enJOY it

our thanksgiving.

November 26, 2012

We had such a nice holiday weekend. Per usual, I didn't get to spend much time with my camera in hand, but I do have a few photos to share.

This Thanksgiving didn't have the stress that came with hosting two years ago. Maybe because we had done it before? Maybe because it felt like we had the extra space this time around? Maybe because this year we had regular TV so folks could watch football? Not sure, but either way it was relaxing and simple. My favorite.

And now I am so ready for Christmas. It feels like we get a bonus week because Thanksgiving was so early. I am truly wanting for nothing this holiday season (and trying to get Paul excited about skipping the gift exchange this year) and so I am looking forward to just decorating our house, drinking hot apple cider, listening to Christmas music, working on my holiday book and finishing my last quilt. I feel a crafty season coming on and I am so thrilled to ride the wave.

Have a great week.
preparing for thanksgiving.

November 21, 2012

Happy Wednesday.

Our families are coming into town tonight and tomorrow morning to celebrate Thanksgiving. I am so thrilled that we get to host this year and will be signing off the Internet (except my beloved Instagram) for the next few days to prepare and then enjoy my favorite holiday. On my to-do list today : make a cheesecake, set the table and bar & clean the bathrooms entire house.

I am thankful this year that Paul is home safe from Afghanistan. I am thankful that we live in a townhouse we love with enough space to seat eight comfortably around the table. I am thankful for our parents and siblings who are making the drive to fill our table. I am thankful for the opportunities I have been blessed with this past year and for how good 2012 has been to our tiny family. I am thankful for this space that waits patiently for me to fill it up with thoughts and photos and stories and craft projects each day.

If you're celebrating, have a wonderful Thanksgiving. And if not, I wish you a wonderful four days to hopefully take things slow.

anticipating product questions… tablecloth, trophy vase & gold triangle candle holders from Target, clear taper candle holders from CB2, wooden candleholders from Peg & Awl, fantastic cream tapers from Trader Joes ($2.99 for 8!)
2013 photo calendar.

November 20, 2012

I about fell out of my chair when I saw Liz Kartchner's poster calendar a few weeks ago. THIS was surely the calendar I needed for 2013 (in addition to my Stendig, vegetable garden & moleskin color a month planners).

It's a download from Paislee Press and all you have to do is drop in your photos (I used PSE) and print (I used Persnickety Prints for the great 16×20 size). I had much more fun than I should have picking photos to represent each month. I wanted them to appropriately fit with the season but not be TOO theme-y (hence no pumpkin or Christmas tree photos). I also wanted it to be gender neutral so Paul would like it too. (I may print one slightly smaller and laminate it for him to take on deployment.)

About half the images were from my iPhone and the other were from my big camera. I love the mix and the layout and am so excited to bring some of my favorite memories from 2012 with us into 2013. I know this is going to be a yearly tradition (maybe I'll just keep them in frames forever…).
a mile a day.

November 19, 2012
Last year, I ran a mile every day from Thanksgiving until New Years. You can read about it here. This was challenging adventure and something I am planning on undertaking again this year.

The biggest thing to note before you start is that this is hard. The first two days or so are fun. Maybe even the third day. By day five you're kicking yourself (except not really because your legs hurt). What I found more interesting about the challenge was how different I felt about it each day. Some days I loved running. Some days I hated it. But because I refused to give myself an out, it didn't matter how I felt. I had to run anyway. It was a good experience because I was pretty no-excuses about the whole thing.

Perhaps the best part though was how good I felt on January 1st. It's not like I dropped a bunch of weight over those six weeks. It's not like I gained a ton of muscle. But I got outside and moved around every day and I felt like I was able to start 2012 with a clear head and an established habit for being active. My schedule has been all over the place this fall, and so I am looking forward to getting a similar feeling at the start of next year.

So consider this your invitation. It's not fancy and it's not formal. Just sign up for the challenge mentally and embrace it fully. (Or pick a different staying active challenge that works better for your body and your own schedule.) I will be documenting my progress on Instagram again this season with the hashtag #mileaday. Taking those photos of my feet in different spots was probably the most fun part of the whole thing, so it makes sense (for me) to do it that way again. Please feel free to use the hashtag and document it the same way if that works for you.

Happy running.

Other posts you might enjoy:
project life : week 46.

November 18, 2012

Week 46 and I still love this project.

(click photos above to enlarge for a [somewhat] clearer image.)

Caught up again… I know these next few weeks are going to FLY with the holidays and I don’t want to spend a second of 2013 documenting 2012 (I’m too excited to move forward with the next album) so I am determined to stay on track for the final 40 days or so.

Becky sent me samples of the 12×12 papers of Seafoam. I’ve got to say, it was pretty awesome to see them in real life. Because that was such a big deal and I didn’t have many photos from last week anyway, I decided to just cut down my favorite paper from the pack to fill all eight pockets. Obviously, this isn’t the best use of 12×12 paper, but for me, it worked well this week. I’ve been getting questions about the kit launch date on Amazon and the only current info I have is mid-December. I promise when I know, I’ll keep you updated here.

I added a little sticker to one of the pockets to give it some context.

Included an insert this week with the text from my rambling post. I resized the text to 5×11 in PSE and then trimmed down and sewed closed an 8.5×11 page protector to fit it.

I didn’t have any relevant photos to go with it so the backside is a piece of patterned paper and diecut from Amy Tangerine.

Like I said, not a ton of photos this week, so the right is pretty random. I hit my business financial goal for 2012 this weekend so I tucked my big highlighted thermometer (that sort of stuff motivates me) that’s been on my bulletin board for the last quarter into a pocket. It’s blurred, because I don’t usually go into numbers on the blog. 😉 Love that “important details” journaling spot from Elle’s Studio.

That kraft herringbone paper is also from the Seafoam paper pack. Love that big design & kraft color more than I thought I would. I messed up the date around the photo – that should be 11/17, but what can you do?

Bring on Thanksgiving week….

supplies / Paper Source
circle labels, Elle’s Studio “important details” diecut, Banana Fish Studio folded tab, Studio Calico girl paper clip, American Crafts (diagonal lines) and Amy Tangerine (black sketch) patterned paper, Amy Tangerine die cuts (LOVE and &), Martha Stewart & Avery labels, Office Depot date stamp & arrow paper clip, Design A page protectors, Clementine core kit, soon to be released Seafoam patterned paper, Bebas quote font. I use a Fiskars corner rounder (it’s not amazing, but it’s lasted the longest of any corner rounder I’ve ever had). I am using a Zig Millennium 0.1 pen and Recollections glossy marker throughout this album.

Confused by Project Life? Start here. Have a question about how I am tackling this project each week (including questions about the quotes & photo printing)? Check here. See all my Project Life posts here.
project life : week 45.

November 17, 2012

Week 45 and I still love this project.

(click photo above to enlarge for a [somewhat] clearer image.)

It's about 100 times harder to come up with stuff to write for these update blog posts than it is to actually complete the spreads each week. Keep that in mind, you folks on the fence about starting Project Life. 😉

I voted! It got cold! Daylight savings makes me bummed out. I wrapped Freckled Fawn washi tape around paper to make a card for my "I VOTED" sticker.

I love that "Today's Highlight" badge from Evalicious. Not sure if the highlight was the tea, the start shirt OR the multiple craft projects visible in that photo.

Hexagon paper is from the new Seafoam kit. I'll share how I used a GIANT sample piece of paper in my update for week 46.

Hooray for labels and writing on photo "white" space.

supplies / Paper Source
circle labels, Freckled Fawn washi tape, Evalicious badge, Martha Stewart & Avery labels, Office Depot date stamp & arrow paper clip, Design A page protectors, Clementine core kit, Soon to be released Seafoam patterned paper, Bebas quote font. I use a Fiskars corner rounder (it's not amazing, but it's lasted the longest of any corner rounder I've ever had). I am using a Zig Millennium 0.1 pen and Recollections glossy marker throughout this album.

Confused by Project Life? Start here. Have a question about how I am tackling this project each week (including questions about the quotes & photo printing)? Check here. See all my Project Life posts here.
it’s been awhile since I rambled…

November 16, 2012

I have felt a bit out of sorts the last few weeks. Paul's been out of town training and I have to say, it's been difficult.

I mean, two weeks is just two weeks. No big deal. But the hard part is knowing what the two weeks represent – "practice" for another seven month deployment early next year. It should go without saying that I am not looking forward to it. This time around, I know what to expect. I know there will be days where I flourish and days when I hit a wall. I know there will be times when I crave Paul. When I physically hurt from missing him. And other days where thankfully, the minutes appear to be flying.

Since Paul's been gone on this training adventure, we've been able to talk every night for a few minutes. Yes, it's fantastic to hear his voice and so nice to get updates, but it's also been so hard. This part of deployment, how difficult it was to have real conversations over bad phone connections, is incredibly hard to remember. It's so easy to touch base at night and look back at the past day and sum it all up with, "It was good." or "I'm fine." even when really, such a simple statement never represents a full day.

Last week, I dealt with some complex business stuff. It's something I'll never go into on the blog, but something I would have loved to have been able to discuss face to face with Paul. Even though I know the end result would be the same, it would have been unbelievably helpful to see him and have him hear me in real time to offer insight.

And this week, I got some truly awful "news" about something that happened 19 years ago. That sounds so bizarre and soap-opera-y, I know, but man, when I heard it, time stopped for a second. I am so anxious to get Paul home, sit with him on the couch and share this story and in some ways begin to grieve. Both of these events have reminded me how hard it can be to break through the fluff and small talk when you are so far away and dealing with such different circumstances than your partner.

I guess this is just to say I struggled these past two weeks. Mostly feeling gloomy about facing the same thing again for so long. I know we are lucky we get to talk so often while he's deployed. I know we are lucky we will most likely have access to video chat. And I know I'll continue to pour my heart and all my thoughts into hand-written letters and email. But it's so far from the same. It's so far from in-person. It's so far from normal to have your favorite person on the other side of the world. And some days it's just horrible. Certainly not the worst case scenario – or even close – but still immensely difficult.

I know I have to take it one day at a time. I have to remember that these past nine months we have spent together have felt infinitely longer than the seven we spent apart (how cool is that?). I have to be (and I am!) grateful that Paul is going to be home for Thanksgiving and that our house will be full. I have to cherish each second of the rest of November and then the holiday season. I have to kiss Paul long and hard when the clock turns to midnight on 2013 to make up for spending last new year's eve apart and to celebrate starting a new calendar side-by-side. I have to spend time talking to him, face to face, not face to face to TV. I have to really enjoy the days and nights that we are blessed to be together.

I suppose that is the good thing that came out of these last two weeks – I am filled with joy that this weekend I'll get my husband back and I have the opportunity to really dive headfirst into us.

EDIT : Thank you, friends, for your sweet comments on this post and every post. Paul was able to get home last night (unexpectedly early!) and it's such a joy to have him back. We so appreciate your support. And cheers to the other military folks and people who are separated from their loved ones this week. xo.
thursday thankful.

November 15, 2012

I am posting a photo to instagram of something I am thankful for every day of November. I'm sharing the photos here once a week on Thursdays. It's been a fun (super easy!) challenge. You can play along with the hashtag #thirtydaysofthanksgiving.

Happy early Thanksgiving.
i love november.

November 14, 2012

gap polka dot dress, west elm candle holders, victoria bekerman gold earrings, ugmonk ampersand henley, ann-marie loves paper phrase pencils, martha stewart DIY cork coasters.

I'm pretty sure I link to an ampersand item every month in these round-ups. I can't help it. If shops keep making them, I will surely keep finding them. And loving them. I've done pretty good recently on curbing my spending, so except for those coasters, consider all of these items on my Christmas wish-list. 😉
super simple knitted cowl.

November 13, 2012

I am incredibly picky about scarves. Color, texture, weight, wrap-a-bility, poofiness-factor… all of it matters very much. And although I have knit a few for myself, this is sadly the first scarf or cowl I have made that I think has any real life in it (meaning I'll wear it for more than a week or before loosing interest or passing it on).

I used almost two skeins of 100% wool from Michael's. Brand shown above. And size 7 (4.5 mm) 29inch circular needles. I cast on 74 stitches with two strands of the same color yarn (I just used one strand from each of the skeins). I am not sure if using two strands made it go faster, feel thicker or look better, but that's what I decided to go with and I am happy I did.

Then I joined the ends and started knitting. I only know how to do the knit stitch, or the garter stitch, but when knitted in the round it looks like what I (a knitting novice) consider "normal" stitches on one side and fantastic little "V" shapes on the other.

I like my cowls to be "tall" and come up high on my neck so I knitted 59 rows. I didn't count in the process, just worked on it until it felt right. (I was able to slip it around my neck as I was working to see how big it was getting.) Once I was happy with it, I cast off that last row.

I am currently working on the exact same pattern in a pretty "plum" color for a girlfriend of mine. Then my mom has requested a tan one. And if I have not officially given up on knitting after that, I am going to make one more – a striped one with that lime and tan yarn from the second photo. Michael's has all their yarn on sale this week and I figured it was a great opportunity to stock up…

If you are familiar with circular knitting, this "pattern" is probably much too easy, but if you are not, I have linked to youtube.com videos throughout this post. My grandma taught me how to knit (at Thanksgiving!) when I was nine, but these are some of the videos I watched to learn how to knit in the round. Hope they help!