Giving Thanks

 

Here we are in November - the month for Giving Thanks.  Typically it's the few weeks sandwiched in between Halloween and the Christmas holidays where we try to have a little normalcy or start prepping for the whirlwind of December.  This year I am trying to not let myself get carried away with What's Happening Next, but instead spend a little time focusing on what's happening now.  The change of seasons, the breezy weather, fall leaves, gorgeous blue skies.  In trying to be more mindful of the premise behind Thanksgiving and recognizing all the things there are to be grateful for, I am posting at least one Thankful item (on my Facebook page) every day. 

I was also pretty quick to give the home décor a little update.  This weekend I took the time to switch out all the Halloween stuff for things that are more Fall or Thanksgiving themed.  The front porch was pretty easy.

Down came the witch wreaths and swags and up went the fall wreath I made last year.

 The mailbox got it's own matching swag.

I had planned ahead and put the Thankful Grateful Blessed wording on the back of the witch sign.  I love the way this one turned out, especially the stain technique.  (I'll do a quick, more in depth post on the sign in a few because I'm just that happy with it ;)  ).

And of course the pallet pumpkins got to stay.

 Inside I did a quick switcheroo on the mantel.  The bead board banner got flipped from Trick or Treat to Give Thanks.  And down came the witch hats in favor of a few pumpkins (including one of my 2x4 wooden pumpkins).  It's still a little bare looking, but it will do for now.

And the witch hat centerpiece was replaced with another pumpkin that I pulled from the ledge in the stairwell (where the footprint ghosts still reside lol - they work for Thanksgiving, right? lol). 
It all took a surprisingly short amount of time to pull together - yay!  Another reminder that the small things can make big statements.  Which brings me full circle back to being thankful, mindful and recognizing all the small things in our lives that make us happy.  Like the pretty sunrise I just spotted outside my window.  I think I'll take a minute to enjoy that before rushing to grab a shower and pack the kids' lunches.
Happy November!

Pallet Pumpkins

Happy Fall!  These great pallet pumpkins are one of my favorite fall decorations for the front porch.
As the blog has switched to a new domain, I have moved this post over there as well.  Additional photos and details (and even a quick tutorial!) can now be found HERE.
Thanks for stopping by!

Wreaths with The Girls

 Craft day with The Girls!  I haven't been able to say that in a long time - since we moved, in fact.  Not the craft day - I've had a few craft days here and there (can you imagine how badly the withdrawals would be for me without some of those?!?).  It's the term, The Girls.  That's an official term in my head.  The Girls - a group of friends that get together to share some fun, which often involved crafting.  I had two of those back in Utah - one was a set of friends from high school.  We had a designated Saturday once a month, just for us.  And the other was my monthly card-making group.  I have missed both very much since we moved (almost 3 years ago now!).  So I'm very happy to have found a great group of ladies here that have quickly turned into my Go To buddies not only for hanging out at the pool or back yard BBQs, but will also join me in my crafty craziness. :)

Things just kind of fell together for us.  A neighbor wanted to make a wreath supporting her favorite football team before the season started but didn't know how to do it.  We very quickly had a nice little group that wanted to learn as well. 

We started with a fun little shopping trip to the craft store, having luckily been able to find a time when all the husbands could watch the kids.  And oh what fun that shopping trip was!  I can't imagine what the employees at the craft store thought as we spent the better part of two hours in the deco mesh section, full of big ideas and enthusiasm.  Plus deco mesh was on sale for only $5 a roll!  Everyone walked out of the store with supplies for at least two wreaths each.  And me - well I had enough for four different variations lol.  (And this after going in there thinking that I had a wreath for practically every holiday already)

Last Friday was our big craft day.  We went into it with lunch prepped ahead of time and kids either happily playing upstairs or home with their dads (gotta love any guy who will help us indulge our crafty craziness!) and spent the entire day making wreaths.  So fun!

5 ladies, 9 wreaths.  Awesome.  My favorite part is seeing how one method/theme can be interpreted differently by each person and they all turn out so different from each other.

There's wreath #9.  One friend had to leave early in order to set up for her daughter's bday party and her finished wreath didn't make it into the group shot at the end of the day.
So which one is mine?  And yes - I only finished one.  Host and teacher duties will do that to ya - not that I'm complaining.  I loved it and not finished up everything gives me an excuse for hosting another craft day :)

Anyway - this one is mine.  The funny part is we don't really even watch football LOL.  But the original inspiration wreath was really cute.  And it's kind of a joke between my husband and myself that with all of the Alabama fans in the neighborhood, we should show some sort of Utah spirit.

 

 I tried out a new look with this one - a combination of the poufy wreaths and the curly ones I've done in the past.  I really like the added texture and interest it gives to the wreath.

Cute right?  It makes me happy, even if I still have no real intention to sit down and watch a game.  Go Utah! ;)

Happy Fall...and Happy Thanksgiving!

I did it again!  Too wrapped up in all the things going on right now that not only did the blog get neglected, but I didn't finish my fall wreath until this week!  Awww....oh well right?

You see a couple weeks ago I got together with a few friends from the neighborhood and we all worked on deco mesh wreaths.  As the one "in charge" of the project I made sure everyone got theirs done, but mine...  Well, I did finish the base! lol  I hung it on the front door to get a good look at it, and it sat there for a couple of weeks, in all its unfinished glory.  Actually I was pretty happy with the base - the colors are so pretty and so very much "fall."  But it was missing a little something.

My mother-in-law had also requested a Christmas wreath which I had also started on craft day and which also sat unfinished in the sun room.  Knowing that she would want to be able to display her wreath soon, and that I would need to use the sunroom to set up the dining table for Thanksgiving I finally took the time to finish them both.  (I will post pictured of her wreath and some of the other wreaths my friends made in a day or two - they turned out so great!)  I took a scrap piece of wood and stenciled the saying "Happy Fall Y'all" on it then wired it onto the wreath base and covered up the wire with a nice bow.  The final touch was this gorgeous floral pic I grabbed along with the wreath supplies because I was totally in love with it.  Still on the fence about if I like the tiny pop of red or if I will take that part out...

For now though, I'm happy.  And my front door will be fully dressed up for the guests that will be joining us this afternoon - Yay!  I'm so happy that today is Thanksgiving.  Happy to have my three favorite people asleep upstairs all warm and safe and happy.  Happy to know that I have so many great friends and family, both near and far away today.  Happy that my life is so full right now.  Happy to have friends coming over to spend Thanksgiving with us (that's always one of the big dilemas when you don't live near family - how to celebrate the holidays and who is available to spend them with??).  Happy to have a good start on the prep for the big meal, and that my husband is taking over the hard parts of the cooking (turkey and home made rolls) so I have no reason to stress or rush around today.  And happy that tomorrow the focus switches to Christmas - my favorite holiday! ;)
Today is going to be a great day!  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I hope you all a fantastic, and thankful day!

Trick or Treat Glass Block (31 Days: Day 27)

Ready for one more candy corn Halloween decoration variation?  Yup, me too! :)  The original inspiration from this one came from here via Pinterest.  Looks pretty simple, right?  Well, you'd be right.  They carry these great glass blocks at most of the big craft stores, complete with a nice little opening in the bottom.  I think mine was $12 before the 40% off coupon.

I used that handy hole in the bottom to stuff some lights and colored tissue paper inside.  I didn't worry too much about the back, but you could cover it up if you wanted to.

I added some vinyl lettering (that Silhouette machine is really earning its keep this month!) and some black tulle.  That it!  Another 5 minute, under $10 project.  I was on such a roll yesterday :)

 

Candy Corn Shadow Box (31 Days: Day 26)

I was on such a roll with this 31 Days thing - until this week!  It's just been go, go, go one day after another.  The blogging had to take a bit of a back seat and I completely ruined the posting streak I had going on.  *sigh*  Oh well.
That isn't to say that I haven't been crafting.  In fact, today I got in a little unexpected craft time.  You see a friend and I were supposed to be doing a craft show tomorrow so a lot of my day was going to be devoted to last minute things for that.  But it looks like some bad weather is headed our way, and with NC being extra catious about that sort of thing they called everyone and rescheduled it.  Kind of a mess actually, as I had other plans for my Saturday next week and will now have to miss the wedding I was going to, plus the husband will be working so I was stressing a bit until a friend stepped in and offered to watch the kids for me.  Once I had my head wrapped around the new plan, (if you know me at all, you'll know that I hate having my plans changed) I was able to then enjoy the fact that I had the rest of the afternoon that didn't have to be spent tagging items and loading up the car.  Woohoo!  I watched or show or two that had been waiting for me on the DVR, then decided to finish up some of the small holiday decorations I hadn't gotten around to yet.  Like this fun little shadow box.

I have two or three holiday shadow box variations, so of course I had intended to add a Halloween one to the collection at some point.  I think the vinyl haunted house is a fun touch.  I love that there are so many great dingbat fonts out there that I don't even have to buy special designs to use for stuff like this.  And since I seem to have found a bit of a candy corn groove lately, why not put them in the shadow box? 

Not bad for a 5 minute, under $10 project.

 

Corn Maze (31 Days: Day 21)

When we have a free Saturday or Sunday with nothing scheduled and no big projects on the agenda we like to get out of the house and do something fun as a family.  This week's family fun activity - a corn maze!  There are few things that shout fall more than getting yourself lost in dead stalks of corn, right? :)  I'm teasing - we started taking the kids to a corn maze and all the related activities when they were little and we enjoy them enough that we've managed to do one every year since then.

The bonus this year is that both kids are now old enough that the corn maze kept their interest the entire time - no complaining they were tired or needing snacks or wanting to be carried!  Instead we all took turns being the leader and found all 10 checkpoints in a record (for us) 30 minutes.  Actually the kids found them - when it was my turn with the flag it took me forever to find a checkpoint while the kids seems to unerringly know which way to turn.

Sam insisted that we hadn't had enough time wandering around the corn, so we spent another 20 minutes getting ourselves "lost" again before exploring the other activities.

There were animals to see and feed, bouncy houses, tractors and piles of hay to climb on, etc etc.  I think Kaitlyn's favorite was this sledge-hammer thing.  She went back to it at least 5 times, getting to within one mark of the top by the end of her last turn.

We didn't forget the obligatory "hay" ride - a nice little break to sit and enjoy the scenery.  It still strikes me as strange that here in NC you can find places that look like this nestled right next to all the houses, condos, and businesses.

As we near the end of October I find myself wondering what other fall activities we don't want to miss out on.  We "cheated" with the pumpkin patch thing knowing that we wouldn't have time to visit a pick your own place we grabbed some at Walmart yesterday.  And while some of the leaves are changing colors we have yet to see the big show yet - I'm looking forward to that one.  Hmm...what else...?

2x4 Pumpkin Tutorial (31 Days: Day 11)

These little beauties are so popular I didn't want to leave them behind when I changed blog domains.  The full tutorial can now be found on my new blog HERE.  Happy Fall!  And Happy Crafting!

Fall Hair Pretties (31 Days: Day 9)

Quick show and tell today.  Just in case you need a few quick and easy ideas to dress up your girly girl for fall.

I love the look of this style of fabric rosette.  I've been experimenting with all different types of fabric from satin to denim.  These particular ones are made out of knit - you know, the stuff your Tshirts are made from.  Cool, right?

Pumpkin! (31 Days: Day 7)

(photo from pumpkin carving last year)

Pumpkin!  One of my favorite things about Fall is all the yummy pumpkin recipes - and there seem to be even more than usual this year MMMMMM (see my pinterest boards here and here).  I have been on a bit of a pumpkin kick here the last couple of weeks (the husband might call it obsessed lol) and completely enjoying it.  Pumpkin muffins.  Pumpkin dip (I use it for apples and cinnamon pita chips.  you can find a similar recipe here).  Pumpkin cream cheese for bagels (recipe found here)

Pumpkin Mousse (recipe here).  We tried this the other night after apple picking and I'm in love.  We did it kind of in a trifle version with pieces of soft gingersnap cookies.  They add just the right punch of flavor and texture.
And then last night's exeriment:  sooooo good!
Sam has been wanting to try making his own marshmallows.

I think he used Alton Brown's recipe.  I was suprised at how easy it was (though the KitchenAid got the workout of its life)

Those were made a day ahead of time as they need to set for a while.  They are absolutely worth the wait - lots creamier and more flavorful than store-bought marshmallows.  Though I'm sure we'll still use the store ones most of the time as they are much less expensive and so much faster.

Anyway.  While Sam was working on our project of the weekend (so excited about this one!  It's my bday present, which I hope to show off soon) I decided to try a batch of pumpkin spice syrup.  (recipe here)  We added it to our favorite hot chocolate mix (Stephen's - we searched all over for this after our move and were so excited to finally find it at the base commisary) with the homemade marshmallows.  Oh my - yummy!  I'm not a coffee drinker so I haven't tried the pumpkin spice lattes everyone raves about - and look what I was missing!  I'm glad to have found my own personal substitute.  Any bets on how quickly we use up that bottly of pumpkin syrup? :)

Next:  pumpkin granola or pumpkin waffles...?

Cute and Cozy (31 Days: Day 6)

One of my favorite things about fall is the crisp air and the cooler temperatures.  There is just something so appealing about making yourself all cozy in your favorite jeans, sweaters and thinking about snuggling up with a good cup of hot cocoa.  And since I started crocheting on a regular basis, fun new hats (mostly for the shop) are now part of my Things I love about Fall list.  I've been having so much fun playing around with new patterns and colors.

My most popular hat is, by far, my green/teal monster hat.  So I decided to make a sister version!  I love the little stand up antennae on this one :)

And I just had to come up with some fun new striped hats.  I'm realling loving the bold bright color combinations.  I also have a new favorite flower rosette pattern - cute! 

And here is the baby boy version.  Isn't he a cutie?!  Part of the fun of coming up with new hats is that I get to talk all my friends into borrowing their adorable little ones for photo sessions.  Not only do I get to see how the hats look on real babies, but I've found that I truly love the practice photo sessions.  There is just something that has always drawn me to babies.  And to photography.

And one last baby photo!  This particular monster hat isn't brand new, but it was the first time I had a baby available for pics.  Love it!  (I gush like that the whole photo session.  The moms probably think I'm nuts.  But babies are just so dang cute!  Who can resist?)

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