Thanksgiving Recap + my fave Black Friday finds
Hi friends! I hope you had an amazing Thanksgiving. Ours was spent surrounded by family and friends, enjoying the best food, and the typical shenanigans: breakfast at madre’s house, lunch/dinner at my uncle’s, and then back to madre’s for pie round part 2 and sales fliers.
(I’m so thankful for these little turkeys every single day)
I made nana’s famous egg dish to take for breakfast (<— make this for Christmas or any brunches you have coming up!)
and brought this butternut squash creation to my uncle’s.
I asked Kyle for some tips to spice up regular ol’ carmelized butternut squash, and he suggested adding pomegranate seeds, goat cheese, shaved brussels, and any kind of nuts. I found some pepitas in the pantry that were perfect, and drizzled an apple cider vinegar dressing on top (with maple syrup, a little Dijon, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper). It was so good!
The girls had the best time playing with all of their cousins, and Liv was stoked because her favorite lab, Ben, was there.
The cutest little Everly salad:
The guys all took off golfing and quite a few of us stayed back to play hide and seek with the kiddos and get first dibs on pie.
It was a full day, and I didn’t get a ton of pictures because my phone was tucked away for most of it. It felt good to unplug a little and truly enjoy the day.
This morning, the girls and I are ready to tackle my other favorite holiday: Black Friday! I compiled our gift ideas this week, so now it’s time to deal hop and cross things off this list. It’s definitely going to be another Amazon Christmas over here. 😉
Here are some of my favorite finds:
– My beloved PHLUR candles are HALF OFF! If you’ve been wanting to try one, this is the chance! They burn beautifully, don’t contain sketchy ingredients, and the fragrance is lovely
– Spanx 20% off everything. I’m obsessed with these leggings and still occasionally wear this post-surgery staple when I wear a snug dress or a white top.
– Your Hormone Balance is $150 off all test kits and consult packages. I recently had my hormones tested by Candace (she offered to do a test and consult after we chatted on the podcast) and the results were so insightful. I’m writing a whole post about it which should be live next week, but I’m so, so glad I did it. If you’ve been considering testing your hormones, this is a great opportunity.
– J. Crew 40% off! Love this top, these leopard boots, this pink coat, these statement earrings, and this sweater.
– Shopbop buy more, save more. These Rails plaid shirts are amazing.
– Amazon! I kind of get overwhelmed with Amazon because they have so many deals, but some of my favorite previous purchases are the Euphy, this cordless vacuum, this weighted blanket, and the Instant Pot! <— $59 right now
– Madewell 25% off. The dress I’m wearing in the pic above is on sale here!
– Gap. 50% off everything! I’m loading up on long-sleeved shirts, leggings, and pajamas for the girls.
– Beautycounter is 15% off sitewide + free shipping over $50.
– Apple Watch 3 is $199 at Target
– Old Navy 50% off everything! Also love Old Navy for staples for the nuggets.
– Kate Spade 30% off everything.
– World Market 40% off furniture and so many other departments. I love looking here for unique candy and stocking stuffers.
– Express 50% off everything. I have this festive jumpsuit in red and it’s perfect for the holiday season.
Under Armour:
UA has so many incredible holiday gifts on their site right now! If anything, you need these Athlete Recovery Sleepwear™ Joggers for yourself. They’re my #1 favorite lounge pants. They’re super soft and light, plus the technology can help with recovery from intense workouts.
More gift ideas from Under Armour:
– Their big logo hoodie is super comfortable and comes in a ton of colors
– A few of the men in our family are getting this 1/4 zip
– Love this sporty jacket for the girls
– The Charged Bandit 4 running shoes! They have 360 degree reflectivity and supportive cushioning. I’ve been loving these for Orangetheory and runs!
This weekend, you’ll also get 40% Off Tech & Threadborne ¼ Zips, $40 Ripple Footwear, and 40% Off Select Armour Fleece.
Are you Black Friday shopping today? What are your favorite finds??
Have a wonderful weekend!
xo
Gina
Today’s Fit Guide deal: $25 off ANY Fit Guide! If you’re looking for extra motivation heading into the holiday season, treat yourself to a customized workout plan. Check out the details here!
18 Comments
Leave a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
this is the second time you’ve spelled Eufy wrong – you should double-check your spelling, especially when linking
haha wow. i’ve thought it was euphy this entire time
Oh that butternut squash dish is calling my name.
Thank you so much for sharing the add in ideas.
Happy Thanksgiving! The recap of the sales is awesome.
Hey, long-time reader here! I’ve been noticing a lot of Beautycounter posts lately, which I normally wouldn’t mind, but after doing some extensive research it seems that the products are not entirely non-toxic and the price point seems quite high for the amount of product provided. Basically, I was disappointed that a) I had to go to other blogs for comprehensive reviews and b) that it felt like you were just promoting a product. Constructive criticism: I’ve been skipping over many of your posts lately because I haven’t seen in-depth, balanced reviews. Your reviews may be true, but are hard to believe at face-value when you’re being compensated. I don’t think this is just you – this has become true of a lot of “health & fitness” bloggers who now use their platform as leverage for MLMs. Not saying you shouldn’t leverage your platform or engage in MLMs, just saying that maybe there should be more thought into your reader demographics and information that would be useful to them for each product.
I’m also a longtime reader and I haven’t been coming back as often because of the frequency of sponsored posts and products. I understand this is how bloggers make their living, but I’m tired of being constantly “sold” to.
hi jill,
thank you so much for your feedback and for reading for so long. i’ve always shouted out black friday deals here on the blog. the winter season is usually a high season for sponsored posts. i only accept the ones that fit me and my brand (and that i genuinely love!). for every post i say yes to, there’s at least 20 that i say no to. the blog is a huge part of my livelihood, but i’ve never sacrificed my beliefs to make a quick buck. there are huge opportunities that i’ve declined. all of this happens behind the scenes, so of course, readers won’t see that, but they’ll see a little bit more during the holidays. i only have one more sponsored post slotted for the rest of the year as of right now
I have to agree with Ann and Jill. At one time, I thought there was a sincere interest in sharing your fitness knowledge and helping others. With so much money being made through sponsorships, why charge for fitness guides? What is the goal of the blog? Seems like Fred is taking over.
hi jen,
i’m really sorry to hear that you feel that way. i truly want to share my knowledge and be of service to others, which is a huge reason why i do the shape ups. for our last shape up, i didn’t have any brand sponsors, so i paid for all of the graphic design work and meal plans myself, during a very slow sponsored post season.
i charge for the fit guides because they took me an insanely long time to create (5 plans at 12 weeks each and they’re all completely different) and they were also expensive. i hired kim to create awesome meal plans and all of the design work was costly, because the plans are long and the designs are beautiful!
i also try to post at least 1-2 workouts, pure fitness content, or videos each week in addition to the podcast, which has made exactly zero dollars so far. 😉 i do it because i love it and want to reach, help and share as much as i possibly can.
this blog is my job, and i’m fortunate that something i enjoy so much helps me pay the bills. if you have suggestions for things i can do differently or change, i’d love any guidance. it’s just me over here, and i’m genuinely working as hard as i can.
hi ann,
thank you so much for reading for so long and for taking the time to share your feedback. i always want to make the blog better, so i genuinely appreciate it when you guys take the time to share your thoughts.
i’d love to hear what you found about beautycounter. everything i’ve read and discovered about the company and the products has just added to my excitement about them. i love that they’re trying to incite change in the industry, especially since so many beauty products contain harmful chemicals.
would you mind sharing some of the posts you’ve found to not be balanced? i can go back if possible and not change the posts, but see what i could have done differently.
this is not a beautycounter blog, and i think up until now, i’ve done a pretty good job of minimizing beautycounter content while still sharing the products in an authentic way.
if you have ideas on what i can do differently or better, or specific posts i can revisit, i’d appreciate it so much.
thanks again for sharing your feedback with me and hope you had a great weekend.
Could you please please share the exact recipe for that squash dish?! Oh my goodness it looks incredible!!
Your Nana’s favorite egg dish is so good!!! I make it every time we have company! It is such an easy and delicious breakfast!!!!
so happy you love it, too!
I am ordering half of the items on this list! Love it when people make my life easier. Thank you! Also, the girls look precious!
thank you so much! hope you had a happy thanksgiving!
I’m not usually much of a commenter but I disagree heavily with the criticisms listed above. I think you do a great job of balancing your posts between amazing recipes (seriously, I’m never disappointed and I test them all on very picky eaters), adventures with the girls/your life, and sponsored posts. I’ve seen blogs where every single post is created specifically to promote a product, and it isn’t always clear if the opinions are genuine. I feel comfortable coming here and knowing that anything you’re promoting is going to be something that is: 1. on-brand, so it will definitely cater to my own interests, as my continual interest in what you’re providing is what has kept me reading; and 2. be something that you actually use and like, as evidenced by the fact that you’ll bring up products you were paid to use ages ago but still enjoy to this day, and will even honestly voice when your opinion about what you formerly praised has changed (like with StitchFix). Of course I recognize that these are your opinions, and to have all the best information I should check with a variety of sources I trust, so I don’t feel jaded by anything you may not have gotten to fully flesh out in vivid detail. I don’t feel I should expect you to be the only person with all of the answers any more than I feel the Washington Post should be my only news source. I’m in my mid-twenties now and have been reading this blog since high school so perhaps I’m a tad biased, but I think you’re doing a great job! Keep it up 🙂
Happy holidays to you, the Pilot and the girls!
AGREE WITH EVERY SINGLE WORD! Long time reader here. Your comment is on point in every way.
Been reading since 2010 and I’ve always appreciate all the free work outs and recipes you post!! and you always share your passion with us so thank you. I need that jumpsuit!!