Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours! We're celebrating in this little winter wonderland!

I can't even begin to explain how thankful I am! I feel like the luckiest person to have my husband, Ruby, our families and friends... I can't imagine life without them. I also thank you all for following along with our newlywed adventures, my ramblings about gummy vitamins, beginner DIY projects, etc. 

I don't know about you, but I've got my stretchy pants on and I'm ready to start this holiday season off right! I hope you all enjoy your holiday, get to spend quality time with friends and family, grab some crazy Black Friday deals, and have safe travels wherever you go! See you back here Monday!

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Stocking Stuffers For Her + Him

Today we woke up to about 4 inches of snow, with what looks like a full day of snow ahead of us. It's absolutely beautiful and I can't wait to get out there and take photos! We got some Christmas shopping done yesterday and ran all of our errands, so today will consist of a fire in the fireplace, helping my mom decorate the house, baking, and relaxing. Perfection!

Speaking of Christmas shopping, today I wanted to join Elise from Cheers Y'all and Jen from Down with the Dearmores to share some stocking stuffer ideas!

The stocking has always been my favorite part of Christmas gifts for some reason. I always had this huge, over-sized stocking growing up and I would go through that last after opening other gifts. Steve and I do that now, and I think its fun to throw in functional things like new underwear with other random gifts. Here are some of my stocking stuffer ideas this year!

For Her

Passport Case. Bow Gloves. Lorac Eye Shadow. Boot Socks. Bow Ring. iPhone Case.

For Him

Beanie. Grill Light. Bottle Opener. Bacon Lip Balm. Passport Case. Socks.

Hope you're all having a great week! Sorry my posts are a bit limited this week, working with a not-so-cooperative laptop! I'll def be re-posting the board above with a better quality version! I'm really looking forward to catching up on my favorite bloggers' posts and comments today though :)

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Our Weekend + My Christmas Playlist

Happy Monday before Thanksgiving! It's so hard to believe this is the last week of November and Christmas is getting so close!

This weekend we headed North and were welcomed by a few inches of snow and 18 degree weather when we got to my hometown. Nothing like a freezing cold welcome! We're all crossing our fingers the weather holds up for our travels for Thanksgiving. Is anyone else traveling to the North? Supposedly there is some blizzard on its way, so naturally I'm freaking out a little because I'm a Southerner when it comes to driving in that mess!

On Friday night we stayed in a hotel to break up our trip and Ruby was pretty much wigging out the whole night at every.single.noise. Soooo we got very little sleep and were happy to take naps later that day as the snow came down. 

Yesterday my mom and I made some white chocolate-covered pretzels which didn't last long...

Of course, we listened to all of my favorite Christmas songs on our drive. And yes, I sang most of these to my husband... He must really love me. Let's just say I never got a solo part in high school chorus. 

Anyway.. I personally believe this is the best Christmas playlist ever. I'm a traditionalist with Christmas so I can't pass up some of the classics but there are definitely some fun versions mixed in! Notice there is no mention of Feliz Navidad or the 12 Days of Christmas. I cringe at just the thought of them... 

Baby It's Cold Outside- Leon Redbone and Zooey Deschanel (Hello, best version of this song ever!)

Winter Wonderland- Matt Wertz

Jingle Bell Rock- Bobby Helms

Carol of the Bells- Straight No Chaser (I know all of the words but forget to breathe during this)

Pennies from Heaven- Louis Prima (Not necessarily Christmas but another Elf soundtrack fave!)

I'll Be Home for Christmas- She & Him

O Holy Night- Christina Aguilera

Santa Baby- Eartha Kitt

White Christmas- The Drifters (Home Alone version, yes please!)

Please Come Home for Christmas- The Eagles

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree- Brenda Lee

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear- Josh Groban

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas- Christina Aguilera

All I Want for Christmas is You- Mariah Carey

O Holy Night- NSYNC (Let's face it, this whole CD is the bomb)

Frosty the Snowman- Zee Avi

Santa Claus is Coming to Town- Michael Buble (He can do no wrong, especially with Christmas songs!)

Silent Night- Mariah Carey

Jingle Bell Rock- Neil Diamond (I know another version is already on this list, but did anyone else grow up listening to this cd on repeat while your mom decorated the house?!)

Blue Christmas- Michael Buble

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer- Merry Mixmas 

White Christmas- Otis Redding (Another repeat but this is such a classic!)

The Christmas Song- NSYNC

I feel like I may be missing some, anyone have anything else to add?! Only a few more days until we start rockin' around our tree, has anyone put theirs up already?

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Gift Guide: 5 Favorites for Him + Her

This week has been so crazy busy, I can't believe it's already Friday! Between work, packing, running errands, and decorating for Christmas, I'm really looking forward to a whole week off next week! Don't worry, I'll still be blogging!

As I write this I can see our ridiculous stash of things we're putting in our little car, and hoping it will all fit. I really think I need to reevaluate the term "packing light" before our Europe trip.

Caught her red handed trying to steal my socks!

It's looking like Sunday is going to be a bitter 28 degrees for a high.... I'll probably regret complaining about the heat here when I'm freezing my ass off and refusing to leave the house! That's where the wine and fireplace come in, I suppose. And the sweatpants.... because in reality, that's what I'll be wearing 90% of the time.

Since I've got Christmas on the brain (and I'm thinking most of you do too), I'm linking up again with Christina, April, Darci, and Natasha to share my five favorite items for "his and her" Christmas gifts! I've already gotten my camera for an early present so I don't actually expect to get any of these items, but if we had a money tree, this is what else I'd be asking for! Also make sure to check out my Pinterest board for more gifting ideas, I'll be adding to it while I'm bored out of my mind singing along with Christmas music on the road!

Sweater. Necklace. Jewelry Box. Mug. Handbag.

And for the guys...

Sweater. Coat. Duffel Bag. Pajama Bottoms. Raybans

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend and are gearing up for lots of eating and family time next week like we are!

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DIY Gold Leaf Christmas Print + Giveaway Winner

First I want to congratulate Kaleigh C. for being the winner of the Evermore Paper Co. giveaway!! And thank you to all of you who entered the giveaway, shared which cards were your favorite, and for following Home Sweet Ruby in general. I feel so fortunate to have the best readers ever!

I don't know about you all, but I'm loving all of the gold foil prints you can find on Etsy. The problem is, I'm not spending $20 or more on an art print, at least not now. Call me cheap or blame it on paying for Christmas gifts and a Europe trip... either way I found this tutorial and decided to give it a shot.

I'm happy with the way it turned out considering I also don't have $300 for a silhouette machine. That would have made this much, much easier. It's actually possible to get the gold more smooth than mine looks, but my hands were getting sticky and I figured that would do! Also, with this method you are limited as to what kind of font to use and your design so eventually I may end up purchasing a gold print after the holidays. 

Without counting the picture frame with mat, this project cost me $4.35 and I have tons of gold leafing paper left for more projects.

What you need:
2 Pieces of Cardstock Paper: $0.75 (One piece will be covered in gold foil so it doesn't matter what color it is)
Exacto Knife: Owned (You can get these for a few bucks at any craft store or use a box cutter if you're desperate, just be careful!)
Cardboard: Owned, this is only used to protect your surface while cutting the paper
Gold Leafing: $3.60 (with 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby)
Spray Adhesive: Owned

First print your design on your cardstock. I used a thick, but relatively simple font from Word. You don't want anything too thin or cursive because if you're like me, you'll totally lose your patience when cutting it out. I changed my font color so it was a light grey outline and it wouldn't be too noticeable if my cutting wasn't great. Which, in case you're wondering, I'm terrible at regardless of which tool I use!

Cut out your letters with the exacto knife, making sure to save the little pieces of paper from the inside of certain letters, like the "R" in my project.

This is where I stopped taking photos because I figured the spray adhesive and my camera were not a good combination! It's pretty self explanatory though...

Once you have all of your letters cut out, lightly spray your other sheet of cardstock with spray adhesive. Be careful with the gold foil, it will stick all over your hands and will break apart easily. I used the paper sheets that come in between each leafing sheet to press it to the sticky cardstock.

Spray the back of the cardstock with the text, and stick it to the paper with the leafing.

Finally, spray the back of the pieces from your letters and stick those in place. You may be able to use some other kraft glue, but I was too lazy to get it out and just dealt with the stickiness of these itty, bity pieces of paper. A tweezer helped me get them in the right spot.

Put in your frame and display. Festive!

Anyone else loving the gold prints out there lately? 

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Holiday Bucket List

Because I'm a sucker for cute packaging, I wanted to share the delivery I got yesterday from Ashley over at Evermore Paper Co. Love the personalized touch!!

I'm SO happy with these adorable cards! I bought the "Always and Forever" card for my husband for our first anniversary and the "Cheers" card was too cute to pass up. Don't forget to enter giveaway by tomorrow night! Also make sure to take advantage of the 10% discount for orders on her Etsy shop!! Use the code HOMESWEETRUBY at checkout!

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know that I basically can't function without my to do lists. I have about 3 ongoing lists in multiple notebooks at the moment. So to add to that madness, I'm making myself another list here!

I'm doing a lot of traveling between now and Christmas, so this might seem like it's all over the place... because it is. I'm also lumping some things in there from Thanksgiving since we're splitting holidays with the two families. I've got Pennsylvania, Washington, DC, and Florida on the agenda this holiday season, and I couldn't be more excited!

At our favorite winery in Northern Virginia a month after we got engaged... holy short hair!

2013 Holiday Bucket List

Watch all the best Christmas movies, including but not limited to Home Alone (1 & 2 of course), Elf, Christmas Vacation, Mickey's Christmas Carol, and the Santa Clause

Bake cookies, put in cute packaging, and give to neighbors and friends

Eat until I can't move on Thanksgiving and pack extra stretchy pants

Donate dog treats and toys to the local animal shelter

Deck the halls while listening to Christmas music

Get a live wreath for the front door and put lights up outside

Light my "Evergreen" Yankee Candle so it smells like we have a live Christmas tree (maybe next year we'll get a live one, is it sad I don't want the trouble of watering it?)

Completely surprise someone with a thoughtful gift

Do a few Christmas DIY projects

Drink (more) hot chocolate with fun-shaped Cool Whip

Experience a Charleston (aka Southern) Christmas

Use the fireplace to stay toasty and make s'mores

Enjoy Christmas lights while walking Ruby in our neighborhood

Get a great manicure with red polish (I'm terrible at doing my own red polish!)

Make my Grandma's famous pumpkin pie for Steve's family

Visit the Capitol Christmas Tree (way better than the White House one in my opinion)

Go to the beach

Visit my favorite Northern Virginia wineries

Soak up time with friends and family, most of which we haven't seen since March

Send our first Christmas cards as a married couple

Host a festive party with friends

Catch up with girlfriends over wine and pumpkin desserts

I'd also really love to see this:

But only after we safely get to Pennsylvania and when we have nothing else to do. I love snow, but only when its convenient for me. ha!

Is anyone else traveling a lot for the holidays? What is on your holiday bucket list? Also- Charleston folks, what is good to see or do around here for Christmas?!

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Weekend in Photos

Confession: I intended to do a fun Christmas craft this weekend and share it with you today, but my to-do list was exceptionally long and it got pushed back. More on that later!

This weekend we did some Christmas shopping, took Ruby into downtown Charleston to walk around and take photos, picked up some pralines to take home to my family, and ran so many errands that I totally tired myself out. Also I may or may not have crashed last night from a sugar high. Not sure if those pralines will last.

I also made some progress on the master bedroom, which I've been redoing for ummm 4 months? Wow I'm slow. Fingers crossed I'll be able to share the final product in a week or two!

The weather here this weekend had a bit of an identity crisis and we went back into what felt like late-summer mode. I refused to wear shorts but my Floridian husband was all about it with his flip flops.

I mean, how gorgeous are those colors?! You know I'm counting down the days until Christmas but I don't mind if these leaves want to hang around just a little longer!

Was anyone else productive this weekend? Get some Christmas shopping done or preparing for guests next week?

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Currently Loving

Today I'm joining forces with the Five on Friday ladies to share my favorites from this week! Yay for Friday!

ONE. Cozy blankets and a fire in the fireplace.

Wednesday night it dipped into the 20s here (brrrrr!) so the hubs and I had our first fire in the fireplace, complete with wine, Revenge Season 2 (still catching up!), and a cozy puppy by our side. My husband also had his first s'more ever.... WHAT?! I still don't understand how he never had a s'more in the last 28 years of his life!

TWO. Transitioning to Christmas decor. 

Christmas music has been on while I work this week, fall decor is coming down, and the house is starting to have a little more sparkle to it. The tree will wait to go up until after Christmas, but I want to come home to some Christmas colors after Thanksgiving. This is much earlier than I normally decorate but I can't help it this year!

THREE. Embroidered tree skirt and stockings? Yes, please. 

Picture via PB: Pottery Barn Velvet Stockings

This week Pottery Barn had free monogramming and shipping on some of their Christmas tree skirts and stockings. I really had my eye on these solid red beauties, but they weren't part of the sale, so I compromised. With the free embroidery, shipping, a 15 percent off coupon, and a gift card, I got 3 stockings and the tree skirt for $55. Hells yes. Oh and yes, we got the small pointed stocking for Ruby!

FOUR. Target Dollar Section.

My paper goods obsession is getting out of hand. Thanks a lot, Target. I just couldn't pass up these cute metallic goodies this week. I can't wait to see what else they fill those bins with on my next trip! (Insert my husband rolling his eyes...)

FIVE. Winter Accessories.

I have plenty of hats and scarves but that doesn't keep me from coveting this pretty J. Crew zigzag striped scarf and the matching hat. I'm also loving these cable knit boot socks, talk about cozy!

And finally, the Evermore Paper Co. Giveaway!

This week I teamed up with Ashley of Evermore Paper Co. to give one lucky winner their choice of super chic greeting cards. Make sure to enter here, it's very easy! Nothing better than free things that you get to pick out yourself, right?!

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend, see you here next week for all of the festive goodness I've got planned! :)

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Evermore Paper Co. Giveaway!

As you might be able to tell, I love custom stationary. I don't know what it is, but sending unique cards to friends or family makes my heart happy. I know some people throw cards out right away, but I hold on to the special ones. Just ask my husband, I still have the little card from my first bouquet of flowers he gave me 6 years ago :)

So today I’m excited to share with you a giveaway that Ashley from Evermore Paper Co. and I have been working on! You may remember her work, the adorable monogrammed laurel note cards that I featured here. Ashley has been awesome to work with and I'm so glad she is helping me do something fun for all of you! After all, this is the season of giving thanks!

If you haven’t done it already, you must get yourself acquainted with her lovely shop! Evermore Paper Co. is a Chicago-based paper goods company with a unique papercut design. Along with the laurel note cards, Ashley makes super chic greeting cards and personalized stationary. Her shop is full of gorgeous birthday, anniversary, thank you cards, and more. I’ve already got the laurel stationary set on my Christmas list, and I’m planning on picking out a few other items for upcoming special occasions.

Here are just a few of my favorites from the collection!

Always & Forever. Cheers. Hello. Happy Birthday.

Ashley's designs are inspired by nature and the city, resulting in a gorgeous combination of organic and geometric shapes. Her work is hand drawn (talk about talent!) and then cut into recycled card stock by machine before being assembled by hand.

P.S. Ashley also has a pretty blog you can check out here!

For this fabulous giveaway, you get to pick TWO individual greeting cards of your choice! All you have to do is check out Evermore Paper Co. on Etsy or here, and pick out which two cards are your favorites! To enter, make sure you are a follower of Home Sweet Ruby and don’t forget to leave a comment on which cards you’d like if you win!

Giveaway ends Wednesday, November 20th at midnight. 

As an added bonus, Ashley has graciously offered a 10% discount on all Etsy orders for Home Sweet Ruby readers! Just use the code HOMESWEETRUBY anytime between now and next Wednesday. Pretty great, right?! If you aren't sure how to use the code, message Ashley on Etsy and she'll be happy to assist! Make sure to stop by her shop and get yourself some pretty paper goods for your friends' birthdays or weddings, or just a card to say hi :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway


This giveaway was in partnership with Evermore Paper Company. I was not compensated in any way and all opinions are my own.

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Favorite Thanksgiving Recipe :: Corn Casserole

I'm willing to bet most of you assumed I'd be sharing some variation of a pumpkin dessert, considering what my recipe page looks like. I won't lie, I definitely considered sharing my Grandma's signature pie crust and pumpkin pie recipe, but figured I'd switch it up because this cornbread casserole recipe is so.dang.easy.

Some of you may be thinking, "What about regular dinner rolls? That's a lot of bread." And you're right, bread is certainly in abundance on our Thanksgiving table. So is a crapload of butter, meat, vegetables, and wine. Considering Thanksgiving is the only day it's acceptable to eat this ridiculous amount of food, why not take full advantage? I will note, however, that this cornbread actually has corn kernels in it so its kind of like a vegetable too... right??

My grandma started making this recipe a few years ago and its been a big hit. I think it's her adapted version of Paula Deen's recipe found here.

Ingredients:
1 can Whole Kernel Corn, drained
1 can Cream-Style Corn
2 packages of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
1 pint Sour Cream (I only used 8 ounces here, but I prefer the whole 16 ounces)
2 sticks Butter, melted
1/2-1 cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Dump all ingredients (minus the cheese... although you could add some in here too) into a large bowl and mix well.

3. Pour into greased casserole dish, 9 x 13 is best but if you halve the sour cream like I did here then you will need a smaller pan.

4. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until golden brown. Add remaining shredded cheese and bake for another 5 minutes.

5. Let stand for five minutes before serving.

Done! Even if you've had a little too much Sangria or Liquid Apple Pie, you'll still be able to manage this one!

Enjoy!!

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Weekend Snapshots

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend! Today my thoughts and prayers are with our brave veterans, we are extremely lucky for their selfless service to our country.

You may have noticed on Instagram that I started on some holiday projects this weekend! I'll be sharing those soon, but I'm waiting until next week to actually start decorating. And although its a little early for me, I allowed myself to listen to some Christmas music while working on the projects. That's acceptable... right? Has anyone started decorating or listening to holiday music yet? My husband thought I was crazy but whatever.

I also practiced with my new camera this weekend and I'm totally loving it so far!! Thank you to everyone who has recommended accessories, I've got them on my Christmas list!

Here are some of my favorite photos... of course, Ruby and the hubs were my models.

I swear this girl knew I was taking photos, she stood directly in front of me and just posed for a solid five minutes.

I definitely have a lot to learn but so far DSLR cameras are much easier to work with than I thought!

We also indulged in some homemade chicken nachos during the Steelers game. Recipe coming next week!

Can you tell we like black olives?

After eating these we felt like total slobs and did nothing the rest of our Sunday. Perfect!

P.S. Don't forget to share your favorite Thanksgiving dish tomorrow and join me for a link-up!

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