This post is sponsored by Gordmans, a retailer I have loved for years! As always, all thoughts are authentically my own!

Hi galpals and happy Friday! The weekend is upon us, which means we only have a couple more days until the New Year – how crazy is that?! 2017 and our first year of marriage has really flown by! It’ll be pretty tough to top last year’s NYE party aka our wedding, so this year T and I have decided to celebrate at home in cozy style! We’re going to have a staycation on the 30th and stay at one of our favorite hotels downtown so we can grab dinner at our favorite restaurant and then bop from bar to bar for a few adult beverages without having to worry about driving home and getting up at 7am the next day to give Roger his insulin shot 🙂 I’m so thankful my parents love to have the boys over for sleepovers! Our beloved Creighton Bluejays play at 1:30pm on the 31st, so we’ll check out of the hotel and meet friends before the game and then after, we’ll go pick up the pups from my ‘rents and settle in for NYE at home!

I enjoy getting all dolled up and going out with friends on New Year’s Eve, but as we’ve gotten older, Tone and I have definitely become more of homebodies. So for our 1st wedding anniversary, we decided to keep it low key at home! We’re going to eat our wedding cake (SO GOOD), watch our current favorite show, eat a yummy crock pot meal, sip champagne, and munch on snacks until the ball drops. And as every year passes, I know our dogs won’t be around forever (I literally ask Franklin every day to live as long as I do!), so it’s important for us to be home and spend quality time with them! Plus it’s supposed to be high of -5 that day, sooooo I’m not opposed to trading in those sexy heels for my UGG slippers!

But staying home doesn’t have to be boring or lame! Here are my top tips for making a cozy New Year’s Eve at home extra special!

1. CUTE AND COMFY OUTFIT… You won’t find me wearing jeans while lounging at home, but that doesn’t mean you have to resort to those 10 year old VS boyfriend pants that are hanging on by a thread… literally! I picked up these fleece lined leggings from Gordmans and have found the holy grail of all leggings. They. Are. Amazing. I’m picky when it comes to leggings because they have to be high waisted with a thick waist band and need to be a deep black, no gray or off black color. I love the idea of fleece lined leggings but the ones I have found in the past made my legs look bigger than they were because of the thick material. Warm, yes. Slimming, no. But these don’t add any bulk! I also found this gray cowl neck sweater with gold metallic thread and thought it has the perfect touch of holiday sparkle, but I can wear it all winter long! I like that this top isn’t super heavy because between the furnace, candles, and blankets, I tend to run on the warm side! And to put the icing on the cozy cake, I snagged this black beanie with faux fur pom pom on top! It’s no secret that I despise washing my hair, so hats and caps are my best friends!

2. FRESH BLOOMS… For our cozy-at-home New Year’s Eve setup, I wanted to use the embellished champagne bottle that we popped at our wedding for a vase! My sweet friend, Sarah, and her mom crafted this bottle for us and I just thought it was the sweetest gift, and I love that I can use it year after year on our anniversary!

3. CHAMPAGNE + SPECIALTY DRINKS… Nothing says Happy New Year like a glass of bubbly, but I personally can only have one or two (max) glasses of champagne before I start to get a sour stomach. So I was super excited when I found these little bottles of mixers at Gordmans to make specialty cocktails with the leftover champagne! We’ll be using our Kate Spade Mr. and Mrs. Champagne Flutes that my parents gifted us!

Festive & Fun Idea – To jazz up your sparkling juice or champs, add a few pomegranate seeds for pops of color!

4. CANDLES + TWINKLE LIGHTS… When it comes to candles, more is more. You can never have too many candles! I picked out these purple and red glass jar candles from Gordmans and am obsessed with how they smell. But as much as I love candles, I really don’t love spending $30 on one. You may be surprised to know that Gordmans has a huge candle selection and they are beyond affordable! I also grabbed these star twinkle lights at Gordmans last month (no joke, I find everything there!) and I love the soft light they add to my decor. After the holidays are over, I plan to drape them over my windows in my office for a fun touch when I’m working late into the evenings!

5. DELICIOUS SNACKS… Does anyone else suffer from post-dinner hunger/idle fingers?! There’s nothing better than a savory (or for Tony, a sweet) crunchy snack, and since calories when consumed on a holiday don’t count, we loaded up on alllllll the snacks! Another surprise, Gordmans has a full aisle filled with a million snack varieties. From candy, to chocolate, to trail mix, nuts, and popcorn; we were able to stock up and get our favorites for our New Year’s Eve Party for Two!

6. FESTIVE PILLOWS + COZY THROWS… Pillows and blankets are two super easy ways to mix up your decor and to get into the seasonal spirit without having to completely overhaul your space! I’ve had these sequin mermaid pillows for a couple years now and still get so much joy every time they make an appearance during the holidays! I also love that I can keep them out through January because even though they’re festive, they don’t scream “Christmas”. When I was shopping at Gordmans for our snacks and my outfit, I stumbled upon this blue and gold home pillow and knew it had to come home with me. I mean, how perfect is it for our New Year’s Eve party at home?! It also adds a nice pop of color to complement the gold, silver, and cream hues from the blanket and sequin pillows!

7. NEW NOTEBOOK, NEW YEAR, NEW GOALS… I’m a huge proponent of starting the New Year on a positive & motivated note, which means it’s important to set your intentions and goals right away! I’m still old school in that I have to write everything down, from my to-do’s, my short-term and long-term goals, as well as my monthly appointments & commitments; which is why you can always find at least 3 notebooks lying around my office and our living room! Since we’ll be staying in this year, I plan to write down my highs and lows of 2017, as well as to map out my hopes and goals for 2018!

If you plan to celebrate New Year’s Eve at home, be sure to stop by your nearest Gordmans to stock up on all the party-at-home essentials!