Favorite Things Party | Invite + Gifts Under $20

Oprah is famous for her favorite things. But, everyone has his/her favorite things, too. Whether it’s something in the kitchen, your makeup bag, or a travel necessity you just can’t live without…you have your favorites! We love when people share items they can’t live without with us, so we love the idea of a favorite things party this holiday season. The idea is to bring 3 of your most favorite things under $15 or $20, exchange amongst laughter, food and drinks, then leave with 3 new favorite things. To keep it manageable and affordable, add a $ limit. We like the $15-$20 range, but you can encourage people to bring one to two items for more money, if you wish.

We created an adorable invite on Etsy to celebrate the favorite things party. You can make your own edits on Canva, or place the order and we will make the edits for you. Just leave all the details and your email in the notes section at checkout, and we will send you the invite file.

Speaking of favorite things, we compiled some of our personal favorites under $20. Happy shopping.

garlic press – we’re Italian, so I guess it comes with the territory, but we love our garlic. We eat it when we’re healthy, we eat it when we are sick, and we add it to almost every meal. A garlic press, or this cute smasher, is a must-have in our kitchens.

Milk Frother – We use it every morning and afternoon – literally all the time! We use it for our Flavcity shakes, and when we add collagen and other powders/oils to our coffee. Love this little tool.

Silk Pillowcase – This is such a simple luxury that feels good every night we rest our heads. These make great gifts, and there are lots of colors and patterns to choose from.

Dae hair strand smoother – Jodi and her daughter love this wand that smooths away all those pesky hair wisps. This is a teen girl favorite, and mom’s too.

Heatless Curls – We don’t know how it works, but it actually works. Wrap/twist/braid your hair with the silk wand item at night, and in the morning, you will have beautiful, bouncing curls.

Candle Warmer – We can be forgetful, and sometimes forget to blow out candles. With this candle warmer, you don’t need matches, and you won’t have flames to worry about. Just a cute lantern that provides ambiance, and the smell of your candle under the heat of the lamp.

lotion and lip gift set – Jenna loves this lotion she found in Fairplay, CO this summer. Simple ingredients are in this small business goat milk lotion that smells heavenly.

Meat Masher – this little tool makes cooking so much easier. Meat is perfectly minced with a good texture.

Tweezerman Tweezers – There is no better set of tweezers as far as we are concerned. These grab those pesky hairs easily, and this travel size is great for the car when the hair really show up in that natural light. Friends don’t let friends walk around with unwanted chin hairs. 🙂

Travel Jewelry Case – this is the perfect travel size jewelry box. The jewelry doesn’t get tangled because there are mini pouches for each piece. This is a great gift for women and teens!

happy hour cocktail glass – we love all the cute anthropologie glasses with words and symbols. There is a glass for everyone. It’s always fun to drink a cocktail or cocktail from a cute glass. This would be a cute gift with an LMNT, mini wine can, Poppi or something fun tucked inside.

Jade Roller – You can depute your face every morning and night with this jade roller. It is a tiny tool that feels luxurious.

Loose Leaf Tea Strainer – This loose leaf tea strainer is amazing. We love our tea, especially in the winter. This glass pot can be warmed on the stove with loose leaf tea, then pours the perfect cup!

The Summer I Turned Pretty Party | Season 3 Premier

If you have a teenage daughter, you most likely know about the show that makes us wish we lived on the East Coast every summer. A beautiful beach house, where hydrangeas are in full bloom, and teenage love takes center stage. Does Belly end up with Jeremiah or Conrad? Whatever brother you’re rooting for, those boys are sure to make the teenage girls hearts swoon as they watch. We are team Jeremiah, so all eyes are on him.

The Summer I Turned Pretty, based on Jenny Han’s book, is about to premier Season 3 on Amazon…which means it’s a great reason to throw a summer party. Invite your girlfriends, or host your daughters friends for the premier. If you miss it June 16, a new episode will post every week.

Here’s some of our favorite Cousin’s Beach finds, including an invite, which you can purchase and download here.

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Closer look at the invite below.

Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

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Mother’s Day is coming up, May 9. We know how much work, worry and love goes into raising our own children, so we appreciate all the amazing mothers out there. We learned from the best; our mom was wonder woman. We owe our mother so many thanks, especially for giving us the greatest gift of all, unconditional love! Take the time to call your mom, stop by, send flowers or buy her something special.

We’ve rounded up some fabulous ideas below that you still have time to order!

Happy Mother’s Day!

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  1. Bloody Mary Pitcher with the BEST bloody mix everThe Real Dill (If you live in Colorado, you can get this at grocery stores and liquor stores): We LOVE, LOVE this Bloody Mary mix. It’s the best. And, this pitcher is the perfect match for it.
  2. Raise them kind sweatshirt: This is so cute, but also a good reminder about the importance of raising kind kids. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the competitive things such as grades, sports, making sure our kids have the best of the best, but it’s important to remember to teach them to be kind.
  3. A good book, The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah: We love Kristin Hannah books. This is on our reading list. We haven’t read it yet, but we hear it’s good.
  4. Cuisinart Electric Kettle: We use our electric kettle everyday, at least 3x a day. This is a MUST for every home, and every mother or woman who makes coffee or tea. Gift this kettle with a bag of coffee, or your moms favorite tea.
  5. Vuori joggers: Gift mom with the best joggers ever!! We love these, and recommend them to everyone.
  6. Miroco Frother: Yay to homemade frothy espresso drinks at home! This is a fun kitchen gadget that froths happiness in a cup every morning.
  7. PJ Salvage pajamas: Give mom the gift of really comfy pajamas. She will look forward to bed, and feel like the queen she is in these pajamas. PJ Salvage is one of our favorite pajamas brand.
  8. Yeti wine rambler: Give mom a to-go cup for her wine. It’s dishwasher friendly (YAY), and will keep her wine chilled as she sips!
  9. Oak and Luna Name Chain Link Necklace: Chain necklaces are a favorite for us these days, so how great is this chain necklace that you can customize with names!? We would be thrilled to open this on Mother’s Day.
  10. Custom Name Bead Bracelet: We have similar bead bracelets, and we wear them everyday. It’s a great affordable gift for moms and grandmothers.
  11. Magnolia Table Cookbook or Half Baked Harvest Cookbook: We love the recipes from these two women. Some are simple, and some push us outside our kitchen comfort zone, but they are all so yummy.

 

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Joyful Holiday Photo Shoot

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We just realized we never shared one of our first and favorite photo shoots on the blog. It’s a favorite because we were able to work with our friend and photographer, Meredith Moran Photography, and because amongst all the pretty red and white details, our children were running around in the background at our parents house. It was a lot of chaos, but also a lot of laughter, and if you can laugh in the midst of the chaos, that can be a good thing.

We hope you make the DIY peppermint tray this Christmas season and find the time experience pure joy, just like the marquee lights by Saddleshoe Designs reminds us to do.

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Vendor Love:
Photography: Meredith Moran Photography | Marquee Lights: Saddleshoe Signs | Tabletop Accessories and Stationery: Fleur de Lis, a paperie 

Design a Beautiful Nursery on a Budget

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Babies are expensive, but that doesn’t mean their room has to be, too. We love the nursery Mila Mae, the newest {and beautiful} addition to our large Italian family, calls home. Sweet Mila has a lovely, special place to call her own, and her mom is sharing the details with us. Kerri designed a pretty room for Mila, without maxing out the credit card. Win, win!

Her nursery is clean and white with touches of pink…and we love it.

Here’s how you can do it, too.

1. Shop at Ikea.
We all love the affordability and chic design to be found in the never-ending aisles at Ikea. Kerr’s ombré baskets are from Ikea. They are functional because they hold toys, book and stuffed animals, but they also add the perfect pop of color for a princess’s room. The little white flower-pot tins on the dresser are also from Ikea. They help Kerri organize everything! On the dresser, she holds hand sanitizer, diaper ointment, baby powder, etc. in them.
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2. Incorporate family heirlooms.
Kerri incorporated her grandma’s dresser in Mila’s room, which holds sentimental value for her. She updated it with several coats of white paint, and painted the knobs gold. Another special touch is the dress hanging from the gold hanger next to the crib. It’s Kerri’s mothers dress she wore when she was a baby. A piece of 3 generations of women from the same family lives inside those 4 walls! The ultra-glam gold sequins hanger is from The Golden Gurl via Etsy.

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3. Add DIY details.
We love DIY details, and although Kerri said she is not a big DIYer, she did manage to spray paint dollar store animals with gold spray paint. Animals are a favorite for little kids, so with the DIY gold animals, Kerri added a childhood favorite with a touch of glam.
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4. Buy handmade items from Etsy.
Handmade items add warmth and authenticity to a nursery, plus it’s always great to support small shops. The driftwood wall hanging with tissue paper tassels is from Fleur Lux and the beautiful gold pillows in the crib are from Kerri’s talented friend at Bright July.
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5. Incorporate color, texture and culture from travels. 
The world is a grand and beautiful place with bright colors and a vast array of textures, so it’s nice to bring memorabilia from various cultures home. Plus, its unique decor that can’t be found anywhere else. The authentic Mexican blanket hanging from the side of the crib was a gift Kerri’s parents brought back from Mexico. The impact is big, but the price tag was little – the blanket was just $5.

Thanks for sharing your room with us today, Kerri {Marco and Mila, too}. We love you.