Beyond Thankful!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! It was great spending the day with my little family and my parents came over for dinner... It as all very low key but of course that didn't stop me from spending the whole day in the kitchen!

We decided to have Pheasant as our bird in place of the traditional turkey. My Dad recently went Pheasant hunting in South Dakota so it was nice to eat a few of his birds. Plus with so few people to feed and a big old Ham we didn't need a large turkey!

Here was our menu...

This was also the perfect time to pull out some of the chafing dishes that my sweet hubby got me for our last anniversary. 

Let's just say that when he commits to buying something that he tends to go big... We only used 1/4 of the chafing dishes yesterday... Because OF COURSE everyone should have 15 Chafing dishes... That is a whole other post though....

Here are a few things that filled those dishes...

I'm going to do a full post on the Carrot Soup and Brussel Sprouts with Bacon later in the week.. YUMMY!!!

Now to the serious stuff... I'm most Thankful for the fact that we were not in the hospital for this Thanksgiving! 

This little guy had everyone worried for the last few weeks with a dip in weight and NO gaining for 3 months. He was down to the 1st Percentile... Doctors were throwing out threats of hospitalization and G-Tubes (a feeding tube that is surgically placed in the stomach). We were given one week to get him up in weight... with some force feeding and a MASSIVE amounts of calories he was able to gain and we were able to keep him home. I'll do a full post on Monday for his 8th Month but I just wanted to stress what a THANKFUL family we were yesterday...

P.s. - Gibson LOVED Thanksgiving!!! He was a mess after the meal!

Dare to be: THANKFUL

Today is the first part of the Dare to DIY series and to be honest I almost didn't make this post. At about 4 p.m. I had that Oh Sh*t moment and I remembered that I needed to do something.

I took some inspiration from this Pinterest Photo and decided to create a "Tree of Thanks" in Emma's room.

 

The branches are things that we are thankful for! 

 I love the result and it is a great daily reminder to Emma, and all of us, that we have so much to be thankful for!

 

Be sure to also check out what the hosts of the Dare to DIY series did for their projects

Decor and the Dog

Maybe Matilda

Shift Ctrl Art 

Newly Woodwards

Favorite Things Friday

Love all of these packing tips. Shower caps on shoes! GREAT idea!

 

Love this easy tutorial for making blackout curtains. P.S- You should totally be reading this blog... it is a fav!

 

Time to be honest... I'm a little anti the large Thanksgiving dinner this year. We just have a lot going on and I really feel like my priority is not to make a huge meal and we aren't having company besides my parents... BUT if I were to be a big event with others over I would love to send friends and family home with leftovers and these Thanksgiving Leftover Printables are SUPER cute!

 

Another blogger shared the Pop Sugar Box that she received this month and it looks AWESOME!

 

We are having our neighbors over for dinner tonight and I would like to get my act together enough to have these little Chalk Placecards... Might be breaking out the hot glue gun while I'm supervising STEM Club at Emma's school this afternoon.

Thrifted Thursday #5- Homework Station

I'm back with another Thrifted Thursday!

A few months ago I shared that I created a homework station for Emma and I'm excited to share all of the fun details!

I purchased a SUPER ugly green wooden tray from UNIQUE Thrift Store in Falls Church.

 
The cost was only $2.99... so a steal for such a solid piece.

Decided to give it three coats with my favorite gray spray paint (RUST-OLEUM Dark Gray)

I'm in love with the result

I also added a few key homework essentials to the tray...

• Pencils in a mint julep cup (Also bought this cup for 1.99 at Salvation Army)
• Pencil sharpener
• Markers in a glass vase (left over from my wedding)
• Colored pencils
• Notebook
• Extra folders

In the notebook...

 I added calendars to keep track of all assignments and test days.

I also purchased a small box from homegoods for $5.99

It is the perfect size for...

• Scissors
• Large eraser
• Calculator
• glue stick 

 We love having everything in one place! It makes homework time go so much smoother!

Dare to DIY 2014

I've decided to participate in the Dare to DIY series this year. I did this series a few years ago and had a blast coming up with creative projects...

Here are my projects from two years ago...

I loved going back and seeing these projects again!

Dare to be Thankful

Dare to Entertain

Dare to give Handmade

Dare to Deck the Halls

 

The main organizers are:

Newly Woodwards

Katja at Shift Ctrl Art

Michelle at Decor and the Dog.

Rachel at Maybe Matilda.

 

Here’s the plan:

Each Monday, the link party goes live for that week’s Dare to DIY challenge. You can link up as many projects as you wish, as long as the posts correspond with the theme of the week. You can link up on any of the four blogs listed above.

The linky will stay live through Wednesday. Later in the week, each of the organizers will spotlight at least 3 projects we loved from the week on their blogs. They will also pin those projects on a shared Pinterest board and even share them on Instagram (with the hashtag #daretodiy2o14)

The only rules:

1. Please follow the Dare to DIY theme of the week (see below).

2. Please link back to Dare to DIY on the host’s blog..

3. Please go to at least two other blogs and comment. This is a party. So get to know a few other bloggers.

And here are the themes – starting next week. Dare to do it, baby. Dare to do it.

Party Date: Monday, Nov. 24

Dare to… be thankful!

DIY a thanksgiving project to remind you to be grateful during this season. Ideas include a Thanksgiving advent calendar, artwork and banners.

Party Date: Monday, Dec. 1

Dare to… entertain!

DIY something for your table. This could be something from last wee’s Thanksgiving table or a new Christmas look. Get creative and use things in new ways. Or go true DIY and make something totally new. Ideas include place mats, table runners, place cards or centerpieces.

Party Date: Monday, Dec. 8

Dare to… give homemade gifts!

DIY a gift made by you. Nothing is more special to give than something you created, so share projects that will be go in brown paper packages this holiday season. Ideas include bath and body items, kitchen gifts, hand-sewn clothing or home decor.

Party Date: Monday, Dec. 15

Dare to… deck the halls!

DIY something new to deck your halls. Did you find something in a catalog that you wish you had? Wreaths, stockings, pillows or advent calendars? Make it! Inspire us all to do the same.

 

Park Family Christmas List...

So for Christmas I want to DIY a majority of the gifts for the kiddos... but when it comes to hubby there are not too many things that I can think of to make for him and I would think that the same could be said for me... So I proposed that we only get each other one small gift (under $100) and buy a few key items for the house/for family use...

For example...

I would LOVE a new Vacuum.. not married to the Dyson and would love a good recommendation.

A 50mm lens for our canon camera

Possible trip to Copper Mountain for 5 days of skiing fun :-) dependent on finding someone to watch our kiddos. 

OUR FREAKING BATHROOM!!!
We are in desperate need for our main bathroom to be redone. Honestly, during the reno we will need to move into the basement and the buys will need to bunk together so we have really been putting it off. It is going to be a big reno... down to the studs and we will likely need to replace a part of the ceiling in our bedroom due to water damage in the attic. For gifts from other peeps (like my parents) I'm going to ask for items for the bathroom i.e- light fixture, fan... such exciting items to ask for :-)

Izaak Walton Hunting Club

A few months ago Matt joined a sportsman club in Maryland... the Izaak Walton Hunting club.

Last month we took a trip up there for their Family Day. We also had one of Emma's friends come along for the fun.

The day involved a picnic, archery, hike, and a little time at the range. Here are a few photos from the visit up there.

 

Traverse City: Shooting (Photos and guns)

Two posts in ONE DAY!!! WHAT!

 

Haha! Last night I took the time to edit a few additional photos that I took while we were in Michigan and I love them so much that I cannot hold off sharing with you.

 

These photos were taken at Matt's Dad's house. Matt, his Dad, brother Mitch, and Emma all went out to shoot while the boys were taking their afternoon nap. Once the boys woke up they also joined in on the fun. It was just the perfect afternoon for some photos.