How we Celebrated Life this week:

Hey there!  Welcome to another exciting installment of “How we celebrated Life!” Periodically, I like to pull back the curtain and give you a peak into our week. And from the looks of the feedback, ya’ll like it to 😉 (Ya’ll? …can a Michigander say “ya’ll?”)
This week in the midst of daily work life, Vet Appointments (seasonal allergies are not Gunther’s friend), family health scares, and potential car issues…We had to be extra intentional about prayer & renewing our minds. We had to be intentional about being grateful. This helped. 😉 We had to be intentional about celebrating life.
Adulthood. Not. For. Whimps.
Have you ever noticed that sometimes the difference between having a rough moment and having a rough entire day is taking a time out? I’m a big advocate of Grown-up Time Outs. Taking a break, pulling back for 5 minutes, listening to a song that “speaks to your core” as an awesome friend of mine puts it.( Here’s one that’s been rocking me this week.) Then, praying, getting perspective, and shaking it off like Taylor Swift.

Easy? No. Necessary? Yes.
Frustrations can make us feel small. And sometimes when life gets extra crazy it’s easier to retreat to the murk of self-pity and forfeit our hope of it ever changing.
Whatever you’re walking through right now lovely one, it will soon be a bittersweet memory or perhaps a spring board into a new season. So raise your glass (or giant mug filled with GingerSnappish Tea,my current fav) to choosing joy, “learning to dance in the rain” (if I may be so cliché) and celebrating your amazingly beautiful life with us.
Here’s a few ways we celebrated life this week; maybe it’ll give you a little inspiration and a few ideas to try out too!
We started off this week with a new Christmas tradition. Now, you might be saying Christmas tradition? It’s November. Yes, yes it is, HOWEVER, I’ve been closet listening to Christmas music since, oh I don’t know, *cough August *cough. So, a November Christmas tradition is not out of place at all. Especially since it was backed by our city 😀

We went to our 1^st Christmas Tree Lighting!

Yay! Now, we were sandwiched in with literally 10s of 1000s of other crazies welcoming Christmas in November, BUT if you can get over the massive crowd factor, it was a good time to be had! Lights everywhere, Cider & Donuts and a ginormous Christmas tree with lights timed perfectly to Trans-Siberian Orchestra. It was one of those moments you take a mental snapshot of to tuck away in your good memories. But of course, because we live in the digital age, we took a real snapshot of it too.

Ok, a couple 😉 Because of course there was the inevitable “eye” or “nose” #selfie.
And then we walked the mile and a half back to our car. Haha. Good Times. Thankfully, our Christmas Spirit had effectively kicked in.
This week I also took full advantage of a spontaneous “Sister Date” on my day off. Starbucks, a quick jaunt around Pottery Barn and her talking me out of shoes and were involved.

Here’s what I learned for you:
Starbucks has a collection of Holiday Cups and Mugs that will make your heart sing Christmas Carols.

And Pottery Barn Has Chalk Board Pillows! I may or may not have squealed a little bit when I saw them. I will be eying them for a sales sticker. But I’m sure you could attempt to make them if you’re very crafty…I should really learn to sew…in my spare time… I digress.

This week we also had such a fun double date with some friends of ours! We checked out a new restaurant, which is always good for the soul and my amazing hubby found a “Tea House” for us to try. The tea selection was epic to say the least. And although my palate is pr-e-tty adventurous, I steered clear of ordering a tall cup of “Buddha’s ear” and stuck to a slightly more predictable “Winter Spice.” BUT, it still came with its own little draining board and steeping timer.

Tots Fancy.

The icing on the cake of this evening was that it was “Open Mic Night” at the tea house. Let’s just say it’s an evening we won’t soon forget. Especially because this precious little lady did “Slam Poetry.” #Epic

Isn’t she adorable? And she dropped a few mean rhymes too, let me tell ya.  But enough about us, we want to see how YOU’RE celebrating life!  So leave a comment or some social media love with the hashtag #nosmalllife.  And we’ll celebrate together.

Until next time…But wait there’s more! Be sure and tune in next time for a REALLY exciting announcement!  Pins and Needles kids. Pins and needles!

Meg