Why I'm Not Christmas Shopping on Thanksgiving

The other day I came across Target's Black Friday ad. And my heart sunk. "Doors open at 6 PM on Thanksgiving." And then just an hour later I saw Walmart was opening at the same time. 

When I was younger it was different. We'd have a delicious meal, spend precious time with family, and laugh at all the crazy things we've done. Then the party would be over. My mom would clean and then go to bed. Just 3-4 hours later in the middle of the night she would wake up, don a sweater that matched all my aunts & grandma and brave the cold chill to wait outside their store of choice. They always had a game plan. Who would get the princess dolls, who would get the rollerblades, etc. And they'd have a fun girls day Christmas shopping for their family whom they loved so dearly. 

It's not like that anymore. If you want to take advantage of Black Friday deals you have to interrupt your Thanksgiving meal. At 6 PM! And heaven forbid you want to wait outside the store for a few hours, you might as well not attend Thanksgiving dinner at all because you'll have to leave before it even starts.

Why am I not shopping on Thanksgiving? I'm not shopping on Thanksgiving because I'd rather have more time with family on Thanksgiving than more presents under the tree on Christmas morning. There's not a good deal out there that would be worth missing that precious time. Not even if they were giving out free ipads just for standing in line, which I've yet to see advertised.

Besides missing that time with family because of "good deals", what about all the employees? The ones who have to provide for their families and don't get Thanksgiving off because there are too many people shopping! The people like Amberly's Husband, you can read about Black Friday at their house HERE.

I've read a quote somewhere that said, "People are meant to be loved, and things are meant to be used. The reason this world is in chaos is because things are being loved and people are being used." Things are being LOVED. Is it bad to want to give your children a really great Christmas morning? To wait in the freezing cold for 5 hours for a half off Elsa doll? No! Not one single bit! 

But Thanksgiving is meant for family. It's meant for eating, and gratitude, football, and resting. Not for shopping for good deals.

If you're looking for me on Thanksgiving I'll be rubbing my satisfied tummy, cuddling my husband and getting excited for the holidays. And then you'll also find me doing some Small Business shopping on Etsy, and some Amazon Prime shopping on Cyber Monday.

Update on my 30X30 (Outfits 7-12)

To read why I'm doing this go HERE.

To see the 30 items I picked go HERE.

To see outfits 1-6 go HERE.

I've been having a ton of fun doing this 30X30. It's crazy I'm almost half way over. I feel like I have so many more outfits to put together. 

Doing this challenge is really helping me appreciate my closet! So here's days 7-12.

Which is your favorite outfit from these 6? I think my favorite is the red cardigan over the striped top!

Why Temple Date Night's Make the Best Date Nights

I can honestly say that temple date nights are the best date nights. Why? Well I'm here to tell ya.

Head over to From A to Z to read the rest of the post!

How To Start a Gratitude Journal

Unless you've been living under a rock I'm sure you've seen the gratitude posts all over Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. It's November, so people everywhere are pausing to be grateful for all that they have. 

I'm not here to debate the idea of daily thanksgiving posts in the month of November, but what I am here to do is help you learn how you can turn those social media posts that get lost in less than 24 hours into something tangible. I'm going to help you see how you can start your very own gratitude journal and start living in thanksgiving every single day!

1. Buy a notepad you love!

Whether you want to drop into Target to buy a cute notepad, use up an old one around the house or get a specific gratitude journal like this one or this one from Etsy, just pick a notepad that makes your heart happy.

2. Decide how frequently you want to write.

Do you have time to add this to your morning or nighttime ritual? Do you want to only journal on Sunday's when things are more relaxed? Or is once a month enough for your to fill your grateful bucket? Decide what works for you.

3. Decide the format. 

You can set a goal for every day such as: Write 10 items every day, or Fill an entire page with grateful thoughts 1x a week. Or you can make it more informal. You can draw pictures, glue in pictures, or print of quotes about gratitude. There are lots of different ways you do this. 

4. Get started.

As Walt Disney said, "The best way to get started is to stop talking and start doing." Just get going! Making your first marks in any new journal can be intimidating but exhilarating! Writing those few lines of gratitude should feel good and make you happy to be alive.

What do I do?

I've done many variations but here's a few of my favorites...

* Write 5 items every night in list form.

* Fill a page with complete sentences of what I'm grateful for.

* Write each entry in a different color. 

Have you ever kept a gratitude journal?

Marriage & The Gospel of Jesus Christ

{Post written by Ashley from From A to Z}

I was asked to write on Marriage and the Gospel of Jesus Christ which are my TWO very favorite things to write about so here we go!

How does one incorporate the gospel into their marriage? Well there are many things you can do to mix it in!

Read your scriptures together - this is a huge one for my husband and I. Right at 8 or 8:30 at night we read our scriptures together. Then we discuss what we learned and what stuck out to us and why. Having a discussion helps set the mood for the spirit and allows us to really learn as a couple.

Attend church together - Unfortunately Brady works every other Sunday but when we do get to go together, it's the best! We sit by each other in class, during the sacrament and then when we get home we talk about how church went and what we learned in Relief Society/Priesthood.

Attend the Temple together - attending the temple is a really important thing to do together. You can learn so much by attending the temple and what better place to go to, to receive guidance and counsel than the temple? You will experience so much happiness and peace when you go and what better way than to do it together.

Pray together - praying together is a really big deal and can really strengthen your relationship. Morning and night you should always pray separately and together. Praying together strengthens your relationship because you learn to rely on prayer together and that it will get you through to good and bad times and as well as praying separately.

Share goodness - if you haven't seen the hashtag #sharegoodness than you missed out on Elder Bednar's talk he gave on sharing goodness through social media. It's important to be member missionaries and to share goodness wherever you can. It doesn't always have to be about the gospel, just share stuff that's good together!

What other things do you do to incorporate the gospel in your marriage?

Introducing The Newest Member of Our Family

I know a lot of you follow me on Instagram (@brooklynjolley) and so for those of you who do, you know we added to our family a few weeks ago. So meet Benson! (Aka Benny)

He has been a little ball of energy and cuteness ever since we got him. We love him!

We also are a family of 6 now! Colten, me, Benson, Puppy & Walter our cats, and Millie our hedgehog. 500 sq feet didn't keep our family from growing quickly ;) But we sure are excited to move into our house next week. 

Isn't Benson adorable?

5 Easy Ways to Start Living Like a Minimalist

Stuff. We have so much stuff, and by we I mean my husband and I. You can be the judge of yourself. We have cupboards full of food, but every week we continue to buy groceries. I have a closet full of clothes, but I still find myself online shopping and browsing the mall for the next good thing. I have lots of books I've purchased but never actually sat down to read. 

Maybe this is why minimalism became so appealing to me so quickly. Minimalism isn't just some fad for rich people to feel better about their spending, it's a total life changing process that YOU get to be in charge of. Minimalism can be different for everyone. It can be owning 100 things or less, giving up your car(which I never plan to do), or only buying things that you actually need.

So instead of getting caught up in all the definitions and dramatics of minimalism, let's just look at some easy ways to get started!

1. Clean out your closet!
-Get rid of items you haven't worn in the last 6 months
-Pack away seasonal items
-Do a fashion challenge like a 30x30 to learn to appreciate your closet

2. Use up all your makeup/hair stuff before buying any new stuff.
Maybe this isn't a problem for everyone, but I know I'm all about buying the latest and greatest beauty supplies. So instead of buying the next shampoo that will solve all my hair woes, I'm gonna use up what I've already bought first.

3. Do a no-spend month.
Choose a month and decide to not spend any money that isn't necessary. If you don't need it, don't buy it.

4. Get rid of duplicates.
Own 7 mixing bowls, get rid of the extras! Still too scared to get rid of all buy one? Just keep two for now. Have two purses? Donate one!

5. Donate!
Doing a no spend month, spending less on hair and makeup stuff should leave you with a little extra. Find a cause that means something to you and donate, even if it's only $5, it will feel amazing to donate to something so close to your heart.


Becoming a minimalist doesn't need to be dramatic. Make SMALL and SUSTAINABLE changes that make you feel free.