Thanksgiving Weekend Recap

Fam!!! The Holidays are in full swing and as we look forward to all the fun, here is a bit of our Thanksgiving weekend recap…so sit back, relax and maybe grab a cookie and cup of something warm and toasty cuz this post, is a bit of a longer one.

For us, Thanksgiving weekend starts the Wednesday of Thanksgiving week! This year Julia and the girls dropped by to help get things cooking!

Honestly many hands make light work…. And if T licks a bowl clean you know you’re on the right track for a tasty sauce!😂

This year we tried out a few new twists on classic staples of our Thanksgiving feast…we have made meatballs a few different ways but this truffle barbecue one is by far our new favorite! We have to test it a few more times before we give you all the recipe! Haha

Of course we stuck to the recipe for our Brown Butter Garlic Mac & Cheese! If it’s not broken don’t fix it! Haha and this recipe is most certainly not broken!

We were thankful to take a break from the cooking and eat a burger from Buns Burgers in Rhinebeck, NY.

We of course broke into the banana pudding from Magnolia….ehhh we had to make sure the gluten free option was edible 😳😂 it definitely was! After, we went back into the kitchen, cranked up the music and cooked for a couple more hours…then it was bedtime!

The next morning we were up fairly early to go pick up our friend Leah from the train station.

We got home had a lovely brief moment to chat and catch up over a cup of coffee…then we all went into prep mode!

Jenneka started on the floral arrangements for the tables…

As I played with plate & napkin combinations.

We had a very loose vision of what we wanted the table to look like, but in the end, it turned out way better than we could have imagined!

We also set up a photo booth downstairs, so our guests could have a bit of fun between dinner and dessert!

We tested it out and weren’t mad about the outcome!

In went the Turkey! Leah really jumped into the mix this weekend, helping in so many ways! This gal is a trooper!

She also created a beautiful charcuterie platter to welcome our guests!

One final look at the table before we put all the extraneous things away and get dressed for the evening ahead!

We lit the candles just before everyone started to arrive!

Drinks were poured…

The food kept hot, even as outlets were blowing out like candles in the wind (haha, it wouldn’t be a holiday without some wild house thing happening…one year a light switch caught fire 2 days before Easter, one Thanksgiving the pipes under the sink burst, the next year the sink faucet broke, another year we lost power the night before Thanksgiving due to a storm and got it back an hour before guests arrived…so yeah, this year was thankfully very mild!)

All smiles as every dish made it out to the buffet tables!

We had a lovely intermission between dinner and dessert and enjoyed a bit of fun in the photobooth!

Very very Vogue!

Some had more fun than others….

Of course Liv and Taya had to be queens of the photobomb in the guys photos 😂

Ladies….

And the whole Fam!

Even Honey made her guest appearance!

After our “photo shoot” we were ready for dessert!

We ended the evening with delectable sweets, a round of the Thanksgiving game (a tradition of ours where everyone writes what they are thankful for on a piece of paper, that paper gets thrown into a hat and as each note is read we have to guess who wrote it) and wonderful conversation!

We fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow, but we didn‘t stay in our comfy beds for too long… because it was Friday before we knew it…and we have another tradition to keep. I started Black Friday shopping with my Aunt when I was maybe 12 and it has just snowballed from there…haha it is really just a fun time fore the gals in the family to go shopping together and since last year the boys join us later in the day with the littler ones!

Last year was Corra’s first early morning Black Friday with us and this year it was Liv’s turn! Oh and yes…you may be wondering why Corra is wearing a silver haired wig😂 It started as we were sitting around the table the night prior, she quipped, “Aunt Jen, what would you give me if I wear this wig to Black Friday shopping tomorrow morning…” Jenneka replied… “an extra coffee” that was all she needed… “Deal!” And the rest is history, the stipulation was she had to wear it for an hour…. And by golly she did!

We had a very successful shop in JCPenny… with great sales and almost nap time 😂

The hour was up and it was time to take a few bags back to the vehicle.

And the wig😂

We went back into the mall ready to shop some more.

After a few more stores it was time for Aunt Jen to grab that cup of coffee for Corra… haha we all took advantage of that stop and decided to grab something a bit more substantial than just coffee. We had some lunch and then afterwards were joined by the rest of the Fam!

We couldn’t resist…

Onward we went…

Enjoying each others company and….

Finding some great bargains along the way!

We shopped til we dropped…

And left the mall with full hearts, lessons learned, aching feet and grumbling stomachs ready for all the yummy leftovers!

We all piled into the one vehicle to dive to the other car…at that point no one felt like walking in cold drizzly weather!

We arrived home safe, sound and ready to chow down on the leftovers. The dinner conversation was profound and memorable in every way, with Corra taking the lead and asking everyone to go around the table and describe each person in one word (or close to one…haha). As we sat around I couldn’t help but think of how special moments like these are, to verbally acknowledged qualities in those we love, it was a beautiful continuation of what we were thankful for the day prior, taking a moment to truly appreciate the people around us. Yes, Corra is wise beyond her years and this conversation is only a small insight into the depths of this girl’s soul…

The next day was Small Business Saturday and what better way to shop small than at the Bethlehem Flea Market in Bethlehem, CT.

Oh what treasures to be found in this gem of a flea market!

And we all found some fun items that’s for sure!

After our day in Connecticut, we arrived home and let the girls do our makeup.

Taya did Leah’s makeup and we have to say… it’s quite good for a 4 year old!

After dinner we went downstairs to watch a couple Christmas movies!

We stayed up late and although we got a bit of a later start we still accomplished quite a lot! We cleaned up the house, the girls did a bit of school, we watched church and then it was time to get our Christmas trees!

We loaded the cars up and went straight to Big Rock Tree Farm.

Jared, Jenneka and Brian were all working and we arrived at the end of the day after the rush!

We said our hellos to longtime friends, got our popcorn and hot chocolate and started the search!

After a bit of deliberating, we “saw” our perfect trees!!!! With some teamwork we made it back to the cars and headed home for our final meal of leftovers!

This Thanksgiving was truly one for the books! How they manage to just keep getting better and better is beyond us and only truly God. We are excited to continue in this glorious Holiday season with family and friends!

With Loads of Love,

X ~ The Sibs

Janna, Jared & Jenneka