Thanksgiving 2018

Last November was busy as usual, but we had a nice set of Thanksgivings with my family and KC's. We are always grateful for time together, especially with our extended families. :)

We also made a gratitude "wall" which was a nice way to keep the focus on being grateful during the holiday season. I wrote about it for Year of Gratitude, here.

For my family's Thanksgiving I totally forgot to take any photos... but it was great. I'm really glad that we all got to get together early to celebrate, the meal was amazing, and I love that we've been getting to see my grandma more.

Thanksgiving with KC's family was great too. We had a nice meal with KC's parents, his sister and her husband, and his grandparents. It was great to share a meal and spend more time in a big group together. We took a family photo which doesn't happen a lot, so that was special. KC and his dad's test shot was cracking me up so I had to include it.

So that's it. We had our pie and cranberries and lots of great family moments.

Thanks for bearing with me as catch up on old holiday posts. I want to be able to look back on these here.

Do you have specific Thanksgiving traditions?

XO,

Alexandra

12 Things I Am Grateful For // Happy Thanksgiving! // 2016

Hello everyone! I hope you are having a nice week, and that your week is a short one too!

As we go off into the holidays, I decided to skip the big travel post for today and just share a few things that I am grateful for.*

Overall this year, I have made so much progress on really important things like self-care, personal goals, etc. but I haven't done the best job of focusing on gratitude and happiness. It's certainly a "baby steps" type thing, and I can't begin to do it all at once (no one can), but I am hoping to make some good progress back in that direction for 2017.

Here we go!

1) I'm grateful for KC. 

He's been my best friend for almost 10 years, and my husband for almost 5. He's the most selfless, most caring, funniest, smartest guy I know. He works so hard in all things, and I truly appreciate all of his efforts. -this doesn't even begin to cover it... I mean who else would bring me my whale mug while singing, "BALEEN! BALEEN! BALEEN! BALEEEEEEEN! I'M BEGGING OF YOU, PLEASE DON'T EAT MY KRILL!" - LOL (inspired by the White Stripes cover, as much as we both love Dolly!)

2) I'm grateful for Gilmore Girls



Oh, Gilmore Girls! You have such a big chunk of my heart. I "grew up" watching this show... meaning I watched it through High School and college, when I did a lot of my "growing up". I've seen it so many times and it doesn't fail to make me laugh, smile, ugly cry, etc. We have been working through the series with a close group of friends. We're not even close to done... but it's been so nice to start watching it through again. When they announced the revival I couldn't believe it was really going to happen... and I cry every time I watch the trailers (no judging!!). To say I'm excited is an understatement.We have a second Thanksgiving on Friday, when it comes out, so we plan to get up and start watching at 6am (with coffee #obvs), powering through until noon. We should still be able to make our 1:00 plans! People keep asking if I am nervous, or stating that they are. But I think 1) this will be so satisfying after so many years, 2) it's a separate thing in my mind... so I think I can keep them separate if need-be. 3) (the musical is the only thing I'm not sure about so far...), and 4) season 7 wasn't great anyway. It's got to be better than that! (though I did like that love rocket episode)

3) I'm grateful that my parents taught my sisters and I to be kind, compassionate, and understanding. They taught us to think for ourselves, which is one of the most valuable things a parent can teach. 

Ignore OE's super scared looking face. I promise this is my sister and not a captive child.

Even if they may not agree with my thinking, I'm grateful that I never have to question whether I believe something because it's my truth vs. because it's what everyone else is thinking.

4) I'm grateful for kittens, even when they're wiley.

I'm extra grateful when it's cold outside... because they're extra cuddly. (less grateful when they destroy my couch (see pic), and pull part of our IKEA collapsible drying rack out of the laundry room wall...) <--- nbsp="" p="" stories.="" true="">
5) I'm grateful for good books, and friends who pass along their recommendations.

Even though I haven't read much in the past month, reading again has had an immensely satisfying and therapeutic place in my life within the past 1.5 years, and I am so grateful for that. (less grateful for the goodreads addiction that immediately followed.. but pros and cons, folks!)

6) I'm grateful for the diversity of the world and the ability to travel to see it.

I know that travel is not a possibility for everyone, and that I will never take it for granted. This year alone we have seen so many beautiful and inspiring places... I can't wait to see more. I'm glad that this is currently possible for us! (& that KC kept his promise that we would travel! :P )

7) I'm grateful for family, a pretty big one at that, and what they all bring to the table.

uncles, amiright? :P 

Growing up with such a huge extended family was such a treat. I had friends in my cousins, I had so many adults to look up to and get to know. I'm the oldest of 7 girls on my dad's side! On my mom's I'm the oldest of 6 girls and 1 boy.

Now I also have KC's family to call my own. Did I share this photo last Christmas...? I can't remember... My MIL made these shirts! Oh to have crafty fabric skills! It's fun to appreciate both of our families close and extended to compare and contrast. They are very different, but they all bring something to the table. I'm grateful that they're there when I need them, that they teach us things we may not have seen otherwise.

8) I'm grateful that my sister has become a really good friend.

As you get older, life undoubtedly gets more difficult and complex. Jess and I fought like cats and dogs when we were kids, about everything, but I'm so glad we are friends now. She's one of the sweetest, kindest, most easy-going people I know. We still get caught in giggle fits late in the evening, all we have to do is look at each other and we completely lose it. She's helped me navigate adulthood, and also the challenge of being far from our parents and OE. We even have a code word for if things get too stressful. It's good to know I can talk to her about anything, anytime. Um, and also she's making me an aunt! SO excited for that as well. :) :)

9) I'm grateful for clementines.

Yup, those small oranges. They're my favorite.... and 'tis the season!

10) I'm grateful for planners.

Investing in planning and organization in 2016 has been a life-saver for me in so many ways. It's helped me juggle a hefty schedule, practice self-care, and take back a little bit of control during my often chaotic weeks. The more I use it, the more I love it, the more I am benefiting from it.... I'm so grateful for this evolved way of planning and organization.

11) I'm grateful for snail mail and my stationery business.

This has been my second year of running Simply Alexandra Stationery. I love working with brides, new parents, families, etc. etc. to create small pieces of memorabilia for their life milestones. I love being creative, and sharing in special moments of people's lives. I can't wait to continue in 2017! And of course I am grateful for snail mail because it makes my day, other others' days when they receive it. I mean, any day that it's not all junk mail and bills is a great mail day! I also love that it allows me to keep in touch with friends and family who are far away. :)

12) I'm grateful for other creative pursuits...

a) This year I've begun project life and photo documenting. I get so much satisfaction from creating these albums, and working with my hands. I can't wait to share some of these videos with you soon!

b) I'm also grateful for cooking and baking more again. It's been so fun and therapeutic. :)

c) I'm so grateful for the outlet that this blog creates! For the friends that I have met through blogging! You guys are the greatest, and I am so lucky to know you via our little online world. Thank you so much for your reading, comments, posts, etc. this year. It's been so lovely to get to know you better!

So there you have it, 12 things I am grateful for, and that's a lot to celebrate this Thanksgiving.

What are you grateful for? Big or small, I'd love to hear!

What are you doing for Thanksgiving?

We'll be prepping pies, cranberries, and watching the t-giving episode of Gilmore Girls...



... and then some of the New Girl ones. KC dies laughing when Nick digs that hole in the one where they go camping. BAHAHA

Other Posts on Gratitude: Gratitude Journaling Year Round, That Year I Was Quarantined for Thanksgiving..., Love is An Icy Tumbler.

XO,

Alexandra 

*Thanksgiving is a bit of a questionable holiday in it's roots, and there are still some things that I am pretty concerned and grumbly about... but focusing on gratitude is really important to self-care and happiness... so this post was born.

Grateful // Thanksgiving 2015

I won't lie, I have taken a major blogging hiatus for the holiday... but I kind of loved it!

Here is a little recap of our Thanksgiving "break".

I have no idea why this picture won't line up... ugh...

We all went over to KC's parents house and had Thanksgiving lunch with his family plus my sister and her husband. The meal was great, the company was even better, and we played lots of board games until late in the evening.

We took more photos but some of the are blurry... : / Oh well!

I am grateful for the fun day we had, and that we also got to facetime with my family twice around the holiday. I am so so ready to go visit them in a few weeks! :)

One thing OE remembered about Thanksgiving at KCs Family's house is that they do those Christmas cracker/popper things. She loves those. Have you guys ever tried them?!

We made the cranberries again this year, and two pies. The apple cranberry pie turned out really pretty. ;)

I hope that you all had a lovely holiday as well! :)

We spent the rest of the long weekend finishing up Christmas shopping, and re-arranging our apartment. :)

December is going to be a busy one I can already tell!

XO,

Alexandra

Focusing on Gratitude Year Round // Keeping a Gratitude Journal

In our day-to-day lives it is so easy to get overwhelmed, to focus on the negative parts of our day, and to ultimately wish work, or full days away while looking toward the weekend or a future event.

Near Thanksgiving it is easy to focus on gratitude. Most of my social media friends have been participating in 'I'm Thankful for daily' Thanksgiving type statuses, tweets, or images on Instagram. Don't get me wrong, these are excellent ways to focus on gratitude! It's wonderful to extend that focus through the entire month of November... but I find that I'm happier when I try to make a point to notice what I'm grateful for every. single. day. (or as much as possible).

This is why I (try to!) keep a gratitude journal. So that even at the end of the most stressful, sleep deprived Monday I can remember how much I have to be grateful for. It might sound kind of silly, but it really helps! Especially if you are moving from a packed stressful day to a busy no-free-time kind of evening! This little reflection can make all the difference in your outlook for the next day too. 

I have told various friends about this project and some have told me that they have been inspired to start their own gratitude journals or to make mental or verbal lists each night... so cool! :) So I thought I would share this with the blog world in hopes that it might inspire someone else out there! I hope this helps you to recognize the good in your days, in whatever way works for you!

Here is my method: 

I write the date, the day of the week, and five things that I am grateful for that day.

The five things can be one-word jots, sentences, drawings, paragraphs or whatever you'd like. But for me a list like this is something that I can easily complete at the end of the day, or throughout the day as they occur.

Some days I can't stop at just five.

Others its a struggle to think of five.

But it really helps me to put my day into perspective regardless of how stressed I am! 

Past Examples:

11/15/13 -Friday 

(super enthusiastic and caffeinated..)

1) PAYDAY!!!!

2) Caffiene!!

3) good day at school! - getting to know co-workers better

4) date night at Celieto Lindo - Margaritas!!

5) Sylas & Maddy's!

6) finally finally finally found midi rings!

7) pinterest inspiration

11/17/13 -Sunday

1) mall time :)

2) dropped off pies to friends

3) found some semi-cheesy holiday jewelry

4) PERFECT snowflake earrings

5) deals and discounts @ VS

6) having a really good hair day

7) Chinese :)

8) concert w/ Jess, Kalor, & Kyle

9) silly fun

11/20/13 -Sunday

1) easy school day - fun at Arts Center

2) biscotti and hocho :)

3) time with Kyle

4) Gilmore Girls with Jessica & Juliet

5) RUDY's!

Current Examples:

11/17/14 -Monday

1) feeling productive at work, which keeps me energized despite the crazy workload.

2) lunch out at Rudy's, it's been a while!

3) Hilary Duff is on Health magazine, I still love her! 

4) Kyle is on a roll cooking dinners - feeling so spoiled.

5) started weekly cleaning schedule, did all of the Monday tasks!

6) Jane the Virgin is so funny, it always manages to surprise me..

11/18/14 -Tuesday

1) met deadline at work - feels good to be productive!

2) leftovers reheated at lunch tastier than they were fresh the night before - rare! -I'll take it!

3) dinner & margaritas with friends I haven't seen in A WHILE!

4) feeling very carefree getting groceries at Target (see #3)

5) a movie we bought a few weeks ago was $2 off!

11/19/14 - Wednesday

1) unexpected day off work

2) caught up on some dishes

3) Kyle came home to eat lunch with me :) 

4) Boy Meets World reruns - Undapants!

5) cleaned counters

6) new wall collage almost finished

7) Kyle cooked dinner (again!)!

8) got some china trays ready for the craft fair

9) cookies ... 

So, the idea is that it doesn't require much effort, but it has a lot of impact on my outlook (especially during busy weeks!).

So go out and grab a cute journal, a handful of scratch paper, or open up trusty Evernote, and start recording what you are grateful for. - It really has made a difference in my stress level and my ability to think positively!

How do you focus on gratitude outside of November? I would love to hear your strategies and ideas! 

What helps to relieve your stress?

Thank you for reading!

Alexandra

Snapshots of Our Belated Thanksgiving :) // 2013

Despite being at home for 5 straight days on some heavy cough medicine, our Thanksgiving break ended up being pretty nice. :) 

We spent lots of time cuddling and watching Christmas movies, we put up our tree and started wrapping presents. 

My family brought us Thanksgiving lunch on Thanksgiving and then Kyle's family brought us Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving. We even gave Duchess some turkey! She ate a few bites and proceeded to fall asleep for 6 or so hours.. and then didn't go back to it.

We did make ourselves a pumpkin pie... which we ended up finishing... let's be honest. I LOVE how easy pumpkin pies are to make! :)

We received our stocking names from his family's yearly drawing. And we are nearly DONE with all of our shopping! :)

On Sunday both of our families had a joint Thanksgiving so we could all be together and all have a 'real' Thanksgiving, which was so so so nice! It was great to get out of the house and see everyone. And it had been such a long time since both of our families were together!

Kyle and I made pumpkin pies and homemade cranberry sauce! The cranberry sauce was SO delicious! And Kyle should take most of the credit for the actual cooking of it... :) We used this recipe, via Pinterest....and I tucked it away!

My sister showed up all ENGAGED!?!?! :) So... we had a lot to talk about! 

I thought it was really fun that my mother-in-law put this turkey topper that we used to wrap her birthday present earlier in the month on top of one of her little Christmas trees for our Thanksgiving celebration! :) hehe

I went back to work today, and also found out that all of my lab results from my Dr. were negative! So I just had a nasty nasty virus, that is now mostly (I hope) gone! Luckily I did get a refill on my cough syrup since that isn't quite gone.

I also spent some time doing some Cyber Monday-ing. If you love 100 Percent Pure, hurry and check out their deals before midnight!! 

How was your Thanksgiving?

Thank you for reading!

Alexandra

Quarantined for Thanksgiving

Basically as soon as I finished my last post (about gratefulness despite a rough November) I put myself to bed with some NyQuil cough because I couldn't stop coughing and thought it would help. 4 hours later I found myself in my parents' living room using my little sister's emergency albuterol supply. I was in pain and desperate to make it stop and simultaneously avoid going to the ER.

I got home, coughed on and off for another two hours and finally fell asleep. I slept in a little and then Kyle took me to the doctor where I was promptly sent to get a chest xray, whooping cough lab test and prescriptions. He also informed me that I wasn't able to go back to work or be near my family until my antibiotic was all gone (5 days later). So, this Thanksgiving is going to be a little weird, and a lot sad. 

Don't get me wrong, I definitely don't want to get anyone sick, and I'm not exactly myself on this prescription cough medicine.... but I really don't want to miss out on my family Thanksgivings. 

I'm also missing my only craft fair of the year, which my dad and Kyle have very sweetly offered to run for me... :) 

So once again, through the struggle that is this November, I am so grateful for those around me, cheesy TV, mashed potatoes and prescription medicine.

Kyle and I have spent the last two days napping, watching Boy Meets World and Gilmore Girls, cuddling with Duchess and rearranging our apartment. 

I am grateful for the time that we have just to spend together, no obligations or worries. No last minute rushing or headaches.

Grateful that we have so many fun little thrifted pieces of furniture and decor to keep us occupied with our (still) new apartment. (seriously, the thrifing has been prime recently! Hoping to post about it soon!)

Grateful for the time to upload 20+ Goodwill and Salvation Army thrifted Christmas albums into my itunes for the holiday season (yes seriously, July is the best time to buy Christmas albums $2 each!! Ranging from early 2000's pop compilations to new Michael Buble Xmas!)

Grateful that we already bought stuff to make pie to take to our family celebrations, so that there is a pumpkin pie baking in the oven as I type this... :) 

Grateful that we are essentially done with our Christmas shopping and already picked up wrapping paper... so that gives us another project to work on in all this spare time. :) 

Grateful that so many parts of my family are taking care of me in their own ways. From Kyle checking on me constantly and being my quarantine companion to my dad offering to run my craft fair booth, my mom giving me emergency albuterol, my grandma calling from Arizona to check in on me, a relative on Kyle's side that I've never even met wishing me well through facebook and my in-laws / parents postponing/rescheduling/rearranging Thanksgiving plans so that we can all be together on "Day 6" - the day my antibiotic is up! You guys are amazing, I love you so much!

So I am wishing you all a wonderful and health-filled Thanksgiving. I hope that you are able to focus on gratitude as much as I've been able to. I guess it's funny that the year that I don't even get to participate in Thanksgiving (on the day at least) is the one where I've been thinking about gratitude the most. :) 

Thanks for Reading & Happy Thanksgiving!

Alexandra

November

A normal November for me is filled with lots of cold air and gray skies while Coldplay's 'Rush of Blood to the Head' is playing in the background. Dreaming of holiday and family time in the coming weeks. Taking more than my fair share of cranberries at every holiday gathering. It's a magical time of year.

This November has been a little different. Our temperatures have been in flux between too warm for a coat and hovering right at freezing, I've had very little Coldplay playing. I'm making lists for the upcoming holidays because we've been so busy I feel like I'm already behind. I am now in the middle of my second cold for the month. I'll tell you, being a substitute teacher (especially at a preschool) is probably not the best job for someone so prone to getting sick as me. 

But, in this time of being sick and busy, I'm finding myself focusing a lot on gratitude. I'm so grateful to have a job that I have to call in sick to. I'm grateful to have a kitten that eventually stops attacking things in the room and cuddles with me while I rest. Grateful that daytime TV consists of hours of Boy Meets World and cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies. Grateful for instant hot chocolate, real fruit pop sickles, chicken soup and cough drops, which are currently my 4 food groups. Grateful for my wonderful husband who keeps me stocked with my aforementioned foodstuffs, nyquil, humidifier, cuddles, slippers, real food, love and countless other things I need and want. :) 

I am also grateful for what it feels like to be well again and knowing that it should be coming soon. Grateful for the upcoming holidays and the pies I get to make to share with my loved ones. Grateful for family traditions both old and new. And those cranberries... 

So apologies for the lack of posts, but at least some semi-seasonal ones will hopefully be on their way before the month is out.

Hope you are all having a lovely November!

Alexandra 

Happy Thanksgiving + Pumpkin Pie {recipe #66}

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

I made my very first pumpkin pie this year! 

I was nervous, but it turned out really awesome actually!

I just used the recipe on the can of pumpkin and it was wonderful. 

I also made my favorite fall pie Apple Cranberry, with a crumble crust. 

Coming Soon: "12 Things I am Grateful For", because being grateful is not limited to Thanksgiving or even November!

What are you grateful for this season?

All for now, 

Alexandra