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3 Tips on How To Host Your First Friendsgiving

Hey everyone, I can’t believe we’re less than two weeks away from Thanksgiving. To celebrate, I’m sharing the details from my Friendsgiving party including the recipes, decor and dinnerware to inspire your own holiday dinner party with friends. You can even use some of these ideas for your Thanksgiving dishes and decor next week.

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I’ve teamed up with MacKenzie-Childs to give away 3 desserts stands along with a gold check cake serving set to 3 lucky winners. I use these pieces year round, but especially during the holidays. I’m so grateful to all of my readers and IG followers who take time connect with me online each day so I wanted to give back to you this Thanksgiving by sending 3 winners some of my favorite MacKenzie-Childs pieces. Head over to my Instagram (@hauteofftherack) to enter!

See more posts on my MacKenzie-Childs pieces below:

Bridal Brunch Table Setting With MacKenzie-Childs

New Orleans Bridesmaids Luncheon Cooking Class

Wedding Wednesday: Engagement Party Ideas

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Furniture: Wood Leona Farmhouse Extension Dining Table | Neutral Linen Paige Dining Bench | Natural Linen Paige Round Back Dining Chairs | 3 Tier Rolling Bar Cart <—SALE ALERT! Take 40% OFF all furniture with code: FURNDEAL

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Outfit: CREAM CHUNKY BOBBLE KNIT CARDIGAN (similar here) | The Racer Tank | Barbara High Waisted Skinny Jeans (also available here) | Ulani Heeled Leopard Print Bootie (also available here) |

Jewelry: Coin Necklace | Val Rose Gold Hoop Earrings Iridescent Crystal | Byzantine Demi Hinge Cuff, Catalina Hinge Bangle, Catalina Hinge Cuff & Monterey Link Bracelet c/o Julie Vos

3 Tips on How To Host Your First Friendsgiving

1) Create a menu & guest list! Send out an invite to all of your guests a couple weeks out and begin planning out your menu so you can start prepping the dishes 2-3 days before your party. Decide on the dishes you’re going to cook and the items you’re going to order and make sure you order them with plenty enough time. It’s also fun to create a menu with your friends and host pot luck where everyone brings a dish.

As I mentioned before, we started a supper club with our friends a few months ago where each couple takes turns hosting everyone at their house for dinner once a month. So it was our turn to make all of the dishes ourself. With that being said, we had a lot of food to prepare so we decided to order an already cooked turkey and gravy and then we made all of the side dishes and desserts ourselves.

Recipes:

Mac & Cheese | http://www.thatwhichnourishes.com/the-mac-and-cheese/

Green Bean Casserole | https://thenovicechefblog.com/the-best-green-bean-casserole/

Stuffing | Blake’s grandmother came over & made her personal recipe with me. I can’t think of a more perfect time to learn your grandmother’s recipes than during the holidays. We had so much fun making new recipes we found online, but it’s also nice to use a family recipe and learn how to make it so you can pass it down to your own kids.

Sweet Potato Casserole | https://addapinch.com/sweet-potato-casserole-pecan-topping/

Pumpkin Squares | My mom came over to make pumpkin squares with me because it was my late uncle’s recipe.

1 can of pumpkin
3 eggs
1 large can of pet milk (aka condensed milk)
2 cups of sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 box of Duncan Hines Butter Cake Mix
1 Cup of chopped pecans (a little more is ok)
2 sticks of melted butter (1 cup)
1 small Cool Whip
1 8 oz. Philadelphia Cream Cheese

Mix pumpkin, 3 eggs, pet milk, 1 cup of sugar and cinnamon. Stir until all blended. Pour liquid mixture into a 13 x 9 inch pan lined with wax paper. Then sprinkle the box of cake mix on top. Sprinkle pecans next. Pour melted butter on top of pecans & cake mix and bake for one hour at 350 degrees. After baked, let cool ten minutes. Then turn the cake over but do not take the wax paper off until completely cooled. Mix one cup of sugar and Philedelphia Cream Cheese. After blended, add 1 small container of cool whip. Ice the whole cake and refrigerate. Cut into squares and keep refrigerated until serving.

Irish Coffee Dessert Drink | ingredients: coffee, Pralines & Creams Liqueur (you can find this at your local World Market as well as select grocery stores), cool whip (we ended up making our own whipped cream using a cup of sugar and heavy cream), Clear Irish Mugs, Cream-Filled Rolled Wafers & some fun straws

2) Tis the time to be a little extra! Pop open some champagne! Light some holiday candles and create a Friendsgiving playlist to set the mood. Go out of your way to make your guests feel special by placing custom name cards on everyone’s seats and be sure to always keep their drinks full.

3) Get interactive! Have everyone go around the table and say what they’re grateful for or play a fun game after dinner.

Shop all my Friendsgiving details:

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Our Saturday Morning Tradition

September 28, 2018

Happy Friday everyone, Blake and I are gearing up for National Coffee Day tomorrow with Jockey by serving up some serious blueberry pancakes. One of our favorite Saturday morning traditions is making breakfast together. I’m usually in charge of the coffee because I tend to burn everything on the stove or in the oven, but I also help with the little things too…like taking the blueberries out of the fridge. LOL

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Blake’s Look: Cotton Modal Stretch Boxer Brief & Pima Cotton Crewneck T-Shirt c/o Jockey

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Jenn’s Look: Signature Modern Mix Bralette & Signature Modern Mix Boxer c/o Jockey

We usually get up pretty early to make breakfast and lounge around the house in our pajamas before getting dressed for the day. I love wearing my Jockey Signature Modern Mix boxers paired with a bralette under my robe or cardigan. I have them in a bunch of different colors that I mix and match with each other. I even have a few of the cropped tees in different colors that I love wearing around the house.

Blake just wears a pair of boxers with a comfy tee. We recently got him some of the new Jockey Cotton Modal Stretch Boxer Brief and cotton crewneck t-shirts, which he loves wearing because he says they’re super comfortable. The boxers also come in a bunch of different color packs too.

All our black white dishes are from MacKenzie-Childs.

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Blake’s Look: Cotton Modal Stretch Boxer Brief & Pima Cotton Crewneck T-Shirt c/o Jockey

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Jenn’s Look: Signature Modern Mix Bralette & Signature Modern Mix Boxer c/o Jockey

1 Cotton Modal Stretch Boxer Brief | 2) Pima Cotton Mid Rise Boxer Brief | 3) MODAL COMFORTPRO BOXER BRIEF

This post is in partnership with Jockey, a brand I love. All opinions and selections here are my own. Thank you for supporting the affiliate posts who make this blog possible.

3 At Home Date Night Ideas

September 26, 2018

Hey everyone, today I’ve teamed up with Nordstrom to share three at home date night ideas with you. I even convinced Blake to join in on the fun! Although, it wasn’t too hard once he learned that pizza that would be involved considering that is one of our favorite kinds of at home dates.

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Blake’s Outfit: Black Stretch Skinny Jeans | Jersey Hoodie (we also like this Slub Hoodie & hoodie pullover) | White T-Shirt

Blake’s entire at home date night look is from Nordstrom. It’s easy to find full outfits for B at Nordstrom because they offer such a wide variety of styles and sizes for men. I picked out this jersey hoodie for Blake while I was shopping for our upcoming trip to Paris because I thought it would be great for traveling or even just wearing around the house.

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Jenn’s Outfit: Wayf Posie Strappy Cami | Barefoot Dreams Circle Cardigan | Articles of Society Jeans (similar here)

I can’t get enough of these strappy camis from Nordstrom because I get such a use out of them year round. In fact, I actually own this same cami in five different colors. I love pairing them with oversized blazers and cozy cardigans in the all and then mini skirts and cutoff shorts in the summer.

3 At Home Date Night Ideas

1) Cook a new dish together! | I know that sounds cliché, but I don’t just mean for you to cook your usual taco Tuesday casserole. Instead, try a brand new recipe like maybe a dish from another culture like Japanese sushi or Spanish paella! Then make an appetizer or dessert to complement your dish. Our friends actually made us paella at our last dinner club meeting, which brings me to second part of this idea…start a dinner club with your friends where you each take turns hosting dinner parties at your homes. That still counts as a date night at home, right?

2) Build a fort & watch your favorite childhood movie! | I know what you’re thinking…we aren’t kids anymore, why would you want to make a mess in the living room? Well because building forts in the living room with all the blankets and pillows in the entire house is of one of my favorite childhood memories so why not recreate those memories as an adult especially if you have kids. They’d love it. We don’t have kids yet, but I’m a kid at heart and the thought of cuddling up under a sheet tent with popcorn and snacks in front of my favorite childhood movie sounds like a magical night. I love anything Disney! Blake’s favorite childhood movie is actually “Dances With Wolves.” LOL! Strange I know, but he said he used to watch it every day as a kid!

3) Fancy Take Out! | Last but not least, kick off your shoes after a long day at work and order in! We always like to order pizza with ranch of course. Light some candles and pop open a bottle of rosé to give the night a fancier and more romantic feel. Then wind down and pick out a movie to watch or start a new show together on Netflix. We just started watching “Jane The Virgin.”

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Blake’s Outfit: Black Stretch Skinny Jeans | Jersey Hoodie (we also like this Slub Hoodie & hoodie pullover) | White T-Shirt

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Jenn’s Outfit: Wayf Posie Strap Cami | Barefoot Dreams Circle Cardigan | Articles of Society Jeans (similar here)

This post is in partnership with Nordstrom, a brand I love. All opinions and selections here are my own. Thank you for supporting the affiliate posts who make this blog possible.

Top 5 Instagram Worthy Spots in Bermuda

September 25, 2018

Hey everyone, today I’m sharing my Hamilton Princess travel review with you along with the top 5 Instagram worthy spots in Bermuda. For those of you who are new to Haute Off The Rack, this was actually my second trip to Bermuda. I traveled there by boat from New Jersey three years ago with some of my blogger friends and it was so beautiful that I promised myself I would return one day… just not by boat! LOL

Cruising through the Atlantic ocean is a bit of a rocky ride so this time I flew, which was a much more pleasant experience. The travel time isn’t bad at all. We flew one hour to Atlanta from Louisiana and then 2.5 hours to Bermuda. We stayed at the Hamilton Princess Resort, which is on the bay right in the heart of town, but we still had access to their Beach Club.

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Outfit: Paperbag Tie Mom Shorts | Ruffle Sleeve Bodysuit | Elle Crossbody Bag

Top 5 Instagram Worthy Spots in Bermuda

1) The Boat Dock at Hamilton Princess | This is the perfect place to watch the sunset before heading to dinner at Marcus. By the way, you must order the cornbread appetizer! It’s to die for! The Chicken & Waffles is also super delicious too.

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Shades of Summer Maxi Dress c/o Vici Dolls

2) Flatt’s Village | I just can’t help myself when it comes to colorful buildings along the water so we of course had to make a stop at Flatt’s village near the aquarium to explore. We even ended up seeing a wild sea turtle, which so cool because it’s a sign of good luck. Because of their long lifespan, sea turtles often symbolize patience, wisdom, endurance, and good luck. Blake and I actually saw a giant sea turtle on the beach the day after our wedding so I definitely believe in the symbolism.

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Outfit: Yumi Kim Pretty Woman Dress (also available here) | Nude Ankle Strap Heels | White Camila Bag c/o Poppy & Sage

3) Pose on Pink | One of the best parts about the Hamilton Princess Bermuda other than their amazing food and service is the fact that the hotel is pink. And you know I can’t resist snapping a photo of my outfit in front of a pink wall.

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Cox Cropped Top | Chela Pants | White Camila Bag c/o Poppy & Sage | Nude Ankle Strap Heels

4) Jobson’s Cove | This was the first spot I visited when I arrived in Bermuda. It’s the most beautiful beach I’ve ever seen in my entire life with magical pink sand and the most shade of turquoise water. I highly recommend watching the sunset here. In fact, we stopped here twice during our trip to watch the sun go down.

Find my custom boater hat here!

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Outfit: Red Gown

5) Princess Beach Club | Relaxing on the over-water-hammocks at the Princess Beach Club is an absolute must! And don’t forget to document it so you can always look back at it and remember how good life is in Bermuda!