i'm thankful for...

I'm thankful for...

My Lord and Savior.

And for His many blessings.

Without Him, I am nothing.

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.

—Psalm 9:1

Smiling.

It makes me happy.

{image via ffffound.}

Husband.

My sweet, wonderful, Jonathan...

He makes life so much fun, and is such a blessing to me every day.

I love him more than words can describe.

Friends.

hehe.

Nashville.

Our new home.

For this place, for the people, new friends we are making.

For our future here together.

Max.

He brings lots of joy to our hearts.

And he lets us dress him up in silly costumes.

Our Family.

We're so thankful for all of them.

They're great blessings to us.

The opportunity to do something I love.

For Inspiration.

{image via vol.25}

Happy Thanksgiving! :)

diy felt leaf garland tutorial.

When I saw this handmade felt leaf garland by Elsie, I knew that I had to figure out how to make one for myself! I love festive decorations, and thought this would make a fun addition to our Thanksgiving Day decor.

The materials you'll need:

• three (or more depending on how long you want to make it) sheets of felt--I got mine at Wal-Mart in the kid's craft section for just $0.25 each.
• yarn
• marker or fabric pencil
• scissors
• crewel needle (it has a larger eye for the yarn to go through.)
• needle threader

To start things off, I hand drew a little leaf...then, I cut it out to use as a guide to draw out the rest of the leaves. I drew about 10 leaves on each sheet of felt (for a total of 30 leaves.)

Next, I took my yarn. Cut it to the length I wanted it. And then pulled the yarn apart into two separate groups of two strands. (I hope that makes sense...if not, here's a picture for you below.)

Now it's time to thread the needle. I use a needle threader, because I just don't have the patience to thread that needle without it. :) Make sure to tie a knot at the end of your yarn.

Then start stitching away! Don't worry about it being in a perfectly straight line...I kind of like the imperfect look of it.

Once you've stitched one leaf, you overlap another leaf on top of it and sew it into place. Stitch & repeat. (I alternated my leaves--red, orange, brown--but you can do it randomly if you'd like.)

Just keep stitching until you've reached the desired length for your garland. And, VOILA! You have yourself a pretty little Thanksgiving garland that you can use year after year. :)

{all images by me}

This little project only cost me $0.75 and took just an hour of my time. Plus, it was super fun to make!

monday inspiration: look at the sunny side of everything.

{via kind over matter}

friday finds!

I love alliteration. Not entirely sure why, but it makes me smile. (Now that I think about it, it may stem from the fact that before I was married, my name was Tiffany Turpin...so I grew up as a living alliteration!) I made the decision to make tacos on Tuesday nights at our house, because I like the way "Taco Tuesdays" sounds. I have also introduced "Thankful Thursdays" to this little bloggity blog. So, to go right along with my silly obsession over words that begin with the same consonant sound...I bring you "Friday Finds!"

Recently I've been including a bunch of links to things I've found around the internet in the have a lovely weekend posts. So, it's basically the same thing...just with a different, fun, alliterated name! :)

Here are some finds for you this week:

Free vintage labels to decorate tins, or whatever else you want! This would be a great centerpiece at a wedding or event...or it would look pretty sitting on top of your desk to hold your varied writing utensils!

{via iDIY}

This cake poster by Erin Jang is just too cute. I would love to have this print framed and hung up in my kitchen. How cute would that be?!

{image by Erin Jang}

Red Velvet Art is one of my new favorite online shops for handmade goodies! Elsie {the owner of RVA} just posted an update to her shop this week, and here are a couple of my favorite items from there this week:

DIY Advent Calendar Kit

Large Camera Coin Pouch

{images via RVA}

Recycled Shoes -- old shoes get a whole new look with just a can of spray paint and some sequins!

{image via RVA blog}

An absolutely beautiful nursery tour. I'm loving the pale blue walls, and the yellow crib...and, well, everything about it. Check out armelle blog to see more photos of it! {and, to avoid any crazy suspicions...no, we're not pregnant. I just think this nursery is cute!}

{image via armelle blog}

Now, it's time to go enjoy this beautiful weekend! This weekend husband and I are going to Atlanta to go to a David Crowder Band concert. We're super excited!

Have a very happy weekend!

things i'm looking forward to this holiday season.

I don't know about you...but I am SO excited for this holiday season! I love every part of the year, but this is my absolute favorite! It makes me happy from the inside out.

Things I'm looking forward to this holiday season:

Hosting Thanksgiving at our house.

I've never made a turkey before...

wish me luck! :)

Watching Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

{image by mdpNY}

Lots of good food.

I like making AND eating it.

Baking Christmas goodies!

I have the hardest time narrowing down

the number of recipes I want to make.

What are your favorites?

Decorating our new home for Christmas!

My Birthday!

December 21st. Mark your calendars folks!

(hehe, just kidding...no, but seriously.)

Dressing up in silly holiday outfits and costumes.

This is Jonathan's FAVORITE part about the holidays.

Can't you tell? :)

Listening to lots and LOTS of Christmas music.

Okay, I gave in and started listening to some now.

Pandora is great for listening to Christmas music.

They have lots of stations that are dedicated just for the holidays!

Watching our favorite Christmas movies!

What are your favorites?

I'm always open to adding to our favorite list.

elf

A Christmas Story

It's A Wonderful Life

Santa Spud

He always tends to sneak into our holiday photos.

Decorating a gingerbread house!

Putting jingle bells on Max.

Drinking Coca-Cola in glass bottles on Christmas Day.

A Zajas family tradition that Jonathan and I started

our first year of marriage.

and LOTS of other super awesome stuff!

What are you looking forward to this holiday season? Any special traditions that you and your family do every year?

with love,

Tiffany

a little survey fun.

I remember those days back in middle school...before social networking sites...when my friends and I would fill out surveys about ourselves via email and forward them to each other. I loved reading all the random facts about my dear friends.

I don't fill out surveys very often now, but I still love reading them whenever I see a friend post one on Facebook or on their blog.

As a little trip down memory lane to the good 'ole middle school days...here's a little Q&A survey I found from Bleubird Vintage:

1. where is your cell phone?

on the desk next to me.

2. your hair?

long. brown. and wants a new cut.

3. your mother:

is my kindred spirit. we are so alike it's scary.

she inspires me to be a better person.

she's loving, joyful, and witty.

4. your father:

is one of the kindest, most selfless people i know.

loves God with all his heart, and it shows.

is hilarious, and makes me laugh all the time.

5. your favorite food?

pizza (with feta!)

burritos (with guacamole!)

icecream! (specifically Breyer's Rocky Road...mmmmm.)

6. your dream last night?

had something to do with this:

{image via oh hello friend}

7. your favorite drink?

my main drink of choice is water with lemon.

but i also love: coffee, hot chocolate, dr. pepper, cranberry ginger ale.

8. your dream/goal?

the way life is right now is a dream come true.

my goals for the upcoming year:

- work hard to make my photography business grow even more

- learn to love more

- encourage others to follow and never give up on their dreams

9. the room you are in?

my office here at home.

10. what is your hobby?

- photography

- reading

- acting

- drawing

- blogging

- crafting

- thrifting

- movie watching

11. what is your fear?

possums. i have nightmares of them.

{image from here}

probably because they remind me of ROUS'.

{image from this}

12. where were you last night?

snuggling on the couch watching this for the first time:

we laughed SO hard!

13. something you are not?

a pessimist.

14. muffins:

are delicious.

15. wish list items:

hmmmm...i don't really like to make wish lists because i never want to place too much importance on possessions and things.

but i really love:

- handmade cards and handwritten letters from friends and family (hint hint!) ;)

- hugs

- handmade goods from etsy

- vintage items

- photography equipment

- sentimental gifts

16. where did you grow up?

born and raised in Portland, Maine.

17. last thing you did:

make some chili in the crockpot for dinner.

18. what you are wearing:

gray pants. mustard yellow thermal shirt. my favorite Christmas socks.

19. your tv:

was a wedding gift from our amazing college friends.

20. your pet:

Thelonious Maximus Zajas (Max, for short)

he is like our child.

21. your friends:

live too far away, and are greatly missed.

22. your life:

is awesome.

i thank God every day for it.

23. your mood:

{image}

24. missing someone?

friends, family...lots of people.

25. vehicle:

2001 Buick Century.

his name is Richard.

named after Richard Petty, who used to own my car. (no joke.)

was the car i learned how to drive with.

i don't have car payments, and that is awesome.

26. something you're not wearing:

makeup. and loving it.

27. your favorite store:

{image via target.com}

28. your favorite color:

changes every week.

right now it's gray and mustard yellow.

29. the last time you laughed:

refer to #12.

30. the last time you cried:

this morning when i thought my camera was broken.

seriously almost had a panic attack. not cool. at all.

31. your best friend:

i have many:

the bestest friend a girl could ever ask for.

32. one place you go over and over:

there's no place like home.

33. guilty pleasure:

right now it's hot chocolate with vanilla creamer! gonna go make some right now...

34. favorite place to eat:

lupi's

baja burrito

35. where do you want to be in 6 years?

loving and serving God with all my heart.

loving and supporting my husband more and more each day.

have one or two kiddos by then.

working at home like i do now, so i can be with said kiddos.

doing what i love. creating things. photographing things. living and loving life.

serving and encouraging others to live their dream.

Now it's your turn! I'd love to hear more about you. If you fill out this survey for yourself, please leave the link to it in the comments!

Happy Tuesday!

{unless otherwise stated, all images are by and property of tiffany zajas photography}