30 days of thanks.

give thanks.

{and lots of it}

this month i did the 30 days of thanksgiving challenge. 

{remember this? did you join in on it?}

taking a picture {or two} of something each day that i was thankful for, 

made me feel so very blessed. 

it was a fun 'challenge', that turned out to be anything but a challenge,

because i realized i am surrounded by things i am thankful for.

the challenging part, was picking just one thing for that day. 

{that explains why i have more than 30 pictures above, ops!}

i'm thankful for:

movement, our humble abode, my missionary/brother, marriage

learning, being able to vote, a handsome husband

rainstorms, friendship, earth's colors, mowgli,

fresh flowers, all things fall, my primary kiddos, 

surprise mail {a box of chocolate}, puppy play time, school's campus,

homemade dinners, date nights, being a girl, little william,

being in love, us, holiday packages from midge,

decorating, family outings, our thanksgiving feast,

the season of fall, polka dots + stars and top knots + red lipstick.

i'm afraid to say, i think i could add a dozen more things to the list.

so happy i did this challenge; can't wait to do it again next november. 

cheers to a month of giving thanks!

xoxo

{p.s. follow along on instagram! username: eleasejane}

food coma.

obviously, i'm still in a food coma-

hence, the lack of blog posts this weekend.

that, and i was a little preoccupied by black friday

and getting our little home all decorated christmas.

thanksgiving was a success;

in fact, it goes down as 

our first thanksgiving- just the two of us.

aka: me behind the stove. scary, i know. 

lots of trust on lovebird's behalf. 

he claims it was the best thanksgiving feast he's partaken in-

we all know he's lying- but, it's his big heart that wins me over every time. 

i'm beyond thankful for him, that's for certain. 

 i suppose i'm thankful for his little white lies too-

anything to boost my lack of gourmet cooking skills. 

when i say black friday shopping,

i literally mean to one place:

the pet store.

pathetic? entirely.

new proud pet parents? exactly.

ashamed? not in the slightest. 

i'm not the biggest fan of black friday shopping;

i have never been one to spend my sleeping hours shopping instead.

i'm all for a good deal-

but, ginormous lines, body to body shopping and pure exhaustion,

 just aren't my cup of tea.

my hat is off to those of you who endure the craziness of it all! 

'tis the season.... to decorate. 

over here, due to nutcracker and finals- 

our home must be decorated on thanksgiving weekend 

or else it would never get done. 

so, amongst enjoying our last chunk of free time before christmas day,

we decided to pull out a little christmas cheer and scatter it about our home. 

all of course, while blasting christmas tunes and having 

at least three pine scented candles going at all time.

{i'm slightly obsessed with the scent and secretly wish it was available year round.}

i'm hoping your thanksgiving was delicious

and your weekend was eventful.

turkey day is already over, and christmas is just around the corner.

i plan on enjoying every day in between, because i simply love this time of year. 

cheers to food comas, decorating and time off.

xoxo

gobble.

oh, so many things.

today was lovely.

happy thanksgiving

{one last time}

christmas is already knocking at our door.

tomorrow will be spent cleaning and then decorating

for the holidays. 

i'm slightly happy lovebird will be at work all day;

i now have an excuse to craft all day, rock out to christmas music

and splurge by enjoying a nice cold diet coke.

what are you doing?

are you a black friday shopper?

as of now, i'm planning on spending the day inside.

but who knows, i might venture our for a minute. 

probably to visit lovebird on his break. 

meanwhile, anyone have a yummy treat i can bake tomorrow?

or a to-die-for christmas diy project?

i'm thankful for life, love and happiness.

and for days spent at home decorating. 

happy thanksgiving

happy thanksgiving my dear friends.

can you believe it is here? {"it" meaning the holidays.}

what a different {yet lovely} thanksgiving the two of us our having this year.

we aren't home in utah celebrating with our families.

{which, we are terribly sad about.}

however, as much as we miss them- 

we are grateful that we are stable, comfortable and happy to be here in our own little home.

we are surrounded by beautiful people; 

who make us feel as though we have the next closest thing to family.

i'm beyond grateful today for many things:

{here's my list as of today:}

the beautiful changing colors of the trees. they symbolize that god is real.

family, period. 

peppermint hot chocolate.

my healthy active body. i realize this is a rich blessing in today's world.

lovebird. in his entirety.

peanut butter. by the spoonfuls.

our little home. it's beyond cozy and truly feels like home.

my loving parents. gratitude isn't a strong enough word for them.

fall fashion. grateful for layers of colors and warmth. {scarves too- my favorite}

laughter.

my father-in-law.

the ability to dance. its a passion and way of expression.

creating memories and traditions with lovebird.

our roof over head and our bed. {including the 100 pillows on it.} 

candles. especially holiday scented ones.

the gospel. life is complete because of it.

red shoes. and red lipstick.

the glasses of ice water lovebird brings to my bed stand each night.

my brother crew. he's my best friend. 

{check out this post and this post from him.} 

perfume. oh, how i'm addicted.

hugs and compliments from unexpected people. 

adventures in unfamiliar places.

moments captured by a camera. 

phone calls regularly from my brother bret. and our relationship.

honesty.

people who say please and thank you.

desserts of all sizes, kinds, textures, and calories.

did i mention lovebird already? 

i'm thankful for the gift of life 

and all that it entails. 

i hope you all have a wonderful day full of nothing but turkey, relaxation,
friends and family and a whole lot of pumpkin pie. 

we've been celebrating this day by watching the macy's thanksgiving parade, taking a little stroll to starbucks for a pastry and a warm drink. Now we are headed to our dear friends home for a yummy and organic feast. what a lovely holiday.

be grateful

today i am thankful for these five things...

• school. i love to learn. nothing gives me a better since of accomplishment. knowledge is a quality i constantly seek to gain; simply because speaking with someone who portrays wisdom is inspiring. 
• the new pancake recipe i discovered. so delicious and healthy. lovebird devoured them. {thank you katy.} 
• sleep. never have i ever felt so busy and exhausted in my life.
• the realization that i'm getting older. believe me, this is not always a good thing. but, today for some reason, i am thankful for the opportunities that come my way due to being old growing up. 
• lotion. period. i get so dry in the cold fall and winter months. lotion is my body's oxygen right now. 

being november, i am going to post little thankful lists. it's always a good thing to count your blessings. each and every one of them. no matter how big or small. 

i double dog dear you to make your own lists.