T-minus 3 days to Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is almost upon us.  And Lord help me, I am making a turkey!  Since so many of us will be traveling to family member's homes or friends' homes to celebrate, I thought we could cover some basic Thanksgiving etiquette this week.

The first tip: arrive on time!   It's stressful for the host or hostess to make sure all the dishes finish cooking around the same time and that they stay hot, etc.  Therefore being late only exacerbates that problem.  If you are traveling any distance to get to Thanksgiving dinner, check the traffic reports before you leave home in case there is something you need to avoid in the way of traffic or an accident.  Allow yourself more time than you think you will need to get to dinner because you never know what might happen on your way there!

Ashley Brooke Designs Gift Certificates

Everyone loves a little couture in their stocking.  What could be more special than opening the chance to create your own custom-tailored paper?  If you are looking to wrap up a little bit of luxury this holiday for the person who has everything, is a stickler to buy for, or who loves nothing more than the personal touch, an Ashley Brooke Designs gift certificate is the perfect solution.  This gift of paper will surely be special and the anxiety of selecting just the right card, color and design won't fall to you.  Sold in increments of $25.00, the recipient will receive a card with their gift amount in a custom lined envelope.  We are happy to ship directly to the recipient just to make your life a little easier.  Feel free to contact us at info@ashleybrookedesigns.com to place your order or address any questions you might have!

Celebrities Love Ashley Brooke Too!

Pop on over to According to Nina to see a
special celebrity sneak preview!!

The unexpected gift

Have you ever been caught in the situation where someone presents you with a gift and you have nothing in return?  According to Emily Post there isn't much you can do right in that moment other than offer "Oh you shouldn't have."  If it is early in the holiday season, you can give the person a gift after the fact.  But there are some tips you can take hold of to help make sure this doesn't happen to you again.  You can keep token gifts on hand like ornaments, candy tins and books for such unexpected occasions.  If you aren't interested in exchanging gifts you send a card with holiday wishes early in the season to set the tone that all you are expecting in return is a card.

Reader Questions

I got a great question from a dear sweet reader last week that I thought would be a great post and inspiration for this week's theme, appropriate gift giving. Are you ever in a situation where you don't know if its appropriate to bring a gift? Or you want to take a gift but don't know what would be the right thing to bring. We'll be covering all that and more this week. Now onto our reader question:


I am going to be spending Christmas with my serious boyfriend’s family and I was wondering what would be an appropriate gift to bring for the family (parents and two brothers). Any thoughts? Help!! :)

Thanks!
Jessica


Dear Jessica:
You are so thoughtful to want to bring a gift to your boyfriend's family. My suggestion would be bring something for the home or something they can use during the holiday. Here are some ideas of great gifts to get:

>Embroidered tea towels
>Serving platter or dish
>Monogrammed pillar candle
>Christmas ornament
>Wine


Hope this is helpful!
xx,
AB

Publish Post

Weekend Round UP

This may be the most delightful 500 square feet I've ever seen. Go on over to Elements of Style and see more gorgeous photos!








Who knew the alphabet could be so stunning? Courtesy of Design Sponge:




In other news, M and I have officially been married one month this past Monday and wedded bliss is a lovely thing :)


happy weekend!

Wedding Announcement

This sweet couple entrusted me to design their wedding announcement since they elected to elope to Jamaica. ::Sigh:: How romantic!