Happy Thanksgiving!

Is your belly full? Mine is. Full and happy. Last year was the first year I came to Oklahoma with my then-boyfriend-now-husband's family. It was great, but I made the mistake of thinking I should look all put-together all weekend long.

This year, with the ring securely on my finger, I am wearing sweat pants. The cutest ones I own, which isn't saying much, but sweat pants none-the-less. I only brought jeans for when we are tempted to leave the house to go to Topeca Coffee, Taco Bueno, or Jamba Juice.

I love Thanksgiving. I hope yours is wonderful!

Photo challenge debacle

Free advise: Do not start a 30 days photo challenge the month of your wedding or another major life event. It's a silly idea. Project officially postponed until the new year.

But, for now, how about I share a few of my favorite pictures from our honeymoon in Seaside, Florida? Will that do? Can we still be friends?

This is us on the roof deck of the house we stayed in. Roof deck, people. Roof deck.

The above mentioned roof deck. Yes, those are raspberry martinis. Yes, this was the perfect happy hour.

The house came equipped with a dream kitchen. This Le Creuset pan was rarely left in the cupboard.

Sugar sand!

Sunshine and Happiness

Last week was fabulous. Vacation is the best. Every year my family goes on vacation together. It's always nice but, you know, that's a lot of family time. This year I had a fiancé with me though. This is the best development in family vacation EVER.

Justin experienced his first non-rev day of air travel. He escaped unscathed with a few first class voyages under his belt.

We went to mass at the Cathedral de San Juan Bautista. It was cool and very long. We had not even had coffee yet. Do not be fooled it you are going to San Juan. If there are cool cafés there they were all hiding from me.

We drank fabulous Mojitos made by my favorite and most-handsome bartender.

We sat on our balcony and looked at the lovely ocean view.

We explored some cool forts. I know this picture isn't very fort-like, but the cool walls and benches were just beautiful and a welcome spot to rest in the shade.

We were serenaded by a mariachi band. Look at this guy. Isn't he awesome? In this case, the picture says a thousand words. Classic.

Mostly we just relaxed and enjoyed each other's company and escaped into books when we didn't. Yes, that is my mom's thumb in the corner of our beach picture. Also classic.

All in all, I highly recommend a beach vacation finding it's way onto your calendar soon. I'm already looking forward to our next trip to the sea.

Vacation

Vacation starts today! No big deal. I'm very nonchalant about it. Really. I'm just boarding a plane. Eating some peanuts. Reading Bossypants. Basically, I'm in heaven on my way to the beach! I miss you. Kind of. I'll see you when I get back.

Nashville

Last weekend we went to Nashville.

Thanks to some recommendations from Inspired Kara, we ate at some fabulous places. Next time you're in the area don't miss Marché. A-mazing.  I had their crepe du jour, but next time I'm definitely ordering the French Toast. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

We mostly just relaxed with friends, ate tacos and chased geese.

AND.....had our engagement pictures taken!

So much Thanksgiving. So little stomach.

I think I'm still full.

Yea...we're cute.

Wine. Handsome guy stoking the fire. Smile.

Thanksgiving day with my family. Boyfriend meet the crazies. All in all it was quite tame. I shouldn't have been worried. Aunts remained sober. Embarrassing childhood photos were kept at a minimum. We came. We ate. We were on the road before the tryptophan could put us down.

A beautiful drive set to the smooth sounds of Jon Yerby.

Oklahoma bound! Three days that could arguably demand that this post be re-titled "How much can we eat in 72 hours?" Turns out the answer is - a lot. A whole lot. Chocolate cookies. Banana pudding. Oyster stuffing. Garden eggs. Lasagna. Blueberry french toast. More garden eggs. Turkey sandwiches. And that was just the first stop.

Cow babies!

Then it was off to Tulsa. More family. More food magic. Taco Bueno (which is, in fact, bueno), duck, ribs from Jameel's, pecan pie with whiskey sauce (yes - whiskey sauce!!). We also managed to fit in two trips to Jamba Juice and a quick pop-in at Topeca Café in honor of Momma West. I almost forgot the biscuits and bacon gravy (mmm....I hope Nanny is willing to do that every year). Oh and Schlotzsky's. Ah geez. Thinking about all this food again makes me want to take a nap.

Wish you were there, momma! 

All in all, a really great trip. Meeting the extended families part one concluded and, I think, a big win. This girl is excited about part two coming in two weeks. Watch out Peoria. Here we come. We're on a roll.

Tasty Treat turned Perfect Gift

Thanksgiving is Thursday, this Thursday. I'm not sure how that happened. It really snuck up on me this year and, this year, is a big one. There will be the traditional afternoon eat-your-heart-out-two-turkey-lots-of-sides dinner at my mom's house and then it's time to hit the road again and head to Tulsa, Oklahoma.

I'll be spending the majority of the holiday weekend with various members of a certain handsome guy's family. I'm really looking forward to it. There will be naps, walking around on the farm land and, I'm pretty sure, I've heard something about a trip to Jamba Juice (?). I'm also hoping to sneak in a trip to Topeca Coffee for a cup of Santa Ana roast. But, all this to say, that a girl shouldn't go meet the extended family empty-handed.

What does it take to turn a tasty treat into the perfect gift? The packaging makes all the difference. You could just stick some Holiday Pecans in some regular old tupperware or you could put on your crafting hat and snazz up a few mason jars.

What you need:

Mason Jars (I happened to have a few mason jars in the basement, but you can also pick them up at almost any discount or grocery store. They'll run you about $15 for a dozen, depending on the size and type you choose.)
White Shipping Labels or Craft Paper and Tape (You'll use these to make your own labels)
Ribbon or Fabric

I designed my stickers on the computer and printed them directly on the shipping labels. It takes a steady hand to cut them out, but creates a nice sharp look. You could also get extra-crafty with some markers (a great job for little ones if you're making this a family project).

Wrap some pretty ribbon around the body of the jar and fasten with your sticker label.

Next, divvy up your treat of choice (I'm using Holiday Pecans) evenly between your mason jars and be sure that the lid is sealed tight. Ta-da!

I kept everything pretty simple due to time and travel, but you can go all out with your jar decoration. They make great containers for any bite sized gift. Go. Bake. Decorate. Give.

Welcome to the Family

This weekend I gained a sister! She's the best and we are so glad to have her officially be part of our family. I couldn't have asked for a better woman for my brother and it was a joy to celebrate with them.

They reserved a gorgeous Bed & Breakfast in Sainte Genevieve, MO. The weather was perfect and autumn was in full swing. Beautiful. 

The town was also celebrating their Heritage Days on Saturday. They went big style with a tractor parade and live music. 

Next time you're there, don't miss Nana's Kitchen. It doesn't look like much but Nana knows what she's doing. Biscuits and gravy. Yum. 

Perfect weekend.

Road Trip Hangover

Man, a weekend away was just what the doctor ordered. I'll admit I was a little nervous - first trip away with the boyfriend. Swimming suits were involved. A girl can get a little ruffled.

mmm...chocolate chip

I took off work early on Friday to prepare and bake cookies.

Fun in a bag.

I packed a paper sack full of goodies and games for the car...

Great view.

and we hit the road for an undisclosed lake in Arkansas.

I'll tell you more about it later. For now, I need to go take a nap so that I can recover from my vacation.