Happy Thanksgiving!! Gobble gobble! 🦃
For Thanksgiving this year, the day Fall began we (as in I ;)) decorated our apartment in all things Fall. I always take it as an opportunity to deep clean also. So after the hours of hard work in prep, the apartment was decked out. I had Cody snap a picture of my accomplishment. (I know I am repeating myself, I stated this in my Fall blog but I'm saying it again for emphasis lol).
As I've said before, at work I have joined and helped start our crochet club. It is going really well and our group has grown as well as our work topics we are teaching/learning and the crafts and skills we are making. The other day we made soaps! Above is the second scarf I made and it is EXTREMELY soft and fluffy!
This is a collection of the handmade soaps I made in our group! The green massage bars are made with cucumber melon extract, goat milk base, melon madness essential oil, a small amount of almond oil, green food dye, and honey. The red rose soap is made with red food dye, lilac and germanium essential oils, and a clear honey base. The blue soaps are made with a goat milk base, apple cinnamon essential oil, and almond oil. They all smell so heavenly!
I love love love this yeti crocheted cup warmer. I didn't crochet this but found it at Ijams nature center.
Every Fall I try to get rid of some previous Fall clothes that have gone out of style and treat myself to a few new Fall items. This year the clothes above came from Forever 21 and the theme this year unintentionally is striped 😅 I love these shirts and dress so much and have already worn them many times!
A few weekends before Thanksgiving mom and Morgan paid me a visit of Christmas shopping (for gifts for other people), errand running, and Panera lunch! In the picture above I was with mom but unfortunately didn't get any pictures with her.
Me and sister! Don't we look so much alike here! This was right after Morgan gave me a really sweet present that will mean more to me than anything in my life. She presented me with a legit official appreciation award for all that I have done for her in supporting her in getting her basically double major degree. My heart was so touched. I love Morgan so much and all of her hard work in reaching her goals and never giving up. All of the literal sleepless nights and facing her fears. I am so proud of her!
And of course I hopped on the bandwagon and asked this question above to my mom. She was horrified. 😆 I then proceeded to ask both of my grandmothers who were equally horrified haha! If you didn't jump on the train, ask your mom next year, trust me you won't regret it 😂.
For Thanksgiving day we went to Gigi's house (along with 26 other people, not including the dog😅) and got to meet and eat with Morgan's fiance's family. They are getting married in less than 6 months! The food and company was great! We went up the day before to help cook, run errands, and walk the dog. Cody was invited by Jeremy Pruitt to UT's football practice before the big Vandy game! He loved the experience again and talking to Fulmer, Eddie Courtney, and Pruitt about game plans!
After the absolutely delicious meal on Thanksgiving day we had dessert, played board games and drove home. The picture below is the only picture we got of Thanksgiving weekend because we had that much fun! Gigi snapped this picture of Cody and I on her porch stairs. I really like it!
To set the Christmas tone.............
Came in to get some hot tea after sitting all snuggled up by the cozy little fire outside!
What a perfect way to end the night with a movie night with some Fall scented candles lit.
Christmas gathering dessert ideas:
I really want to try to make this at Gigi's Christmas this year!
I had to throw in how Sasha gets ready for Christmas 😂😂 she's a hoot!
How much do her paws weigh? The world may never know!
The day after Thanksgiving we immediately swung into the Christmas spirit decorating for Christmas. We started with decorating my Nana's tree because we aren't putting one up this year (it is tucked away where we can't get to it in my in-law's basement while they are remodeling their house) so I got my tree decorating fix with Nana's tree! She is so gracious to let us help and even made us some sausage balls with cider to make the morning complete! I love decorating Christmas trees so much! Don't worry, we won't miss the opportunity next year putting up the first tree in our new house! The anticipation is killing me!
I couldn't pass up the opportunity for a photo shoot!
Wow how peaceful!!
Now on to our apartment. We spent the day Saturday decorating, singing along to Christmas songs and looking at Christmas lights. I love the little touches we have with the decor!
Can't forget the stockings! We will have to put our presents under the TV this year 😅
Our cozy end table area.
Can't forget the polar bears! (favorite animal by far!)
Beautiful lights around the area!!
Ready for the first advent candle Sunday at church rocking my new Christmas tree green dress!
And of course the second advent candle Sunday outfit!
*stay tuned for 3rd, 4th, and 5th candle outfit! ;)
The magic of Christmas is giving back. Truly, there is nothing more special than to give what you have to someone else who needs it more. Most of us live a very surplus life, filled with sometimes selfish purchases and things we really really don't need. I spent 13+ hours of the day after Thanksgiving raiding through every single thing that Cody and I owned giving away probably a good 1/4 of it. They are things we have held onto for too long and/or don't need that someone else could really benefit from. Everything in this picture above plus about 5 big bags more was dropped off at the Good Will center down the street.
Merry Christmas! Expect a few Christmas blog posts to come after the holidays! It's going to be a busy next few weeks for the Raborns! Plus I am visiting my Dad in New York City the second weekend in January!
With so much love,
Kayla Raborn
12/9/18
/
