I don’t give thanks enough and I really should since I have so much to be thankful and grateful for. So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I’m giving thanks for what has been a particularly good year. As this blog is about making a house a home through food, renovation and design, I’m giving thanks for everything that truly makes a home.

Every day provides a new reminder that I should be grateful for what I have because, at any minute, something special could be taken from me. The photos and stories coming out of California with these insane fires destroying whole towns and families are only the most recent examples of just how precious life is and I need to thank everyone and everything for what I have.

I’m thankful for Daniel because, even though we don’t always agree, he lets me get away with most of my impulses – while also reigning me in when necessary – and lets me feel like I can be me. I do need to remember, though, that he also has good ideas and sometimes when he’s stopping me from doing something, there’s probably sound reasoning behind it.

Another reason to be thankful for Daniel is because he found us our puppy, Molly, my first dog who has made an appearance on this blog numerous times and is a constant presence on my Instagram. I love her so much. I know it’s annoying when people talk about or show off their pets so much, but I just love my dog so dang much. She’s almost four years old and she’s entered this stage of never wanting to leave our sides (except to chase rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, cats, deer….animals, generally) and being super cuddly. Even though that means giving up leg room in our bed because my side is where she likes to sleep, I’ll take it because I am thankful for her and for her attention. We got her less than three months after moving into the cozy cottage, and she is truly what has helped make this house a home.

We all know that family is also what makes a home and I want to give thanks for the time I’ve gotten to spend with family this year as you never know when the people you love won’t be here. This most definitely includes my parents since they do super nice things for us, like drop off food on the front porch while we’re at work and then we come home to a treat. Most recently, my parents dropped off pomegranate seeds because my mom knows how much I love pomegranate but am too lazy to buy the fruit and take it apart myself. She and I used to peel and de-seed pomegranate together when I was a kid (she did most of the work) but I just don’t have the patience for it. Thankfully, I have my mother.

It’s been a good year for us, with Daniel starting a new job that he really likes and me getting a promotion at my job. Both of us have had a good year professionally, and I’m so grateful for that. In addition to my main career, I’ve picked up more work as an interior decorator and I am so very thankful to the people who have decided to give me a chance. I hope I can share these projects with you going forward but, as they are nowhere near close to being finished, it may be a while.

It’s also been a good year personally. We embarked on a renovation that, while small, has already made a big impact on our house. I introduced the beautility room renovation here and showed you more here, as well as have kept you updated on the process in my Instagram Stories highlight “Beautility Room.” We are just about done (just need the plumber to come back and swap something out) and will put together the full reveal soon to share with you. I’m thankful that we were even able to do this renovation in the first place (although, we’ll be paying it off for quite a while, yikes!), and I’m even more thankful that the project is over, the construction guys are gone, we were able to hire a cleaning service to clean up our entire house and rid it of all the dust that we’ve been living in for three months due to the project, and that we now have our house back, clean, put back together and feeling kind of new.

The beauty of the beautility renovation – besides the benefits that the new spaces and details provide – is that it also enables me to see even more of the potential of our home, and I am most definitely thankful for that.

We have even more to be thankful for and I hope to show you more of our home in the coming months as a few non-renovation-related changes are underway.

And, finally, I’m thankful for you. Thanks for subscribing to The 256 Project, thanks for reading the posts, thanks for providing comments and feedback through various forms of communication, thanks for caring.

If you know anyone who might be interested in seeing how (and maybe even getting a few tips) we are making our house a home through food, renovation and design, please share with them this blog and tell them to subscribe to it, as well as follow The 256 Project on Instagram. If you or anyone you know is interested in interior decorating services, please email regine@the256project.com.

Happy Thanksgiving!