Yet Another Little Advent

Obviously, I've got advents on the brain.  I also like this little advent that I saw today on OH HAPPY DAY.

Little muslin bags are always super charming.  I'm still working on having a pleasant holiday.  I'm thankful that this week is Thanksgiving.  The kids only have two days of school this week then we off!  Over the hill and through the woods to Grandmother's house we go!  Gram makes the best. turkey. evah.  Seriously.  She has the roaster that is a miracle cooker.  What are your plans for Thanksgiving?

Saturday Morning Cartoons

The Saturday morning cartoons have bombarded my kids.  I can home from flute rehearsal and they have a crazy long list for Santa.  They excitedly were trying to explain to me these awesome slippers that when you walk, the eyes open and close.  Luckily, the commercial came on again and they disappoint!

 Stompeez.  Pretty fancy! 

They truly are slippers with personality!  

I'm thankful for the wonder that my children feel towards Christmas.  I remember that feeling.  I tend to feel grinchy and stressed about it since I don't have a budget to work with for Christmas.  This year, I vow to regain that feeling of wonder and awe and excitement again.

Magazine Inspirations

image

I've fallen in love with this dress from jcrew after I saw it in December's Better Homes and Garden.  Can't find an image online, but she was wearing it with a skinny black patent leather belt, long beaded ball necklace, sweater tights and fun heels.  I really loved the pop of bold color for winter (that was not red) that winterized great.

It was on blogger Joslyn Taylor and her Simplicity blog that chronicles that she will end the year with less then she started out with.  The idea is to buy quality, timeless pieces that you love and can wear for at least the next five years.  This outfit came in at nearly $500.  Yee-ouch! Obviously, not in the budget for me but lovely nonetheless.

Thankful for inspiration because now that I know that I like this look, I can try to find budget pieces and use what I have to pull it together.  Looking at her blog, it's obvious that she has some money to work with.  All of her pieces are beautiful yet expensive.  I'd take each and every one of them for my wardrobe.   Does anyone know where I can get myself one of those beautiful vintage Indian dresses?

Although she can have a lot more fun making thoughtful purchases then I can, I still can do the same on a much smaller scale.  Which makes me realize that I have got to do something about that closet of mine.  It's pretty small and neglected.  Not a whole lot in there that is wearable since I did clean it out a month ago.   I need to figure out what I need but more importantly, what look I'm trying to achieve.

Thankful for Preschool

This litte guy loves preschool!  His teacher is wonderful and I hope that we can get a good start on kindergarten because of her.  Every preschool morning, he patiently awaits his ride.  He's always out the door the second he sees her driving down the road.  I love that he is so excited to go!

Today he is wearing his Dad's old bomber jacket that his Mom saved all these years.  Isn't that fun?  It is his coat of choice when his monkey coat is in the wash.

Thankful for Girls Night Out!

Tonight is our GNO and I'm super excited to see my good friends.  Some have moved away.  Some I see everyday.  But nonetheless, I'm super excited to see them all!  We're headed out for an early showing of Breaking Dawn and dinner at Iggy's.  Mmmm, chili water and bread.  They are too good!

Hope you have a great night too! 

*Update:  Honestly, the only way that I can handle Twilight movies is with my friends.  Breaking Dawn was a little laughable, but even better when in good company and fun to have my sister-in-law there too! 

Thankful for Our Neighborhood

Sometimes, I completely forget how fortunate we are to live in such a wonderful neighborhood.  We have friends  for everyone on every street! My kids have oodles of friends to play with! When we sold our first house and  looking for our second home, all I wanted was a family friendly neighborhood.  Our first home I actually liked quite a bit.  It was small but efficient.  It had a great little orchard in the backyard.  But it really, really lacked the family friends we were looking for.  Thankfully, this neighborhood made up for it with an abundance of friends not only for my kids but for us as well.

These boys love hanging out with the girls.

Two little sweeties

Red Neck Swimmin' Pool

My all time favorite picture.  Add twenty years and it could be at her wedding.

I went searching for pictures and I don't have many!  It's a goal now to make sure to take some pictures of these sweet friends.

Thankful for Easy Dinners

Oops!  I missed yesterday.  That's what happens when I get into a new book and can't stop reading then I have to rush and hurry to catch up.  Have you ever read "The Maze Runner"?  It has taken me a bit to get into it, but now I can't quit.  Days like these, I'm thankful for a quick and easy, comfort food dinner.  Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.  Yum.

cutest little grilled cheese and tomato soup for sale here

I'm almost done with the first book so maybe I'll have something more to say later!

Thankful for Art

Today, I'm thankful for the watercolor set that Gram gave li'l missy last Christmas.  It kept all three kids happy and getting along for quite a while today.  And now we have some new master pieces to add to the mix!

I'm off to toot my flute again tonight.  The holiday season keeps me busy with that.  Have a good night!

Autumn Letters

I found a post today that I had forgotten about. Since I loved my Summer letters so much, I decided to make myself a set of Autumn letters.

Unlike my September wreath that is full of color, this one lent itself to be more neutral with shades of brown, copper, and cream. Mmm...I love ribbon.

It's a toss up on my favorite paper on this.  Either it's the "M" or the "A and U".  Depends on the day,  but the "M" has had the upper hand for a while now.

I have officially decided to make them for each season but I can't help but itch to make something with richer colors for November.  Monthly words is something that I don't really want to do but somehow, it keeps creeping up in my mind.  Halloween needed "Haunted". (I guess I never shared those either.)  Christmas will want something different, why not November too?

Today, it doesn't feel much like Autumn.  I took the kids to the movie this afternoon and we came out to a huge snow storm.  Now they are enjoying the snow and I'm enjoying the warmth of my house.  That is what I'm thankful for today.

A Tip

Here's a tip for the day:

When thrifting for Christmas books to do for a Christmas countdown, it's a good idea to write a list of all the books that you have, otherwise, you'll end up with a few duplicates.

I know.  I'm giving you gold today.

I thought I would check out my stash of vintage Golden Books to see how many more books I need and that's when I realized that I had a few duplicates.  I do have a great assortment but I have to laugh at all the duplicates I have.  I've collected:

• Jingle Bells
• The Twelve Days of Christmas
• The Littlest Christmas Elf
• The Nutcracker
• Santa's Surprise Book
• Frosty the Snowman
• Santa's Toy Shop (2)
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (2)
• Twas the Night Before Christmas (4! Including a really cool book that has golden pages)

I thought I was doing great to get at least the 12 books.  Now it looks like I have a little more hunting to do! Today, I'm thankful for thrift stores that have charming vintage Golden Books for me to hunt through.  Sometimes, it's just so fun to do!

*Oh!  Happy Veteran's Day and Happy 11-11-11!  What a day!