so much to be thankful for

just before thanksgiving, i found a great idea that someone posted on instagram for cookies to sell.  i was able to order the cutter and receive it just in time to make some samples to take pictures of and post on facebook.  because look how cute:

i played around with packaging and ended up using this for the handful of orders that i did receive:

and these were for another order i received around the same time.

the day before thanksgiving saw me preparing the brine to soak the turkey breast in overnight.  we'd opted not to do a whole bird this year because there wasn't that many of us, and besides...turkey isn't really a huge favorite around here.  but we do like ham, so we added that to the menu.

while we'd put up our christmas tree earlier in the month (yes yes, i know...but we just like to extend the season for as long as we can and it makes us happy so there), it had gone undecorated for weeks.  so we busted out a bunch of our decor and added bows to the tree to make things more festive.

i'd gotten busy with my crochet hook too, and these were all sitting on the mantel.  yeah, the octopus is more for halloween, sue me.  but how fun is that little pumpkin pie slice?  i love it.

i kicked off thanksgiving morning with a ride on the ol' peloton.  i figured it'd probably be good to burn off some calories even before eating them, and besides, i had a goal to hit 100 rides before the end of the year.

afterwards, i put on my annual turkey day tee.  i can't cook thanksgiving dinner without this shirt.

ohhhh, AND?  i discovered the beauty of using uber eats to have a well-deserved, desperately needed caramel brulee latte from starbucks.  yum.

we were well prepared for the meal, with the list that the old lady wrote out for us stuck to the refrigerator door.  we had a full menu and had checked off all of the items that needed to be picked up - i took care of the groceries while she went to several local spots to pick up a few ready-made things that we preordered.  with all of the prep and everything laid out, getting everything ready was really easy and before long, the fiance's dad was at the door.  he arrived bearing a giant box of see's candy, which we happily opened and set out on the table for everyone to enjoy.

i'd made a batch of coquito, which is really more of a traditional christmas drink but that we'd never had and sounded delicious.  everyone (aside from the bean, for obvious reasons) happily took a glass and we toasted to a wonderful holiday spent together for the first time.

these candles sound really weird - and i suppose i have to admit that they kinda were, but you know i can't resist a good novelty.

when the turkey (which took a little longer than i'd expected, oops) was finally ready i got the hub to handle the carving duties.  the dogs were thrilled, because they all know that he's always the one who they can count on to sneak them a bite or two.  or three or four.  he's their best friend.

once everyone had served themselves from the buffet we laid out on the island, i happily filled a plate with a little bit of everything: homemade mac & cheese, green bean casserole, creamed corn, sweet potato casserole, ham, mashed potatoes, and turkey and gravy.  yum (if i do say so myself).

and later on, after we'd stuffed ourselves silly and done the dishes and served up pie and relaxed for a bit, we gathered in the back yard for a quick family selfie before the fiance's dad headed home.

it was a lovely, quiet holiday filled with food and family...just the way we like it.