Happy Thanksgiving 2015

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Great food, drinks, and friends have made it special for me every year. Our Friendsgiving is the only Thanksgiving I know and I'm so grateful to have this group of wonderful people in my life. We may not talk to each other all the time but we know we're always there for each other. We have celebrated Thanksgiving together since 2007 (though my first Thanksgiving wasn't until 2008) and it has been so great to watch our tradition grow and evolve along with us (read here about last year's Thanksgiving). This year, it was our second time hosting at our house. Last time, we had just bought our house earlier that year and announced on Thanksgiving that we were expecting. This year, Noah was a big part of the celebration, loving the attention, Ava slept through most of it, and our newly remodeled kitchen proved to be perfect for entertaining. So much has changed and we have so much to be thankful for: a wonderful loving husband who is a fantastic dad to my babies, a beautiful, smart, funny son who makes me smile every day, a sweet daughter who is such a wonderful addition to our family, and no worries. Yes, life is hard every once in a while, but we've had a few really great years where we don't really have anything to worry about which I am very grateful for. 

Here are some highlights of this year's menu. And in case you were wondering, yes, I did finish everything on that plate (is wearing maternity pants seven weeks postpartum considered cheating?). 

We made holiday slush to go with appetizers by following this recipe. It looked so festive and was delicious. I created name tags for glasses by writing on black scotch tape with chalk board pens. 

Appetizers: 

The main course: spinach salad, broccoli salad, rolls, the bird, cranberry sauce, green beans, a butternut squash dish, corn casserole, brisket, and stuffing. 

Dessert: sweet potato pie and mini apple caramel cheese cakes. 

What are you thankful for this year?