I’m so looking forward to the traditional meal we prepare every year, and the opportunity to spend the evening with family and friends. Today is a day of reflection and relaxation and I plan to savor every moment and morsel from the stuffing to the pie to the conversation around the table. I’m wishing all of my American friends the very same as we celebrate on this holiday.         

Cheers to good food and great memories!  Safe travels too. 

xo,

Oh, and Happy Birthday to my baby brother Nate today. How cool to have your birthday fall on Thanksgiving, he gets his own personal pumpkin pie all to himself.  Awesome.  

images: 1/2/3/4/5/6

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1.  A latte from Peets to go.  When you’re a volunteer at your kid’s elementary school, you need caffeine!  Lately I’ve been treating myself to a latte on Fridays from my favorite coffee shop.  Love!

2.  Arbonne makeup primer.   A friend introduced me to this a few months ago, and I’m totally hooked.  I’m cheating on my other favorite skin primer because Arbonne makeup primer is less expensive, and therefore quickly taking its place.  No one pays me to say it, I just love it!  Under tinted moisturizer, it makes me feel (and almost look) ten years younger.  I now use it every time I leave my house. 

Less visible pores and lines?  Gimme.

3.  Hanging out with my munchkins.  I love exploring the world through their eyes.  I have few memories of my own childhood, don’t know why.  My baby sister can not only remember exactly what she was wearing on March 7, 1983, but also the exact words from her spelling test that week.  Her memory is amazing.  Me?  I can’t even remember the name of my second grade teacher.

I just love being a mom and getting to live vicariously through my children.  They still believe in Santa, the Force, and the Tooth Fairy, so I’m treasuring it as long as it lasts.

4.  Pie Recipes.  I stocked up all all my supplies today for both Praline Pumpkin Pie and also Key Lime Pie ~ so so so excited for the Thanksgiving feast next week!

5.  The wonder of flocking.  Oh yes, I have discovered the fake snow and it is gooooood!  Not so good when you wipe it on your favorite jeans (dagnabit!) but such a fun tool for adding that wintery frosted look.  For all you folks that get snow all winter long, you may think I’m crazy for wanting to add snow to my décor.  But out here in Cali we have to drive for hours up into the mountains to see a winter wonderland, so I’m totally faking the snow this year.

The front door wreath is under construction . . reveal coming soon!

6.  Decorating our home for the holidays.  We busted out the merry tunes last night and the Christmas closet has been opened.  My excuses for decorating before Thanksgiving?  1) I’m not hosting it, 2)  I’m throwing a Christmas party in 30 days, and 3) I just feel like it.

What are your favorite things ?  Be sure to link up!

Totally exciting news friends!  For the next week, I’ve lined up so many goodies for you, I can’t wait to get started!  All next week, I’ll be hosting a series of giveaways just in time for your holiday shopping.  There will be something for everyone, including a super duper handy cutting tool that may or may not rhyme with "Hill Duet".

I’ll be tweeting and posting on Facebook all the things I’m working on for December, so be sure to follow me on Twitter and like Centsational Girl on Facebook!

Happy happy weekend!

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I’m working my way through my list of holiday crafts, and I finished up one half of a project today!   We’re not hosting Thanksgiving this year, but I am helping with the table setting, so here’s one of my contributions: glitter leaf hurricanes!  Or should I say hurricane singular . . .  I still have to finish the second one, but no worries.  This is such a simple and quick project anyone can finish in under an hour.

What you’ll need:  pattern or design of choice; glass candle holder or vase; spray paint; glitter; adhesive vinyl; cutting board; box cutter or X-acto knife; cotton swabs; mineral spirits or paint thinner (for cleaning up with spray paint).

I was all set to use my Silhouette craft cutter, but then I couldn’t find the little blade cutters, grrrr.  I had to cut out my pattern the old fashioned way, which takes about ten times as long, but it also works if you cut slowly and carefully.  Make sure you use a cutting board underneath!

I used a leaf pattern from my Silhouette library, then placed in directly on top of the sheet of adhesive vinyl and secured it with tape.  You can use any clip art shape you find online, simply print it out in the size you need.

I was going to use the negative space created with the vinyl, but then realized the adhesive backing was stickier, so I used that instead.  In hindsight, I’m realizing the vinyl may have clinged better around the edges, so I may use that instead on the second hurricane.

You can spray paint so many things, including glass, so I used that as my base to get the glitter to stick.  I sprayed a tiny bit of paint into the cap, then use a paintbrush to dab it on the glass.  After I applied the paint, I sprinkled it with glitter.  I repeated several times to get a thick application and design.

I used Krylon’s ‘Caramel Latte’ but any color close to your glitter will work.  The glitter is Martha’s ‘Bronze’ from her line of craft supplies.  Allow to dry, then peel off your adhesive. 

Clean up any ‘bleeding’ of your paint outside the lines with a cotton swab dipped in mineral spirits or paint thinner.

Here’s how it looks when you’re done!  

Anything’s possible for your holiday table with glass, be it a candle holder or a vase.  Snowflake designs would look so pretty with silver or white glitter.  And it doesn’t need to be permanent.  Whenever you tire of your design, mineral spirits or paint thinner will remove the paint and glitter from your hurricane and return it to clear glass.   Just in time for you to cover it with hearts for Valentines Day, right?

 © Charles M. Schulz

Better Homes and Gardens 

Better Homes and Gardens

Martha Stewart

 Country Living

Country Living

Better Homes and Gardens

 Southern Living

Better Homes and Gardens

Sunset

  Better Homes and Gardens

Country Living

Source Unknown

Martha Stewart

Better Homes and Gardens

Southern Living

Time and again, I am drawn to the simplicity of nature and reminded of the blessings of abundance.

Happy Sunday everyone.

Please enjoy Liz’s insightful tips (and video!) on transitioning your fall table in an easy and inexpensive way. 

Here’s Liz ! 

Hey guys! I’m so excited that CG asked me to share a little something with you during Guest Blogger Week – here we go!

It’s that time of year when every time you turn around there’s another holiday that demands a whole new slew of decorations – or maybe not! Here are a few tricks you can use to easily transition your décor from Thanksgiving to Christmas, saving you some pennies and giving you a ton of extra time to spend with your family:

· Keep your greenery fairly neutral. For me, greenery is the “foundation piece” for a holiday arrangement, just like a sofa is for the living room – that’s why I try to keep my greenery neutral so that I can use it throughout the holiday season and make it feel new and fresh by adding some holiday-specific accents (like berries, leaves, etc). Try simple greenery with pinecones, and avoid greenery with glitter or faux snow that can lock you into a specific holiday or theme.

· Save and reuse embellishments. Neutral greenery is the most versatile, but that doesn’t mean you have to completely avoid greenery that is adorned with goodies like acorns, crystals and berries, or that would dictate a specific color scheme – just make sure that these embellishments can be snipped off so that you can use the greenery for any holiday. Save the embellishments and use them in arrangements for the appropriate holiday.

 

· Use what you already own. This one is an oldie but a goodie – chances are that you have everything on hand that you need to create a dynamite centerpiece. Use candlesticks, hurricanes, artwork, branches from your yard – the sky’s the limit, and you’ll be able to create a gorgeous and unique arrangement.

· Candles add intimacy and sparkle. When you can, try to incorporate candlelight into your holiday décor – anything from simple votives to dramatic tapers or pillar candles will make your home feel warm and inviting.

· Try greenery picks instead of garlands and wreaths. Greenery picks are the most versatile form of greenery – you can disassemble the branches and tuck them into centerpieces or use them in vases. With garlands and wreaths, you’re pretty much stuck with what you’ve got.

· Stick to a flexible color palette. I think it’s easiest to transition from Thanksgiving to Christmas by using a color palette that is based upon any of these four colors – green, gold, silver and red. For Thanksgiving, you can add pops of orange and yellow to this palette, and you can amp up the red for Christmas.

Here’s a little video to show you how I used these principles to transition the décor in my dining room from Thanksgiving to Christmas:

It’s Great To Be Home – Transition Your Decor From Thanksgiving to Christms from It’s Great To Be Home on Vimeo.

It was great getting to talk to you guys – Happy Holidays!  P.S. Making this video generated quite a few outtakes that are pretty chuckle-worthy – they’ll be posted on my blog today if you want to swing by and check them out!” 

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What a great video!  Isn’t she the best ?  Liz has excellent taste, knows how to decorate with flair and yet still be frugal, and has the best personality – I adore this gal and I know you too will quickly become a big fan of her blog It’s Great to Be Home. 

Thanks again Liz !

I also added a few other seasonal touches to the living room to set the mood for Thanksgiving. 

This Thankful Banner is incredibly quick and easy to make, and a great rainy day afternoon activity to make with your kids or grandkids.

Thankful Banner Supplies:

• 4 pieces of 12 x 12 decorative scrapbook paper in varying patterns; 4 pieces of 12 x 12 brown (or orange) scrapbook paper; Tall chipboard letters (available at Michaels); craft glue; colored glitter; thin ribbon; hole punch; gathered leaves from outdoors; scalloped edge scissors (optional)

Spread glue on top of chipboard letters, then dip letters in colored glitter and allow to dry. 

Next, cut your scrapbook papers in a shape just large enough to accommodate your chipboard letters.  I used a brown background and a patterned piece on top, cut with scalloped scissors.   Glue letters to individual pieces, and then attach with ribbon through a hole punched in the corners.

Add a leaf to each ribbon as you connect the letters, then tie with a bow. 

Display on your mantle or across a window.

I’m pretending these two little golden birds are holding it up for me. 

I never get tired of fall leaves – and I’ll use any excuse to decorate with them.

I like to temper the warm tones of golds and oranges with a cool color like teal blue.  Across the room, I added some turquoise to my thrift store sideboard display.

I’ve never been one to decorate with cornucopias before, but I was inspired this season to do so with some golden glittery fruits and pinecones. 

I am thankful that someone donated this turquoise and gold compote to a thrift store so I could bring it home for $5 dollars.

One of my favorite things about welcoming winter is the abundance of citrus.  These oranges and mandarins just pop in the blue compote I found at Marshalls.

Yummy.

How about you. What are you thankful for this season ?