Can you believe that it is already time for the first big television event of the month?! February is full of them, starting with the Superbowl on the Sunday, then the Grammys a week later, and wrapping up the month with the Oscars. Normally I wouldn't combine the party planning for a major sporting event with awards shows, but this year everything has aligned to make your party supply shopping easy. 

Let me back up a moment. This is the 50th anniversary of the Superbowl, the GOLDEN anniversary! You know what other things are golden? The awards that are given out at the Grammys and the Academy Awards! I think we just found our reusuable party theme for the month of February. Instead of searching the party store for the last of the football-themed supplies, embrace the glitz and glam of gold. Bonus: any leftover plates and napkins can be reused later in the month, rather than going into storage until next football season.

Not convinced yet? Try these three ideas to make your game day party one to remember:

1. Welcome your guests with a personalized sign. Pick up a cheap picture frame (make sure that it has a glass insert) and a small bottle of gold acrylic paint. Paint the frame gold and then insert a piece of white paper into the frame behind the glass. Write a message on the glass with a dry erase marker and hang it on your front door, prop it up on the food table, or turn it into an "occupied" sign for the bathroom. Bonus: the message wipes off easily so you can use it for your next party or as a stylish place to write your to-do list!

2. Decorate your party area with golden footballs. Blow up gold balloons and draw laces on one side with a marker. Hang them from the ceiling with gold ribbon. Bonus: use the extra balloons at your awards show party. Add some extra pizzazz by drawing on an abstract pattern in silver marker.

3. Add glitter to your punch bowl.  Making a big batch of punch is an easy way to keep glasses filled without spending the whole afternoon playing bartender. Freeze water and edible glitter in a bundt pan to make an ice ring that makes any drink a bit more fun. Bonus: make individual glitter ice cubes to accompany classic cocktails at your awards party.

P.S. Don't forget the perfect outfit. Check out these links for looks that will keep you comfortable and stylish whether you are watching football or puppies. 

This holiday survival guide is rather belated, but hopefully you can still find a few tips to make your Christmas, Boxing Day, New Year's Eve, and/or winter break a little more fun.

​For many people, the holidays include traveling or hosting so that they can spend time with family and friends. A side effect of this is that you will be spending A LOT of time with people and you will probably need an activity to fill up some of the time. I recently discovered a very fun and portable card game that can be taught in 5 minutes and played in about 20 minutes. 

The premise of SushiGo! is that you are eating at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant and have to pick pieces of sushi that are whizzing by so that you can create a high-scoring sushi dinner. Each turn you pick a card from your hand and then pass the remaining cards to your neighbor. Some cards require a set to be worth any points, some are always worth points and others are only worth points if you have the most of that type. Since a full game can be played in about 20 minutes, it is perfect to pull out when the turkey takes longer in the oven than expected.

The box says that this game is appropriate for ages 8+, but I think that it can probably work for kids as young as 6 as long as they can match pictures and know their numbers. There are only a couple cards that require reading, but if you're playing with young kids, the game is unlikely to be super cutthroat so you could clarify the meaning of cards during game play. 

The box easily fits into a backpack or large purse so you might find yourself bringing it around to all your holiday events as a just-in-case activity.

Another popular activity this time of year is shopping because this is the time of year for big sales at retailers. Before you head to the mall, be sure to review these three posts so that you can get the most of your purchases:
Getting the most of the winter sales        Guide to Elegance: bargains         Tips for shopping the sale section

Another nice touch is to put together a bathroom basket for your guests with wash cloths and toiletry samples. You might have samples from your own travels or if you subscribe to Birchbox, but if not, you can pick up a couple items in the travel section of most drugstores. I like this because then as a guest I never have to worry that I am using up someone's expensive shampoo. 

If you're the guest this holiday season, be sure to check out last year's post about hostess gifts and personalizing generic gifts! Along with hostess gifts, you will need a great party outfit or two.

Although you want to look great for the holidays, it is also important that you are wearing comfortable clothes so that you can enjoy eating all the holiday treats without discomfort and can get down on the floor to play with kids and pets. ​

The holidays can be stressful with extra people in the house, so making a big breakfast in the morning is probably the last thing you want to do. Luckily, it's easy to prepare breakfast the night before and still have something hot on the table the next morning. Sounds too good to be true, right?

The afternoon or evening before, prep the egg casserole (which you will then leave in the fridge overnight) and bake the sweet potato-bourbon bundt cake. The next morning, simply cook the casserole in the oven for ~45 minutes. Lightly dust the bundt cake with sifted powdered sugar and put out a bowl of fresh fruit. If there will be lots of people eating at once, organizing a selection of tea bags at the table will avoid a traffic jam in the kitchen. 

For the sweet potato-bourbon bundt cake, I use Bakerella's recipe which she adapted into cupcakes. I pour it into a bundt pan (or loaf pans) and then bake at 350 degrees F for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
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Halloween is a week away which means that it is time for the annual costume post! Whether you need an outfit for a rocking party or are just looking for something to wear while chaperoning trick-or-treaters, these costumes will get you into the holiday spirit. Plus, by using pieces you already own to craft the perfect look, you can spend more of your Halloween budget on candy! Long time readers will recognize most of these costume ideas, but I have updated the links to the accessories and added a new option that requires minimal effort. 

Have a great costume idea of your own? Let us know in the comments! And if you wear one of these costumes for Halloween, I would love to see your photos on Twitter, Instagram, or via email!

Duck beak mask from partysuppliesdelivered.com.
Yellow rain poncho from Staples and Walgreens. ​

Binoculars from Toys R Us.
Compass from Oriental Trading Company.
Bird book from Half Price Books and Barnes & Noble. 
Sun hat from REI.

Aviator wings pin from halloweencostumes.com and Etsy.
Square silk scarf from Nordstrom.
For a printable version of the ID badge, click here.

As you have probably noticed, there hasn't been anything new on practically stylish for awhile. I think this is the longest blogging hiatus that I have taken since starting the blog just over three years ago. As I approached my three year blogging anniversary (which went by without any fanfare on October 1, 2015), I wanted to take some time to evaluate what I've been doing here and what I want to do in the future. I thought that process would take about a week, but it turned out I needed a bit more time to get my thoughts in order.

I started this blog back in 2012 to be a resource for people looking to find practical help for their style questions. That is something I do want to continue doing. However, there are more topics that I want to write about than just fashion. I tried to incorporate some of those things with the bread and flowers section of the blog, but with the current site design, it isn't always easy to see if there is a new post over there.

I have decided to redesign the site (and finally move it to its home at www.practicallystyli.sh in that process) so that I have the freedom to add a variety of content while still making it easy for readers to find the topics they are interested in. This is going to be a rather large undertaking which is why I needed some time to decide whether or not this was a project I wanted to continue doing. In the meantime, I will work on getting new posts up regularly, but there may be delays as I work on the behind-the-scenes nuts and bolts of the blog.

I'm excited for this new project and to dive into the technical end of what makes this blog tick. The wonderful thing about blogging is that there is always something new to learn!

Thank you all for being part of my blogging experience and I look forward to seeing what the future holds!

Best,
Alice