Thanksgiving Long Weekend

I loved every minute of the 4-day weekend and managed to take zero photos of the Thanksgiving spread except for some desserts which my SIL's dog ended up getting into.

Friendsgiving and Giving Thanks

The weekend was a great one. Lots of self care and pampering, a little online shopping/browsing for holiday gifts, and a fun Friendsgiving dinner to cap off the weekend.

2017 Year Recap: September - December

Sharing the last part of my 2017 Adventures series.

Here's Part one and Part Two, which were both action packed with travel, celebrations, and fun with family/friends.

Thanksgiving Celebrations

It's unbelievable to think that Thanksgiving was just a week ago and now we're diving into the Holidays (my favorite time/month of the year)! 

Thanksgiving Staycationing

 
It was an action packed weekend with my parents and sister in town and I also took vacation time last week so we were on the go nonstop shopping til we drop, entertaining for Thanksgiving, and spending lots of family time together.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just popping in to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving and express my gratitude for all the lovely blogger friends I've meet over the years.

Thanksgiving Weekend

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. I wish I could say mine was a long weekend but in fact I had to work on Friday so we went to my in-laws on Thursday for Thanksgiving and then made the 2 hour drive back home that evening.

Friday was a very slow day at work so not very stressful. In the evening K and I went out for some dinner and then had a relaxing night at home. I avoided the crowds and did some Black Friday shopping online to finish up some holiday shopping.

On Saturday, K went to Tampa for the UCF game so I had a full day of 'me time' which was glorious. I went to get an hour long facial at a cute salon near home and then went to our local small business holiday market and bought some cute gifts from local vendors.

My favorite vendor was Katie Wu's LuLaRoe shop. I bought the softest pair of leggings which are also perfect as gifts since the sizing is very flexible.

I spent Sunday putting up Christmas decorations around the house and getting started on our tree. It's beginning to look like Christmas around here ~ my favorite time of year!

Joining the lovely Biana.

TBT For Thanksgiving

As I count my blessings this Thanksgiving Day, know that you are among them - my family, my friends, my husband and my Lola are my world and I'm definitely thankful for all the genuine friendships I've made through blogging!

I wanted to share one of my favorite Thanksgiving memories in sort of a Throwback Thursday style...

It began when Lola came into my life the week before Thanksgiving.

She was dropped off at my office in the pouring rain and my heart just melted. I hadn't owned a pet since living at home with my parents so there were a lot of uncertainties in my mind.  Probably explains why it took me more than 10 years to take the plunge.

 The right opportunity was dangled in front of me and I couldn't say no to this gorgeous bundle of wrinkles.

Since then Lola has grown into her full bully frame but has a heart of gold for children and other dogs of any size, She shows K and I never ending love and loyalty.... sometimes to the point where she can be a Stage 5 clinger but, Boy has she redeemed herself from the puppy and potty training days.

I don't have kids so my adoration goes to Lola and I'm so grateful and thankful for her companionship over the past few years.

Happy Thanksgiving to you, your family and fur-babies!

Thanksgiving Long Weekend Fun

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving last week with family/friends or however you spent it. The 4-day weekend was the perfect break for me from work and blogging to relax and recharge before the holidays ensue.

I started off the long weekend with a quick happy hour on Wednesday after work with coworkers before getting into the Thanksgiving festivities. Cask & Larder has excellent happy hour specials on small bites and drinks for anyone in the Central Florida area btw.

On Thursday morning we drove 2 hours with Lola as the backseat passenger to have Thanksgiving dinner with my in-laws and extended family at my SIL's house.

I can't believe I've never tried pecan pie before this Thanksgiving. Probably because I'm too turkey stuffed but I'm definitely choosing it over pumpkin pie in the future.

After dinner we met up with some friends to watch the UCF vs USF game. Of course UCF lost but it was a fun night out with friends nevertheless and we got to see some of K's high school/college friends.

On Friday we had breakfast with the in-laws and made our journey back home to Orlando. We had some amazing lunch and craft beer at Gnarly Barley before hitting some Black Friday sales.



I scored some warm clothes (the booties being my fave. They're sold out now but these are similar and I have them in gray), a 2016 planner, 3-wick candles from Bath & Body Works, and this Rebecca Minkoff ring which is gorgeous.

Friday night was spent relaxing with a glass of wine while watching The Vacation at home which was quite funny. Perfectly relaxing night after our road travels.

Our Disney annual passes expired yesterday so we made plans to go to Magic Kingdom on Saturday for one last hurrah and to check out the Christmas decorations.

We happened to catch a Disney parade on Main Street then went on several rides and finally browsed through some Christmas shops so I could pick out one last decoration for our tree. I think we made great use of our annual passes with Epcot being our favorite.

After Magic Kingdom we had all intentions of heading over to Hollywood Studios to check out the Osborne's Family Lights Show but after taking several wrong shuttles/trams, we decided to call it a night and head to Yard House on I-Drive for some dinner and drinks.

It was a busy and fun-filled long weekend but thankfully I got to catch up on lots of sleep so I'm ready to take on this week and I'm even more excited for some upcoming holiday parties in the next few weeks. This is my favorite time of year afterall.

Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekending linkup.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I'm thankful for my readers and all the amazing blogger friends I've met over the past 3 years. I'm thankful for my family, friends, loving husband and bulldog, Lola. We are spending the day with family and enjoying a nice thanksgiving feast.

Have a happy Thanksgiving and enjoy the holiday weekend!

Also a quick reminder that our Nordstrom giveaway ends tomorrow so make sure you've entered to win this huge gift card just in time for the holidays. Good luck!

$325 Nordstrom Gift Card Giveaway

Thanksgiving Potluck Dish Ideas

I don't usually like to post two food recipes in a week but with Thanksgiving next week, I definitely wanted to share these ideas sooner than later. I mentioned on Friday that I'm always looking for new recipes to contribute to the annual potluck at work as well as our Thanksgiving family dinner and sometimes even potlucks with friends around the Holidays. I shared this Broccoli & Cauliflower Casserole recipe which is one of my favorite sides but I found a few other potluck ideas to share.

Tomato Basil Spinach Risotto

Crockpot Balsamic Pork Roast

Paleo Stuffing



Mexican Pasta Salad

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pomegranate and Hazelnuts

John Legends Macaroni and Cheese

 
Creamy Broccoli Salad

Strawberry Crumb Bars

Fall: What is that?

Well it's no secret Florida really doesn't experience a true Fall. The weather is still in the 80's so definitely don't need the cute scarfs or boots and the leaves don't change to those beautiful red and orange colors like the photo above. However, the weather does become slightly more comfortable compared to the blazing hot summer and there are several other things I enjoy around this time of year that remind me it is in fact Fall. 

#1: Epcot's Food & Wine Festival. I can't wait to go next weekend and sample all the food and wine from different countries. 

Image source

#2: Bath & Body Works 3-Wick Fall Scented Candles. I just put in my order over the weekend for some new pumpkin scented candles so my house can smell like Fall.

#3: Pumpkin beer. Since they hit the shelves a few weeks ago, I've been trying a new pumpkin beer every weekend with K. Call me crazy but I even have a whole post about this coming soon.

#4: Pumpkin carving. Or I should really say pumpkin pattern designing and then someone else does the carving. (K made that meme last year as a joke.) And do you see that patch of lawn to the right of him? We had a pumpkin plant start growing out of control there until from him throwing the seeds out until we finally decided to remove it a few months ago.

#5: Potlucks at work and Thanksgiving out of town with family. This was Thanksgiving last year  when Lola had just joined our family and was a tiny puppy.

Okay I'm a little late to the party but I'm joining Pinky and Katie for their Falling for Fall linkup.

Thanksgiving & Disney Fun

Hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving (for those in the US) and the weekend.  

Thursday: 

Lola went with us on a 2 hour road trip to spend Thanksgiving with my in-laws and extended family.

After Thanksgiving dinner, we went to visit a few friends and introduce everyone to Lola.

Friday:

We headed back home and got some errands and cleaning done. I put up our Christmas tree and started decorating for the holidays. We also watched the UCF game, ordered Chinese food and had an early night since we were pretty tired from all the Thanksgiving traveling and early mornings with Lola.

Saturday:

We headed to Disney with Kate and her hubby. We went to Animal Kingdom first to do the safari ride and walk around the park.

We saw a ton of animals including elephants, hippos, giraffes, rhinos, zebras and more.

We then headed over to Hollywood Studios to do a few rides and check out some Christmas shops.

After Disney, we all headed to my place to cook up some dinner and hang out by the firepit with Lola. Kate and her hubby loved playing with Lola since they also have an English bulldog, Roxy.

Sunday: 

Sunday was a Home Dept and errands kind of day to get some final Christmas decorations. I've already overloaded you with photos so will do a Christmas post when everything is completed.

Hope you had a great weekend!

Joining Biana for Weekending and Leeann for Monday Morning Gossip.