Surprised and Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving has come and gone.  Emotions and stomach contents skyrocketed during the dinner, which was quickly followed by the contented stupor of a meal well made and well devoured.  We gave thanks, we relaxed, and then we turned our collective minds and bellies towards Christmas.

My Thanksgiving was relatively small and simple.  With Eric's parents out of town, we only had one dinner to tackle, a fact my weak willpower appreciated tremendously.  It's impossible to fit two full delicious Thanksgiving dinners in your stomach in less than a day, regardless of how hard you try to prevent it. Trust me on this.  So, our group of five - me, Eric, my parents, and my uncle - set ourselves to the delightful task of tackling the dinner.  Turkey, mashed potatoes (courtesy of Eric, a self-proclaimed potato expert), gravy, peas, a simple sourdough stuffing (with celery, onions, and herbs), corn pudding (my tribute to Eric's family's feast), Molly Wizenberg's cranberry sauce (the reigning favorite), and three riffs on pumpkin pie.  We had to test different filling combinations...though results were inconclusive.  Meaning we simply must conduct more tests. Oh, the suffering!

I had planned on using the post-holiday time to finish some work and to catch up on blogging.  I have so many recipes to share with you, after all!  But life intervened, in the best possible way...

The first Christmas tree in Eric's new house

The night before Thanksgiving, Eric insisted we buy a Christmas tree for his house.  His first Christmas tree for his first house. So we found the perfect tree, carefully secured it in the car (pine needles everywhere. Ah, 'tis the season, right?), and set it up in a place of honor. We carefully wove lights through the tree, then hung a small collection of ornaments from his parents' house.  At Eric's urging, I grabbed the last box out of the ornament bin and opened it up, only to see it wasn't an ornament. It was a ring. A very sparkly, very beautiful ring. 

You see, I was surprised. Completely stunned and swept off my feet.  Eric knelt and proposed ever so sweetly. I said yes. I also said I do, just in case.

So the rest of our holiday was spent popping open bottles of champagne, sharing our news with family and friends, and reveling in the thought of a lifetime together.  I can't wait!

Mimosas to celebrate the following morning!

I promise to restrain myself on talking about
wedding plans here...until I get to the cake tastings.
You deserve all the details.
I'll just flaunt my new mug, then...

Also, somewhat understandably, I've developed quite a strong attachment to this particular Christmas tree. Do you think I can plant it and hope it will grow?  If not, my wonderfully clever friend suggested some crafty ways to save at least part of our tree, which I will do immediately.

So, my dear friends, I shall return with recipes galore in the very near future. I'm still catching up on that pre-Thanksgiving to-do list, as well as gearing up for Christmas and New Year's festivities! It's the best time of the year to share some love from the kitchen! And the bar!  Cheers!