thanksgiving.

thanksgiving is rapidly becoming one of my favorite holidays. it was always kind of a dud holiday growing up. we did a lot, but it was at great uncle's houses and i didn't do any cooking. there was a trip to the movie theater at night but that wasn't insanely out of the ordinary. but now, as a grown-up, it's turning into a pretty BA holiday. i love hosting thanksgiving. not a huge one, but just enough to fill my table and couches up with people. i like being in charge of the menu and researching all the best recipes and tips to get it done. eventually i'd love to get an awesome table setting if we continue to host pretty regularly. and the best part of all, i love that we get to decorate for christmas in the same weekend. 2 of my favorite seasons jam-packed into a long weekend! what's not to love.

this year mom and kara flew up during a freak day of snow. it was such a fun welcome!





emmy was totally mesmerized, saying "is snow! is snow!" and g wanted to build a snowman, of course. we baked pumpkin pie and cookies and deviled eggs and prepped the food for thanksgiving. i love falling into that groove.

thanksgiving was fantastic. we cooked all day in my teeny kitchen, there was snow on the ground and the girls were fascinated with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade for the first time ever. mom and kara and i ended up wearing the same color on accident, as is custom for the women in our family. somebody always ends up wearing identical colors.

  

the food was surprisingly all done at the same time, on time and delicious! i was kind of amazed. i've never cooked that much food at all, let alone in a small kitchen.





every year something happens with the turkey. without fail. last year i pulled the innards out but apparently left a whole head inside. that was the scariest thing i've ever seen before. thing still had its gobbler and everything. this year, i failed to notice that the packaging said turkey breast. so there was no inner cavity to stuff, no thigh for a thermometer, no legs to tie and no wings to tuck under. it was literally just turkey boobs. it wasn't necessarily bad since we don't eat dark meat anyways, but oh my god it was a shock to rip that puppy open on the day. and when it was time to boil the innards for the gravy, i opened the package to find liquid. LIQUID. there were no innards, just a pureed juice in a bag! it was so crazy! the gravy was still good but dang i was definitely feeling stressed after all the surprises.

we followed the pioneer woman's directions for cooking the turkey, but we did the sage/rosemary butter rub variation instead of citrus. and this recipe for southern green beans that were divine! we also had mom's famous bread stuffing, kara's famous deviled eggs, kyle's family's corn casserole, turkey gravy and rolls. i was trying to make ree's no-knead rolls but everything wasn't meshing right so i chucked it (partially of sheer exhaustion) and did pillsbury homestyle biscuits. ha! we totally forgot to make mashed potatoes until about 30 minutes out so we also nixed those and i'll make them later. it's funny, none of it went as planned but it was still very enjoyable and i didn't get overwhelmed or cry or anything. this is a big deal for me!

later we braved the cold for a few family photos. it's always nice to update our photos, especially when it's so hard to get one with all of us these days!







all in all it was a really really great weekend. it was kind of magical. i'll blog the ice skating pictures later. for now it's laundry laundry laundry. ;)

halloween recap.

we win for fun halloween weekend this year, i think. almost all of our favorite people came in for the weekend. it was halloween AND emmy's birthday weekend. emmy's mini party will be in the next post.

mom arrived first and in time for halloween! genevieve decided to be doc mcstuffins (can we get a WHAT WHAT for not having to ruin her pretty elsa dress on the trek up all the neighbors' stairs?). so we rolled with it and made emmy be lambie. it worked out perfect because emmy just loves sheep right now and "baa-ing." thumbs up! mom wanted in on the party, too, so she was nurse hallie. i LOVE how her costume came out. we made little felt ears for her nurse's cap and she had all the accessories. they were a super fun trio together.



it was such a great night. emmy was a little confused and mesmerized by all the people and the candy. she was silent the whole night. but she did cart her pumpkin bucket to each house and grabbed her candy like she saw big sissy do. she only made it about 45 minutes before she seemed tired and over it. over walking and holding her bucket and going up to houses. so kyle took her home at 7 and mom, genevieve and i kept walking all over the neighborhood.

genevieve was so adorable and so brave. it was the perfect evening with her. she was so happy and funny and told every single person thank you. she was SO proud of herself. it was the most fun to watch. and at 8 we got to the end of a street and she says, "i think i'm ready to go home now." no tears or fighting, no whining when she got tired, she just decided she'd had enough and happily went home. we had some hot chocolate because we were so cold and a little bit of candy and then she went to bed.

of course, she wasn't in bed for 20 minutes before kyle's parents arrived and then it was a new level of excitement. pop pop went up to see her real quick and you could hear her chatting a mile a minute telling him all about her trick or treating adventures.

love those girls. love them all the time, but when you see them in comparison to a million other kids pushing their way to the front and stealing candy from abandoned buckets, i love them so much more. my kids rock. they're gentle and sweet and funny. and so much FUN.

fall sweeties.

we finally made it out to get some photos of the girls before the weather turns too cold and the leaves are all off the trees. the day actually ended up being super beautiful. cool enough for long sleeves but warm enough to run around outside at the end of the day. and we certainly got warm! kyle and i were both a mess after the pictures. i was rolling around on the ground and he was jumping like a maniac to get the girls to laugh and smile. there was definitely ice cream at the end of the night haha.

i hope a few of these work for christmas cards. that'll be what i'm up late doing all week -- trying out photos on every card layout i can find. a time suck i enjoy way too much. after it was over and the sun was gone, i realized we may have too many pumpkin pictures and absolutely no falling leaves pictures. i was very irritated with myself over not getting those.

but the girls are way too cute for their own good no matter what pictures there are. beautiful babies.

halloween flashback.

i always get mushy on holidays because i like to look back at what the babes looked like on past holidays. it's a really good way to get a nice flow of tears going at 3pm. real nice.

2010: here lies sad sad genevieve on her first halloween. she was colicky and we were still bumping along on our breastfeeding disaster so she was not a happy camper. plus it was 80 degrees out and that outfit was fleece. but it's just so sad funny i can't help but laugh.

2011: sweet genevieve at one. she was a kitty and didn't do any trick or treating, but she did go to a costume playdate with her fellow baby buddies. it was a cute fest overload. i made her little ears and a tail out of felt. easiest costume ever. i don't think i'll ever be that lucky again haha.

2012: another dress up playdate this year. but they did walk down the street to clara's grandparents' house to trick or treat once haha. they were just so excited to be dressed up with their little candy totes! emmy went as a fetus seeing as how she was 2 days from being born. 

2013: emmy's first halloween and genevieve's first year trick or treating. this year was the most fun to date. emmy was good tempered and hung out in the wagon while G trick or treated with friends. genevieve ran up to all the houses to ring doorbells and  by the end wanted to do it by herself. gah so cute.

and now we're gearing up for this year! genevieve and emmy are coordinating outfits -- kill me now it's going to be so cute. and ever since we moved in, all the neighbors talk about is how great halloween is on our street. i'm just about a believer since a lot of houses are already decked out, lit up with orange and purple lights. i can't wait. genevieve has been asking when it's time to go trick or treating again since november 1st of last year. ha!

pumpkin patch.

we took the girls to the pumpkin patch this weekend! we had a surprisingly difficult time finding a place to go. either there was no patch, just a market at a farm, or it would have cost upwards of $30 just to get into the patch before paying for pumpkins or hayrides. we thought we'd found a great one but then realized it was an hour away and we weren't that pumpkin crazy. but we landed on one close to home and just ate the $25 entrance fee, but we're glad we did!

it was a beautiful little spot on the outside of town. the trees were all changing and the weather was gorgeous. we drove through rolling landscapes and horse farms on the way in. it was very picturesque.

the girls were very excited. emmy has been working on saying "pumpkin" and has landed on "punker." it's very cute. there was a sandbox full of dried corn that genevieve kept calling the corn sand, a teepee made of cornstalks, hayrides and little and big mazes. the kids loved it. if it didn't cost money to get in we'd go during the week just for fun.

we picked out a couple small pumpkins for the stoop and a couple baby pumpkins because they were so cute. i'm thinking we should have gotten larger pumpkins because emmy keeps rolling them around and knocking them down the steps. at this rate we'll have splattered pumpkins before halloween!



we finished out the day with a bbq lunch and raking leaves after nap. it was a very nice and fall-y saturday. my favorite kind of saturday!! today it's cold and i'm wishing we had a fireplace. one day, future house. one day.

they're pretty.

we had a nice, boring week around these parts. no huge meltdowns or issues. just school, nap, play, repeat. in preparation for fall pictures this weekend, i brought my camera outside while the girls played during our "wait for daddy to get home" time. at this point in the day we've watched quite enough tv and they're usually a little stir crazy. we're putting our front yard to good use, at least. now we need a rake because you can't even see the grass anymore.

i love how sweet they are with each other.

nature walk.

the leaves are getting some good color this week so the girls and i headed down our street for a little fall scavenger hunt. i found a hunt off pinterest that i liked and seemed to suit what we we could find. genevieve in costume, of course, since we're never really without costume anymore haha.



genevieve was really into it, as expected. she put the small items like leaves and acorns into her bucket and pointed happily to the big ones we couldn't take with us. it is so nice to be outside when the weather is nice and the leaves are floating down. it really is one of the best times of the year. emmy wasn't as into it, but she did pick some leaves to put in the bucket and rolled around on the sidewalk. ha. that kid.

game changer.

during the start of our seasonal baking over the past few weeks, i kept seeing a device i hadn't seen before. in recipes online for soups and sauces, i would keep seeing this...thing.

it's not so weird, right? it looks like a milkshake maker or something. so i started looking because my baked potato soup, applesauce and apple butter have been chunky. and slopping hot portions of it into my blender and making a huge mess is not my cup of tea! so i know what i'm asking for for christmas now! a sky blue kitchenaid hand blender to match my stand mixer! i'm excited now that i know what it is! besides being easier and less messy for me, it means that genevieve could help me in the kitchen a little more. she's always asking if she can help me make something. i finally gave her a soft knife and let her cut fruit for hers and emmy's breakfast last weekend. she was so proud. maybe she'll be a more accomplished cook than i am, seeing as how i didn't discover what a freaking hand blender was till i was almost 30! ha!

so anyways, i'm adding this to my amazon wishlist ASAP. 

weekend recovery

be honest. we all need a little pick me up on a monday morning. whether you're digging your face out of your cereal bowl or trying to ignore tiny human boogers that were just wiped on your shirt. here are the happies i've found recently that gave me a merry little boost.

*best enjoyed with COFFEE.

1. lindsay letters' new fall collection.

i have SO MANY FAVORITES. i recently started following her on instagram and i just can't get enough of her pretty handwriting and dreaming of all the rooms of my house i could hang her work in.

2. a bowl of vanilla bean and a few crushed halloween oreos!

i started taking medicine a few weeks ago that has ruined my glass of red wine after the hooligans go to bed routine and last week this combination hit the spot while i was sucked into the fall season premiers. i know the seasonal oreos are silly, but they're also very happy! (sweet oreo photo from here)

3. lauren conrad's 5 ways to cozy up your home for fall.

i think i've managed to take care of most of these things now that we're almost a full week into AUTUMN (yippee!!). i've already burned through one full spiced pumpkin yankee candle, too! better stock up...


that's all i've got this week as my house is a disaster and we have a rogue mouse living between ours and the neighbors house that needs to meet his doom. there are grown up jobs to be done. peace out! ;)

it's the merriest time of my year!

it is no secret that i LOVE fall. LOVE LOVE LOVE fall. i love saying peace-out to summer, pulling out some yummy boots, picking up another round of pumpkin spice candles and enjoying the way the world fades to gold.

gorgeous print from Lindsay Letters' new fall line!

we're planning to fill the season with fun activities! last year was quite fun, but i hope this year is even better. the older the girls get, the more we can do together!

we went apple picking a few weeks ago and thoroughly enjoyed the spoils. emmy and genevieve helped make their own things. applesauce, apple pie, and apple butter, plus a enough for our little apple eaters to eat whole apples for snacks. heck, one of emmy's favorite words right now is apple! i knew fall would treat her right.

enjoying their cider donuts at the orchard

since this is our first fall up here, i've been searching for just the right activities and places for pumpkin picking. just like in charlotte, every place does something different so i'm about ready to make a pros and cons list for all the pumpkin patches! that and our bucket list for all the things we want to do this season!

next up on the list, a fall nature scavenger hunt and apple stamping with the girls. i'm trying to hold our pumpkin mania until october!

seriously, i have a crush on Lindsay Letters

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