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I’m pretty sure that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. I love autumn and to me it is the kickoff to the entire holiday season. I tend to get pretty sad when Christmas is over, and fun fact; I hate new years eve, so for me, Thanksgiving is just the best. For the first 25 years of my life, my Granny hosted Thanksgiving dinner, but for the last two years, my parents have hosted at their place. My mom and I make an excellent team- she manages the “party staging” as we call it and I do all of the cooking. I start days in advanced and make everything down to homemade stock for the stuffing and gravy (except for pie- my Granny still makes the BEST PIES). It’s a great big project for me. I love flipping through magazines and cookbooks during the weeks leading up to T-Day and planning a menu with a good mix of old favorites and new dishes.

I will admit that this year, I may have gone a little too crazy- I made thirteen dishes (including vegan versions of at least five)! Between shuffling back and forth from my new house to my mom and dads, pulling off an entire Thanksgiving meal and another dinner two nights later for “Tree Trimming” (more on that later) I’m completely exhausted. But, I I have figured out a few fail-proof tips and methods that work to make throwing any party a bit easier so the hostess can enjoy the party too!

1. Make It Ahead
I planed in advanced to have most of my dishes done by Tuesday evening at the latest. Pick out a few great dishes that can be refrigerated for a night or two, plan what you’re going to make on which day and cross things off the list early. I was able to make stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, a squash dish and multiple salad dressings days ahead- not to mention brining the turkeys! All I had to do on the day was make the gravy, another kind of stuffing (I’m deranged) and warm everything up.

2. Raise The Bar
For bigger parties I always set up a bar in a separate room from where the action is happening. On Thanksgiving, NO ONE is allowed in my (mom’s) kitchen. If you build it, they will come- and so we set up a self-serve bar with beer, wine, liquor, soda, garnishes, the works- in the living room. Your guests are going to hang out by the bar and this way they can help themselves (and Granny) while you run around the kitchen like a chicken (er, turkey?) with your head cut off.

3. Apps- Some Assembly Required
I almost always serve store bought appetizers. Some nice cheese, nuts, fruit, maybe some crackers. You can assemble a gorgeous cheese board way in advanced (cheese is best room temperature!) and set it out by your bar (in the next room) before the main event. My family is terrible about filling up on cocktail nuts that came from a can and not eating much of the meal itself, so for Thanksgiving in particular I went light on appetizers; a few small cheese boards sprinkled around the room and that was it.

I love the preparation and the cooking and the planning that goes along with a huge meal like Thanksgiving, but of course the best part of the night was after dinner was over and my whole family sat around happy and full finishing bottles of wine and repeating the same funny stories that we’ve told for years. I’m thankful for food, for my parent’s big old kitchen, for Tanqueray, but most of all for the people I share it all with.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I was so excited to start this blog back in the spring. The idea struck me in the winter of last year- I love cooking, entertaining and celebrating so much and I thought it would be such great fun to share the little things that I do to make events extra special, no matter how small. I got a few posts written and shared and then my new found blogging hobby came to a screeching halt in June- but for a great reason!

I have dreamed of owning my own home for several years. When I graduated from undergrad, I lived with my parents for four years, saving up instead of spending on apartment rent (thanks mom and dad!) so one day I could purchase a real, grown up house of my own. On June 29th this past summer I walked into a sweet little red brick house with black and white trim (literally what rolled off my tongue every time someone asked what I was “looking for” I swear!) and fell in love. It felt like falling down from the top of a roller coaster and landing securely at the bottom of the dip, glad you went though the whole crazy ride, but also glad that it’s over.

Searching was so much harder than I thought. I got ahold of an amazing realtor and had so much help and support from my parents and family, but there were several houses that I found and “loved” on a Tuesday that would be gone by Wednesday morning.

The day I found my house I had been to see a few…not so great places with my realtor and I was feeling so sad and discouraged. I had a pretty strict budget and was wondering if I couldn’t really afford what I dreamed of. I went home in a terrible mood and as I was pouting on the couch my dear dad peeked his head over the upstairs ledge:

“Did you see the one I just sent you?” (We had gotten into the habit of sending each other potential listings about fifteen times a day.)

“No. I’m not looking at any more houses today.”

“Just look, just one more.”

And it was the one.

I made an appointment to see the house with my realtor the next morning at eleven AM, but I was absolutely convinced that it would sell in the night- after all it had happened to me twice already!

I couldn’t sleep all night and apparently neither could my parents because we all woke up at around 6:30 in the morning, sitting on the couch waiting to go, not really talking.

My realtor called me at 8:30 and I thought;

“Well, it must be gone.”

But instead I heard;

“Can you come now? Like, right now?”

So my parents and I jumped into the car, drove the fifteen minutes from their house to mine (huge selling point for all parties) walked in through the gorgeous forrest green door with the antique brass knocker and I absolutely knew.

If searching for my house was crazy the process of buying it was even more insane! There were tons of bumps in the road, but sitting here at my kitchen table, looking out the window at the lake(!) across the street, they have more than faded away.

New house, new season…

In my own little corner, in my own little chair…

I hope we sit on this couch together a million more times- maybe less sweaty…

The night I moved in it was over 90 degrees and pouring rain. We had champagne to cool off.

The best moving crew around!

And so I didn’t post anything all summer. One because I hardly shared the details of my home-buying process with anyone (always convinced something terrible would happen and I would lose the house) and two because from searching for a house to closing, to moving it has been ALL CONSUMING.

This week I have gotten to observe my first real change in seasons in my new home from summer into fall and it has been so magical and beautiful. I had my grandparents over for my first real dinner party of my own, all by myself. I had trick or treaters! I raked my yard and replaced exterior light bulbs. I moped the floors and lit candles and poured fancy booze into all of the beautiful decanters I was gifted when I moved in.

The entire process was so much more challenging than I ever anticipated, but worth it. I mean, come on- I stare at a lake while I do dishes.

I am absolutely thrilled and beyond grateful to have accomplished such a big dream of mine. I had so much help from everyone I love, and I’m so exited to get “carryed away” thanking them by sharing my home with them every chance that I get!

And maybe blogging about it all. 🙂

In my family, we have this absolutely wonderful, yet crazy time of year from March until June when it seems like we have an excuse to celebrate something nearly every weekend. It starts at the end of March with my younger brother’s birthday, then we celebrate my sister and dad in April, my birthday comes in early May right before (and sometimes on) Mother’s Day, my older brother comes in June right before Father’s Day and my parent’s wedding anniversary at the end of the month- phew! We have lots of special traditions and celebrations that we get to enjoy during this time of year and it’s always such a great time of year for us- and it always means a TON of parties and entertaning for a few months.

This year, I’ve discovered that one of the best ways to throw a super causal and really fun get together is to keep it simple and stick with a charcuterie spread! My parents threw a surprise get together for me when I graduated in April (another celebration and yes, I was 100% surprised!) and as neither of them loves to cook like I do, they simply assembled a giant, and gorgeous charcuterie board across their entire kitchen island and this has been our go-to all season long. My older brother loved it so much, he requested that we re-create it for his birthday celebration a few weeks later.

We went to our favorite grocery store and simply selected meats, cheeses, fruits, nuts, chips, crackers and some sweet items that looked interesting and paired well together and arranged them across the counter. For our “boards” we used leftover flooring tiles that weren’t used in my parents bathroom a few years ago- seriously! We also have a few green slate tiles left over from the kitchen floor that also totally work. It gives the same look and feel as one of those huge wooden cutting boards, but we didn’t have one so we improvised!

When arranging a great charcuterie board, you want to make sure you get a good variety of items; something salty, spicy, creamy, crunchy- hit all those flavor notes! Add something fresh and green to the spread (I used basil leaves arranged alongside bright orange clementines) to make it extra pretty.

What makes this fun is instead of spending days preparing a sit-down meal, all you have to do is assemble, and people can wander around and chat while they eat as much or as little as they want of all of the offerings. It’s a very fun and casual feel and saves tons of dishes! We also had some cocktail plates and napkins that went with our color scheme so people could stack up a plate and move to chat with other guests.

We’ve thrown a “charcuterie party” at least three times this season and I can’t say if we’ll ever stop- it really does make for the perfect laid-back summer get-tother when it’s too hot to cook and you’d rather spend time with your family and friends than your dishwasher. It’s foolproof. Give it a try!