Gearing Up for Gilmore Girls.

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I can't withhold my excitement any longer.

The day is coming, the one we have truly, all been waiting for. November 25 this year shall be known as Black Friday second, and Gilmore Girls Day first and foremost. There will be coffee (duh - "coffee coffee coffee!"). The will be cinnamon rolls. There will be a breakfast casserole of some kind, because I'm making it and I will need the sustenance to uphold the hyena-like hyperness in my heart. There will be my sister, there will be my mother. There will be Stevie, pretending to roll his eyes but in actuality, really engaging. Let's face it, he's a Gilmore Girl, too. When he got in a relationship with me, he committed to watching this series on the regular until he had seen it far too many times to number. Spoiler alert - he's on team Luke. Okay, that's not much of a spoiler alert. Every dude I know is team Luke.

What do you hope will happen in the reunion? Are you team Luke or team Christopher? Are you team Jess, team Dean or team Logan? Or team "Rory on her own in the big bad real world"?

My Hopes + Opinions + Predictions for the Revival:

- I don't care if you hate me for this - I'm team Logan. I'm team Logan, people! And you might think its because he's blonde and I married a blonde, but nay. I'm team Logan because those two had the healthiest kind of communication out of all her beaus and actually worked through their immature issues together (remember when she wrote that snarky article about his company launch party? And they actually had an adult heart-to-heart about how they hurt each other's feelings? Brave communication happening there, so good.)

-I predict that Rory ends up with Jess. Let's be honest, Jess is in a hit TV show this season and how did he possibly resurrect his career after 10 years without leveraging to producers the fact that he takes home the lead in the GG revival? I think it's obvious. People like her with Jess (why oh why??!), I just think he's a little whiny and too wrapped up in his own shortcomings to really bolster her in her dreams. Not that I've thought about this a lot or anything.

- I am so excited they worked it out to have Sookie back. I want to see her create all sorts of baked goodies in that kitchen of hers, preferably in copper cookware. And I want to see her and Jackson argue over the produce again. And maybe find another kind of narcotic randomly growing in their field.

- I want to see Lane and Zack engaging in family band shenanigans with their twins. But I also want Gil's hair there. So perhaps a full-on Hep Alien reunion is in order. Which is totally going to happen (I've seen the trailers).

- I want to see Paris eating the heads off of her medical school counterparts, while simultaneously contributing to The New York Times as a political consultant. Just because, you know, SHE CAN.

- KIRK. I want to see him with cats, I want to see him debating a breakfast of bagels or muffins or pancakes, I want to see him working nineteen-thousand jobs all over town. I want to see him at the next Taylor Dosey. I want to see him in a cat costume with a bow tie.

- I want to see Luke and Lorelai living in the Twickam house. Is anyone else really, really bummed that she shoo'd that opportunity away? Imagine the holiday decor on that dreamy front porch. Sigh.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN, PEOPLE??? I am so excited. So so so excited. On Black Friday at 9am EST, I will be hunkered down in my living room, Christmas tree lights aglow, with a smattering of treats all around, and pressing those fateful buttons on the Apple TV remote to enter into Gilmore Girls domain. I shall not unearth until the reunion is finished. If you want to be a part of the fun, let's meet on on Instagram Stories (@oykristen) and share our Gilmore excitement!

P.S. - If you know anything about Gilmore Girls, you know why my blog has it's name. This is a true celebration for us all!

P.P.S. - How cute is the print in the photograph? You can snag one of your own from my friend Jenny Highsmith here, she is so crazy talented. My house is full of her work.

7 Funny/Odd Things About Thanksgiving This Year.

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Happy Thanksgiving week! This year is a funny one for Thanksgiving over at this household, for a myriad of reasons:

1.) I've been painting my dining room chairs for, literally, months, and that project has yet to be completed. So the hope is to have them done in two days. You know, so people can sit. But let's be real yall. I'm nine months pregnant.

2.) Let's talk about that - I'm nine months pregnant. NINE. And hosting Thanksgiving at my house. Let me just go ahead and put this out there - it's not gonna look like last year!

3.) My parents are moving out of their house in less than three weeks. Needless to say, their focus hasn't really been on the whole celebrating thing, either. My youngest sister and her hubby will join us, while my oldest sis and her family will be doing their own thing oceanside this year. So our crowd will be intimate and super relaxed. So relaxed, which brings me to my next thought...

4.) I offered to do tacos for Thanksgiving instead of the whole big-deal-meal, but my mom almost had a conniption fit over that suggestion. So apparently there is still a bird-and-stuffing situation still taking place this year.

5.) I am making one dish for the big meal, and only one (because of the whole being-nine-months-pregnant-situation); my classic Sweet Potato Souffle. Check out these old pictures with the recipe - they're soooo bad. I'll have to update the post this year, especially since I've cut a lot of the sugar and butter over the past few years. Thank goodness my food photography has improved, even if only slightly. Hahah this blog makes me laugh. I'm grateful for this record of memories.

6.) Gilmore Girls is almost overshadowing Thanksgiving in my heart. Is that bad? I mean, I just feel so thankful for the reunion that Netflix has brokered for us all. Bless them. BLESS THEM.

7.) Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping have been replaced by September Amazon-ing. Which I completed in September, because, again, I'm gigantically pregnant and swollen and unable to hobble around the aggressive crowds this year. So I hope everyone in my life likes candles, because there are a LOT of them wrapped in my closet right now :)

The good news about this holiday is that it is all about being thankful. Being in the moment. Reflecting and expressing gratitude. You don't have to have the Pinterest-perfect table settings or a Williams Sonoma-enviable meal to make this holiday special and memorable. Even though I love Williams Sonoma and I adore scouring Pinterest, it's not what it's really about. It's about the goooooooood people in your life, and taking the time to reflect on God's many many blessings. I love this holiday. I love that this year will be unique and faceted in it's own unusual way. And that is just so so wonderful.

You are probably going to have to share out loud with your uncles, cousins and children what you're thankful for this year. But let's take a brief break from the gratitude and honestly tell me - what makes this holiday funny/odd/strange/quirky for you this particular year? Because I think it's just OKAY to have one of those kind of years. I mean, I am having one of those. My guests my not actually have places to sit their behinds. Share your thought in the comments section, friends!

P.S. - Last year's Thanksgiving thoughts. Can we talk about how little my boy was back then?!

P.P.S. - Some in-depth thoughts about the Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life revival on the blog tomorrow :) And you thought I wasn't going to mention it again...

A Little Mouse for Halloween.

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This little guy makes me laugh so much. He wouldn't put on his costume all day long, even though his preschool had a party and parade. But after a little bribing ("Everett, there will be candy if you put on a costume...") he seemed to catch on that Halloween is FUN. I've actually never given him a piece of candy ever, but I know he's had some here and there with cousins and grandmothers and at school. So he understood the incentive! And boy, what a cute mouse he made.

We rode our golf cart a few neighborhoods over where the houses aren't decorated too scary and the sweet neighbors wait on the porch with candy. We like to go extra early, because I don't want to expose Everett to anything too scary. This little Halloween tradition has been in our family over the past few years, with all of Everett's local cousins. And friends, too!

I like dressing up, but this year that was the furthest thing from my mind. If anyone asked, I was a woman having contractions (true story you guys) and Stevie was my supportive husband, helping me get through them. Hence me stalking slowly behind them in the golf cart while they walked like normal people. Walking brings on those contractions, so I am trying to curb it. Braxton Hicks they call them, ha. More like Baby lightening punts straight into my special area. This is real life. But I had a really cute view from behind my man and my mouse, so it was manageable :)

Thank goodness for my super woman buddy. She swooped in from time to time in the midst of wrangling her own clan of super heroes, bringing me lots of good cheer.

I mean, how cute are these cousins??

Our clan of heroes, animals, villains and FRIENDS. So grateful for this crew. And so grateful to Aunt Lauren, who sponsored Everett's mouse costume :)

I hope your Halloween was a blast, too! And now that we're past this holiday, I can officially prepare for the very BEST holidays of the year without being in too much violation :) Much love to you, friends!

At the Pumpkin Patch!

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Pumpkin Patch15.jpg

He keeps asking to go back "to the farm".

I don't blame him, it was kind of a dreamy experience. October at its absolute finest.

First of all, it was cold. The temperature was 45 degrees when we arrived at Wargo's Pumpkin Patch last weekend, and we did all the things that you do in October at a Pumpkin Patch. We drank muscadine cider, took a brisk hayride, fed the rowdy goats, and let Everett pick out a zillion pumpkins because they were like $1 each. Oh, and that doesn't include the 15 minutes that I sat in reverent silence and relished the glory of my Styrofoam cup of hot boiled peanuts. Now if you aren't from the south, I forgive you for not knowing what on earth that is. But I wish for you to know. It has been years since I tasted the steamy, salty glorious treat that is the hot boiled peanut, and oh heavens. I already want more. Correction, need more.

To be honest, just a little over a month ago, I didn't think our little family would make it to the pumpkin patch this year. I was having trouble at the end of our New York stint, and with all the contractions and pressure I was feeling, just walking was a real challenge. And I remember thinking, "I won't even be able to accompany my son to do something special like the pumpkin patch!" I know that sounds a little pathetic and morbid, but I've really been making it my mission to do special things with Everett and Stevie while we are still a family of 3. And the thought of not being able to do something like this just seemed so sad and ridiculous, because I am a healthy person! I shouldn't be having so much trouble just being pregnant! Anyway thankfully, I am feeling much more rested and, you know, able to walk (ha!), so making it to the pumpkin patch actually felt like a real victory for me. And for us. And for fall.

Of course, the joke is sort of on all of us here in Georgia, because suddenly the temperatures have jumped back up into the 80's and we are all wearing sandals again. Why, Georgia - why?!!

Have you made it out to a pumpkin patch this fall? What's your favorite part of the whole experience? xox

Outfit Details:
Blanket Scarf (borrowed from my sis, similar here and here), Free People hat (past season, similar here), Gap Maternity Shirt, Gap Maternity Jeans, Anthropologie Sweater (past season, similar here), Frye Boots (on sale here!)

P.S. - Many, many thanks to Julianne who Instagram direct messaged me about this particular farm - such an awesome recommendation! You guys, please reach out on Instagram - I would love to connect with you!

A Birthday Date & A Bump That Doesn't Lie.

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It was on this day that I realized just how very pregnant I am - and just how long I still have to go. 11 weeks til the due date, friends.

I was supposed to be at Disney World on my birthday, joshin' around with Cinderella at the Be Our Guest restaurant and having a few laughs with my sister-in-laws. I'm actually really grateful that we decided to cancel our trip (the rest of the family soldiered on without us), because I was having some pretty painful Braxton Hicks on my actual birthday, and the choking Orlando heat combined with miles of walking would have probably been miserable. For me, and for everyone who would have had to listen to me. And for the kankles that would have most definitely taken on a life of their own and probably heaved-ho away from me as fast as they could klunk-klunk-klunk. So I actually felt really at peace about that decision. But still. Disney is the happiest place on Earth, right? I think I'm allowed a good 5 minutes of pouting about that one.

The best thing about my birthday this year was being with Stevie and Everett. Stevie is the most positive person I know, and he really made an effort to do all the things I wanted on my day. He planted my fall garden for me, and then we went to dinner at The Hil at Serenbe, which was very delicious and very smashing. Get the lamb risotto! It was also my last meal having sugar, so we reeeeeeally enjoyed the chocolate souffle for dessert. Being the good, kind man that he is, Stevie is going to cut back with me (so that I don't grow an extra large giant inside of me), so pray for our saccharine-loving souls. The panicky memories of doing the disciplined Whole30 program haven't eluded us. I am actually searching for some recipes that feel like treats but don't have any added sugar. A few of you have already emailed me with awesome recipes to try - thank you so much! I am open to your suggestions, friends!

Turning 29 feels really good. I have no problem rolling into the final year of my twenties, because I have felt like an old person for a long time. I got married young, and even though I didn't start having babies too, too young, I've definitely been adulting for a good solid decade. It's nice that my age finally matches my life. Although I am compiling a little pre-30 bucket list of things I want to do/see/eat/visit before my next birthday, and I think dancing on a table or two wouldn't be the worst thing to happen within the next year. :) It's good to have goals, right?

I am 29. Very pregnant, a little pouty, but absolutely, perfectly content.

Outfit Details:
ASOS Top (clearly not maternity, similar here), Free People Bralette, ASOS Maternity Skirt, Anthropologie Shoes (sold out similar here on sale!), Anthropologie Kimono (similar here), Pulicati Leather Tote (similar here), Urban Decay Lip Color in Disturbed