Life in Focus

Today

I am...

enjoying some quiet time to organize and plan.

setting up my studio for a handmade holiday.

making lots of lists.

cooking a big pot of turkey rice soup.

creating my December Daily book.

folding a ton of laundry.

waiting to find out if I need surgery on my knee.

listening to some of my favorite Christmas music.

delighted with the gift that I just finished for my niece.

working on my newest class for BPS, The Mirror Project.

looking at our decorated tree twinkling in the light.

ready for the fun and tradition that this season brings.

I'll be back tomorrow to share my December Daily project. Until then, have a happy Monday!

In Focus Friday

Gratitude creates happiness.

                            -MJ Ryan

10 things :: gratitude

I'm spending a few quiet moments today in between cooking and celebrating to be mindful of life's blessings. My heart is feeling a great fullness and I've been reminded that life really can be so good.

I am grateful for...

1. a supportive and loving family that stands by eachother always.

2. the caring and kind hand of friendship that seems to reach out just when I need it most.

3. one good knee, excellent doctors, and the promise of two good knees very soon.

4. all of the heroes in this world that make it their everyday practice to look out for the rest of us.

5. the opportunity to learn, grow, and live inspired on a daily basis.

6. every few minutes of joyful creativity in my day that makes my heart sing.

7. the life experiences that bring with them a new perspective.

8. fun times of laughter and play with those I love most.

9. my dreams that I hold so close and the time to nurture them.

10. the choice of happiness.

 What are you feeling grateful for right now?

Wishing you and your family a day full of blessings!

behind this door

 

Behind this door, you'll find me in full preparation mode...making lists, digging up family recipes, assigning tasks, and looking forward to our big day.  Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. I think it's the simplicity, the general warm and cozy feeling of gratitude, time together with family, and of course...the feast!  We have so many yummy recipes that we make year after year and never grow tired of.  For us, it's a glorious tradition and the day just wouldn't be the same without these favorites.

Today, I'm sharing my all time FAVORITE dish that we make once a year, on this occasion.  It is so delicious that I could sit down and eat just this...all by myself (OK..maybe with a little turkey too).

It's Aunt Sarah's Sweet Potato Casserole!  It's like eating dessert but it goes so well with the rest of the meal...savory and sweet all put together.  YUM!  OK...my mouth is watering so I better get to it.

Ingredients:

4 cups mashed sweet potatoes

1/3 cup white sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup chopped pecans

Wash about 2 1/2 pounds of sweet potatoes (leave skins on), wrap in aluminum foil and bake at 450 degrees for about an hour or until soft.  Let them cool, unwrap foil and then cut in half and the skins easily slip off.

In a mixing bowl, combine the sweet potatoes, sugar, eggs, milk, salt, 1/3 cup butter and vanilla.  Mix together and pour into a greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish.

To prepare the topping, combine in a separate bowl the brown sugar, flour, 1/3 cup melted butter and pecans.  Mix together and crumble over sweet potato mixture.  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes.

ENJOY!

In Focus Friday

Life will bring you pain all by itself. Your responsibility is to create joy.

                              -Milton Erickson, M.D.

Grateful Week :: Saving the memory

Today I have a simple layout to share about our Thanksgiving celebration.  With just a couple of words and a photo grid, it tells the story of our day and bottles up the memory so perfectly for me. Every time I look at this page, I can't help but feel grateful for so many blessings.

 

Enjoy a beautiful Thursday friends!

Grateful Week :: Mini Book

Today I'm back to share what I do with all of the "thankful leaves" once the holiday is over.  They all go into our we are thankful book!

It is a small 7 1/2 x 5 chipboard book that I covered with an enlarged photo of our tree, patterned paper and some rick rack.  Using stamps, I added the title.  Simple and done!

The front page is a short explanation of our tradition with the thankful tree and embellished with felt leaves and patterned paper.

Here's the fun part!  The filler pages showcase each person in our family/at our feast.  I go around during the celebration taking candid photos (I even have one of an uncle taking a nap on the couch!) To make the page, I sewed the photo on three sides with my sewing machine, added a strip of patterned paper, and stuck their leaf in the photo pocket.  I did some more stamping on the left side, added another felt leaf, and included their name.

 

The last page is a favorite quote about gratitude.  I put this book together with binder rings so that I can add new family members/guests over time.  The photo pockets can hold a lot of leaves so I like to just keep adding them each year but will probably make a new book in the future.

I always put our we are thankful book out on the coffee table during the holiday for everyone to enjoy. It's so fun to look back, read all of the leaves from past celebrations, and count our blessings.

Grateful week :: Tradition

When I was growing up, each year before our Thanksgiving feast we would take turns going around the table sharing what we were grateful for. I kept this tradition with my own family but added a little something to it....our Thankful Tree.  A few days before the holiday, my kids and I trace and cut lots and lots of leaves from colored cardstock.  Using my favorite white pen, we add a name to each leaf, punch a small hole in the top, and thread a string through making a loop.  The leaves are then used as place markers at the table.

Everyone is encouraged to write what they are grateful for on the back of their leaf and then hang it on our Thankful Tree.  By the end of the meal, we have a tree full of love and gratitude.

When I first started this tradition, I simply used a pot that I filled with dirt and found a branch from the woods as the tree.  A few years back, I received this metal tree as a gift and it works great too. If you're interested in a tree like mine, I found this brand new "tree of life" that would make a cool home decor item all year round.  If you'd like to start this tradition with your family, I made some leaf templates for you to use.  Just click on the picture and print it out on an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet, trace, and cut.

Come back tomorrow to find out what I do with the leaves after the holiday.  Of course, they are way too special to just throw out and I have the perfect solution for saving this memory year after year.

Do you have a special Thanksgiving tradition? If you do, please share!

Until tomorrow, have a wonderful and grateful day!

Grateful Week :: Cupcakes!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and took the time to find joy in simple pleasures!  Our weekend started out with a fun flurry of activity including sleepovers, a celebratory pizza and ice cream party in honor of 3 fantastic report cards, and our annual trip to a favorite spot.  However, I hit a bump in the "good times road" when I managed to twist my knee and then spent some time at the ER on Sunday.  One minute all was well and the next, I couldn't walk.  It appears that I may have torn my ACL and it really hurts!  So, today I'm learning how to sit with my leg up and hobble around on crutches when I need to get from here to there.  Yes, it's a pain (literally and figuratively) but it could have been worse and so, today I'm choosing to count my blessings instead of being frustrated by the situation. I have been reminded to be grateful every day for something as seemingly simple as walking down the street.  Yes, it is a reminder indeed.

Speaking of grateful, Thanksgiving is right around the corner and I'm gearing up for a thoughtful, relaxing, and fun holiday with my family (even if it's on crutches!)  This week I'll be sharing some of my traditions, thoughts, and ideas that help to make our day of Thanks that much more meaningful.  Today, I have a cute and yummy cupcake recipe to share.

One of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving is the creative time spent in the kitchen with my kids.  This is a super easy project for even the littlest baker to help with.

Make your favorite cupcake recipe (we love chocolate) and then frost with chocolate icing.  Place three mini Nilla Wafer cookies across the middle of the cupcake for the head and wings. Stick 5 pieces of candy corn in the back of the cupcake for the feathers. Cut off the white tip of a piece of candy corn and place on the middle Nilla Wafer for the beak (see photo).  Add a line of  red frosting across the beak and a dot of black frosting for the eye as shown. Enjoy!!

Have a grateful day and come back tomorrow for a peek at a special Thanksgiving tradition.

In Focus Friday

Learning to live in the present moment is part of the path of joy.

                                                                -Sarah Ban Breathnach