Monday, November 30, 2015

Thanksgiving {& Holiday Weekend Whereabouts}

How has Thanksgiving come and gone already?! We started celebrating the holiday on Wednesday night and the excitement continued through last night finishing off the weekend with a dinner with extended family for the holiday.

Thanksgiving Eve
The holiday started about 1pm on Wednesday for me when my parents came to pick up Stella and I to head over to their house - Derek was meeting us after work.  In the mild weather I got in a nice walk with one of my best and oldest friends and then logged in some lounging time before helping setup for dinner and mixing up some apple cider sangria - definitely didn't disappoint.

We had our "Thanksgiving Eve dinner" with a spiral ham and some of the usual Thanksgiving sides alone with a dessert buffet.  Post dinner we set up the family Christmas tree and watched Miracle on 34th Street.


Thanksgiving Brunch
Since Derek and I were heading to be with his family for Thanksgiving dinner, we woke up and after a lengthy walk with the pups got things together for a little Thanksgiving brunch {scrambled eggs, donuts, pumpkin bread, cheese & canadian bacon pinwheels along with apple cider sangria and egg nog}.  I loved enjoying this new tradition and of course watching both the Philadelphia and New York Thanksgiving Day Parades.


Thanksgiving
We arrived into New Jersey a couple hours before dinner and had time to visit with Derek's family, enjoy some appetizers and play outside with his nieces and nephews.  After all sitting down to dinner it wasn't long until pajamas went on and I got some coloring in with his nieces while some others played cards amongst watching football games and other things.


A Night with Friends
After more time spent hanging out with his family and playing with the kids, we headed over to one of my best friend's houses (the maid of honor from our wedding) for the night and had some appetizers, dinner and plenty of wine with her, her boyfriend, family and friends.  It was such fun catching up with everyone.  We didn't take a single photo (quite unusual) so this shot of the next morning enjoying breakfast sandwiches and coffee WITH the pups at the table will have to do.


Penn State vs Vermont
Penn State usually plays one hockey game a season here in Philadelphia and we were lucky enough to use Steve's work box for the second year in a row yesterday to take in Penn State's hockey team play Vermont in Philadelphia - they usually have one game a year down here.  It's always fun to indulde in a little "stadium food" - the strombolis were such a treat amongst chicken, salad, pizza, chips and dip and last but not least… cookies.  We ran into two friends and had a great time catching up in addition to the family time.


Other Holiday Weekend Whereabouts 
We spent Saturday with Derek's family some more before heading home to have a very lazy Saturday night complete with soup and dinner at one of our favorite local spots, football and falling asleep on the couch.

Yesterday we ran into the mall to make a visit to Lilly Pulitzer for some free gifts (and free Christmas wrapping!) and I think another new tradition was born - we got to the mall right as it opened and didn't have to battle a single line but still took in lots of sales.  Last night we got together with 15 of my aunts, uncles and cousins for a family dinner to finish off the weekend.

It was such a blessing to see so many people over the weekend and enjoy the holiday and time off together.

Thanksgiving morning walk - burning some calories before indulging in extra calories.

College game day of course, I'm not sure what we'll do once it's over - the games this weekend were fantastic to watch.  We'll not Penn State's loss to Michigan but I guess they are the #5 team for a reason.

Getting a little help bringing some of our bags in.

Home sweet home.  It was nice to relax and catch up on all our time away on Saturday night.

It's always a treat spending extra time with these little guys too… 


Make sure to stop back by tomorrow for a fun new giveaway! 

'Tis the Season

Linking up with Biana & Meghan this lovely Monday.

28 comments:

  1. What a fun weekend! I love how much time you were able to spend with family and friends - this is the time of year that is so much fun!! Hope you have a great Monday!! xo, Biana -BlovedBoston

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  2. Looks like a fabulous Thanksgiving weekend, lady! I'm glad you were able to split time and celebrate with both sides of the family. We did brunch and dinner too, so much food! I was pulling for PSU this weekend!

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  3. So glad that you guys had a good weekend and Thanksgiving! Everything looks so pretty and tasty--love the photos of the two of you!

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  4. You were as busy as we were this Thanksgiving break! So glad you had a great time!
    Sarah at MeetTheShaneyfelts

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  5. Look at all the adorable pups and amazing food! I'm totally craving that Thanksgiving brunch now and of course mimosas! Cheers to a fabulous week ,3

    Green Fashionista

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  6. oh my goodness - so much food, friends and love in these photos! looks like you had a wonderful holiday. love the traditions - old and new - i think that shopping one is def a good idea! i was out yesterday early and i loved having no one on the roads :) until well commuting today and that was a different story ha. happy monday girly!

    xoxo cheshire kat

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  7. This looks like such a fun weekend with lots of yummy food (and drinks)! I actually told Brandon I didn't know what we were going to do when College GameDay is over on Saturday mornings, either. (And football, too. Sad!) Have great week!

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  8. What a fun weekend! All of your food looks amazing and Canadian bacon pinwheels?! What?!?! YUM! Love all the pictures with the pups too! <3, Pamela Sequins & Sea Breezes

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  9. You have the best decorations for Thanksgiving! Such a great set up!!
    www.amemoryofus.com

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  10. What a great time with your family! Love all the pictures and your TG tablescape and decor is beautiful!

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  11. You always have the best tablescapes!! Love your fall/Thanksgiving decor!! I felt for you this weekend when I saw PSU was playing Michigan! They are good this year though so you shouldn't feel bad. On to hockey!! I heard this weekend that PSU has the best women's volleyball team in the nation - so there's that too! ;)

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  12. Glad that you had such a nice (and busy!) holiday weekend and that you got everywhere safely. I love the idea of a Thanksgiving brunch, that way you kind of get to celebrate with both sides of the family! The pups look like they had a good weekend, too - they are too cute!

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  13. What a fun holiday weekend! It sounds like you got in a ton of family and friend time which is always the best! And yummy food! It is always so nice to get home and relax after a busy weekend, though!

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  14. What a fun holiday weekend you had! It looks like you had a lot of family and friend time which is always the best part of the holiday season! I love all your traditions and I hope some day to have just as many - its harder with a small family and when not everyone has Friday and Saturday off work!

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  15. You did awesome taking lots of pictures. I was so lazy, I barely took any. Whoops! ;)

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  16. Sounds like an awesome holiday weekend! And now it's officially the Christmas season!!

    Enjoy your week!

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  17. It looks like you had a great weekend! I'm a little jealous of how much family time you were able to fit in. All of the food looks amazing too!

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  18. Your multiple Thanksgivings sound like a perfect way to get to see everyone! So excited for the giveaway tomorrow :)

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  19. Yay glad it was such a good Thanksgiving for y'all! I love that yall got to see so much family. It was the exact opposite for me this year. Love all the decor! So cute! :)

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  20. It sounds like you had a blast during Thanksgiving weekend, and had some amazing food! I love the idea of doing the Thanksgiving brunch! And it also sounds like your plan for holiday shopping was the best option for beating the crowds!

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  21. Sounds like a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! That apple cider sangria looks amazing! Love that y'all were able to beat all the mall crowds on Saturday!

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  22. What a perfect Thanksgiving weekend! So much celebrating and good food - doesn't get much better than that. Well besides the football loss, we had a brutal one of those, too!

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  23. Sounds like you had a great thanksgiving! I'm not sure what I'll do once Sportscenter is over either haha Have a great week!

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  24. Thanksgiving is best spent with family and friends! It looks like you enjoyed every second of your Holiday! I love your Thanksgiving Brunch tradition, such a fun idea! Xo, Stephanie

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  25. Glad you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! Everything looked great/ delicious!! I want that sangriaaaa :)

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  26. Sounds like an amazing thanksgiving weekend and it's awesome you got to spend it with both families. I need to look up the recipe for your cheese & canadian bacon pinwheels cause they sound amazing. I'm always down for a good brunch ;-)

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  27. What a fun Thanksgiving!! Looks like you got a lot of wonderful family time in!!

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