I can’t believe Thanksgiving is tomorrow. Where the heck did the time go? Wasn’t it JUST Halloween? I have about an hour to spare this morning before all the madness starts. I thought a recap post would be smart, so my Thanksgiving posts don’t take over. Tonight is the pre-Thanksgiving party. Last year, they made all kinds of stuffed breads, seafood Alfredo, and finger foods. I am going to have to be careful this year becuase I’m pretty sure I gained 100 pounds last year over the Thanksgiving holiday. It’s funny becuase ever since I was a kid, Thanksgiving and St. Patricks day were my least favorite holidays, but after celebrating at the Campo’s house, things have changed. I’ve never had better food. I mean, they even have a special Thanksgiving breakfast!
These are the cupcakes I made for last year’s pre-Thanksgiving party! I’m excited to get tons of photos this weekend!
Ok, back to the recap post! See what I mean about Thanksgiving posts taking over? This post may be even longer than my last one…
Last Thursday, I picked up some ingredients for a sushi caesar salad to make for dinner. I love putting sushi on my salad instead of grilled chicken or steak. It sounds weird, but you have to try it!
This salad has lettuce, light caesar vinaigrette, croutons, onions, avocado, and shrimp sushi. So filling & delicious.
I decided to try the peppermint mocha latte one more time. I ordered it at the Harris Teeter Starbucks. It came out perfect 🙂
I met up with my friend Rachel Friday morning for a girl’s day. We started out with our favorite workout, hiking Crowder’s mountain.
We made it up in 40 minutes and down in 35 minutes. We sat up at the top for a bit! I should have paused the app while we were at the top, but I forgot! It just made our speed/time longer.
We were starving when we got back to Charlotte, so we decided to try the new Chopt restaurant in the Park Road Plaza! I was really impressed with this place, especially for being very new! The staff was so friendly, the menu was creative, and the atmosphere was so inviting. I ordered the kebab cobb. It had local feta, charred red onions, mama lils spicy peppers, pita chips, romaine lettuce, avocado, falafel, chopped and tossed in red wine vinaigrette and Greek yogurt tzatziki. The salad was HUGE, which I love. I also had cucumber lemon infused water.
After lunch, we headed over to a boutique and then grabbed coffee at Caribou.
Friday night, I headed to the Hornet’s game with a group of friends. I love that my Columbia pullover is Hornet’s colors 😉
We all headed over to East Boulevard Bar & Grill to share some appetizers after the game.
I went to breakfast on Saturday morning at the Charlotte Cafe. I love this little place located in the Park Road Plaza. It’s cheap breakfast food that tastes delicious! The Park Road Plaza has changed so much since moving to Charlotte!
I only wanted bacon and an Englsh muffin, but it ended up turning into eggs, english muffin, bacon, hash browns, and a blueberry pancake!
After breakfast, I picked up my friend Becca and we headed to my place so we could bake for Friendsgiving. I decided to pick up some coffee, chocolate hazelnut wafers, and eggnog to have with desserts. By the way, that is my FAVORITE coffee brand as of right now!
I made my oatmeal cream pies! I’m also making more today for tonight’s party!
And they go great with Eggnog! I just have to say that I am so happy about being in the Christmas spirit this year. I mentioned last year about being in “opperation Christmas mode” becuase I couldn’t get in the Christmas mood. But, something has changed becuase I’m all about it! Maybe it’s my brother being home from overseas or my parents being closer, but it really feels great to be back to my normal Christmas spirit self! I don’t have my tree up yet, but you better believe it’ll be up by Sunday!
I’m excited for the day after Thanksgiving too, becuase I spend all day putting up the Christmas decorations.
Whoops getting off track becuase of my excitement!
Back to friends giving baking! Becca made whiskey brownie bites with walnuts!…yum!!
It’s all from scratch…It’s thick, cheesy, creamy, and out of this world! He even grills the chicken before adding it to the Alfredo. That’s one recipe I won’t be able to share with you guys! Since we are all having the traditional Thanksgiving food tomorrow, we decided to have a non traditional friendsgiving. We had alfredo, pork loin, potatoes, and caesar salad. It was totally random, but it totally worked.
Becca and I made a quick trip to Montford to hang out with Rachel and her friends and then headed back to Leo’s for the rest of the night.
We ended the night watching football, eating desserts with coffee, and sitting out by the fire. My oatmeal cream pies were a hit and there were none left…
I had actually been fighting a sickness all weekend and tried to be a trooper through all the things going on. I was on antibiotics and had the “non contagious” clear, so I was good to go. I could hardly eat all weekend, but I still enjoyed bites here and there. I enjoyed coffee while working on some things and catching up on Scream Queens. The dogs stole my donut…:( We would have had a problem if they took my coffee. Oh, and I definitely woke up like that 😉
Around ten, I got up and ready for church. I could hardly talk or breath out of my nose, but no one could tell 😉
I restocked that vest is in my shop:)
Only three left! (SM,MD,LG)
I finally had my appetite back. We all went out for lunch at HoBo’s in downtown Fort Mill. I tried fried green tomatoes for the first time and actually enjoyed their grits! I’m not a huge grit person.
I ordered the cobb salad. It had egg, bacon, tomato, mixed greens, grilled chicken, avocado, candied pecans, and ranch on the side. IT WAS AMAZING AND GIANT!
When we got back from lunch, I had a cup of coffee, Christmas shopped on the computer, walked Grumples for three miles, and then we all went to Mockingjay part 2! I thought the movie was by far the worst of all of them. What did you guys think of the movie?
It was FREEEEEEZING Monday morning. Literally. I had to scrape all the frost off my windshield and crank the heat up. It was the perfect excuse to cuddle up on the couch with my pup and coffee while checking emails.
I put a little eggnog in this one 🙂
It finally warmed up and Grumples and I headed out for a long walk. My lungs aren’t functioning right yet becuase of being sick, so I can’t run right now. I tried and had a horribly hard time breathing. It’s defintley frustrating, but there are so many other things I can do to get active that don’t involve cardio.
For dinner on Monday, I stopped at Chopt again and bought salads. We wanted something quick and healthy before the Hornets game. I grabbed the kebab cobb salad again, but will try something different next time!
It was such a good game on Monday night! It was a nail biter for sure! My friend Anthony was starving at the game becuase he didn’t eat dinner and it went into overtime, so I gave him one of my Gold Emblem Peanut Butter & Dark Chocolate Nut bars from CVS. If you haven’t checked out their healthy food selection yet, you need to! I’m always looking for healthy snacks when I’m out and about. The Gold Emblem are free of artificial flavors and preservatives. I’ll be posting more about their awesome products next week!
I’m pourd to partner with CVS/pharmacy for the Day in the Life campaign. I am being sponsored by CVS/pharmacy for my posts and activities, but all opinions expressed are my own, and all product claims or program details shared should be verified at CVS.COM or with the appropriate manufacturers.
I got my Christmas mug out Yesterday morning 🙂
Since we don’t get snow here much, I’ve been adding my own to the photos to put me in the winter mood 😉
I finally ran yesterday…for a mile and then my lungs were burning. I switched over to weights and an ab workout.
I hate posting stomach photos and you can stomach shame me all you want, but I thought this photo was adorable. Grumps was happy to see me after leaving him for 45 minutes. 😉 Dogs are so loyal.
I spent the rest of the afternoon packaging items up for the shop and sorting through all the new inventory! I can’t wait to do the shoot this weekend! It’s all things Holiday!
I made steak fajita lettuce wraps for dinner last night and they were so so so so good! I’ll post that recipe soon!
I hope you all have a GREAT Thanksiginvg weekend. I’ll be back with more posts soon and hopefully new pictures from the Simply Taralynn Collection shoot!
I love ending my posts with three questions for you! It helps me get to know my readers and allows me to interact with all of you! I sit here and talk about myself for an hour, so I want you guys to talk about yourselves!
- Tell me your favorite Thanksgiving memory/or tradition.
- What is one dish you’ll be steering clear from this year and why?
- Do you put your Holiday decorations up before or after Thanksgiving?
Emily says
My boyfriend goes to UND so I love the hat 😉 Happy Thanksgiving Taralynn!
Taralynn McNitt says
Happy Thanksgiving Emily! Nick visits the campus every year for a game! 🙂
Sarah says
Do you have a tattoo on your wrist? Cute!!
Taralynn McNitt says
No! I wish I did 🙂 They had a tattoos for charity set up at the mall. I paid a little girl $3.00 for a little peace wash off tattoo 😉
Aubrey says
One of my favorite traditions is running the Turkey Trot with my family on Thanksgiving morning! It’s always freezing but fun! ?
Taralynn McNitt says
I wanted to do that this year, but I’m just not a morning runner or cold runner. I need to train myself to do it! Plus, just getting over an illness may be a bad idea…lol
I hope you enjoy the run!!
Becky says
1. My favorite Thanksgiving memories are from the years that my whole immediate family has been able to celebrate together. My parents and brother work in the emergency responder/medical field so it’s rare that at least one of them isn’t working. We have a lot of fun cooking together all day and just enjoying being together.
2. There aren’t any specific dishes I’ll stay away from, but I will be using all of my willpower to eat smaller portions. I often eat so many appetizers that I’m not even hungry by the time dinner is served. This year I need to work on that.
3. I am strict about no Christmas decorations and especially no Christmas music until after Thanksgiving. I love Christmastime and I can’t wait to start celebrating, but I think we need to celebrate one holiday at a time! I have, however started my Christmas shopping because the stores are about to get crazy!
Becky says
1. My favorite Thanksgiving memories are from the years that my whole immediate family has been able to celebrate together. My parents and brother work in the emergency responder/medical field so it’s rare that at least one of them isn’t working. We have a lot of fun cooking together all day and just enjoying being together.
2. There aren’t any specific dishes I’ll stay away from, but I will be using all of my willpower to eat smaller portions. I often eat so many appetizers that I’m not even hungry by the time dinner is served. This year I need to work on that.
3. I am strict about no Christmas decorations and especially no Christmas music until after Thanksgiving. I love Christmastime and I can’t wait to start celebrating, but I think we need to celebrate one holiday at a time! I have, however started my Christmas shopping because the stores are about to get crazy!
I don’t usually comment but I love that you’re asking your readers questions and I love even more that you often take the time to respond to comments. I kind of feel like I’m talking to a celebrity, so it’s exciting when you respond 😛
Taralynn McNitt says
1. The bigger the table, the more people, the better! Your thanksgiving sounds fun and i love being around family! my parents are going to my brother’s this year, so hopefully I can celebrate with them next year.
2. It’s hard for me to hungry at dinner becuase of the giant breakfast we have! So I feel ya on the appetizers! I’m going to stick to eggs for breakfast and save room for turkey!
3. I love you strict policies lol. You at least give Thanksgiving a chance to feel special 😉 & ITS NEVER TO EARLY TO START CHRISTMAS SHOPPING!
And I should have done this a long time ago. I love talking to my readers and commenting on here gives is much easier than commenting on Instagram or other social media outlets! & I’m not even close to a celebrity, just an average girl 😉
I hope you have an AMAZING Thanksgiving!!
Becky says
Oops, sorry for posting twice!
Taralynn McNitt says
It happens 🙂
Lauren says
Hi! I love these long recap posts! We don’t celebrate thanksgiving in Belgium, so I can’t really answer your questions. We do have a celebration for kids called Sinterkkaas on 6 December., so we usually hang our Christmas decorations after that. I agree with you about the new hunger games movie. I was also disappointed with it.
Taralynn McNitt says
Hi Lauren!
Thank you 🙂 I figured I’d get it done before Thanksgiving comes! You can always celebrate Thanksgiving in spirit 😉 I bet christmas is beautiful in Belgium! Hope you have a great weekend!
Kaiko says
Goodness I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who thought the last Hunger Games was the worst of all of them. I was expecting a much more drama filled/action packed ending that matched more to what I felt when I read the book. It was still a fun date though, and a good ending to a 4 year tradition with my boyfriend (who loves the Hunger Games movie series much more than me) and I.
1. I have always loved sitting on the couch with my dad watching football. Football is big in my family. Also I have recently started a Friendsgiving tradition where we all go around and say one reason we are thankful our family is not present. It’s all in good fun, and usually includes things like “I’m thankful our nieces and nephews are not running around screaming” or “I’m thankful my family isn’t asking why I’m still not married”. It’s always a good laugh.
2. I don’t think I will steer clear of anything this year. Although I’ve been eating clean, Thanksgiving is Thanksgiving. I will limit myself to a tablespoon size serving of some things, but I just don’t have the strength to say no completely to my mom’s cooking.
3. I put my Christmas decorations up the Friday after Thanksgiving. I was tempted this year to put them up early, but my Scrooge boyfriend said “we” celebrate one holiday at a time. LOL It’s ok though because he usually is the one who hauls all the decorations out for me. Then we get in our Christmas PJs and decorate while old classic Christmas music plays in the background. 🙂
Taralynn McNitt says
I was expecting the same thing! But glad you had a good 4 year tradition 🙂 That’s so cute!
Football is pretty big on Thanksgiving and this year we have all of our teams playing! The Panthers, Lions, and the Cowboys! We are going to have one heck of a day! That is actually a hilarious “give thanks” tradition. I’d be cracking up!
2. You should definitely treat yourself to whatever you want on Thanksgiving!:)
3. Hahaha it gives you something to look forward to on Friday 🙂 & PLUS that sounds like so much fun! Is it cold where you live?
Kaiko says
I am the only girl in my fantasy football league and I am in first place so I find myself rooting for teams I never would have in the past just because I have a certain player. I live in Texas so we are Cowboys fans too!!!
Unfortunately living in Texas which means getting in the Christmas spirit minus the holiday weather. It is currently 73 degrees down here, but we have had some intermittent “cold days” with the lowest temperature reaching 63 degrees. It’s still fun to pretend it’s cold, and drink coffee and cocoa!!! 🙂
Taralynn McNitt says
That is awesome that you are in first place! GO YOU! I don’t have the patience or motivation to do fantasy football. Nick says i should do it next year, but ehhhhhh we’ll see. Maybe you can convince me!
I am with you on the warm Christmas! Last year, we were out in T-shirts playing basketball in 70 degree weather. Hopefully its a BIT colder this year!:)
Kaiko says
Maybe we can create a team together!
Zey says
1. A tradition I have when I spend Thanksgiving with my family in Arizona is we always end the night with a Pictionary competition. Usually it’s kids (and by kids I mean anyone under 30) against the adults. Everyone gets really into it so it’s a lot of fun!
2. I’ve been trying to take it easy on the dairy because my stomach hasn’t been handling it well, so I’ll be steering clear from anything overly cheesy.
3. Usually the day after! This year I got a little crazy and put some decorations on my fireplace early 😉
Happy Thanksgiving!
Taralynn McNitt says
That sounds like so much fun! I can’t get anyone to play board games around here! Wanna adopt me for a night :D? Do you use the giant white board or the mini pads? There are so many ways to play with the large groups.
Luckily there are so many uncheesy dishes at Thanksgiving! You just have to be careful and watch out for the hidden creams!
Early is always ok 🙂
Have a great Thanksgiving!!
Chandler says
Happy Thanksgiving Taralynn! My favorite Thanksgiving memory (believe it or not) is the year before my grandpa passed away. My mom, sister and I had to make two versions of all the Thanksgiving food because he couldn’t have any salt (he had congestive heart failure). He couldn’t believe that we made two versions of everything, and he was so sweet. I’ll be steering clear of anything with corn in it this Thanksgiving, and I put my Christmas decorations up after Thanksgiving!
Taralynn McNitt says
Happy Thanksgiving Chandler!
So sorry to hear about your grandpa. You guys were so sweet to do that for him! I bet he’s looking down from heaven watching you guys put together another Thanksgiving! Our Thanksgiving haven’t been the same since my grandpa passed away. He used to make all the pies and bring us all together.
Feel free to share photos of our Christmas decorations! xo
I hope you have an amazing Thanksgiving and a blessed day! xo
Tara says
I always put up decorations right after Thanksgiving. I just can’t get into thanksgiving if I’m already decorating for Christmas! Sounds like you had a great Friendsgiving! That sounds like so much fun! Hope you feel better!
Taralynn McNitt says
Hahaha I feel bad for Thanksgiving. Christmas always takes over it’s parade. & thank you! I’m feel much much better! xo I hope you have a great Thanksgiving weekend and I can’t wait to hear all about it!
Christina says
I’m going to a bootcamp with battle ropes, resistance bands, and interval training! One food I will not be having on Thanksgiving is turkey because I recently became a vegan!
Taralynn McNitt says
That all sounds pretty intense!! Do you find it hard to be vegan during the holidays!? What are you having as substitutes?
Rachel says
This is my first time commenting, but I saw you have the Erin Condren Life Planner and I had to. I have been wanting one so bad ever since I got into the planner community!
As for your questions, my favorite Thanksgiving memories are staying up late at my mamaw’s cooking the turkey and my dad and my mamaw telling my mom she wasn’t using enough sage.
I absolutely hate cranberry sauce and I have no idea why. I like cranberries and I like stuff like cranberry relish. I think maybe it’s the slimy texture.
We always put the decorations up after Thanksgiving, but not on a particular day. However, they end up staying until February because my mom and I refuse to take them down despite dad’s protests.
Taralynn McNitt says
Hi Rachel:) I’ll be doing a Erin Condren post on Friday/Saturday!
1. Those are always fun nights 🙂
2. I’m with you on the cranberry sauce!!! I hate it too!!! yuck! BUT I like cranberries.
3. Lol my mom used to force my dad to help her take them down December 30th! They werent allowed to be up after the New Years! PSH. The house always looked so lifeless after Christmas 🙁
kat says
Ok you’re so beautiful!! if I had your body I would be over the moon happy(no stomach shaming here?) haha You inspire me so much and I just want to thank you!!??
Taralynn McNitt says
Thank you Kat and I’m sure you are absolutely beautiful! I hope you have an amazing thanksgiving!
kat says
Oh and I definitely put my Christmas decorations up BEFORE Thanksgiving lol
Taralynn McNitt says
I’m so excited to put mine up!!
Jen says
1. Watching the macy’s day parade is a must for my family! I think I’ll always be content to just watch it at home though (standing in the freezing cold with all those people just doesn’t sound as cozy)?
2.Candied yams! I’ve never been a fan
3.Usually they go up thanksgiving night, but the Christmas music had already begun ?
Taralynn McNitt says
1.I always get overran during the Macy’s Day parade with football! Ugh. Good thing there are two T.V.S 😀 I love watching those kinds of things in the warmth of my home. I feel the same way about the ball dropping on New Years!
2.Me either…
3. Christmas music begins in july for me 😉
Caitlyn says
When I was closer to home, we would watch the National Dog Show. I love seeing all the cute dogs! 😀
We don’t have all of our holiday decorations up yet, but they will be soon.
LOVE UND! I used to live in that area and they’re amazing!
Taralynn McNitt says
I love that too!! & ND 🙂 Hope you’re staying warm in the cold up there! xo & have an amazing Thanksgiving!
Melanie says
How is that Silk Almond Nog? I really want to try it! Also, I agree Peet’s Coffee is the BEST!
Favorite Thanksgiving tradition? Waking up early to help my mom cook!
One dish I will be steering clear from this year? I don’t think I will be avoiding anything! I like having at least a bite of every dish my mom makes.
Holiday decor before or after Thanksgiving? We pull out our Christmas decorations the weekend after Thanksgiving. I am so excited to decorate this weekend! Although I did put outdoor lights up on my porch this morning… I couldn’t help myself!
p.s. I love your Christmas mug 🙂 Are you happy there is no snow or are you missing the Michigan winters? (probably not lol)
Hope you have a great Thanksgiving Taralynn!
Taralynn McNitt says
It’s ALRIGHT…not as good as the SODELICOUS brand! https://simplytaralynn.com/2013/12/05/130-calorie-dairy-free-eggnog-protein-shake/
I used to love waking up early too! 🙂 I get up early now and just relax lol I usually avoid the green bean casserole cause it has cream of mushroom in it…grosssss!
Putting your decor up this weekend is something to look forward too!!
& Thank you! I got that mug IN MICHIGAN lol. I DO miss snow, but I love the “warmer” temps down here. We get like one snowfall a year, but thats about it. I did LOVE the Michigan snow, but too much was too much. I also lived in Detroit during the record breaking winter! lol
I hope you have a great Thanksgiving too!!!
Taisi says
1. I’m from Estonia, so we don’t actually celebrate Thanksgiving, but I’ve forced my family to do it with me for 2 years now. So my favorite memory is just my dad being all “why are we doing this?” as I get excited about pumpkin pie. 😀
2. I’m not going to avoid any dishes I think. I’m not going over the top with food.
3. Holiday decorations go up in the beginning of December! (:
Taralynn McNitt says
That is awesome! haha. Sometimes, I celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving as a way to represent my Canadian friends! I love the “why are you doing this” haha! Defintiely share those photos from your day! I’d love to see them!:) Or tag me in the instagram/twitter posts.
Going over the top always works!
I’m so excited for Christmas! 🙂 Do you have any special Christmas traditions!?
Jenn says
Can you please post this year what goes into those egg nog mudslides? They look delicious. Thanks!
Taralynn McNitt says
I’ll makes sure I spy on the recipe this year!!
Jenn says
Oh and to answer the questions (lol)
1. We don’t really have any traditions. My husband’s family is just him and his parents so rather than splitting holidays, they spend Thanksgiving with my family.
2. I tend to steer clear of squashes because I think they are gross. I’m not a big veggie person
3. Christmas decorations don’t go out until after Thanksgiving, usually the weekend after or so.
Taralynn McNitt says
1. That is nice that you guys can blend it up! I wish my brother lived closer so we could do that.
2. Squash is definitely a hit or miss!
3. Seems like its a 50/50 with the before or after Thanksgiving 😉
I hope you have a great Thanksgiving with your family! & I hope NO ONE brings squash to the table!
Kristin C says
I LOVE your chaise chair!
It has been so stinkin’ cold here! I really don’t mind because I have been so ready for sweater, but I was scraping my windshield too.
And as far as Thanksgiving traditions, if it were up to just me, I would put my decor up at the beginning of November (which is when I start the music and movies) but my husband cannot stand doing Christmas stuff before Thanksgiving, so we wait. He feels like Thanksgiving gets skipped over. BUT, the day after Thanksgiving, that dang tree goes up. lol.
Taralynn McNitt says
Thank you!!:)
Luckily we are back to warmth! hehe. Your husband is right, Thanksgiving is definitely NOT the golden child when it comes to holidays!
I hope you have a GREAT Thanksgiving and a blessed day!
Brooklyn says
I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, I love these long recap posts!
All of your food pics look so good. That salad from Chopt looks delicious. I wish we had one in Vancouver.
I tried a peppermint mocha this morning before work, it was really good, definitely something I’ll have to have again.
Also, you have a great stomach, so if you get any stomach shaming then those people are crazy, no worries 🙂
Taralynn McNitt says
Thank you Brooklyn!
& YES Chopt is so good. I’m kin of mad at myself for ordering the same salad twice, but I get nervous under pressure in a busy restaurant hahaha!
Glad you liked the peppermint mocha latte!
xo I hope you have an AMAZING Thanksgiving day! xo
Linda @ The Fitty says
Thanksgiving looks like an exciting tradition in your home. In canada we had it ages ago in October, but also being a Chinese family we never really celebrated it. Invite me to yours next time!
Taralynn McNitt says
You should throw a Friendsgiving 🙂 & you’re welcome to join ;)! xo Linda
Jen Frick says
Hey hey hey!
You know how much I love your recaps! My cousins and I had a non-traditional thanksgiving last week and we did Mexican! It’s always fun to change things up! I hope you’re feeling better and have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Thankful we connected this year 🙂 Here are my 3 answers!
1. When I was living in Boston, all of my relatives would meet at my uncle’s house and we would all separate accordingly. One room had all the aunts, another the uncles and another room had all the “kids.” The kids table was anyone under 30 lol
2. Cranberry sauce has ALWAYS turned me off! I don’t understand it!
3. Last year Matt and I were very late in putting up decorations (we bought our house a year ago!), but now that we’ve settled in I think we’re going to do it this weekend! So to answer question, after Thanksgiving! lol
Jen | http://www.lettersandpearls.com
p.s. can’t wait to see the new photos in the shop!!
Taralynn McNitt says
Hey Hey Hey Girl!
A Mexican-style Thanksgiving would be fun! Maybe I can steal that idea from you for next year. I am feeling much much better today and so excited for Thanksgiving breakfast/dinner! They had their party last night and it was super duper fun 🙂
1. Thats a whole lot of Thanksgiving rooms!
2. Agreed. I hate cranberry sauce.
3. I can’t WAIT to see our Christmas decor posts! I also have some things coming in for the shop that I’m going to get out to you for them! They’re all things Christmasy!! xo
Jen Frick says
I can’t wait!!! 🙂 Your pie crust was a HUGE hit yesterday!
Taralynn McNitt says
So glad it was!!:)
Jen H. says
Hi Taralynn!! (huge fan & daily follower here :))
1. I love that Nick’s family has a Thanksgiving breakfast and party the night before! I wish my family did something like that. Our Thanksgiving tradition is to always start our day with a mimosa bar! We cut up all kinds of fruits, have fresh OJ, and lots of champagne! Not a bad start to the day, am I right?
2. I’m an overall healthy eater and workout constantly but I allow myself to indulge on Thanksgiving! All things in moderation, right? Thanksgiving is about family, friends, being thankful, and of course the food so I allow myself to ‘relax’ for one day and not count calories.
3. Our Christmas decorations go up earlier and earlier each year and this year was no different. I’m proud to say that our Xmas tree was up on SATURDAY! Yup, thats almost a week before Thanksgiving. We have a HUGE 10ft tree with thousands of twinkly lights on it….if I had my way it would stay up all year!
Happy Thanksgiving Taralynn! Hope you and your family have a wonderful weekend and I’m looking forward to your posts about it!
Taralynn McNitt says
Hi Jen! Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
I had never heard of a pre thanksgiving party or a huge breakfast, but they totally pull it off. They have all of their friends over the night before and it gets wild! Last night was so much fun. When 40 year olds bring out the jello shots, you know it’s a party!
Thanks for the idea! I’m going to bring mimosas over this morning!
Thanksgiving is all about treating yourself and moderation! 🙂
The sooner I get it up, the sooner I get my Christmas shopping done!! (which i need to get on that) & your tree sounds GORGEOUS! Almost like our tree we had growing up!
& I hope you have an amazing Thanksgiving as well!!!! xo xo xo
Anita Childress says
1. Thanksgiving on the Island of Kauai was fabulous. Will always remember that year.
2. I have moved to a Vegetarian diet this year so will be avoiding the Turkey.
3. Christmas decorations wait till after Thanksgiving. Will put up the tree on Saturday or Sunday.
Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving!!
Taralynn McNitt says
Ugh. I bet that was AMAZING!
What are you having as a substitutive? When I was pescetarian, I’d always have salmon instead of turkey!
I hope you have a great Thanksgiving and have fun putting up the lights!
xo
Wonni says
Good morning!
Awww… Thanksgiving. I LOVED it. (My stepfather was an american. My mum and he separated after 8 years when he had to go back. Sad!) But we are not celebrating it in Germany. I loved the atmosphere of Thanksgiving. My stepfather was a chef. The dishes were incredible.
We used to decorate for christmas right after Thanksgiving.
My husband is all german, so he was really, really confused at his first christmas with me. Germans use to put up the tree on the 24th.
No way! 🙂
My husband comments everything with a shake of his head, when it comes to christmas. I´m half dutch, half german with an american soul.
The answer for question 3: Next week! 🙂
I´m going to bake the parts for the gingerbread houses today, so we can decorate them on the upcoming sunday.
So you were sick. Hope, you got over it by now. I´m in it since almost four weeks. I hate it. I´m not working out through that. Oh, I tried… but it was a disaster.
I guess, I´m over it next week and I´m really excited to get back to fitness.
Yeah, dogs are loyal. Mine are freaking out…even after 5 minutes.
Your question from the last comment. No, I haven´t tried ribbons added in the dutch braid yet. Maybe I should. A sparkling green ribbon for christmas. hehe
Ah, I wanted to tell you, that I made your Apple Crisp. That was sooooooo good! Although, I´ll use less sugar next time. It was a little to sweet.
Hug your pups and have nice day!
Taralynn McNitt says
Good Morning!
I love that you have an American soul! That is so funny. It sounds like you have some great Thanksgiving memories!
I had no idea that Germans put the tree up on the 24th! I’d feel ripped off lol It’s crazy to look at all the different traditions!
I’m much much better so thank you! Being sick SUCKS, but you feel better than ever after lol
So glad you liked the apple crisp! Sometimes the apples are sweet enough and don’t need all the sugar! 🙂
Hope you have a beautiful weekend! xo
Carrie says
1. My new favorite tradition is going to my in laws for thanksgiving. The best part now is we have a 1 1/2 year old and a 2 month old. There is just something extra special about holidays and kids and being with their grandma and grandpa.
2. I am not a huge mashed potato fan or pumpkin or pecan pie fan so I will skip those!
3. I help my mother in law the day after thanksgiving and I will do mine this coming up week!!!
Taralynn McNitt says
1.That is a great tradition and congrats on the little additions ;)I bet theyre so thrilled to have you over for Thanksgiving!
2.I’m picky about my potatoes!
3. That sounds fun 🙂
Happy Thankgiving!!
Kristin says
My favorite tradition is watching the Macy’s parade, I am always bummed when we miss it on traveling years.
Taralynn McNitt says
Yeah! I wish it was on at night! lol
Taralynn McNitt says
http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/11/macys_thanksgiving_day_parade.html
You can watch it online!! eeeeeek
kelly says
I would be thrilled if I had your stomach!! Lol I am currently pregnant, but once I give birth to my son in the Spring, I hope to get my midsection back to the way it used to be. 🙂
1. My husband and I see a movie every Thanksgiving night! It’s been our tradition ever since the beginning of our relationship. I love it.
2. I never eat the cranberries.. They just don’t look appetizing to me.
3. I am a HUGE Christmas fan. I usually decorate my house and put the tree up on black Friday after shopping. This time of year is my favorite 🙂
Taralynn McNitt says
Congrats on the pregnancy!!! 🙂
We usually go to a movie on Thanksgiving too! (depending on football games) lol
I like cranberries…just not the sauce…ewie
Black Friday is the perfect day to put up the tree while everyone is out shopping! I like to go the day after!
Kelli says
1.) One thing that has become somewhat of a tradition is doing the Turkey Trot with my husband early Thanksgiving morning. We’ve also got in a routine of having Thanksgiving lunch with his family, Thanksgiving dinner with my family, and then helping to put up my mom and dad’s Christmas tree while drinking eggnog and watching football 🙂
2.) One thing that I am super proud of myself this year is not eating any rolls. Every year I always have like 4 dinner rolls with Thanksgiving dinner. SO bad for me. I also took much smaller portions, and only finished half my slices of pie (gave the rest to my husband, haha). Oh and staying far away from my sister-in-law’s 7 layer salad. I have no idea how anyone can eat that…
3.) I usually wait until the Saturday or Sunday after Thanksgiving to put up decorations…. but the bug bit me early this year :/ I decorated everything last weekend, and have even lit my tree every day. Ugh. I know…
Taralynn McNitt says
1. That sounds like such a FUN tradition! I love the idea of going here and there! I’m excited to get all the decorations up today.
2. I stayed away from the rolls this year too haha. I loaded up on potatoes instead and pie 😉 Hope you treated yourself though!
3. I love it! 🙂 Seems like the spirit changes every year!
Happy Holidays!
Tiffany says
Love all your blog posts!!!
1. My favorite Thanksgiving tradition would have to be how my family gets all together and sings. Most of my family are very active singers in their church and they all sing for my grandparents when we get together for the Holidays.
2. I will be steering clear from my grandma’s fudge. She makes tons and tons of flavors. I always eat to much of it and put myself in sugar comma and make myself sick.
3. Normally I decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving to start getting me in the spirit but I am in my first semester of nursing school and I haven’t had much time for anything other than school. Or I guess rather when I have time I just want to sit and do nothing lol Hoping to get my decorations up this weekend.
Taralynn McNitt says
Thank you Tiffany!
1. That is such a fun tradition! I love that.
2. hahaha you have to have at least one piece! 🙂 I miss my grandmas fudge. She makes the BEST peanut butter fudge!
3. Hopefully you can find some time to get those lights up!
Alena says
Hi! So, my favorite memory of Thanksgiving is watching the parade before everyone came to our house for dinner. I didn’t really stay away from any foods this year.. But I will say every year I try a small amount of homemade cranberry sauce and it is just too sweet for me! I love sweets but homemade cranberry sauce is just tooooo sweet. Also, my fiancé and I don’t have decorations to put up and we’ve been living together for almost 5 years! We are currently looking for a place so definitely next year I will start buying things to decorate with! I always loved decorating when I lived at home!! (We did it after Thanksgiving to make a long story short lol!)
Taralynn McNitt says
I watched a bit of the parade this year, but found it very boring…and I’m so tired of all the lip-syncing every year! You guys should definitely at least get a tree 🙂
Haley says
Happy Thanksgiving! 🙂
1) Some traditions my family has (that I’m sure are the same for many families) are just being together all day and eating food and watching football, and maybe end with a movie. I just love to spend time with them!
2) I actually didn’t steer clear of food but I definitely worked on portion sizes. I feel a lot better about it too. 🙂
3). If i had my way with my family, christmas decorations would be up right after Halloween!! I listen to christmas music year round.
Taralynn McNitt says
Happy Thanksgiving!
We spend it the same way 🙂 We ended ours at the movies. We went to go see Creed.
It’s all about moderation, and treating yourself on Thanksgiving! 🙂
Thanksgiving is over and now you can go at it!!
dana says
love your blog 🙂 Hope you have a good Thanksgiving!
Taralynn McNitt says
Thanks Dana! You too!
Joslyn says
Hope you’ll have some time to sit and watch the Hawkeyes/Huskers game today! I’m a Husker but wishing best of luck to both teams 😉
Taralynn McNitt says
I’m so excited for the game!!
Stephanie says
Hey Taralynn,
I just wanted to say I love reading your posts! I used to read your posts all the time and try all your recipes then things got crazy in life and I kind of lost track of things. But I am getting back in the game of watching what I eat and being more active! You are so positive and such good motivation! Thank you for sharing the bits and pieces to your everyday life, sometimes it is just what I need to remember we are all human and even when we aren’t in the game today we can still try and do our best for that day! You are such a hero and someone to look up to!!
Thank you again!!!
Taralynn McNitt says
Thank you Stephanie! That means so much to me.
Life definitely gets crazy sometimes and it’s hard to stay on track. Keep up the positivity and good work!! xo
Kylie McGraw says
The picture of you and Grumples is so cute 🙂 I love Chopt! I’ve never had the kebob salad so I’ll have to try that next time! One of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions is making my Grandma’s cranberry sauce. I actually didn’t steer clear of any dishes this Thanskgiving…it was the first holiday in a few years that I wasn’t totally afraid of food the whole day and it felt good! I don’t like gravy AT ALL though! And we always put our decorations up on the weekend. Give Thanksgiving its day, and then break out all the holly jolly decorations. 🙂 Hope you had a fun holiday!!!
Taralynn McNitt says
Thank you Kylie!!
The kebob is so so good. Let me know which one you get! I’d love to try another. I’m so happy you had a good Thanksgiving and ate tons of delicious food! I never liked gravy until I got older! Now i love it 🙂 We also put decorations up! Im going to put my tree up today!
Heather says
Yum I love sushi and salad…I never thought to put it on top!
I always put my Christmas decorations the day or two right after Thanksgiving. I leave up my Fall decor until then.
Taralynn McNitt says
Sucha yummy combo!
I’m excited to put the rest of mine up tomorrow!
Monica says
Not trying to be picky but because is spelled with the a first: because. Not sure if your autocorrect is messing up! Also, how is school going!? Do you get a break for Christmas?
Taralynn McNitt says
It’s my autocorrect on the blog. Also, school is going fine. I take online classes, so it doesn’t make a huge difference over the holidays. My assignments are by the week, so still have things due.
Emily B says
I love these questions you’ve been asking on your blog! So I went back to answer some of the ones I hadn’t yet 🙂
1. My favorite tradition is getting up Thanksgiving morning, making a cup of coffee and watching the Macy’s Parade. Mostly the first hour with the Broadway performances.
2. Nothing. Absolutely nothing was skipped. It was all delicious!
3. Before. Because I have found in recent years that if I wait until after thanksgiving to everything Christmas related, I get SO stressed trying to get everything I want/need to get done before Christmas. So the last 2-3 years I’ve allowed myself to do a few Christmas-related things and decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving and I find the month of December to be MUCH more relaxing and enjoyable!
Taralynn McNitt says
THanks 🙂 I love all the responses and connecting with you guys!
1. That is the best part of Thanksgiving! I did the same 🙂
2. I skip the green bean casserole because it has cream of mushroom in it…(hate mushrooms), but enjoyed everything else!
3. That is actually really smart! I’ve been getting stressed with everything that needs to be done for Christmas! I may have to do that next year! Thanks for the tips!
Emily B says
I have a recipe for green casserole that doesn’t use “cream of crap” soup! Has no mushrooms. And It has bacon! It’s the best green bean casserole ever! Here is the recipe in case you are interested at all!
http://www.bunsinmyoven.com/2013/11/26/green-bean-casserole-with-no-canned-soups/
Taralynn McNitt says
Definitely interested!!! Thank you 🙂
Alishia says
I absolutely love your blog!
Thank you!
Taralynn McNitt says
Thank you Alishia!!!