WEEK IN SIX PICS...

{A basket of my mom's cute ornaments that will go on her tree... She actually found those at the Dollar Tree!}

Hi there! How was your Thanksgiving?? I hope it went well. It's been quiet in these parts - again. I know. My Thanksgiving went really well until I caught some sort of stomach bug near the end. I'm still not feeling that great and am spending as much time as I can resting (i.e. it's 7PM right now and I'm already in bed for the night!) Anyway, I thought I would share some photos I took over the break. I'll be back here as soon as I feel better! Fingers crossed that will be soon... Have a great rest of the week!

{The chopped vegetables I used to make a version of this braised turkey. It was SO SO SO good and super easy to make. I basically followed the recipe for the dark meat except for adding the flour and the cognac. Trust me - it was amazing without those things. }

{Cheese for the macaroni and cheese. I planned to make this mac & cheese. But once I got home, my mom was raving about John Legend's (the singer) mac & cheese. She said she had made it recently and that it was really good. So I made it (such an easy recipe) and everyone loved it! }

{My new favorite pair of glasses, and a few cozy cable knit sweaters I wore during the break. That top sweater is easily one of my favorites this season. It's still on sale! }

{An outtake during a photo shoot with my brother. I was wearing an all-black outfit, so naturally a lint brush was necessary. :) That clutch is a staple that I will quite possibly have forever. }

{ And the vanilla pound cake that I make every year for Thanksgiving... Everyone scarfed it up, which made me happier than I would have been if I was able to eat a slice myself.... :) }

OUR THANKSGIVING DAY MENU...

So after I finished my last post, I thought it would be fun to share our actual Thanksgiving Day menu. Many of you have asked me what I'm eating this year and the answer is a LOT of good stuff! My thyroid antibody level is still slightly high (I am SO close to normal though!), so I am sticking to the Autoimmune Protocol Diet (AIP) and this routine for a bit longer. As much as I hated it in the beginning, I am actually starting to like it. Most importantly, I feel about 98% better than I did this time last year. And when it comes to food, there are actually a lot of foods that I can have - I just have to figure out ways to get creative and incorporate lots of flavor without adding flour, butter, eggs, cheese, refined sugar, and a few other things that are in practically EVERYTHING - especially Thanksgiving food. That has been the tricky part, but I've learned a lot over the past 8 months and I will be incorporating what I've learned into our Thanksgiving Day meal. 

Below is a list of what we are having! Gosh my mouth is watering... I would never want my family to be deprived of things like mac & cheese, dressing, and pound cake because of my issues, so my mom and I are still cooking those things for them. The things I will be eating are denoted with a (*), which means they are mostly AIP or can be easily adapted into an AIP recipe. Also, all of the ingredients in the AIP recipes will be organic. I have included links to the most of the recipes in case you are interested!

Main Course

Cajun Turkey

Braised Turkey Legs & Wings *

Orange-Cranberry Chutney *

Soups + Sides

Butternut Squash Soup *

Macaroni & Cheese

Country Cornbread Sausage Dressing

Country Collard Greens (my mom's recipe) *
Honey-Glazed Sweet Potatoes w/ Baked Pink Lady Apples *

Roasted Brussels Sprouts w/ Caramelized Onions & Bacon *

Desserts

Southwest Georgia Pound Cake w/ Vanilla Ice Cream

Nada Moo Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream topped w/ Cinnamon Baked Apples *

What are you having???

Image by Matt Armendariz for What's Gaby Cooking

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Happy holidays my friends!! To think that there are only eight more days until the new year is incredibly baffling to me! This year flew by for me... But I'm so excited for a new year. This year was a year of incredible growth and self-discovery for me, which has been both rewarding and challenging! Anyone else have that same experience?? I so look forward to a fresh start in the new year where I can exercise what I have learned and hopefully display how much stronger I know I have become.

I'm signing off here for the remainder of the year from some good ol' family time, rest, and reflection. Thank you so much for following along here on my little diary of favorite things. Your time spent here means a lot to me. I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a safe, relaxing, and happy New Year! I'll see you back here in 2016!

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A HOLIDAY TABLE + LINKS...

Hi there! Hope you had a great week! So confession. I know I promised a weekly gift guide, but it just ain't happenin'. Health wise it's been a few challenging weeks. That in addition to work, holiday gatherings, and holiday shopping, there just hasn't been as much time as I anticipated! So sorry! So the least I can do is share a few links with you - cause' I know that's your fave. :) Enjoy and I hope you have a great weekend!

Good Gifts...
For the homeowner...
For the heavy tea drinker...
For the cook (totally dying for one myself)
For the lounger (Their pants are all so comfy!)
For the faithful exerciser (I gifted this to someone and it was loved...)

Good Spaces
Such a pretty holiday home tour...
This tour is pretty, too. Her stuff is always so good!
A home renovation process worth keeping up with...

Good Things
Keep this in mind for your home next week!
In case you'll be on an airplane next week, or any week for that matter...
Simply good to know around this time of the year...
In preparation for 2016...

Good Food
A Christmas cookie suggestion... So good.
Chocolate banana bread... Yes and yes.
52 EXCELLENT holiday baking tips...
My favorite, favorite, favorite soup at the moment...
Quite possibly the prettiest sugar cookies I've seen...

Image by Tessa Neustadt via Rue Daily

PET PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS + MY 2015 CHRISTMAS CARDS...

This year I have had more personal time than I have had in long time (so thankful), so I decided to spend some of that time shooting my own holiday card. Yep, I'm that girl who is an animal lover who made her cat the star of the show. I have no shame in doing so! Once I have kids, I'm 100% sure I will be that mom who makes her kids the star of the show. In the meantime, Max is it! Over time, Max has become more comfortable being in front of the camera - and I have finally figured out how to make him sit still for more than 5 minutes to get a good shot. Many of you have asked me how I do it, so I thought I'd share a few tips with you today. You might have a pet that follows commands really well and doesn't mind the camera, but I haven't always been that lucky, so here's what I do... 

1. Plan the shoot in a familiar environment around their typical nap time - My favorite pet photos are the ones that make it look like the pet is totally comfortable being in front of the camera when that couldn't be further from the truth. I've found that the easiest way to get that look is to work with them when they are sleepy and in their own environment. So if you know your pet sleeps mostly in the afternoon, then plan to shoot them right after they start sleeping. I usually wake Max up and carry him (he loves to be held when he's sleepy) to a spot he likes to be in (if he isn't there already) and one that has some good light. I then "go about my day" in that space and see if he will get settled somewhere. Pets can pick up on you when you are trying to get them to do something they ordinarily wouldn't want to do, so it's important for you to act natural. In this photo, Max happened to be lounging comfortably on my bed - a place he loves to be, so I knew there was a chance. If you have a dog, then using treats to get them to sit still obviously helps as well. 

2. Exercise patience - Step one might take one, two, or ten tries over one, two, or ten days. You just have to let them do what they do naturally. You have to be natural as well. If I seem impatient with Max and try to force him to do something he doesn't want to do, then getting a good shot is impossible. 

3. Adjust your camera settings and prepare any props before the shoot: Once they are settled and seem comfortable, quickly take some test shots and adjust your settings. The last thing you want to do is fool with your camera during the 30 seconds you have the perfect shot. If your camera beeps when it focuses, then I recommend turning that function off to avoid scaring the pet off. Once Max had been settled on my bed for a few minutes, I adjusted the camera, and quietly and softly arranged the ribbon in front of him and the garland behind him. I had those in the room beforehand. He was deliriously sleepy, so he never moved. Plus, Max is used my shenanigans and the camera, so he was fine. But if this step isn't working out, then recall #2 above! :)

4. Act quickly, but quietly and patiently! That's a tall order, I know. Once your camera is set and they are still in a good spot, start shooting, but do so in a really soft and quiet manner. If you are frazzled or frustrated, then they pick up on that and are likely to move. Once I get a one good shot, I basically keep pressing the shutter button to get the most photos I can before he moves. 

All of that is easier said than done, especially if you have a cat or a hyper dog, but it can be done if you exercise enough patience! :)

Holiday card: "Simply Happy Holiday Card" via Minted

Images by me

**Not a sponsored post **

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Alright friends! It's Christmas Eve - which came along at lightening speed this year in my book. Anyone else feel that way?? I'm signing off for the rest of the week so that I can fully enjoy all that Christmas has to offer - which for me is family, food, pajama days, gift giving, more food, and finishing a book I started about three months ago! Ha. Obviously food is super important. I'll be serving up my special lasagna on Christmas Eve and seafood gumbo will be served on Christmas Day. No one in my family is from New Orleans, but somehow my mom has mastered her gumbo recipe. Can't wait... Anyway, I hope you and your family have the BEST holiday. I hope it is filled with lots of love, warmth, joy, and peace! xo, Tiffany

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WEEKEND IN FIVE PICS: LAST MINUTE GIFT WRAP IDEAS...

It's the Monday before Christmas!! So excited... How was your weekend? I got some last minute shopping done, took the BEST nap (i.e. the kind of nap where you wake up and don't realize where you are), read a magazine cover-to-cover for the first time in months, got in a good pre-Christmas workout, and watched Home Alone and The Holiday a few times - my two favorite holiday movies. I also got in some gift wrapping and thought I would style a little shoot  around some of the gifts I wrapped - just in case you need a few really simple last minute ideas...

I like to keep my gift wrap super simple, but thoughtful at the same time. I want it to be nice, but lets be honest - the paper and all of the fixings will end up in the garbage at the end of the day. So I never see the need to spend more than 3-5 minutes wrapping a gift. I typically just take brown postal wrapping paper and use simple things to dress it up. This year, I used fresh greens, cute Sugar Paper gift tags, a variety of ribbon I found at Michaels on sale, and some thread. The fresh greens are probably my favorite touch. They add a realness to the gift and smell oh so good... Anyway, that's just my two cents on my gift wrap this year. Have a great Monday and I'll check back in with you before Christmas!

IN THE POST: KO Sticks Tetraxis Star (c/o) | Sugar Paper Gift Tags | Dauville Small Gold Bowl

A SPRUCED UP VANILLA HOLIDAY TREE CAKE...

I'm quite happy to tell you about that cake!! It was featured on yesterday's post that I'm so glad many of you enjoyed. I wanted to feature a holiday dessert in the post that was different from the typical dessert. So a few weeks before the post, I was flipping through my cookbooks to get ideas. I was going through Nigella Lawson's "Nigella Christmas" cookbook when I ran across the recipe for this cake. I'll just pause and say that I've always been a fan of Nigella. Listening to her British accent as she describes her cooking on her cooking shows is one of my favorite things to do. She's not a fussy cook either and this recipe is proof of that. Friends, all you have to do to make this cake is get this super fun holiday tree bundt pan (I found mine at HomeGoods, but you can also find it here and here), butter and flour the pan (see my foolproof method for doing that below) dump all of the ingredients in a food processor, "blitz" all of the ingredients (as Nigella says), pour the batter in the pan, and bake. Done and done. The cake itself is a moist, eggy, cake that is full of holiday flavor thanks to the vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger. Once you sprinkle the finished cooled cake with powdered sugar, and maybe stud it with some colored or pearled removable pins to create little "lights for the trees (like you see there), I personally think it transforms into a great centerpiece for a holiday table. I think the kids would really enjoy baking and eating this cake as well. It's just a pretty cake that is super easy to make, looks good, AND tastes good. You just can't beat that... 

Here is what you need and what to do (makes 8-12 slices):

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for the pan
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 large eggs
2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup plain fat-free yogurt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Confectioners sugar for dusting the finished cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a small baking sheet into the oven at the same time for it to preheat. Butter and flour the pan. To do this, I used a pastry brush to brush room temperature butter in the pan. Using the brush ensures that every crevice of the pan was buttered. I then took a small sifter to sift flour inside and around the sides the pan. I tapped the pan over the kitchen sink to remove any excess flour. I PROMISE that is the most time consuming part of making this cake... :)

2. Add all of the ingredients except for the confectioners sugar into a food processor. Blitz until all of the ingredients are well combined.

3. Pour and spoon the batter into the pan. Smooth the top with a spatula.

4. Place the pan onto the baking sheet in the oven. Bake the cake for about 45-50 minutes or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

5. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Gently pull away the edges of the cake  with your fingers. Then gently turn out the cake. Once the cake has cooled, dust the cake with confectioners sugar using a small sieve.

Enjoy!

Images by Paula Coldiron

A HOMEGOODS HAPPY HOLIDAY GIFT FOR A FOODIE...

I hope you had a great weekend! Before I talk about this post that I am super excited about, let me just say thank you for your comments, e-mails, texts, phone calls - everything- on Friday's post. Last week was a great week for me and your thoughts made it even better. I'm so grateful!

I'm just as excited about that as I am about today's post. I haven't done many collaborations here on the blog due to an imperfect fit or time constraints. But when HomeGoods reached out to me to work on this little project, I knew I had to figure it out! I'm in HomeGoods AT LEAST to or three times a month, so this was quite a perfect fit that I wanted to make the time for. The sweet people there asked me to shop the kitchen section of the store and create a holiday themed gift basket for a deserving food-lover. RIGHT UP MY ALLEY! I obviously love food lots of things in my kitchen and home have come from the HomeGoods. They always have so many good, quality things for great prices. So what I decided to do was create a little something different (other than the typical wine or holiday cookies) that would be perfect to deliver to a neighbor. Most good neighbors love good food, so I decided to bake a cake using a fun bundt pan in the shape of holiday trees that I found at HomeGoods. The pan was only $20 (cheaper than the same one here!). This is when I wish I had one of those slideshow things to take you through my process, so bear with me here as I show and tell you how I put my little delivery all together! 

I started with baking the cake (I will share the super simple recipe with you tomorrow!), then laying everything out. The first layer was a really beautiful tray from HomeGoods. I thought it would be the perfect little vessel for my delivery - and it would make a great gift, too! Several people asked me about it when they saw it in my cart at HomeGoods, so I knew I was on the right track when I picked it up. You know I love white and gold, so I thought those "Noel" plates were perfect. I paired them with some candy cane filled coffee mugs, a gold cake cutter, and simple white cake stand - all from HomeGoods. 

After I laid everything out, I threw on my little apron (also from HomeGoods! Cute right??) and started decorating the cake stand with some fresh greens and berries. They smelled so good and created the perfect little pallet for the cake...

Next was the really fun part - decorating the cake! I dusted the cake with powdered sugar to create a little snow effect. I then studded it with removable pin pearls, which were the "white lights" on the trees...

This was my first time making a cake like this and I love how it turned out! Once I saw it all together, I was thinking that this would be a great Christmas dinner table centerpiece - and dessert- all in one!

So next I loaded the cake on the tray and decorated the tray with some leftover greens and berries...

And here is how it turned out! I loved it! How lovely is the detail on the side of the tray?? Annnddd just a reminder that all of that with the exception of the cake and the greens were from HomeGoods! :)

This is what #HomeGoodsHappy looks like and I'm hoping that my neighbor will be just as excited! Be sure to stop by tomorrow to get the recipe for the cake!

Outfit: Apron: HomeGoods | Sweater: Banana Republic | Plaid Top: Banana Republic | Coated Pants: Madewell | Boots: Stuart Weitzman | Coat: Steve Madden via TJMaxx (old)

Special thanks to HomeGoods for sponsoring this post and supporting Savor Home! 

All images by Paula Coldiron

SHOP TALK: WAITING ON MARTHA HOLIDAY POP UP SHOP...

So one of my favorite things about blogging is meeting other women who work hard, master their craft, are inspiring, and truly go after the things they really want. Mandy of Waiting on Martha is one of those women. I've had the pleasure of getting to know her over the past year or so an she truly inspires me. She is an amazing stylist, curator, networker, designer, cook- the girl does it all. I don't know how she does it all - and all so very well. I tell her that every time I see her! 

Mandy has a fabulous online shop where she curates everything from home decor to cookbooks to jewelry to paper goods. She also currently has a pop up shop here in Atlanta at Shops Around Lenox where she is selling all of the things from her online shop - plus more! I stopped by the shop over the weekend so I could see it and it did not disappoint! It is really beautiful. She has styled the shop in a way that makes you just want look at and buy every single thing. I couldn't buy everything, but I did scoop up this cute little spoon rest for my kitchen, this tray for my new bar cart (more on that later!) and this little trinket bowl for my dainty jewelry. I also picked up some personable little gifts for some friends. Loved it. These are some photos I took during my visit so you can see for yourself! If you see something you like, Mandy is offering all of my readers 15% off everything through Monday of next week!! Just use code SAVOR15 at checkout!!! Keep scrolling for links to some of the products in the photos + some of my favorite items!

All images by me