Our Thanksgiving!

We had the sweetest Thanksgiving this year in our new home. I am so unbelievably grateful that I had the opportunity to host my side of the family. My sister and her hubby and kids came and stayed with us, which was the BEST, and I got to soak in all the family moments I had been craving for such a long time.

I got to introduce my nephew to the golf cart, which he begged to ride over and over. I get it. Everett's first words in the morning are, "waffles?" and "g-ride!" (which is what we call the golf cart, ha.) So we drove the g-ride all over this town, and thankfully, we had wonderfully strange warm weather to enjoy so much time outdoors.

The meal went off without a hitch (mostly), and it was a fun twist to set a formal table for the meal. I don't think my family has ever sat down to a formal meal together. We just aren't formal people. But it was so fanciful and fun, it made me wonder why we have waited this long to do it. I had to look up on Martha Stewart's website how to actually set a formal table, and I was definitely missing a few necessary items (who has 10 mini butter knives??) but it didn't matter even the tiniest bit.

There was one moment when we were all sitting around the table, having dessert, that I found my mom staring into her coffee cup. "I never got to drink out of these as a little girl," she said, so softly, I almost missed it. She was pensive, but elated. She shared the memories of her parents and their parties, using my grandmother's china, and the years of hand washing each dish when the party ended. But she never got to enjoy the fancy dishes herself. So she was pretty excited to be sipping her coffee and eating her pie, kind of like having her cake and eating it too :) Oh, my sweet mom.

My new brother-in-law Chuck joined us for all the Spencer shenanigans.

Because who doesn't want to dive into a basket of toys while staring at the glittery Christmas tree? Smart little lady.

Macaroni and cheese was the only Thanksgiving food this kid would consider. Which is on his face. Am I failing as a parent??

The beautiful people.

My mother is nuts.

Sooooooo newlywed, Am I right?

JUST COME BAAAACK.

They are the best grandparents. I'm so happy for these kids to have them.

My sleepy little heart and soul.

We didn't do anything out of the ordinary for Thanksgiving. We ate, took a walk (this year we also took a g-ride :), then had some dessert. Then we just hung out. It was so simple. It was an awful lot of work, but the kind that is so satisfying and filled my heart all the way up.

When everyone left the house the next day, things were so still and quiet. I found myself really sad, so I curled up on the couch and watched Everett play in the living room while the TV was on. But you know what? That boy came over to me, reached up so I would put him in my lap, and he just rested there with me. Thumb in his mouth, he just sat in my lap without wiggling, squalling or doing the hundred other boy-ish things he normally does when I take him captive and make him sit with me. On this day, he just rested in my lap, leaning his head against my chest, and I could finally breath really deep. It was the most calming moment with my little boy. And these are the ones, the little nuggets of time that life is all about. It's not about the monumental Thanksgiving and all it's glory, it's about the string of bitty moments that wrap the tree in the whitest of light. No one can take those lights away from my memory, and no one can replace the glow in my heart from this holiday. And even though I'm sad Thanksgiving is over and my family is dispersed across the southeast once again, I am the luckiest girl because I have this boy (okay, boys - Stevie counts!) who reminds me what this life is all about. Thanks boys. You're the best ones to me :)

I hope your Thanksgiving was the sweetest, friends.

P.S. - Stay tuned for my holiday gift guides, launching this week! xox

Play Play Play!

This is always a funny week, the week after Thanksgiving. The societal pull is frenetic, spastic, telling us to hurry up! This sale won't last! Hurry up - the deal is over at midnight! My email inbox is flooded - literally flooded - with zillions of sale notices and the tone of each and every one is - HURRY, or else you might miss out!

You guys. What would happen if we didn't care? Didn't care to MISS OUT.

I can't let myself get overrun by the holiday crazy. So much about the holidays is just wonderful - the meaning of the season, the traditions, the surprise, and especially the wonder. I am finding myself wonder-fied over and over again, because I am introducing my son to the season of Christmas and it is so much delicious fun. He saw a house lit up in icicle lights in our neighborhood the other night, and he was absolutely mesmerized. He just stared. Then clapped. It was THE BEST. He definitely saw lights last year, but it's a whole new year - and he is so much more aware. He opened his first Christmas gift with my sisters over the weekend, and there it was again - the wonder! That distinguished moment of pure, radiant, child-like joy. It was enough to make me like a giddy little girl again. The wonder of the season! That is the good stuff that I want to remember and focus on.

And then I open my email, and literally, all I see are "Cyber week savings!", "Last Day! 50% off!", "30% off starts now!"

I know what you're thinking. Delete your emails, girl.

I totally agree with you.

The thing is, I love a good sale, and I have no problem with a bit of hoopla. I just think it's important to not let the hoards of hoopla rock the internal compass of this season. I want to buy gifts and give gifts, because I am a crazy gifting person. It's one of my favorite things to do. But there is a point where the consumerism suddenly becomes like when you ate one too many cookie. The sugar doesn't taste good, and sort of turns to ash in your mouth. That's how I feel about all the sales and promotions and consumerism - it's just ash. Tomorrow there will be another deal, and another, and another. And suddenly, its not satisfying anymore because DO WE REALLY NEED THIS STUFF. I'm realizing it's my job to remove myself from all of it.

I am reeeeeally close to being totally done Christmas shopping. And it's on me to finish my list, and then be done - and not get sucked into overspending, or lusting after more than I need/want. It's my responsibility. And the one way that I am managing going about that this year?

First, I am going to finish my Christmas list.

And then I am going to play play play!

Get outside and throw around some leaves and remember what it's like. To be a kid. And play. Play hard. Play like it's my job. Man, kids have the best life. They aren't tempted by the notion of a good sale. They are expected to eat well, sleep long and play hard.

That's what I wish for you this Christmas season. Eat well, sleep long, and play hard, friends.

Wishing You a Happy, Healthy (& hopefully humorous!) Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving! The day has come! I suppose that a lot of you are scurrying around the kitchen on this fine day, apron donned and wooden spoon in hand. Something dripping. Something spilling. But hopefully - nothing burning! I can just see you there, stirring and whipping and basting and brining. Roasting and toasting and testing and trying. Mmm holidays make me rhyme, friends :)

Enjoy the day. This is a holiday. Which means you get a break from stress, anxiety and anything else that is perhaps clouding your thoughts these days. No matter what your Thanksgiving prep and celebration looks like - whether you're in the car, heading to your parents house. Whether you're visiting your in-laws for your first holiday meal as a member of their family. Whether you're bringing a jar of pickles and a loaf of bread. (Actually if you're doing the previous one, maybe throw in a bottle of wine for your hosts, too. Just a tip :) But whatever this day looks like for you, whether it's teeming with familial awkwardness or triumphant with spazzy amounts of love, I would encourage you to enjoy it. Soak it up. People all over our country are huddled in warm homes today, talking football and reminiscing and eating to their heartiest content. From the high rises of New York City to the lofts overlooking the San Francisco Bay to this suburban home of mine, tucked between some trees, we are all alike today. We are all eating. We are all enjoying family, even with all its quirks. Hug those sweet souls as much as you can, because they are yours to hug today. And it is undoubtedly good.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

My Grandmother's China.

I wish I could recount to you the lyrical quality of her head-thrown-back, guttural, deep-belly laughter.

The rhythm of her walk.

The sweet scent of her choice perfume mingled with her shampoo.

The expression in her eyes as she told a wild story.

Her favorite dish to cook for the family, her favorite flower in my garden, her favorite song on the radio.

I wish I could tell you I knew her. But I didn't.

My grandmother died before her time was up, in June of 1976. She left a family of 5 children, one of which was my mother, and a loving community, in the wake of her untimely end. I have often wondered how my mom ever got by without her own mother for some of the most formidable times in her life, since my mom was barely 19 year old when she lost the companionship of her mom. How in the world did she get married, have me and my sisters, buy a house, move states, and you know, do all the grown up stuff, without the ability to call home to her mom? I am so often grasping at the threads of advice and perspective from my mother, so often pulling on the wisdom I know she can offer, the encouragement, the challenge, the discipline, the unconditional love - how on earth did my mom make it so far without her own support system? How how how. I honestly don't understand it.

My mom is simply amazing. That's the only reasoning I can discern.

I wish I knew how much my mom was like her mom. And I wish I knew how much I am like she was, too. Do I have her eyes? Her smile? Her humor? Do I walk like her or talk like her or tell stories just like her? Do I have the same penchant for cooking or the same weakness of a sharp tongue? It's lost in a book of should-have-been-published. I should have known her. I really wish I had been given that chance.

This year I was given a great many gifts. The same week that I was given a houseful of free furniture for my new home I was given another gift; one of the most sentimental, legacy-laden and meaningful heirlooms of my life.

I was given my grandmother's set of china.

Thanks to the unforgettable kindness and generosity of my dear Aunt Janet, my mom's youngest sister, I was offered by her my grandmother's incomplete set of porcelain china, with its signature peach and gold tulip pattern. Why? I'll never really know. My kind aunt, who is without any daughters of her own, thought that I would love and appreciate the gift in the midst of her move and downsizing, simply because of my adoration for our family's history. And probably because I cook like a crazy person. I'll never really know why she was moved to offer me the gift that rocked my world, but she did. And I awkwardly accepted, unsure of what exactly to do with such a precious gift. I was given a gorgeous china cabinet in the same week. How about that.

The only explanation I can muster for all of this mystery is that God must love me, a lot, to bestow such a delicately powerful, surprising gift. What am I supposed to do with this 50-year old china? How do I even process how special this gift is? Well, I should protect it. Display it. Put it in my china cabinet, obviously.

I've been thinking a lot about this set of dishes. About the many Christmases when it was used, when my mom remembers monotonously hand-washing each and every dish. I've been thinking about how it was used for fancy family dinners, friend coffee dates, numerous holidays and endless parties. So much celebration, conversation, and connection occurred just above those coffee cups. So many favored, steamy delicacies were served on that platter. So many meals for so many mouths. I think my grandma would be happy to know that we walk by her china everyday, as we settle my son into his high chair and watch him throw food around the dining room. I think she would like to know that we honor her memory and her matriarchal presence in our family.

But you know what I think she would like more?

For us to use it.

So this Thanksgiving, the first Thanksgiving that I have ever hosted, we are pulling that china out of its cabinet and we are going to use it. We are going to celebrate my grandmother. A woman who I've been told, loved to throw her head back and laugh. A woman who loved babies. A woman who was a neat freak, a politeness-enforcer, a perfectly poised hostess. A woman who I have to thank for my wavy hair and possibly, my chipmunk cheeks. And above all else, a woman who I have to thank for my own mother - the one from whom I received the solidest ground, my life's blood, my sensitive heart and definitely my chipmunk cheeks. No questions about any of those.

Thank you, my dear Aunt Janet, for your selfless, treasured gift to my family. This Thanksgiving is dedicated to you, and of course, to my Grandma. xox.

The Thanksgiving Plan.

Good morning! Are you ready for it friends? Thanksgiving is ON. It's 4 days away. I've been compiling my lists, recipes, cleaning to-do's and cooking to-makes and taking inventory of my supplies and dishes for weeks. I am a crazy person. I should have opened with that.

This is the first Thanksgiving that I have ever hosted.

I AM SO EXCITED.

Okay, I'll be honest. I'm a smidge-bit overwhelmed, too.

Like, how do I set a formal table? And um, apparently I should be tablescaping?! What is a tablescape, for real? I NEED CLOTH NAPKINS. Do I have enough water glasses? I don't have a pie server!

I'm not really trying to host the most perfect Thanksgiving dinner ever. I'm just aiming for decent food and you know, a clean bathroom. My family is cool as can be and doesn't require fanciness or formality, thank goodness. But still - I want it to be comfortable and for everything to go smoothly, as far as the meal is concerned. I wanted to share my plan with you friends, especially for those of you who are hosting or cooking something up yourselves.

The Dinner Menu:
- Turkey (bravely prepared by my parents - I couldn't take the pressure of the turkey and a clean house :) Cop out, I know.
- Stuffing & Gravy (via Williams Sonoma here, because I'm not trying to be some kind of hero and prepare absolutely everything from scratch. I'm a real human girl.)
- Cranberry Sauce (it's so easy to make it from scratch you guys, PLEASE try it this year!)
- Roasted Vegetables (something like this)
- Macaroni & Cheese (something like this)
- Mashed Potatoes (normal-ish kind)
- Sweet Potato Souffle (a much healthier version of this - let me know if you'd like to see the update)
- Rolls

The Dessert Menu:
- Pumpkin Pie (duh.)
- Traditional Apple Pie
- Dutch Apple Pie
- Pumpkin Tartlets (make them!)
- Probably ice cream too.

I am not preparing all of this. My mom, my sisters and myself are pulling this meal together, thankfully. But if you are still looking for some guidance on your menu, how to prep for the meal, and some tips and tricks for pulling off a Thanksgiving meal, here are a few resources I have found insanely helpful:

*Williams Sonoma's Guide to the Easiest Feast Ever.
*Williams Sonoma's Thanksgiving Tips & Tricks.
*The Pioneer Woman's Thanksgiving Recipes Galore
*Real Simple's 15 Tricks to Making Thanksgiving Easy
*Designsponge's Guide to Making a Magnolia and Fruit Garland for the Table

And in case you want to get fancy for your shindig this year, I've been crushing on this modern nude manicure, this hair blogger's Youtube braiding tutorials and this guide to dressing your family for the holidays.

What are you making this year? Are you trying out anything new-fangled or sticking with the tried-and-true basics? Do youhave any resources to share with the class? Pinterest has ruined me for Thanksgiving :)

Good luck with all your prepping, shopping, planning and executing! xox.