First Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Yesterday was a day full of food and family but one thing was different. This year, I decided that we should host Thanksgiving.

I learned something.

The day goes by TEN TIMES faster when you're the one in charge. I'm so thankful that my family was willing to help me get things finished and on the table. I may have lost it and cried if I had had to do it single-handedly. Note to self: It was way harder than I thought it would be! Yet...I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I loved having my family over. It was the first time I was able to have both sets of parents and two different sides of my family together for a Holiday. It was a day I'll never forget.

I'm still kind of shocked that Thanksgiving is here and gone already. Where has this year gone??? I'm just glad I remembered to snap a couple of pictures of our table to have proof that the day actually happened. I was so caught up in the hustle and bustle that I didn't take any more throughout the day. Boo. ( Why did the day have to go so fast? )

For a first time host of Thanksgiving, I think I even made it look a little pretty. I got to use our new dishes, which happened to make me feel a little like a real grown up. I did still have some old pieces and some borrowed mismatched linens, but I'm proud. Baby steps!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. It's off to work for me but I'm counting down the days until we get to go cut down our Christmas tree next weekend!

The turkey day table with all the fixings. (Excuse the red solo cup...Pa!)
I'm wishing I had taken a better picture of my centerpiece.
I used some branches, pine cones, an antler and my white pumpkins
along with a couple of candles. Not bad for whipping it together last minute
(You think I had time to plan that out along with everything else? Ha!)

Let's take a closer look at that pie. Oh pumpkin, I love you.
And I love my cake plate (thanks mom!)...it works for pies too!

Hello...Goodbye...

No I'm not quoting The Beatles.

It's time to say hello to winter and goodbye to fall. And it's not even Thanksgiving yet. I hate when Thanksgiving is this late. I normally hold tight to my beliefs that Christmas decorations should wait to be seen until one holiday is finished and another begins. But this year I'm itching to get things up. So far I'm technically staying true to my own rule....there are no Santa's or stockings or Christmas tree's up yet. I only have a few appropriate things up that are more deemed "Winter" than "Christmas".

So I think that's totally acceptable. Yep...

Today (and my excuse is that it was a gorgeous day and why not take advantage, rather than putting things up in freezing cold temperatures...) I sadly took my outside fall decor down. The pumpkins were already shriveling, my straw-man was becoming frozen to his bench and all of my mums were brown (how do people keep those things alive anyways???)

Then up went the winter decor. Or the start of it. I have a few things to search for yet. It's actually kind of fun when you start a little early. I have time to get things the way I'd really like. You know....like the things one finds on Pinterest. How did we decorate before Pinterest? If you don't Pin, don't start. It's an addiction. It's worse than watching trashy reality T.V. If you are in the mood for fashion...pin. In the mood for food...pin. Decorating...pin. You get the idea.

Anyways....since winter is coming and I never got to show off some of my fall stuff, I'm going to share some of the pictures I took a couple of weeks ago when it was sunny and sweatshirt weather...oh, those were the days.

 I had the husband wait to put this up until
after my last name was officially changed.

I attempted to take a picture...

Handsome little dog

My straw-man. Best idea ever. Have a friend assist, have some wine,
create a straw-man. And laugh our butts off.

Fall colors.

I can't believe Christmas is almost here. I'll share my decor soon! What great ideas are you putting up this year for the holidays?

Sneak peek: A new pair of flannel sheets.
The bedroom is even getting a "winter"look
thanks to a whoppin' $25 at Wal-Mart.
(I hate admitting that I was there)

31 and One Day!

Happy birthday it was. I told my husband that I didn't want or need any presents this year and that I just wanted to pay my credit card off (from the "baby" dogs emergency surgery in the midst of wedding planning). However, I was given the sweetest card with a pretty thoughtful gift. Inside he put money and a note that said "for clothes only". Now if that isn't the way to a girls heart, I don't know what is!

I also made myself an incredible dessert. (Yes...I know, I made it myself. My husband is great....but a baker he will never be.) But these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip bars are worth getting up off the couch and baking for. I Googled until I found something that I had all the ingredients. I was feeling very, very, very unambitious on Sunday and now that we live in the boonies....I didn't want to go to the store. That's how lazy I was. And yet, I found the energy to whip these babies up and they were delish! Martha Stewart knows what she's talking about!

I had a short day at the bridal salon but took this incredible dessert to work to share with my coworkers. And while I mentioned to a fellow coworker that it was my birthday on Monday, I had no idea that she would bring me flowers! What an incredibly generous thing for someone to do!

My afternoon was spent working on a DIY wreath made out of book pages. This might be the most time consuming project I've taken on. I've put hours into this thing already and I'm NOT even CLOSE to half done. It better look amazing when I'm finished!

My birthday was topped off with dinner, drinks and great conversation with my husband and parents at one of our favorite local restaurants. It was a wonderful, relaxing night and with the help of my friend Dirty Shirley I accepted being another year older.

But MOST of all....

THANK YOU to all of my friends and family for their birthday wishes on Facebook. We ALL know that I am a FB junkie. And sometimes (and by sometimes I mean not very often, but once in a great while) I try my hardest to stay off it because I know all that social media cannot be good for the mind. But yesterday it made me feel like a million bucks. I had SO many people wishing me a great birthday, it was absolutely mind blowing. So THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

And for the friends that text me yesterday, you're awesome. You know how to make a girl feel loved.

I cannot believe how unbelievably happy I am. I truly hope that I can make someone smile the way you all made me smile yesterday (and still smiling today).

I am BLESSED!