thanksgiving recap

ryan and i successfully hosted our first thanksgiving. we survived our to-do list, cooking a thanksgiving dinner for 10 people (with help) and four house guests plus two guest dogs.  and i have to say it was pretty painless, apart from you know, building a table (although let’s be clear, i was not the builder, just the designer and stresser-outer). a huge thanks goes out to all those who helped with everything from finishing the table to setting the table to bringing delicious dishes to doing the dishes. the most praise goes out to ryan though, who built a damn good table (those details to come in a later post). he’s got skills, and he’s all mine.

{my first turkey. success!}

{cheers!}

{pears spraypainted gold. not for eating.}

{my mom’s awesome gravy boat. we never had cold gravy! (pier one)}

{italian catchphrase = catchphrase with an italian accent = hilarious}

i wish i got more photos of the food, because it was ridiculously good. i have to admit that my first turkey ever turned out delicious (thanks to the tutorial from bobby flay on the today show thanksgiving morning), though the turkey is probably my least favorite part of the meal – i’m a sides lover. and i got my share with stuffing, cranberries, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole and rolls. and let’s not forget the apple pie, pumpkin pie and cheesecake. i’ve been enjoying the leftovers all weekend, and probably will be for the rest of the week too. a slice of cheesecake per day? yes please.  i think i need to start my gym membership….

the rest of the in-laws’ visit we enjoyed some shopping, hanging out and plenty of meals out and once the house was silent saturday afternoon, let’s just say the couch and i became best friends.

{poufs can be toys too}

how was your thanksgiving? hope it was a blast filled with friends, family and way too much food.

i enjoyed hosting and was glad it seemed to go off without a hitch – but next year you’ll find me bringing a side dish or two…

{justine}