Happy Thanksgiving, friends! John and I are spending the week at home in NC. We’re planning to wrap ourselves in blankets and watch the Macy’s parade this morning, then meet up with dear friends and their family for a hike and turkey dinner this evening. We’re bringing pimento cheese and John’s family’s cranberry sauce recipe!

Clockwise from top left: calligraphy invitation photo by Morgan Lamkin via 100 Layer Cake, fall flowers photo by Kate Osborne via Snippet & Ink, bar cart photo by Rustic White via Style Me Pretty, maple pecan pie from Martha Stewart, candle photo by Rustic White via Style Me Pretty, place setting photo by Aubrie Pick from Apartment 34, grape and apple pie from Bon Appetit, turkey from Food & Wine

Today I’m feeling grateful for my husband, for technology that connects us with our far-flung families, for friends close enough to share Thanksgiving with, for a busy shop, and for our new and super-comfy king size bed (even though we’ve yet to buy a quilt and are still sleeping on it in our sleeping bags!).

P.S. Gift guides are coming your way next week! :)

Update: We have a winner! Congratulations to Molly L., commenter number 99!

I love Christmas cards! I love browsing potential designs, I love choosing one, I love writing notes, I love sending them, I love receiving them, and I love displaying them in our home. The whole process is one of my favorite holiday traditions! Like the last two years, we’ll be sending a Minted design, and like the last two years, there are too many good options! So once again, I’m enlisting y’all’s help. Which one is your favorite?

1. Snowy Love and Joy | 2. Very Merry Lettering | 3. Be Merry Pine Branch | 4. Merry Typography | 5. Hap-Happiest Time

Best believe I’m using a photo from Natalie + Joe’s wedding, courtesy of Meredith Perdue! We don’t look this good too often :)

Minted’s editing software is seriously sophisticated – I love that you can adjust your photo and the design elements so easily. Their foil-pressed options are also amazing, but I think the real star this year is their new envelope addressing! The envelope designs coordinate with the card designs, and they offer recipient addressing for free!! I love doing my envelopes in calligraphy, but the designs are ridiculously cute…

Now for the extra-fun part: I have a $250 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 Friday!

P.S. Yes, our newsletter will be back! I’ve gotten many emails about this, so I wanted to say it here: I’m opening up three spots to design similar newsletters! $100 for a ready-to-print file, customized with your family’s stats and news. Email me at em (at) emformarvelous.com to reserve your spot or ask more questions!

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.

Have y’all ever explored the H&M home category? I just did for the first time over the weekend, and was super impressed! Lots of simple, good-looking goods that would be perfect for colder weather festivities, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas. A few of my favorites:

Top to bottom and left to right: 2-pack checked napkins ($6) | cotton tablecloth ($25) | cake stand ($10) | candle holder ($10) | Christmas tree mat ($18) | cotton table runner ($10) | cotton tablecloth ($25) | dotted baby blanket ($18) | navy checked baby blanket ($18) | gray star place mat ($10) | checked throw ($35) | linen tablecloth ($60) | checked cushion cover ($18)

I’m thinking either the Christmas tree mat or the star tablecloth will be coming home with me. Any favorites from H&M home? Have any of you ever bought anything from them?

Well, when I made posting a priority in September, I knew my frequency might drop back down this month – but I didn’t expect to write only my second post of the month on the 16th! It’s been a busy two weeks, between traveling to New England for a wedding and to meet our newish nephew, me traveling to New York for work for five days, and starting a new family group at our church. I thought I’d get back in the swing of things by sharing our porch party!

After 2012’s Julia & Julia dinner party and last year’s adventure dinner party, I knew I wanted to host another special event for some of our friends this year. We considered another adventurous location, but decided instead to celebrate our new home and its glorious porch. We used the same six-foot folding table that we bought for last year’s party, and splurged on two strings of lights from World Market. We moved our dining chairs outside for the evening. The simple white tablecloth was from Target, and I added some pale blue thin tapers at the last minute.

Our menu was Mediterranean: bruschetta, chicken souvlaki, quinoa Greek salad, and chocolate raspberry pavlova – all things we had made many times before. Friends brought rosé and pitas and hummus.

We started with a walk around our neighborhood, then came back to the house and finished prepping dinner. We completely lucked out with the weather – August in North Carolina can be HOT and muggy, but we got a mild, sunny day in the 70’s. Bliss! It made for a really relaxed evening, as we were able to stay outside in comfort, chatting and laughing. This year’s dinner party iteration wasn’t particularly elaborate, but it was lovely, and so good to get to give hospitality to the folks we love. Cheers to simple celebrations and good company!!

P.S. As you can see, the houses are pretty close together in our neighborhood, and I was a little nervous that I’d be self-conscious about our festivities. But I wasn’t! Once things got started, it was like we were in a cocoon of happiness :) Like with the adventure dinner party, don’t let what others might think hold you back!