November 26, 2011

Thanksgiving 2011 Recap


The biggest eating day of the year has come and gone. I enjoyed every moment of the prep and cooking this year and felt very thankful indeed. We kept the tables simple. The kids designed their own table covering which provided the added bonus of keeping them busy during the last push to get the cooking finished. My Maddie is always a huge help to me preparing Thanksgiving dinner and this year was no different.


Emma's turkey drawing above says "Don't make me dinner". But we did. We had smoked turkey, smoked pork, ham, gorgonzola mashed potatoes, green beans, fresh cranberries, sweet potatoes, baked mac and cheese, yeast rolls and stuffing.


 Speaking of stuffing, our post Thanksgiving tradition is to take the leftover stuffing, put it in a pan, sprinkle it with shredded cheese, beat some eggs and milk (4 eggs and about 1/3 cup milk for this amount) and bake it for 30 mins at 350°. Fast and easy because I don't know about you but I won't be in much of a cooking mood for several days.


There was no Black Friday shopping here. Instead there was a mani/pedi with a bold color choice (Mermaid Tears) for my happy toes and the Village Christmas tree lighting. Now we are all feeling fat and happy. Our company has all flown the nest and the house seems more quiet than usual. We are all soaking it in.


Today we are putting our feet up and doing nothing more strenuous than watching movies, reading and playing on the computer. Tomorrow the Autumn decorations come down (or today if I am feeling ambitious) and little bits of Christmas will start to show up around the house. Sweet Hubby will pretend that there is no way the tree is going up before December 1st and I will pretend to agree with him. This is just the beginning of our holiday traditions.


I find myself wishing I could slow down time this next month. I want to absorb every merry minute. I'm going to do my best to live in the moment for the next 30 days. Maybe with some practice I will be able to make that a way of life.

23 comments:

  1. wow! nice dinner table decorating! and i also love your nailpolish' colour :) hope for you to have happy rest and happy weekend
    be blessed

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  2. Love the picture of your relaxed cat! That's how to live ... we need to take lessons from our feline friends.

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  3. All the food sounded delish!
    Love the tablecloth you children decorated!

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  4. I love you sis, and your thoughts on the next 30 days, couldn't agree more. Can't wait to pick up where we left off with knitting this week. See you soon!

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  5. Hi Jen~ It looks like you had a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving. What a great idea for leftover dressing. I didn't do any Black Friday shopping either-BUT I didn't get a pedicure either, you lucky girl. Your toes look pretty jazzy there if you ask me! Hope you can rest and then enjoy a slower paced Holiday! xo Diana

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  6. Sounds like you had a wonderful holiday! I too am just relaxing today. No cooking for me either. Had the hubby take me to breakfast and we hit a Christmas store and an Art Fair. Such fun! Have a great weekend! Kit

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  7. I just ate and I'm currently stuffed, but your menu makes me hungry again!! Love the nail color!

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  8. Sounds wonderful Jen!
    Your cat is adorable ♥
    Hope you are having a great weekend.

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  9. Living in the moment sounds like the perfect plan. It sounds like you had a full Thanksgiving. I started putting up the Christmas decorations yesterday and will hopefully be buying the tree today. Have a wonderful Sunday. Patty

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  10. The table looks lovely and that nail polish! Wow!

    We, of course, had The Biscuits. OMG. They were my best batch yet.

    xo
    Claudia

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  11. Sounds like a perfectly lovely Thanksgiving!

    Great color choice on the pedi!

    Am also going to try and enjoy every single moment of the holiday season.

    Janet

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  12. Beautiful. I adore Thanksgiving weekend with its lazy and full feeling! I hear ya on inhaling every moment of the next 30 days!!

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  13. Living in the moment is the best way to go! I love your decorating and I adore that brown toile tablecloth!

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  14. I absolutely love decorating for Christmas. I savour every moment of the pre holiday celebrations. Such a wonderful time to spend with friends and family. Your cat looks identical to mine .. his name is Simba

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  15. i'm coming to your house next year. ;o) speaking of which, i was in indiana the week before xmas unexpectedly ... my cousin passed away ... and it was so hard to not tell my mom i was going to spend a day in indy driving around the village until i found you! i think of you with a smile each evening as i sit on the couch with my notebook and a stack of holiday books/magazines, and make plans for decorating. tree goes up on saturday, so then the holiday mood can officially descend upon the house! (though frank and bing have been singing non-stop for a couple of weeks now ... )

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  16. ahhh! sounds like a GREAT way to enjoy Thanksgiving. Your meal sounds tasty and the the table looked pretty. Like you, no BF shopping (except online :) for me either. Have a blessed week!

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  17. Those are some cute toes! I want to make December crawl. As soon as I return from our trip I am soaking up all of the Christmas I can. There will be movies and music and lots of home time.

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  18. Those are some cute toes! I want to make December crawl. As soon as I return from our trip I am soaking up all of the Christmas I can. There will be movies and music and lots of home time.

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  19. I have never had a pedi but your toes make me want to get one! We have already put up our tree in my corner of Indiana - all the other decorations will go up this week.I love reading your blog and seeing your pictures! Love your decorating!

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  20. Jen, you have a wonderful attitude about the holidays and to live in the moment. After I get my decorations up, I am treating myself to a mani/pedi - a gift from my hubby. Your toes look great!

    Enjoy the season.

    Becky

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  21. I loved your simple and elegant table setting. I really loved the table cloth you used. Your turquise painted toenails were pretty cute too.:)

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