Simply Seleta

down down

Our girls playing in our yard's new fall leaves three years ago.  Seems like yesterday.

I know it's not fall, but time is going so fast lately I just can't keep up.  I've been so behind on everything that I never had a chance to share this little poem my daughter wrote for me. 

Down! Down!

down down

yellow and brown leaves

are falling all over town.

Welcome home, Mom.

This piece of paper was propped on my nightstand when I arrived back home from a two day trip about a month ago.  Next to the words was a carefully drawn tree with falling leaves.  It never fails to surprise me how full of love children are.  They share their hearts in such creative ways.  It all goes by in such a flash.  Sometimes it makes me a little sad how quickly life seems to fly by, I wish I could soak up the good things in a slower fashion. 

There is so much good to absorb. 

But in this bittersweet life there is also the not-so-good.  

I recently had a disturbing exchange with someone.  Although it was a negative attack, it forced me to realize no matter how many terrible things someone can say or think about you, it really doesn't matter.  What matters most are the loved ones who truly know and love you.  I instantly focused on my children, my husband and my God.  I'm also fortunate to have loving friends.  And a cool cat and dog, ha ha ha.

There isn't enough money in the world someone could pay me to remain in a relationship that forces me to constantly question myself or feel badly about who I am.  I know I'm not perfect.  Nor do I seek perfection.  But I am so very thankful that the people who matter the most, love me for me.  And know my real self. 

For the record, I am thankful that I have four children.  This person has always told me they would never have four children because of the amount of work they see me do.  Yep, it's work.  And it's not always pretty, glamorous or easy.  But each of these children are a gift.  And worth every second of effort and "work."

Here they are after collecting some leaves from our Georgia house this fall.  Perhaps it inspired little one's poem.

My whole point in today's post is for you to stop and embrace those around you.  You know who they are.  They are the ones who see you for you.  And love you for you.  No labels, no judgments, no hateful attitudes.  Take some time to soak them up.  And appreciate their love.

This is a wonderful time of year to appreciate the gifts we have:  each other.

white christmas...

Don't you love the idea of simple + shimmering touches at Christmas?

These small touches add so much.  

I was recently at nearby Tracery Interiors in Rosemary beach and had a fit over their yummy mercury glass votives.  Their prices are great...and they will ship.  What a stylish yet practical gift for someone you love.  Go see! 

[images from here]

she's growing

:: pippi ::

she chews.  she makes messes.  she claims the children's chairs.

she snuggles.  she loves. 

she always tries her best.

she stole our hearts.  

pretty placecards + turkey

This year we decided to have Thanksgiving dinner in our own home.  I was excited, but very nervous about cooking a turkey...something I have never before done.  More on that later.

Since we had a full table, I thought it would be fun to make pretty place cards. 

The two-sided patterned paper is by Amy Butler and came from Michaels. The product information is right here.  I cut each individual paper in half to make a whole place card.  Then printed out the names and stuck them on.  Easy.

Instead of putting just names on the cards, I added a little twist.  Since this was a time to be thankful, I included three unique traits about each loved one and put it on the back of their place card.  These are their gifts that I am thankful they share with others. 

So each card was personal.

I share this idea with you because I think it's a great thing to do for any dinner party, not just Thanksgiving.  What a great way to let someone know what you appreciate about them.  After all, the parts of ourselves we share with others are so much more valuable than the materials gifts we give.  Don't you think?

This Thanksgiving I felt very blessed to be surrounded by wonderful people. 

I used my extra oatmeal cans to hold the flowers.

 

Everyone had a chance to read their card to the group.  It was a hit.  Here's my sweet husband reading his.

 

The little ones even loved it.  I think they got a kick out of hearing an adult read a card describing what makes them special.

 

Prior to enjoying our dinner, there was a good bit of behind-the-scenes work.  It was a monumental culinary day in our house...first time I had ever cooked a turkey!  Thanks to this talented friend for giving me a complete tutorial some wonderful tips in making sure the bird was super juicy and flavorful.  He's always full of so much great information.  Love him.

I was surprised to see that the girls enjoyed helping.  I mean, here was a gigantic headless bird weighing in at 15 pounds plopped right on our countertop.  But they were game. 

Here they are buttering it up.

 

The three of us cooked the turkey together from start to finish.  I was so proud of them.  The boys named the bird Bob.

After I nervously waited for about four hours, the turkey was finally cooked.  And right on time.  We handed it over to the man for proper cutting.  Only one kink:  as Peter started cutting it, he realized that I cooked the turkey completely upside down.  Typical.  The good news is that it still tasted good.

I couldn't have pulled this off without my partner in crime.  We cooked up a storm...I think we did six casseroles plus desserts?  What helped make it possible was planning a whole day of cooking the casseroles at once, just a few days before the feast.  Then we just preheated them after the turkey was cooked.  I highly recommend doing that, it's practical plus a lot of fun.

Good friends, family, yummy food and good times.  So much to be thankful for.

...........................

{happy}

 

This was our day in a nutshell. 

It's rare to experience a day that's perfect.  Wow, it really recharges the soul.  Everyone was so happy...I soaked up every minute. 

How was your Thanksgiving? 

sweet

My favorite part of the Thanksgiving feast has always been the pumpkin pie. 

Once that turkey is sliced and dinner begins, the pumpkin pie becomes my ultimate mission.  It's all I can think about.  Mmmmm, something about the texture and sweet spice just turns me into an unreformed pie monster.  I'm ashamed to say that if left all alone in a room with an entire pumpkin pie, I could polish off the whole thing. 

So if you're like me and fancy the sweet side of pumpkins, here are a few not-your-average pumpkin recipes.  And if you're sitting next to me this Thanksgiving, you've been fairly warned that I may very well be a pie hog.

pumpkin streusel [recipe here]

 

pumpkin cream sandwiches [recipe here]

 
pumpkin waffles [recipe here]

Cheers to all things pumpkin.

thanksgiving tea?

 

I'm back on my tea tin kick. 

Can't really help it because 1) I adore flowers placed in simple and unexpected containers and 2) I love all of the color and charm tea tins offer.  I actually think this is a cool idea for the Thanksgiving table!  What a great way to add character to your table setting.  Hmmm, maybe I'll use our extra tins for our Thanksgiving spread this week.

Here are some more pics to inspire.

These colors below are perfect for a Thanksgiving meal.  I could picture friendly, white daisies inside each tin.

 

 
If you're in a pinch and don't have the budget or time to find tea tins, you could always go buy three le sueur cans for your table setting.  That fresh green on the can could look sassy with just about any flower color. 

[photos from here, here, here, and here ], 

{recession friendly} birthday party

This sweet little soul turned four yesterday.  He's our youngest.  Oh, I have so many feelings about him getting older.  Today I'll spare you a mushy gushy mommy post and instead share the creative side of his birthday.  

....................................

We had a party with his friends from school.  I wanted some stylish yet boyish aspects to his party, but needed to keep it budget friendly.  Hi, recession.  Truth be known, I think it's far more fun finding clever ways to create style without spending a lot. 

My inspiration for his whole party was this cool font.  I made the invitations using it and loved the way they turned out.  The font is free and you can download it right here.

 
It also inspired me to make little tags to go on the party favor containers.  

So about these tags. To save some bucks, I used supplies that I already had.  Yep, I'm a paper junkie.  All I used were brown paper bookmarks, twine, a hole puncher, a little imagination, and my printer. 

How to make:

1.  print out your names in the font of your choice
2.  cut them down to size
3.  tape them with double sided tape to stick on.  I think a better idea is printing them on adhesive paper then cutting down to size
4.  punch your holes at the end of bookmark and cut the twine
5.  tie with a bow

What I like is that once you've opened your gift box, you can save the tag as a bookmark or label for your child.

........................................

Back to the party favors.  Let me first tell you that I'm totally obsessed with party favors.  When hosting, I like for kids to leave our party happy with a little container of goodies.  And it's hard to find favors that are both budget friendly and playworthy.  Candy is not an option.  It would be cruel to the moms to load up their kids on cake and send them home with a bag of candy.  Oui?  Plus, the idea of trinkets in a cute container seems very retro to me.  Love that.

Each box varied, but had three surprises from these little items I picked-up:

- individual party play dohs from target
- soft soccer, baseball and footballs from target [right here]
- crayons from the dollar tree that actually looked very anthro-ish
- glam dress-up rings and bracelets from wal-mart [for the girls]
- pig flashlights from michael's
- adorable small stuffed animals from IKEA for only 49 cents each [right here]

I started getting pretty excited when I saw the boxes coming together.  Obviously I need more excitement in my life.  Chinese to-go boxes from Michael's gave it just the look I was hoping for.

 

A patient friend helped me organize and stuff our little gift containers.  Thanks, Kim!

They turned out pretty cute.

We covered the tables in paper and I quickly scribbled faux placemats on with a marker.  Thanks Laura, for the idea!

Before the happy party goers arrived.

 

After.

Polka dot cake by Publix.  Holla' to Tom in the bakery department, he rocks. Anyone who can listen to the creative rantings of a crazy mom and still make the cake turn out beautiful is a baking genius. 

The sparkler candle adds drama and is from Sea + Jae.  You can get them right here.  I now use them on all of the offspring's' birthday cakes and absolutely love them!!!

Funny, it looks like some of the kids are missing from the group shot above.  I guess they bolted during the singing part?

Or maybe they were on the jumpy thing we had outside...it's fair to say that the bounce house with slide was a much bigger hit than any aesthetics I attempted to add to our simple party.  Ahhhhhh, kids.  It's refreshing how easy they are to please!

Now we have a very happy four year old...who slept very well that night.

snazzy

How did I ever miss this home feature?  Found it a few weeks ago.  Like it a lot.

Someday I will have lots of wall space and will do cool stuff like this magnetic wall above.

I'm definitely not an orange person, but appreciate how the designer kept her pop of color consistent throughout the space.  This burnt orange subway tile is a perfect feature during our crisp autumn.

 

[I lost the source to this.  Feel free to share if you know.]

a morning walk

About once a week or so, when our morning schedules permit, husband and I take Pippi to one of our favorite markets to enjoy breakfast.  We sip our lattes, take a peek at the surf, and enjoy ham, egg and cheese croissants.  Pippi loves it and eats up the attention.  It's really a treat for all three of us.  

This time, we decided to take Pippi on her first "big girl" walk in our neighborhood after breakfast.  No leash, just trails and lots of freedom.  She was so proud of herself, you could see it in her steps.  I swear she was prancing. 

 
The walk was relaxing.  So many beautiful things to see along the way.  Even though Pippi loved her independence, I kept noticing that she wouldn't run ahead too much.  She would constantly turn around to make sure we were there.  Having us close helped her feel confident as she explored new things.  

I couldn't help but think about our walk and how it relates to life.  We're on this unknown journey.  At times our path reveals the most beautiful things we couldn't even dream of or expect.  Other times it hands us something shocking, heartbreaking or jolting.  We're walking along and honestly never know quite what to expect.  It's easy to feel both excited and spooked at the same time.  

It's reassuring to know we aren't alone.  It's great to have someone there...walking along next to you.  Sometimes the ones walking next to us change.  And that's okay.  They come and go during different seasons of our journey.  Many times, someone has appeared in my life at precisely the time needed.  It's no coincidence.  I think it's a gift from the big guy upstairs.

 

 

This walk made me feel extremely grateful.  Grateful not only for the many blessings I take for granted, but especially for those close to me in this path we call life.

What are you grateful for?