Fall Wrap-Up

New York City girls overnight with Nicole & Katie.  There was so much laughing and lots of cocktails.

I can't get enough of this NYC stoop.  The owner must be adorable.  It was so amazingly cute in person.

Pretty autumn trees in Central Park.

Fitting in as much leaf play as possible on the warmer days.

Playground date that lingered till the sun was setting.  Sidewalk chalking in the near dark.

Dan all bundled for a beach date with Dad and Georgia.  He loves this new hat, one of Daddy's old ones that Mommy shrunk (oops).  I think he loves it so simply because it was his Dad's.

Benjamin and Daniel learned all about the Native Americans and created outfits during Thanksgiving week at school.

There is no such thing as a Thanksgiving without pecan pie in my book.  I could eat this whole thing, no joke!  It's the Pioneer Woman's recipe and it is THE BEST!

The boys were so excited to spend Thanksgiving Day at their cousin Katie's house this year.

And so, the day after Thanksgiving, the boys begged Mommy to put up Christmas decorations.  We did as much as we could and Amelia is in love with the sparkly lights so far in the house.  Daddy is putting up the outside lights as I type this and we will get our tree next week.

Now that its December, it is beginning to look and feel a lot like Christmas!

Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving Day was perfect. Sunny and stress-free with lots of love and food. I am glad that I did most of my cooking the day before because it really seemed like a piece of cake to pull it all together come dinnertime. Andrew even got to play paint-ball (a Thanksgiving morning tradition) with his brothers and Ben and Dan were super cooperative and helpful in putting everything out before our guests came.



The dessert dishes were barely off the table when Benjamin started asking whether or not Thanksgiving was over and if we could start getting ready for winter, aka putting the Christmas decorations out. So, that is what we did yesterday and today and we still have a few stragglers left to be put out but all in all, it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here. Now, if the weather would get a little colder it might actually feel like Christmas. I will be laughing that I said that once there is snow on the ground all winter but still, this warm November weather feels really odd to me.

Here are a few last pictures of fall - the boys running and jumping in leaves. From here on out, I have a feeling that most of our pictures will be looking pretty red and green!

Giving Thanks & Cranberry Sauce

"For each new morning with its light,
For rest & shelter of the night,
For health & food, for love & friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Is there any smell better than onions frying up in a pan of butter? Mmmmm....that is just one of the scents taking over our house right now.

It's 10:30 am & I have already made cranberry sauce, apple sauce, pumpkin bread, cranberry bread, sweet potato casserole, pumpkin pie and have prepped the green beans and brussels for tomorrow. I still have the pecan pie to make before I call it a day in the kitchen.

It feels good to be organized and prepared ahead of time. I just want to enjoy myself tomorrow with my family. It will be my first Thanksgiving as a hostess and I'm looking forward to it. Luckily, Andrew has off today so I have an extra set of hands to help with preparations or with the boys.

Also, Andrew's mom is making the turkey and gravy at home and bringing it already sliced! She's saving me a lot of stress & making more room in the oven!!

Here is a recipe for super easy cranberry sauce. It resembles my mom's recipe (formerly my Grandmom Annie's recipe), especially if you run it through a ricer after it's cooked. You can also use a food processor but it doesn't come out quite as silky smooth. If you like chunkier cranberry sauce, just mash slightly with the back of a spoon and serve.




Start with 2 bags of fresh cranberries. Place in large saucepan.

Add 2 cups of white sugar, a few shakes of cinnamon and 2 cups of orange juice.


Over medium heat, stir all together and cook for about 15-20 minutes. Listen for the cranberries popping!

Remove from heat & process through a ricer (this was my Grandmother's - you can see how worn it is!).


Transfer to serving bowl and let cool then refrigerate and serve.

Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!
xoxo