My pot of gold. (otherwise known as the BIG Thanksgiving craft post and a giveway)

We’re halfway into November, one week until thanksgiving, and I’m thankful.

November marks our sixth month that we’ve lived in Oklahoma, and while I attempt to turn a raw deal into gold, I’m reflecting on all the little things in my life that I’ve been blessed with. Sometimes we pay attention to only one detail, that we can’t see the whole picture. Sometimes we consume ourselves in one word that we don’t read the whole sentence or paragraph or even finish the chapter, much less the book. And while I sit writing our first chapter in Oklahoma, my mind keeps drifting to the promise of our next adventure --to be honest, this is the main cause of me not feeling grounded-- I’m constantly dreaming and fantasying of country-hopping and living the life a travel junkie. I’m craving to go, see, do.

While I can’t predict our future destinations, we’re creating our own little adventures and finding our own slice of heaven around town.

I’m finding beauty in streaky sunset clouds that sets fire to the sky.

And a flat caramel-toned landscape igniting a dreamy autumn glow that elegantly lingers over wheat grass.

And radiant sunrises equipped with magical rainbows --possibly with a pot of gold at the end.

Like I said, I’m turning a raw deal into gold… and this friends, is my gold.

Since we're on the subject of rainbows, I’m dancing on one as we speak. From the warm and fuzzy military Hallmark ads to over- the-top cheesy Kay Jewelers commercials --you know, where the couple is in a mountain cabin, and suddenly there’s loud thunder, so the girl jumps into the man’s arms, and he turns to her and says with a deep masculine voice, “I’m right here, and I always will be.”-- to Starbucks ads for peppermint lattes, I’m in a downright disturbing holiday-lovin’ frame of mind.
So first holidays first…. THANKSGIVING!

We’re having two other couples from my husband’s work joining us this year (my door is open if anyone on Tinker would like to feast with us!).  Since this will be our first non-family guest, I’ve bought tickets to ride the crafting train in attempt to make our home a little more festive.

I’ve made a Thanksgiving wreath, Thanksgiving banner, Thanksgiving napkin rings, and Thanksgiving napkins… and just for kicks, I’m throwing in the word Thanksgiving one more time, because I really do love the gathering around the table for Thanksgiving dinner.

Here are a few cheap and easy DIY Fall Crafts:

Layouts are made with My Memories. If you’d like a chance to win this software for FREE, comment on this post to enter, and they're giving EVERYONE a $20 of coupon by just using my code. Don't miss out!

And so I’ll leave you now with a few delicious photos I took of my bambinos last weekend.

Happy Friday!

Em

It's a GIVEAWAY, and there's something for everyone!

I used to be what you might call, A Seasoned Scraper. I had hundreds of embellishments, the zigzag scissors, the glitter, the sparkly pens, and acid-free double-sided tape. I went to crops (scrapbookers term for party) every Friday night to construct my photos into perfect layouts with perfectly matched paper and stickers. I could rock out a crop like nobody’s business. But as time went on, my cropping days were few and far between. In fact, it has been about five years since my glitter pen has seen the light of day; tucked somewhere between the tupperware boxes labeled “Christmas Décor” and “Krysta’s Baby Clothes”, you’ll find my neglected scrapbook supplies.

Through the blogosphere, I’ve seen that digital scrapbooks are getting more and more popular. I’ve been meaning to tryout the software for some time now, but have yet to take the leap from paper to digital.

Luckily, as irony would have it, Amazon’s #1 Best Selling scrapbook software company, My Memories, contacted me last week with an offer for my readers! They want to give you, yes ALL of you, a $10 discount off of the purchase of My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the My Memories Suite store (a $20 value)! PLUS a GRAND PRIZE WINNER will receive the digital scrapbooking software for FREE (a $40 value)!

Emily Roe’s reader’s special code is: STMMMS13906

Your friends and family are welcome to use this code as well!

Yesterday I sat down and played around on the My Memories site, and loved it. It’s very easy to use, and comes with tons of free paper, embellishments, built in layouts, etc. The sky is truly the limit! They also have additional products that you can purchase at a very low cost to help enhance your photo books and cards even further. And did I mention that they have premade pages? All you have to do is insert your own photos and voila! Simple!

Here are a few quick and easy pages that I made this morning…

There are many ways to enter-- the more ways you enter, the higher your chances are!
Please leave a comment for each entry you do.

1.    Visit MyMemories and choose your favorite paper pack or layout. Tell me which one you like the best in the comments below. (Mandatory Entry)
2.    Follow My Memories Blog (3 entries)
3.    Follow my blog (3 entries)
4.    LIKE My Memories Facebook page (2 entries)
5.    LIKE my Writings of an Air Force Wife Facebook Page
6.    Follow My Memories Twitter (1 entry)
7.    Follow my Twitter (1 entry)
8.    Tweet this Giveaway: “I’d LOVE to win the @mymemoriessuite scrapbooking software giveaway, hosted by @emilyroe “ (1 entry per tweet)

Since the MacDaddy holidays are just around the corner, I added a little icing to the cake and made some very simple –because I’m a simple kind of girl-- Christmas cards using the same scrapbook software! Keep in mind that you can go as simple or as complex as you’d like. This program gives you full reigns on your creativity.

I will announce the winner next Saturday, November 25 –the day after BLACK FRIDAY! Oh yes, the holiday train is coming and I’m jumping on board!

Good luck,
Em

The Mermaid and The Dragon.

As I sit here remembering Halloween night, I’m surrounded by all things autumn --my windows are open, a pot of hot tea is brewing, and the intoxicating aroma of Scentsy’s Redwood & Cedar is burning throughout my living room-- I can’t help but to think about how fast time truly goes by. We’re almost to the end of the year, and Halloween is just the first of four holiday goodness!

my friend Andria is a Scentsy Consultant-- check out her website to discover the new autumn and winter collection!

Halloween has come and gone in a blink of an eye. It seems just like yesterday we were settling into our new home and picking out flowers for our front yard. And now the howling of November’s winds have lured the petals off of those same flowers to dance in its gusts, as autumn’s copper-toned leaves wildly cheers them on as they dangle from dainty tree limbs. I hear them rustling outside, “Come fly with us”, they shout. And I can’t help but to surrender to all the bounty this upcoming month has to offer --from the swishing of jewel-toned leaves, to apple cider, to hot pumpkin pie. It’s delightful, really.

And you know what else is delightful? Halloween night. A night where we dressed the kids up in their costumes to partake in the ritual of Trick-or-Treating. We love Halloween, and not for the candy, but for decking out in costumes!

I started making the kids costumes way back in September, and it was totally worth it. Years from now they’ll remember these magical holidays and the excitement and anticipation that came with it.

This year William started out as a seagull. After hours of constructing and reconstructing his wings over a dozen times, I finally got them just right. Little did I know, there was no way in Hades that Will would allow me to put it over his head….


*Que the screaming toddler*

Goodbye feathery fluff

Long story short, one of my good friends let us use her son’s dragon costume, which was perfect because Will LOVES dragons!

Hello Puff the Magic Dragon

Continuing on…

The kids had a blast going from door to door filling their pumpkin with an assortment of sweet confections. My little dragon quickly picked up on how to score the treats --by the end of the night he became a trick-or-treating pro.

We’re now tucking away the ghosts, goblins, and the black cats back into storage bins, and pulling out our turkeys, cornucopias, and all things Thanksgiving.

"In the garden, Autumn is, indeed the crowning glory of the year, bringing us the fruition of months of thought and care and toil.  And at no season, safe perhaps in Daffodil time, do we get such superb colour effects as from August to November."
-   Rose G. Kingsley, The Autumn Garden

Let’s all get busy welcoming November, the month of Thankfulness!

Em

It's necessary.

Everyone has their own personal limit, and it just so happened that yesterday I hit mine. I didn’t lose it. I didn’t get angry. I didn’t cry. I just simply walked away. No really, I literally walked away. Perhaps it’s because I’m at the age in my life where I can easily flush the nonsense out of my life, where I can let go and move on to a lighter, more carefree sense of being.

Slowly but surely I’m distressing --knocking out lingering house projects and checking off my blackhole of a to-do list. Just little changes, but it’s the little things that adds up to make all the difference. I feel like my batteries have been recharged. A little less weight on my shoulders. A clear head. A feeling of renewal. Inspired.

And I like this feeling.

As I dug through the boxes labeled “Krysta’s Winter Clothes” and “Fall Décor”, I turned giddy –like schoolgirl crush type of giddy. Dude, it’s Autumn and Autumn is my FAVORITE season. It’s that time of year where I weed through our collected clutter, reorganize, and do away with the unnecessary to make plenty of room for the necessary. And there’s a lot of necessary that needs space in our home --like holiday festivities with loved ones, family meals by candlelight, and movie nights under thick quilts.

A fall food staple

Tulsa

I’ve never given Tulsa, Oklahoma two thoughts. Tulsa is now a necessary. I think of Tulsa everyday, and our friends that live there. And while I don’t make the trip or pick up the phone as much as I should, they still remain in my thoughts.

 Last weekend we tracked out for a weekend visit. We made the plans, bought the tickets, and made the drive out to Discoveryland… only to get chased out by potential tornadoes. After 30 minutes of the most tense oh my God, we’re going to die drive of my life, we made it back safe and sound.

And to think, the evening started out beautiful and peaceful. Mother Nature can be a beast.

Barnes & Noble

Oh yes. Barnes and Noble is completely necessary in the Roe Household. Once a week we set sail to the bookstore and drop our anchors firmly in the sand. We live in our own timezone, and when we’re on our own time frame, we go on any adventure that we please—sometimes it’s to Neverland with Peter Pan, other times it’s down the rabbit hole with Alice. Whether fly up with pixie dust, or fall down a hole to a magical land, we’re bound to have a blast. Because it’s just us. Together.

Academic Award

Krysta has worked so hard this year. She has limited her outside park play, in exchange for multiplication tables and learning words such as, photosynthesis and chronological order. There has been evenings where she studied and read her little patootie off until bedtime. Throughout the years, we’ve pushed her and encouraged her, and hopefully she’ll use the tools we’ve taught her to excel in the classroom.

All of her hard work was recognized this past Friday during an award ceremony as her school.

I’m so proud of my girl!

The Youngest Handsome

Just as it’s important that the biggest of my babes feels special, it’s equally important that the smallest feels just as big. William and I get our mommy-son time midday when our bellies are full from lunch and the sun as hit its peak. We cuddle under heavy blankets to read or watch cartoons or Wills favorite… jumping on the bed. Shhh, we won’t tell dad that part!

Bed jumping is necessary in any childhood memory, everyone knows that!

Haunt the Zoo

We love family outings. Big or small, we’ll take them. This weekend we went to Haunt the Zoo.

It. Was. Packed.

Just to get to the entrance, we waited in line for over an hour. Not to mention, we waited in line for every photo and candy booth. But, was it worth it? Absolutely! It’s always worth when there’s childhood memory making to be made.

Years from now Krysta will say, “Mom, do you remember that one time when we went trick-or-treating at the zoo?” And I’ll smile and say, “Yes”. Because I won’t remember the hours of waiting and the pushing and my bruised feet from other people stepping on them;  I’ll remember my babies smiles and their oh’s and ahh’s and the excitement and anticipation on their wide-eyed faces. Seriously, Krysta’s eyes were the size of quarters. She could barely contain her excitement!

Tonight is a big night for my lovies… It’s Halloween! A perfect ending to October.

Happy Trick-or-Treating,

Em