Gratitude

The past few years, I’ve followed this Instagram prompt by @positivelypresent. It’s a great way to reflect on the year and focus on what’s going well.

2022 has been a rough one (I know, I said this last year, too), but I do find that taking time to be grateful really does help keep some feelings of anxiety away. It also sets you up to express love and gratitude to the people you care about. That’s all good!

Day 1: Comfort

Much of this year has been about seeking comfort wherever and however I could. I’m really grateful to have a home that brings me a lot of joy and is always a cozy place to come rest.

No, it’s not a showplace or very fancy, but it’s warm and inviting to me. Plus, it’s always full of good snacks and cats—two of life’s greatest comforts.

Day 2: Nature

This summer, Michael and I returned to Bayfield to celebrate our seventh anniversary. While we were there, we kayaked along the shores of Lake Superior and even got to explore a few small sea caves.

Getting to experience nature in a new way was awe-inspiring. It gave us both a new appreciation of the beauty and the power of this Great Lake.

We also had the privilege of kayaking with some really knowledgeable local guides, some of whom are members of the Ojibwe tribe. Thank you for sharing some of your experiences and beliefs with us!

Day 3: Wisdom

For the longest time, I lived by the motto “better out than in!” when it came to emotions, stories—pretty much anything. But over the years, I’ve picked up a bit of wisdom from my sweet husband. Not everyone needs to know everything. Not everything needs to be said the second it comes to mind. It took me a decade to pick up on this, but it’s something I take to heart.

Day 4: Love

Back in March, I had to say goodbye to my sweet girl Zara. It was incredibly hard. Adopting a new kitten was also challenging. I wondered if I could grow to like her.

Well, Little Miss Ember is no Zara (and I wouldn’t want her to be!), but my heart has made so much room for her. Seeing her and Mukki together is so darling. I love these two beasts and I am so grateful to wake up to them each morning.

I’ll be keeping up with this series all November long. Stay tuned and please join in if you’re so inclined! You can use #gratitude30 on Instagram (where this challenge is really taking place).

Thanksgiving is over, but I’m not quite finished with this series. Here are a few more thankful-fors before we roll into the Christmas season.

Day 27: Beauty

There’s a quote by William Morris I think of often (but do not always abide by): “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”

Above is my living room on a good day. It’s full of soft blankets, a wonderfully kitsch owl lamp, my prized Green Lady print and one of our cats. While it’s not beautiful to everyone, it’s perfect for me and I’m thankful to call it home.

Day 28: Technology

Tech has allowed me to work from home for the past 18 months and I cannot tell you how grateful I am for that. Working at home has helped relieve some stress and has given me the flexibility I really needed this past year.

Day 29: Truth

When you’re going throught the shit, it’s pretty hard to be transparent about it. It’s no fun being the friend that only has bad news, that’s always in a bad way. But I am thankful to the friends and loved ones that I can be truthful to when they ask “how are things?” It lightens the load. Thank you.

Day 30: Memories

A lot of what has sustained me this year has been good memories, and I am incredibly fortunate to have so many.

Above is my mom and me in Maine two years ago. We had an absolute blast exploring Portland, Kennebunkport and later Salem, Massachusetts. I’m thankful that I got to do this trip with my mom and that we both enjoyed every second.

This is the last of this series for 2021. I hope it’s encouraged you to reflect on some joys in your life.

I’m back back back again with another installment of 30 Days of Thanks. I’m going a bit brief on these entries this week since it’s go-time for Thanksgiving prep. I hope your holiday planning and cooking go smoothly!

Day 20: Creativity

Getting to flex my creative muscles at work and during my downtime is a pleasure. I get to write and think about food all day for work and then log off to think about embroidery, sewing and food again. I’m incredibly fortunate.

Day 21: Home

When things are tough, I often have to remind myself of the good things I do have. At the top of the list (OK after my husband and cats) is always my home.

This 1960s ranch is imperfect and in need of some functional updates, but it truly is home. This space is odd, old-fashioned and absolutely comfortable. I like to think it puts others at ease as well. How could you not feel like putting your feet up with a comfy chair in the living room, plenty of natural light and cats sleeping by the window?

The above print is from Michelle Brusegaard and it is very emblematic of our home.

Day 22: Animals

My love for my cats knows no bounds. My two tabbies are such rays of light, especially in tough times. Mukki (not pictured—sorry, Mukki!) is outgoing, babyish, sassy and cuddly. Zara, my spooky little bat, has been in my life since I’ve been 17. She’s funny, intuitive, sweet and curmudgeonly.

Having the two of them jingling around the house and curling up next to me while I read is something I’m so so grateful for. Zara and Mukki, I love you both!

Day 23: Knowledge

Working at Taste of Home has really helped expand my knowledge of and interest in food. Sure, I’ve always loved baking but I feel so much more well versed in bread and pies now than even a year ago.

And my work this year has led me in some really interesting directions. I’ve learned about cocktail bitters, relish trays and why a mini rolling pin is a pierogi-making essential. I love collecting these tidbits of info.

Day 24: Art

While I’d love to get into the art vs. craft debate (I actually love discussing this), I’ll skip it for now. This year, I’m thankful that I got to share my artsy crafts with people at two different events.

It was fun getting back into the swing of in-person selling and I’m looking forward to doing it again in 2022.

Day 25: Family

I cannot tell you how grateful I am for my family. I’m so grateful that I’ve been able to spend so much time with them this year, even if the circumstances haven’t been ideal.

Above is my husband, sister and me at my in-law’s anniversary celebration. This party was truly one of the highlights of the year.

Day 26: Weather

Above is the Port Washington Marina, not far from where I grew up. My family and I like to grab sandwiches and eat while looking at the boats and the lighthouse. Because it’s right on the lake, Port is always cold. But this day in August, I remember it was gorgeous—no jackets needed.

It’s nice to go home once in a while. And it’s even nicer when you don’t need a sweater in summer.

I’ll be keeping up with this series for the rest of the month. Stay tuned and please take inventory for yourself! 2021 is rough, but there are some bright spots!

Hey, all you cool cats and kittens. I hope you’re settling into a comfy November. I’m back with this week’s installment of 30 Days of Thanks. Let’s jump in!

Day 13: Kindness

If you’ve been here before, you’ve probably heard about my love for Studio Ric Rak, a vintage shop in my town. This place just has all of the best goodies from Pyrex dishes to handmade Christmas decor to awesome retro artwork (seen above!).

Earlier this year when I stopped in, I told the owner I was picking something up for my mom who just had surgery. I found a sweet little Easter decoration my mom could put up in her hospital room and the owner just said, “This one’s on me! Tell your mom to feel better!”

And that act of kindness is something I’ll not soon forget. Thanks, Chris!

Day 14: Routine

I’ve said it a lot: I am not a routine person. I like the idea of routines, but I think I’m just too chaotic for that. This being said, when Michael and I head up north, we do have a bit of a routine. In the mornings, we have breakfast. Then Michael goes out and takes care of the trees and I hang out on the deck with a good book.

We were up there a few weeks ago and it was a lovely chilly morning. I had a scary book, a hot cup of tea and a blanket. It was so relaxing, and I’m thankful to have this soothing routine when I’m away from home.

Day 15: Work

Let me say this: I love working from home. It is a huge blessing. It’s allowed me to have more flexibility and some extra time to spend with my family this year. I am tremendously thankful for this arrangement.

This all being said, I did return to the office once this year: to film this video! Above is a shot of some of the prop pretzels (real but just a day old) from the shoot.

Day 16: Growth

We all have heard the cliche: You grow through what you go through.

It’s true, though. This year has been so, so tough. And while I wish life wasn’t the way it is right now, the past nine months have really pushed me. I’ve become more patient, more giving and more resilient. Those aren’t bad things (even if you have to go through the proverbial dirt to get to them).

Shoutout to my friend Ellie for the irises above. She dug them up for me last year and they made an appearance in the back garden this summer.

Day 17: Food

Julia Child once said, “People who love to eat are always the best people.” This is so obviously true to me, and I’m lucky to be surrounded by these types of people all the time. My family is packed with amazing bakers and I work with people who think about food all day long.

And I love to chat about recipes, restaurants and snackies. It’s just a great feeling. And recently I got to shoot the breeze with the folks that run Buckatabon and it was a real joy. I was having a low day but sitting and talking supper clubs and northwoods nostalgia is one of the cures for whatever ails ya (also ice cream).

Day 18: Self-Love

Here’s a selfie I took that I don’t hate. I was dressed up as a bat for Halloween.

Day 19: Fun

Fun looks different than it used to, but I have to say I’ve gotten a lot of joy out of sewing recently. After stopping at a fabric shop in Sturgeon Bay, I was absolutely giddy to pull out my sewing machine again (it’d had been in the closet once I finished sewing more than 200 masks in 2020).

Getting back into sewing has been a lot of fun. I’m thankful that my mom taught me this skill and that I’ve got the time to sink into some fun projects lately.

I’ll be keeping up with this series for the rest of November. Be sure to count your own blessings, too!

Back again with my 30 Days of Thanks series. As the month goes on, I encourage you to practice a little extra gratitude—and tell your kith and kin how much you love them.

Day 6: Courage

We may rib my dad a lot, but my family and I are grateful for this old man. This year has been hard for him. He’s gone from carefree retiree to full-time caretaker. He’s also had to make a lot of hard decisions that I know took some serious guts and courage.

Thanks, Dad, for being strong for the family (and for taking me out for pizza).

Day 7: Love

I truly couldn’t have made it through this year as well as I have without the love and support of this man. He makes me tea, happily watches 90 Day Fiance and knows when we need a cozy day at home.

Day 8: Nature

Michael’s family has a little northwoods getaway that we retreat to on occasion. Sitting on the deck there with a book is one of my favorite things. I get a great view of the forest, and—if I’m lucky—some animals.

Taking the time to be outdoors is refreshing and I know it’s good for the both of us.

Day 9: Friendship

This year I haven’t been able to see friends as frequently. Between the pandemic, working from home and helping the family, hangouts and catchups have been hard.

But I can’t express how thankful I am for the friends who keep checking in on me, asking after my mom, recommending books and even sending me lovely care packages. I may forget our scheduled FaceTime, but I can’t forget you, you perfect sunflowers.

Day 10: Change

Looking at this year compared to last, there are definitely some bright spots. Like this year we were able to celebrate our anniversary in style at the Iron Horse Hotel. Last year, that wasn’t really a possibility.

While the pandemic is still very much here, I do appreciate how we’re able to move a little more comfortably and safely.

(I’m also thankful for great room service, sunny mornings and crossword puzzles.)

Day 11: Seasons

Bless Michael for keeping me grounded in the seasons. He is the kind of person that insists that we save the Christmas episode of Ted Lasso for December knowing that we’ll enjoy it more then.

He’s also lovely for taking me to a new orchard during the height of apple picking season when our old favorite closed. We came home with 25 pounds of apples, donuts, cider and three giant mums.

Day 12: Music

This hi-fi has been through it! Earlier this year my father-in-law repaired this family treasure. Spinning records on it is always a treat and makes our home feel even more like itself.

I’ll be keeping up with this series all November long. Stay tuned and please take inventory for yourself. ‘Tis the season!

The past few years, I’ve followed this Instagram prompt by @positivelypresent. It’s a great way to reflect on the past year and focus on some good.

2021 has been the most difficult year of my life by a mile, but even in hard times, it’s important to be grateful for what is going right. So let’s kick this off and be thankful.

Day 1: Words

As I said, this year has been challenging. I’m not sure I want to go into it here on the internet yet, but it’s been hard. While chatting with my friend Nicole earlier this year, I said that I went to get coffee because I just couldn’t fathom making a pot myself. Instead of saying, “you lazy bum,” she said, “sometimes someone else needs to make the coffee.”

As silly as it sounds, I think about these words a lot. When you’re feeling overwhelmed, it’s OK to not do all the things you’d normally tackle with ease. Sometimes, you let someone else make the coffee so you have the capacity to make it through more important tasks.

Day 2: Optimism

Sometimes focusing on the good is the best way to make it through tough times. That’s the point of this exercise this year. Is it optimism? Not quite. But I’m not quite ready.

Day 3: Color

As a kid, I always looked forward to the wild phlox popping up around my parents’ home. It’s been a while since I caught it, but I felt lucky to appreciate it this year. The bright purple is one of my favorites.

Day 4: Laughter

It might seem silly, but the second the waitress put this cocktail down at Buckatabon, I couldn’t stop giggling. It’s nice to be surprised and absolutely delighted.

I hope you have enjoyed a few sweet, simple moments like this in 2021.

Day 5: Health

Getting my COVID vaccine earlier this year was truly a high point. A big thanks to the co-worker who tipped me off to extra doses so I managed to get in a week or two before my eligibility bracket opened up. You helped me keep my family safe!

I’ll be keeping up with this series all November long. Stay tuned and please take inventory for yourself! 2021 is rough, but there are some bright spots!

Welcome back to another week of my 30 Days of Thanks series. These posts are good way to reflect on the good parts of the year (though they may seem a bit fewer in 2020). I hope you take a little time to find something to be grateful for today, too. It’ll warm your heart.

Words

Living a slower life in 2020 has meant embracing things like snail mail and even busting out my 1970s typewriter. Writing letters and getting nice notes in the mail has been a real treat this year. I’m thankful to all my thoughtful friends and family for their kind, silly words.

Home

I’ve spent more time in my home this year than ever before. Despite hunkering down in 1,100 square-feet of space for nine months, I can say that I still feel happy and cozy here.

Even though it’s small, this house does so much for us. It serves as offices for Michael and me, a sewing space for me, a music studio for Michael and a jungle gym for the cats. We pack a lot into this space, but it just makes this house feel extra loved.

Friendship

I’ve got some great friends. I’ve got friends that send me the best astrology memes, friends that slay during online trivia nights, friends that like to talk about cats and friends that know great gossip. All of them make me laugh and lift me up. Thanks, pals!

Music

One of my goals for the month was to get our 1950s hi-fi repaired. Unfortunately, this just wasn’t possible. Instead, Michael and I treated ourselves to a new record player, and it’s brought me a lot of joy. I missed putting on music while doing the dishes or having a record spin while we putter around.

Creativity

I can’t tell you how thankful I am to have a job where I get to flex my creative muscles writing and then I can log off and work another set of muscles stitching and sewing. It really is a joy!

Dreams

We’ve put a few things on hold this year, like a trip to Ireland to celebrate our fifth anniversary. And that’s OK. I’d rather hunker down at home and be safe. But we can still plan and dream for the future. So I’m thankful for that. Also very thankful that we squeezed in a little trip this past year to Door County.

Kindness

I could go on forever on this one, but I’m thankful for all the kindnesses that have been shown to me this past year. Even though life is really hard right now, so many people go out of their way to do a little something extra.

So to the owner of Studio Ric-Rak, thanks for swapping goods for masks! To my neighbor, thanks for keeping me in business with custom hoop orders! To the stranger seeing me struggle to carry a 30-pound mushroom kit with a coffee balanced on top, thanks for helping me to my car! To my coworkers, thanks for hyping me up before Instagram Lives. To my husband, thanks for making me tea whenever I ask, making sure I take my vitamins and bringing me cats when I need one to sit on my lap (among many other things).

I’ll be back again next Friday with more. Stay safe and thankful, everyone!

The last few years, I’ve followed along with the @positivelypresent Gratitude Challenge. This Instagram challenge (that I co-opt into blog posts) is a good way to reflect upon the year and count blessings.

I think this year, it’s more important than ever to take stock of what good manages to flourish, even in the darkest of times.

Health

I’m very fortunate that I’ve managed to stay healthy during this pandemic—as have my loved ones. Even with an abundance of caution, this is a feat.

I am so, so thankful for this, I can hardly express it.

Seasons

Staying in most of the year, put me more in touch with the seasons. On my daily walks, I got to enjoy the slowly warming (and cooling) weather, and in the garden, we really appreciated harvesting early crops like lettuces, then summer squash and late-season harvests like beets and carrots.

Appreciating these small changes makes staying home a bit more bearable.

Optimism

Waking up on Election Day, I was full of hope. I didn’t feel worried or anxious, I actually felt good. And while it took a few days to confirm this feeling, I am so happy to see a Biden-Harris win. This fills me with such hope for the future.

And while I know this change won’t be a cure-all, it’s a big step in the right direction. Looking forward to good things!

Strength

I think it’s safe to say that 2020 has put a strain on everyone. It’s really hard to get up and keep up every day, but I’m managing it and maybe even managing it well. I think this is a type of strength. I’m certain it comes from my mom who is incredibly strong, optimistic and resourceful. I think that I inherited about 10% of what she has, but that’s enough!

Nature

Michael and I are nature people. We both grew up with dads that appreciated the outdoors. I’m thankful to my Dad for encouraging me to pick up pinecones as a kid and taught me how to make a fire. I’m thankful to have a partner that enjoys the smell of the trees the way that I do (maybe even more so).

Fun

I’ll be real: Fun has been a little harder to come by in 2020, but I’m still managing to squeeze some in here and there.

I’m thankful for costume-clad Teams meetings and virtual presentation parties. I’m also thankful for quiet forms of fun like listening to audiobooks while doing a puzzle or downloading so many cross-stitch patterns.

I’ll be back next week with more gratitude. I encourage you to take inventory of your life and find a few small things to be thankful for these days. It can be hard, but counting blessings is never a bad thing.