Happy Thanksgiving EVE!

It's so hard to believe that Thanksgiving is already this week! It's true that once Halloween comes, November & December fly by in the blink of an eye. I wish we could slow time just a little bit and bottle up all of the sweetness that will come with Harper's first holidays!

Her festive outfits are in full swing, decked out in her little Indian shirt & moccasins as we ran all of our Thanksgiving errands. She loves sitting in the cart making friends & being a little chatterbox as we roll through the grocery store.

I can't wait to put her in her Thanksgiving outfit & let her feast on all the goodies we will be cooking up! I have a feeling I will have to fight her for the dark meat... a giant turkey leg is my fav part of Thanksgiving dinner! (Not to be confused with a "big ass turkey leg" on Melrose in Iowa City on gameday.)

Minnetonka Moccasins, Headband

We will be hosting a small Thanksgiving at our house with a few friends (the one and only reason that I have not fully decorated for Christmas so far... gotta keep the Thanksgiving vibe for just a little longer!) so I thought I'd share our turkey day lineup!

Mimosas & Muffins will be breakfast while we all snuggle up watching the Macy's Parade! I look forward to this part every year. Cheese & Crackers + Hot Wings will be the appetizers of choice while we watch football, visit with our friends & have our annual pumpkin destroying festivities. This includes baseball, target practice & various other events that will leave pumpkin guts all over our backyard.

The star of the show will be the deep fried turkey! This was a tradition from my husbands family, I was skeptical at first, but is delicious this way! Plus, it takes less time & frees up your oven space for other goodies! I will make cheesy potatoes & green bean casserole (both are staples that we have every year). Stuffing cupcakes are another favorite! When Brandon & I lived in out first apartment, I only had one baking pan & one cupcake pan. So on Thanksgiving, I had no choice but to use both... I ended up making our stuffing in cupcake form and have never looked back!

For the first time ever, I am going to attempt making a sweet potato souffle!! I found the Martha Stewart recipe , BUT if anyone has an another amazing recipe that you'd like to share... I would love to hear it! Rolls & cinnamon butter will be on the side... although I will probably accidentally fill up on that before I even eat the real stuff. And last but not least... some dessert that I haven't decided on yet. I'm sure I'll find some amazing recipe late tonight that will land me in world's longest grocery store line trying to buy molasses or some other unimaginable ingredient that I obviously wouldn't have on hand.

I created a RECIPE PAGE for anyone who is interested in any of the food items I mention (on here or on instagram) - but be prepared for some half-assed recipes, these are likely typed up from memory.

We plan to top off the evening by watching Christmas Vacation for the first time of the season (a long time family tradition on both sides) & drink hot chocolate (or other adult beverage) from our moose mugs! I can already picture Clark W. fumbling down the stairs with the squirrel on his back... Oh, the excitement is overwhelming! :)
Happy Happy Happy Thanksgiving Eve!