Lost and Found...

I can`t believe how long it`s been since I`ve written on this little ol` blog!

I guess I can blame it on all of the writing I have done to finish up my stories for Holiday. I honestly didn't have any more words to share. I am proud of what I have accomplished and have learned so much. Because we are a small team, we have all pitched in to copy edit, proof-read, voice our opinions on backgrounds for the front-of-book stuff, and more. I think I have frozen shoulder after all of that typing but it was for a worthy (and beautiful) cause. I cannot wait until you all see the magazine! And if you haven`t ordered a copy, be sure to head here to reserve yours!

Still, I missed chronicling the goings-on in my life and am itching to get going on some decorating projects of my own. Strangely enough, I am thinking ahead to Christmas and how I want to decorate, gifts I`d like to make, and my annual crafting session with my mum and Sophie (handmade snow globes are on the agenda). You would think I would be sick of even thinking about Christmas, but strangely, the opposite occurred!

Tonight I made beef stew and crusty French bread for dinner, and that - combined with the nip in the air - made me feel like I have my groove back. No more humid heat (I hope), I can look through my cookbooks and experiment with new recipes (my goal is to add three new dishes to our dinner repertoire), and I plan to root through my rubbermaids and bring up some fall decor.  Because even though I have been transported to Christmas land via my work, it is not Christmas. And fall is here and meant to be enjoyed.

We Canadians celebrate our Thanksgiving this Sunday and I feel like I have a lot to be grateful for.

The most important "things" in my life will be sitting around our table, and I am happy to be able to fill their bellies and make them happy. We will head to a nearby ski hill and ride the ski lift, admiring the fall colors. At the top, we will hike back down - an outing that I have been wanting to go on for years. Our Thanksgiving is much simpler and uneventful than those of you who celebrate the American Thanksgiving in November. We eat, we visit, and some of us take a jaunt to a pumpkin field to buy a few for Halloween. There is no Black Friday, no shopping, and no trees set up and decorated as soon as the dishes are cleared.

And for me, stepping away from Christmas and back into fall sounds just about perfect.

A centerpiece...and I'm a guest blogger!

Is it vain to report that the Thanksgiving turkey I cooked yesterday was the best I ever ate? Of course it is, but I think lying is a bigger sin so I am taking the vanity route! I treat holiday turkey dinners with reverence, and will not eat turkey in between Thanksgiving and Christmas (that's a span of more than two months here!) because I want the taste of the meal to be special. Because the handy man and I don't really exchange gifts, our gift is the meal!

We're simple people...

Remember I said I was going to attempt to replicate the holiday centerpiece found here? Well, don't compare too closely, but here is my version (with the assistance of my girlie). If you don't like it, you can go ahead and blame her. I'm all about blaming the children...

Somehow things didn't look this pretty when we were all finished...

*****************************************

Now, if you want to see what other crafting I've been up to, just head on over to

Mrs. Limestone's where I am guest blogging today. While you're there, be sure to take the tour of her gorgeous Brooklyn Limestone. Be forewarned: you might be a teensy bit depressed after!!

Bountiful table...

Before you ask, this is not my house...though I am making a similar centerpiece for our holiday meal!

It is Thanksgiving  here in the Great North. A full month ahead of our U.S. friends, Thanksgiving in Canada finds us tucking in to a delicious turkey dinner while the leaves still cling to the trees in full colour. Pumpkins are literally being harvested and you can take a disoriented turn through corn fields masquerading as mazes. Pies are made from apples newly plucked from the trees, and sweaters are warmth enough for an after dinner stroll - designed to create room in our bellies for the desserts heaped on tables heaving from prosperity. Which brings me to the essence of the holiday: giving thanks for the people, the blessings, and the nourishment we are so fortunate to have before us.

My motto for this holiday, and one I try to remember each day, is the one found at the bottom of my blog:

If you haven't got all the things you want, be grateful for the things you don't have, that you don't want.

-unknown-

A Thankful Thanksgiving...

I am a lucky girl. I had all my favourite things squeezed into one weekend. Breaking bread with my little family and my parents, who travelled from New Brunswick to share Thanksgiving with us, and creating pretty things with my sweet girlie and mum (she's sweet, too). Toss in a few games of Scrabble with a dear friend and then my parents, and my sighs of happiness could be heard throughout my home. I am, indeed, a word nerd.

Our turkey dinner was beyond delicious, and we all took a part in making and serving the meal. I made a chocolate cake with "almost homemade butter-cream icing" with the recipe coming from Country Living magazine, and it is our new favourite icing recipe. Of course, we capped off our meal by pulling a few crackers, and Sophie enjoyed "winning" every time. Pulling crackers is a tradition we have enjoyed for as long as I can remember; and we have since extended the ritual beyond Christmas, to include Easter and Thanksgiving. We are used to looking goofy in the paper crowns, and everyone has to wear one while at the dinner table!!

What a difference a year makes! Last Thanksgiving, I was tortured by the pain of a dry socket from the removal of a wisdom tooth, and could have cared less about the holiday. I never got a chance to make the beautiful place cards Matthew Mead offered up as a free download on his website last fall. So, this year I vowed to finally make them:

Aren't they pretty?

After dinner, we finally placated Sophie, and began our annual Halloween craft. Lots of glitter, a few skeletons, stamps, and creativity and we ended up with some great decorations. They are still drying, so I will show you the end result soon. In fact, I think I will begin decorating for Halloween now that Thanksgiving is over.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends (and my family)!!