Happiest 4th

My favorite holiday (tied with Christmas).

And oh we had fun!



Best part of our day was celebrating our favorite patriot as my brother surprised us by flying in from Texas and strolled into my kitchen just before lunch was ready. I hugged his neck for the longest time.



All the awesome desserts, apple pie, flag cake and chocolate torte. Yum!




So proud to celebrate our great country and our freedom. My brother deploys in a few days to protect us all, I'm so very grateful we got to spend this holiday together as a family.






James had such fun riding in his wagon, being surrounded by all his grandparents who he proudly calls by name (all day long), swimming and playing with sweet friends. He stayed with grandparents while Murphey, Josh and I watch fireworks in the rain from across the bay. I may have serenaded them with a few of my favorite patriotic songs!



James calling his partner in crime!

Wishing you the Merriest!

A Wonderful Thanksgiving

It was such a joyous occasion to celebrate Thanksgiving with our friends and family.  I'm finally getting to share my fall wreath which welcomed our guests.

 I also printed up a Keep Calm and Gobble On sign to encourage our guests to eat up!

Josh and I had a solid plan Turkey Game plan and were headed up to bed after making all the pies, stuffing, ironing on linens, and prep chopping on Wednesday night when our dishwasher starting dinging 15 minutes after we started running it.  A few hours of using our wet vac and dissembling and reassembling our not quite year and a half year old dishwasher, we decided to hand wash all the dished that had been loaded in it and finally hit the hay just before 2 am and call a repairman next week.

Josh got up at 7 to stuff and put the bird in the roaster.  His parents had gone to bed early and were already having breakfast.  Since Molly didn't like being left behind while everyone else was having a party downstairs, she and I headed down.  Since I have been suffering from pregnancy insomnia for the past few weeks, I didn't really think having just five hours of sleep would phase me, plus I wanted to get my hands on all the Black Friday ads in the paper.

We watched the parade and I set the table while Josh did all the cooking.  Around noon I left to pick up some of our friends, and we had a great time visiting with all our guests while everything finished up!

Last year the turkey took two less hours to reach 180 than we planned and this year it took two more hours to reach 180 than we planned.  It worked out well because everyone enjoyed appetizers, sweet tea and wine while we waited. 

We slimmed down our appetizer offerings to deviled eggs and cranberry salsa served over cream cheese - as to not fill up before the big meal.

Dinner included:
Roast Turkey
Cornbread Dressing & Stuffing
Cranberry Wild Rice
Mashed Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole
Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Wild Mushrooms and Cream Sauce
Pineapple Casserole
Tomato Aspic
Sweet Potato Casserole
Mashed Rutabaga
Honey Glazed Carrots
Turkey Gravy
Cranberry Sauce
Yeast Rolls

For Dessert:
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Apple Pie
Pecan Pie
Served with Whipped Cream and French Vanilla Ice Cream
Coffee and Tea

It's really a shame that I didn't snap a picture of the desserts because they were truly the BEST I've ever had.  Actually everything was amazing.  Spending time with friends and family, the great food-it's what Thanksgiving is all about.

Unfortunately, I ate too much and ended up getting really sick.  So sick in fact we had to abort all Black Friday shopping.  I ended up in the hospital getting an IV and anti-nausea medicine.  Needless to say I did not finishing my Christmas shopping or do all our decorating as planned.

I was also going to host the Game Viewing Party for the DC Gator Club today, which isn't happening either since I can't even walk down the stairs.  I am taking it easy, eating saltines, and getting rest so I can get back on my feet.  Lesson learned, there is no such thing as pushing through when 8 months pregnant.  It's so hard for me to sit back and take it easy, when there are so many things I want to do.

Oh Christmas Card

Well Holiday card in our case.  I have been on a hunt for a super cute card that reflects our multiple holiday household-and you know that doesn't cost a fortune to mail to all our family and friends-ha!

We took professional pictures in October, I have been updating my address spreadsheet, spent hours on every card website I could find, but I just can't pull the trigger.  I wanted to drop our 2011 cards in the mail the day after Thanksgiving, but unless I get a visit from some elves a little early that isn't going to happen.  Heck, I still need to address our Holiday Party invites-this will be done by Friday!

Our needs for our card are to be Holiday Neutral (we celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah) while joyous, cheerful and full of the spirit Josh and I have for the season. Problem solved with Tiny Prints!  I've always loved this site, and in fact my mother is currently addressing baby shower invites for the DC soiree she and my friends are hosting for me and Baby T in January from Tiny Prints.

An added bonus, they’re offering up 50 free holiday cards of your choice to ANY blogger that writes about Tiny Prints cards on their blog this week! Interested? Just fill out this form, and a rep from Tiny Prints will contact you with further instructions.

I love that they offer both a Christmas Card and Holiday Card section - makes my browsing so much more efficient.   Now which card to choose?!?

Which is your favorite?  Where did you order your cards from?

New Fall Scarf!

A few weeks ago, I signed up to participate in a Scarf Swap, hosted by the lovely Angela at Sweet Tea Diaries.  I've been reading her blog for years, and just love the stories of this southern belle living on the west coast.  I also love that we are sorority sisters (from different schools), too!

I was paired up with Mrs. Jansson from The Jansson Family.  She sent me the most perfect scarf, and extra goodies as well!!  I just love it, thank you so much!!  I'll be donning an ivory coat this winter, something new for me.  Most of my scarves are bright and solid, so I am thrilled with this fun pattern and earth tones.

I love the Burt's Bees-how did she know I was addicted?!? 

I have the fire roaring and am ordering my Holiday Party Invites and Christmas Cards, today.  My friend Christy is over and treated me to my first "red cup" of the season, YAY for half calf Peppermint Mocha's!  I returned the favor by treating her to lunch.  She had Josh's homemade chili and I had my homemade chicken noodle with salads-yuum.  Nothing is more fun than spending the afternoon with friends by the fire!

Fall Goals

Earlier this week my blog buddies Ashley in Mississippi and Ruth-This GRITS Tale (also in Mississippi) shared their fall goals.  I loved reading theirs, I thought this would be a good time to share mine as well.  The leaves are starting to turn and the air is crisp today, so I'm officially in the mood for Fall!

Outside my Dr.'s office yesterday

View from our back porch this morning.

Some of my goals I've already accomplished!

 1. Get a new fall Candle.  This I can already checked off my list,  for the past few weeks I've been burning Yankee Candles Farmer's Market- I LOVE IT!  I even went all candle burning fancy and bought a wick trimmer.

2. Bake something pumpkin-y I've seen some great recipes for baked pumpkin goods.  My grocery stores have been sold out of canned pumpkin for over a month now.  Yesterday I was finally able to get some, and plan to use the recipe Angela shared for Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

3. Go on a hike to see all the fall leaves.

4.  Head down to Jacksonville for FL GA, gotta cheer on the Gators at least one more time this year.  And according to my husband FL GA kicks off the Holiday Season (and the best tailgating takes place on Wednesday and Thursday) which means we'll be in the RV Lot by Wednesday night-ha!

5. Stay toasty around a bonfire or fire pit.

6.  Go on our babymoon.  Our last get away, to enjoy each others company and be a carry-on only family.  If only I could keep my husband in the country long enough to actually go somewhere with me-ha! 

7.  Hosting a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner for friends and family.  Ohh the menu, shopping and tablescaping.  I can't wait!

8. Speaking of decor, take pictures of my super cute fall decor and share on this blog of mine.  I decorated in time to share with all the fall home tours that started back in September, but somehow never got my camera out to capture my mantle, the wreath I made, our pretty table, and other goodies around here.

9. Speaking of sharing, I have a life changer to share with y'all.  Are you ready??  Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows.  That's right people!  My grocery store didn't have any canned pumpkin, bu they did have these and they are the perfect fall treat.  You just need 2-3 for the perfect taste of fall.

10.  Plant my pansy's.  The ones I planted last year made it through the fall, winter, spring and into summer.  I can wait to have them bursting through snow again this winter.

11.  Black Friday Shopping, I gee I love the deals!

12.  Sit on my backporch and enjoy the leaves, crisp air, my pansy's and a hot cup of tea.

Have y'all seen the cute fall to-do lists on Pinterest?  I think I pinned a few...

Source: tarahlowry.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Source: christinajax.tumblr.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Source: matsonanderica.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

A Touch of Ireland

Wishing you a rainbow

For sunlight after showers—

Miles and miles of Irish smiles

For golden happy hours—

Shamrocks at your doorway

For luck and laughter too,

And a host of friends that never ends

Each day your whole life through!

A sweet Irish Blessing, but what I'm really wishing for you is a Shamrock Shake, lots of green beer, that your first rounds picks from your bracket win today, and a few daffodils straight from the fields of Ireland!

I had my friend Jamie over for dinner on Sunday night.  I had picked up three dozen daffodils earlier in the day and was telling her how I would love to be able to enjoy fresh flowers while I was at work AND at home-but it seemed kind of silly to bring them back and forth, and a little too much to buy fresh bouquets for both my home and office each week. 

On Tuesday one of my consultants surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of bright yellow daffodils, I told her exactly what I shared with my friend on Sunday night and that I had a bouquet sitting on my dining room table at home.  It must have been the luck of the Irish!

Glad to share "A Touch of Ireland" with you today, and the first blooms of springtime at my house this morning!

Christmas Wrap Up

In addition to wonderful time spent with my family and lots of treats under the tree. 

Santa also gifted me with Acute Bronchitis and the flu.  "It's the gift that keeps giving all year long," name that Christmas movie...

This time that I wanted to spend packed full of family and friends, has been spent full of coughing, sleeping and doctors visits.  I've spent more time on my parent's and in-laws sofa's than lunching with my besties and seeing all the new baby's my friends have had since our last trip home.  I am more than disappointed, but the last thing I want to do is get anyone else sick (it's too late for Josh, he's already got the fever). 

We did have a wonderful until after the presents were unwrapped-perfect timing huh?
Our Christmas party before we left DC was a blast!  Full of

 Food

Friends

and fun

We also had a blast with my family at the Christmas Eve service at the church I grew up going to, my dad reading the Christmas Story to us from the family Bible and of course the Morgan 5 Meat Christmas Breakfast.

Hope y'all had a wonderful Christmas filled with lots of love!

Merry Christmas!

Hope this time is merry and bright, and that all your Christmas' are white...

Does that have sugar in it?

Lots and lots of baking has gone on in the Thompson home this December.  I thought it would be fun to bake at lease 1,000 cookies.  As you know, I like to challenge myself.  If we didn't do this we came fairly close.  All the cookie baking success is due largely in part to our friend Jamie, or as I like to refer to her, my Christmas Elf.  It was like sprinkles and sugar cookies followed where ever she walked. 

She also inspired me to change my Christmas List.  Forget the X3, Louboutins, and letter pressed stationary.  I want an Elf for Christmas.  Could you imagine a little helper full of joy and cheer around the year.  Folding laundry, cooking dinner, mopping the floors-oh Santa won't you bring me a Elf for Christmas?  I made you lots of cookies!!

On the Christmas Cookie list:
Buckeyes
Crack Cookies
Inside Out Turtles
Russian Wedding Cookies
Oreo Balls
Salted Carmel Brownie Bites
Cowboy Cookies
Coconut Balls
Mint Brownies
Christmas Wreaths
Puppy Chow
Eggnog Cookies
Chocolate Espresso Snow caps
Gingerbread
Peanut Butter Thumbprints
Seven Layer Bars
Shortbread
More Sugar Cookies than you can shake a stick at

We started our cookie baking with peppermintini's -whoa those suckers were good.

Salted Carmel Brownie Bites

That's chocolate covered goodness there folks.

How about a buckeye or 400?

Inside out turtle?  We couldn't bake them fast enough.

Cookie Madness Ingredients, after round 1 of cookie baking.

Magical Christmas Cookies, the reason for the season?  No, no that's baby Jesus!!

Lessons learned:
Don't drink peppermintini's if you plan to make more than a few dozen cookies.  This will take you days.
Drink peppermintini's if you want to accidentally make 400 buckeyes, and have a FAB time with your girlfriends.
Royal icing is beautiful.
Royal icing doesn't taste that great
Royal icing is a huge pain in the you-know-what.
Royal icing ended up in my garbage can.