Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving from me and my little family. I love them so, and feel especially thankful this year for the blessings they bring to my life.

I'm also pretty thankful for pumpkin pie. Maybe shouldn't have eaten that second slice though...

Scenes from the weekend {Thanksgiving edition}

What a fabulous weekend it was, full of sunshine, delicious food and lots of family time. I felt very thankful for all of the blessings in my life these last few days. The highlight of the weekend was our annual outdoor Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house. Here are a few of the reasons why:

 Amazing weather and beautiful fall foliage in my mom & dad's backyard

 A pumpkin for every kid

 Festive goodie bags from Auntie Pat

 My sister-in-law's always awesome cupcakes

 A festive kitchen table {I snuck inside to take a peek}

 My homemade pumpkin pie {delicious! if I do say so myself...}

 Happy kids

Smiley scarecrows

 Grubby little boys having fun

Hanging out with this goofy guy :)

Cousin time + a little red wagon = hours of fun

It's still the weekend here {hooray for holiday Mondays!} so we're relaxing and enjoying ourselves some more. I'm going to make a roast chicken dinner for us, Alan's planting spring bulbs like a crazy person, we've got a gingerbread haunted house to decorate, and I need to get things ready for Em's arrival on Wednesday!!! It's going to be a lovely day. 

Happy Thanksgiving! And happy week ahead.

E xo

Happy things with which to end the week

It's Friday again already! It's been a good week, and I've got plenty of little things to smile about. Things like:

Reading this book {a favourite from my own childhood} to my class today, and then following the "secret recipe" and baking cranberry bread together. I've even hidden the recipe somewhere in the classroom for them to find, just like in the book.

image via here

Skyping with Em {we're now in the same time zone!} and making plans for next week! "This shit's about to get real." :)

via here

It's getting cold at night now. Thank goodness for my hot water bottle! I like to get cozy under the covers with it and watch Downton Abbey before I go to sleep.

via here

Purdy's chocolate pumpkins, delivered to our door!

via Purdy's

It's Thanksgiving this weekend! That means three days off, lots of family time, a delicious dinner of soup and turkey sandwiches in the backyard at my mom & dad's on Sunday {I'm bringing the butternut squash soup- yum} and a roast chicken dinner with all the fixings at home on Monday, oh and let's not forget... pumpkin pie. The weather is supposed to be fabulous, so hopefully we'll get to spend lots of time outside in the sunshine {and the leaves!}, pumpkin spice lattés in hand.

via here

Hope your weekend is wonderful, and that you have lots to feel thankful for. See you Monday!
E xo

Happy Thanksgiving

mary kate mcdevitt via papercrave

Just wanted to wish all my lovely American friends a very happy Thanksgiving today! I'm so thankful for the wonderful friends I've made in this blogging world, and many of you are south of the Canada/US border. I'll be thinking of you all today while I'm at school doing parent-teacher interviews...

I hope you're having a marvellous time celebrating with family and friends over pumpkin pie and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! Enjoy your extra long weekend {what a genius idea! a major holiday on a Thursday...} and the official kick-off to the holiday season. Today's the day all the American radio stations start playing Christmas music. Yay! Nothing perks me up during my morning commute like Bing Crosby...

Happy Thanksgiving, friends.
E xo

PS: Don't forget to swing by Dolce Vita to wish Micaela and her darling Max a very happy first anniversary! Kisses to you, dear M! I think it's time for another skype date, don't you?

Scenes from the weekend {Thanksgiving edition}

Had a lovely long weekend. Dinner out with my sister on Friday night, time spent outdoors in the garden on Saturday, a fabulous backyard Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' place on Sunday {Auntie Pat rented a cotton candy machine!} and a rainy day at home on Monday {in which I phoned and skyped to say "Happy Thanksgiving!" with a few of my favourite friends}. What a weekend. We ate, we played, we laughed, we worked, and then we ate some more! What is it about this time of year that makes me crave pumpkin and cinnamon? I seriously can't get enough of the stuff.

 Girls' night out

 Shopping for spring bulbs

 Pumpkins at Grandma & Grandpa's house

 Watching the cotton candy machine at work!

 Cousins, hanging out on a bale of hay

 Mom's kitchen table

 Cotton candy!

 Apple cupcakes!

French immersion Thanksgiving artwork

 Making stuffing {the cranberries are from our garden}

 Pumpkin tarts, ready to go into the oven

 Yard work and rosy cheeks

Pumpkins on the doorstep

I'm feeling very thankful for all the wonderful things in my life, long weekends included. You?

Happy Thanksgiving!

via here

It's Thanksgiving Day here in Canada! That means I'm busy making stuffing and cranberry sauce and chopping vegetables. Mmm, does it ever smell good in here! Can't wait to sit down to a Thanksgiving feast with my little family...

 We had a wonderful outdoor celebration yesterday at my mom & dad's house, too, complete with turkey soup and sandwiches, hot chocolate and a cotton candy machine!

 I have so much to be thankful for- the greatest family and friends, a {messy, but cozy} house to call home, good health, a great job, and let's not forget the pumpkin pie!

I'll be back tomorrow to share photos of the festivities. In the meantime, happy Monday, and Happy Thanksgiving if you're here in Canada!

Erin xo


PS: Thankful for all of you, too!

I'm thankful

It's Thanksgiving Day in Canada today. A good day to stop and reflect on all the things that matter. I am so thankful for so many things. Here are just a few of them:

Adorable little boys (in fancy chef's hats) to bake with

Tasty pumpkin pie and sugar cookies (check out those turkeys!)

An appreciative husband to taste those cookies (how do you like my skulls? spooky, non?)

My lovely sister-in-law Linda who looks after one of my boys while I'm at work, and sometimes comes to clean my house!

My wonderful sister who I love more than anything. She always makes me laugh and isn't she just gorgeous? (Oh and by the way, Alan, we do know you're back there...)

Linda's amazing turkey cupcakes! Seriously! Look at them! She made them from melted caramel. That girl needs to go into the cake decorating business...

My awesome dad and Uncle Dave, quiet and kind and always there for you when you need them

A garden swing to sit on with my big boy on a sunny Thanksgiving Sunday

There's that husband again, always happy to do some taste-testing for quality control!

Big smiles and even bigger cuddles with this little love (you can't tell in these photos, but I am still suffering from laryngitis, along with a nasty headcold... uggh)

Cousins to admire giant pumpkins with

Oh boy, can you just imagine how long it's going to take to scoop that sucker out?

My sister and her little boy

Auntie Pat, the best aunt in the whole wide world (loving- and spoiling!- a whole new generation of kids)

My family. I am so thankful for the 4 of us and the love & fun times we share (and all the challenges we face as well... they help to shape us and make us who we are, individually and as a whole)

Quiet moments to reflect (here's Sawyer having a little rest from the festivities underneath a garden bench)

Cousins who are just a week apart in age, and who love each other and laugh together like this

My amazing Mom, and the fact that she'll go buy a bag of marshmallows just because the boys said to her how much they'd love to roast them (can you tell what a fun outdoor dinner party she and my dad hosted? it was pretty fantastic!)

Faraway relatives (here are Auntie Ann and Uncle Ron keeping warm by the fire) who drive all the way from Oregon to celebrate with us

Two gorgeous little boys at the end of an exciting, long and busy day, still full of smiles and cuddling up on the bed for a story before it's time for sleep

***

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, even if you aren't in Canada! I'm thankful for each and every one of you, stopping by, reading my words, and saying hello. It always makes me smile!