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 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?

waiting for fall

YOU GUYS!!
My sister will curse my name for publishing this, but I CANNOT WAIT UNTIL FALL! I was at the craft store yesterday and they had all of the Fall supplies and decor out. I love fall. I mean, it is almost a little crazy how much I love it. If we could skip summer (or at least most of it) and just have two seasons of fall, I would be one happy girl. Summer isn't great to me... I've mentioned the humidity, and also that I just don't really tan. Which means I don't love being in the sun, which is essentially the essence of summer...

I've put together this little collage of the main reasons I love fall. This post would be entirely too long if I truly listed them all...

When it gets closer to Fall (read: not the first week of August) I will swap out of my summer decor for Fall and Halloween decor and will most definitely post photos of that. We have almost as much Halloween/Fall decorations as Christmas. My husband and I both love Halloween, and each year we throw a Halloween party. Look for more info on that in future posts...

Let's take a look as some of my favorites pins from my { fall + halloween } Pinterest board:

I love anything with gems!

Beautiful tablescape

Festive front porch

Simple and pretty - lasts all season long

Warm and inviting entryway

I hope this provides you some inspiration for the season to come, and if you love summer, enjoy it while it lasts!