Furniture Shopping Made Easy

If you've been following my homeownership ride for a while, you know that I have been trying to furnish and decorate my house for as long as I've been in it (which is 3 years) and am still not done. It's been a long process and my indecisiveness doesn't aid in the progression of the already long process. 

At least once a week, I search the interwebs for furniture and decor pieces and I often find myself buried deep in a well of endless open tabs in Chrome before my ADD kicks in and I'm on to researching the meaning of life. Luckily for me (and now you), I've found the magic that is Furniture.com.

Furniture.com has curated a massive selection of everything you need from beds and headboards, coffee tables, sectionals, decor and more. The site features a variety of home furnishings made by your favorite names in the furniture industry, making the choices for decorating your home endless. The best part? You never have to step foot into a store.

One of my favorite resources on the site is their tips and trends section where they share tips and tricks for such things as decorating on a budget, measuring your space for incoming furniture, and how to pick the right accent chair. I've found it very helpful in my own home decorating struggles because while I'm a lot of things, an interior decorator is not one of them. If you're anything like me, you too will find this helpful.

via Pinterest  

Did you know that your coffee table should be two-thirds the length of your couch and that sofa or end tables should be equal to or just beneath the height of your sofa? Yeah, me neither. But these are the kind of insights Furniture.com shares when browsing such things as accent tables. From selecting a size, to materials and colors, the information is invaluable.

via Pinterest  

Next time you're in the market for furniture (which is always if you're me), I highly recommend giving Furniture.com a go. They will curate thousands of pieces from all of the web in one, easy-to-search site. And feel free to let me know what you think in the comments!

xo, 

Aquia

Disclosure: This post was produced in conjunction with Furniture.com. 

Friendsmas featuring Harlow & Grey

Merry almost Christmas! As much as I complain about the cold every winter, this is truly my favorite time of the year. Each year, I've tried to find ways to celebrate with friends and get everyone in the spirit. Last year, I hosted an ugly Christmas sweater party for a houseful, so this year I knew I wanted to keep it low key. I missed the opportunity to host Friendsgiving, so the idea of Friendsmas was right on target. 

I have been dying to have a picnic-style, on the floor dinning situation since I hosted BLOOM this past summer and we got rained out. So I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for my closest friends and I to sit around Indian-style (criss-cross-applesauce?) and eat, drink and be merry.

I teamed up with Harlow & Grey to bring my vision to life. Harlow & Grey makes THE cutest partyware of all time. They make everything from cups, plates and utensils to cake toppers and garland. And it's all so very cute! 

I set a table in our upstairs entertaining area complete with a DIY hot chocolate bar (spiked, duh). We did a white elephant gift exchange and indulged in brunch bites potluck style. I had the best time with my girls. 

I DIY'd these little signs on Canva and placed them around the space. They were super cheesy, but also super cute if I do say so myself. 

I was inspired by Inspired by Charm and wanted to replicate his "Ornamentinis". I didn't use the same cocktail recipe, but the presentation was superb. They were so cute! And didn't taste bad either. 

You should really check out Harlow & Grey for all of your party needs! The collection you see here is from their Noir collection, but I've been eyeing their Goddess collection as well. 

Do you have holiday traditions with your friends? I'm thinking about making this an annual event. We literally had the best time. 

Merry Christmas, ya'll!

xo, 

Aquia

Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by Harlow & Grey. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting sponsors who keep content fresh on thefauxfancy.com.

5 Tips for Hosting the Holidays + Thanksgiving Day Cocktail

I'm both relieved and sad that I'm not hosting Thankshiving this year. If my memory serves me right, I've hosted the last three years. This year, however, I just can't. Between being a homeowner and having random shit malfunction around the house and having traveled SO much the last month, hosting just seemed like biting off more than I can chew. So, this year will just be us. Hubby, and Lennox and I. And hoping for a close couple friend of ours to join us as well. 

Although we aren't hosting an extravagant dinner this go around, there are still some basic rules to keep in mind if it's your year to set the table. 

1. Plan your menu in advance

Nothing will keep you more organized and focused. If you're anything like me, you might be tempted to make evetything on Pinterest. Don't do it. Select an appropriate amount of dishes and commit to them. 

2.  Don't be afraid to go non-traditional 

Listen, turkey sucks. Like idk whose idea it was to make this dry ass bird an annual Thanksgiving tradition, but they wouldn't be invited to any party of mine (sorry if you like turkey). If it's not a State Fair-esque turkey leg on the menu, I'm likely not interested. That said, it isn't uncommon for me to stray from tradition and serve something unconventional. Most of the time, I'll still have turkey as an option for those stuck in their bubble, but this year, I'm planning dirty rice stuffed Cornish hens... because I have no desire to have 18lbs of leftover turkey. 

3. Don't do it alone 

Enlist help. I'm really bad at this because I love things to be a certain way. But listen when I say... ENLIST HELP. Every year, my husband "helps" by walking into the kitchen and asks when the food will be done. My dad is my kitchen co-pilot. And my mom is the on-the-spot dish washer which is the most underrated job of all. I couldn't do it without them. 

4. Have takeout containers  

Unless you live with a bunch of human garbage disposals, you might have quite a bit of leftovers. To avoid eating dry turkey for a week that feels like the rest of your life, encourage your guests to take to-go plates. If you grew up in a black household, that likely reads paper plate covered in foil. But this is the Faux Fancy and we aren't sending guests away with a roll of foil and hefty plates. Get a bunch of styrofoam to go boxes from your local grocer and make transporting leftovers easy.  

5. Don't forget the cocktails 

You might need them throughout the preparing, but you definitely need them for dinner. Decide on a signature cocktail, but also have a mini bar as backup. 

On that note, I have a yummy cocktail recipe for you to incorporate into your turkey day! 

I don't have a name, but it's devine and husband-approved. 

Ingredients  

• 2 parts bourbon  
• 2 parts sweet vermouth  
• 1 sugar cube  
• Squeeze of grapefruit juice  
• Splash of grenadine  
• Maraschino cherry for garnish  

Pour sweet vermouth into glass with sugar cube and muddle. In a cocktail shaker, add bourbon, grenadine and ice. Shake vigorously. Pour into glass and add ice. Garnish with maraschino cherry. Enjoy. 

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all! You have so much to be thankful for. Never forget it.  

xo,

Aquia

Cocktail Party featuring OTR: On The Rocks Cocktails

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen me profess my love for a new Dallas-based cocktail company called OTR (On the Rocks). I first got wind of them on Instagram and saw they were doing a tasting at my local Spec's, so I told my husband to come with me and ask questions later. We sampled about 4-5 of their flavors and bought at least 1-2 each. Yes, they were that good. 

What is OTR, you ask? OTR Cocktails are premium, craft bottled cocktails that you simply pour and enjoy. They use quality ingredients (and little sugar) to bring pre-made favorites like an old fashioned or a cosmo to life with no effort on your part. 

I am a sucker for a craft cocktail so I literally jumped at the opportunity to work with them. OTR truly makes hosting so much easier. I've had my fair share of mixology parties and craft cocktail nights, but I end up bartending thus missing out on the libations (don't get me wrong, I love to make cocktails too). When I decided to have a small cocktail party for my favorite Dallas bloggers, I knew it wouldn't require more than prepping garnishes for our readymade cocktails. 

We tried (and failed) to sample each of the flavors, but one or two samples in, a few of us started to realize early on that they are not for the faint at heart...or liver. My personal favorite is The Aviation which is a blend of gin, lemon, violet and a touch of cherry (I typically stay 50 feet away from gin). We also cracked open the Old Fashioned, the Cosmo and the Jalapeño-Pineapple Margarita. I had jalapeños to garnish the margaritas, cherries and orange wheels to garnish the old fashioneds and lemon peels for the aviation. The garnishes are the fun part. It's what makes the drinks pretty. And pretty matters. :)

Check out the pics from our fun, intimate cocktail party below. And if you haven't already, check out my blogger babes Marrica of Flaunt Your Fro, Melody of Blingaholoic88, Eryn of Style Sew Me, Tanika of Alwayz Fashionably Late, and Chaunie of Southern Fashion Doll. More awesomeness to come with these ladies that I can hardly wait to share!

Shop my barware directly from this post!

OTR is on the move...fast. Check out their website and social media to find out where you can purchase near you!

xo, 

Aquia

 Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by On The Rocks. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting sponsors who keep content fresh on thefauxfancy.com.