Saying "Thanks" With Sincerity and Style-A Hostess Gift Idea

This year I am beyond excited to be a co-hostess for Thanksgiving dinner in an unfamiliar yet friendly locale. {I'm sure I'll have more on that soon!}

Last year, my good friend and lifestyle blogger, Joy Nudd recruited my "hostess gift" story and I thought I'd share as we have just one week left to get it together!

Note: You can do this affordably and stylishly! Have fun, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Our ”gifts“ as hosts {cooking, cleaning decorating, setting an elegant table} can seem monumental at times. Many of us {read; ME} put an extraordinary amount of pressure on ourselves to personally hand pick each ingredient and cook every last recipe to perfection. I’ve been a hostess for various holidays for as many years as I can remember, so switching gears for this Thanksgiving and being invited as a *gasp* guest has been welcomed challenge.
I still very much wanted to have a personal touch on the holiday, of course, and so I have set my focus on a lovely hostess gift.
This year, I am a guest at my beloved Jeffrey’s mother’s house. She is the most delightful woman and I would consider her to be the same kind of hostess as I am. She is a marvelous chef, she can feng shui a table like it’s nobody’s business and she is driven solely by the comfort of her guests in her home. Because of this, she rarely accepts contributions or assistance.
This year my hostess will receive a “Day After Thanksgiving Survival Kit.” A bottle of wine seems so ordinary, her table will be set beautifully and her menu is set, so …she can enjoy the components to her kit on the weary day after:
Packed in a set of tins from IKEA, she will enjoy:
*Hoagie Rolls {For turkey sandwiches!}
*Gourmet Dry Soup Mix {Just add water!}
*Cranberry Vanilla Hand Soap {Kickin’ off the Holiday season}
*Shea Cashmere Hand Cream {She will likely have scrubbed lots of potatoes and washed some pots and pans!}
*Milk Chocolate Cherries {Jeffrey says these are favorite indulgence}
My idea and gesture is for her to barely lift a finger the next day all the while knowing that I was incredibly grateful to sit at her Thanksgiving table in a most loving and beautiful environment.
Sources:
Tins: IKEA
Hoagie Rolls: Bakery / Local Supermarket
Soup Mix: Country Gardens Cuisine {Found at TJ Maxx}
Hand Soap: TJ Maxx
Hand Cream: Bath and Body Works True Blue Spa
Milk Chocolate Cherries: Harvest Sweets {Found at TJ Maxx}

Destination ...Cayman! {The magazine, that is!}

Proudly sharing the honor with Garrett Nudd, Joy Nudd, Tami Corday & Jeffrey Stoner of Lisa & Keith's Ritz Carlton, Grand Cayman wedding which will be published in "Destination Cayman" magazine! What a memorable, gorgeous wedding and couple ...

This publication will be distributed throughout the island and on various US airlines with routes to Grand Cayman...

UNBRIDLED: My favorite wedding friends like...Joy Nudd!

This week, we get to know the woman, okay, the DYNAMO that makes Garrett Nudd Photography tick. I met Joy Nudd mere days after I had even made an acquaintance with Garrett in my office a few years ago with their beautiful daughter {baby at the time!} Graycen.

Since that meeting, I have {subconsciously, I suppose} never thought of Garrett Nudd Photography as a single entity. Sure, Joy is a second shooter, administrator and all-around marketing guru, but I suspect it’s more than that..

Joy and Garrett’s incredible bond is unyielding while being subtle as well. Everyone in “the business” knows that with one comes the other, and when one is not available {say, giving birth to two of the most breathtaking girls ever} the other is never far behind in spirit.

I had the most fun surprising Joy and Garrett at their stylish boutique studio in Chattanooga last year, but that distance never seems to encumber our collaborative opportunities. We seem to be working together now more than ever, and I am most excited about our forthcoming wedding in Grand Cayman in which Joy will make her return, after Baby Campbell’s joyous arrival, as Garrett’s right-hand {always!} woman.

Now, it’s everyone’s turn to be filled with “JOY...”

• Itching to work with: Stacey London (great style and love her honesty...and I need a makeover!) She reminds me of someone....you perhaps?!
• Fashion Obsessions: sunglasses (is it wrong that I have Chanel, but also want Prada and D&G, etc)
• Beauty must-haves: concealer (I am a night owl!)
• Office/Work must haves: really nice paper: notecards, thank you cards,
• Speed dialing: Garrett Nudd!
• Can’t get enough of: Besides my adorable hubby and girls...The Reisenthel Products,especially their "magazinboard" ( I use it for client folders, one for wedding, one for portrait) and their "carrybag" which is a basket for all things! I love ALL their stuff :)
• Jonesing to: Watercolor/Seaside, FL in September! Planning a long overdue family vacation with no work. Also, would love to go back to Paris, France SOON and stay for at least a month.
• Current work project: Hatch's House of Hope and Austin Hatcher Foundation We have partnered with this amazing organization based in Chattanooga, TN (going national) to take photos of children and their families dealing with pediatric cancer.
• Current personal project: organizing our home, it has been neglected for 2 years, focusing on the studio all the time. And a fun, personal blog, stay tuned!
• Necessary extravagance: boutique clothes for the girls, quality packaging for gifts (both an obsession)
• If I weren’t a photographer I would: design children's clothing or own a paper store
• In my bag: besides the usual diaper bag contents...iPhone, gift cards for all over (must check if they're still good!, paper samples, inspire notebook...
• Recent discovery: Edy's Slow Churned 6 fl. oz ice cream cup. Half my family is allergic to milk, so the ice cream can't get eaten fast enough when I have to buy them in quart/gallon size. Now, it is never wasted and fun to eat out of :)
• Craving: malted chocolate milkshake! And again...go back to Europe for more inspiration.

*Fun, fearless and frivolous flashbacks*

1. "You being one of the first people last summer to find out that Garrett and I were expecting our second child....when we were in Colorado for your fabulous Down the Aisle show at the brand new Ritz Carlton Denver, somehow you knew I was pregnant without either of us saying a word. A mother's intuition, I suppose."

2. "The first time Garrett came to your office to meet you and visit together, Graycen and I accompanied him. We rarely ever do that, but somehow we had a feeling that it would be okay. And it was."

3. "Seeing one of your/our brides present you with a pair of Tiffany earrings as a gift, just before her wedding ceremony began. As a colleague, that was a very special moment to witness."