Thanksgiving

This was the first year we celebrated Thanksgiving at our house (exciting!).  I tried to resist the urge to go all-out Martha Stewart, but did do a few things that would be considered martha-esque.

I decorated the mantle:



and set the table all fancy-like:



I spent $1 total for decorating the house (I bought fake leaves at Jo Ann because I didn't want to deal with the mess of real leaves).  Most of it is leftover wedding stuff that I'm glad I kept around.

On the menu:

Roasted Turkey
Tofurkey
Stuffing (vegetarian)
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Mashed Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole
Smoked Gouda Macaroni and Cheese
Chicken Nugget Kabobs
Rolls
Pumpkin Pie

The total head count was 8 (including three kids) and it was the perfect size for my house.  We didn't have to do two tables or anything, we just had to squeeze in one extra chair at the dining room table.  I did have some trouble with heating food back up after doing a lot of cooking on Wednesday.  I have to admit that I wasn't organized at all as far as putting together a schedule of when things would have to go back into the oven, etc. so when we actually sat down to eat we had less than steaming hot food.  Oh well...I learned my lesson. 

Here's my Mom with my nephews and niece:



My nephew and niece LOVE my cat.  They talked for weeks about coming over to my house and chasing him all over the house.  Percy is such a great sport, and he seems to really like all of the attention (except when they try to pick him up or scare him with screeching).  Inevitably, he always is exhausted after they leave and is usually in a verry cuddly mood with Andy and me. 

Here he is (between naps) post kids:



I can't wait until we can do it again!

pre-thanksgiving feast preparations

since i will not be traveling home for thanksgiving this year (we are going to andy's parents in southern virginia), i thought i would take advantage of my parents being in town the weekend before thanksgiving and host a mini pre-thanksgiving feast.  it also happened to be two weeks before my birthday, which also coincided with my dad's big new promotion at work, so there happened to be a lot to celebrate.

i was supposed to come home from work on friday night and clean the house.  that didn't turn out so well.  

luckily, i started to panic somewhat on saturday morning and was able to jump right out of bed at 7 am.  i went shopping at safeway to get some groceries for the big meal.  of course before starting the actual shopping i had to grab a caramel light frap at starbucks.  love those things. 

the "big meal" was:

- roasted vegetable lasagna

- orecchiette with cauliflower

- caprese salad (my own "recipe")

- garlic bread

as i went down the pasta aisle to buy the orecchiette, casually browsing the spaghetti sauce, i came across this:

wow. who knew that paul sorvino made pasta sauce?  shocking.  also a little funny.

after returning from the store i unpacked the groceries and got to work.  i cleaned pretty much every room in the house and even tackled the front glass door with windex. 

andy was out of town for the weekend.  it happened to be the weekend of his annual vikings/packers game, and he kept me updated on his status pretty frequently throughout the day:

dave and kyle sharpen their deer hunting skills

andy discovers the perfect christmas present for percy

the guys enjoy a dangerous looking bloody mary (to me it looks like there's just too much stuff in there to actually have access to the drink, but maybe that's just me)

luckily for me, the family was running a bit late, so i was able to finish up my cleaning and actually get a head start on dinner.  by the time the fam got there, the house was smelling like garlic and roasted vegetables -- so good!  my niece walked in the kitchen and asked "what's that stinky smell?"  adorable.

my mom and sister helped me cook in the kitchen while my niece and nephew chased the cat around the house playing "hunt percy".  my dad and brother-in-law delegated themselves to the basement and watched football.  it was crazy and hectic and just perfect.

my niece, who is the sweetest little thing, but also loves percy somethin' fierce (a la elmyra duff from 'tiny toons') had to be reminded a few times that we don't pick up percy.  at one point my brother-in-law found her bending down and walking while holding percy's front paws.  he said "remember, we do not pick up or carry the kitty" and she replied back to him "i'm not carrying him, i'm holding his hands".

we had a little cake for my dad and me.  i got to blow out a candle.  my nephew licked the ice cream container's lid to make sure no ice cream went to waste.  he also gave me a christmas cactus and some skittles.

i can't wait to have many many more meals like this in my home.  it was so worth the wait.

home for the holidays

cousins!, originally uploaded by lizzybee122.

there's nothing like home for the holidays. for me, "home" is my parent's house in ontario. i've never "lived there" per se, but i have spent a couple of christmases there. it's funny because i think of all the places my parents have lived, their current city is the one i am most comfortable with. i always felt like we were outsiders when we lived in GA and NY, like those places were other peoples' "homes" and i was just there temporarily. when we'd go to canada during the holidays it always felt like my mom was going home, so in a way i thought it was the whole family going home. it feels good to have a place to finally call "home" and mean it.