8 Thanksgiving Traditions {Sister Inspirations}

With the start of the holiday season, we were obviously inspired by Thanksgiving. Instead of writing about the food or holiday decorations, we wanted to focus on the spirit of thankfulness. So here are eight traditions that you can start with your family this year.




Thanksgiving Journal

Every Thanksgiving, have each member in your family write a note about what they are thankful for during that year. Keep the same journal every year, that way you will have a chronological record of everyone’s thanksgivings.

8 thanksgiving traditions: thanksgiving journal

Kids’ Tablecloth

Lay down butcher paper the length of your kids’ table and let them draw things that they are thankful for. This is a great way to entertain the kids, while getting a glimpse of their perspective. 
An added bonus is that you won’t have to worry about spill-proofing a nice tablecloth. We always did this at our church Thanksgiving dinners and it was one of my favorite things about those potlucks. Besides the food, of course.  
8 thanksgiving traditions: kids' tablecloth

Five Kernels of Corn

This is one tradition that our family has practiced for many years. At each table setting, place five individual kernels of corn. During dinner, go around one by one, and have each person say a thanksgiving per kernel. My family does it so that each person only shares one thing at a time, so you end up going around the table five times. But you could always have each person say all five when it comes to their turn.
The five kernels represent the meager rations of each pilgrim during their first hard winter in Plymouth. The kernels represent the hardships that the pilgrims suffered, but also a reminder to rejoice in the blessings that they did receive. 
The traditional meaning of the first kernel celebrates the Autumn beauty and the harvest it provides. The second kernel reminds us of our love for each other. The third represents our thankfulness for family. The fourth represents friendship and the fifth kernel expresses gratitude for the freedom that the pilgrims found in America.
8 thanksgiving traditions: corn kernels

Random Acts of Gratitude

This list focuses on blessing those people that constantly serve and enrich our lives. Take a little time to express your appreciation and let them know that you notice how hard they work.
  1. Leave a sweet treat for your mail man. Legally, they cannot accept money, or gift cards more than $20, but little things like candy bars are acceptable.
  2. Shovel a neighbor’s driveway
  3. Leave an extra big tip at a regular restaurant or coffee place
  4. Randomly leave a gas card on a coworkers desk
  5. Pay for the car’s order behind you in line at the coffee shop’s drive thru
  6. Give gift cards to your children’s teachers
  7. Deliver a meal to your pastor or another family you want to honor
  8. Send a card with your child to give to their bus driver
  9. Surprise your significant other by doing one of their usual chores
  10. Send you parents a handwritten note expressing your appreciation 
8 thanksgiving traditions: acts of gratitude
The rest of the traditions can be found on Amy’s blog. Click here for the rest of the list. 

Sister Inspirations: Five Non-Traditional Painted Pumpkins

Welcome to the second installment of Sister Inspirations. This month we felt compelled to take a nod from the season and decorate pumpkins. We realize that there aren’t many new ideas that haven’t been done before, so we put our own flair on a few “non-traditional” pumpkin designs.

We went with painted pumpkins because they last longer and they are not Halloween specific, so you can use them through Thanksgiving. Also, they tend to be more kid-friendly than wielding sharp tools to carve a pumpkin.

I ended up designing a polka-dot glitter pumpkin, a bold crosshatch pumpkin and a white and plum ombre pumpkin.

Glitter Polka Dot Pumpkin

I loved how glamourous this little pumpkin turned out. It makes me happy and smile every time I look at it. It’s such a perfect little pumpkin.

I just bought those little glue dots and stuck them on the pumpkin randomly. After I sprinkled a little glitter over each dot, I patted them down to make sure they stick. You can get glue dots in almost every craft store or places like Target and Walmart.  This polka-dot glitter pumpkin was super easy to make. This design in particular would be a great project for kids.

Crosshatch Patterned Pumpkin

My sister, Amy, and I were getting supplies at Target when I saw this crosshatch pattern on a white flower pot. I instantly thought it would translate gorgeously to a pumpkin.

First, I painted the pumpkin white then I used the end of a small sponge brush to create the pattern.

Ombre Pumpkin

I just love ombre. It’s a trend that I never tire of seeing. Plus it was a good way to inject some bold color into my fall tablescape. 

For this ombre pumpkin, I started with a white base coat, then painted to bottom part plum. I put a second coat of white on the top and while the paint was still slightly wet, I used a damp cotton ball to blend the colors.

Amy also decorated two awesome pumpkins on her blog, The Happy Tulip. Her studded pumpkin is such an edgy little pumpkin. I’m in love with it. Check out her irregular chevron patterned one, as well. They both have pretty dramatic results.

Free iPhone Wallpaper: October Edition

Fall is my favorite time of year. In the Midwest, the weather is perfectly crisp but not too cold. I also happen to love C.S. Lewis. So I combined my two loves for this months’ iPhone wallpaper. This time I designed it so you don’t need a different version for iPhone 4 and 5. Just click on the link below and save the image.

Enjoy the change in weather. Enjoy the beauty of the season. Enjoy the journey. Oh, and enjoy my wallpaper to help remind you to do all that.

Download: iPhone wallpaper

Photography tutorial: Silhouettes

I have always been fascinated by silhouette photography. So much can be shown about the subjects when only their outline is visible. Like the picture above of my Great Dane, Bella. Her majestic silhouette hints at the nobility of the breed. Attentive, protective, alert. That is my Bella. She also happens to be goofy, klutzy and sassy. That can be showcased below in the picture of Bella tussling with her brother, Beau.

I was inspired by our own engagement pictures taken by the very talented Megan Rogers from Over the Rainbow Wedding Photography. The Over the Rainbow Wedding photography duo, Megan and Sarah Long are both fantastic photographers and I am often inspired by their work. The photos below were snippets from our engagement photoshoot.

Basic Silhouette Tips:

1. Back lighting is key in creating silhouettes. Your subject must be between you and your light source. In this case, the setting sun was behind my dogs. 
2. Dusk is the best time of day to shoot silhouettes. The time period right before the sun sets creates a nice back light and of course produces gorgeous background colors.
3. No Flash. It must be turned off. Your flash will fill in the silhouettes and ruin the effect.
4. Open skyline. You want there to be contrast between your dark subject and the lighter background. Unless your subject is a line of trees or the silhouette of buildings, open spaces work better. 
5. Get low. You see more of your subject the lower your get. More sky = more subject. But play around with it. I was on my stomach for the photos of the dogs. 
6. Focus directly on your subject.

For the more Advanced: 

1. Higher aperture. This will allow the background to be sharp, as well as the subject. 
2. Shutter Speed. You will most likely need a slower shutter speed because of the time of day. But play around with it.
Let me know if you found this tutorial helpful or if you have any questions. You don’t need to know manual mode to take silhouette photos but it does help. So get out your camera’s manual and learn about shutter speed, aperture and ISO. It has already helped my photography immensely. So have fun playing around with the silhouette effect and I hope this post challenges you to be creative and continue learning. Peace out.

Adventures in Blogging: a behind the scenes look into a blogging photo shoot

I’ve had a few friends ask me about the details of blogging. With this in mind, I thought I would share a behind the scenes look into what goes into a blog photo shoot. My boozy apple cider recipe with salted caramel whipped cream was my first “big” blog project so that photo shoot are what all these pictures are from.  

I am a messy cook. Actually, in general I tend to be a messy person. My mother is always frustrated with me when she comes over to my house while I am cooking. She wipes up little spills from the counter, and puts up ingredients when I am done with them. She insists upon a clean workspace. I get it. I totally respect that she has that ability. But I definitely don’t have the same ability. Sorry Mom, I know you tried. But, enjoy my mess and my sneak peak into what starting a blog entails.
My sister, Amy and I jerry-rigged a sheet as a white backdrop for our photos. The duct tape held just long enough for us to take pictures, then it started to fall down. We had many objects on the table that we played around with until we were satisfied with each finished scene.

Amy and I laughed a lot during this shoot. Sometimes we broke down into a little silliness, including a photobombing crocodile named “Moto.” We had fun. Which I think is one of the keys to the whole blogging thing. Learning new things and having fun are the reasons I started blogging in the first place anyway.

Sister Inspirations: Boozy Maple Apple Cider with Salted Caramel Whipped Cream

My sister, Amy, started her blog, The Happy Tulip, a few years ago and has been encouraging me to follow suit. I’m glad I finally gave into her persistence.

Amy and I have found that we feed off of each other’s creativity and are often inspired by similar things. We thought it would be fun for us, and hopefully you, if we periodically collaborate with each other. We are hoping that this is a start of a monthly feature on our blogs.
This month the gorgeous weather inspired us to have a camping theme.  This is the ideal time to go camping in our corner of the Midwest because the weather has started to cool down. However, the fall months can get crazy busy and we wanted to make the charm of camping accessible without the hassle of packing. Our favorite part of camping has always been the food. So, this month we created our own spin on classic camping recipes.

For my portion, I wanted to make a grown up version of apple cider. The magic is in the salted whipped cream. I am a barista at a local coffee shop and the sweet salt that we top some of our drinks with has me mesmerized. It’s such a simple thing, sugar in the raw and coarse salt. But it’s magic.

That was my initial inspiration for the salted caramel whipped cream. Homemade whipped cream is one of my weaknesses. Amy and I were eating it by the spoonful while we were photographing the final product. Believe me, it’s good. Or don’t believe me and try it yourself.

Boozy Maple Apple Cider: Serves 2

16 ounces apple cider
6 ounces maple flavored whiskey (I used Crown Maple)
A pinch of nutmeg
A pinch of clove
A pinch of allspice
Add the apple cider and whiskey to a small pot. Sprinkle in a pinch of nutmeg, clove and allspice and let simmer. Remove from stove before it comes to a boil. Serve topped with salted caramel whipped cream.

Salted Caramel Whipped Cream: Serves 2

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons of caramel syrup (I used Hershey’s)
Sugar in the raw (or any turbinado sugar)
Coarse salt
Pour the cream and caramel syrup into your bowl. Beat on medium high until soft peaks form. I used my KitchenAid mixer on setting eight. It helps if the ingredients, the bowl and the paddle are all chilled.
Mix equal parts sugar in the raw and salt. Once you put a dollop of whipped cream on your drink, sprinkle on a little sweet salt to top it off.

For Amy’s blog she decided to create two s’mores inspired desserts. While we were photographing her finished desserts, the simple ingredients were very easy to eat. I definitely got a sugar buzz. It’s nice to get the s’mores flavor without having to mess with the leftover marshmallow ooze on your fingers. Check our her recipes for her S’mores Bars and S’mores Dipped Marshmallows on her blog, The Happy Tulip. They’re both delicious and so easy to make and eat.