Thanksgiving Photo Recap

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving in Indiana this year. But as always, the holiday flew by. It seems like just yesterday we were boarding our flight in DC yet before we knew it we were boarding another flight in Indianapolis. How is it possible for 5 days of vacation to fly by so much faster than 5 days of work? Still, VABeau and I were very thankful to have 5 full days off together and to get to spend them with so many family and friends.

We arrived in Indiana Wednesday night and were welcomed by VABeau's parents and siblings, chili and cornbread, and the fire pit.

VABeau with his brother and sister-in-law by the fire pit

Thursday morning brought a short run for me followed by bloody mary bar preparations.

My mother and father-in-law spent a lot of time in the kitchen prepping to feed 30+ Thanksgiving guests. My father-in-law even made "kitchen passes" to cut down on kitchen congestion.

Wearing kitchen passes with VABeau's mother Claudia, aunt Janet, and sister Katie

One of 5 different tables for the meal

Our small Thanksgiving table: CAWife, VABelle, CAHusband, and VABeau

Guess who was the first one to fall into a Thanksgiving coma?

My mother-in-law always likes to have a project to keep everyone busy while the dishes are cleaned. So the teacher in the family, CAWife, lead everyone in the creation of pine cone turkeys.

Intense turkey making

Almost everyone joined in on the craft fun

The finished products!

I made a UVA turkey in hopes that it would bring our Hoos luck on Saturday against VATech. Unfortunately, no amount of luck could have helped them in that awful awful game :(

My wahoo turkey

Friday brought Ball State Football for the boys and spinning class for the girls followed by fondue for dinner. Fondue nights are quickly becoming a tradition with this family. It was the perfect post-Thanksgiving meal and made for a fun night together.

We started with a cheese one served with veggies, lil smokies, and french bread. Then came the oil served with filet and chicken followed by my favorite-the chocolate served with fruit, marshmallows, and angel food cake.

Everyone enjoying the FUNdue

Saturday brought a beautiful walk on a nearby trail,

a horrible football game, Pizza King,

and Saturday night Blackjack games.

Sunday we all made the trip to Indianapolis for the Colts/Panthers game. Our first stop was Kilroy's for a beer.

VABeau and his sister playing shuffleboard

CAWife, Claudia, and I before the game

We then made the rainy trek to the stadium

which was beyond impressive

It was so fun to finally see it in person and I just know it will be the perfect spot for the Super Bowl!Family picture at the game

Going with the theme of the season, we lost, but it was still a good game and so much fun

The perfect way to spend a Sunday in my opinion!

We even ran into the ultimate Colts fan during halftime!

We left the game and immediately headed to the airport where we said our goodbyes and made our way back to DC. I'm so grateful that we were able to squeeze in a lot of fun and family time in 4 short days and can't thank my in-laws enough for hosting/entertaining us the whole time!

Menu Monday

Last week was a busy but incredibly fun and delicious food week for us. Best of all, it included three meals with friends!

Monday*Lamb Ragu
*Salad
Thank goodness for frozen leftovers! VABeau and I both worked super late Monday night and were craving warm comfort food fast. Fortunately, I froze the leftover Lamb Ragu sauce when we made it in October. It was still pretty darn delicious a month later!

Tuesday*Incredible Salmon
*Steamed Broccoli
*Rice
I knew I had to try this Salmon recipe after reading it on Iowa Girl Eats. We've always cooked our salmon in a pan with a little olive oil but after hearing how good this method is, I was willing to give it a try. It's incredibly easy and the salmon could not be more moist. It's official, I will be baking my salmon from here on out!

Wednesday*Spicy Sausage and Mushroom Pizza
*Salad
This pizza was calling my name the moment I saw it in our latest Cooking Light. It was covered in all of my favorite toppings and still considered "light" thanks to the use of turkey sausage. This pizza will definitely become a regular in our house!

Thursday
*Pizza
*Salad

Friday*Thanksgiving Potluck
A couple in our church group hosted a Thanksgiving Potluck at there home for all 6 couples in our small group. Each couple contributed a side to the meal and everything was incredible. We contributed my favorite sweet potato casserole (see recipe below) and people kept commenting on how they loved the presentation of it.
The potluck was the perfect way to unwind with friends after a long week.

Saturday*Cabernet Short Ribs with Parmesan Polenta
*Salad
*Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
We had our friends, Neil and Elise, over for dinner Saturday night. Since I worked all day, VABeau was in charge of the main course which ended up being pretty delicious. I'm pretty new to polenta, but I am officially a fan after this meal! I contributed pumpkin whoopie pies which I was able to make a couple days ahead. I always figured whoopie pies would be a big undertaking but they really weren't much more difficult than making cookies from scratch. The evening ended up being the perfect Saturday night with friends.

Sunday*Mad Fox Brewing Company

Our friend Connor made a stop in Falls Church Sunday night and we took him to one of our favorite local restaurants. Apparently Mad Fox has trivia on Sunday nights and we couldn't resist playing along. Thanks to Connor, we ended up in 3rd place at the end of trivia and won a gift card to the restaurant. Good beer, food, and trivia made for the perfect way to catch up with an old friend.

Sweet Potato Casserole

• 4 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups cornflakes cereal, crushed
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake sweet potatoes for 1 hour or until tender. Let them stand until cool to touch. Then peel and mash the potatoes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Beat mashed sweet potatoes, granulated sugar, and next 5 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Spoon potato mixture into a greased 11- x 7-inch baking dish.

Combine crushed cornflakes and next 3 ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle over casserole in diagonal rows 2 inches apart.

Bake casserole for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes. Sprinkle marshmallows in alternate rows between cornflake mixture. Bake 10 more minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
(I pre-made the casserole on Thursday and waited to add the marshmallows Friday when we baked it)

Happiness Is...

Fall in our BackyardThe best thing about spending your first year in a new home is seeing how it and it's yard transform with each new season. This past Spring and Summer I was amazed at all of the flowers that popped up in our yard that I never knew existed. Fall, on the other hand, may be my favorite time in our new home. The leaves of every color filling the old huge trees in our backyard are just gorgeous. Lately I have caught myself staring into our backyard and feeling so blessed to have this view full of Fall colors (you appreciate so much more after years in a one bedroom high rise apartment). The trees seemed to be at their peak last weekend so I had my parents snap a picture of us before church so we could document our first Fall in our home.

Popcorn IndianaVABeau grabbed this bag of deliciousness at Safeway Sunday night.
Popcorn Indiana's Dark Fudge Chocolate Chip Kettle Corn was both a blessing and a curse in our house this week. I say "was" because it was so delicious, that the bag had been cleaned out by Wednesday night. This stuff is ridiculously delicious and I recommend tracking some down and giving it a try.

Impressive Gadgets

As I was leaving a pretty new Harris Teeter in our area, I noticed a little boy jumping up and down with excitement as he got on the escalator down to the garage with his mom. I was baffled as to why this child was so excited about an escalator when I saw their cart riding it's own escalator right next to them. I usually attempt to carrying all of my bags so that I can park in the garage and take the escalator. But when I saw the "cart-o-matic" I knew I had to try it! I'm sure other people thought I was crazy as I acted equally excited as the little boy snapping pictures of my cart (with only two bags in it) as it rode it's own escalator. I'm assuming more of these will/have popped up in metropolitan areas where grocery stores require underground garages. Have any of you experienced that cart-o-matic? Maybe I'm a little behind, but I'm just amazed at the tools available to us nowadays that make everyday life easier. 5 years ago I never would have imagined I would be riding an escalator next to my shopping cart, snapping high quality pictures with my Iphone.

Home Goods
My mom and I did some serious damage at Home Goods this past weekend. Since moving into our home, we have been on the search for such specific furniture pieces that I haven't made a trip to this discount paradise in awhile. Two trips on Saturday reawakened my love of HomeGoods. I found hurricane vases, this perfect crown/accent piece, a perfect buffet at such a great price we couldn't resist it, and so much more!
I might have to make Home Goods trips a more regular occurrence.

Festive Dinners
I'm working all weekend which usually pretty much ruins the entire weekend. This weekend, however, has the chance to still be great because we have so much fun planned with friends after work. Friday night we have a Thanksgiving potluck dinner with our church group, Saturday night we're hosting our dinner club in our home, and Sunday a friend from college will be joining us for the night! It's much easier to make it through a 12 hour shift when you have an evening of fun waiting for you at the end!

What's making you happy this Friday?

We Have a Winner!

The winner of my Blogiversary Giveaway is.....

Mrs. Bear said...

I am a follower! I wanna win!

November 10, 2011 4:05 PM

Congratulations to Caitlin from

Check out her fabulous blog today!

Thanks to everyone for entering and continuing to read my blog.
I appreciate each and every one of you!

My Skincare Necessities

I'm running a little low on blog material lately and I have always wanted to share a little about the beauty products I use everyday. So today I decided to start sharing with the products I use on my face on a daily basis because lets be honest, that's what everyone notices first. So if this actually interests you check out my regimen and favorite skin care products below.

For reference, my skin would probably be classified as combination-oily T zone and dry everywhere else.

Morning regimen:

• Makeup remover cleansing towels prior to my workout on my days off
  
• Facial Cleanser post-workout or prior to work
• De-Puffing Eye Roller

Evening Regimen:

• Eye Makeup Remover Cloths
• Facial Cleanser
• Toner
• Acne spot treatment (if needed)
• Face Cream
• Eye Cream

Weekly Regimen:

• Face Mask
• Biore Strips
  

Now for my current favorite products that make up these regimens!

Neutrogena Make-up Remover Cleansing TowelettesI am obsessed with these cleaning towelettes. So obsessed that I buy them in bulk at Costco. I mostly use them first thing in the morning before I head out for a run or go to the gym. I want to make sure my face is as clean as possible before I work up a sweat and these get the job done. They're also super handy for those nights when I'm just too exhausted to go through my whole evening regimen of face washing, etc. (admit it, we all have those nights every now and then!) So I keep a pack of these towelettes next to my bed for a quick wipe down before passing out.
Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil Free CleanserI have been using this cleanser for years and don't see myself changing anytime soon. I love Keihl's products. They are fragrance free, colorant free, and focused on the most important thing, the care of your skin. This face wash is their most basic and I love it. It's quick lathering and removes most of the make up and oil from my skin. It cleanses really well without over drying my skin.
Garnier Skin Renew Anti-Puff Eye Roller
This is the newest addition to my regimen and it will definitely be a regular. I often have horrible puffy circles under my eyes in the morning. A quick roll of this product under my eyes and suddenly my concealer has a lot less work to do. This product stimulates the circulation around the eyes to diminish dark circles and puffiness. It also has caffeine as a main ingredient and I love the way the applicator has a cooling effect under my eyes.
Almay Oil Free Eye Makeup Remover PadsMy go to eye make up remover cloths. I especially love that they are oil free!
Clinique Clairfying Lotion 3I have tried numerous toners over the years and finally found one that I absolutely love. The Clinique toner clears away excess oil, makeup, and impurities that my cleanser sometimes misses. My skin is left feeling ridiculously clean. Best of all, this clarifying lotion does not dry out my skin. It's basic and perfect!
Acne Blemish Control Daily Skin-Clearing TreatmentMore often than I would like, I need a dab of acne cream for spot treatment. Several creams I have used in the past have gotten rid of the pimple, but left my skin dry and peeling and looking worse than before I used it. This Kiehls cream, however, slowly diminishes the pimple but never over drys the skin. It's made with salicylic and lipo hydroxy acids to minimize the appearance of acne and blemishes. I had a hard time splurging on this product but use so little of it that it has lasted me awhile. Besides, you can't put a price on a miracle worker!
Kiehl's Abyssine Cream + SPF 23I started using the abyssine cream several years ago after I noticed a wrinkle forming on my forehead. I figured it's never too early to start preparing for the wrinkles that come with age and this cream seemed like the perfect weapon. It leaves my skin feeling moisturized but never oily.
According to the Kiehl's website, it helps to minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles while defending skin from free radical damage. I also love that it contains UVA/UVB protection.
Kiehl's Abyssine Eye Cream

I started using this eye cream at the same time as the face cream and I'm obsessed with it. I'm convinced that my dark circles are much less pronounced when I used this eye cream regularly.
Biore Deep Cleansing Pore StripsThis product has been in my regimen for years! I have a serious black head problem (gross, I know) and I have used these strips for as long as I can remember. You put them on your problem areas (my nose) after wetting the skin, let them dry for 10-15 minutes, and then peel them off. It's pretty gross but also gratifying to see what comes off on the strip.
Kiss My Face Potent and Pure Pore Shrink, Deep Pore Cleansing Mask

I've tried tons of face masks over the years and my current favorite is the Kiss My Face Deep Cleansing Mask. It helps diminish the appearance of pores, removes oil and bacteria from the skin, and leaves my face feeling incredibly soft and smooth. It's not over drying so you can use it as often as needed. However, I limit myself to one application a week.

I'm not perfect and rarely follow these regimens exactly everyday of every week. But when I do, I can tell that my skin is much healthier!

Your turn!

What products are standards in your skin care regimen? Any you recommend that I add to mine?