21Nov 2013

Thankful Thursday: Thanksgiving

A couple of blogs I follow do weekly or monthly Thankful Thursday posts, but when November hit the number of bloggers giving thanks increased significantly. With Thanksgiving only a week away I decided it was time to jump on the thankful train as there is a lot I have to be thankful for this year. So here goes nothing …

I am thankful for (in no particular order):

(5) my family and friends. This is pretty much a given, right? I would crazy not to be thankful for the amazing people in my life. They truly make the good times better and the bad times bearable. Love you guys/gals!! xoxoxo

(4) my job. During and after the furlough I quickly came to the realization the impact not having a job would have on me, as well as my family. There is of course the financial side, but having a job gives me purpose and something to “do” each day. I didn’t think I was the type of person who needed something to “do”, but apparently I DO!

(3) the patience and support of my husband. The hubby honestly deserves a metal for the level of patience and support he brings to the table. While he has always been that way I think he put his game face on when we got pregnant. Though it is obviously very exciting it can also be stressful and scary; yet he seems to take it (and all my fun emotions that go along with pregnancy) all in stride. I’m very lucky to have a husband who is so incredibly patient and supportive!

(2) my parents and sister coming to DC for Thanksgiving since I can’t travel to MA. Thanksgiving is by far my most favorite holiday and this year will be the first time I’m not in Massachusetts celebrating. We ALWAYS do Thanksgiving at my parents house and then Thanksgiving “round 2” on Friday or Saturday with my great aunt and a whole bunch of the cousins. The weekend is kind of like an eating marathon! They are all changing their schedules/traditions to be with the hubby and I this holiday. While this year won’t be exactly what any of us are use to the most important thing is we are together and I am thankful they are willing to make the trip!

(1) being pregnant. It is such a blessing to be able to be pregnant. I complain too often about pregnancy symptoms like aches, pains, being tired and gaining weight. It’s easy to sometimes take for granted what an amazing miracle it is to carry my little one!! Have you seen the maternity shirts that say “I’m growing a human. What’s your super power?” … love it!

While there are way more things I am thankful for these couple items do top the chart for this year. Only one more week until my favorite holiday of the year … bring it on Thanksgiving!!!

What are you thankful for (this week, year or even just today!)?

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28Dec 2012

Photo Friday – Instagram Favorite

by Nicole ⋅ 1 Comment

I had been struggling to decide if I should stick with Instagram after they changed their terms of service. As luck would have it though it seems as though they are reverting back to the old terms of service due to the feedback from their customers!! Therefore I am going to continue posting on Instagram! Soooooo please follow me on Instagram!

As I looked through the pictures I’ve shared on Instagram it was clear, I am obsessed with my dog. 90% of the pictures are of her. Ummm hello? Nicole it is time to take pictures of other things! My favorite non-Sophi picture was taken in Boston of a willow tree. My oldest friend and I met for lunch over the Thanksgiving holiday and since it wasn’t too terribly cold so we took a little stroll through Boston Commons first. The lighting seemed perfect the way it was coming through the leaves.

Although I really do love this picture I wonder if part of why I love this picture is because it reminds me of spending time with my friend. Either way … Happy Friday!

25Nov 2012

DIY Center Pieces

by Nicole ⋅ Leave a Comment

Centerpieces and/or flower arrangements can be quite costly this time of year. With Thanksgiving over and Christmas right around the corner it seemed like the perfect time to share the DIY rose and cranberry center pieces we make every Thanksgiving. My mom got the idea when walking through the flower section in Whole Foods a few years ago. My mother use to be in charge of making the arrangements, but then my sister took over. Check out our pretty Thanksgiving table will all the yummy food!!

My sister was kind enough to let me document the process of the center piece creation this year. So here we go!

What you need:

~27 Yellow Roses
6 bags of whole cranberries
3 square vases
water

Place the cranberries in the square vases and add water (but not all the way to the top).

Remove the leaves from the rose stems and hold it up to the vase to determine how much stem to cut off. Cut off the stem.

Push the rose into the vase between the cranberries. Then rinse and repeat!! Each vase will hold about 9 roses depending on the size of the vase.

After you’ve put in all the roses add additional cranberries and water as needed so they are almost to the very top of the vase. In this end this is what you get.

As you can see we miss counted the yellow roses this year and had to through in a few red ones. I think it still looks pretty cute!

Happy Holidays and DIY!

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15Nov 2012

Throwback Thursday for Thanksgiving

by Nicole ⋅ Leave a Comment

With Thanksgiving right around the corner I thought this would be the perfect time to share one of my favorite recipes for the holiday. This recipe was originally posted back in March, but I felt it was throwback worthy. By the way I’ve never been a pumpkin pie, bread, etc lover, but this pumpkin bread recipe was a serious game changer!!! Below is the original post for throwback Thursday. Enjoy!

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My sister and I found this recipe for pumpkin bread one fall afternoon when trying to decide what to make that wasn’t chocolate chip cookies. :) Cookies are our go to hang out and watch a movie snack. We ate nearly a whole loaf in one sitting (or really standing in the kitchen over the loaf of bread) it was THAT good! It’s now a must have item in our family for Thanksgiving dinner.

Besides the canned pumpkin most items are staples and you probably already have the ingredients in your kitchen.

Ingredients:
2 cups canned pumpkin (or homemade pumpkin puree)
3 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
3 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¾ teaspoon ground cloves

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a separate bowl sift the flour into a bowl. On your last cup of flour add the baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and cloves and sift together.

Combine pumpkin, sugar, water, oil and eggs in a bowl and beat together until mixed well.

Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients slowly and beat until smooth. Unlike chocolate chip batter this batter does NOT taste good. My sister and I made the mistake of trying the batter and thought the bread was going to be terrible. But it’s is amazing once it is cooked, promise. So just hold off on any tasting. :)

Grease two 9 x 5 inch loaf pans with Pam or any nonstick spray. For easy clean up I recommend putting tin foil in the bottom of the pans first. Pour the batter into the 2 loaf pans and try to evenly dividing the batter between the two.

Bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Get ready for your house/apartment to smells OH so YUMMY as the loafs cook! Remove from oven and allow loafs to cool before cutting.

Cut and server! And watch out because you will without a doubt eat more than one slice. :)

Happy Cooking!!

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Recipe from the Kitchen of: BlogChef.net

12Mar 2012