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

from me to you: a challenge and a craft.

{easy instructions on how to make this, below!}

let's give thanks.

shall we?

'tis the season to be thankful, right?

so.... i have a little challenge for you:

i will be posting a picture on instagram, of something 

i'm thankful for, each day of this month.

username: eleasejane 

i want you to join in on the fun. 

under each picture, include the hash tag: #30daysofthanksgiving

{that's: 30 days of thanksgiving}

next: make certain to visit my instagram profile, 

and leave a comment on one of my picture;

this will direct me to your instagram profile, so i can follow you

and see all of your creative thankful pictures, of course. 

i'm a firm believer that one can never be too thankful.

be grateful, always.

it will never hurt you; it will only make you realize your infinite blessings. 

i'm excited to see your 30 days of thanksgiving.

ready, set... go! 

xoxo

p.s. want to make the frame above?

1. simply find or buy a picture frame you adore. any size, shape or age. 

2. spray paint or paint it a fun color. {or if you wish, leave it plain.}

3. spray paint or paint the piece of glass with chalkboard paint.

4. ta da! you have a lovely, useful and fun piece of "art" on your wall.

picture this:

it seems as though pictures may have a better explanation of 

our lovely thanksgiving weekend than words do.

from top to bottom:

our new favorite pancakes for dinner.

little baby graham tibbs. his cuteness is to die for.

fall cleaning! changing out my summer clothes to fall clothes. 

macy's thanksgiving day parade. santa being the best part.

thanksgiving dinner table at jolene's.

pulling out the christmas tree! time for decorating.

a gift of thanks.

lovebirds on thanksgiving.

so, there you have it.

our weekend was a busy but lovely one. 

{lovebird was working for most of it. including a 12 hour shift on black friday. yuck}

 it was packed full of food, a baptism, christmas decorating, a photo shoot, 

black friday shopping, visiting the tibbs and their baby, more food, studying for a test,

hanging out with friends who we rarely see, church, sleep, and...

did i mention food?

november is nearly over. december is here on thursday.

i'm excited for the holidays and christmas cheer to fill the air. 

until then, happy november.

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.

time for thanksgiving

i'm a little behind on sharing these goodies from the weekend.

but... better late than never, right?

pictures above:

1. november 11, 2011. in other words, 11-11-11.

{p.s. i made certain to make the wish of a lifetime}

2. lovebird and i. after our date on saturday night. what a lovely evening. 

just spending time together, which is more special to me than anything at the moment.

3. our yummy salad for dinner. 

why do i find food so fun to photograph? 

4. malachi and isaiah: quite possibly my favorite little boys.

enjoying kalea's soccer game early saturday morning. 

we just love that family to pieces.

the week is already cruising by. it's tuesday.

time seems to be escaping, rather than flying by.

lovebird just said last night, "i can't believe thanksgiving is next week".

doesn't it feel like halloween was yesterday?

christmas will be here before we know it.

which reminds me...

i'm already gathering ideas, brain storming and planning on how to decorate.

thanks to pinterest, the options are endless.

my problem: not having enough time, having self control to not spend a bajillion dollars

just in crafts, oh and my home is too little for all that i have in mind. 

but, and it's a big but, let's get back to thanksgiving!

it's one of my favorite holidays. 

i adore it, because i feel as though the focus is being with family.

nothing is quite as awesome as sitting around a table with delicious food, intimate company,

a heart of gratitude and pumpkin pie. 

oh, and let's not forget stuffing. 

arguably my favorite part of the thanksgiving feast.

and one of the best things about marrying  lovebird...

he hates stuffing. which only means i get his portion too. 

bring on the love, time with family and the pounds.

i'm ready for you, thanksgiving.