Thanksgiving 2012 Recap

**Don't forget to enter my giveaway to win customized art for a child's room!**

Coordinating family schedules with siblings, siblings' spouses, and siblings' spouses' families is always a challenge. We managed to fit it all in this year by...

Hosting Thanksgiving lunch Thursday afternoon. I wasn't sure if I could do it, but I successfully got everything on the table by 1pm. Good ol' grocery store flowers rearranged...{wire basket from Target's $1 spot}

Mia liked helping with everything from throwing ingredients into the brining bag...

 ...to mixing the herb butter...Turkey Tom was 13 pounds this year and we're still working on leftovers...

...washing cranberries, mashing potatoes, licking the masher clean, and whisking ingredients for dessert...

Oh yes these curlers are from my tight, bouncy, heavily hairsprayed ponytail cheerleading competition days....

Love her hair curled, even if it doesn't last very long.

On my menu {click links for recipes}, we had:
Turkey - not a fan of the gravy though. I'll try a different recipe next year.
Cranberry Sauce - Its definitely chunky with the minimal liquid in this recipe. My mom preferred it thinned out.
Apple, Pecan, and Blue Cheese Salad with Dried Cherries - definitely making this PW salad again.
Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits - a little too dry. Maybe I'll try again but mix it less to keep it lighter.
Roasted Vegetables- I also throw in green beans, zuchini and squash and use regular mushrooms and onions. Definitely cut the oil down from his recipe.
Creamy Mashed Potatoes - a stick of butter and a stick of cream cheese. What's not to love??
Corn
Blackberry Cobbler - this was so SO easy, light and delicious! I'm usually skeptical of recipes with just a few ingredients (only 5!) and minimal steps, but this was very good, especially for those who don't care for rich sweets.  Definitely saving this recipe!

Click here for my 2010 Thanksgiving recap. With my terrible memory, these recaps help me plan next year's menu!

But the feasting was just getting started. Friday we had Lou Malnati's for Halmani's birthday with a cake from Sweet Mandy B's. Their cake/icing is very rich, too much for Umma. Same time {two years ago} comparison!

Saturday we brought Grandma her last requests before she leaves for Thailand. Randomly paired, but still delicious - Great Seas chicken wings and Art of Pizza (yes, more stuffed pizza). We'll miss you sooo much Grandma!

Then to top it all off, I saw Breaking Dawn with my girlfriends and ended the weekend at RPM Italian to celebrate a 30th birthday. A lot of people mention the small portions at this trendy new spot, but I thought the pasta dishes were sized just right, especially with having appetizers and dessert. The buffalo mozzarella in the lobster caprese was soo nice and creamy. I wasn't a fan of the lemon in the fritto misto {fried calamari, shrimp and lemon} and the batter was very light, almost like tempura. My spicy king crab with squid ink spaghetti did have a spicy kick to it, but other than that, this dish wasn't too notable.

Ooooeee! That was filling! Can't wait for all the holiday get togethers this month!

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

From my little family to yours...

If you couldn't tell, this little girl has a lot of personality! She is so so observant and remembers everything she sees/hears, even if only once. She heard/saw me pose my friend once and now girlfriend's got it down! See our card from last year here.

Thanksgiving Cards by TinyPrints

And if you ask her where this picture was taken, she'll tell you, "By the dumpster." Photography tip #1: Don't overlook good light in small spaces! Even with garbage right next to you, literally! Also, like the garage door in our family picture above. In the 15 minutes we had with my tripod and self-timer (not even a remote!) before a torrential downpour, Doug questioned "Why do we have to stand here?!" To which I screamed replied "You don't see what I see!!!!"  Photography tip #2: Trust your photographer's vision.

We have a busy weekend with good food, friends and family. I couldn't be happier or more thankful for everything we are blessed with on a daily basis. May you spend this weekend with your nearest and dearest.

Kid's Thanksgiving Activity: DIY Thankful Tree

As usual, the timing of my posts are not a month ahead of the actual holiday, like the rest of the crafty blogging world. But now with Pinterest, you can go ahead and pin this project for next year!

Being a few months shy of 3 years old, Mia is barely preschool aged.  Despite being a young kid, we still opted to do a DIY Thankful Tree as a simple, easy, and free Thanksgiving activity.

Cost: $0

Time: 30 minutes

Materials: colorful paper, tape, marker, scissors, brown paper bag (optional), turkey (optional, came from an old greeting card)

Steps: 

1. For the trunk, I used a brown paper bag that I bring my wine home in. No cutting necessary, just tape right on the wall!

2. For the tree, from 4 sheets of green construction paper, I free-handed unevenly scalloped bushes and taped it to the wall. Use scrap edges for the grass.

3. For 30 leaves, cut various shapes from various colors of paper. Also free-handed. Fold sheets of paper in half, thirds or fourths to yield multiple leaves from one cut.

4. Every day, pick a leaf and write what you are thankful for and tape it up!

This squirrel {from one of Mia's school projects} reminds me of the fearless critters on the Quad in college.

I thought of the first few things to be thankful for so Mia could get the gist of what we were doing. Can you guess which ones Mia suggested on her own?
     Birthdays - girl loves to sing the song and party plan like mommy
     School - she cannot wait to go every day instead of just 3 days a week
     Daisy - her stuffed animal Dog
     Castle - a princess one of course
     Kitchen (set) - she cooks every single day, especially while I cook dinner (lifesaver!)
     Trick or treat candy - she has a sweet tooth like mommy!
     Pumpkin patch and farm - her 1st field trip with school, and
     Thanksgiving
We hold the marker together and I write out each letter so Mia can tell me what letter she sees as I spell each word. Great teaching tool! We also read every leaf when we're done to reinforce what we were thankful for on the previous days. Even under the age of 3, I think she gets it. It'll be fun to see how her answers change each year!

linked up with:

c/o '01

You would think lil mama stuart would have tons of Thanksgiving related food/décor posts this month, right?! But lately all you’ve been seeing are photos of random kids and families! Gotta edit edit edit so people can get their holiday cards out in time!

Another reason why there’s been a lack of Thanksgiving related posts is that I’m not hosting the big feast this year L Unlike most people, I love all the fuss preparations and time in the kitchen from the second I wake up til the second family arrives. I love creating a big delicious meal and decorating my home with the coziness of fall where our family can get together. Even when it was just the four of us growing up, we’d dress up, get the tablecloth and candles out and stuff our faces with the big dinner that my mom prepared. I want Mia to have the same warm and fuzzy memories of family holidays and traditions like I did. J

But…with trying to coordinate with everyone's schedules and two 10-year high school reunions, hosting Thanksgiving was just not in the cards for us this year. So instead of a warm and cozy turkey dinner with all the fixin's at our place, Doug and I will be drinking heavily reminiscing with our friends from the class of ’01…

Happy Thanksgiving! May your bellies be full of good food and laughter with those you love. ♥

There's so much to be thankful for...

Thanksgiving Leftovers

Ahhh, thanksgiving leftovers…how we love them until we get sick of that fourth plate.  Here’s what I served up so we didn’t have to eat plates of turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, and sweet potatoes for lunch and dinner everyday for the next week.

Thanksgiving Recap

Now that the leftovers are almost gone (just one plate left), here’s my Thanksgiving recap…

Thanksgiving Recipe - Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

Oh my goodness, Thanksgiving is coming up quick!  I still need to plan this year’s menu!!  Here’s the last Thanksgiving recipe before the big feast.  While I was making my Thanksgiving dessert last year, Doug peeked over my shoulder and said "What is that? It doesn’t look good."  As with most husbands, he’s never right.  Sure enough, there were resounding mMmMmMMmmM’s after digging into these Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars (drizzled with warm caramel and topped with freshly whipped cream).

Thanksgiving Recipe – Honey Cornbread Muffins

In addition to toasty French bread, I like to have cornbread in my bread basket for Thanksgiving.  I think I associate turkey with cornbread thanks to Boston Market.  The first cornbread recipe I tried the day before Thanksgiving turned out to be un-servable and tasted like cardboard!  I tossed the whole batch out. I had to quickly look for another recipe where I had all the ingredients on hand.  I found this one and it’s a keeper!  

Thanksgiving Recipe – Raspberry Vinaigrette

I wanted a recipe for raspberry vinaigrette, found this one and stuck with it.  I never kept track of where I got recipes from, so again, I can’t remember where this came from.  But if you search for Ella’s Raspberry Vinaigrette, it’ll come up on various sites and no one cites where it came from.  Anywhoo, raspberry season may not be in the fall, but I still think it’s a wonderful salad and I've had it at my Thanksgiving table.  And it seriously takes 5 minutes to make.

Three Weeks Until Turkey Day!

A friend of ours who lives close by and never leaves our place without a meal, suggested that I have more recipe posts.  How appropriate with Thanksgiving coming up in a few weeks! omm omm ommmmm...