Thanksgiving Festivities & Black Friday Shopping

Phew! We're back home after spending a hectic few days in B-town with K's family and friends for Thanksgiving.

On Thursday morning we left home and drove to B-town on Florida's west coast to spend Thanksgiving day with K's super large family. We caught up with everyone and ate a huge spread of food including turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes and about 10 other sides. The dessert table was also packed with every type of pie and cake imaginable.

Thanksgiving Desserts

Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving night we went out to catch up with all of K's friends from childhood and high school days. Several drinks and laughs were shared!!

On Black Friday, I convinced K to take me to the outlet malls to browse around "quickly".  I thankfully didn't do much damage just bought myself a blue chiffon blouse and black booties that were 50% off. I got most of my Christmas gift shopping done last week so didn't really need to buy much else.

Charlotte Russe

Rack Room Shoes

After the Outlet mall we went for lunch at this awesome seafood restaurant and tiki bar on the inter-coastal called Tarpon Point. We enjoyed eating outdoors in the beautiful 70 degree weather.
 

Friday night we went out again for one last hurrah with K's friends and to also celebrate a birthday. We started off at our favorite spot in B-town. It's become a tradition to visit this bar everytime we're in town because they are known to serve the strongest Mai Tai's probably in the country.  They're so strong that they don't allow you to have more than two.

So we had our two Mai Tai's and went on to continue the birthday celebrations for one of K's good friends at another bar.

This morning we said our goodbyes and hit the road to head back to our quiet home. So thankful today is Saturday and we still have 1 more day to relax before the work week begins.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Writing a quick Thanksgiving post via my iPhone Blogger app while my speed racer husband drives us to B-town for Thanksgiving dinner with his family.

I hope everyone has a happy & hearty Thanksgiving with your loved ones!

Emily

What I'm Loving Wednesday

It's our Friday everyone! Almost time for turkey, family fun and sleeping in for the next 4 days. Woohoo!!  Linking up with Jaime for What I'm Loving Wednesday.

I'm loving that we're heading out of town this weekend to see K's family and close group of friends. Always nice for a change of scenery!

I'm loving all the amazing deals flooding my inbox (very hard to resist going nuts shopping online)!

ULTA

Macaroni Grill

I'm loving my newly found creative skills being used for gift giving ideas this year. I made this Fall-themed housewarming gift for a friend a couple weeks ago.

Before

After

I'm loving that my friends send me random stuff to brighten my day.

I'm loving my recent Pinterest Fashion finds:

 

Of course, I'm always loving K:

Have a FABULOUS Thanksgiving weekend everyone!!

Tuesday Thankfulness

Only one more day and Thanksgiving will be here so hopefully everyone is in the spirit and focusing on what they are thankful for this holiday season.

I'm thankful for my loving husband who has been there for me for the past 4 years. 

I'm thankful for my supportive and generous parents who sometimes still spoil us like we're kids.

I am thankful for the amazing memories of loved ones that have passed, most recently my grandmother and college friend, Sally. 

I'm thankful for my job and all the fun parties and company trips they host. 

I am thankful for my close group of girl friends, whether they are near or far. Distance or time has never changed or weakened our friendship.

 

I'm thankful for my favorite cocktail ~ dirty martinis with blue cheese olives.  The perfect drink for dinner dates with K. 

I'm also thankful for: 

-  fuzzy socks, sweaters and throw blankets

-  coffee on a Monday morning

-  my little car that hardly gets affected by gas prices

-  that I live in Florida, especially during the "winter" months

-  that my birthday and Christmas are right around the corner

Finally, I am thankful for our lovely home that has been in work in progress for the past two years with decorating and furnishing and I'm sure we'll have more projects to share in the future ;-)

Thanksgiving Potluck

As much as Mondays come way too quickly and suck 99.5% of the time, we had our Fall Potluck at work today which was sorta fun.

There were about 25 entrees, sides and desserts which included chilli, pot roast, meatballs, various salads & casseroles and a ton of desserts - cake, cookies, pies. My favorite were the pigs in a blanket stuffed with bacon and jalapenos made with crescent rolls.

Some of the more interesting dishes were Spam & Green Bean Casserole (yuck) and Bacon Pumpkin Pie ~ I didn't try either although my coworkers were trying to convince me the bacon pumpkin pie was delicious. I do love bacon!

I'm thankful we only have 2 more days of work til the long weekend!

Emily

Sunday Funday At Home

I've been in the kitchen cooking potato salad from scratch for a pot luck at work tomorrow while K is glued to the TV watching football.

I made enough potato salad to feed an army so we're having some for dinner along with BBQ ribs. I think we've finally conquered the art of cooking delicious ribs that fall off the bone.

BBQ Ribs Recipe:
- Boil ribs for 45 minutes
- Mix BBQ sauce (any type) with 1/2 small onion, 1 tbsp mustard, paprika, salt and pepper
- Coat ribs with BBQ sauce mixture
- Throw on the grill 10-15 minutes (this gives them the best flavor)

I got a Trinidad-style potato salad recipe from CaribbeanPot.com that I love and always get compliments about. It has a lot of flavor and isn't bland like what you buy at the grocery store. I left out the celery and gherkins (pickles) though.

Potato Salad Ingredients:
6 large Potatoes
1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 can peas and carrots
1 1/2 cups mayo
3/4 teaspoon paprika
1 small red onion diced (1/3 cup)
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon mustard
5 eggs (hard boiled)
 
You can get the step by step instructions here: http://caribbeanpot.com/tag/trinidad-potato-salad/. Take my word for it, it's super yummy!

Looking forward to Thanksgiving next week and having a short work week!

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday :-)

Emily

Christmas Gift Ideas for Him

So stoked that I got all of my Christmas shopping done online today for my hubby and girl friends. Found some amazing deals and saved over $50 with the Kohl's friends and family discount (Code: FFNOV20P).

Thought I'd share some gift ideas for your guy.

1. Sports Jacket

 

2. Money Clip

3. NFL Jersey

4. Workout Socks & Gloves

5. Alma Mater Grill Cover

 

Also bought myself this sexay new dress to wear at one of our many Christmas parties...couldn't resist!

What's on your Christmas wish list?

x Emily

Friday....We Reach!

I'm sure everyone is happy that it's finally Friday, right?

Thirsty Thursday last night was a lot of fun. It's always great hanging out with my marketing team outside the office. I'm sooo happy the weekend is almost here, although it's not going to be a quiet or relaxing one...

Tonight we're going to a charity event for the Special Olympics of Florida hosted by my work. We'll get to enjoy some live music, food tasting from local restaurants, open bar, black jack, auctions and raffles to support Special Olympics programs.  We went to the same event last year and it was a good time.

I'm hoping I can pull together a cute last minute outfit for tonight after I rush home from work ;-)

Saturday night we have a friend's birthday dinner followed by some drinks at some local hotspots and I'm hoping Sunday will be somewhat relaxing.  Me, couch and browsing online for Christmas gifts sound amazing right now! We'll see how that goes...

I'm excited that next week will a short 3-day work week and then we get to celebrate Thanksgiving!

Enjoy your weekend!

Emily