Can you even believe we are just a few short weeks away from Thanksgiving?

Even science agrees that practicing gratitude can be life changing.  Being grateful will make you a happier person so I thought this would be a fun way to challenge a friend, spouse, or your child to commit to an act of kindness or gratitude every day as we countdown to Thanksgiving.  No need to follow my suggestions or go in any order.  In fact, I’d love to hear your own acts of kindness and gratitude.  The idea is to commit to the daily act.

I know for me I became entirely more grateful when my husband got back from rehab.   I felt like I had a second chance at life with my family back together.  In our day to day routines, mine often being hectic with whining kids, it takes effort and practice to show gratitude during the tough moments.

One of the places I struggle most with recognizing gratitude can be with my children.  I am not naturally maternal.  I sometimes resent the sacrifices within my own life that have occurred as a result of becoming a mother.   These were my decisions and I need to own them.  Yesterday a mother who had emailed me weeks ago about my addiction fundraiser responded again to tell me she had lost her son to an overdose the day before.   My heart broke for her to think that her child, her labor of love, was taken from her so tragically.  I also have a close friend who sat beside her 1 year old as she got chemo for brain cancer.   Wouldn’t these moms love to have a healthy, whining child in their presence?   So I do my best when my kids are driving me nuts to take a deep breath and be thankful I was able to have my own healthy kids and remind myself – they will become what I teach them, so I need to model good behavior.

I think another big thing that stands in the way of gratitude is comparison.   Comparison is the thief of joy.   When you look at what someone else has (that you might think you want) you lose sight of all the wonderful things you DO have.  As a style blogger I look at lots of beautiful fashionistas every day.   I want their skin, their handbag, their hair.  Lest I forget – someone probably could say the same about me.  I have my health, I have a wonderful family, and I have a cozy home just where I want to be.  When you accept yourself as you are and be who you want to be that is when happiness is born.  I am almost 35.  I have earned my wrinkles.  I want to be remembered someday as being kind and funny.  I am just fine with not being remembered for being ageless or for having gorgeous hair.   So I remind myself to invest more in kindness than in hair salons 🙂

I am so thankful for all the opportunities blogging has brought me.  I have met so many wonderful people through this adventure and it has brought my husband and I closer together as he helps me navigate this new venture.  I never would have thought people would send me clothes they would want me to wear.  To pay it forward as a show of gratitude I will be donating almost all the clothes I have been gifted to those less fortunate.

Please share with me ideas for how you can show gratitude this month.

This brown suede belted moto jacket was recently restocked but it repeatedly sells out so you can also find it here in more sizes as well.  I am wearing a size small.  It also now comes in a light gray color that I am LOVING!   I paired it over a crochet off the shoulder top with a longer gold tassel necklace.

My bucket bag is from Leatherology but I linked a more affordable version below.   I’m wearing a classic Sam Edelman black pump.   I wear these often but you may want a more affordable black leather pump instead.  I actually just got new flare denim, as if I didn’t have enough!   My previous pair did not have enough stretch so I didn’t like that it would get baggy in the thighs after a few hours of wear.   This pair is tighter in the thighs which accentuates the flare and it’s under $30.  I size down in high-waisted pants because it sort of acts like Spanx to give a compression waist feel.  I am wearing the jeans in a size 2Tall.

As always – I’d love for you to share any ideas you might like for later on Pinterest.  You can also follow what I pin (recipes, home decor, and outfit ideas for the most part) if you are interested.