thanksliving

I promise you this post will consist of decor for Thanksgiving.

I also promise that I will put heartfelt, reflective, and sincere thoughts in this post.

I hope you enjoy, particularly the latter.

Do you have your Christmas decor up yet?  A tree, maybe?  Or perhaps you have capitalized on the last bit of Fall weather and put your Christmas lights on your roof?  I don't blame you, or shame you.  The planner in me has tried to convince myself that it would be okay to start decorating a little early.  "The holidays are already so busy"  "It doesn't hurt to get started now"  "Christmas will be here before you know it".  I have tried very hard to hush this voice.  This is the voice that will talk so loudly it will drown out my grateful heart.

So I told you that I love Halloween.  And this is true, I really do.  But Thanksgiving is also one of my favorite holidays.  Do you know why?  It is not because of the turkey, or any other food I eat too much of.  It is because no matter how old you are, what religion you believe in (or don't believe in), what political party you support, or what color your skin is... we all have something we can be thankful for. 

I'm going to get a bit religious for a minute, if that offends you, skip on ahead :)

One of the most powerful quotes I have ever heard was:

"What if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday"

There are a whole lot of days I would wake up with a bunch of nothing.  And you know what, it is because I do not always take the time to STOP and think about what I am truly thankful for.

Some women at my office started a weekly bible study a few years ago.  I make an effort to attend each week, but my schedule does not always permit.  This week I was able to attend and I am so happy because we talked about Thanksgiving - thanksliving.  The idea that we should live our lives, each day, with a grateful and thankful heart.  Thanksgiving comes around once a year, but we enjoy blessings each and every day.  This is why I love this holiday, because it is a nice reminder of the way we should live our lives year round.

So please, even if for just a fleeting moment, stop all the noise and think about the things you are grateful for.  Enjoy your time with family and friends, no matter how stressful it may be.  Take pleasure in sharing a meal together, even if you hate the way so-and-so makes (insert traditional side dish here).  Laugh.  Play games.  Look at old photos.  Put down your cell phone.  Be thankful.


Alright, I promised you photos... 

I don't put out nearly as much decor for Thanksgiving as I do for Christmas and Halloween.  It is a kind of a nice break between the two, lightens everything up a little bit before the house is full of Christmas-time-galore.

The main theme with my Thanksgiving decor is fall-type things (pumpkins, owls, etc.) and texture.  I feel like Christmas is consumed with glitter and twinkling lights and shiny things.  I really wanted to bring in some different textures before the glitter-takeover.

And of course, my fall wreath has to make an appearance!

  

New this year...

And my set of wood block pumpkins (available for purchase on my Etsy shop)

And finally, this cute little guy we found at the dollar store

What kinds of decor do you like to put out for Thanksgiving?  What are you thankful for?  Sound off in the comments below!

halloween party 2014

If you haven't already caught on, my husband and I love Halloween.

Not kidding, the last two years we took off the day after Halloween (also known as November 1st) so we could go Halloween-clearance-shopping.

Before we even bought our house, we had already decided that we would throw an annual Halloween party.  This is our third year, and it keeps getting better and better!

After throwing parties, you start to figure some things out.  These are a few of the lessons we have learned:

• Most people will show up 30-60 minutes after the party "officially" starts
• There will be at least one person who shows up on time, or *gasp* early.  Be (mostly) prepared for guests to be at your house when the party "officially" starts (read: don't be in your bathrobe)
• When it comes to alcohol, most people will bring their own.  At first, we would buy tons of beer and such for the party (trying to be good hosts), and end up with more beer leftover than what we started with
• People will leave their leftover alcohol behind.  Be prepared to give it away to friends and neighbors if you won't consume it
• Guests like to have snacks, but unless they are there at meal-time, they will not want heavy food.  We usually stick with finger-foods and snack items that can stay out for a while and not have to be kept hot/cold

Check out some of the additional decorating we do and the snacks we put out!

Each year I try to do a little bit of a different spread.  Some things are repeats because they are requested by others.  New this year: chocolate covered pretzels that look like bones and a cheese ball that looks like a pumpkin!

Find a similar recipe here for this pumpkin cheese ball

I like this post here for a quick recipe to make these pretty convincing "bones" ;)

The first year we had the party I ventured out and made pudding shots, which I had only heard about on Pinterest but never made before.  They were phenomenal.  Everyone really enjoyed them.  So I make them every year now.  They are like little tiny ice cream cups of magical goodness.  There are plenty of recipe combinations online.  Here are a few of my favorites:

• orange creamsicle - vanilla pudding + orange vodka  (or orange pudding + vanilla vodka)
• thin mint - chocolate pudding + mint liqueur 
• root beer float - vanilla pudding + root beer vodka
• pumpkin pie - pumpkin pudding (if you can find it!) + whipped cream vodka

Hope you all had an awesome Halloween!!  What were your favorite decorations or snacks at the parties you attended?

homemade applesauce

I've never been much of a cook.  It's not that I don't like to cook.  I am just not very adventurous when it comes to food, and I'm picky.  So, when my husband and I moved in together, he took over about 80% of the cooking.  He is always encouraging me to make things from scratch.  I am usually pretty reluctant because the recipe seems 'hard" or "a lot of work".  So last year after we went apple picking he suggested I make homemade applesauce.  I figured, well, I might as well try to since we have bags of apples to use up.  Let me tell you, it is so easy.  I am super glad he encouraged me to make it!  I look forward to apple picking and making applesauce each Fall now :)

There are tons of recipes for applesauce, but they are all pretty much the same.  This will be more of a step-by-step tutorial, and you can use whatever ingredients you like.

Before we get going, I have to admit that modern technology helps me greatly during my applesauce-making.  We received a Pampered Chef apple peeler/corer/slicer as a wedding gift.  If it wasn't for that thing, I am almost certain I would not be making applesauce.  It does all of the work for you, and quickly too!

Ok, so take your family or friends or significant other or dog (or anyone else that might be fun) and go the apple orchard.  Pick some beautiful apples, go on a hayride and blow up your friends' Instagram feed.  When you get home, make sure to wash all of the apples, as sometimes there is *eh-hmm* droppings and such on them.

Once you have all of the fruit washed, you can begin peeling, coring and slicing.  If you don't have a fancy doo-hickey that does the work for you, I am certain there are youtube videos covering various methods for hand-peeling.

I recommend putting a cutting board underneath your workspace, the apples tend to be messy.  About 7 apples in, I pulled back the tablecloth and actually put a kitchen towel underneath the cutting board - the apple juice was getting everywhere!

Once you are finished peeling all of the apples, you will get a big bowl of apples ready-to-cook and a big bowl of scraps.  While I was peeling the apples, my husband was reading all of these recipes for things you can do with apple peels (make tea, potpourri, etc.).  I decided to compost them (the other recipes sounded hard....)

Depending on how many apples you have, you may need a very large stockpot.  I should have used a larger one, but we didn't have one, so I just had overflowing apples!

From there, you add some water and whatever sugar and spices you want to use.  I recommend brown sugar over white.  I used a lot of cinnamon and a little bit of pumpkin pie spice - it adds a little spice and zing that you don't get from the cinnamon.

I should have mentioned before, but applesauce takes several hours to cook.  The more apples you have, the longer it takes.  I think this batch took 5 or 6 hours.  You don't need to be standing in front of the stove the entire time, but you should definitely be at home and keeping an eye on it.  Making applesauce is a great activity to pair with watching your plants grow, finding your lost socks, or a Netflix marathon.

Basically, you keep the applesauce at a simmer.  Occasionally give it a stir and taste test, add sugar and spices as you feel necessary.  The more you stir your applesauce, the smoother it will get.  Some people mash theirs with a masher, but this seems unnecessary to me as the applesauce has a nice consistency and texture by the time all of the water and juice is cooked out.

And that is what it looks like when it is done (and you have canned six jars of it and forgot to take a picture before you started canning...).  We ended up with 9 jars of applesauce.  You don't have to put it in jars; we like to because pretty much I am the only one who eats it and I don't want it to go bad.

So that's it, really.  Pretty simple stuff.  And it makes a great side dish for Thanksgiving, plus then you don't have to worry about getting to the store when all the crazies are there!

What is your favorite thing to make from scratch?  Let me know in the comments below!

halloween home tour

We finally have our house pretty much ready for Halloween!  October is proving to be a very busy month for us, we both are traveling for work and we have a little vacation planned in between.  So, we started a little early this year with our Halloween decorations, but of course we don't mind that at all :)

We decorate throughout the main living areas of our house, and the outside as well.  We have orange lights we put on the roof along with a myriad of other decorations.  It makes me laugh sometimes, the way we decorate for Halloween... it is similar to the costume choices my husband and I make.  I like decorations that are fun and cute and festive.  My husband likes decorations that are gross and bloody and half dead.  So, we have a weird little mix of both.  I left some of "his" decorations out of the photo tour... just know that they are there.  (Our newest addition to decorations this year: a fake dead deer tied up like a dog on our roof... "boys will be boys")

Many of the decorations we have we inherited from my in-laws.  When Brandon lived at home, he was the one who got excited about decorating for Halloween.  When he moved out, his parents figured the decorations would get more use at our house than theirs.  Each year we usually purchase a few new things here and there.  Of course, a few of the items I have crafted myself.  When you put it all together, I think it is a nice mix.

Follow my tutorial to make your own "eek" Halloween frame

I made this monogram pumpkin with puff paint, very easy way to add a little personalization to your decor

You can purchase this set of wood block pumpkins over at my Etsy shop

This would be one of my husband's ideas...  first thing you see when you walk in the door!  The cats love to play with the foot too...

Check out my tutorial for this mesh wreath here

Well, there you have it!  We still have a few things left to do... put up the cornstalks onto the porch columns, carve pumpkins, etc.  I also have a few pieces I put out only for our Halloween party like a "trick-or-treat" banner and a cauldron that fills will fog.

Decorations came from various places, but just to name a few:  Michael's, Hobby Lobby, Gordman's, Pier 1, Spirit Halloween stores, Target

What kind of decorations do you like to put up for Halloween, scary or festive?

diy: halloween mesh wreath

If you have been on Pinterest or visited any craft or home decor store, I am certain you have seen a mesh wreath.  For whatever reason, this style is insanely popular right now.  Perhaps it is because the material is inexpensive, or because they are pretty easy to make.  Whatever the case, I felt like I needed to jump on board and give you a tutorial so you can make one of your own!

When you type in "diy mesh wreath tutorial" on Google, you get 688,000 results.  Whoa.  The one I used to get started is here.  She does a really nice job of explaining each step and has tons of photos so you can follow along.  I will go through the basics here, but if you need more details definitely check out the other tutorial.

Basic Mesh Wreath Supplies:
Wire wreath frame (whichever size you choose)
Mesh material (found in the floral dept.)
20+ pipe cleaners (to match the mesh color)

As it turns out, these are really simple to make.  It also turns out, there are several ways to make them.  My stepmom and I were each making a wreath (you will see a little corner of her orange wreath in some of the photos).  She found one tutorial that she liked while I found a different one.  We each made our wreaths according to the tutorials, and each one used a different method.  At the end of the day, I don't think you can tell the difference.  Whichever way makes most sense to you will work!

There are essentially two methods (or maybe more that we haven't discovered!): the "one ring at a time" method and the "inside-outside" method.  You can either go all the way around the inside of the frame, then all the way around the outside of the frame.  Or, you can alternate, one poof inside, one poof outside.  I stuck with the "one ring at a time" method.

First, you wrap one pipe cleaner for the inside wire and one for the outside wire in each section.

Then, you start making your "poofs", as I call them.  Sort of bundle the end of the mesh and wrap a pipe cleaner around it to secure it.  Then you let out some of the mesh, pinch it together and wrap the next pipe cleaner around.  The bigger the poof, the more mesh you let out.  You will have pipe cleaners sticking out everywhere for the first part of this project.

Here is what my wreath looked like after just the inside was completed:

Try to make all of the poofs approximately the same size.  If you secure the poof with the pipe cleaner, then realize it is too small or too big, you can gently pull on the fabric to adjust the size before moving onto the next poof.

Once you have completed the entire inner ring, you can move onto the outer ring.  Your first poof will be sort of stretched diagonally across the frame like this:

Then, you continue the same way around the wreath until the entire frame is covered.

Now, after going around both the inner and the outer rings, I still had a lot of leftover mesh and was worried you would be able to see the wire frame through the mesh, so I decided to add a third layer to the middle ring.  I was very happy with the way it turned out, so if you have extra mesh fabric you may want to do the same.  My wire frame was one of the smaller sizes (14" maybe?), so if you choose a larger size frame you will probably have just enough mesh for two layers, not three.

This is what the wreath looked like with all three layers secured:

This next step is optional...

If you want to add a second color of mesh, or a ribbon throughout the entire wreath, this is the time to do that.  You can keep using the pipe cleaners that you have already attached for the mesh fabric.  I decided to add some bright green mesh ribbon.

Once you have the mesh and ribbon secured, you need to hide your pipe cleaners.  Flip the wreath over and just twist the pipe cleaners to a small bundle, while attaching them to the wire frame.

Now you are ready to add embellishments to the wreath!

Great places to find embellishments are the craft store, the floral store and the dollar store.  Sometimes even the One Spot at Target has some nice embellishments.  The trick is to get them on sale, or get very inexpensive items.  It is easy to purchase 10+ items, and if you are spending $3-5 for each one, that can add up quickly!

Here are the embellishments* I purchased:

Make sure to look in the everyday sections as well as other seasonal sections.  I found some of these items in the Christmas floral section, although you wouldn't be able to tell!  Some tips when looking for your embellishments:

1. Color theme.  Choose 2-3 accent colors to work with.  If you have too many colors it will be hard to see the overall theme.
2. Variety.  You want pieces with different sizes, shapes and textures.  If you choose something small, like mini ornaments, offset them with something larger (I chose the black roses).  One of my favorite embellishments I used was the black feathers.  Although from far away they blend in with the black mesh, up close it is a nice detail and varied texture from the mesh fabric.
3. Focal Point.  Not everything needs to grabbing for attention.  Some details are smaller, more subtle, but still add to the overall look of the wreath.  Choose one item as the main focal point (I chose the "trick or treat" witches legs sign).  Then choose a few other spots to add smaller, less noticeable accents.  If everything is trying to be the focal point, it will be visually overwhelming.

I used hot glue or wire to attach all of my embellishments.  Depending on the size and weight of your add-ons, you may need to find a more sturdy way to attach them.

And here is the finished result!

I was really happy with how this wreath turned out!  I was not that excited about some of the mesh wreaths I had seen in retail stores.  When my stepmom asked if I wanted to make one with her, I was a little reluctant to agree.  I think I like this so much because the feathers break up the mesh, and there are several other elements that allow the mesh to really just fade into the background.

*I ended up having too many embellishments... it is hard to gauge how everything will look together and how full the wreath will look.  As you work, keep assessing the wreath from about 6-8 feet away before adding more extras.  Save your receipts so that you can return any unused items.

Have any other tips or tricks for making a mesh wreath?  Comment below!