The 'Thank You' Project

Thanks Giving Paper Chain

noreply@blogger.com (Julia, the Thanksgiving Girl) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 15:42:00 +0000

These lovely Thanksgiving Printables by Silverbox Design are made to be downloaded and cut into strips. Each strip has an empty space where you can write down the things you’re thankful for. The thankful strips then can be used as napkin rings, tags for branches of trees or to create your own very thankful paper chain!

Via Twig & Thistle

Thankful Calendar: Get It or Win It

noreply@blogger.com (Julia, the Thanksgiving Girl) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 19:43:00 +0000

I remember back when the Thankful Calendar 2012 was still in the works, I was wondering if I (or anyone, for that matter) would get bored with having to read the same message of thanks every day for the whole month. It's only now when I have it on my desk and see it every day that I realize just how refreshing it is to be reminded of life's little blessings in such a subtle manner. It seems each time I read the quote, I see it from a yet another angle too, it's making me think more than I thought it would... And 'February' is so heartwarming too!

Now onto some other good news. Me and Stelie Designs are giving away one Thankful Calendar over at BonBon Rose Girls blog! Do not hesitate to come enter.

And if you happen to win, or if you got your Thankful Calendar already or planning to get one soon, take a pic of it on your desk and send to thankful.project(AT)gmail.com. I'd love to see the calendar travel the world and share its adventures with the rest of the community! 'Cause you all are just so ~~thankful~~ awesome.

Sentiments

noreply@blogger.com (Julia, the Thanksgiving Girl) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:15:00 +0000

Natsumi Hayashi lives in Tokyo with her cats and makes levitating self-portraits (and portraits of cats not levitating) and posts them on her blog. I've been following her for a while and since I didn't know she had a Facebook page (or she didn't use to have one before), I'd been checking on the blog "manually" every once in a while. Thus, I saw the post pictured above for the first time just recently.

Something about it made me think. When we express our sentiments about something or someone we lose, we're used to expressions like "will be missed", "will be remembered"... How often do we look back at the good times with the lost with appreciation? Honestly, when I was reading Natsumi's post, I just really didn't expect that "thank you". So much so, that I've just devoted a whole blog post to it. Thank you, Guru the cat.

Meet Caylee: Our December "Quote"

noreply@blogger.com (Julia, the Thanksgiving Girl) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:26:00 +0000

Not only Caylee is featured as the December quote in our Thankful Calendar 2012, she also happens to be the very first The 'Thank You' Project's follower and left the very first comment on this blog back in 2009! This is something I still remember to this day, and I feel very thankful that me and her have kept in touch.

Currently, Caylee is a senior undergraduate at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, and is majoring in Anthropology. She works at her university's South Pacific study abroad office where she is developing a new study abroad program to Bali, Indonesia. And guess what, lucky Caylee gets to go to Bali as part of her job this summer! Way to fulfill her interest in travel, languages and cultures. Caylee, please master saying "thank you" in Indonesian for me, will you?

“ I am thankful for sharing dreams and secrets with my best friend over a chai tea latte. ”

Caylee on her featured quote:

"I wrote my thankful quote after my childhood best friend came from far away to visit me at college last autumn. She and I were sitting in my favorite coffee shop in Athens. It looks like a house, and it's super cute and cozy. We were both drinking chai teas (which were SO delicious) and talking about really deep feelings and issues... The type of stuff that you only share with the closest people in your life. After she left to go back home, I just felt so thankful for her and for those moments of connection. It's rare to find someone that you can be your true self with. And It's even more special with chai tea involved. :)"

You can get the Thankful Calendar 2012 here & view more photos of it here!

On Thank You Notes

noreply@blogger.com (Julia, the Thanksgiving Girl) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:07:00 +0000

In these two videos, Sally Horchow of Very Goodlooking talks to Marc Friedland of Couture Communications (they've created last year's "and the Oscar goes to" envelopes!) about how to write and present the perfect thank you note.

Should you need more of Marc Friedland's thankful tips, do check them out HERE! A few of my personal favorites from the list:

What are yours? Do you have any cool tips of your own?

P.S. Thank you to Thankuz for bringing these videos to my attention!

Guest Blogging for ThankfulFor Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Julia, the Thanksgiving Girl) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:35:00 +0000

As many of you know, I had been offered a fantastic opportunity - to guest blog over at ThankfulFor blog for the months of November and December. ThankfulFor is an online gratitude journal and gratitude sharing community focused on the pursuit of happiness, and it was a blast to be part of this mutual goal and have a chance to share some of my thoughts and experiences. Big thanks to Jen for having me!

Here are the posts I've written all put neatly in one place:

~ Benefits of Gratitude

~ Small Pleasures

~ 5 Reasons to Say "Yes" to Saying "Thank You"

~ Put Yourself in Life's Shoes

~ It's Almost Time to Be Thankful

~ To-Do Item #1: Appreciate

~ Choose to Be Thankful

~ Gratitude Challenge

~ Thankful Person's Guide to Places to Eat, Shop & Play

~ Gratitude Explained

~ Counting the Blessings of 2011

Thank you to all of you who visited me there and took part in the conversation!

Gratitude Quiz & Calendar Pics

noreply@blogger.com (Julia, the Thanksgiving Girl) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:41:00 +0000

I've always been a fan of good quizzes, so when I came across the Gratitude Quiz at GreaterGood I had to take it immediately. The quiz lets you discover just how grateful you are, based on a scale developed by psychologists Mitchel Adler and Nancy Fagley, as well as offers ideas for promoting even more gratitude in your life.You can take it here. My gratitude score is 96 out of 105, what's yours?

I have also uploaded more photos of the Thankful Calendar to the TTYP Facebook page, take a look here!

Image via

Thankful Calendar!!

noreply@blogger.com (Julia, the Thanksgiving Girl) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:57:00 +0000

I have such exciting news!! This project has been in the works for some time now, and it was oh so not easy to keep under wraps. Now that the time has come, I am so excited to finally share it with you:

The 'Thank You' Project - meaning you, me, us - we now have our own Thankful Calendar!

Huge thanks to Stephanie of Stelie Designs for helping make it happen and for making it look oh so pretty. Our 'thank you' desk calendar features fun colorful illustrations and 'thankful' quotes by real people from all over the world, so each month reminds you to give thanks and focus on the better all the while bringing color to your day and hopefully a smile to your face. Big thanks to everyone who shared their 'thanks' with me and let me use them in TTYP projects!

As The 'Thank You' Project's tag line goes - "a 'thank you' a day keeps the worries away" - we sincerely hope that the Thankful Calendar 2012 will help you keep a thankful mindset and help keep those worries away each day of the week, each week of the month and each month of the year.

I will be posting more pics of the calendar soon, right now you can take a look and get it here. Do share the excitement with me and let me know what you think! Which month is your favorite?

P.S. Happy International Thank You Day!

The Ultimate Thanking Word

noreply@blogger.com (Julia, the Thanksgiving Girl) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:11:00 +0000

A few months ago I ran a poll on TTYP's Facebook page asking what word was the thanking word of choice among poll participants. At first, "thankful" was leading, then, as more people were casting their votes, "grateful" became the "winning" one. The final results are as follows:

Thankful? Grateful? Appreciative? What do you prefer?

Merci, Paris

noreply@blogger.com (Julia, the Thanksgiving Girl) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:24:00 +0000

Remember my write up on the Merci store in Paris a while back? Merci is nominated for Superstore 2012 in Farfetch's Search for the World's Best New Boutique so they shot this video introducing the store. More reasons to love it:

Housed in an old factory building nestled among the Café culture of Le Marais in central Paris, Merci is a destination store, with its off-the-high-street location and unassuming used books and coffee shop façade - yet this young retailer still manages to see over 500,000 visitors per year. The store mixes together exclusive, and often bespoke designer fashion products with casual items, and vintage furniture with new generation interior designers - "luxury is not a matter of price or brand, but of attitude", explains Managing Director, Jean Luc Colonna. The Merci concept store also has several restaurants, along with a homewear floor, a perfume laboratory and an ever-changing visual landscape. All profits also go towards helping underprivileged children in Madagascar.

Thankful for 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Julia, the Thanksgiving Girl) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 12:23:00 +0000

I don't know about you, but my 2011 has been pretty darn amazing. Difficult too, but amazing nonetheless. Happy New Thankful Year!

Image via

Appreciating Your Guests

noreply@blogger.com (Julia, the Thanksgiving Girl) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 11:12:00 +0000

This 'Thank You' installation was done for a Costa Mesa, California wedding, but something like this will work brilliantly for any party you host. Doesn't it just look so slick and oh so stylish?

Image via, photography by Kaysha Weiner

What a Year of Gratitude Did to Me: Pt. 4

noreply@blogger.com (Julia, the Thanksgiving Girl) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 18:53:00 +0000

Continuing with the bigger-than-expected list of things my thanksgiving year changed in me, I'm here to share 7 more of the personal wonders:

It made me realize the true value of family. I guess I haven't quite been taught it as a kid as it took gratitude to open my eyes and make me see family ties in a different light. I understand now that even if we don't always get along I can still count on them should anything happen. And even though I like to depend on myself when it comes to most things in life, I must admit it is a very comforting feeling to know that someone has your back.
Now, in going through an uneasy situation, I look for the signs of healing in my behavior and way of thinking instead of focusing on the negative aspects of such situation and making it worse by not being of much help to myself.
I don’t seem to be wishing for tragic endings to fiction books I read any more. This is amusing, but somehow I used to resent the idea of a happy ending, because one always seemed unrealistic to me. It sounded fake, too sweet and made no sense. I liked the characters flawed and broken and I needed the plot to be heart-wrenching and almost unbearable. Having recently read a new novel, I realized I actually wished everything in the storyline was going to end just fine. Maybe the change is because I’m finally ready to allow no more drama in my personal life and thus I can accept a happy ending in a book where tragedy isn’t necessary to get a point across. I guess I don't need reassurance in my misery and unhappiness since those two no longer tell the story of my life.
In being so appreciative of all the good and bad times in my life, I really don’t feel this common 'feeling' of time running out or flying or otherwise being on the verge of disappearance. Everything seems to follow its own very right pace to me.
When I'm not in love with some person I still feel like I'm in love with the whole world.
When I was a teen I thought happiness was being understood by those you cared about the most, now I realize happiness is just as much about really understanding oneself first.
I can go to bed and look forward to each new day, because regardless of what it brings, I know I'll be just fine. Tomorrow is a new day and there will be a new thing to be thankful for, and if there won't be a new thing to be thankful for, there would still be all the old things left. And if I lose those things tomorrow, there would still be my life and past to be thankful for... And if I die tomorrow, things just wouldn't matter, but while I'm here I can always find something to be thankful for.

That's all for now, but who knows, I might as well come back with more some time soon!

Image via

Thank You in Sign Language

noreply@blogger.com (Julia, the Thanksgiving Girl) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 10:20:00 +0000

Who wants to learn saying thank you in American Sign Language? It's fairly easy. I was only surprised to learn there are more than one sign language and each country has their own... Somehow I thought the language was international and believed it was easy for deaf people to interact with one another when traveling, but no. And this is kind of upsetting, if you ask me.

Video Tutorial by MySmartHands

Gratitude DIY

noreply@blogger.com (Julia, the Thanksgiving Girl) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 20:52:00 +0000

Look what I found! A bit late for the Thanksgiving, but never too late or early to express your gratitude just because. To make your own thankful 'Alphabet Pasta' pie topper read the instructions HERE. What a sweet idea, isn't it?

Being Thankful is a Choice

noreply@blogger.com (Julia, the Thanksgiving Girl) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 14:58:00 +0000

It's what you choose to see and notice that dictates your mood, rules your world and gives you impressions of life. Being thankful is a choice, so choose to be thankful.

Need a picture example? Here it is:

You can look out of your hotel room window and choose to have an apartment building view. Or you can look better and notice your hotel's perfectly lovely inner yard. The choice is all yours.

You can look to the right and see not such a lovely roof of the building nearby... Or you can look to the left and notice a gorgeous sunset. The choice is all yours.

Photos by me: first two taken in Milan, last two taken in Moscow and are what you actually see looking out of my parents' bedroom window.

Give Thanks, Get Jewelry: Winners

noreply@blogger.com (Julia, the Thanksgiving Girl) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 21:09:00 +0000

It's that thankful time of this month when me and Tynel are announcing the Give Thanks, Get Jewelry giveaway winners! And if this was not enough of a great news in itself, I have another great news!.. Tynel couldn't choose just one winner, so the amazing 'give♥thanks' necklaces go to these two lucky thankful ladies:

Karen gets a yellow necklace for this comment above.

"I picked Karen for her thoughtful response and because she mentioned the connection of her color orangey-yellow and restoring a mustang with her father. I could see the connection and joy this necklace would give her!" - Tynel

& Julie gets a red necklace for this comment above.

"I loved that she mentioned that Giving Thanks is not just for November. This is a slogan that I use all the time and feel it is sooooo important to embrace. She chose the Red one because it reminds her of all the love in her life. This is simply one of the most important things to be thankful for..." - Tynel

Congratulations, ladies! And big thanks to everyone who entered - we LOVED reading your beautiful colorful thanks!

What a Year of Gratitude Did to Me: Pt. 3

noreply@blogger.com (Julia, the Thanksgiving Girl) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 18:27:00 +0000

I was right to assume the things I've already noticed changing in me as a result of my thanksgiving year were not all of the changes that took place. I keep noticing more! So in addition to the things I've mentioned in my 1st post on the subject and then in my 2d post and to a few more facts I included in my first guest post for ThankfulFor, there are these fantastic things:

This one might sound weird, but I can now watch movies alone like it’s nothing. I used to have a problem with that and only did so if I was dying to see a movie and couldn’t find a movie watching partner at that very time. Somehow it just didn't feel right being one on one with the movie world. Now I feel totally comfortable in my own skin, no matter what I do.
The year made me realize I really appreciated the idea of sunsets but also made me see that I'd never once watched one. So this was what I knew I had to do, and at the first opportunity I went ahead and watched the sun both set and rise. That even included me having to wake up super early on my first vacation in a while.
At some point, I even felt like decorating my Xmas tree. It happened for the first time in a very very long time in 2009, only a little over 3 months into my thanksgiving year. I have a picture proof.
The year helped me realize what some of my true passions were. And that's how my involvement with the Chair Blog happened.
I had never really imagined my future in realistic ways before. Like, I could dream anything in my mind but when it came to planning or setting achievable goals for the nearest future – I never did that. Mostly because I wasn’t sure my future existed and was scared of it.
It's now so much easier for me to let go of old unnecessary and useless things and photos. Being thankful for the 'mental' memories instead of physical confirmation I preserve them in my mind even better it seems. If I do forget some memory, it only means it never mattered as much as I thought. It's like I give things a chance to prove their worthiness to me and make room for new moments to savor.
In addition to not noticing 'bad' weather any more, I've noticed I even get somewhat of a 'spiritual' and extra lift from the fact that said 'bad' weather doesn't bring me down any more. Way to go about using the positive outlook to the max, eh?..

And believe it or not, I'm not done with listing all the wonders! Will continue the list in one of my next posts. In the meantime, I invite you to read my newest guest post (on fun reasons why 'thank yous' are so worth a try) for the ThankfulFor blog HERE, and you are more than welcomed to join The 'Thank You' Project's giveaway HERE!

Image via

Giveaway: Give Thanks, Get Jewelry

noreply@blogger.com (Julia, the Thanksgiving Girl) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 18:27:00 +0000

When you see these super sweet 'thankful' necklaces by LittleLambsEatIvy43, it's impossible not to fall in love with them at least a little... They're such little colorful mood-lifters! Well, I'm happy to announce that me and Tynel, the mastermind behind the jewelry, want to lift someone's mood even further and award one of you, thankful people, with your own 'give♥thanks' necklace!

To enter the giveaway:

1) Visit LittleLambsEatIvy43's shop on Etsy, take a look at all of the necklaces and choose your favorite;

2) Let us know in the comments to this post what your color of choice is (choose wisely - if you win, that's the necklace you're getting!);

3) In your comment, include a fond thankful memory this color brings to mind or something of this color that you're thankful for;

4) Please, don't forget to include your name and an email address if your comment doesn't link to your blog.

For the inspiration look no further than Tynel's own comments under each colorful necklace listing - her thanks are as sweet as ever!

The giveaway is open internationally and you have until November 20th to enter. The winner will be chosen by Tynel and announced on November 21st. We're looking forward to your 'colorful' thanks!

Guest Blogging at Thankfulfor.com

noreply@blogger.com (Julia, the Thanksgiving Girl) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 13:51:00 +0000

Do you remember last year's Gratitude Index infographic I've featured here on The 'Thank You' Project? It was done by the amazing team of Thankfulfor website - an online gratitude journal and gratitude sharing community focused on the pursuit of happiness. Well, I have some great news!.. I'm now guest blogging over at Thankfulfor Blog! Do check me out there and let me know what you think, you know I'll appreciate it!

Thankful Playlist

noreply@blogger.com (Julia, the Thanksgiving Girl) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 21:16:00 +0000

A while back on Twitter and Facebook I asked the thankful community if there were any songs with the message of gratitude and appreciation they knew of and loved.

Brenda Phillippe Auch remembered Thank You by Dido. Ibis Kristina Cabarcas Martínez told us about Gratitud by Fonseca (Colombian Singer). She even quoted her favorite part, and as she did so in Spanish I had to ask for a little translation:

"I feel thankful for my life, for my family and my country, I feel thankful because I want to sing, I want to scream for happiness , I feel thankful, 'cause my heart has got the most beautiful things in life..."

Don't you just love the last line?

Mitch mentioned Thank You by Alanis Morissette (which I realized I'd never heard of).

My own song choices proved to be kind of unexpected and a little funny... The first that came to my mind was Tupac's Dear Mama, and then I remembered Pharrel's Our Father! Isn't that... well, funny?.. Later I also remembered Christina Aguilera's Fighter, and just recently thought (when it started playing on my iPod) that Alicia Keys' Like You'll Never See Me Again was a really good reminder too!

So what's on your thankful playlist?

Image via

Merci Sign at Hotel Thoumieux

noreply@blogger.com (Julia, the Thanksgiving Girl) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 12:15:00 +0000

Such a beautiful 'merci' sign at Hôtel Thoumieux in Paris (via Garance Dore's blog), don't you think?

Thankful Wednesday?

noreply@blogger.com (Julia, the Thanksgiving Girl) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 19:33:00 +0000

What an awesome day has been sent my way today!

First, it was supposed to be the day when I officially 'acknowledged' my dear Caitlin's tribute post where I was honored to have been mentioned, and mentioned in such an incredibly heartwarming way. Caitie wrote it long ago, and I'm still wondering just how come I missed THIS (there are photos there as well, come take a look):

“ ...Late in 2009, I stumbled upon a Blog written by a Russian girl. I was instantly attracted to The Thank You Project as the author, Julia, had embarked on a journey to find something to be thankful for every day for a year. I seriously couldn't get enough of her posts - she made me think differently about my world.

That was then and here we are today almost 2 years later and we still have blog interactions regularly. When she was podcast on an Australian radio channel due to her drive to 'be thankful', I poured a glass of Pinot Noir and listened to it on my computer. I value what she has to say. ”

Next thing I know, I come home in the evening and find even more beauty and kindness awaiting me! First it's the lovely feature on the Fanx' Blog by Mitch and then it's a sweet tweet from a fellow thankful person and a new follower Laura Faulkner of ThankfulForThisDay website.

Definitely an incredible stuff to come home to. Thank you all so much, you truly made my day!..

New Thankful Survey!

noreply@blogger.com (Julia, the Thanksgiving Girl) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 17:48:00 +0000

The new Thankful Survey is here! All of your requests and suggestions have been factored in and helped enhance and improve the new survey, so I can't wait to hear what you think and can't wait for the first results to come in!..

The survey can be accessed at any time via the 'Survey' tab on top of the blog and right now following this link. This time you can also easily access it via a special tab on TTYP's Facebook page, if you wish.

I really enjoyed seeing and analyzing the results of the first Thankful Survey, and I have a feeling the new one is going to be even more insightful. So bring it on, let's survey!..

Image via

Thankful Jewelry

noreply@blogger.com (Julia, the Thanksgiving Girl) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:49:00 +0000

Another way to practice gratitude might be via wearing 'thankful' jewelry, that can serve as a great reminder of life's blessings. I've been thinking of getting something thankfully special that would be very me, and while I am still searching and contemplating here are some of my finds on Etsy:

Practice Gratitude Loopy Necklace by Lisa Hopkins ($78.00)
Hand Stamped 'Thankful' Cuff by Always A Memory ($16.00)
'Be Thankful' Hand Stamped Bracelet in Nickel Silver by Maja Jewelry ($22.00)
'I am Grateful for Sunflowers' Hand Stamped Necklace by Dream Acre Designs ($34.00)
'Thankful' Two Finger Banner Ring by MerCurios ($40.00)

Would you wear something like this to show your gratitude?