Treat Yo Self (This Blogger’s Anti-Gift Guide)

Happy Holidays! Today I created an anti-gift guide to help you treat yo self. Because while it’s important to get just the right thing for that cousin-once-removed-who-lives-in-Poughkeepsie, my main concern is that you, my dear friends, are enjoying the holidays. So in the spirit of that creepy classic “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” I suggest going home tonight and distracting yourself and the one you love with mistletoe, libations, and vinyl. Here are a few suggestions to get things started…

Put some records on while I pour... | Hannah & Husband

Mistletoe: I made this mistletoe years ago, here’s a link to the how-to if you want to make your own!

My favorite sparkling rosé, Moët & Chandon, looks festive this time of year. But if you’re looking for something stronger, High West Whiskey has a smoky flavor that is perfect to sip by the fire!

Hers: Lingerie Set by Clo Intimo (bra / brief)

His: Santa hatHappy Head Tees and Wood* underwear hip brief

Records: Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Ella FitzgeraldChristmas Gift For You

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I apologize for my absence last week from the interwebs. Between work, colds, and an oh-so-necessary staycation, I found myself taking time away from the cellphone and the laptop in favor of cut paper, yarn, and lots of books. But, I’m happy to report that I missed you! So this week we’ll get back on a regular blogging schedule. I’ve been thinking about Christmas content a lot so please consider yourself warned!

*While I usually don’t have sponsored posts, you should know that Wood Underwear called me up about including them this season. We met them on our last trip to NYC and genuinely love their stuff. Thank you for sponsoring the links that are included on Hannah & Husband!  

 

Tunes To Bake To Playlist

With only 2 days to go before the big day, I’ll be spending my evening prepping pie crust and polishing silver. With that in mind, I made a new playlist yesterday suitable for all your baking, cooking, and dancing in the kitchen needs. Listen below or click here to follow this playlist on Spotify.

TGIF!

It’s Friday! Well, truth be told, I’m writing this on Thursday night from below the dryer waiting to be blonde again. I have that song “Friday” stuck in my head, and it’s keeping me company with the incessant whirring. Not the Rebecca Black version (Yes, I had to google her name), but the spectacle version of Black’s song Colbert did on Fallon. Do you remember that?

Anyway…

Now that we’ve all had a little dance party, here’s this week’s installment of my TGIF! link list. Enjoy!

SNL killed it last weekend, but this song topped the list. Also, does anyone feel like their Facebook feed has just turned into one long “Drunk Uncle” sketch? Yeah, me too.

With the rest of America, we’ve been watching Master of None on Netflix. The writing is fantastic, but the episode that stuck in my head the most was episode 2: Parents. Did you know those are Aziz Ansari’s parents in real life? I’m assuming yes because earlier this week Aziz made the internet cry with this post about his dad. Here it is in case you missed it.

My dad took off most of his vacation time for the year to act in Master of None. So I’m really relieved this all worked out. Tonight after we did Colbert together he said: “This is all fun and I liked acting in the show, but I really just did it so I could spend more time with you.” I almost instantly collapsed into tears at the thought of how much this person cares about me and took care of me and gave me everything to give me the amazing life I have. I felt like a total piece of garbage for all the times I haven’t visited my parents and told them I wanted to stay in New York cause I’d get bored in SC. I’m an incredibly lucky person and many of you are as well. Not to beat a dead horse here and sorry if this is cheesy or too sentimental but if your parents are good to you too, just go do something nice for them. I bet they care and love you more than you realize. I’ve been overwhelmed by the response to the Parents episode of our show. What’s strange is doing that episode and working with my parents has increased the quality of my relationship to my parents IN MY REAL LIFE. In reality, I haven’t always had the best, most open relationship with my parents because we are weirdly closed off emotionally sometimes. But we are getting better. And if you have something like that with your family – I urge you to work at it and get better because these are special people in your life and I get terrified when my dad tells me about friends of his, people close to his age, that are having serious health issues, etc. Enjoy and love these people while you can. Anyway, this show and my experiences with my parents while working on it have been very important in many ways and I thank for you the part you all have played in it.

A photo posted by @azizansari on

While you reach for the tissues, how about a little game of Wheel of Freestyle with Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda?

This week marked the end of Mark Bittman’s run as on Op-Ed columnist for the New York Times. He’s moving on to the vegan meal kit company Purple Carrot (…totally a real thing). Click here to check out his most popular recipes for the site and here to read his most popular columns. Personally, these carnitas braised in witbier will always be a go-to at our house.

Hannah & Husband green screen selfie

And finally, I found this green screen selfie in my phone this week, which reminds me: We’re going to be on Mornings with Fox 43 on Monday morning. So if you’re in the Knoxville, tune in!

That’s a wrap. Happy Friday, y’all!

TGIF!

hannah-bean-boots-leaves

I know, I know. Could that photo be anymore 2009? I just get ridiculously sappy this time of year about going out to breakfast in the morning and trudging through the leaves in my bean boots. These are the moments I will savor when it is 38° and raining (but not snowing) in the middle of January. Tennessee really knows how to do Fall–winter not so much. Anyway, that’s what’s happening in our neck of the woods, here’s what I’m digging on the rest of the interwebs…

When I first started following @thedogist on Instagram, I got ridiculously excited and told all my friends. Having a bad day at work? Check out @thedogist. The line for coffee is ridiculously long? Check out @thedogist. I couldn’t get enough of his pup portraits. Well, Elias Weiss Friedman was recently profiled on CBS Sunday Morning, and it turns out he’s published a book.

[image source: The Dogist]

[image source: The Dogist]

Click here to order The Dogist on Amazon! (I’ve already bought a couple extra copies for Christmas gifts.)

southerners-and-their-dogs-jonnyp

In that same vein, photographer Caroline Fontenot and writer Jess Graves have collaborated on a site: Southerners & Their Dogs. It’s been around for a bit, but I just ran across it because of this fab image. Definitely worth a bookmark!

lonny-interior-design-hollywood-squads

Hope you don’t have plans for the next few hours because if interior design is your thing, allow me to point you to Pandora’s box: Lonny’s seriously in-depth map of Hollywood’s designers and their squads.

lena-dunham-podcat-women-of-the-hour

Lena Dunham released the first full episode of her new podcast, Women of the Hour, this week, and it totally exceeded my expectations. The first episode was on friendship. Between readings of the first letters between Lena and her pen pal, writer Ashley Ford (who has a super sultry voice), were conversations between BFFs young, old, and famous.

lena-dunham-pen-pal-twitter

Other highlights from the podcast was an advice segment with Emma Stone and June Squibb and a profile on Edna St. Vincent Millay. (P.S. Millay has become a favorite of mine, and I got to see the very narrow house Lena mentions when I was in NYC earlier this year with the Madcap Heiress. So cool!) Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.

Finally, this performance knocked my socks off. Check it out!

Style File: Elvis Presley

Menswear & Elvis | Hannah & Husband

It all started rather innocently with a discussion on the merits of a casual shawl collar. But quickly, I found myself down a rabbit hole filled the bold style choices of Skinny Elvis. I mentioned this in a recent post so if you’ve been waiting to talk Elvis Presley’s style and menswear, today is your lucky day!

When Husband and I first met, we bonded over our shared love of music that wasn’t popular among most high schoolers. But, as time went on we discovered that we both had a childhood love for Elvis. It’s possible you knew this if you follow James on twitter…

Follow @jamesaslaughter | Hannah & Husband

A few years ago, as a joke at Christmas, James’ dad brought over a life-size cutout of the king that now resides on our sun porch. I made Dexter pose with him just for this picture. (Reason #118 that a dog is superior to a toddler at this stage in my life.)

Dexter & Elvis | Hannah & Husband

So today, we’re going to talk about some of the king’s best style choices—the ones before the rhinestones and gold glasses.

First things first, if you learn nothing else from this post learn this: Stand up proudly behind your woman in a perfectly tailored jacket and know you’re killing it. Confidence is everything.

Menswear & Elvis | Hannah & Husband

Southern boys (and stylish gentlemen) monogram, monogram, monogram.

Menswear & Elvis | Hannah & Husband

If you’re going to play a miniature instrument of any kind, it is helpful to be wearing skin-tight short shorts at the time. (I’ve been trying to talk James into a pair of these ever since I saw this picture of 007 reading on a boat last week. Beach trip!)

Menswear & Elvis | Hannah & Husband

When you’re not on a beach serenading your lady in short shorts, look snuggly. It is sweater weather: the perfect excuse to get your cuddle on.

Menswear & Elvis | Hannah & Husband

If you don’t already have a lady, but you’re looking to pick one up: Pose with puppies. Also, can we talk about those shoes?

Menswear & Elvis | Hannah & Husband

I am a fan, though I could do without the socks. I have this theory that Elvis was a shoe guy. Check out the booties in the picture below.

Also, should we even talk about the coordinating outfits? If they hook up at the end of the movie, does the hollywood ending consist of closets full of coordinating outfits?

Menswear & Elvis | Hannah & Husband

I really can’t think about this too much right now. Maybe we should just take a look at the jacket that spurred the whole conversation…

What are your thoughts on the casual shawl collar? Do or Don’t?

Put on a Happy Face

I have this go-to playlist. Do you have one of those? Something you put on anytime you need a little smile? Well, today I thought I’d share mine with you. It’s called “Put on a Happy Face,” and it’s sure to brighten your midweek slump!

TGIF!

Happy couple riding barrels. TGIF! | Hannah & Husband

Why don’t people take portraits riding barrels anymore? Oh, to live in the good ol’ days 😉 (Photo from Flickr)

Hello & Happy Friday! I hope you have a fabulous weekend planned. Ours should be a good balance between working on the house and time with friends doing summer-y things.

It will also involve a lot of listening to a new album that came out today: Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats. They remind me of the Blues Brothers in all the best possible ways. Perfect weekend listening.

Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats. TGIF! | Hannah & Husband

Take note: My friend was dancing at her desk when I heard the song S.O.B. the first time. It’s basically the perfect Friday, office dance-party tune. If you have a child and are reading this, you’ll probably want to wait until nap time. If not, check out this video…

I hope this gets your weekend is off to a fabulous start!

TGIF!

Hello & Happy Friday! Since I haven’t done a round-up of random links in a few weeks, I thought it was high-time to share all the things I’ve had bookmarked. Here goes…

The Fire Wire on the grill in action. | Hannah & Husband

The other night I took my cooking to a new frontier: The Grill. We’ve had so many amazing goodies in our CSA basket, and there’s something about veggies in the summer that’s just begging for that little accent of charcoal. If you look at the peppers and onions in the picture above, you’ll see that they make a circle. That’s because I used my new favorite kitchen doohickey: the fire wire. It’s a long, flexible kabob skewer, and you can order one here for under $10.

Jon Batiste's Social Music

It is rare that I listen to an album from start to finish, but today I listened to Jon Batiste’s Social Music.

It.

Was.

Phenomenal.

If you have Amazon Prime, you can listen to it here, or the album’s on Spotify. His version of St. James Infirmary is absolutely incredible, which is rare for a song that is covered by everyone in the genre. If you recognize his name but aren’t sure why, he will be the house band for Stephen Colbert’s new Late Show.

Wayne White in The Bitter Southerner

We are big fans of Wayne White (who you may remember from this post). Recently, The Bitter Southerner did an excellent profile on the artist that’s definitely worth a look–even if it’s just to swoon over the photography by Kendrick Brinson and David Banks.

Finally, it’s national tequila day! Here’s a little something to get your celebration off to a good start.

Happy Friday!

TGIF!

TGIF! | Hannah & Husband

I’ve been overloading instagram with floral goodness lately. #sorrynotsorry

Whew! Serious TGIF! this week, y’all–who else desperately needs a weekend? As much as I hate to admit it, life totally took over this week. This means two things:

1. While I have sorely neglected Hannah & Husband posts, I have a backlog of stuff that will be super rad for next week.

2. Today’s links have to be extra fabulous, which they totally are.

As I’ve mentioned, Springtime is in full force here in East Tennessee. I have been spending most of my time on the front porch reading and fawning over the rose bushes while Husband works on the car. Also, I have an unquenchable desire to watch Mel Brooks movies lately.

I just can’t seem to get that song out of my head! Anyway, here are a few fab links from around the interwebs to round out your week. Enjoy!

We have been following photographer Foster Huntington (& his glorious treehouse) on instagram for several months now. However, this week Brain Pickings posted about a previous project of his called The Burning House that I found fascinating. The premise is this: Foster asked people from all walks and backgrounds what objects they would take if their house was burning down. The results are varied and beautiful. Click here to view the tumblr. Click here to buy the book.

I already can’t wait to see this documentary! Then yesterday, Carroll Spinnery did an AMA. Confession: It is the only AMA, I’ve ever had the patience to read because comments on these things make me dizzy.

If you’re new to the concept as well: AMA (or Ask Me Anything) is an interview conducted by the internets on reddit. You can follow the blue line on the left to differentiate question from question.

Ugly Renaissance Babies | TGIF! Hannah & Husband

As a former art school student (& lover of art history), this buzzfeed just made my day exponentially more awesome: A Day in the Life of an Ugly Renaissance Baby. Bonus? There’s also a tumblr.

Day. Made.

Have you seen Kevin Delaney on The Tonight Show? It’s kind of old news, but we just saw this clip last week. He’s kind of amazing. As is his beard. As is science.

Watch this…

Finally, I leave you with this picture of our front porch just because it’s pretty!

Happy weekend!

 

Road Trip Playlist

Road Trippin' Tunes | Hannah & Husband

Just a little road trip playlist for your weekend. Inspired by our travels this week, please enjoy these tunes. (or click here to subscribe to this playlist in Spotify)