3 Adorable Gift Wrapping Ideas

So I think by now we all know how much I love the HOLIDAYS! And with Thanksgiving right around the corner I think it's officially time for some good old holiday brainstorming. 

Now, I LOVE Thanksgiving, so I don't want you to get the impression that I'm skipping right over it to get to Christmas... but as I was perusing Pinterest today I just couldn't help but fall in love with these witty and cute gift wrapping ideas! Plus, who ever said gifts should be exclusively for Christmas and birthdays?? I'm a big fan of gifts and especially the kind that come at a time you aren't expecting—so why not give a Thanksgiving gift this year? These gift wrapping ideas are just what you need to make that little gift extra thoughtful and special!

1. Personalize the Plain!

Need to wrap a present in a pinch? Well then this first one is perfect for you! Simply grab some plain paper or a brown paper bag from your last trip to the grocery store and wrap 'er up! Then grab a sharpie and have at it! Add a finishing touch with some string, a bow or ribbon, or even some greenery or other holiday bauble.

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2. Special Delivery!

Okay, how CUTE is this?! Tying your packages to the recipients favorite animal (in toy form, of course) is perfect for small gifts. I would probably fall over dead if I received something like this. 

//via 

 3. Washi Tape it Up!
Washi tape is everywhere nowadays! Michaels even has a full section with what seems like hundreds of different patterns. So why not grab a few rolls and get to taping? I especially love the idea of using newspaper as the main wrapping... so simple, yet pretty with the added pops of pattern and color that the washi tape brings. This Advent gift looks DIVINE.

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So there you have it! Three super simple, super adorable ways to spruce up your packages this Christmas [and Thanksgiving!] season! Happy gift-giving!

P.S. Like literally... I already posted this but I'm coming back because I just stumbled upon this beautiful article on gift toppers! Check it out peeps.

On Being Married

In case ya' missed it around here [and are apparently living under a rock], I got married! On 9.13.14 loverboy and I vowed ourselves to each other. I know that this is an insignificant, tiny little detail for most of you, but it has completely and radically changed my life. I mean, I live with a boy. A BOY.

A boy who makes the bed differently than I do, sometimes doesn't realize the trail he leaves behind as he walks in the house with his shoes on, and whose idea of a perfect Sunday afternoon includes cheering on the Vikings. I now have to eat meat AND veggies at every dinner (thanks mother in law!), share my closet with another human being, and smell coffee every morning. Weird.

But don't get me wrong. It may be weird, but it's also awesome. I now have my own human heater on cold nights, heavy object lifter and too-high-to-reach retriever, and permanent partner in crime. I also get to enjoy the perks of having a live-in spider killer, breakfast-in-bed-maker, and chauffeur. Marriage kind of rocks. But the best part about all this is that these aren't the best things!

It reminds me of when I wrote this post about loving the Giver over the gifts. And now that I'm married I can most definitely say a hearty 'amen!' to that post in that, yes, I super duper appreciate all the things that my man does for me, but more than that, I love HIM. And I love him for him, not for all the perks (although dem perks be niiiiice].

So in the middle of this second week of marriage, I'm considering how much I love this man I've decided to hitch my wagon to for the rest of my life. And I'm considering how good my God is to give me such a great gift—a husband who is also an amazing gift-giver, who gives me himself every day. He's mine... and how lucky I am for that!

//photos via our amazingly talented photographer, Availeth Photography

Giver > Gifts

Do you desire what God can give you more than you desire Him?

This would be like [as ladies] yearning for the lawn to be mown, the car to be fixed, and the spiders to be killed—when in reality we're really yearning for the intimacy with a man from whom those gifts might flow. It's the same with God- when I'm yearning for spiritual gifts, or blessings, or answers to prayers, I'm actually desiring the intimacy with God that those gifts would naturally flow from.

We should choose the Giver over the gifts. The Creator over the creation. But even as I write this I know there's still something wrong with my thinking... as I write "should."

So my simple reminder today and probably for the rest of my life [because let's be real, lessons like this aren't just learned overnight] is this: Giver > Gifts. The Giver is more important than, bigger than, and to be desired, loved, worshipped, enjoyed, savored, yearned for, and thanked over the gifts.

Notice my reminder isn't Giver Gifts. Gifts are still good! Heaven knows my heart flutters for my man every time he saves me from a giant spider [one of the non-perks of an older place], but if that's all I want him around for then there's a problem. Gifts are good. The Giver is better. Seek HIM first, friends. He is bigger. He is better. All good things flow from Him.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. —Matthew 6:33