Holiday Gift Guide: Ideas for the Host & Hostess

I truly believe there’s an art-form to gift-giving — especially if someone’s gracious enough to invite you into their home (or to their holiday party).

Plus, don’t you always remember the way someone made you feel when they gave you a particularly thoughtful card or gift?

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With the holiday season upon us, those social calendars will surely start to fill up with a slew of festive soirees and such — if they haven’t already. And as a result, today’s gift guide is a bit more in-depth — and it’s all about affordable finds for those holiday hosts.

A lot of items from my first gift guide (affordable items to stock up on) will apply to this as well.

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The Best Cyber Monday Sales of 2015

Happy Monday, you guys! Hope your holiday season has been a great one thus far. Going to be a bit hard to ease back into the work-week, isn’t it?

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I’ve mentioned this, but I have a love/hate relationship with holiday shopping. And by that, I mean I love sales and hate crowds — which is why I do my damage online.

Here are the best sales happening across the web right now.* Let’s get to it!

FITNESS & WORKOUT GEAR

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CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES

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JEWELRY & ACCESSORIES

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cute shoes to wear to work

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HOME, OFFICE & DECOR

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HALLIE’S PICKS:

CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES

Now that’ you’ve probably hit the Tory Burch sale (extra 30% off — including everything that’s already on sale) your best bets for Cyber Monday deals and steals are over at Shopbop, Express, Nordstrom and a few others, discussed below.

Nordstrom’s designer clearance is up to 40% off, and they also have a handful of beauty and fragrance gift sets on major markdown. At Shopbop, you can save up to 25% off your entire order — which includes brands that never go on sale, their designer denim boutique and more. Personally, I picked up this Champagne Campaign tee to give to a friend this year. Express is 50% off site-wide, too!

As far as other noteworthy sales go, Banana Republic has so many cute sweaters on sale. (I picked up this gorgeous, chunky knit grey turtleneck.) Here’s my favorites from the site:

FEATURED: 40% off at Banana Republic
PROMO CODE: BESTCYBER, SHOP BELOW

Lands’ End outerwear is 50% off, so this is the perfect time to purchase a new coat or jacket for winter. J.Crew Factory is having a serious clearance blow-out, too — 50% off everything (prices as marked) plus an extra 15% off. These metallic slippers will make great gifts (for mom, sisters, and friends) — combined with a monogrammed necklace from BaubleBar, perhaps?

Everything at ASOS is 30% off, so it’s time to finally bite the bullet on that blanket scarf you’ve been wanting.

JEWELRY & ACCESSORIES

I’m a big lover of Loren Hope‘s jewelry. Everything is hand-made in the US! Her earrings are the perfect party accessories, too. New Year’s Eve outfit, anyone? BaubleBar is having a really good “stock up and save” type of sale, too. Including personalized items and gift sets! I bought a handful of the Chicago coordinates necklaces to give as gifts. (They come in other cities, too!)

Lastly, Ugg Australia is an additional 20% off sale items, too — isn’t this plaid tote cute?

FEATURED: Up to 35% off at BaubleBar
PROMO CODE: GOGIFT35, SHOP BELOW

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Oh, and in case you missed it, I shared my very first gift guide of the season yesterday: 15 affordable finds that will make the perfect presents — year-round.

(*Be sure to check back later today as this post will be updated as more sales are announced. Happy shopping!)

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*FULL DISCLOSURE: Because you know we’re all about that ’round here. The links above contain affiliate links, which means buy something after clicking on them, I make a (very) small commission. All affiliate-based commissions are funneled right back into this site, where I pay for web design, computer software… And a shit load of caffeine. Thank you endlessly, as always, for your support!

10 Tips for Cyber Monday Shopping

Black Friday and Cyber Monday kinda snuck up on us this year, no?

cyber-monday-holiday-shopping-advice

Personally, I tend to avoid the in-person shopping insanity over the next few days at all costs. Reason being, I’ve found that I can usually find better deals and steals online (and with free shipping, right to my door).

So join me this week — stay in your sweats, sit on the couch and grab a cup of coffee (or, you know, a glass of wine depending on the time of day). Best way to shop, no?

Here is my advice on how to get the very best deals online and ultimately make the most of your Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

10 tips for a successful Black Friday/Cyber Monday:

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40+ Cyber Monday Deals to Bookmark

If you’re like I am, you avoid the insanity that deal-hunting for Black Friday/Cyber Monday at all costs… In-person, at least.

I have a love/hate relationship with holiday shopping. By that, of course, I mean that I love sales and hate crowds — which is why I do my damage online.

I love online shopping (to my wallet’s dismay), but if I had to stick to a few Cyber Monday deals this year, it’d be Nordstrom, Piperlime and Shopbop — hands down. All three have items for women and men — ranging in price from affordable to designer.

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Okay, let’s get to it.

Grab your coffee, shake off last week’s turkey coma and let’s get to it. There’s deals to be had! (In the time that you’ve read this, I’ve already bought these boots.) Happy shopping — from the comfort of my couch desk to yours!

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BEST CYBER MONDAY DEALS

APPAREL/CLOTHING:

*Featured deal: Nordstrom

Shop: clothing | beauty | home & gifts | designer collection
PROMO CODE: N/A, SHOP HERE

Nordstrom is where I feed my NARS lip pencil obsession and replinish my tanning towelettes from Kate Somerville. Oh, and just a tip: Their designer mark-downs are unbelievable this season — including my favorite boots!

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DESIGNER:

*Featured deal: Shopbop

Shop: denim | boots | bags
PROMO CODE: GOBIG14 for up to 25% OFF

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SHOES:

*Featured deal: Piperlime

shop: sweaters | shoes | olivia palermo’s picks
PROMO CODE: CYBERSALE for up to 40% off

I always have success shopping for shoes, bags and sweaters at Piperlime — everything is 25% off, including the sale section. How cool is this moto jacket?

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JEWELERY:

  • BaubleBar: 20% off with code CYBER20 (ends 12/1)
  • Capwell + Co: 35% off everything with code BLACKFRIDAY (ends 12/1)
  • Loren Hope: 20% off site-wide with code THANKFULLY

*Featured deal: BaubleBar


shop: statement necklaces | modern monograms | dainty jewelry
PROMO CODE: Up to 35% off with codes FRIDAY15, FRIDAY25, FRIDAY35

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HANDBAGS:

  • Lo & Sons: 30% off everything (ends 12/1)
  • Luisaviaroma: Extra 20% off all designer bags with code BF2060E (ends 12/1)
  • Kate Spade: 25% off everything with code CYBER30 (ends 12/1)
  • Tory Burch: Up to 30% off everything with code LUCKY

*Featured deal: Kate Spade

Shop: bridal | handbags | gifts under $50 | cold weather accessories
PROMO CODE: 30% off with CYBER30

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HOME:

  • Anthropologie: Extra 20% off sale items with code EXTRAJOLLY (ends 12/1)
  • Jonathan Adler: 20% off everything with code BLACKFRIDAY (ends 11/30)
  • Design Darling: 20% off everything with code MANYTHANKS (ends 12/1)
  • Pottery Barn: 20% off one item with code GOBBLE
  • West Elm: Up to 25% off with code SUPERSALE

*Featured deal: Design Darling

shop: best sellers | paper products | art & prints
PROMO CODE: 25% off with code MANYTHANKS

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GIFTS/ACCESSORIES:

*Featured deal: Madewell

shop: monogram shop | gifts under $100 | gifts under $50
PROMO CODE: 25% off with code GIFTON

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Now, back to today’s agenda… With coffee, of course. (I’m working from home today.) Happy shopping!

homemade-waffle-mix

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*FULL DISCLOSURE: Because you know we’re all about that ’round here. Some of the links above contain affiliate links. In other words, if you click them and buy something, I make a small commission. All affiliate-based commissions are funneled right back into this blog, where I pay for hosting, computer software, and so on. Oh, and a shit load of coffee. Thank you endlessly, as always, for your support!