Gratitude

It's been months since I've done a Gratitude post and it seems like it's time for a comeback. I know I could use a little more gratitude in my life- it's been too easy to focus on life's problems these past months, and forget about everything there is to be grateful for.

Lately I've been feeling pretty discouraged about Gather and Hunt. It seems like things just aren't gaining the momentum I'd like and I start to wonder if any of it really matters, or if it's even worth my time or yours. I'd like to say that I've moved past that discouragement, but that would be a lie. However, I haven't given up yet, and that is entirely due to you, dear readers. Today, I am grateful for all of you.

I wish there was a way to thank each of you personally, or that I could afford to send you all a token of my appreciation. Maybe someday. Until then, I thought I'd introduce you all to a few readers (who also blog) who consistently bring a little extra joy to my day with their comments and support.

One.
Katrina from Calikatrina. I met Katrina at the Oh Hello Friend holiday sale this past November- she bought one of my favorites from my deer collection. Since then, she has been just the sweetest- frequently stopping by the blog to comment. Her own blog is full of beautiful photography capturing her family life, as well as peeks at her amazing crochet work. She has an Etsy shop where she sells the cutest little crocheted bows and Buggs (those adorable booties in the photo above).

Two.
Meghan, from Sweet Pea and Beans. I'm not even sure how Meghan found G&H, but her comments always brighten my day. A wonderful writer, Meghan blogs about her sweet family and occasionally, their beautiful home, originally her grandparent's house. Her vintage business, The Postscript Society, has one of the most charming names- don't you think?

Three.
Emily from Peck Life. Now, I know I introduced you to Emily when I got back from Alt, but I just had to mention her again. She's one of the sweetest people I know and I always love getting a comment from her. A soon-to-be mom to two (she has an adorable 3 year old boy and another on the way!), her blog is full of inspiration, especially for those of you with little ones. She and her husband have also been living in the midst of a renovation to her Grandmother's 1971 rambler (it has a white fireplace- which I dream of having someday).

Four.
Brianne from The Ravenna Girls. Another blogger you might remember meeting here, Brianne is also a real life friend, but has been such a wonderful supporter from early on. Her site, which she co-edits with her best friend and housemate Danielle, covers everything from their beautiful home to their amazing garden, crafts, and more. They also run two Etsy shops- one for their vintage finds and another with their handmade goods (I love their nautical rope bracelets!). In addition to all that, Brianne is also an architect and is planning her upcoming wedding- I don't know how she does it!

Five.
Rebecca from We Are Large, People. Another one of my real life friends, Rebecca has always been one of my biggest cheerleaders. Though she hasn't been blogging lately, in the past, Rebecca has posted about fashion mainly as well as snippets of her life in general. She seeks to inspire others to love their bodies- no matter their size. She and her husband Bob have a cute dog, named Waffles, who they adore and recently bought the cutest little house in Seattle.

Six.
Melissa from Re.Stock. Of course, a post about the readers who encourage me most wouldn't be complete without mentioning my best friend, and biggest supporter, Melissa. Her own blog gives you a peek into her wonderful and creatively styled home, as well as her life with some of the cutest little girls in the world (yes, I might be a little biased), her husband (who was one of my first friends when I moved to Seattle), and their chickens. A clever decorator and maker, Melissa is always showcasing inventive ways to use vintage finds and is planning to open an Etsy store for her handmade goods this year.

I only wish every single one of you had a blog or website I could link to- because I really appreciate all of you, and treasure every comment you leave here, on FB or on Instagram. If you're a regular reader and have a blog- please leave your link in the comments here- I love to see what everyone else is up to.

Thank you again- all you lovely readers. I'm so grateful for you and the time you spend here every week.

{All photos in this post are via the blogs mentioned.}

gratitude

i know it's friday, but instead of finds to fancy, i figured a fitting way to follow Thanksgiving would be a gratitude post.

this year was the first time since we've been married that we didn't have any guests for Thanksgiving dinner. even though it was just the two of us, i still wanted to make our traditional meal (yes, a lot of work for just two people, but i really do enjoy all the cooking). i was especially excited for this years meal preparations because for the first time ever i have a kitchen that looks good in photographs! with fun counters, plenty of space and great light from two windows it was a pretty great day for this blogging cook.

the food prep seemed particularly easy this year. i always start out the night before with the pies, then make the cranberry sauce and the stuffing first thing in the morning while the Macy's parade is on. the mister and i also enjoyed a little breakfast treat, complete with a glass of eggnog. 

since we eat at night i often end up with terrible photos of the table, but this year i actually had time to get the table set in the afternoon so i could get some nicer photos! i'm really pleased with how it turned out. i wanted something really simple and a bit rustic. i incorporated a variety of vintage goods- arrows, mason jars, japanese darts with feathers, and even some vintage papers. i picked up some simple napkins from a booth at a local antique mall (on sale for half off!), and a few more milk glass serving pieces to complete the minimal look.

another thing we rarely do- take time for photos of us! we put the tripod to work and got a few keepers (we always do a round of silly face pics- they're my favorite). we put our sunglasses on to rub it in that it was almost 75 degrees out (though in truth, i would have preferred snow and cold temps). 

a tradition from my childhood that we've continued- a little mid-day snack in lieu of lunch- summer sausage and a cheese ball. the mister enjoys this mini tradition.

when it was finally time to eat we set the table feast style (since it's such a big table, we figured why not), and enjoyed the fruits of our labors. after dinner we took some time to Skype with family and friends.

of course, no Thanksgiving in our house would be complete without pie! this year, for the first time ever, i made the crust from scratch (for some reason i've always hated making pie crusts, even when i worked in a bakery). it turned out really nicely and since we had extra dough, i asked the mister to cut out some arrows to decorate it with. he did a great job, don't you think?

we had such a wonderful day. it was nice to have some time with the mister (he's been so busy with his studies i feel like we hardly ever even see each other), and though we missed our friends and family (thank goodness for Skype), we really enjoyed every moment.

how was your Thanksgiving? i'd love to hear some of your favorite moments.

now, i'm off to work- today i'm a bit regretful that i took a retail job at the holiday's, but hopefully it won't be too bad (at least it'll go by quickly). i hope you all have a lovely weekend!

P.S.

This post is my entry into the Alt Summit Blog Contest sponsored by Wilsonart International, Inc.

Wilsonart is generously hosting a giveaway of a ticket to Alt Summit and kitchen counter makeover- isn't that nice of them? while i won't be able to use the new counters in our rental, i'm really hoping to win a ticket to Alt since it's sold out! keep your fingers crossed for me?

gratitude (the long overdue edition)

happy Wednesday everyone- i'm so excited to be back here blogging again! i hadn't intended to be absent for so long, but between the move to California, my sister-in-law's lovely wedding in Baltimore, and finally finding a place to live, i guess i should have figured it'd take some time to get back in the saddle.

i felt like a gratitude post would be the ideal way to kick off a new season here at Gather and Hunt, so today i am grateful for...

we're still settling in and have lots left to unpack, put away, fix, and update, plus i haven't even begun to decorate yet, but i thought i'd share a little instagramed sneak place of the new place and some features i'm grateful for...

amazing light in the kitchen. our last two apartments had terrible light in the kitchen, which makes taking photos in there difficult. i love the kitchen in our new place- it's charming and gets lots of natural light all day long.

outside space. when we decided to make the move to Pasadena i was hoping and praying we could find a place that had some outside space and somewhere to plant things. after living in a building surrounded by concrete and rock, it's such a nice change to have grass, trees, and even hummingbirds right outside! the front landscaping needs some help (that lavender has taken over), but the landlord offered to give us some funds to spruce it up. we even have a little space just outside the kitchen that we're going to turn into a patio for dining alfresco. 

hardwood floors! most of the places we looked at prior to this one listed hardwoods, but ended up only having cheap laminate floors. these floors are original, dating back to 1920, so they need a little TLC, but i'm so happy to have them. 

built in storage in the bathroom. i don't think i've ever had a bathroom with this much storage in it- there's more space than we even have stuff to put in it! 

charming french style windows. though they need a major cleaning (glass cleaner and paper towels just didn't cut it), i adore these swing arm windows on each side of the bay window at the front of the duplex. 

tons of built in storage. this rental was a bit more than we were hoping to spend, but was the only place we looked at that had enough room to store everything we had without having to rent other space. there's even room for the Gather and Hunt booth structure components and all the other stuff that comes with having a mobile business. 

original details. when we first looked at this place we had actually responded to an ad for another unit on the same property. that unit was amazingly charming with tons of built-in's and lots of the original details intact. unfortunately it was too small for us, but this larger unit was also available and though it didn't have quite as much charm, it is the perfect size and has many charming details as well. i love that the original mail slot is still functional (though i suspect the postman hates it)- it makes getting the mail so much fun. the former phone nook in the hallway may need to find a new purpose since we don't have a land line, or maybe i'll just find a vintage phone to display there. lastly, there's the old milk delivery door. back when milk bottles were delivered daily, the milkman would have opened the outside door and left the milk inside the cool compartment away from the sun's rays. the occupants would open the inside door and have their fresh milk for the day.

so that's our new place. i need to get back to unpacking, but i hope you enjoyed a little peak into our new life here in Pasadena. i'd love to know what you've been up to over the last month- leave me a comment so i can catch up!

gratitude

the last few months have been busy. really busy. sometimes in these busy seasons it's hard for me to find inspiration- either because i don't have time to look for it, or i'm too preoccupied to notice. over the past couple of days i've reconnected with inspiration, so today i am grateful for inspiration. 

here a few things that have been inspiring me lately...

pretty magazines. neither House Beautiful or Marie Claire Maison are ones i would usually buy, but they are both filled with beautifully styled interiors in these issues, that have me excited for the coming opportunity to style our new home (where ever it may be).

{photo via Yahoo Movies}

{poster by Laura Perm-Jardin via Apartment Therapy}

{still via Yahoo Movies}

{still via Yahoo Movies}

{interactive character poster via Movie Talk}

moonrise kingdom. have you seen this yet? oh my goodness. it's pure delight. as usual, Wes Anderson has created a film that is an enchanting visual treat. it also happens to be great timing for me because we've been planning 'camp birthday'- my birthday party- for this upcoming weekend. we've got camp style arts and crafts planned as well as a big bonfire complete with s'mores. i found all sorts of inspiration to add to my party planning boards in this movie.  if you haven't seen it- do it. you won't regret it.

{photo via The Farm Chicks}

great people. my friend (and fellow birthday girl) Serena, from The Farm Chicks, had a great post featured on BlogHer yesterday that's all about filling your 'circle' with great people (and being one yourself). such wisdom there- as i continue to build my own circles and gear up for building some brand new ones in California, i hope her advice will seep into my core and help me to both be part of, and build, circles filled with great people. i hope you'll take a minute to read Serena's post too.

what do you have gratitude for this week? i'd love to know- i think there's inspiration in that too!