Tag Archives: family

Thanksgiving Drinking Accessories!

For most of us Thanksgiving means two things – good food and good times with the ones you love. But sometimes even the ones you love the most can fall into the category of “difficult relative.” So this is where the wine comes in.

Nordstrom Thanksgiving

Difficult relatives can be especially hard to handle during an election year. We’ve all seen how one politically fueled comment can turn a perfectly civil Thanksgiving dinner into round three of the Republican National Debate. So with the 2016 election just around the corner, Thanksgiving celebrations across the country need more than just wine.

This year, wine, champagne and beer bottles need to accessorize for the occasion. I’m particularly fond of these ‘This Wine Pairs Well with Turkey and Difficult Relatives’ Bottle Tags and  ‘Stay Fancy’ Wine Glasses. Thankfully, however, there are so many fab Thanksgiving accessories to choose from this year! Here’s some more to gobble up for Turkey Day.

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Mother’s Day Weekend Recap

Mother's Day

I’m originally from Wilmington, Delaware and went home for Mother’s Day weekend. Since my sister now lives in Baltimore, Saturday we spent the day with her in the Inner Harbor. While you may have seen lots of riots and chaos in the news lately, there’s a side of Baltimore that you didn’t see. I absolutely love strolling around Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and seeing all of the beautiful boats go by. It’s totally worth a visit, especially for the aquarium. Here I am (above and to the left) with my mom and sister in the Inner Harbor.

Baltimore Maryland

See what I mean?

Baltimore Maryland Inner Harbor

How about now?

brunch cocktails mimosas

The next day, we treated Mom to a classic Mother’s Day brunch.

how to make a pie

And celebrated my cousin’s 21st birthday with a pie.

I hope your Mother’s Day was as wonderful as mine!

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A Snowy Thanksgiving in New Hampshire

Winter Wonderland

Ever since I was born, I’ve spent every Thanksgiving with my family in New Hampshire. This year, however, it was extra special because I went up with my boyfriend. After discovering that we both have family in New Hampshire, we decided to rent a car and go up together. We were supposed to leave on Wednesday night, but decided not to when we saw how bad the snow was getting. So we made the trek up to New Hampshire from New York City on Thanksgiving Day. In the midst of power outages across New Hampshire and holiday traffic, we made it to Ian’s grandmother’s house with time to spare before dinner. In true New England fashion, we had a wonderful dinner with my boyfriend’s family.

In the days after Thanksgiving, we enjoyed the beauty of the snow, spent time with both our families and took my Dad to see the Syracuse University vs. Boston College football game. I went to Syracuse so I’m not going to share the score. Though it was freezing, we still managed to watch the whole game in the stands. Having spent so many holidays and summers in New Hampshire, I already had tons of great memories there. This Thanksgiving weekend, I made even more.

winter snow

Old Navy snow

wintertime

woods snow

snow

sunset over the snow

football game

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Disneyworld!

Disneyworld Magic Kingdom

I just got back from an amazing trip to Disneyworld with my boyfriend Ian and his family. I’d been to Disneyworld twice as a kid, but this time I got to relive my childhood and my love for the Disney Princesses through new eyes. The first day at Epcot, I learned that you’re never too old to stand in line to meet Disney characters. One of the highlights was meeting Aladdin and Jasmine in Morocco. Aladdin kept calling my camera a genie. By night, Magic Kingdom came alive with its fireworks show and parade. Seeing Cinderella’s castle lit up never ceases to inspire me.

For those of you planning a visit, here are a few key tips. It’s best to visit Magic Kingdom when the sun goes down and the kids have gone to bed because you can pretty much get on any ride you want. At Animal Kingdom, it was great to go on the safari ride then cool off on Kali River Rapids (just be ready to get wet). Lastly, always wear sneakers. I wouldn’t have made it to so many parks without my Skechers Go Walk shoes.

Many thanks to the Schwab family for making me a part of their magical vacation!

Disney Fireworks

Aladdin

magic lamp

Epcot

Disney Princess

Disney Parks

Disney Boardwalk

Disney ships

Downtown Disney

Flamingos

Disney Cinderella

Cinderella Evil Stepsister

Cinderella

Prince Charming

Tinkerbelle Peter Pan

Cinderella's Castle

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My Cousin’s Wedding

bride wedding

After countless summers in Maine, day-long Law & Order SVU marathons, and a lifetime of holidays spent together, I watched my cousin Laura walk down the aisle last weekend in New Hampshire. She was such a beautiful bride. It was almost like she was born to wear the white dress because everything about being a bride came so naturally to her. So far, celebrating the newest Mrs. McGuinness among friends and family that I’ve known since birth has been the highlight of my 2014. Congratulations to Laura and Tim! I’m so looking forward to making new memories with you.

wedding dress

The dress

White flowers

The bouquet

wedding photo

The groom, the bride, and me

center pieces

The centerpieces

bride

The bride and her sisters

photo booth

Photo booth fun

catching and boquet

P.S. – If you’re wondering who caught the bouquet, it was ME! After the first bouquet she threw went into the chandelier, the bride grabbed a branch of flowers from a centerpiece and threw it over her shoulder to the single ladies. It fell right into my hands and I screamed like a schoolgirl as I danced with the bride to the rest of Beyoncé’s ‘Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It).’

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