Sunday, November 25, 2012

Our Primal Thanksgiving Feast

Disclaimer: This is our Primal Thanksgiving feast that follows the 80/20 rule, since a few of our must-haves are not entirely Primal.

While I've always loved Christmastime the most, Thanksgiving is right up there, mostly because I love spending the day in the kitchen making delicious food for my family and friends. This year, Dad and the family came out to celebrate and eat with us. I think it was a success, since I didn't hear any complaining about any of the food. For the most part, I think I did a great job for our first Primal Thanksgiving! Next year, I'll be sure to add in even more delicious (and Primal) food!

Hmm... I wonder how you can tell we're cooking right now?

Our turkey is ready for the oven!
I went with my usual recipe, it hasn't been bad yet!

So there wasn't much time for photo-taking while we cooked.
I was a busy girl!
Here are some of our finished sides!
Brussels sprouts
Cranberry Waldorf Salad
Sweet Potatoes - My favorite!

My plate!
(Non-primal foods were only the little bit of stuffing I had and the marshmallows on top of the potatoes!)

And since we had dog-lovers for guests, 
look who joined us for dinner.

So we relaxed for a bit.
Then it was time for dessert.
I made Caramel Apple Cheesecake Dip and we had pumpkin pie!
(Warning - this was so not Primal!)

After digesting for a while, we started to play Monopoly,
on Nate's iPad.
 
So that was our amazing Thanksgiving feast. All of the recipes are on my Pinterest board - http://pinterest.com/hp620/my-favorite-primal-recipes-for-fall/. My long-time favorite has always been that sweet potato recipe, but the brussels sprouts with cranberry-pistachio pesto is my new favorite side dish! We had a really great Thanksgiving and enjoyed spending the rest of the weekend together doing some shopping and some relaxing. Here are a few more snapshots from the weekend:
This is what happens when the people eat too much food.
Emma just wanted Uncle Nathan to wake up and play!
After a few minutes of sitting and waiting, 
she started to give up...

We went to Niagara Falls on Saturday 
and enjoyed the beautiful view from the Canadian side!
It was great to be able to cook our first Thanksgiving meal for family and show them around our new home state. We love exploring NY and always enjoy showing it off to anyone who visits! We're glad Dad and the family were able to come out and spend the holiday with us! Next up, another Christmas in Chicago!

Saturday, November 24, 2012

It Feels Like Fall

I've been so busy with my practicum this semester that aside from all of the fun craft projects I've done, it hasn't felt like the holidays are coming. I haven't even been home to enjoy my fall decor! I'm finally in NY long enough to take photos of my finished products. Now it's starting to feel like the holiday season!
My dictionary pumpkins from last year!

The newest pieces of my collection.
I love them!
My Book Page Pumpkins.
Spray-painted Pinecones.
My Pumpkin Canvas.
And, finally,
my Chalkboard Pumpkins -
decorate as Jack-O-Lanterns for Halloween,
then erase and write a Thanksgiving message on them!

They all turned out fabulously!! I would show you my burlap wreath, but my pins need to be reinforced somehow... Hopefully it will be ready for Christmas. Today we had some snow. Now that I feel like I've been able to enjoy fall, it's turning into winter! I guess it's time to move on. Next up, Christmas decorations!

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Yet Another Weekend Trip

That's right, since I'm stuck in Massachusetts, we planned another super-quick weekend trip. This past weekend we met up with Ron and Mom again in Hudson for a weekend of hiking and eating. Cuyahoga National Park is so huge that we still haven't even put a dent in really exploring it.

On Saturday, we hiked to see Bridal Veil Falls. We were blessed with more beautiful weather, and even though the leaves were gone, it was still a great hike!
We brought the tripod on this trip.
Family photo time!
Thanks, Irene.
Bridal Veil Falls
This was the dedication at the falls. 
We thought the quote was fun.

After hiking for a while, 
we came to a road and a river.

 Amit demanded that I take picture of him spear-fishing.
By the way, there were no fish.

By now it was time for a bathroom break.
Amit decided to cause a little trouble.

We had yet another, super fun weekend in Ohio. We also managed to visit a microbrewery in Akron called Thirsty Dog Brewing Company and everyone gave in to my anti-beer attitude and we enjoyed some great wine and a beautiful view at Sarah's Vineyard. The winery was close to the park, so hopefully it will become a habit when we meet up for our hikes. All in all, it was another fun weekend. We found some great bike paths that would be really fun to cross-country ski on, so we'll see when we get back to Hudson for our next  reunion. I can't wait to see those waterfalls in the spring!