Gift Guide for Her

If you need help finding the perfect gift for the gal who's hard to buy for, look no further! These are some cozy and classic items that your hard to buy for girlfriend, gal pal, daughter, or sister would love!

When I think about what I want for Christmas it's usually a mix of something I can use and something cute and cozy. This cardigan sold out during the nordstrom anniversary sale but good news, it's baaaack! I literally wear it almost every day at work, it's so cozy and soft (I have it in the charcoal as pictured. Love it!)

Hunter boots are a splurge and would make a great gift for someone who has always wanted a pair but doesn't own one.

I live in a cold and wet climate so a cute beanie is a must! I like the ones with pom poms like this one and this one (less expensive.)

I think Christmas is the perfect time to give something with a little glitter or sparkle and these heels would be perfect to wear on New Year's Eve or for a holiday party!  Or you could go for this water bottle which is under $25 and would make a cute gift for your friend who loves to workout :)

The last thing I want to mention is the MAC lipstick and lip liner duo, it's a great deal because the lipstick and liner by themselves are usually $17.50 EACH and you get both the lipstick and liner for $27. This is a great deal!

5+ Thanksgiving Outfit Ideas

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Thanksgiving Outfit Idea

Hey friends! Thanksgiving is one week away, I'm so excited!! Here is an outfit idea for what to wear to Thanksgiving: a cute ruffled sweater, distressed denim (the pair I'm wearing is 40% off!), some high heeled ankle boots or over the knee boots (these are on sale for $65!) and statement earrings. The sweater I'm wearing is sold out in green but I really love the Ivory color. Make sure to follow me in the LIKEtoKNOW.it app to get shoppable links for this and all the looks I post on Instagram @mapleandmint. 

I hope you all have a great rest of your week!

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How to Decorate for Thanksgiving in Five Easy Steps

Thanksgiving is just around the corner!! My fiancé and I are hosting Thanksgiving at our home for the first time this year – I feel so grown up! One of the things I remember most about Thanksgiving at my parents' home (aside from the awesome food) was the beautiful table décor my mom would put out every year. Every Thanksgiving I knew I could depend on my mom to create a beautiful centerpiece of flowers, or floating candles or whatever else she cooked up that year. We always had dinner in our formal dining room and lit the tapered candles, used the fancy china and tablecloth, and had a wonderful meal.

Hosting for Thanksgiving can seem really daunting but I promise you’ll feel much better if you set up your table to look beautiful. Everything else will fall into place and worst case scenario, you burn the turkey and eat mashed potatoes all evening off your fancy china :)

How to Decorate for Thanksgiving in Five Easy Steps:

1) Bring out the nice tablecloth. I bought this one on Amazon for $24 (it has pumpkins on it! I love it so much!)
2) Bring out the matching napkins. I bought this set on Amazon to match my tablecloth for $25
3) You guessed it – bring out the napkin rings. These ones are on Amazon for $18.There's also some really nice ones here.
4) Use candlesticks and tapered candles. My grandma gave me hers before she died so they are really special to me. I bought purple tapered candles at an estate sale for $4. I can’t wait to use them!
5) If you want to get really fancy, make place cards for your guests so they know where to sit.

How do you plan to spruce up your Thanksgiving table this year? Comment below!

Gift Guide For the Yogi and the Hostess

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Here are some holiday gift ideas for your Wednesday morning. Many items are under $50! 

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Must-See Christmas Movie List

Hey everyone! Happy Friday Eve!! I don't know about you but I am ready for the weekend to begin! One of my favorite things about the holidays are all the Christmas movies :) I started watching Christmas movies as early as October... shhh... 0:-) So I thought I'd share my top 10 must-see Christmas movies and I'd love to know, what are you favorite movies to watch during the holidays?

In no particular order...

Love Actually

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The Holiday

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Home Alone 1

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Home Alone 2

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The Santa Clause 

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A Christmas Carol

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It's a Wonderful Life

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Jingle All the Way

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Elf

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A Christmas Story

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I've already watched 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 9 :)

What to Ask Santa for this Christmas

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Happy hump day everybody!! I hope you're all having a great week so far. I've been watching a ton of Christmas movies and spending time with friends and family which makes me so incredible happy :)

Still need some ideas for what to ask Santa for this Christmas? Or maybe you need some gift ideas for friends or family members? Here's a "Wednesday Wishlist" covering all price ranges, from a designer handbag (*swoon*) to the perfect holiday nail polish!! 

Also just want to give a shoutout to those dangly tassel earrings... I really REALLY love them for the holidays, I bought them right after Thanksgiving and I'm so happy I did! Click the numbers above to shop. 

31 Acts of Kindness

Happy December!! While some may say it's the most wonderful time of the year, it also can be a stressful time, and it's easy to forget how to be kind to one another when we are stressed. I got this idea here and I think it's just lovely - 31 Acts of Kindness for the 31 days in December! What will you do this December to be more kind? Here are some of my ideas:

1. Give your coworker a compliment on the hard work they've done all year.
2. Say please and thank you in a cheerful voice the next time you order coffee.
3. Give the waiter or waitress a bigger tip than normal and write "thank you" on the bill.
4. Hold the elevator for someone.
5. Hold the door for someone.
6. Offer to help someone carry their packages or groceries if they look like they're struggling.
7. Donate needed items to a local homeless shelter.
8. Pay for the coffee or drive through order of the person behind you in line.
9. Call your family and tell them you love them.
10. Call your grandma and have a good 20 minute chat.
11. Help answer letters to Santa through your local post office.
12. Bring a treat for your office (donuts, bagels, coffee, or something else!)
13. Smile and act cheerful.
14. Pick up trash.
15. Volunteer your time on a weekend.
16. Invite a friend out for a movie or a cup of coffee and treat them.
17. Email someone you haven't talked to in a while and tell them you're thinking about them.
18. Email photos you've been meaning to send to your family (family photos, or photos of a recent trip, etc.)
19. Include someone in an activity that you normally might not think to include.
20. Be kind to someone you don't like.
21. Give a sincere compliment.
22. Write a happiness quote on a slip of paper and put it in a random book at the local bookstore.
23. Tell a friend something you really like and appreciate about them.
24. Write a handwritten note wishing a friend or family member happy holidays.
25. Tweet at a company for having excellent customer service.
26. Leave an Instagram comment thanking a company for excellent customer service.
27. Write your boss, office manager, or kids' teacher thanking them for all the hard work they've done this year.
28. Write a heartfelt note to a friend who's been extra good to you this year.
29. Leave a love note for your significant other, or a happy note for your roommate, or if you live alone, leave a note to yourself reminding you how awesome you are.
30.When someone asks you how your day is, return the question and ask how they are.
31. Listen intently, and give someone your undivided attention. (This means stop looking at your phone!)

4th of July Food Ideas

Who's ready for this weekend's Independence Day celebrations? I know I am! I've been browsing Pinterest for some 4th of July recipes and the fun food combinations of red, white and blue are endless.

Here are my top picks for what to make over this holiday weekend. Basically anything with the patriotic color scheme is game. [I tried to link back to the original post as best I could.]

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Have a safe and happy 4th, everyone!

Valentine's Day Gifts for Him

This year SH and I are opting out of a fancy Valentine's Day dinner in favor of spending the whole day together. Because the holiday falls on a Saturday this year, it allows for a full day of togetherness. We're planning some more frugal activities like making breakfast at home and riding our bikes rather than a fancy evening out. I couldn't put his gift on here because then he'd know what it was, but here are some fun ideas to get the ball rolling if you still need some ideas for what to get your man for V-Day. Some of these are on the more expensive end (i.e. coffee maker) and others are on the lesser expensive end (i.e. silicon grilling gloves). I hope you have a great day!

Valentine's Day Gifts for Him by lovecoffeetea on Polyvore

Valentine's Day Lip Color Picks

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Good morning! Happy Friday Eve! Today we're talking Valentine's Day Lip Color picks. The lighting in my apartment is kind of weird so the white paper looks almost... iridescent, (but don't be fooled! I didn't filter this photo.) All that aside, I had a lot of fun kissing paper creating this cute little Valentine's Day lip color palette!

Which color would you choose to wear on Valentine's Day, 1, 2, 3 or 4? Do you have a go-to VDay lip color all picked out yet? 

I think one of the most fun parts about Valentine's Day is wearing lots of red and pink. I haven't decided what I'm going to wear yet, so once I have that figured out the the lip color will follow, but right now I'm leaning towards the flirty, pouty second color which is the Sephora Collection Ultra Shine Lip Gloss in Shiny Pin-up Pink. This lipgloss is super glossy, smooth, and very pretty on. It has a lot of color for a lipgloss and is a really fun, vibrant color, perfect for VDay! Also, because it's a gloss it doesn't fade unevenly or smudge outside of your lip lines the way that lipstick can. It's also super easy to reapply, you don't even need a mirror so just throw it in your bag and go.

As for the lipsticks, the first one on the palette is by NARS in Red Lizard. I got it recently and I like it a lot. It does start to fade around the middle after hours and some eating without reapplication (normal) so just make sure you reapply as necessary.

The third color is Kiss Me Coral by Revlon. I bought mine at a local drugstore but in searching for the link to include in this post I found that you can buy it at Walmart for like $5. Woo! I'm not wearing this color as often right now because I usually save it for summer, but I have quite a few Revlon lipsticks that I rotate through. To be perfectly honest I must prefer the Revlon ColorBurst crayons to their lipsticks. The application is easier and I think the color stays on longer. 

The last lip color is also the most expensive at $33. I like this lip color a lot because it's bold and punchy and super RED, but it is quite thin and runny, so you are truly painting it on your face. It's beautiful as long as you use a lipliner (if you don't it may bleed) and check yourself to make sure it's not on your teeth! It's definitely the most powerful color out of the four and extremely smooth to put on. If you want a really dramatic red, I think this is the one to go with. It's Georgio Armani Lip Maestro Lip Stain in Hollywood.

Side note: have any of you ever worn NARS lipstick in Shanghai Express? It looks really pretty online, but I can't really tell how it would look on just from that image.

I hope you all have a great day!!

Valentine's Day Wishlist

Hey all. Valentine's day isn't really a gift giving holiday the way that Christmas is, but while we're on the subject... How pretty are the new Pink Peonies Collection tassel earrings and that Paloma Picasso Olive Leaf Vine Bracelet? *Swoon* (Pink Peonies is one of my favorite bloggers so I'm super excited about her new line.) Items 3 and 4 are for my future dirt bike... Item 2 is Emily's book which is on pre-order since it doesn't come out until May. Any way those are my picks. Have a great day!

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Valentine's Day Wishlist by lovecoffeetea featuring sterling silver bangles

Holiday Pause

The holidays can be such a time of stress and frustration. There's the hustle and bustle of busy and over crowded malls. The never ending to-do lists. Trying to stretch your budget to include everyone on your Christmas list. It can be exhausting! I know that I try to do it all this time of year- all of the shopping, wrapping, drinking hot cocoa, cuddling by the fire, watching Christmas movies, listening to Christmas music, putting up Christmas decorations, mailing Christmas cards, etc.

But in the busyness of it all, it's important to remember what this season means for each of us individually and for our families. Today I would like to challenge you to take a moment to remember what the spirit of Christmas is all about for you. And if you don't celebrate Christmas, perhaps reflect on what this holiday season means and what the new year coming means for you.

Whatever your religious beliefs are, whether you celebrate for the birth of Christ or celebrate without a religious stance, take a deep breath and be still for a moment. Take in the sights, sounds, and smells. Think of all you have accomplished this year. Think of all that you've done. Think of the months that have passed- the moments of sorrow, joy, happiness, peace, contentment, gratitude- that you've lived through.

Around Christmas time I am always surprised at how quickly the new year seems to pop up. I hope for myself and for all of you that we may begin a new year with peace and contentment. That we may be thankful for what we have, while actively reaching toward our goals, hopes and dreams. I hope we can be in awe and appreciation of what we have already accomplished. I hope we can be excited for what is to come. I hope we can rejoice in our friendships and loved ones. I hope we can remember the lessons and hardships that were overcome in this year. And if you are still enduring a time of hardship or need, I hope that the time of healing passes quickly (though usually it doesn't feel like it does.)

From my home to yours, my sincerest wishes for you and your loved ones to have a happy and healthy holiday season. Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!

Last Minute Stocking Stuffer Ideas

Last Minute Stocking Stuffers by lovecoffeetea 

 Good morning everyone and happy Christmas week!! Here are some last minute stocking stuffer ideas for him and her. I put things that I don't always love buying for myself (like hairspray, highlighters or shampoo) but would gladly accept as a gift! :) I also included some fun things for him like mismatched Christmas socks and cooking spices. Happy holidays and let's start this week off right! May we have love in our hearts, Christmas cheer on our minds, and enjoy the last week and a half of 2014!!