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    Recently I wrote about how much I love the buffalo plaid trend and I promised to write more about it.  Now that Thanksgiving is over, it is time to bring out the Christmas decor!  I've been having so much fun finding buffalo plaid items to add to my decoration collection.  Some of my things have seen better days and it is nice to replace a few of them.  Buffalo plaid seems like a classic Christmas motif that will never really go out of style.  I don't know why I have just now latched onto it, but I can't get enough.  
    One place that I like to shop online is on Etsy.  So many artists who sell on Etsy have such cool ideas that you just can't find in the store.  This makes my decorations a little unique and not the run of the mill that you find everywhere.  Today, I thought I would share some of my favorite finds! 

 Printables:  The great thing about printable files is that there is no shipping charge!  You just download and print and use the file the way you would like to.  

• A Hogwarts Christmas-Why does Harry Potter always make me think Christmas?  I guess because there is always the snowy scenes when Harry gets a hand knit sweater from Mrs. Weasly.  This printable file is amazing! 
• HO HO HO-in plaid!  So cute and easy!  Just print it and frame it.
• Believe-I adore this one!  

Table Runners:  Instead of or on top of a tablecloth?

• Red and black personalized table runner.  It is beautiful and has great reviews! 
• Black and White table runner.  I love mixing the red and black with the black and white.
  

Ornaments, tree skirt and decor:  To die for!

• Buffalo Plaid Stockings-should I or shouldn't I?
• Embroidery Hoop Disney Ornaments-Maddy will love these!
• Sock Snowmen- These would be so cute on a shelf or mantel! 
• Tree Skirt-I already bought one somewhere is, but this one is gorgeous and a couple of dollars less! 
  

    Those are just a few of the things that caught my eye on Etsy.  If you find something adorable that I missed, please let me know! 

You can find these trees on Etsy, too! 

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For What to Read Wednesday this week I was thinking about family and Thanksgiving being tomorrow and Christmas soon to follow. It made me think of how much I love this time of year and how much I love my family. And not just my family that is with me on Earth right now, but my family that has passed on and the family to come in the future. I love knowing that we're all connected as a family. It reminded me of how sometimes when I write in my journal I think about the things I want my posterity to know about me, about our time, or just some truths I've learned in my life. Of course not every time I write is with them in mind because I definitely have gone on angry, unbecoming rants in my journals, or talked extensively about the mundane day-to-day of my life.

And one year I had a goal to write in my journal everyday and some of those entries are just "I'm tired." Though those two words were a pretty accurate portrayal of my life. But I digress.

I have been writing in a journal since second grade. Not continuously everyday, or week, but I love writing in my journals and even more I love going back and reading my journals. It's fun to see what was important to me when I was eight or nine years old, what impacted me as a teenager, and what life lessons finally got pounded into my head as a college student. I truly love reading my own journals! I also enjoy reading journals of my ancestors or other people who lived before me. If you can't learn from the past you're doomed to repeat it, right? (This is probably why I also love non-fiction so much). 

So I thought I would encourage you to write In your journal more, or to get a journal and start writing because no matter where you are In life you have wisdom and personality to share with those who will come after you. I have gathered a list of journals and pens that I love and that will help you (I hope) to love journaling as much as I do. Or I think they're perfect gifts for anyone in your life too. A way of saying "I think you have something awesome to say."

• 5-Year Journal. If you feel you're not the most verbose or don't know what you would write in your journal this is the perfect journal for you. The 5 Year Journal asks you a question for everyday of the year. Underneath the question is a place for you to write your answer for the next five years. This makes it easier for you to go back and read what you wrote (because when the year is over you start at the beginning again). And the room for writing isn't extensive so you can keep your answers short and sweet. It's a fun journal I've been eyeing for years. 

When it comes to writing in  journals you definitely want to use a pen. Pencils fade immensely over time and then your memories and thoughts are lost. While any pen will work, I personally prefer a fine point pen and will recommend a few of my favorites here that won't break the bank. 

• Pilot G2 gel pens. These are reliable, write smoothly, and are refillable.
• Sharpie Art Pens. I love, love, love the fine point on these and all the fun colors they come in.
• Zebra Pen Journaling Set. This comes with pens and double ended markers. They make journaling a more fun and creative art project than just writing down your story.
• Pigma Micron pens. These pens are the most expensive of my list at $1/pen but there's a reason. They're awesome! My husband got me these last year and I have loved how smooth they write and the fine lines they make.
• RSVP Pentel Pens. My last rec is the cheapest (less than $4 for an 8 pack) but an old reliable. The RSVP pens come in fun colors and write smoothly. The lines aren't the finest but if you just need a good pen and nothing fancy these are great pens. Also great to give to kids who lose things often as they are cheap to replace. My favorite color to write with was the turquoise and the purple from this set.

I hope that you will consider taking up journaling even as a casual hobby. Would you like to hear more tips for journaling? Let us know in the comments below!

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    In just about a month, my wonderful husband and I will be celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary! WHAT?  Yes, it's true, we are that old! As an early gift, Madalynn surprised us with a photo shoot!  Our photographer, Melissa @ Aww Snaps Photography, did a great job! And in spite of my trepidation about a photo shoot and my non-photogenic qualities, she was able to get some cute shots of us and the entire experience was a lot of fun! 
     With these great photos in hand, what could I do except get Photo Christmas Cards printed this year.  In 40 years, this is the first time I've done this.  Sure, I've included photos in our cards before, but this is the first time that we've had professionally printed photo cards.  I think I always felt that it was out of our budget.  But, I love receiving photo cards from family and friends and seeing that everyone else and their children are growing just as old as we are! HaHa!  It does seem to be the trend of late to send photo cards rather than just regular folded cute Christmas cards.  So, this year I took the plunge and it didn't turn out to be nearly as expensive as I thought it was going to be! 
     Of course, you don't have to have a professional photo done to use it to make a Photo Card, so many of the cards are just creative selfie snapshots!  Digital photography certainly helps to keep the costs lower because you can just snap a photo, download it and send it to the printer that you will be using.  Then, you just choose the design you want and the process is easy as pie.  
     Speaking of pie, it is almost Thanksgiving and there are some good deals out there right now for ordering photo cards, so you need to hurry and take advantage of them!  Everyone knows that the weekend of Thanksgiving is the best time to send out your Christmas Cards because after that, the chances of them making it into the mail before the New Year is low.  (I may or may not be speaking from experience).  Anyway, here is a list of places that I have found that I have either used for other projects or one of my kids has used them.  There are links to special deals and lots of choices of designs! 

Snapfish  is a company we have used before for simply printing photos.  They do a great job and they are always offering discounts and special offers!  But, if you want 75% off of your photo cards, their special for that ends today!  So, if you have a photo ready, order right now!  It is an easy process. Use code NOELCARD at checkout.  Snapfish also offers other photo gifts like books, calendars and canvas prints. 

Minted does beautiful photo cards and gifts all year long and their designs are wonderful. But, once again, their 15% discount ends today! So, hurry! If it is your first time ordering from Minted, you will be offered a 20% discount! Minted also has beautiful fabrics and home accessories to choose from. I love looking through their site.

Mixbook  Earlier this year I used Mixbook to make a photo book to share with my grandchildren.  I love it and I love reading it to my grandchildren.  Mixbook offers many photo gifts and book templates.  Right now, they are doing 11 days of deals, so you have a few extra days, (until 11-29) to get your photo card order in! Use code BFDEALS at check-out. 

Shutterfly is a great place to store photos and print awesome gifts. One year for Christmas, we received an adorable Christmas ornament with our grandson's photo from Alicia and her husband. It is a treasure! Shutterfly is always offering awesome discount offers and freebies. Right now through Thanksgiving they are offering 50% off Christmas Photo Cards, plus an additional 20% off. Use Code EXTRA20. While I was looking at their site, a pop-up came up offering me 4 free gifts! I love free!

​Costco Lindsey just let me know about the great deal Costco is for printing Photo Cards! They offer 50 Photo Cards for $13.99 and include gold foil lined envelopes. They also have 20% off of foil embossed cards. Lindsey said that last year they gave her a small photo calendar for free when she ordered cards. I don't know if that is an offer this year, but it sounds cool! Also, you can order your cards one day and then pick them up the next! Or, you may choose delivery within 5-7 days. They also offer photo gifts and one gift that they offer is a plush photo blanket! Wouldn't that be cute with a picture of a pet or a beautiful landscape?

Walgreen's  I hadn't thought about using Walgreen's until I received an email from them offering a great deal on Photo Cards.  What I loved about them is that I ordered the cards in the morning and I was able to pick them up at my local Walgreen's after lunch!  Using the code CARDSTAT through November 30th, you will get 60% off of your card order.  If you click on the Deals category on their website, you will see that Walgreen's is offering 75% off of photo books!  Who knew that Walgreen's does photo books?  

    I ordered our photo cards from Walgreen's this year.  I was excited to get them the same day.  But, you may like another company's designs better or extra offers, so peruse them and see what you think!  Just do it quickly so you don't miss the deals!  And, Happy Thanksgiving! 

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Happy Thanksgiving week everyone! I have so much to be thankful for! My wonderful Savior Jesus Christ, my wonderful family, and these wonderful muffins, to name a few.
This past week we had a few extra bananas that were getting brown. While I love me some yummy banana bread. I wanted to mix it up a little.  We were pretty low on flour and I didn't feel like going shopping. I thought about when we made these cookies with cake mixes. As well as this cake mix banana bread recipe I shared with you. I searched in my pantry and found a spice cake mix box. So I tested it out and these pumpkin banana muffins turned out amazing!

This recipe is so simple guys! I used my extra large muffin tins to make six extra large pumpkin banana muffins.

To make these pumpkin banana muffins you will need:

1 Box Spice Cake Mix
1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
2 ripe bananas

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 
Spray your muffin tins with vegetable oil.
In a large mixing bowl mix together cake mix, pumpkin and banana.
Once mixed together fill your muffin tins evenly.
Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

That's it! That is all you need to make these tasty pumpkin banana muffins!

These pumpkin banana muffins are so moist and delicious. They were perfect by themselves, but, we spread a little pumpkin butter on these pumpkin banana muffins and they were devoured quickly! These would be a perfect holiday breakfast treat! Mix them up and make them today to feast on them tomorrow morning! Enjoy, and happy Thanksgiving!