We had a wonderful Thanksgiving long weekend! Here is a summary of our time with the family.
How was your Thanksgiving weekend? We spent time with many different family members and it was a great holiday. (My burnt orange dress It was the perfect choice: very comfortable!)
Luckily everything went well and no one got sick! Our new kitchen and dining room were lovely for entertaining. I can’t tell you how much the extra space shined with a dozen people in the house! From the extra areas I planned during the renovation to store pans to the extra sink and drink station to the long bar area, the space was perfect.
The new Cranberry Bourbon cocktail recipe I’m working on was a hit!
I spent a good amount of time on my new sauna blanket (OBSESSED!), and this year I also shopped more than usual. The Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals looked really good this year! Beautycounter changed their 20% off + gift offer to Flat 30% discount on the entire site yesterday, so if you’re looking for clean skincare, makeup, personal care gifts or body products, this is by far the best deal offered all year.
Here’s the recap rewinding to Tuesday…
Thanksgiving Day 2023 Recap!
mom and dad arrived
My parents arrived on Tuesday and it was so fun for them to see our new house for the first time!
Gus received his annual gift from Grandma and destroyed it in minutes:
Birch received a new Star Wars book that they read many times!
Carbon
For dinner on Tuesday we ordered my parents’ favorite Cville takeout: Chicken Al Carbon! It’s very good and the sauces and plantains are the best.
Fitness + Sauna Relaxation
On Wednesday they watched the kids while Thomas and I went to gym class together. And then we take turns on the highest DOSE. sauna blanket. I bought it for 20% off while it’s on sale this week and it arrived on Wednesday.
We are both sauna people and we like to sweat. We have both used it every day since it arrived on Wednesday! I plan to do a review on the blog, but the short review is that it’s VERY hot (and I’m only level 5), easy to use, and easy to store under the bed or in the back of a closet. It’s also very relaxing with layers of infrared heat, charcoal, crystals (!) and clay; The benefits are not limited to just heat (see their website for more information0). We have been organizing guided meditations. I ended up buying the towel inserts I accept it because I know it will improve the experience!
Baking like a turkey!
Birch even loves it (but don’t worry, we have it on the lowest warm setting for him!).
Lunch at Botanical
Dad and Thomas took the kids to the Get Air trampoline park, while Mom and I got a rare kid-free women’s lunch at Botanical! She loves cauliflower and naturally we ate bowls of sticky cauliflower and split a stick of jam.
Date night in Conmole
After doing some Thanksgiving cooking, Thomas and I dressed up for a date night at Conmole! (Mom and Dad took the kids to Riverside.) We had margaritas, tamales, empanadas, and a chicken mole that was fantastic. Plus a chocolate tres leches cake!
Preparation for Thanksgiving Day
After all the talk about being prepared for Thanksgiving, this is what my dining room table looked like at 10 am:
But we fixed it right away! I love setting the table.
While I did things around the house, Thomas did the cooking and roasted the turkey.
Thanksgiving dinner
Our guests arrived at 1pm and we had a cheese board and champagne while we finished cooking and watching football. We had such beautiful weather on the porch I wish we had moved the table!
The gang
(minus Nash who came later!)
Night Cake Selection!
Black Friday + Rest of the weekend
On Friday morning, the robot vacuum cleaner was the first person to clean up all the crumbs! (The one I have today is $300 off.!)
I had a bowl of yogurt with cranberry sauce for breakfast and then a turkey and sweet potato and spinach salad for lunch.
kung fu tea
Mazen was dying to drink. My parents went to Kung Fu Tea for boba, so we made that goodbye stop before they returned to their house in Hillsborough. Mango slushie for everyone!
troll movie
Thomas went golfing in the afternoon, so I took the kids to see the movie Trolls! It was great, I loved it!
Redo Thanksgiving!
On Friday night we celebrated Thanksgiving again, including a hot pie in a mug!
Saturday with Layton!
On Saturday I went to my favorite exercise class and then got dressed because Layton came to spend the day and night with us!
Turkey Sliders for Lunch
Beef stew
We went to the supermarket and bought ingredients for a hearty beef stew. It took a few hours to simmer in the oven, but it was worth it. We used stewed meat and ribs, plus potatoes, leeks, carrots, celery, green beans, broth and red wine.
On Sunday morning, Layton and I went to yoga together and spent the rest of the day calm and relaxing. I’m looking forward to having a nice, quiet week after the busy holidays. Until Christmas comes in full swing!
