Okay, November.

I swear three days ago was November 1st, but somehow, Thanksgiving is next week.

Also, I'm not quite sure how exactly my fall baking exponentially increased over the last two years, but if this trend keeps up, I'll be drowning in dough this time next year. Just a fair warning.

While baking from scratch is a lot of time and effort, I do enjoy it. It's one of those fun chores that requires just enough brainpower to keep me focused on the task at hand, and not think about 1,000 other things. It's also a creative outlet, and I like making things that others enjoy.

Last night, I came home after a busy day and baked my favorite pumpkin chai latte cupcakes from Half Baked Harvest, as well as some homemade dinner rolls for my Thanksgiving party at work today. Yes, it's that kind of week where I'm writing my blog post the morning it's due.

Whatever.

Anyway, I came home and did one of my favorite things.

I turned on a cheesy Christmas movie (must be one I've seen before, that's important, so I don't miss anything), and got to baking. There's something about having something happy on in the background while I'm baking. It's relaxing, even though I'm "busy", and it's such a stress reliever for me, just to block out everything else, make something really yummy and watch a cute, happy movie while dough rises.

BONUS - my neighbor, Lila, came over to drop something off while I was baking (she's 8), and said immediately "I LOVE THIS MOVIE!! Can I watch it with you?"

ABSOLUTELY, girlfriend. Have a seat.

She hung out with me and helped me bake for about half an hour. It was exactly what my soul needed.

Because you know what? It's the little things. Those tiny moments are where I find myself the most grateful for this life.

Gratitude is finding joy in the granular.

In my personal opinion, joy and gratitude go hand in hand. It's hard to be miserable when intentionally being grateful.

I used to do a daily gratitude practice, and it was probably my favorite thing about my old morning routine.

I'll share it with you - it's really easy.

Make a list of 3-5 things you're grateful for from the last few days. Here's the catch - don't list out the "big things", like family, friends, home, job, car, etc. List the little things that genuinely made you happy or feel joy.

Being thankful for the staples in life is great, but it doesn't really help us dig deep into a grateful mindset. I want to be constantly looking for more little things to be grateful for, and finding joy in the tiny moments.

For example, I'm really grateful for walks with my husband. It's 30-45 minutes of uninterrupted time together, outside, with no screens, and some light exercise. Even if I go to bed with aching legs and sore feet from standing on my tile floor for hours, I'm grateful for nights that I get to spend in my kitchen baking treats.

I'm grateful each time one of you reads one of my posts. It never gets old when you like, comment, share, or just tell me that you liked what I wrote. It fills my heart and inspires me to keep on keeping on.

I hope you all take a few moments over the next week to make a little list for yourselves. Maybe a short mental list every morning, or a written one. I think I’m going to ask myself to list 3 things every morning while I have my coffee. Cheers!

Today, I'm grateful for...

1. Cinnamon in my coffee

2. Homemade baked goods - it's what love tastes like.

3. Christmas lights

4. Christmas decorations that have been passed down

5. Lighthearted Christmas films

6. Pentatonix releasing a new Christmas album every year -

7. Cool, crisp air

8. My pencil tree - it's BEAUTIFUL this year.

9. hot apple cider

10. quiet evenings spent reading

11. Ellie’s toy - Backstory: Ellie does not like toys. A friend got them some new toys a month ago, and for whatever reason, Ellie LOVES it. She fetches and carries them around and it makes me so happy that she likes her toy. It's very cute.

"Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!" Psalm 95:2

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Colossians 3:16