I hope you all had a marvelous Thanksgiving! We had dinner with dear friends and their parents, and the food was phenomenal – juicy turkey, stuffing, creamed corn, brussel sprouts, a sweet potato and caramelized onion tart, peas, cranberry sauce, pumpkin and chocolate pecan pie… YUM! We also got to go for a walk in beautiful 70 degree weather and watch the Macy’s parade, so it was an all-around stellar day.

And now it’s Black Friday! Which often gets a bad rap, but as a frugal person, I really appreciate the chance for such steep discounts. I’ve been planning purchases for weeks, and am looking forward to checking many Christmas gifts off our list as well as snapping up some items for myself, like new jeans (40% off!!!) and note cards.

I know many of you are the same way, so I hope this last gift guide is helpful! I’m sharing a few of my best picks for husbands, dads, and brothers. These gents can be notoriously hard to shop for, so I’d love for you to share any slam-dunk ideas in the comments!

AAA baseball tickets | We are so lucky to have the Durham Bulls as our home town baseball team, but choose a team that’s near you! Going to games in the spring and summer is one of our favorite outings, so tickets are always welcome.
Rock Me Archimedes | We gave this fun little game to two brothers-in-law last Christmas, and it was a big hit with both families! A great two-person game. (Thank you to Jo’s gift guide last year for this suggestion!)
The Road to Character | I’ve recommended this book to so many people since reading it last year — it’s perfect for a wide audience, making it a great gift!
A cooking lesson | A few years ago John’s sister gave him a gift certificate for a cooking class at Southern Season. We had SO much fun and are eagerly looking forward to the next time someone gets us this gift! :)
A National Parks tee | Hat tip to Philip for wearing one of these cool shirts! They have tons of designs, and I think John wants 75% of them.
A pocket monkey | A nifty little multitool (screwdriver, wrench, bottle opener, letter opener, orange peeler, etc.!) that slips in a wallet.
Three Jerks Jerky | It seems like beef jerky is universally beloved by the gentlemen in my life, and this stuff is the filet mignon (literally – it’s made from filet mignon :))
Herschel wallet | We are big Herschel fans in this household, and there wallets are no exception (John carries one every day!). Stylish and affordable!
Cats desk plate | This desk plate literally makes me LOL every time I see it, and I desperately want to buy it for my brother-in-law (I think it would make him laugh, too!), but John has flat-out refused to get behind this gift idea. Maybe one of you has a cat-lover in your life?
Hudson Bay axe | This beauty is a splurge, but it seems like the kind of heirloom that would be swung for generations.
Striped socks | John’s absolute favorite gift to get– no joke–is socks. I think he’d appreciate this pair :)
Print their Instagram photos | We’ve done this as a gift for several people, and it’s a reliable hit! Our favorite service is the 4x4s from Social Print Studio.
Corknet ping pong set | A beautifully designed game that can be played anywhere.

Happy shopping, friends!!

P.S. More gifts for guys and this year’s gifts for kids and gals

Updated: Kate is our winner and has been emailed! Thank y’all so much for participating! :)

I’m sure I’ve mentioned here before that I have a strict moratorium on almost all things Christmas before Thanksgiving. There are two exceptions. First, I will shop for Christmas gifts early (can’t miss out on Black Friday!). And second, I always make sure our Christmas cards are ordered before Thanksgiving. And our cards always come from Minted! Want to help me choose which one we’ll send this year?

1. Charming Gingham | 2. His Wondrous Love | 3. Joy to the World the Love is Come | 4. Angels Sing | 5. Bright New Life

It’s killing me, because they are SO CUTE, but we will likely be using a photo from our upcoming session with Nancy, not our newborn photos with Graham, for our card. I’m sure the new photos will be cute, too, but BABY JUNE!! Killing me.

Speaking of killing it, Minted’s card designs are as delightful as ever. This year, I was really drawn to all the Christmas carol designs, including this one, this one, this one, and this one in addition to the ones above. The great thing is that with their sophisticated design software, you can easily adjust your photo as well as the placement of text elements, fonts, colors, and sizing. (But, a tip: if you’re taking a photo specifically for your card, try to choose a favorite design before your session, so that you can coordinate your outfits and poses accordingly!) Minted also offers the most darling envelopes, shiny foil designs, free addressing, extra-thick stock, and custom card shapes – whew.

Now for the extra-fun part: I have a $150 Minted gift certificate to give away!! To enter, just comment below with either your favorite option from our Christmas card finalists, or the Minted design you’d most like to order for your family! (Or both!) I’ll randomly choose a winner next Monday! If you’re ready to get started, you can use code CHEER for 15% off orders. (Or just take a peek at their site whenever you’re ready to order – they almost always have a discount code!)

Minted has graciously gifted us our Christmas cards, but I chose to write this post, and the opinions are my own! I have loved everything about Minted — especially their crowd-sourced designs — for many years, and I love sharing what they’re up to with y’all.

Surprise! Lisa (unintentionally) tricked many of you with her shower outfit post from last week. Though the dress she wore to her shower had stripes, it was also white, which meant it was a perfect fit for theme no. 2! Though I adored all of the options (especially that juicy fruit one!!), a classic, fresh, all-white soiree was just right for my oh-so-classic pal.

Because I flew solo as the host, planning for this shower was a little different than past parties. On the one hand, I loved having complete artistic freedom (ha!), but I did have to carefully navigate all of the prep work and the expenses. Here’s how it went down!

Lisa LOVES a good invitation suite (girl after my own heart), so I splurged on this silver foil beauty from Minted. She says she’s keeping it forever, so I count it as a win :)

The guests did a fabulous job of dressing for the occasion! I know how much it meant to me to have the chance to gather with family and dear friends before June arrived, so it was sweet to play a small role in Lisa coming together with her dear ones — including her mom, sisters, mother-in-law, and family-friends-who-are-almost-sisters pictured here.

Girl LOVES her some brunch, so I knew that’s the meal we’d be serving. I made a few of the items, supplemented with some favorite store-bought goodies, and relied on friends to pick up a few. This was our menu:

— cucumber sandwiches (homemade)
— cheese board with fruit and baguettes (put together by a friend)
— mini pancake stacks (Trader Joe’s)
— chicken minis (a friend picked up from Chick-fil-a)
— mini lemon scones (Whole Foods)
— deviled eggs (homemade)
— lemonade, coffee, tea, ice water

Let’s talk about those peonies for a minute. White peonies in July?! If you know your wedding flowers, you know this is highly unusual. Turns out a friend of mine had seen peonies at her Trader Joe’s the week before, so I called mine and asked about ordering some (they can custom order flowers for you if you call ahead, FYI!). The TJ’s gal said she couldn’t guarantee anything because peonies aren’t in season, but that she would call me if they came in. She did end up calling me, and the peonies did come in. However, because they had mold on them, she couldn’t sell them to me — BUT if I wanted them, I could have them for free! (!!!) After removing brown petals from a few stems and tossing a few others, I was left with about three dozen gorgeous white peonies. Thank you, mold!

I also set up a separate dessert table with lots of bite-size treats. Our sweets menu:

— mini vanilla cupcakes (Whole Foods)
— mini pecan pies (made by Lisa’s mama)
— gourmet donuts cut into quarters (brought by a friend)
— chocolate and vanilla macarons (Trader Joe’s)
— chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet cake pops from Sugar Euphoria

We didn’t play any games, just chatted and ate and opened presents. I also had each of the ladies go around in a circle and offer Lisa encouragement as to why she’s going to be a great mama, which is similar to something I loved at my bridal shower.

And, everyone filled out two cards before they left. One was for Lisa (above), and the other was for her little boy. I’m not sharing it here because it included his name, but it was pretty much pirated from my baby shower :)

Lisa, you are thoughtful, smart, sentimental, intuitive, and loving, and you are going to be a wonderful mama. I can’t wait to walk beside you as you grow into your new role and was so happy to celebrate you last month. Much love to you!!

P.S. Lisa recapped the shower on her blog, too — see it here!

I have had the pleasure of knowing Lisa Kirk for three years. We are each other’s right hand at work, and through endless hours of back-and-forth chatter across our desks and extensive road trips around the South, I’ve gotten to know her pretty well. (Actually, let’s be real: I probably know her better than 90% of the people in my life.) We also happen to be very similar. So, it’s hard to think of an easier assignment than planning a perfectly fitting baby shower for this sweet, dear friend of mine!

I got a little overexcited and dreamed up three concepts, then left the final choice up to Lisa. Before I share the photos from the shower, I thought I’d share the three options I presented her with and y’all can guess which one she chose!

Credits clockwise from top left: unknown, unknown, Serena & Lily, photo by Megan Robinson via 100 Layer Cake

Up first: Stripes and Chambray! This theme celebrated a few of Lisa’s favorite things, with a little denim thrown in as a nod to her baby boy and a little gold to keep things girly. Guests would be encouraged to wear their best stripes :)

100 Layer Cakelet, 100 Layer Cake, unknown, photo by 822 Weddings via Snippet & Ink

Second option: Summer Whites! This shower would have a soft French flair. The color palette would be almost completely white, with small silver accents. Guests would, of course, be invited to wear white!

Oh Happy Day, Tell Love and Party, Cup of Jo, How Sweet It Is, Evelyn Henson

Third option: Fruit Punch! Inspired by Lisa’s main pregnancy craving (fresh fruit!), this shower would be anchored with a monochromatic fruit salad, watercolor details, and a few fruity puns.

I’d love to hear: Which is your favorite? Which one do you think Lisa picked?

Psst… see her actual shower here!