gratitude

i know it's friday, but instead of finds to fancy, i figured a fitting way to follow Thanksgiving would be a gratitude post.

this year was the first time since we've been married that we didn't have any guests for Thanksgiving dinner. even though it was just the two of us, i still wanted to make our traditional meal (yes, a lot of work for just two people, but i really do enjoy all the cooking). i was especially excited for this years meal preparations because for the first time ever i have a kitchen that looks good in photographs! with fun counters, plenty of space and great light from two windows it was a pretty great day for this blogging cook.

the food prep seemed particularly easy this year. i always start out the night before with the pies, then make the cranberry sauce and the stuffing first thing in the morning while the Macy's parade is on. the mister and i also enjoyed a little breakfast treat, complete with a glass of eggnog. 

since we eat at night i often end up with terrible photos of the table, but this year i actually had time to get the table set in the afternoon so i could get some nicer photos! i'm really pleased with how it turned out. i wanted something really simple and a bit rustic. i incorporated a variety of vintage goods- arrows, mason jars, japanese darts with feathers, and even some vintage papers. i picked up some simple napkins from a booth at a local antique mall (on sale for half off!), and a few more milk glass serving pieces to complete the minimal look.

another thing we rarely do- take time for photos of us! we put the tripod to work and got a few keepers (we always do a round of silly face pics- they're my favorite). we put our sunglasses on to rub it in that it was almost 75 degrees out (though in truth, i would have preferred snow and cold temps). 

a tradition from my childhood that we've continued- a little mid-day snack in lieu of lunch- summer sausage and a cheese ball. the mister enjoys this mini tradition.

when it was finally time to eat we set the table feast style (since it's such a big table, we figured why not), and enjoyed the fruits of our labors. after dinner we took some time to Skype with family and friends.

of course, no Thanksgiving in our house would be complete without pie! this year, for the first time ever, i made the crust from scratch (for some reason i've always hated making pie crusts, even when i worked in a bakery). it turned out really nicely and since we had extra dough, i asked the mister to cut out some arrows to decorate it with. he did a great job, don't you think?

we had such a wonderful day. it was nice to have some time with the mister (he's been so busy with his studies i feel like we hardly ever even see each other), and though we missed our friends and family (thank goodness for Skype), we really enjoyed every moment.

how was your Thanksgiving? i'd love to hear some of your favorite moments.

now, i'm off to work- today i'm a bit regretful that i took a retail job at the holiday's, but hopefully it won't be too bad (at least it'll go by quickly). i hope you all have a lovely weekend!

P.S.

This post is my entry into the Alt Summit Blog Contest sponsored by Wilsonart International, Inc.

Wilsonart is generously hosting a giveaway of a ticket to Alt Summit and kitchen counter makeover- isn't that nice of them? while i won't be able to use the new counters in our rental, i'm really hoping to win a ticket to Alt since it's sold out! keep your fingers crossed for me?