What’s Up Wednesday November + TBB Linkup

Today I’m linking up with Shay, Mel & Sheaffer for this months What’s Up Wednesday!  The questions are in pink so check it out and join the fun.  Also joining Jessi and Jenn for What’s Hap- “Pinning” Wednesday.  Plus, be sure to link up your favorite look with The Blended Blog!

What We’re Eating this Week

Y’all, meal planning at our house has gone by the wayside!  I have been off my game for the past few weeks and can honestly say I have only averaged cooking about once per week (gasp!).  One big win was this whole 30 approved Zuppa Toscana soup I made in the instant pot!

What I’m Reminiscing About

Family Christmas card pictures!  Taking our picture each year is one of my favorite things but I only hire a professional every other year which means this year I’m in charge and things go a little more like this!  Wish me luck with this crew.   

What I’m Loving

Creating a gift guide and celebrating my readers with a chance to win a $450 Nordstrom giftcard!  Stop by the Gift Guide post to see all my fave picks for the ladies or head to the gift guide tab in the header!

What We’ve Been Up To

We’ve been working on doing some updates to the house and I shared a peek at our updated living room with 5 quick ways to update your space.

I also shared about serving others and finding those easy ways any can do.

Enjoying the season and some special treats at Starbucks.

Working to finish off our service hours for the year with Young Mens Service League.

Filling up our freezer!

Supporting our friends at the annual barn dance.  Love these kids!  

Celebrating Thanksgiving with my Mamaw and being thankful for still having her in our lives.

This kid would fish every day if he could!  We promptly fried these up and invited friends for dinner.

And this week I was a stand in mom for this little bit at school.  As much as I’m glad I”m done with elementary, I had so much fun spending some time letting Hope show me her math skills!

What I’m Dreading

Maybe Christmas shopping just a teeny bit!

What I’m Working On

My skin!  Making it a habit to wash my face every night has been a big priority lately.  I really never had to worry about breakouts and such growing up and this was just not something I gave much thought to but as I’ve aged I can see a huge difference in my skin if I wash it each night and use my skincare.  Granted this was taken with great Sunday morning light coming in through my bedroom window, but there is no filter on this picture and I’m pretty happy with the glow my skin has after being a little more diligent.  Rodan + Fields just released a new eye serum and mine arrived yesterday so I cannot wait to try it out on my dark circles!  I currently use the Reverse line during the day and the Redefine series at night.  If you would ever like to talk skincare let me know!

What I’m Excited About

Thanksgiving and having this crew all together!  Riley arrived home last night and I’ll have all of my babies together in one place for the first time since probably April y’all!!  Makes my heart so happy!

What I’m Watching/Reading

I’ve been on a bit of a reading hiatus and haven’t touched a book in October or November.  So many books currently on my list but it just has not been a priority.   I plan to catch up on some reading as well as catch up with This is Us (yes, I’m weeks behind) and finish off Jane the Virgin on Netflix.

If you are looking for a Christmas devotional I shared one of my favorites and also a few others I’m interested in checking out.

The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas

What I’m Listening To

What am I listening to?  I don’t know why this throws me every month because I love music!  I did download the Taylor Swift album but haven’t listened yet.

What I’m Wearing

Shopping my closet!  As I transitioned to fall clothes, I turned all the hangars backwards and I’ve really been working on wearing items I may not typically choose.  I grabbed a big shopping bag to keep in the closet and every time I wear something that doesn’t fit just right or feels uncomfortable in any way I am tossing it into the bag.  I am terrible at keeping things I love that I just really don’t love on me!

Love this top but every time I wear it I spend the entire day readjusting because it is just a tad snug across the bust and I’m always worried about a wardrobe malfunction.  After this wear I tossed it in the pile to giveaway.  

I shared these Target Treasures last week!  These have been two fo the purchased I made in November and both are new favorites.

Vest | Scarf | Striped Tee | Booties | Jeans

Seriously this may be my uniform lately in some variation.  It is the perfect fall outfit and depending on the temps I swap out the vest for a jacket and booties for tall boots.  I’m kind of thinking this may be my Thanksgiving Day outfit with a necklace instead of a scarf.

What I’m Doing this Weekend

Creating a Holly Jolly home!  I am one of those who waits until after Thanksgiving to decorate but mainly due to timing.  Having a 5 day weekend makes it easier.  I’m thinking of keeping the decor a little simpler this year and mixing in more cream with our red and green but we will see.

What I’m Looking Forward to Next Month

Are you kidding?  Christmas of course!  We have some fun parties to attend and I’ll be baking up my Meme’s chocolate cookies to deliver.  I’m really hoping to keep things as calm and bright as possible and really enjoy the season!

Bonus:  What are some fun things to do with your Elf on the Shelf

Sorry, not sorry, no Elf on the Shelf for us this year!  However, our Elf was quite the character around here some years and other years he showed up with good deeds to do each day.   You can check out our Elfin Memories! for inspiration.

Feel free to link your latest fashion post to share with The Blended Blog readers!