THANKSGIVING DECOR: WORK WITH WHAT YOU GOT

Thanks to Pinterest, I'm now well aware of the fact I'm not the only woman in the world who falls asleep at night dreaming of beautiful table-scapes, perfectly baked pies, and unbelievably organized pantries. Apparently, we all want things to look and taste just perfect.

While I had every intention on showing you one amazingly thought out and decorated Thanksgiving mantle and table display, the reality of time, a full time job, a child with green stuff oozing from his sinuses (TMI?) and what I think might be a broken thumb (mine, not his), set in. Things can only be so perfect for so long. Or at least close to perfect, kind of.

Still, with a very full plate, it was and is my mission to make my house presentable not just for the real life folk coming to give thanks on Thursday (and eat a 26 pound bird), but to show you, the people of the intra-world what you can do with scraps of burlap (from your kind of-sort of-organized craft closet) and foliage from your own back yard.

Here's what I did:

To make the burlap sign, I cut some pieces of burlap, and used my sons marker to write "Give Thanks." Placed it in an inexpensive frame.

To get the fall foliage thing, I climbed on to my patio, and using kitchen shears (only the best), chopped down some branches. (Jonah was the photographer to document the "mom in the wild" journey).

Using the freshly cut leaves and leftover pumpkins and gourds from Halloween, I draped them across the mantle and used a few pieces of clear scotch tape to keep the leaves in place. And voila!

24 hours later.... Dried leaves. If only every Pinterest sequence revealed the "what really happens moments after perfection (kind of)."

Good news. There's more leaves where this came from. Bad news, the backside of the pumpkins are now basically covered in mold. Now worries, turn those bad boys around for the next round of Pinterest perfection photos...  Shhhh.....

HOLIDAY GIFTS & IDEAS WITH eBAY COLLECTIONS

This year, Thanksgiving and Chanukah are sharing the spotlight. For my family, this means that at 5 o'clock when the turkey coma usually sets in, we're going to have to rally for a little dreidel and gift exchanging action. This also means that as the Thanksgiving host, (I must be out of my mind to take this on this year), in addition to getting my menu prepped and table decor in line, I'm going to have to going to have to think about gifts about a month sooner than I normally would!

As a curator for eBay's new collections program, I've gotten a head start on all the things I want to get for family and friends... and of course, the things that if anyone happens to want to get me something, well, they'll know just where to find it.  Ahem, ahem.

No seriously, while a Chanel clutch might be a liiiittle out of the budget this Chanukah, I've found that putting these Collections together have been a great way for me to keep track of not only the things that I'm coveting, but ideas and inspirations for projects I want to tackle, like organizing my office and closets.

Here are some of my collections that I've created that are completely inspired by what's going on in my

life:

• Trying to eat Dairy and Gluten Free (See Wedding Prep) :-)

• Getting Fit (Also see Wedding Prep) :-)

• Collecting Vintage Postcards to use for guest book at.... Yep, you guessed it. 

• Finding antique windows and doors for.... Okay fine. I'm completely obsessed. 

The point is, eBay Collections is a great way to store ideas and inspirations, watch sellers and newly listed items, AND find items just in time for the holidays and of course, all year round. Speaking of which, with just over week until 8 nights of festive lights and a big turkey dinner, I need to get cracking!  First stop. Kid + Easy Gift = Legos! Done! 

Join me and be sure to use #eBayCollection & #FollowItFindIt

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DIY HOME DECOR USING YOUR KID'S ART

Last year, I tried to volunteer at school as much as I could. Spending time in Jonah's class -cutting paper, cleaning up, passing out goodies on special occasions, etc.- opened my eyes not only to the world of Transitional Kindergarten and public school, but also to the differences between boys and girls... At an early age, it's clear that there is an inherent difference in attention to detail... Generally, the boys scribble fast, while the girls keep the colors (coordinated) and in between the lines. This basically results in Jonah coming home with a lot of projects that, well... look like... someone just wanted to get outside and play zombies vs. Darth Vader. (Or whatever it is that 5 year old boys do.

If I actually housed or stored every single gem that my future "volcano science geologist laboratory doctor" brought home, our house would like like an episode of Hoarders. Therefore, I came up with an artistic solution of my own that showcases the "best part" of my guy's art only. Check it out!

DIY ART USING BURLAP

Short of a lavender herb garden, my own chickens, and 400 plus staff members, I'm slowly fulfilling my dream to become Martha Stewart. Like really slowly.

So maybe I'm not quite up to par with said queen of it all, but these days my juices are flowing and my DIY doin' is at an all time high. New home = new projects. Lots and lots o' them. Over the next few weeks and months, I'll be sharing some highlights from these different projects and events. 

Here is a video that I recently shot for Lifetime Moms on how to create burlap monogrammed art. So easy and makes a great gift!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: DIY DRINKING

Some projects require a little extra help....

JENNIFER BRANDT'S "LIVING"

In addition to the "Minty Mallows" that sucked me in at Trader Joes, when I saw a Gingerbread Man kit for $3.99, I couldn't resist. I instantly had visions of Jonah and I sitting together, decorating this darling cookie while drinking hot cocoa in our winter PJs... establishing a holiday tradition which one day would include me even baking a gingerbread house (mansion really) and inviting all the children to come and decorate it using "snow caps" that I had hand crafted... in my craft studio... next to the cozy fire place.... and our heavenly smelling Christmas tree.

Sure we're Jewish and I stopped getting Martha Stewart magazines years ago... But a girl can dream...

Anyway, tonight I decided we'd give the GB dude a whirl.

We decided this guy needed a lot of buttons. And apparently, gladiator sandals (they were supposed to be Uggs).

Of course, once GB guy (who Jonah decided we should call Judy) was dressed, it was time for the creativity to really begin. Hello, green water. Goodbye green sprinkles (that I had every intention of using on sugar cookies... last year).

All in all, it was actually quite fun and should time ever permit and creativity reign, I could very well see myself making this an actual tradition, using more impressive decorative goods than the low-budge kit from TJ's. But, I'd be shocked if Martha could come up with a better idea for dealing with a mess than trash bags on the floor...