Our Thanksgiving (& Cha's First)
We had such an amazing holiday with our family this year, regardless of covid19 and the weirdness that 2020 has brought. Charlotte and I spent most of the week in San Diego at my childhood home. I enjoyed the week off from Colourpop work and got to put some time into Jeanie Baby going into cyber sale season (Check out our Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sales here). Overall, I would say that it felt super normal. I still got all the holiday feels that I usually do around this time, and more importantly, I got to see all of my immediate family, which in reality is all I really wanted anyway. Thanksgiving usually turns into this stressful day of cooking and cleaning and barely being able to say 2 words to each person because there are too many people in the room. Although my mom did spend the whole day and night cooking and cleaning, she probably agrees with me that it was so much better than previous years, and it was special to be able to sit and enjoy with just our fam.
My mom and I spent Wednesday going to Michaels to get decor, drinking wine, setting up a Thanksgiving themed Christmas tree (a new tradition) and prepping our table. She prepped potatoes and the turkey while I hand-made some coaster/name plates. I found these wooden coasters and gold cheetah ribbon at Michaels for cheap! I didn’t know what I wanted to do with them until I got home and saw the rest of the decor my mom had already gotten, but I knew we could do something cool with them. I added these acrylic name plates on top of the coasters so that the design would show through, and we can reuse the coasters for next year as coffee table decor. I used these markers for the leaves, which I love and use for so many different projects, and these Sharpie oil based markers for the calligraphy. I was excited to do something crafty and actually draw again, since it’s been forever and I’m always creating on a screen. The holidays get me so pumped up for crafty stuff like this, and brings a whole wave of nostalgia for me. Is it just me, or do the holidays make you so happy and giddy too? EEEEEP!%^*
Another thing to get excited about for the holidays—the family outfits and of course the baby ‘costume changes’ as my dad calls them. I am one of those people that hates taking family photos (it sucks to round everyone up and make sure everyone is looking, especially the baby), but I do love planning the outfits for the photos and the events. With this being Cha’s first Thanksgiving, I had her outfit picked out way ahead of time and was excited to get some photos of her and her 7 year old cousin Adler. You can find similar outfits to Charlotte’s and Adler’s at Zara Kids.
All the crafts, cooking, and outfit planning aside, we had a great holiday and we are so thankful for everything in our lives right now. Like I said, 2020 has been weird. I have been saying that 2020 should be the YEAR of being thankful, because a lot of things have been put into perspective for us as a family. We ended the Thanksgiving night by writing what we were thankful for on little ornaments and hanging them on the tree. After, my mom and dad ‘surprised us’ with a giant tree lighting in our backyard. (I say surprised in quotes because we knew it was happening but had not seen the result yet. Also, my dad ruined it and pulled the trigger a little early on the lights. We still love him :) ). Anyway, I love my fam so much. Ugh, what a great time. I hope that you had a great holiday as well, whether it was on a zoom call in the peacefulness of your own apartment, or with a big family—however you decided to spend it in these crazy times. I’ll end this by sharing my 5 things that I am most thankful for. I highly recommend writing yours too because it really puts the ego into check and gets you in the GRATEFUL mindset.
FAMILY: Of course, of course. A lot of us are most grateful for them. But for some people, they wouldn’t choose to spend their time with family over their friends. Although we may get annoyed with each other sometimes, I would always choose to hang with my family first; they’re my best friends! I’m so lucky and grateful for that.
HEALTH: More than freakin’ ever. I am thankful for health every year during flu season, but with covid being on the rise again, I’m thankful for every day that I wake up feeling good.
A WARM HOME: Visiting my childhood home always sends me to nostalgia, with memories of the holidays and getting cozy (as cozy as we can in Southern California). Having a warm and cozy home is something that I definitely took for granted as a kid, and now appreciate so much as an adult.
FOOD: This may be an adult thing too, but recently every time I go to the grocery store, I think to myself “wow, I’m so lucky to be able to purchase anything from this grocery store right now.” I also go into complete guilt trip when we waste groceries or have the throw them out cause they’re expired.
CREATIVITY: I am grateful that I found things that I can do with my hands to stay busy and creatively satisfied. Creativity and arts have really helped me over the years to ease anxiety and find true purpose in my life.
With all that sappiness, I love you guys and I hope this post got you in the holiday feels if you weren’t already.
xx,
Madi