bought this turntable, and we’ve now been scouring flea markets and record stores for albums.
  • That bottom middle photo is pretty much what I come home to every day now and I love it. I love when the cat runs to greet me. I love our bar. I love the floors. I love that piece of artwork … that we still need to hang.
  • And our couch arrived!

Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: life lately

Weekend Reading

August 5, 2017 by jessica 5 Comments

Weekend Reading 08.04.17

We’ve been living with mountains of boxes, rifling through them each time we need something. To say it’s frustrating would be putting it mildly! So, this weekend is all about unpacking and finding homes for our belongings, even if that home is Goodwill. I’m totally going to Marie Kondo this place and get rid of everything that doesn’t “spark joy” or serve a purpose. We have more stuff than I realized and when I want to tuck half of it away in the basement indefinitely, that’s probably a sign that I don’t need it at all. Other than that, we have a few home improvement projects to tackle, a chic ceiling fan to buy (do those even exist?!), meals to cook on the grill, and bike trails to explore around our new neighborhood.

Weekend Reading:

  • One of the best olive oil brands you can get comes from Costco. (This is the one we use most often and I can vouch for its quality, too!)
  • Exploring architecture’s influence on fashion.
  • The unusually popular summer travel destinations for residents in each state.
  • This slinky wrap dress is the most perfect item for the hottest days of summer.
  • I’ve linked to this before, but here’s where you can snag the jewelry cabinet I featured in my Instagram story Thursday night.
  • A new book shares what legendary authors preferred to wear.
  • Are you watching Netflix’s Glow? After reading this article on how the show’s makeup team nailed the 1980’s looks, I’m intrigued!
  • I tried this dress on yesterday and it’s so cute! I’ll be adding it to my wardrobe soon!
  • Your best lipstick shade according to your astrological sign. (I know it’s bunk, but they nailed it with Gemini and my love of bright pink shades!)
  • Traveling without an itinerary sounds like hell to me, but I realize that a lot of the best things that happen on vacation are the things that aren’t planned. Here are tips on how to break the cycle of over-planning before your next escape.

Five Under $50:

  • Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale ends tomorrow, so now’s the time to snag any fall items you can imagine yourself reaching for throughout the season! I completely missed this top the first time around. Doesn’t it look great for pairing with jeans and ankle boots?
  • This satin pajama set is adorable, and I love that you can mix and match sizes for the top and bottom.
  • Tassel earrings are still going strong. Here’s the latest pair I’m crushing on. The cobalt blue is stunning!
  • A lightweight short-sleeve sweater with fringe trim.
  • These floral cropped pants look like they should be from Ted Baker!

Earlier This Week:

  • I only bought four things in July, but they really added up!
  • Coveting summer-to-fall neutrals.
  • A peek at our bedroom inspiration.
  • More weekend links over at Curated Couple! (This is where I’m going to put more of the home-related content as I figure out a good posting groove. I don’t want to inundate you with things here that aren’t style-related if you’re not interested!)

***
image via

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Weekend Guide Tagged With: weekend guide, weekend reading

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Hello!


Jessica Hamm
Hello there! I'm a first-time homeowner updating a 1920s house in Madison, Wisconsin. I have a penchant for travel and a love of costume jewelry. Follow along for personal style, travel, and lifestyle content.

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It’s autumn … in 21 days, but who’s counting It’s autumn … in 21 days, but who’s counting? 🍂 

I recently repainted the wall in our bedroom (that’s closer to a green-blue-grey IRL) and it’s serving up fall vibes with the faux maple stems that are hanging out just until our new lamps arrive.
Reminiscing. 📍The Netherlands, 2022 Reminiscing. 

📍The Netherlands, 2022
After her big adventure to northern Wisconsin, Lil After her big adventure to northern Wisconsin, Lily seems pretty happy to be home.
Very few things are surviving in my garden this ye Very few things are surviving in my garden this year, but the delphiniums looked great. Here’s hoping they spread next year! 🤞🏻
Celebrating our six-year house-iversary today. She Celebrating our six-year house-iversary today. She’s come a long way! I still have plenty of projects on the to-do list, but it’s always nice to remind ourselves how much we’ve done since closing day.
Not only is it my birthday today, it’s the start Not only is it my birthday today, it’s the start of a new decade and I couldn’t be more excited to see what my 40s have in store!

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