It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas...

We hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for...our family, our friends (both Mid-West and West Coast), home, health and most importantly each other! We were fortunate to have family visit this year. Ryan's parents (Terry and Carol) flew in the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and stayed with us until Sunday. Ryan made the Alton Brown "Good Eats" turkey again this year. Here he is pulling the bird out of a brine. Ryan's father is looking on in the background... Ryan soaked the bird in a brine made with vegetable broth, sugar, salt, black peppercorns and all-spice berries for over 12 hours... Here was our food before the "great" transformation...Ryan put the turkey in the oven mid-morning...While we were waiting, we bundled up and went on a walk. Unfortunately our walk was short-lived as the drizzle got the best of us...We decided that the warm living room was a much better place to hang out while the turkey was a roastin'...Ryan and his dad were in charge of the bird. Carol and I made the sides...Here is a pic of Terry and Ryan carving the birdHere is a picture of Carol making green bean casserole... YUMMY!!!We had rolls, mashed potatoes, gravy, yams, corn casserole, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, stuffing, turkey and Aunt Karen's mac and cheese....DELICIOUS!!!! Here is our holiday spread...Happy Thanksgiving!!!!
The day after Thanksgiving, we drove to Downtown Indianapolis for the "Circle of Lights" ceremony. Every year, the War Monument is decorated to look like a tree. There is a big celebration during the lighting...Christmas was in the air!!!! Even this lab got into the holiday spirit!Happy Holidays! There was a stage set up at the base of the monument for singers and performers to entertain everyone...While we were waiting for evening to set in, we went to Buffalo Wild Wings and ate dinner... After we finished, we walked down the street toward the monument. As you can see, the streets were already starting to fill....It was chilly, but we had hot cocoa to keep us warm and toasty :) Here it is all lit up!!! YAY!!!

BEAUTIFUL.... Christmas "Indy" Style... Going to the Festival of Lights, motivated us to decorate our own house. Here is Ryan and his mom ringing in some holiday cheer by decorating our lil' Charlie Brown tree... We decided to put the tree in the dining room, so it can be seen from our front window. Ta-Da!!! We really wanted a real tree, but will have to wait until next year, as we will be in the Sunshine state...not California people!!!! Florida to be exact. We will be spending time with Ryan's cousin Chris and his wife, Janet over our Christmas Break...

I changed out our flower boxes from orangy autumn-colored flowers, to Christmas foliage...

We still have not had any snow this fall/winter...In fact, on Saturday, the temps almost reached 60 degrees~ But don't worry, as soon as we get some of the white stuff, we'll let you know!!! Until next time...xo

Oh so Thankful...

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It is a time for all of us to reflect back on all things we are grateful for. This year, I am thankful for many things. The first and most important one being my husband. Ryan is such a wonderful person. He is patient, loving and just an all-around good guy. I am thankful we were able to sell our home in California and move to Indy. We really love it here. It was the right move for us. Being able to experience the seasons and wide open spaces has really been a blessing...We went to Kroger this weekend to get all of our food for Thursday's feast. Ryan's parents are flying out and we are thrilled to be able to spend some quality time together. We are both so thankful for our friends and families. Not a day goes by that we do not think about all of you!!!Here is Ryan pushing the cart of goodies...Our pantry is filled to the brim with Thanksgiving goodness...Do you see all those cans of vegetable broth??? Yep, Ryan is going to make that Alton Brown turkey again! I think I have mentioned before that Ryan is OBSESSED with the show Good Eats.

Here is our bird chillin' in the fridge awaiting its Thanksgiving debut... I ended up changing the new window coverings I bought last weekend...Our living room felt like a theater...too "drapey" for my liking. I ended up going to Target (the ONLY store out of the seven I went to last weekend that I did not go to for window coverings- go figure)!

I found EXACTLY what I was looking for. These striped valances are MUCH better- simple and more color. My abrupt change in decor made me think of my mom...that is sooooo something she would do. Haha :) Ryan and I spent most of the weekend cleaning...I'm talking HEAVY DUTY- vacuuming, dusting, bathrooms, oven, baseboards, laundry, mopping, windows...you name it, we did it! Ahhhhh...I don't know what I love more- the clean house or the fact that my hubby helped me clean it. I'm telling you, the man's a gem!

I was able to get away for a few hours to hit the movie theater with the girls. It was "New Moon" weekend. Lisa and I went to the movie to hang with our friends. Sabrina and Liz went because they are Twilight ADDICTS... I thought it was better than the first movie, but I still don't get what all the hype is about!Lastly I am thankful for Fall smells and flavors...hazelnut, gingerbread, cinnamon, pumpkin- I love them all!!! Here I am holding a pumpkin spice shake from Culver's- a local burger joint...

Until next time...xo

Just Your Typical Midwest Weekend...

This week we really didn't do a whole lot. We have been extremely busy with work! We are both looking forward to our 4 days off and spending Thanksgiving with Ryan's mom and dad.

On Friday, all the girls went over to Lisa's house to watch the movie, "The Ugly Truth" and drink wine. We had a blast! I love hanging out with my girls... The weather has been kind of over-cast and blah, so Ryan and I decided to put our time and effort into beautifying the casa. On Saturday, we went to Bed Bath and Beyond and bought a new clock for our living room... We love it! It goes well with our decor and even has a swinging pendulum... We also decided to put up window decor in our living room. Here is Ryan installing rods above our windows...Yes, that is old school Beverly Hills 90210 on our TV. This is how we spend our weekends these days...LOL

I bought some burgundy colored window scarves. They took FOREVER to iron... Here is the finished product...

We had originally set out to purchase window coverings and a mirror for our front entryway, but no such luck. I did however spy this gem. It is significant because this is the quote Ryan and I have engraved in our wedding bands...

It is going to be hung above our bed-Ryan didn't have time to hang it this weekend, but he will hang it up sometime this week... For now, it sits on top of our headboard...

On Sunday, we all went over to Steave and Lisa's for dinner. Cheers!

We enjoyed a delicious dinner of chicken, mashed potatoes, homemade applesauce and brownies...Mmmmmm! I love our neighborhood pitch-ins!

Lisa, Liz and me...

Here is a pic of baby Elise dancing on Ryan's head...

She is so sweet...her hair is adorable. It sticks straight up :)

There is nothing sweeter than a new baby. We are all in love with her. She is a little doll...

We all pass her around...I don't even have a pic of her with her mom and dad!!! Here she is with doting neighbors Lisa and Zach...

Later on, we walked over to Eric and Liz's to watch the Colt's game. Here is a pic of me and Steave...

and Eric giving Lilly a High-5!!! Go C-O-L-T-S!!!

Until next time...xo