My Thanksgiving Weekend 2015 in Instagrams

1. Our lovely Thanksgiving table setting at my grandma's house in Bloomfield -- with a fresh bouquet sent in from my Mumsie.

2. The endless trees at the ranch up North

3. Petting mules, donkeys, alpaca, pigs, horses and other farm animals at the ranch

4. Horseback riding Western style in the frigid cold along the mud and snow

5. Blending in with the beige and pastels of Lake Michigan

6. Uncovering old photographs at my Grandma's while sorting through my Grandpa's belongings

7. Finding an engraved leather wallet and sweater among other treasures of my Grandpa's to remember him by

8. Decorating for Christmas with my aunt and cousin

9. Boots on the chilly beach

10. "A beautiful paradise for 5 minutes."

11. Waking up to a lady bug on my pillow in the morning before gathering our things to leave the log cabin

12. Dark chocolates topped with candied pansies placed at every dinner plate on the Thanksgiving table top

13. My cousin and I sorting through my Grandpa's endless collection of ties, hats, and belts

14. A full rainbow in the morning sky after a previous rainy night -- and perhaps the silver lining after a recent breakup :(

15. Turkey butter for a festive 'friendsgiving'

I'm missing every moment of a lovely weekend on this Monday evening. Though for a Monday especially, today wasn't bad at all...2014 has been a long and tenuous year...ready to snap in a moment, turbulent...but some of the more difficult changes may have been for the better and I'm ready to begin again this 2015. 

Illustrated Memoir for my Mumsie

The Yogurt Bandit

The Twin Premonition

The (Guinea) Pig Roast

Since my mom's been in and out of hospitals with late stage cancer I thought it'd be nice to take up a new project to fund some of her medical expenses. Adult coloring books are popular at the moment...some even saying they are 'therapeutic.' I don't dispute that -- I think that's totally valid. I think there is something inherently therapeutic about meeting pen with paper...whether to jot down words, color in the lines, or create lines of your own. 

That might be why I've been drawing and journaling almost all of my life. 

So lately, I've told my mother to retell her stories in writing. The ones she's been telling me since before I can remember and the ones maybe she's never mentioned before. I'm collecting all of her stories and am slowly (but as fast as I can...) illustrating them to create one illustrated piecemeal story...a collection of what she calls the 'slices of her life' that have been the most memorable, or perhaps meaningful...the experiences that have turned her into who she is...and the stories that in turn have maybe shaped me into who I am. 

It feels good having purpose behind a drawing. It's something a bit new to me -- there's a goal here...a goal beyond just 'I want to start drawing more often.' And so...I think I've found motivation in urgency...and it's been a fun experience turning visions and imagination into these line drawings for people to one day color in. A therapy that keeps cycling onwards...I think my mom finds happiness in sharing her stories. I find happiness in imagining and drawing them -- and am hoping, the people I share the 'coloring book' with will find happiness in coloring between the lines.

My Halloweekend in Instagrams

My costume

As always the weekend flew by...but my friends and I threw a little halloween party and it was a lot of fun! Also - this was my first year at my own house giving away candy. Considering I worked, then got home around 6:30, then had to get into costume...and plan a party...and open door to trick-or-treaters...it was a bit crazy!

The candy

The bf and I both bought a few bags of candy without necessarily knowing...so in the end we had six big bags of candy. It was A LOT. I was sure we'd have a ton left over...especially considering how freezing it was outside. We ended up getting a lot more trick-or-treaters than I anticipated...so good thing we bought all that. Our candy stash could have also seemed low because I was sneaking handfuls of candy into kids candy bags when I wasn't supposed to. The bf had a (lame) one candy per kid rule. When it was my turn to answer the door I usually defied it. Haha. 

Last minute (the night before) I decided instead of a scuba diver, that I'd be a fortune teller. A good fortune teller needs a crystal ball of course. So I covered a foam ball with glitter and glued it to a shot class for the base. I found cheap funky printed pants and a crop top shirt all for under $20 at TJ Max and paired that with chunky cheap costume jewelry from Meijer -- and head scarf. Then the ensemble was complete!

The Rita Way and her bf came dressed as Dion and Cher from Clueless. It was hilariously perfect and Cher's costume (her bf) was particularly pleasantly awkward...

And definitely not least...the FOOD. The menu was pretty elaborate, I might say...we had:

Queso & chips

Pumpkin cream cheese spread with bagel chips

Sweet potato fries & honey mustard

Corn elote dip

Fig, brie & walnut flat bread

Artichoke, green onion & pesto flat bread

And of course...to drink:

Apple cider old fashions

Mulled wine

KBC pumpkin ale

Everything was yum!

The bf and I. He went through a few costume changes...