Twinkling...

{please excuse the blurriness of our tree. I really just wanted to get across
this reflection in the window.}

I have just realized {as in, realized last night} that I love the reflection of Christmas lights in my window almost as much as I love looking them straight on. 

It is so cozy.

And inviting.

And festive.

And glowing.

Glowing? Anyway, I just love it!

Loving The Long Weekend

Well, what a wonderful weekend we have had. Actually, my weekend started on Wednesday which was an extra added bonus! A quick recap of Thanksgiving--success. Everything turned out wonderfully, the food was delicious and family-time was great.

Ready to go in the oven

The appetizer table {with a beautiful, snowy background!}

The table all set

Hub enjoying some Thanksgiving football games

Let the feast begin!

Yum!

In poor blogger fashion, I did not get a picture of each individual dish. I really wanted a picture of the green bean casserole and the creamed leeks. The creamed leeks were a huge hit, I would highly recommend them and I will be making them again! My great-grandma made a walnut pie that was exactly like pecan just made with walnuts and it really does give it a different flavor and is delicious!

Let me tell you, Thursday night was an early night for me after being up early and in the kitchen all day! My husband is such a great help and we work so well together as a team on these days! Thanks, honey!

We decided Friday not to get up early and head to the stores because we weren't really looking for anything in particular. We had a lazy morning and then before I knew it, Hub was bringing in the Christmas decor and we transformed the casa into Christmas season! He even made sure we had Christmas music playing. We then got some online Christmas shopping done and then headed to the little town where my mom has a home decor store and walked around for a bit to see the lights and Christmas decorations. We picked up a few White Elephant gifts for some get-togethers we have coming up and then headed to a friend's house for some games.

Saturday, we got a another slow start in the morning after talking to the Texas Riemers and then headed to Lowe's to check out their After-Thanksgiving sales. We actually refrained from spending any money, got some ideas {as we always do there}, some hints for some future DIY projects and then headed to the grocery store and home. {I know, you're probably wondering what in the world we could have needed at the grocery store with a fridge full of leftovers. Barley. For my turkey soup!} Another game night, another lazy morning and this weekend has shaped up to be restful and recharging for our upcoming busy weekends! Hope you all got to do the same! What were your successful recipes? What was your favorite moment of the weekend?

Giving Thanks

I know I posted a "Thankful Thursday" a couple of weeks ago but really, around this time of year {and all year 'round for that matter} can we ever really be too thankful? No! So I would like to make another list. During these past few days we have had a bit of a cold front in our area. Cold front for us=temperatures in the teens. Brrr! Yes it is cold, but I have a warm house to come home to, plenty of warms clothes to bundle up in and food to fill my belly. My mind couldn't help but wander to those less fortunate. Those that do not have the luxuries that I have and who have been freezing these past few nights.

I am thankful for...

...this man. He loves me unconditionally, without fail and in our good times and bad. He is my rock, my light and my happiness.

...my family. They love me and support me no matter what.



...this family. {what does the term "in-laws" mean?}



...this house I call home. It provides me with warmth, love and happiness.



...these two. My best and my godson. {love}



...this girl. Love her.

I am also so thankful for my grandparents and that I have a great-grandmother that I know. I have so many special friends to be thankful that are really like family. I am thankful to have two jobs that I enjoy. After a glimpse into my life, you can see I have so much to be thankful for. My heart goes out to those in need and I try to never take my life for granted {I am not without imperfection}. Tomorrow my husband and I will be preparing a meal for our family out of love and thankfulness and won't forget to count our many blessings.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Winter Wonderland...

...In November!

Happy Thanksgiving Week!

There is nothing like the first snow of the year!

Changin' it Up

I used to be afraid of paint. Can you believe it?! Acting like it was permanent, could never be changed, agonize over picking the perfect color, etc. Now I am convinced that there is no better answer to change the look of something than ... paint!

It's probably been about a year since we bought some furniture from a friend of mine. She wanted to get rid of it because she had moved into a new place and had no more room. She had had it since she was a teen so it was fairly dated. I convinced Hub since we had been making some progress in "finishing" our bedroom and making it look a little more cohesive that we should paint the furniture. We received a coupon in the mail form the local hardware store and I was sold! $10 off a gallon and an additional $5 off any item gets me hustlin' right into that store! We have a couple of night tables that we purchased new about a year ago and we were trying to match those. 

 

I also have been seeing the successes of spray paint so I also convinced Hub that we should try to spray paint the fixtures and "just see what happens." He was skeptical to say the least. I did not document the whole experience but I do have a "before" and after. 

BEFORE 

{This piece is not in our room but currently lives in our spare bedroom however it did not get repainted (yet) and, in bad blogger form,  I did not take a before picture of either dresser before we painted but this night table does the trick for an idea of what the dressers looked like.}

AFTER

Although the furniture is now a tad feminine, it goes with the decor of the room and really brightens the room. {I will post some pics of the whole room pretty soon.} At the last minute I panicked and thought maybe we should have been doing black paint but figured that may be a little dark. We are both pretty happy with the result. Hub also refinished the tops of the dressers which turned out really great.

Spray-painted fixture in a hammered metal black. 

We think we have come across a new interest in refinishing furniture. We are now on the hunt for older, inexpensive furniture that we can get our little paws on!. Oh, and now that I'm not afraid of paint anymore, I'm ready to tackle the kitchen cabinets....stay tuned! What have you re-done lately, repainted, or spray-painted?

Gettin' Creative with Turkey Day Decor

On top of perusing the Thanksgiving day recipes {and I've always wondered why there are certain recipes I only make on Thanksgiving...} I also love looking at different decor ideas. I posted some of my fall decor here but as with everyone, I'm sure, I am always looking for new ideas! I adore a beautifully set table and this one is right up my alley with traditional fall colors and the oh, so adorable gourds that I just can never seem to get away from! What says fall more than a bunch of gourds?! Very simple yet tasteful, however, I can usually do without gold flatware.

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I really love this personal touch that can be added to a gathering as a favor. This adorable tree stands for being thankful with personalized messages for your guests telling them why you are thankful for them. Talk about reminding us of the true meaning of the holiday! Better Homes and Gardens sure always knows how to get my creative juices flowing!

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This project looks like it's right up my alley with the level of difficulty. Quick, easy and super attractive! How quaint are these mum-covered pumpkins?!

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If you are going for a semi-rustic look, take a look at this mum-covered pumpkin:

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One small touch I definitely want to try this year is making more attractive place-settings. I feel like napkins are always a good place to start. How cute and simple is this personalized setting:

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Whether you go all out on decorating or just have cute little touches here and there, it is always fun to try new things, but most of all, fun to be surrounded by loving friends and family, thankful for food and a warm home to relax in. What are some of your decorating tips for fall, your place settings or centerpieces?

Favorite Time of Year...

...Aside from the absolute pouring rain and 46 degree weather outside, I LOVE the holiday season. Starting from, oh, say Hub's birthday which is in mid-September, I have Halloween decor up. Come Halloween, get those decorations down and it is ALL about Thanksgiving just a few short weeks away which I had the pleasure of hosting my first Turkey-day last year and felt it went pretty well so I volunteered again this year! Day after Thanksgiving, we are up at 5{ish} to head to the stores and see what deals Black Friday has in store for us! Last year we scored on what was supposed to be the TV for our bedroom but it ended up staying in the family room so this year we may be in search of a TV for the family room to get this TV into it's rightful home. Ok, I've digressed. Coming home from a shopping trip we.... pull out the Christmas decor! My favorite of all the holidays. There is just something about lights, cinnamon scents, fake snow, glitter, my cute snowmen, red and green and anything else Christmas-y I can manage to get my little paws on. Our house is always cozy with candles and the fireplace going, we love getting together with friends and family during the holiday season and just spending time together. LOVE.

Back to my original reason for this post as I let myself get carried away with my love affair with the holidays...Thanksgiving recipes!! I always have such a hard time deciding whether to stick with traditional types of recipes (i.e. cream of mushroom, green beans, fried onions...sliced yams, brown, sugar and marshmallows, etc. you get the idea) or venture out and try some new ones because let's face it, I love to try a new recipe! Let me start with Hub's most favorite side dish : green bean casserole {side note: once when we had been dating only a short time, he had a craving for green bean casserole and I really wanted BLTs for lunch. Solution=both. We knew right then and there that we were meant for each other!}
I like to not mess too much with this recipe but I came across this recipe on Food Network that looks like it just uses mostly fresh ingredients instead of using the ol' canned stand-bys. In all his glory, Alton presents us with this gem:

Best Ever Green Bean Casserole

Add some bacon to that and I think I have a winner! The only downfall I see with it is questionable day-before-prep. I will see about that.

Next up, the cranberry sauce. As a kid I was never a fan of cranberry sauce but growing up, I have come to realize the integral part a good cranberry sauce can play in the Turkey-Day meal. Mixing cranberry sauce with just about anything on your plate is going to bring instant pleasure and then to think about it with the leftovers, well...I'm just going to stop there. Another simple yet effective recipe courtesy of Food Network:

Perfect Cranberry Sauce

I am definitely partial to orange zest in my cranberry sauce and I will even throw in some walnuts from time to time. This year I may get super adventurous and add a little ginger. Yum!

This last recipe I am interested in comes from one of my staple magazines Woman's Day. It is a new recipe that I am excited to try mostly because I have never even cooked with leeks before!

Creamed Leeks with Parmesean Crumbs

Like I said, just like to add a lil' somethin' somethin' new to the mix! I could pretty much go on and on with all the recipes I find and try or want to try for Thanksgiving but I won't keep going today. Maybe tomorrow. 

What bout y'all? What are your favorites that just have to make it onto the table year after year? What are some new bites that you're dying to try this year?