Thanksgiving Week Recap

I took the Friday before and the week of Thanksgiving off and it was glorious. I usually take time off at Christmas, but thought it would be a nice change to take time in November when the weather was a bit better. Well, jokes on me because we had end of December weather. Temps in the teens and snow. Regardless, it was still a lovely time and the weather started warming up by the end of the week.

G didn't have time off until Thursday so the first few days were spent meal and work out planning, reading, drinking copious amounts of coffee, cleaning, organizing and working out. It was amazing. Manny got long walks every day and barely spent a minute in his crate. It was so nice. That dog sleeps a lot though, sheesh! 

On Wednesday I went to a doctor's appointment and then I got to have lunch with my mom. I ran a few errands and then once G was done with work we decorated for Christmas. I almost made it until after Thanksgiving! I was itching to decorate since November 1st, but G wouldn't let me. He finally caved the day before Thanksgiving. Muahahaha ;) I just love our house at Christmastime. 

Thanksgiving morning I started my Crock Pot Mac and Cheese. Last year my mac and cheese curdled so I was super nervous about it happening again. I scoured the internet on how to avoid it and found using full fat everything helped prevent curdling. I chose this recipe because Sarah struggled with curdling mac and cheese too and found that the recipe that didn't have it happen. SOLD. It turned out really good too if I do say so myself. And spoiler alert! It didn't curdle.

While the mac and cheese cooked I read and drank coffee. It was nice and relaxing. Then we got ready, packed up all our food and headed to my brother and SIL's for dinner. It was a really nice, relaxing Thanksgiving with just immediate family. We watched the Lions play and hung out with the sweetest little peanut, Ella! She just loves music so much so I played her some songs and had a little dance party. She does the cutest little kicking when music comes on that she likes. I die. It's the cutest thing you ever saw.

Brad! My brother was in town so it was fun to see him and catch up on his life. Also,he dominates in Heads Up! Accents category and can pretty much sound like anyone. It was hilarious.

Also? Parts taking selfies. I love my parents.

It was my SIL's first Thanksgiving she hosted and you would have never known it. She was a rock star! She was cool, calm and collected. The food was amazing. I mean, look at that beautiful bird?!

I'm kind of a picky eater and not in to a lot of Thanksgiving food so my plate was quite plain - mac and cheese, turkey, mashed potatoes and kale. BUT my sister made green bean casserole and kale bacon stuffing that were both hits! I told you she rocked it out this year! We were spoiled.

After dinner everyone had pumpkin pie and mini caramel cheesecake. Then we moved back over to the living room and played a few rousing rounds of Heads Up! which is my new favorite game now. I'm terrible at it, but I loved it. I laughed so hard. 

It was just such a nice relaxing day with my favorites. We talked. Laughed a lot. Ate good food. Can't beat that!

Friday G and I started season five of Dexter. I feel it got a lot darker and I'm having a harder time getting into it, but of course I'm obsessed so I'll keep watching. The acting on this show is just insanely good. Love it. It was a nice relaxing day watching our show, walking Manny, doing a little online shopping and I made chili with the leftover turkey.

Friday was my dad's birthday so on Saturday G and I went to my parents to celebrate. All of my dad's side of the family was over so it was nice to see everyone again. My mom made this pretty amazing bottle cap beer for him. It was a Guinness chocolate flavored cake.

With the Guinness chocolate theme she made this mug of Guinness beer cake or as we joked, my dad's smash cake. She did such a good job! We ate yummy appetizers, hung out with family and gave my dad gifts. After the party G and I went to Trader Joe's to grocery shop and then headed home.

Sunday we slept in (last day, sad!), went to church, grabbed lunch and had a nice lazy afternoon. G watched sports and I read most of the way. I started meal planning for the week and it was a just nice day at home. I love just being home. 

The whole time off was a great mixture of relaxation, family time, vacation time, time at home, and it was just perfection. If only it didn't go so fast, but even that didn't feel like it went too fast. I feel I really maximized my time off and just enjoyed the moment. It was the perfect amount of time off and I was ready to get back into my normal routine.