– Remember I ordered these and then returned them? Well, this pair (same style, different color) went on super sale, plus 30% off, so I thought I’d give it another shot.

– I highly recommend purchasing Creativebug subscription for yourself, and then you get another one to give away! Get details here.

– Bummed these lace up ballet flats sold out in my size (I’m a size 36/6). I do like these though, and they’re not sold out.

– Thinking about getting Brave this bag; she says it’s detective bag.

– True has this Hello Kitty camera on her wishlist.

– Soul requested magnetic tiles, and I know this is a gift that all the girls would love. They love building things as evidenced by how they play here.

– Glow just wants Yoda everything, and a “computer.”

– Treehouse Kid & Craft is my favorite online kid shop, so if you’re looking for some creative options for kids, you’ll love everything they have!

– I asked Ben, “Do you want me to give you a shoe (it’s way cheaper) or jewelry on my wishlist?” He said, “Jewelry. Shoes are a waste.” I think that’s kind of funny, but I’m glad to send him what antique pieces I’m eyeing. The One I Love NYC, Erica Weiner, and Jean Jean Vintage are my fave antique jewelers, so I’ve just been keeping an eye out to see if anything makes me dance. Ebay is a wonderful place to find antique pieces too; I’ve scored some really fantastic deals there.

– I like what Everlane is doing and how all their profits from Black Friday go to their employees. I’ve had my eye on their boxy striped tee, maybe I’ll request it in my stocking.

I’m mostly done shopping for the girls. We are giving them one thing each, one community gift from us, and one community gift from Santa. All of the things I mentioned above is on their wish list to their grandparents, so we will see what they get. I’m kind of stuck on what to get for my siblings’ significant others, but I think we have my siblings covered. Then, I’m stuck on what to get Ben. He just likes garden things, but usually if he wants it (or needs it), he just buys it, otherwise, there’s nothing he really wants. Maybe I’ll just make him something.

I’ve never done Black Friday shopping out. I hate malls, lines, and crowds, so all my shopping is pretty much done online. Typically though, I’m already done with all my Christmas shopping when Black Friday rolls around. I think the only damage I’ll do today are the jeans I got from Nasty Gal, other than that, I’m good and my wallet stays pretty happy too.

Just like they did with Halloween, the girls took over decorating duties and went all out for Thanksgiving. As you can tell by the little sign they created, we obviously aren’t vegan. HA! And they did indeed deck our halls with herds of turkey! You bet ya we will enjoy eating them too! The real turkey, not the paper ones … just in case you needed clarification.

To all my friends stateside, Happy Thanksgiving! And to everyone who takes the time to visit here … I’m so thankful for you and I have so much fun sharing things we make, stories, and bits of my heart with you. xoxo

I cut some watercolor paper into smaller pieces and had the kids paint on them. I gave them watercolor paint in autumn hues and they happily went to work. After their painting dried, we folded them in half, and then I wrote each of our names on them. Voila … instant place cards! Initially, I wanted to calligraphy our names, but my ink was spreading too much on the watercolor paper, so I just used a fine tip marker and wrote our names in cursive.

Tonight is our special Thanksgiving dinner. Last year we started having a mini Thanksgiving on Wednesday night, so we can take a moment to savor the holiday with our girls. Thanksgiving Day is so busy spent going from Ben’s cousin’s to my parents’, so we use Wednesday night to do our own celebration. We will each read our thankful list out loud, and the girls even have a special puppet show prepared.

I’m making pretty much everything I did last year. There hasn’t been time to look up new recipes, so I’m sticking with what I know works. I love turkey and stuffing, and of course pie, so I’m excited about all the food I will delightfully be indulging in. I know the girls are especially anticipating the pie. I can’t wait to sit down together tonight and talk about all the things we are thankful for.

Leather Bow Clip

Supplies:
Bow pattern
Small leather scraps (or use vinyl scraps or wool felt)
Alligator clips (we used this 4.5cm and this 6cm)
Glue gun and glue stick
Scissors

Directions:
Trace pattern onto the backside of your leather, then cut out. Knot the bow and then glue onto the clip!

The girls have their Thanksgiving outfits picked out, so they wanted to make some bows to go with it. When you have four girls, you find that you’re always making hair accessories. I had these leather scraps in a shimmery gold, pink, and even animal print, so it felt like the perfect bit of fancy for some added bling to go with their holiday outfit. They are so quick and easy to make, we are thinking of making them as gifts for all their little friends. If you have wool felt lying around, you could definitely use that to make these. In fact, we made some of those too.

True has been loving Brave’s flares, so she got her own pair (Brave’s are way cropped on her). I love how kids look old school in them. Of course, Brave opted for a blue dress, and Soul goes for a girly striped dress with a little bit of shimmer. I picked out this swing dress for Glow, and the rest of the girls already asked Glow if they could borrow it. It would be tunic length on True and Brave, and just a bit shorter for Soul. I’m glad they think it’s fun to share clothes now, I hope that doesn’t change. For Thursday, I plan on wearing a nice loose dress because we are going two Thanksgiving celebrations and you bet I plan on indulging on lots of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pie.

By the way, I totally see teenage True in these pictures. It kind of freaks me out, but she only has 4 more years until she hits the teens. Eeks! And we all get a kick out of Brave’s wonky two front teeth; it’s holding on for dear life.

on true: sweater, flares, c/o old navy. on brave: zip shift dress, c/o old navy. on soul: shimmer dress, sparkle sweater, c/o old navy. socks, gap kids. clogs, lotta from stockholm. on glow: swing dress, old navy. shoes, minnetonka moccasins (hand me downs).

Translated: I’m thankful for family, my house, and ice cream.

Translated: I’m thankful for Yoda.

Glow’s list is hilarious! And I’m right there with Soul, I’m definitely thankful for ice cream too.

We kicked off our first day of Thanksgiving break with a little thankful list. The girls wrote out their Christmas wish lists a couple weeks back, but I thought it would be a fun tradition to have them write thankful list. Ben and I will each write out our own too. We have our own little Thanksgiving on Wednesday (just the six of us), and we will each be sharing our thankful list with the rest of the family.

This week’s learned, links, and thankfulness…

We are so excited and thankful to have a week off from school and we are ready for all the yummy food and family time!

Just 5 ingredients Hershey Kiss pie cookies?!! Whoa … deliciously dangerous.

I love flourless chocolate cake, so I’m sure I’d like flourless chocolate cookies.

I started Christmas shopping … yay! I got the girls more Tegu blocks (this, this, and this) because they love them so much and make such creative things with them.

I’m so thankful to have such good readers. True and Brave go through books so fast. I didn’t like to read until middle school, so I’m always so impressed with their reading abilities, and how much they enjoy it. They always have a book on hand.

Glow has been extra feisty of late, but it gives us lots of teaching moments to teach her selflessness and how to love others.

“Our hearts were never designed to follow, but to be led.” From this article, it’s so countercultural, and I definitely want to read this book.

Ben and I have had more tension between us this week. We are typically on the same page about everything, so this is a different for us, and we are learning how to love each other (and reconcile) well through it.

Dear France, I have been praying for comfort, peace, and strength for your country. 

This week I’m reminded of how much I need to run to the cross for comfort and strength, and not rely on my own self and thinking.

Enjoy your weekend friends!