Thanksgiving Eve!

It's the eve of our very first Thanksgiving as a married couple and the first year we will not be celebrating with our families in California. It's bittersweet, really. We're happy to be doing this on our own - a sort of symbol of our new independence and a new chapter of our lives, but being away from family during the holidays.. I don't highly recommend it.

I've always loved Thanksgiving - sleeping in, moseying down the stairs to be greeted by a waft of great smelling food as my mom slaves away in the kitchen, and (aside from eating) my favorite part - making the cranberry sauce from fresh cranberries. And the past two Thanksgivings, I've been fortunate enough to be able to celebrate twice; once with Matt's family and once with mine. (Helloooo holiday l.b.s.!)

This year we're having to compromise a little with our Thanksgiving meal. Our oven is out of commission so we're using the toaster oven my parents bought us on their most recent trip to Utah (Thank you!). And since toaster ovens aren't traditionally used to cook Thanksgiving meals - especially turkeys - we're making due with cornish hens. But to balance out our lack in the turkey department, we bought a teeny little ham. Other traditions are still going to go on as planned. I have all the ingredients needed for my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes: green bean casserole, butternut squash, yams, mashed potatoes and gravy, and honey-butter carrots. I opted out on making my own cranberry sauce. Matt's not a fan and there's no way I could finish or let a family-size portion of cranberry sauce go to waste. I'm still not entirely sure how I'm going to get everything cooked in time with the very limited space and resources I have to cook in, but I am excited (and a little bit nervous). If it doesn't turn out well, I'm hoping Wal-Mart will still have some of those ready-to-eat chickens on hand.

Happy Thanksgiving, all.
May your hearts be warm and full this holiday season.

xo.