Happy 2014!

Happy New Year! I hope everyone made it home safely and had a wonderful time celebrating the start of 2014. I am prepping myself for the traditional meal of black eyed peas for good luck. Southerners typically pair them with collard greens for wealth, but the ladies of this family just can't choke those things down. And before anyone asks about my new year resolutions, please refer to this Calvin and Hobbes comic.

Christmas Eve!

I hope everyone is got all their shopping done yesterday and is able to enjoy their time with families today! I've been enjoying some egg nog and catching up with my North Carolina girl friends (which I really needed time to do!).   I'm writing this post in the car on our way to lunch with Mr. 3's parents.  We have a few stops (no major shopping left!) to make after lunch and then it's on to church service with my parents.  We have an unusual tradition that's developed over the years and we will head over to town for a Mexican dinner post-Christmas service (salsa and guac = festive colors and super super yummy in my tummy).

If you are also headed to church tonight, be sure to check out our what to wear article.  We've also got a few recipes to try if you need some ideas for Christmas brunch.  If you are doing some last minute shopping, here's our guide on stocking stuffers which also make great last minute gifts.  Stay safe and enjoy your time with your families!  Merry Christmas!

Melinda's Family Thanksgiving Traditions

Growing up, our Thanksgiving traditions changed a few times.  For my early years, I spent Thanksgiving at home with my Mom, Dad, older brother, and grandma.  After my brother and grandma passed away, my mom's best friend started asking us over to her house to do Thanksgiving with their family, extended family, and the occasional other friend.  After mom's friend had a sudden illness, Thanksgiving became just about my Mom, Dad, and me.  Last year and this year, Mr. 3's mom and stepdad have hosted Thanksgiving and invited my parents.  Because our family traditions have changed so much, I'd like to say what my favorite traditions were during the times we practiced them.

1. Mom's 1970's pilgrim tablecloth - White with 70s brown and orange pilgrims hanging out - always put on the table when Thanksgiving was held at our house (except for the one year when Mom tried to switch it up and she says I got a bit temperamental with her about it)

2. Pickle platter - anything pickled or brined and it get dished up and served out on my mom's glass relish dish (it's shaped like a leaf), lots of fancy stuffed olives (blue cheese is my fav), pickled okra, pickled peaches (when we can find them...let me know if you have a source, they are soooooo good), my dad's homemade pickled green tomatoes (these are a more recent and welcome addition to the platter)

3. Two kinds of pie and only these two kinds - mincemeat and pumpkin

4. Dad's cranberry relish - made from blender pulverized whole cranberries, orange, and a whole lot of sugar - no cooking required and always served up in the same beautiful glass pedestal bowl

5. Taking a morning walk with Mr. 3 and his mom on Thanksgiving Day - I know we have only done this one time, but I'm hoping it will be a tradition anytime we have Thanksgiving with them.  I love getting up and walking in the fall.  The area of NC that they live in is extremely walkable and pretty.

6. Post-Thanksgiving binge - reading sales circulars for Black Friday shopping and putting on my fat pants.


Isn't it funny how our favorite memories can be tied to certain things?  No matter where I have been spending Thanksgiving day or who it has been with, I've always been grateful to spend time with my loved ones!


Psst...if you missed Briana's family traditions, check 'em out here

Briana's Family Thanksgiving Traditions

I have a confession. Thanksgiving is probably my least favorite holiday. I think the spirit of being thankful is important and I love family time, but I just am not crazy about Thanksgiving food and I would much rather watch college football than the Detroit Lions. I'm sure my mom will call me up after reading this blog post and inform me of all the traditions I forgot, but here are the ones I thought to share with y'all.

The most important Stanley Clan tradition for Thanksgiving is enforced by my mother every single year. After the first pass through of food is consumed, Mother starts asking everyone what they are thankful for this year. You don't get to pass or ask for a later turn; we have all learned to prep for this moment starting in October. We have a few traditions within this tradition. My brother makes his daughter say she is thankful for him and one brother-in-law makes sure he always says he is thankful for his wife before saying anything else. He made the mistake of having lots of things to be thankful for one year, and she was not mentioned.

We have the traditional Thanksgiving food. Since we are a very large group with lots of opinions, we often have two different versions of those traditional foods: stuffing both cooked in and out of the turkey, two variations of cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes with marshmallows and sweet potatoes with candied pecans, and it just goes on and on. My older sisters bring dishes over and usually my little sister helps my mom cook the days leading up to Thanksgiving. However, she goes to Georgia Tech and their game against UGA is at Tech this year so she is not coming home for Thanksgiving. This is also my first Thanksgiving being married, so it will also be my first Thanksgiving cooking. I have been assigned mashed potatoes - wish me luck.

Being that we live in Florida, we usually eat our Thanksgiving meal outside in my mom's back yard (hatemail and requests for an invite are both acceptable and expected). We used to clear out her living room furniture and replace it with a string of rectangular tables, but since the grandkids got a bit older we ran out of space inside. Mother wants us all to be together for the meal, so she moved us outside rather than creating a kids table in a different room like we have for other family events. Here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving 2008.

Kids activities

I went through a brunette/no bangs phase.. also, that niece is now 8 years old!

Playing in the sun on Thanksgiving - they are all 10 years old now

Do y'all have any fun Thanksgiving traditions? My brothers all end up napping on the couch/floor during football and eventually my mom kicks us all out of her house, but I figure that is pretty typical of the holiday. Check back tomorrow for Melinda's Thanksgiving traditions!