Sunday, December 1, 2013

Thanksgiving, Briefly

Matt and I got lucky this year. Our usual "spend a few hours at each of 3 to 4 houses for Thanksgiving meals" plan didn't apply. We had the opportunity to split our time between his dad's house and my parents' on Thursday, and to have a relaxing Friday capped off by a delicious Thanksgiving-Round-3 at his mom's.

I love Thanksgiving - it's definitely my favorite of national holidays - but it can be pretty exhausting (and filling) to attend so many feasts. This year's schedule was much appreciated, and really allowed us to enjoy the holiday without feeling stressed or rushed.

Post-Turkey Trot, Thursday we went to my FIL's for our lunch feast.
Homemade Apple Pie shots. (Matt is going to look just like his dad when he gets older.)
Round One is a success!
You've gotta love when you can have a fire going in Florida.
After we ate, we had an hour to hang out and digest before we headed back to my parents' for dinner. We lit the candles for Hanukkah, enjoyed a fantastic dinner (complete with gluten free stuffing, pies, cupcakes, etc), and played a rousing and inappropriate game of Cards Against Humanity. Isn't it nice that siblings grow up to actually get along?
Zach did the honors of lighting the candles.
Mom with her homemade chocolate pecan pie, which I request every year.
Latkes should be a Thanksgiving staple from now on...especially when topped with homemade cranberry-applesauce
Crying laughing playing CAH.
A little more CAH.
So that ended Thursday. The highlight may have been Steph laughing so hard when it was her turn to judge CAH that we all were crying and falling out of our chairs...and she hadn't even read the choices yet.

Friday, we avoided shopping until about 4pm. Then we saw Matt's Nana and some more family until it was time for dinner at his mom's. Luckily, she prefers pot roast to turkey, because I was so ready to not have more turkey. And let me tell you, her roast beef is unbeatable. We also took a break from heavy desserts with some fruit and whipped cream. Definitely the way to go.

We played Fill or Bust while dinner cooked, then played a couple rounds of pool afterward. When I was growing up we had a pool table, but it's been a long time since I've played. I was embarrassingly terrible.
If you're never played Fill or Bust, it's basically Farkle with bonus cards. Super fun!
Do I kind of look like I know what I'm doing?
Most delicious break from turkey EVER.
Overall, it was a great Thanksgiving. I'm beyond grateful to have such a wonderful family and in-laws.

What did you do for Thanksgiving?
What is your favorite Thanksgiving dessert? I request chocolate pecan pie every year, but apple is a close second.
Do you do a traditional turkey, or do you prefer something else?

ABK

14 comments:

  1. This post made me want to experience Thanksgiving again! My Thanksgiving was a month and a half ago. :0

    It looks like you had a wonderful holiday with family. That Chocolate Pecan Pie looks divine. :D

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    1. I think we should have Thanksgiving 4 times a year. That way we stay thankful AND get to indulge in yummy goodness!

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  2. That roast beef looks delicious! I really want to buy CAH. It may be someone's present this year. Also, there's a way to play Farkel (we call it Greed) with cards? I must find this out. Greed is all we play on the island. Looks like you had a great Thanksgiving this year!

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    1. I love that CAH is free online. We had forgotten ours so we printed a new copy and cut it out after dinner, and played right then!

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  3. I don't know ANY of these cool games you mentioned in this post! I really need to branch out. I'm such a big Cranium fan though that I don't know if I could cheat on it with another game :)

    Your house skipping for Thanksgiving sounds like my Christmas. I am hoping that by this time next year Adam and I have a house so that we can just have everyone over to our place instead of us having to drive all over the state of Florida in one day!

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    1. Cranium gives me anxiety...too many choices and things to do! lol

      The good thing about Christmas for us is that my parents don't celebrate it, so we're only between two houses usually...We're lucky to have our parents in the same city though!

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  4. I'm glad you had an awesome Thanksgiving! We played CAH this weekend as well. I am slowly learning that a lot of people play it, so I'm not as horrible of a person as I think I am... :)

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    1. I love that CAH brings out the bad in everyone! And the worse it is, the funnier. I can't wait to get the expansion packs!

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  5. Looks like you had an awesome Thanksgiving celebration! Yay!
    I tried latkes yesterday. One of the teachers at school made them - they are so yummy!!!

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    1. What's not to love? Fried potatoes are good in all forms ha!

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  6. Wow y'all got lucky this year by only having to go to three houses although I've only ever been to one. Your mom's pie looks AMAZING!! Traditional turkey is my favorite thing to have on Thanksgiving. Not a pumpkin fan at all so I really enjoy plain cheesecake and/or red velvet cake for desserts! Yummy :)

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    1. Mmm cheesecake and red velvet are divine...especially together!

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  7. I love stuffing, potatoes, and veggies, so that's what I had this year. Latkes definitely should be a normal Thanksgiving thing, though I think I might have to make latkes AND mashed potatoes next year. I just love mashed potatoes too much and they're something I just don't make on a regular basis.

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    1. I was very impressed by your meat-free Thanksgiving :) It looked delicious!

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