our thanksgiving

Thanksgiving 2013 really tricked me! A few months back, my mom let me know that she and my stepdad would be spending thanksgiving in California with his kids. Um, but we always do thanksgiving here. I'm not so good with change, you see. This left Bradley and I stranded. Where do we go now? My dad's? His dad's? His grandparents? Our friends in SC? Stay here and eat with my brother? So many choices, but we couldn't decide. Then my stepdad had some health scares (no worries, he's all better now) about a week or so before thanksgiving, and they decided not to go to California. And one by one our family made it work to be here for thanksgiving. We had the whole crew! I just think it's so funny because none of us were going to be together and then it all worked out in the end :)

via

This past year my mom has also had some health issues that have led her to go gluten free and dairy free. We were so proud to say that our entire thanksgiving feast was gluten free AND dairy free! I mean, who does that?! And the best part... everything was SO GOOD! And I bet if you had been a guest at our table and I didn't tell you, you wouldn't have even known. 

I really wish I had photos of every dish to show you, but I guess we were all too excited! Here's what we had:

Turkey

Honey Glazed Ham 

Brown Rice with Pecans + Cranberries (this year's dressing)

Roasted Sweet Potatoes + Butternut Squash

Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan Cheese

Grilled Basil Corn

Sweet Potato Casserole with marshmallows

Maple Brussel Sprouts (Aaren's specialty! So freaking good)

Collards

Cranberry Salad (This weird jello that my Nana always made)

Deviled Eggs

And for dessert:

Mini Pumpkin Pies

Mini Chocolate Chess Pies

Chocolate Chewies

And more sweet potato casserole!

When planning this meal, we also decided to change some of the traditional dishes for healthier options, like instead of a greenbean casserole, we had the roasted asparagus. But we still had to have a sweet potato casserole! That is a thanksgiving staple! Roasting a lot of the veggies was so easy and fast! Just drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. And when it came to dessert recipes we just made a few substitutions. We used Bradley's Meme's Chocolate Chess Pie Recipe but just traded out the evaporated milk for evaporated coconut milk so it was dairy free. And my mom had already been trying some gluten free pie crust recipes, so she was all set. Instead of butter she uses ghee, which is clarified butter. This option still gives you that great flavor.

We had such a wonderful holiday and I am so thankful to have my family in my life. I hope you all had a great thanksgiving, as well!

peachy keen

Last week we got about ten peaches from our local food co-op. This was way more than we could eat before they went bad, so what's a girl to do? Um, make peach cobbler! Now I have seen a ton of people make that dump cake with canned peaches, but we had fresh ones, so I needed a different recipe. After a little googling of "the best peach cobbler," I came across this recipe. It claimed it was the "BEST COBBLER YOU'VE EVER HAD." I'm pretty sure this is because it had cream cheese. So I had to give it a try. One thing I wasn't thrilled about was that it uses a cake mix, but it was quick and easy, so I made an exception.

It turned out really, really good. Soft, cakey crust, with tender peaches and a cream cheese filling.  Bradley was obsessed with it, bringing the entire casserole dish and two spoons into bed for breakfast. I tell you, I love this boy. 

::::::::::::peach cobbler::::::::::::

1 box yellow cake mix (powder)

1/3 cup butter, softened

2  eggs

4 fresh peaches, peeled and pitted

 8 ounces cream cheese

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cake mix, butter and 1 egg. Mix with a fork until crumbly. Reserve 1/2 - 3/4 cup for topping. Press remaining dough into greased 9x13 inch glass dish and bake for 10 minutes. 

Cut peaches into 1 inch slices. Combine cream cheese, sugar, 1 egg and vanilla. Mix until smooth.

Layer peaches on top of cooked crust. Pour cream cheese mixture on top. Spread with a spatula. Top with reserved crumbs and bake for 30 minutes. After cooking, remove dish from the oven and allow to sit for 30 minutes.

Then dig in!

festive five

 

 one.

Is this not the cutest little dinosaur that you have ever seen? I don't have any babies to dress up yet, so you better believe my little man is getting a costume. Funny thing is, I think he actually loves it! Normally, he will try and scratch his way out of them, but this one is working for him. 

two.

So like I said in my last post, I am obsessed with decorating for fall. And I can't stop. I don't know, pumpkins and gourds, big and tiny just keep showing up at our house!

I'm running out of places to decorate, so these are actually on top of the dresser in our bedroom. Bradley kind of freaked when he saw them. He thought it was getting a little crazy when I resorted to this because I was running out of room. But who doesn't love a little ombre pumpkin festiveness to help wake you up in the morning? 

three.

I was able to wear a scarf today! It only got up to about 71 degrees. Thank you rain! The thing is, I have much cuter fall clothes than summer, so we need to get the ball rolling on this whole cold weather thing. 

four. 

I have been really good about keeping my nails looking good lately. This raspberry

(sally hansen: cherry, cherry bang, bang) and this warm gray are my favorites. They are the perfect fall colors for me. 

 five. 

We have been participating in soup sunday. This creamy chicken noodle was so amazing!! I love the spinach and big chunky carrots. Next up, taco soup!

happy fall

I am thanking my lucky stars that it is fall, and that it is feeling like it! I've been going a little overboard, but I can't help it. It's our first fall in our new house and I am totally taking advantage of all the decorating opportunities! Bradley has cut me off from buying anymore pumpkins. Last christmas it was ornaments, and this fall it's pumpkins. Seriously, if this is the worst problem that we have, I think we'll be just fine.

Bradley works for a local nursery and landscape company, so of course we paid them a visit. They have an awesome selection of pumpkins and gourds of all shapes and sizes. I was very impressed to see so many funky ones with bumpy texture and fun colors! Bradley was going crazy because it took me forever to pick my pumpkins, but you see it's not my fault. The store had two long tables set up with all their goodies, but they were separated by a display of flowers. So I had to constantly move between the two tables creating the group I wanted. I would get to one table and not remember what the other table had! Eventually, we I was able to pick my group and we headed home to set up the porch. I am so in love with the cinderella pumpkins that you can stack! And I think that blueish one on top is a gourd. Either way, it's awesome.

And moving on to the mantle, I love these teeny baby pumpkins. And even better, they were only fifty cents! So of course, I bought like twenty! Putting them everywhere. I am dying to get my hands on these mercury glass candle sticks for the mantle. Maybe one day this week I'll be able to swing by and pick them up. Also, let me just say, now that we have a house, it is so freaking wonderful to have an artist for a mom. I mean it's been wonderful my whole life, but now, I can steal goodies for my house!

Lori Keith Robinson

you are the bacon to my eggs 

This is just the first of my decorations for fall, despite what Bradley thinks! More pumpkins. 

More gourds. And maybe a few garlands! Happy Fall, lovies!