OY! KRISTEN

This Thanksgiving holiday came and went in a reflective, quiet kind of way. No hoopla, no drama, no pressure to Black Friday shop or even put on real clothes. Yes, I wore workout gear to Thanksgiving dinner (the rest of my family was dressed so nicely, then there was me, the enormous swollen person who fits into very little at this stage in the game). There were all the mainstay dishes and a wonderful smattering of family smiles and nothing out of the ordinary at all. And you know what? Nothing out of the ordinary felt really comforting. It was really nice to have a stable, dependable kind of holiday weekend. Because externally, there is a lot stirring in my family life, and my head gets a little foggy when I think too hard about all of it. Things like, my parents are moving out of their beautiful home next weekend. The house I love. I admit I'm sad about it. And also, I am having a baby sometime in the coming month. What is he going to be like?? Am I ready for two babies?! And of course, Christmas season is upon us! May the merriment continue onward!

Can we take 12 seconds to talk about this Japanese Maple tree in my back yard? I am so in love with the fiery red goodness its shed all over the fading grass. It's losing its leaves every day and I am so glad we snapped a few more good photos of it before autumn forfeits and gives way to real winter.

Also, I won this outfit on Instagram, you guys. Enter all the giveaways! You never know what you can win! And thank you to Seraphine, who sent me this wayyyy comfy active kit. Please don't hate me for not using it to exercise, because it's just not in the cards.

My sis. Does it look like I ate the third sister? #IpromiseIdidnt #shesinflorida

Don't move don't move don't move don't move. Whew. I just needed to get that out. They're not even moving far away, you guys. Haha I just can't handle the change.

Everett got the croup over the weekend and I think I was fighting off a little bug, too. We stayed in bed and rested a lot, and I actually think we caught his early enough that it didn't manifest into a full-blown sickness situation, thank goodness. I've been using a new brand of essential oils over the past few weeks and I don't mean to be such a crazy oil lady, but I actually think diffusing so many good oils in the house could have helped both of us from getting too, too sick. Time will tell, but I can see this whole essential oils thing becoming an addiction... I've already ordered more and I am really into concocting my own recipes for the house every day. #crazyoillady

I was really kind of terrible at documenting this holiday. I didn't get any pics with Stevie's fam, even though we totally celebrated with them the day before Thanksgiving. And I didn't take any food photos, even though I actually cooked a bit more than I originally planned. And - I even decorated our dining table and it looked so snazzy but alas - no photos. I just needed a good unplug and some extended rest and this was the weekend for it. I am so grateful for this family of mine. It's really everything. And now I'm feeling more refreshed and ready for December and all it's glow.

I hope your weekend was sweet and full of family and love and quiet and yes - Gilmore Girls! Wasn't that revival something?! I have so many thoughts, but I have to re-watch everything to really process the story.

What was your favorite thing about this holiday weekend? Did you have any killer good new recipes that are must-try? Happy Monday to you, friends! xox

P.S. - I have a few Cyber Monday promo codes for you to some of my favorite stores:

At ASOS - Get 30% off every single thing! Use Code THANKFUL30. Valid 11/24 8am – 11/29 8am GMT.

At Stella & Dot - Get up to 60% off flash sale items!

Shop the Handmade gifts section of Amazon for her, for him, and for kiddos. I heart Amazon this time of year.

At Modcloth - Everything is 30% off with Code: CYBER16!

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...