thanksgiving pics

It's been a great week in good old iowa. We had a great Thanksgiving at home. I've been shopping a few times. The mall actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! The Gap had a seriously great sale and I took advantage. I've been knitting a lot this week - made two super cute baby hats. And I got a sewing machine from my grandma so my mom gave me a sewing lesson. All kinds of project ideas are in the works! Pics of that stuff to come, but for now here are some family photos from turkey day.

The fam (minus the CA crew)
Amy and I
Amy and her boyfriend Aaron. Super cute.
And my date for the evening, Stuart. At least he's warm and cuddly!

gobble gobble!

sometimes it's the little things

in my continuing thought of thankfulness i've realized that a lot of the things i'm thankful for are small things.

like...

1. sonic diet cokes. seriously they are better than other diet cokes

2. my white noise machine. maybe i've just become addicted to it but when i sleep places without it i really miss it.

3. leggings. i'm glad they are back in style and i hope they never leave. come to my house most mornings or evenings and you'll find me in mine usually accompanied with a fleece and my uggs.

4. sharpie pens. not regular sharpies or even fine point sharpies (which used to be my fav), but sharpie makes PENS now. i think there are at least 2 in my purse right now.

5. the ellen degeneres show. laughter every day - guaranteed.

6. organized spaces. it just simply makes me happy to see things all put in their place.

7. scarves, cardigans, and big earrings. turns any outfit into fancy.

that's what i've thought on tonight. more tomorrow on actual thanksgiving day. dad already started the turkey tonight and the pumpkin pie is baked. can't wait to start digging in!

Week of Thanks

Even though the Christmas decorations, lights and the tree are already up in our house I haven't forgotten Thanksgiving. I promise I'm not skipping over this important holiday! Writing about the things I'm thankful for helps keep them in the forefront of my mind and remind me to be grateful all the time.

Tonight I'm grateful for living in a small town. Don't get me wrong, it has it's downfalls but overall this community is a huge blessing. For me living in a small town has meant a very close community - people who truly know me because there is no hiding yourself around here. Just try to go to Wal Mart or Target any day of the week and not see someone you know! My friends are loving, generous, caring, and supportive. I get a cold and there's someone calling to ask what they can bring me. I start pursuing my dream of a craft business and there are friends knocking down my door to host an open house. A friend walks through fire and we rally together - clinging to the Truth. I realize that not everyone has a community like this so I don't take it for granted. Not in the least. So to all of my Branson friends, every single one of you, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for being you. For being my friend in the truest meaning of the word.

heavenly afternoon

E. and B. are napping, it's cold outside, and the house is quiet. this is how i'm spending my afternoon: peppermint mocha latte, pumpkin bread, and my knitting. the hat is precious already. i think it's turning out bigger than i want. my gauge must be off (and i even checked it!). oh well, it's a good first try.

Monday, Monday

Happy Monday! I am spending the week keeping my friends' two little kiddos while they are out of town. It's day one and so far so good. B had a fever today but it's already broken, so hopefully we are out of the woods on that one. Rumor has it it's going to snow here tonight. If it sticks maybe we will bundle up and play outside for a little while tomorrow. Knowing Branson it probably won't stick and it will just be gross and cold. I'll have to come up with some creative indoor activities for the week. Maybe some crafts! :)

So, I'm totally getting in to the Christmas mood. Branson has been celebrating Christmas since the day after Halloween so it's hard not to buy into it. Tonight I was wearing my uggs and there was that very wintry chill in the air. I couldn't help but pop in Josh Groban's Christmas album in the car! Yesterday my roommates and I went to our friend Stephanie and Janna's open house. They make the most amazing things and holds an open house once a year. It was an explosion of Christmas cuteness! I wanted to buy everything and immediately put up my Christmas tree. Ang talked us down and we have decided to wait until at least this weekend to start decorating. (check out Stephanie's etsy shop here)
Katie and I at the open house. How amazing are those stockings?! They are painted on canvas and sewn with felt on the back. A-DORABLE!


So, not only are my roommates super fun they are SUPER generous. I have been talking all fall about how I want a pair of tall gray boots. I guess there was a sale at the outlets and they bought me this pair! Gorgeous gray suede Steve Madden's. I can't wait to wear them!! I mean, seriously no one has friends as great as mine. Thanks Katie and Ang! Love you!
And what would a blog post be without the munchie?! Those cheeks are just so pinchable!! Finn, you are killing me with your cuteness. Why do you have to live so far away from me?
Last night I read my new knitting book and learned all about making baby hats. I'm going to get started on one tonight. Here's hoping it's as easy as it looks!

I'm Back

Last weekend was my first open house. It was so much fun and has kept me extremely busy, which means not much time for blogging. :) The last two weeks have been full of painting and knitting, painting and knitting. Thanks to all of you who bought something at the open house and those placed orders with me! It's so much fun for me to do custom work.

This weekend I've been finishing up all of the orders and will have them out tomorrow. Starting tonight I'm keeping my friends two kids for the week while they go out of town. So I'll be taking about a week off from painting, but plan on knitting while I'm there. My mom just sent me this adorable new knitting book (itty bitty hats) that I can't wait to try some patterns from. Last night I got some new yarn in the most gorgeous colors!
How cute is that?! Hopefully mine turn out this cute. I'll share some pics as I go.
In other non-craft news, I started my weekend with a little "run in" with a deer. Poor Roxie (that's my car), she got a little beat up. I was just minding my own business, driving to work, and the deer jumps out of the ditch and runs right into Roxie! I never even saw the deer and couldn't find it afterward, but it's hair is stuck in my bumper. Gross.
Ouch.
Looks like Roxie will be spending the week in the shop getting a new bumper. Poor girl. Well, I better get down to my craft room and finish up the projects. Last night I tried out a new church that meets on Saturday night so I got to sleep in today and have to whole day to work. Yay!

Purple Wedding and Halloween

Hope everyone had a great Halloween weekend. Mine was jam packed with events. My roommate Angela was in charge of a wedding reception on Saturday morning and she recruited a group of us to help! Now, when I say this was a "purple wedding" I really mean a purple wedding! These were the decorations we were given and Ang gave us a great pep talk to "make it work". So we did. :)

Bringing in the cake.
Somehow we convinced Daniel to come help us. His job was the hang the purple pom poms over the cake table.
Then I had to clean off the pom poms when one of them fell onto the cake. (Luckily this all happened before anyone got there and the bride never knew! :)
Katie sure knows how to make those floral arrangements look fabulous.
After our long morning of wedding festivities we came home, took a quick nap and then began preparing for our Halloween Party! We hosted a costume party at our house. It was such a blast.
Roomies! Me as a girl scout (yes, that is my vest from when I was a girl scout), Katie as Bat Girl, and Ang as Dora the Explorer!
"On my honor I will try to serve God and my country and live by the girl scout law."
The Sparks' made a quick appearance with their kids. Ella was so excited to see another Disney princess there! Joey as Snow White and Ella as Ariel.
Jennafer and I. She was Sweet and Low and her husband was Equal. She made their costumes herself - very impressive!
Our "family". Only missing Adam. In his absence Daniel, Alec, and Austin came as the three largest aspects of his personality. The fisherman, cowboy and the Aggie. And of course they had Adam's signature laugh going all night long. :)
Kara as Juno. I actually watched the movie today because of her costume.
After we were worn out from all our awesome dancing Austin lead us all on a "ghost tour" of the neighborhood. Pretty hilarious.
Just happened to capture this creepy pic on my camera during the tour. Yikes!
I love Halloween. It's another great excuse to act like a kid again. :) I was so thankful for the extra hour of sleep last night. I don't think I would have made it to church without it!