Tay Meets World: November 2014

Just A Reminder

Happy Sunday! Tomorrow is the first day of December and you know what that means…the 25 days of Blogmas14!!! Also, have you noticed something different?! Yep, Ash with The Grits Blog redesigned my blog to create a more festive holiday feel…I am in love!

We are kicking off December 1st with our letters to Santa; here is the rest of the topic list:

Remember to link back to mine or Ashley's blog these next 25 days so we can see how your holiday season is going! Make sure to add this super cute, festive button to your post too!!

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Happy Holidays!!

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, by Taylor Hoffman

Life

Happy Thanksiving

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, by Taylor Hoffman

5 Things You Need On Thanksgiving Day

1. Fat pants. AKA pants that have the ability to stretch, or maybe a shift dress. Whatever you wear just dress comfy. We will be eating a lot and drinking wine so wear something that can grow with you for the day:) Take for example the dress below: it's roomy, hides my love handles, and is cute too. Winner.

2. TV. Obviously to watch the Macy's Day Parade, or football. But really one of my favorite traditions is waking up to smell of the turkey roasting and watching the parade. I have always wanted to go to New York and I love that this tradition has lasted such a long time.

3. Caffeine. Let's face it, it will be a long day…with family. And if you have a family like mine then you need to keep your energy up. You also need it so you can eat a huge meal in the afternoon. Meet me at Starbucks.

4. Secret napping spot. This one is really important. From being tired of cooking or eating…you will need a nap. Not only that, if you plan to go shopping at midnight then a nap will help recharge your batteries. Find a secret spot to escape too so no one else can take that spot.

5. The relish tray. Am I the only one that LOVES the relish tray? Olives, pickles, and cheese oh my! I basically get full on these food items before the turkey even makes the table. If you need me on Thanksgiving, I'll be by the relish tray.

Oh, don't forget to enjoy the day where we remember where everything started and we appreciate the time with family and friends alike.

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, by Taylor Hoffman

agendas

2015 Agenda Review

Can you believe it's almost 2015? Where did this year go!!?? I know most of you probably use some sort of calendar, agenda, or planner to keep life on track. For me, writing things down helps me remember it that much more. That being said, I have finally purchased the perfect agenda and blog planner that works best for me. I want to share some others that might work for you too!

I love this Kate Spade planner. For starters, it's simple and it fits in my purse perfectly. I have a place to write down everything I need to do during the week and the calendar view helps keep me on track. I have never been one to plan by hour or plan by "morning, afternoon, and evening" so I love the simplicity of the Kate Spade agenda.

Russell+Hazel is one of my favorite brands! I love their paper products and binders! If you are the type of person who plans hourly (in a weekly view) then this planner is for you! I used this when I was in school because it was easy to keep track of meetings and classes with the time view. I still have this binder and might turn it into a recipe book with their adorable recipe cards! Oh, I want their wedding planner too. (I know, I'm not engaged yet, but he should really hurry up!)

Here is a view of the planner when I used it in school:

I have recently discovered Sugar Paper and boy do they make my heart sing! From calendars (I bought that too) to planners they have beautiful and reasonably priced products. Even better, they have some of their products in Target right now so hurry and go get them!! I will wait………ok are you back? Good. I purchased the large pink planner and I am going to use it as a blog planner! It has lots of lines to plan and large enough so I can jot down all my crazy notes and blurbs.

The next planner I have is the Emily Ley home binder (binder is from Target). She does have her simplified planners which a lot of people use, however I wasn't too hip on how the weeks were laid out. That being said, I needed a place to keep track of birthdays, finances, meal planning, and addresses. I love her home binder, it has everything to keep track of all the family necessities. And let's be honest, bf is happy that the meals are planned for the week and all the bills are tracked and taken care of. Win.

You might be thinking, is this chic crazy?? She has three different places she writes things down? Yes, yes I do. I love my Kate Spade planner for day-to-day planning. It helps me keep track of work, bf's job, meetings, important dates, etc. The 2015 blog planner is a good way for me to keep my blog organized and schedule posts. Who knows I might even use this planner next year for everything.

Some other planners you might like:

Whitney English Day Designer (I reeeaaally want this one)

Lilly Pulitzer

What do you use to keep your life organized? Are there planners that I absolutely have to have? (I am basically a borderline agenda hoarder:)

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, by Taylor Hoffman

Life

How To: Navigate Through The First Holiday Season As A Couple

Holidays are stressful. Don't get me wrong, I adore/obsess/swoon over Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years but I also become very stressed out. From buying presents, picking the perfect holiday outfit, finding the right charity, baking the yummiest treats, and having time to watch all the best holiday movies…it's overwhelming.

This year, since bf and I are officially living together we are sort of a combo deal (even though we aren't engaged…YET;). That being said, everything from decorating to deciding who's parent's house to go to will be a decision made together. I was a little apprehensive about how exactly this was going to work. I am the decorator, baker, crafter, etc., whereas he keeps both of us in check and makes sure we spend equal amounts of time everywhere. We are already feeling the pressure this holiday season and trying to skate around it on ice is a wee bit challenging. There are definitely things we have learned so far and any advice from the veteran holiday do-ers would be helpful:).

1. Set up a game plan…one holiday at a time.
With my parents being divorced we have three different holiday dinners to attend, 3! We decided that before making any rash decisions that the best idea was to start with the first holiday, Thanksgiving, and go from there. For us, this holiday was pretty easy because bf works Thanksgiving. That being said, I planned my day according to his schedule so when he was off work we could go to his parents house for dinner. It was much easier to discuss our schedules first before committing to all these dinners we wouldn't be able to attend.

2. Communicate.
The biggest thing for me is that I didn't want to "take over" and go crazy with holiday decorations and have him feeling out of place in our apartment. We finally made a trip to Hobby Lobby and decided over a holiday theme and picked out ornaments together.
I think it's important to involve your significant other because I have seen one too many relationships where the spouses are not involved whatsoever in each other's lives and it only ends up disastrous. Some relationships may not work this way but it has certainly helped us this season!

3. Decide on a budget, together!
We were really excited about this holiday season because not only are we in the same state but we are living together! We both want to treat each other and buy one another tons of gifts and have a great time…but only under a certain budget. It was important to us that we didn't go overboard. We also decided that any large splurge (besides a gift) will be made together, as a couple.

For example: we didn't have any Christmas decorations so we are essentially starting this holiday season off from scratch. Our biggest item to purchase is a Christmas tree and we both decided right away that we wanted a real tree. We have shopped around and agreed on a budget and that's that!

4. Take time for yourselves, together and apart!
This is key to any successful holiday. Like I said before, the holidays can be crazy…you are constantly running around, party hopping, cooking, spending money, etc. It is important to take some time if you or your spouse is feeling overwhelmed. A simple bubble bath or watching a movie can help ease your stress and clear your mind.

5. Enjoy every minute.
This point is simple. I have been so worried lately about having the right decorations, finding the perfect gifts, and baking the best pies that I am forgetting why I love the holidays in the first place. For me, it's a time to relish in one another's company and enjoy the spirit that the holidays bring…and that my friends, is priceless.

Like I said before, any advice is always helpful. We are in unknown territory here people, it should make for a good month of blogging:).

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, by Taylor Hoffman

DIY Projects

Creative Holiday Addressing

Tis' the season…to spread joy and happiness. Right? Right! I went to a creative "fake" calligraphy workshop the other night to learn and practice the art of addressing envelopes in a fun and whimsical way. I have always had this dream that I would personally write out all of my future wedding invitations in calligraphy…that is a total stretch. Even fake calligraphy is hard, it takes awhile and if you are a perfectionist like me then it will take forever! However, I still think there is something special about receiving a hand-written letter personalized to the nines in the mailbox.

So, I gave myself the challenge of addressing a pretty envelope to each one of my family members this holiday season, to spread some Christmas cheer. Here is what I learned:

1// Start out writing with pencil…and press lightly because you can erase everything later. A ruler is helpful too if you are really particular and like lines. You can write however you want…you are your own personal font! Play around a bit on some scratch paper and find certain elements that you like.

2 // Sharpies and gel pens are your friend. Utilize all sizes of sharpies and play around with the thickness. To achieve fake calligraphy, ease pressure as you go up and apply pressure as you go down.

3 // Add character. I didn't want this to look like skinny letters on an envelope, so I took a fine point sharpie and tried to create a "bubble or box" letter. It gave the letters a little more character and added some fun! Remember to go back and erase any pencil markings that you missed.

4 // Get into the holidazzze. Who doesn't love gold, and metallic? I used a white gel pen, you know those ones we used in elementary school that would explode in our backpacks? This gold metallic envelope added some festive holiday cheer; I then decided to make more curly letters for a whimsical feel.

5 // Have fun with it! I challenge you to address a letter to someone this holiday season and actually spend some time making it unique and one-of-a-kind. Who wouldn't love to find something so personalized arrive in their mailbox?

Any addressing advice? I am always looking for new ideas…and trying not to completely stump the mailman:)

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, by Taylor Hoffman

InstaTay+ Living On The Future

See what's been happening on my Instagram lately…

Now on to the sob story…feel free to leave, I just needed to vent a little.

This week has been hard. Not to say that a lot of weeks aren't difficult, but this week is testing me emotionally, mentally, physically, physiologically, etc, etc. I realized that I don't appreciate the "now" like I should. I am constantly living for the future and what it is going to be. The problem is, I don't remember a time when I didn't live like this. I hated high school so all I thought about was college, college wasn't necessarily the time of my life so all I thought was working and being an adult, now that I am an adult all I can think about is becoming older and more settled into a career that I love and married with kids.

Sometimes, you wish and hope and pray as much as you can and nothing happens. So then what? You keep wishing and praying and hoping. I am in between a rock and a hard place. This new job has me exhausted and my biggest fear was that my blog would take the hit and yesterday it did. I understand at this point my blog doesn't make any sort of income but I just wish it would so I could do what I love everyday. I think about starting a business…and I have everything ready, but again, the income isn't there to get it off the ground. Overnights, weekends, long shifts are ahead and I am asking myself how I will get through this? My body is already fighting back with my first "half" overnight.

I am trying to find the light at the end of the tunnel, a sign that will keep me going, we will see how that goes.

In any sorts, have a great Thursday!! It's almost the weekend!!!!

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, by Taylor Hoffman

Fashion & Beauty

Fashion Photo Bloopers

Most of us have our significant others, mothers, best friends, sisters, etc., take pictures of us for our blogs. We then edit, crop, chop, sparkle, brighten, and twist our photos to become head-turning photographs. What we don't let others see are the blooper photos. The photos where we are commanding our boyfriend to zoom in on the bracelet, or rolling our eyes, or trying to look super chic but we look like a zombie instead.
We have the best camera and lens ever so I don't really have to edit any of my photos and I generally keep them all for those "just in case" moments. So, here ya go…the bloopers I have collected in my "fashion posts" albums. The ones that don't generally make the cut. Some are just too funny not to share, and let's be honest…there is not one blogger that doesn't look silly at least sometimes.