Happy Thanksgiving, friends! ♥

It feels superbly strange that today is Thanksgiving, but here we are, and it's been lovely. I feel like I love Thanksgiving a little bit more every year. It's just such a nice day of calm and quiet, with coffee and food and family and texts that make you smile and the start of the holiday season. We started decorating our house for Christmas last night, hanging up stocking and setting out snowmen as the Spotify Christmas playlist got broken out for the first time of the season. It finally feels like the holidays, and as much as I've been putting it off, I'm happy that they're here. The holidays are so warm and cozy and wonderful, and I'm finally ready to embrace them.

In honor of Thanksgiving, instead of just talking about what I'm thankful for this week, I want to talk about what I'm thankful for this year. Because as many little things as I'm thankful for each week, there are also some crazy amazing blessings from this year, and Thanksgiving is the perfect day to think about those.

-----

I am thankful for the first show of the year that I was able to be a part of, and the huge, huge blessing that it was. It was an original show, written by someone who I absolutely love to pieces, and it was one of the most special experiences of my life. It was a show that stretched me in so many ways, but was so much fun and oh, what a joy.

I am thankful for friends. Friends deserve a whole blog post of their own, because goodness do I have some great ones. Friends who love me and laugh with me and rant with me and talk on the phone with me at midnight when we're both half asleep. I'm thankful for real life friends who go on the most random spontaneous adventures with me, and I'm thankful for internet friends who I can dream of doing that with. My internet friends are some of the most incredible people that I know, and I'm so thankful to have people in my life like them who are there when regular life just gets to be too much. I'm thankful for friends like Aimee and Mary Shelley, internet friends who have become real life friends. Friends are SUCH A BLESSING UGH and I'm so thankful for them.

I am thankful for The Music Man. The show that meant more to me than any other. The time of my life that dreams are made of, where all of the dearest people in my life came together to create something that I could not be prouder of. Zaneeta Shinn was the dream role that I never knew existed, and I'll forever have a piece of my heart in River City.

I am thankful for writing, for the fact that I finished my first novel and am in the middle of my second. Writing is forever my love, and I just want to do it for the rest of my life.

I am thankful for the summer, for the warmth and the most random of adventures and fun. Dance classes and the beach, editing my novel and dreaming up new projects. It was a joy of a season, crazy but good.

I am thankful for senior year, as messy as it is. It's a strange season, but it's a good one, and I'm thankful to be in it right now.

I am thankful for family, as obvious as that is. They love me despite my craziness, and they're pretty darn wonderful.

I am thankful for hope, for the knowledge that there's a future ahead of me and that God has a plan for that. I'm trying to look towards the crazy unknowns with optimism instead of pessimism, and while this doesn't come easily for me, I'm determined to keep this mindset.

I am thankful that God works things out in the best possible way, even when I'm stressed out or anxious or not knowing why things are happening the way that they are. I'm thankful that I don't have to have that pressure on me, because at the end of the day, I'm not the one in control of things, He is, and even though I have trouble keeping that in mind sometimes, it's the truth, and I'm so thankful for that.

I am thankful for this year. It's been a whirlwind and a mess and a dream all at once, but oh, am I thankful.

-----

• Thankfulness Thursday Friends •

Hanne @ Rockandminerals4Him

Daminika @ Walking in the Sonshine

-----

I hope that you've had a wonderful Thanksgiving, friend. I am so thankful for you. ♥

What I Wore: Thanksgiving 2016

Hello, lovelies! How was your Thanksgiving? I hope that it was absolutely wonderful. My day was filled with watching the parade, spending time with family, stuffing myself with cream cheese pie, and screaming over games of Jenga. In other words, it was pretty perfect. 

Once more, I've decided that it's time to throw it back to my beauty blogger roots. Beauty blogging seriously is one of my favorite things to do, and I really want to come back to it more often. I just never seem to have the time to put together an outfit that I like, and then I end up feeling bad for having to drag my sister outside and forcing her to take photos of me.

Thus, it never happens.

But on Thanksgiving, we experienced a true holiday miracle. Outfit photos were taken.

And so here we are.

I apologize in advance for the amount of photos I'm about to spam you with. Honestly, I'm low on posting material, so you're having to resort to seeing photos of my face. I didn't think to take photos just of my outfit, so you're stuck with me here. Again, I apologize for that. 

I would be lying if I said I wasn't trying not to laugh the entire time my sister took these photos.

#selfiefortheblog #I'msorry

"Act like you know what you're doing"

The attempt not to laugh failed

"Do your little smirk thing!"

Sit on the ground. Be one with nature.

What's that? A crayon? A ghost? A piece of paper? Nope, I'm just pale.

Some of this stuff I bought a while back, so I'm sorry if I can't link the exact item!

Beanie: JC Penney's

Top: Target (similar)

Jeans: Target

Boots: TJ Maxx

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

!! A N N O U N C E M E N T !!

BEFORE YOU GO- My wonderful-super-fantastic-coolness-remarkable friend Morning over at Ups and Downs is putting together a blogger yearbook, and it's going to be THE COOLEST THING EVER!!! We want to involve AS MANY BLOGGERS AS POSSIBLE, so click HERE to learn more!!!!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

What's your current favorite outfit? What did you wear on Thanksgiving? Any autumn style trends you've really been loving? LET'S CHAT!! ♥

Thankfulness Thursday {HAPPY THANKSGIVING!}

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYBODY!!!!

Even though I can't quite believe that it's here, I love Thanksgiving so much, oh my goodness. It's such a great day, a time to just chill out with family and eat lots of good food. We watched the parade this morning, then headed over to my grandparents' house and have spent the rest of the day here, just hanging out. It's been a really low-key day, super nice. And I completely forgot to post this, thus why it's coming out so late. MANY APOLOGIES!!!! 

I've been so excited by all of you who've joined in the Thankfulness Thursday challenge this month- I've loved reading all of your posts! It's been so much fun to read what all of you are thankful for. Thank you so much to all of you who joined in!

I'm thankful for so, so many things that I can't even begin to add to these weekly lists. I could talk for hours about everything that I'm thankful for. Looking back at the past year, at all of the amazing people I have in my life and at all of the experiences that I've had, both good and bad, I feel super blessed. Seeing all of the ways that God works is mind blowing, and I'm so beyond grateful. "Rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Thanksgiving break

family

grace upon grace upon grace

amazing friends

midnight phone calls

beanies

performing

getting out of class early

pie

new sweaters

winged eyeliner

sunsets

adventures

printed photos

Christmas decorating

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

• Thankfulness Thursday Friends •

----

RockAndMinerals4Him

Allie @ Spreading My Joy

Morning @ The Ups And Downs of My Not-So-Average Life

Megan @ Pen and Ink

----

I hope you've had an amazing Thanksgiving!! I am SO thankful for each and every one of you. ♥ Have an amazing weekend and stay safe!

Thankfulness Thursday

I'm going to be completely honest here. I'm writing this on Wednesday night at 8:00. I spent the morning at school and came home and did more schoolwork before going to a two hour rehearsal. I'm currently flopped on a beanbag, my head is killing me, and I'm pretty sure that I could fall asleep right now. And honestly, I should be doing more school, but I've just given up. A few minutes ago, I was like, "Mooooom. I can't do this. I can't write right now. I've got to get this Thankfulness Thursday post out, but I just can't do it."

She goes, "Just say, 'Today, I am thankful to be alive. I won't be if I keep writing this post.'"

I mean hey, it's not bad advice.

So needless to say, this post won't be filled with quite as much positivity as my last one was, and I really do apologize for that. But hey- we can still be thankful, even when we're exhausted, right?

(Also, can we have a moment of appreciation for the fact that BLOGGER HAS A SYMBOLS SECTION NOW??? You can add emojis and copy+paste symbols to your posts. I'm so happy ahaha.)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

coffee

Ben Rector music

clear blue skies

bagels
Hunchback of Notre Dame soundtrack

bright red leaves
snail mail
decorating for the holidays
time at home
rehearsals
Hallmark movies
new makeup
murder mystery novels
sleep

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I was so excited to see some of y'all start to join the challenge last week! It's still not too late! If you decide to post a Thankfulness Thursday post of your own, let me know- I'll add your link. ♥

• Thankfulness Thursday Friends •

Allie @ Spreading My Joy
Megan @ Pen and Ink
Melody @ Tea Time With Melody Q
---

<< What are YOU thankful for? >>

Thankfulness Thursday

~ I know that right now, everyone is kind of freaking out a bit. The internet has blown up, thanks to the election. I'm not going to get political, because frankly I know that we're all sick of hearing about it. So all I'm going to say is this- guys, in the grand scheme of things, is this worth completely losing it over? God's got us, no matter who the president is. So the next time that you're tempted to tweet a political rant, I dare you- tweet something positive instead. Because right now, do we really need more rants, more anger? No. We need positivity and light. Be positive. Be light. Spread joy. We're approaching Thanksgiving- let's think about everything that we have to be thankful for, instead of stirring up conflict, okay? Sounds good to me. ~

• there is always something to be thankful for •

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

dinners with friends

progress

big blankets

writing long letters

fall break

introverting

not having a ton of school

ukelele jams

parties

making friendship bracelets 

park days

leftover Halloween candy

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Are you joining in for the Thankfulness Thursday challenge? You totally should- it's a lot of fun. If you do, leave your link below, and I'll add it to my post!

• Thankfulness Thursday Friends •

Allie @ Spreading My Joy
Vanessa @ Simply Me
Megan @ Pen and Ink

---

<< What are YOU thankful for? >>

Thankfulness Thursday

Thankfulness.

I know that once November hits, everyone's piping in with everything that they're thankful for, getting ready for Thanksgiving. We all know that we should really be thinking about everything that we're thankful for all year round, not just when that fourth Thursday in November stops by for a visit. But since everyone is in the thankfulness spirit, I like to host a little bit of a thankfulness link-up here on the blog. Anyone care to join me? It's super simple- just share a few things that you're thankful for every Thursday. They don't have to be crazy big things- although those are just as wonderful. I think it's fun, though, to think about the little tiny things in life that you're thankful for. I promise, it will make your day a little better. Want to give it a try? ♥

(yes, I know, I know, Happy November is supposed to be my first post of the month. but I simply haven't had time to edit it, and I want to keep up with my Thankfulness Thursday posts this year, so we're trying something a little different. my little OCD heart is trembling, but we're just going to go with it. )

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

leaves changing and making life a little more colorful

foggy mornings

hand-me-down clothes

popcorn

watching the squirrels play

NaNo- actually super thankful for it because wow progress

falling into bed after a long day

people you ♥

books

jamming to music in the car

creativity
having fun even at super boring events
photographs

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, are you going to accept the thankfulness challenge? You should! It's going to be fun. ♥ Leave me your link below if you do- I want to read your posts!

I hope that you're all having a beautiful November. ♥

Happy Thanksgiving!! Gratitude Tag, Thankfulness Thursday, and More!

Happy Thanksgiving!!! Goodness, I can't believe that Thanksgiving is already here. I love it though, this time of year is just so much fun. Wasn't the parade this morning great? I always love watching all of the Broadway shows' numbers. Something Rotten was great!!

------------------------------------

~Thankfulness Thursday~

Thanksgiving break

Hot chocolate

Afternoons with great people

New sweaters

Christmas decorating

Flannel

Fairy lights

Discovering new music

Charlie Brown reruns

Being able to have a relationship with the One who created me

------------------------------------

Thank you so much to Olivia and Leah  for tagging me in The Gratitude Tag! I really enjoyed putting it together. : ) Such a great idea for a tag post!!

What is gratitude?
It is the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.
Often times we forget to show gratitude to one another. Our everyday life struggles get in the way of focusing on what we have and what we can do to show appreciation to one another. Thanksgiving isn't the only time to be reminded of what we are grateful for. We need to be reminded of the people and things that are important to us.With that, I give you the Gratitude Tag! Unlike tags that are centered around the things about thanksgiving (food and black Friday) this is a tag you can do any time of the year.
-Vanessa at Simply Me

1// What is your favorite quote or verse that reminds you to be grateful?
Oh goodness, y'all should know better than to give me an opportunity to pick out quotes. Let's see-

"Be thankful for what you have. Your life, no matter how bad you think it is, is someone else's fairytale."

"It is not happy people who are thankful. It is thankful people who are happy."

"Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His love endures forever." Psalm 107:1

"Gratitude helps us to see what is there instead of what isn't."

"There is always something to be thankful for, you just have to look for it."

2// Who are you grateful for?
Oh my goodness, so many people. My mom, who's basically the sweetest person ever. My dad, who shares my bizarre sense of humor. My crazy sisters. My awesome grandparents. And more friends than I can name who are just absolutely incredible!

3// What life events are you grateful for?
Oh my goodness...this is hard! I've had so many great experiences. I guess I'm going to have to piggyback on what Abby over at Abby and the Pens said, being homeschooled. I've had such amazing experiences that I never would have had at a public school. I've been in many different shows, had the opportunity to go to my first competition, traveled, and made the most amazing friends. So yeah, homeschooling is probably one of the things that I'm most grateful for!!  

4// What is something you are grateful for but often times don't think about?
Ahhh, so many things!! A warm home, books, clean water, being surrounded by great people, hand sanitizer, safety, being healthy both physically and mentally, blankets, and my cat!!

5// What are you going to do to show people your gratitude towards them?
I really like what Leah said for this question, that sometimes showing your gratitude requires a step outside of your comfort bubble, and that can be hard. But making a solid attempt to show your thankfulness consistently, to thank people for things no matter how small, is always important, and it's something that I definitely need to work on. 

I'd like to tag-

Elissa at Letters to Jayna
Elizabeth at Whimsical Thoughts
Olivia at the cwtch
Lauren at Loving Our Creator
Chloe at It's A Chloe Thing
Hannah at Grace in Everything

And, of course, YOU!!! I want to tag anyone who'd like to do this!!

------------------------------------

Actually did a craft for Thanksgiving...it's not perfect, but oh well. Life's not perfect!!! (That's my excuse for when I don't love how things turn out haha.)

------------------------------------

I'm so thankful for so many things. This year has been absolutely incredible in more ways than I can count, and I've just been so blessed. I hope that your Thanksgiving is wonderful, and that it's a day full of food, laughter, and fun!

------------------------------------

What are you thankful for this year?

Thankfulness Thursday

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cozy sweatshirts

Rainy days spent inside

Finishing a subject for Thanksgiving break

Good music

Warm days

Friends who don't mind when I freak out

Gummi bears

Long conversations

Journaling

People who bring you hair ties because you always forget yours ;)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

♥  What are you thankful for? ♥

Thankfulness Thursday + Announcement

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Adventures

Having time to blog

Gorgeous weather

Outlining my novel

SLEEP

Long nights curled up with Dancing With The Stars

A series ending exactly how I wanted it to

Holidays

Listening to music

Catching up with friends

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello, everyone!! I'm sorry for being so slow replying to comments lately, and that I've gotten behind on the DWTS posts. This past week has been crazy, because....

I've been in NEW YORK CITY!!!!

It was honestly SO much fun, and I can't wait to post all about it!! I took tons of photos, and I have a bunch of posts written up in my head. It's just the matter of actually getting them typed up!! I'm determined to do it though, as well as some other posts like DWTS recaps, Thankfulness Thursday, etc. I'm super excited to share all of my adventures with you! 

I also have some book reviews to share with you all, as I got a ton of reading done on the ride up north. I finally read Mockingjay!! That was...interesting. So much death, guys...so much death...

Expect a post spam very soon!!!

Thankfulness Thursday

In honor of November and Thanksgiving coming up, it's Thankfulness Thursday ♥ 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Good books

Afternoons with no homework

Fuzzy socks

Photography

Shopping days

Sweet friends

Changing leaves

Being healthy

Movie nights

Days spent rehearsing

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Wow, I can't believe that Thanksgiving is already here! It's come so fast. I don't know about you, but I'm super excited for today. Food, the parade, hanging out with family, I love it! We're having a big lunch in a few hours, and I can't wait. :) 

The holiday season is really just so much fun. I absolutely adore Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. We actually finished putting up our Christmas decorations last night! I have a little tree in my room this year, and it's so cute. I love sitting in there with the cozy glow of the tree. I'll have to post a picture of it later. 

So, when do you consider it appropriate to start with Christmas music and decorations? It seems like it gets earlier and earlier every year. I have to admit, I turn on the Christmas music the day after Halloween... We also usually have our decorations all up before Thanksgiving. What do you do? Let me know in the comments below!!!

Do you go Black Friday shopping? I'm not sure yet if I'm going. I personally find it hilarious that everyone talks about how thankful they are, then go out and kill people over a flat screen TV. I mean really, starting Black Friday at 6:00 on THURSDAY? Really? I think that that is crazy...still, it might be fun to go!

Anyways, to get back on to the Thanksgiving topic, what are you thankful for this year? I have to say, my top 'Thankfuls' are-

1. My awesome family, I love them! 

2. My amazing friends, I don't know what I'd do without them!

3. My cat, he's my baby! 

4. Homeschooling, it's so great :)

5. Theatre and performing, they've made my life so much better...

6. Having a warm house when so many go homeless

7. Having enough food when so many starve

8. This blog, it's been such a great experience and I've had so much fun!

9. The holiday season, I love that it's here!

10. The fact that this semester is almost over!! ;)

So, for a Thanksgiving challenge, I nominate anyone who is reading this to list YOUR top ten things that you're thankful for in the comments section! I see you there reading-yes, you-comment!!!!

Well, I'm off to get ready for lunch! Remember, comment your Thankfuls below! I hope that all of you have a wonderful, safe, food-filled Thanksgiving!! :):):)

Happy November!!!

Wow! I can't believe that it's already November! I'm kind of sad to see October go, to be honest. I love all of the Halloween preparations in October, from the costumes to the food to the crafts. It's all just so much fun. My Halloween yesterday was super fun, with dressing up, and waaaay too much sugar! ;) I ended up going as Cruella DeVil.

Do you like it? I changed it a bit from the fifteen minute version that I posted yesterday, and I'm really happy with how it turned out. I have to say though, there was one part of yesterday that wasn't quite so fun.
I was betrayed.
Yep, I was completely and utterly betrayed by some of my closest friends yesterday. So that hurt. I'm sure all girls reading this blog know exactly how that felt. I thought that we were friends, guys. We spent so much time together. Did that mean nothing to you? You deserve to be punished.

By this point, reader, you're probably laughing at me. But booties, I am hurt. After wearing you for the last month, you betrayed me. My feet now have SIX painful blisters from you, one of which was to the point of bleeding. So yeah. That was fun.
Anyway, I swear, I AM sane. Somewhat. ;) So, back to November!!!!!!
I've got a bunch of fun posts lined up for November, and I'm really excited about them. I am determined to become a good blogger this month. I'm trying really hard to get my posts lined up IN ADVANCE, so I'm not scrambling around trying to put something together for you lovely ladies. :)
Like I said back in my first October post, this isn't exactly my favorite month. I just can't quite get into fall as much as I can, say, July. BUT, there is one thing that November has in its favor.
HOLIDAYS!!!!!!!
I admit it. I was already singing Christmas carols today. "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!" We've had a really cold day where I live today, and I'm in a very Christmas-y mood. The air is brisk, and it just smells like the holiday season outside. I'm starting to work on Christmas presents for my friends and family, and brainstorming Thanksgiving recipes. What can I say? I love the holidays!
Gosh, I'm rambling today. Sorry about that, girls. So anyway, all this to say, Welcome, November!!! Stay tuned for some wonderful November posts!! :)

~Grace Anne