So often do families across America get together to eat and take turns going around the table expressing what they are thankful for.  I am a huge supporter of taking the time to be grateful for all of the wonderful blessings we have around us.  I also think that when you are going around the table and quickly thinking off hand what you are thankful for it is very easy to default to generic items such as ‘family’, ‘friends’, ‘having a house over my head’, having my job still in this economy.

I want to dig a bit deeper and know which friend exactly and why, what have they done in the last year to impact your life.  Who at your work makes your day better, or maybe a recent assignment in your job has changed and you are thankful to be challenged again. Take the time to get specific and you will realize certain people or events stand out in the last year that you are overwhelmingly thankful for!  Finally don’t just say it out loud at a table once a year.  Seek out that friend or family member – or boss who has left an impression on you and let them know why you are thankful!

This year my family sat together and gave thanks… it looked something like this: We had 12 different topics listed on tiny sheets of paper which we passed around in a hat.  We each took turns drawing one, and then went around the table answering the question on the piece of paper. Some examples were as follows:

- A past friend you are thankful for and why

- A past experience this year that you are thankful for

- A future plan that you are thankful for

- Something you have purchased this year that you are thankful to be able to afford

- A TV Show/Movie/Book you have read that has inspired you this year

- Someone new in your life that you are thankful for

- Why you are thankful for your health in the last year

I challenge you to come up with your own topics of things to be thankful for! Have fun learning new things about everyone in your family and embrace what everyone has to be thankful for, it’s been a great year!!

Is this how your Thanksgiving looked?  Hope it was full of delicious turkey and surrounded by your family and friends!

Source: Youtube

Don’t think I have skipped Thanksgiving and gone straight to Christmas.. BUT I came across this great DIY wreath and had to share it.  I know so many families who spend the weekend following Thanksgiving putting up their Christmas decorations together, and while reading the cb2 Blog this project jumped out!

This is also a great DIY idea for your wedding, get ornaments in your weddings colors and hang them on the doors of the church or reception.  An easy way to add decorations to you event!

Supplies:
1. Strong stiff wire that can be bent into a ring. We used aluminum wire gauge 20, about 55” long–due to the scale of the products in the shot, our wreath was rather large, about 28″ in diameter. A wire hanger is also a simple way to go.

2. Ornaments. We used a total of 81 ornaments. For a smaller version, we’re guessing you could make a 14” wreath with about a third of the ornaments depending on how full you wanted it.

3. Strong tape to fasten the ends of the wire ring together or, pliers to twist the ends of the wire ring together.

4. Ribbon to hang the wreath.

Directions:
1. String one ornament at a time onto the wire ring, alternating colors, using smaller ones to fill in the gaps.

2. When the ring is completely covered in ornaments, fasten the ends together.

3. Use a ribbon to cover the spot where the ends are fastened together, and hang!

Tip: best not to go too large in diameter as the wreath could become too heavy and stretch out.

Hopefully I will get a picture of mine when I finish it! Wish me luck!

Source: cb2

Your photographer is only one person!  Most of the time they will bring an extra body to help them cover the whole wedding, but still I guarantee they can’t be everywhere at all times.  Also, they see the wedding with a professional eye and are taking shots of the big events of the day along with a few of the unforgettable details!

Leave cameras on the table with this note along side it, encouraging your guests to have fun with the pictures and take fun pictures themselves.  Trust me you will be surprised with the artistic ability of your friends and family members! You will have very personal up close shots.  When the professional photographer comes around everyone strikes a pose, when you are at a table with your closest friends you let loose and show your true personality!

It will be cheap and easy to drop off the table cameras and when you get back from your honeymoon you will have a stack of pictures to recap right away your great memories!

**WARNING**  Depending who is at which table, you might have a lot of random shots or blank shots.  If kids get a hold of the camera you never know what will appear! This detail at your wedding could turn out FABULOUS or it could not go as planned.. but I think it is worth the risk!!

Source: Liana Photography

Marriage is…

… Morning Kiss

… Best Friend

… Problem Solver

…  Being Yourself

… Partner in Crime

… Sharing Dreams

… Unstoppable Passion

… Better Half

… Constant Temptation

… #1 Fan

… Daily Choice

… Top Adventure

… Strong Faith

…  Timeless  Trust

… One Promise

…  Inside Jokes

… Unconditional Love

**Add to my list **  What is Marriage to you?… In only two words!

Would you rather go to work or go back to sleep? That is the question I asked my husband on the morning of his birthday.

It seemed like the best gift, how often does your alarm go off at 6 AM and your only wish is to snooze it all day long? Not only did it catch him off guard when he was given the option, but he was hesitant to answer ! Of course he would rather go back to sleep, but he has emails and meetings to attend in his mind. Little did he know that I had contacted his boss 1 week prior and requested this day off for him and cleared his schedule!  He didn’t understand how he could simply ‘not go to work’, and thus began the Would You Rather themed surprise.

The rest of the day went a little something like this:

(After waking up)  Would you rather go out to breakfast or stay in and have breakfast here? I had an option ready for either answer for example, if he would have chose to eat at home i would have replied, Would you rather have Pancakes or Omelets? or if he would have chose to go out, I had two cafe’s to choose from – Would you rather go to Brunch X  or Brunch Y?

Once we completed the  meal I was ready for some coffee.  Would you rather go to Caribou Coffee or Starbucks? The day was planned one question at a time for him, but he still had choices to do and go where he wanted.  He loved it!

After getting a caffeine kick i gave him 4 different options of where he could choose to go to get his birthday gift: Would you rather go to the computer store or the music store? and Would you rather go to the book store or the Sports store? I told him that he would choose one gift at one store and forgo a gift at the other store.  He didn’t know what he was getting at either store so it was a gamble.  He choose two stores and received two gifts that he was very happy with!

Next, I handed him a note card that said Would you rather go to a movie or a museum? After checking into the current movies, he choose to go to a museum, off we headed with all the other tourists in Chicago to the aquarium.  We had fun spending some time there and crossed off one more item on our Chicago Bucket list!

Some other questions that I came up with for the day centered around things he loved to do, whether it was reading, playing cards, watching a TV show – anything that involved spending time together doing what he is passionate about.

Finally we ended the night with Would you rather make sushi at home or go out for sushi? Being my daring husband he wanted to try to make it ourselves!  So we went and bought seaweed, sticky rice to cook, and raw fish with veggies.  Personally I have never done this but that was what the day was about…adventures!  So an hour or so later we had completed the sticky rice and successfully rolled the fish and vegetables in the seaweed!  Not only did we have fun cooking together, we were pretty proud of ourselves!

If you have been with your same significant other for a long time, it gets a bit harder every year to come up with new ways to surprise them.  This was my way of trying to think out of the box and I think it worked mightly well.  I am always looking for new and exciting ways, I love sharing ideas.   So if you need some gift inspiration I hope my would you rather day helped.  Also, please share your unique date ideas to inspire others!

Source: Lana Photography

One of my favorite websites to visit is Uncommon Goods, if you have yet to check this out I suggest heading over there now!  There is always a new, unique and interesting gift to stop and make you wonder!  There are practical gifts and there are fun gifts – recycled, eco-friendly gifts and colorful completely unnecessary gifts…but all full of character!

I came across this Wishing Wall Frame and thought it would be a perfect way to recreate the timeless guestbook at your wedding.  Have each guest sign a small sheet of paper with a wish for your new lives together, signature or good memory they have spending with you.  This will make for a colorful display in your house,  and a great talking point when guests visit – I am sure everyone will wonder about it!

If you are hosting a smaller wedding and are weary of filling up this large wall of wishes, start early! Bring it to your showers and bachelorette parties, each event you can come up with a new idea for your friends to write down.  In the end the wall will be filled with fun stories, kind words and well wishes!

Source: Uncommon Goods

Dessy-Pantone-OneWed Style Board Challenge—

Win $500 in Dessy Accessories or up to 8 Lela Rose Bridesmaids Dresses

Onewed fell in love with the new Dessy-Pantone Style Board tool and recently teamed up to offer a lucky bride (actually 4 lucky brides) $500 in Dessy Accessories for the best inspiration board they can create!

In November, December, January and February they will be selecting a monthly winner. At the end of February Onewed will select their grand prize winner who will win up to 8 Lela Rose bridesmaid dresses.  Of course, expect to see  them showcase their favorite inspiration boards and brides-to-be on the OneWed Savvy Scoop Blog!

To Enter (and enter as many boards as you like):

1.       Create a style board with your wedding colors on the Dessy website.

2.       Click “Share Board” and email submissions to savvyscoop@OneWed.com with the link to your fab board.

3.       Submit your board by November 29^th so that we can select and announce our favorite on Nov 30^th!
(feel free to try again in December, January & February)