The Season of Gratitude

Fall is by far my favorite season. I love the crisp air, the changing leaves, sweaters, scarves, boots and mugs of hot apple cider. I love that a hot cup of coffee tastes better on cold mornings. I love staying in bed and snuggling too long because it's the perfect temperature under the covers.

My love for fall is one of the many reasons it irks me to walk into Target on November 1st and see that Christmas just threw up in there. I'm no Grinch; I love Christmas...in December. It does not need to encroach, because honestly, one month of cookies and candy canes and Fa la la la la la is about all I can take. I do understand that a holiday that is about being thankful for what you already have kind of kills the spirit of consumerism and so I let my beloved Target off the hook for allowing Christmas to take over November. However, that doesn't mean Thanksgiving has to be overlooked in m my home. Last time I checked, I'm the boss around here.

Since I want to teach my children they have so much to be grateful for, around this time last year we put together a small jar of things we are thankful for. I've seen these all over Pinterest but if you haven't I thought I'd share my version (complete with free printables!)

But first, I thought I'd share a few things I'm grateful for today.

Busy season and late nights at my husband's job. First, he has a job and it's a great one! Second, it's really only busy like this for two months of the year. I know a lot of husbands who work late ALL year long and I'm so grateful that my husband does not have to.
Being a stay-at-home-mom. It's a tough job and I complain about it more than I should. However, I'm always thankful for it when cold season hits. Knox is feverish this week and I'm so glad I'm not trying to find childcare for a sick kid because I have to go to work.
My crazy fixer upper house. It's crazy, but it's also, warm, cozy and filled with a beautiful life we have been building in it.
Two bathrooms since one is out of commission right now...
Healthy, happy kids who behave themselves at school and playdates even if they are less than angelic at home. They save the best and worst for me.
Great teachers and schools. I feel so fortunate to have landed amazing, dedicated passionate teachers at both my son's schools.

What are you grateful for this November? Take a minute to jot it down and put it in your jar!


Click on the links to get the Give Thanks Jar printable and the I'm thankful for tickets!

He Said, I Heard: Sale

Occasionally, we have miscommunications in our house. Often this happens when my husband says something and I interpret it as something slightly different.

This afternoon Mr. Sir emailed me a link to a sale happening at Old Navy. Not only are they doing free shipping, but you get an additional 30% off clearance items. 

He said: Old Navy cuts an extra 30% off clearance.

I Heard: LICENCE TO SHOP.

At least I had the decency to buy a few things for him during my shopping spree...

For anyone who is interested the coupon codes are:
JACKPOT (For 30% off clearance)
FREESHIP (For, you guessed it, free shipping)

Happy shopping!

Kitchen Sneak Preview: DIY Pendant Lights

My kitchen floor is getting installed this weekend. Maybe that seems like no big deal to you, but I have been living with no flooring in front of my kitchen sink for over two years thanks to an impromptu kitchen remodel. Let's just say I am very excited!

So while we are all waiting for the big kitchen reveal, I thought I'd share one of the smaller projects we've done. We struggled for almost a year trying to figure out what kind of fixture to put over our stove and finally ended up with this fun pendant light.

I started with this mini pendant light from Lowe's because it fit perfectly in the space. The fixture doesn't come with shades so I looked a ton of different options. I wanted something that was low profile so it didn't interfere with my cooking and yet really lit up my work space. Of course, price was a factor as well. Some of the shades I looked at were $20 each! Multiple times three shades, plus the fixture we were looking at over $100!

Eventually I stumbled upon these candle holders at Michael's. They were $5.99 each and on sale for 25% off.  Mr. Sir used a jigsaw to cut a hole in the bottom of each candle holder and viola!

They are exactly what I wanted and for a price that made even the penny pinching Mr. Sir smile. The space is so bright it feels like a completely different kitchen. Mr. Sir built me the spice rack and I added the "Don't Go Bacon My Heart" sign from Etsy because you can't go wrong with bacon puns, right?

Once the flooring goes in, we'll still have a few items to check off our list, like putting the pantry doors back in and picking out new appliances. Notice my funky stove straight out of 1970? It works so I can't complain, but I have my heart set on an awesome free standing double oven. To see the oven and the inspiration for my kitchen remodel, check out my Kitchen Design board on Pinterest.