Being Thankful

Are you feeling thankful?

via

Sometimes it is the simplest of things. A handwritten note left on your desk saying exactly what you needed to hear at that moment ... a card in the mail from a dear friend ... encouraging words spoken kindly ...

A friend dropping by at just the right moment with a sweet gift and a listening ear ...

A beautiful flower greeting you in the early morning ...

Being thankful for the littlest of things is a good place to start. My ongoing prayer is that I will be reminded more of what I do have than what I do not. 

Being thankful is good for the soul. And so is pie! Wishing you a meaningful holiday. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

An early Thanksgiving

We celebrated Thanksgiving a day early at our house so that we could all be together ... 

A dear friend dropped by with a gift of beautiful ceramic turkey napkin rings. They went perfect with our table. She bought them from a friend of hers who is a ceramic artist. She has an Etsy shop where you can see (and purchase) other treasures she has made if you are interested.

I used a gold pen to write our names on the pumpkins I had painted black. 

Everything else was pretty simple. I picked up some roses at Whole Foods while I was getting some last minute ingredients for our feast. They added just the perfect pop of color. I placed them in a new milk glass vase I found at an antique store in my daughter's small town last weekend. It was $8.00.

I wrote quotes and Bible verses on the black pots in chalk. My favorite quote was this one. So I framed it for our table. 

 I also used it for some gift tags ...

We made a couple of tarts, squash soup and a potato and brussel spout gratin to go with our turkey and the usual trimmings ...

Our menu this year was new - different from our usual foods ... and put together by my daughter who lives on the farm and myself. Everything we made was from organic ingredients and gluten free. It was fantastic! But the best treasure was just being together ... cooking, eating, and even a little dancing.

Instead of a thankful tree this year as we have done in the past, we made a paper chain filled with things we treasure that we are grateful for. We will hang the chain on our Christmas tree.

 I hope you have a wonderful day focusing on the things you treasure the most. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Holiday preparations

The holidays are upon us (or quickly approaching) and while I am still focusing on Thanksgiving, I have started getting my living room ready for Christmas. You know, dress it up a little.

I took my HomeGoods chair down to my upholsterer and had him make her a new outfit out of navy velvet. I found the pillow at a charity boutique last week. They seem happy together.

 I also finished writing on the Thanksgiving pots with chalk...

And wrote our names on the pumpkins in gold. But the best part ...

The menu is done and the shopping list is ready. I have a ton to do and staying organized helps me stay calm.

Thanks for stopping by ... I'm sure you have a ton to do as well!

Happy Monday everyone :D

Black, pumpkins and Thanksgiving preparations

I moved some of the art around in my office the other day (again) ... I could not stay happy with the way it was. Maybe it was just too much color for me. Yes, I realize it is a "sickness". 

 I broke the frame while I was trying to attach a hanger onto the back ... oops. Ironically it works with "perfectly" with the quote.

I am loving the black walls though. In fact, I am loving black everything these days. It kind of started after I helped my sister who lives up north with her house a couple of months ago and we ordered new furniture for her living room. It was all dark and sophisticated and it made me think about changing all my white to black. Yeah, that is probably not going to happen.

But I do think I am on a little black tangent.  

I will be out of town for a couple of days for the new furniture install so I am getting a head start on my Thanksgiving table. We will be celebrating a day early this year so I need as much done as possible before I leave. My daughter (who also lives up north) and I will be driving home with our farm fresh turkey.

I am not exactly sure what I am doing with the pumpkins yet ... this was one idea. I sprayed them with chalk paint and painted the stems gold. I thought I might use chalk to write on them with but I am pretty happy with the gold writing. 

I will save the chalk for the pots. My grocery list is done and the menu planned - I am never this prepared! How about you? Are you getting ready for your day of Thanks?

Hey you, thanks!

I love getting packages from Etsy ... 

 They are always packaged so nice ...

And I love the sweet little notes they include.

You just know when you open it, it is going to be exactly what you wanted.

Can you tell that I am getting ready for Thanksgiving?

I purchased the chalk pots on clearance at West Elm today ... I have a little project for my Thanksgiving table in mind. And the beautiful illustration came from here. Thank you Jolie ... I love it!

Thanks Giving

Thanksgiving is a favorite day of mine because it is about being grateful, counting your blessings and spending the day with family.

One of our family traditions is to write down what we are thankful for on little tags. (I found the free  printable for the banner and "thank you" here. I saw the banner first on Mary Ann's blog. I used leftover sheets of scrapbook paper and baker's twine for the tags.)

These are our prayers and we hang them on a "Thankful Tree". This year we hung them on a live "Christmas Tree". 

I am ready to move into the Christmas season. In fact, I decided to give out a few gifts early. It started with an idea for a hostess gift ... and then I decided to give gifts to each family on my husband's side that we spent Thanksgiving with ... just a little something to start off the Christmas season and to show my gratitude.

I am grateful we have this family to spend Thanksgiving with and I thank God for restoring what was lost for many years.

"Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!

Serve the Lord with gladness;


Come before His presence with singing.

Know that the Lord, He is God;


It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; 

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,


And into His courts with praise.


Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. 

For the Lord is good;
 His mercy is everlasting, 

And His truth endures to all generations." - Psalm 100