Thanksgiving Week

The fall season has come and gone in a blink of an eye and now we are coming onto our holiday season!  We have had such a busy fall with weekend getaways that the year has come to an end incredibly fast!  I am going to back track a little bit and cover some wonderful trips that we took.  We love going up to the mountains during the fall so we take any chance we can get to do so.  We always do a cabin weekend for my father in law's birthday in November, and this year it fell the weekend before Thanksgiving. After taking all Thanksgiving off and enjoying way too much food, we also decided to celebrate my birthday with some friends in a cabin in Blue Ridge (to be posted in the next post). 

For my father in laws birthday, we hit the road around 4 on Friday to make the drive up to the mountains.  The cabin was up in  Blue Ridge, and shortly after we arrived, Joe's parents and brother got to the cabin.  We relaxed and unpacked the car for a bit and then enjoyed some dinner.  Dinner was amazing ribs, brisket, cole slaw, and mac and cheese, prepared before we got to the cabin.  After dinner, it was time to cut the cake.  We enjoyed some cake, tea, and football before heading to the hot tub for a bit before bed time.

The recipe for the cake can be found here

  

The next morning we slept in and slowly got up.  Joe's mom made french toast and sausage while Joe got the fire going.  After breakfast, Joe and I went on a short hike before we got ready and headed to downtown Blue Ridge to explore.  After exploring the area, we enjoyed some hot chocolate before heading back to the cabin.  Once we got back, it was time for our 2nd annual wine tasting! We sampled 4 wines

After wine tasting we relaxed a bit before it was dinner time. Dinner was wonderful grilled steak, mashed potatoes, mushrooms, and I am sure more food.  It was all so good!  After dinner it was time for Yatzee.  Unfortunately I didn't win, but had such a fun time!  It was bed time before we knew it, so after some more hot tub time, we headed to bed!

The next morning we slowly got up and had waffles for breakfast, then hit the road.  Joe and I headed to Friendsgiving at Kristina's house which has become a tradition. We had made the stuffing to bring at the cabin, so we just warmed it up once we got to her house.  After enjoying friends and food, we headed home to enjoy Thanksgiving week!

I was off all week so life was good!  A lot of errands had to be run, and the house needed a good cleaning from top to bottom. We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving meal at the DiDias.  My parents drove down to Atlanta and my brother joined us.  It was so wonderful having the whole family together!  We enjoyed a fried turkey and a traditional one, lentils, potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, homemade bread, and so much more!  We also had an apple and chess pie for desert!

Kellie Ann and I got a hike in on Wednesday around Roswell Mill and didn't get lost.  

Joe and I picked up our tree from Pike and started the decorating process.

On Saturday we watched Georgia Tech football beat UGA in their rivalry game at Duncan's house after drinking our hearts fill of Mimosas and made sure all the dogs were wearing their best GT attire.   All in all, it was just a fun and relaxing week.   

Vacation Week and Thanksgiving!

This past week was a wonderful week spent with family and friends!  I had a lot of vacation left before the end of the year hit so I decided it was time for me to use some of it and take the week of Thanksgiving of.  After a weekend filled with Engaged Encounter, I hit the road early Monday morning to head up to Grenville for a couple of days.  I got there in no time and didn't hit much traffic which was wonderful. After I got home I took a long walk with my brother so that we could catch up before heading downtown to meet up with Amanda.  Amanda and I headed to the path that takes you through the park downtown and had so much fun walking, catching up, and staying warm (It was quite cold out!)  After finishing up our 6 mile walk, I headed hope to spend some time with my parents since they had gotten off of work.  Courtney came over for family dinner, as always, and we enjoyed some wine and good company.

Greenville is so pretty!!!

 

Tuesday was a relaxing day in the morning before heading to meet Sarah for lunch.  We had planned to go to Tupelo Honey but it was very rainy out and parking was terrible so we ended up changing plans and going to Genghis Grill.  Of course the food is great there but the company was even better!  After spending 2 hours at lunch catching up I came home and got a workout in before heading to Courtney's apartment to cook dinner and enjoy great company.  Courtney made the best cheesy chicken recipe and I cannot wait to try it!  After dinner I headed home to spend some more time with my family since they had been working all day.

Wednesday was nice because my mom was off of school, so we headed out and did some shopping and took a walk before preparing dinner for lunch time.  My dad came home from work early so that we could eat as a family before I hit the road and headed back to Atlanta.  I knew traffic would be bad but it only took me an extra 45 minutes or so to get home, which could be worse!  After getting home, Joe and I cooked dinner before friends came over.  Since everyone was off the next day for Thanksgiving, we were excited to spend some time with friends that we hadn't seen in a while.  We headed over to 5 Paces to visit our favorite bar tender Jessie (I friend from GT that also swam with me) and dance the night away.

super excited about the popcorn!

Thursday morning came quick and after relaxing and sleeping in, we headed up to Joe's parents house to spend Thanksgiving with them.  Of course the food was great, and we enjoyed two turkeys, one fried and one baked, as well as plenty of sides and deserts to eat!  All of the food was amazing and we really are lucky to have family so close to us.  When we got home Joe dragged out the Christmas stuff we had since we had not been able to put it out in quite some time!  He did a great job putting up all of our houses that we had bought years ago right after Christmas for a great price, but had never gotten to put up since he was normally moving Christmas time.  Slowly, things in the house were starting to look like Christmas, but we still have a ways to go!

Thanksgiving in the making!

Putting up the Christmas Village...time to add snow :)

Christmas Decorating in his hat :)

Friday morning I headed to the gym to work off some of the food from the previous day, and even hopped in the pool and swam two miles (3300 yds!)  I was so proud of myself and it only took me an hour :)  After a great workout, I took Rox for a walk before Joe got home from Golf.  We went to dinner at the Atlanta Fish Market where we enjoyed amazing sea food and celebrated my birthday a bit early.  After getting home, Joe's friends came over for another evening of fun.  Since it was cold out, we headed to Ivy just down the street where we danced and had a great time.  After Ivy we hit up waffle house before heading home.

Family Photo!

Saturday morning came way too quick and before we knew it we were heading to Georgia Tech for the GT vs. UGA football game.  Joe's parents had given us tickets so we were excited to tailgate and spend some time with friends before watching the game.  There were so many GT Alum in town so it was great seeing everyone, catching up, and we finally got to see Kevin and Baby Liam!  It was so cute seeing Joe hold him, and Liam is the cutest baby ever!  After tailgating we headed to the game with Duncan, Kayla, and Megan who was in town for a couple days.  Although we may have froze, and lost a considerable lead that made Tech go into overtime and lose, it was such a good time seeing everyone!  We headed home from the game and warmed up in bed and watched the Clemson/Carolina game from the warmth and comfort of our house before going to bed.

Sunset at the Game!

All Bundled Up!

Game Time!

So much fun with these two!

Love :)

Time for Kick Off!

Sunday was Christmas decorating day, so we started by getting some ornaments, tree skirt, and so much more since we really didn't have anything!  We want to keep this year minimally decorated and by everything after Christmas on sale, but we still wanted to have a tree up and decorated.  After buying a tree, we set it up and are letting it fall so that we can decorate it later in the week.  The gifts are already wrapped and under the tree so all that is left is putting up the lights and ornaments!  This was the first time I ever picked out a tree so it was quite an experience but we had a good time.  Once that was done it was time to make spaghetti sauce for the freezer since we were all out and then make meatloaf for the first time!  This is Joe's favorite food, and I will have to put up the recipe soon because it really did turn out well!  Before we knew it, it was time for me to pack for the week of travels and head to bed after an amazing week filled with food, friends, and family.

Our Tree!

New Stockings :)  Roxy has the best one :)

More than ever, I realized how much I have to be Thankful for.  I have such an amazing support system from my family and friends, a fiance that loves me more than anything else, and a life that I wouldn't give up for the world.  As I fell asleep the last night as a 24 year old, I realized that it had been a great year, highlighted with getting engaged, but 25 is going to be even better!  Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Embracing Nature for A Weekend

This week was an exciting week traveling to Alabama and being able to drive on a trip instead of heading to the airport early Monday morning!  After coming back from Alabama Thursday afternoon, it was finally time to get our granite installed. Joe and I had been piecing together our downstairs bar in our living room and had put together a cabinet and bought the wine and beer fridges a while ago.  After that, it was time to pick our what top we wanted.  After looking at some places, we finally settled on a white marble with black specs in it to tie in all of the white furniture and then darker kitchen counter tops.  The installers arrived minutes after I got home, and were done literally in about 5 minutes!  It was so exciting seeing the counter tops finally go up because we had been waiting on them for quite some time!  We still have a lot to do with the bar and we have to lay a back splash, put up some shelves, and raise the fridges, but it is all slowly coming together. 

Thursday night was also the GT vs. Clemson game, so around 7, Joe and I headed to Deck and Kayla's house for dinner and game watching.  Although they live really close to us, it took us an hour to get there because we were stuck in the worst traffic ever!  Once we finally go there we enjoyed an amazing meal!  They made caprese skewers and pomegranate chicken pasta which was absolutely amazing!  Although the game didn't turn out the way we wanted (and I will admit that Clemson is definitely the better team), it was such a fun evening.

Before we knew it, the week was over and it was time to head up to the Blue Ridge Mountains to enjoy a weekend in a cabin with Joe's family.  We rode up with Joe's parents and enjoyed an amazing meal of coleslaw, brisket, brats, and so much more.  Joe's dad is an amazing cook so there is always so much food to eat and it is always amazing.  We headed to bed fairly early, since we knew we would be up the next morning.

After a relaxing Saturday morning, we enjoyed a French Toast Casserole and some meats for breakfast.  After breakfast Joe and I headed out for a walk that might not have been long, but was extremely hilly!  It was good to get out even though it wasn't the most amazing weather.  Once we got home, Matt and Kim made a realy good snack that was a ricotta honey spread, prosciutto, and cantaloup on top of toasted french bread.  It was an amazing combination of flavors! We then watched the beginning of the UGA vs. Auburn game and then had a wine and cheese tasting.  The tasting was put on by Joe's dad, Jim, and he was so knowledgeable about how wines are made, what to eat with them, what flavors we should taste, etc.   Although I am not a huge cheese person, it was really interesting tasting the wine and cheese flavors mix and I think we all definitely learned a lot!  Next time we might drink a bit slower but it was so fun.  We took a break after the wine and cheese to let it all sit before having round two of appetizers, grilled shrimp. After watching the end of an incredibly exciting game, it was dinner time.  For dinner, we had steaks, hash browns, and mushrooms which were all amazing (I told you we ate a lot)!  After dinner we went to the hot tub to relax for a bit and let the food set.  Then it was game time, and we all played Yahtzee.  Kim and I had never played so it was quite a learning experience but a very fun game! I may or may not have had beginners luck on my side, and I won!!!!  Below you will see how much I beat Joe by :)  After game time it was cake time to celebrate Jim's birthday.  I had made a cake from Southern Living that was a combination of Red Velvet Cake and Cheesecake with White Chocolate Icing and it was amazing (and huge).  After cake, we headed to bed after a fun day of eating and relaxing.

6 Wines...6 Cheeses :)

Sunday morning was another relaxing morning with a frittata and pork roll for  breakfast.  After getting the cabin packed up, we headed to an apple orchard  and explored the store before hitting the road and heading home. After getting home we relaxed for the remainder of the evening, and I am contemplating heading to the gym and swimming off some of the food form this weekend!  Although it wasn't beautiful weather, it was a very relaxing weekend with so much amazing food and great company!  Now, off to get ready to go to Florida for the week (and enjoy Disney behind the scenes to look at some gauges and transmitters :) )

Apple Orchards

Everyone is in the ATL!!!!

This past week was a week working from home, catching up on emails and planning the remainder of the year.  It is crazy that it is already November!  Pretty soon it will be the holidays :)  This weeks weather was very much fall weather and it made for perfect pumpkin carving, tailgating, and outdoor activities!

The excitement of the week was Wednesday, when Kellie Ann and Reza came over for dinner and then pumpkin carving.  We had bought the pumpkins while up at Helen so we were finally getting around to carving them, just in time for Halloween!  Dinner was homemade baked sweet and sour chicken with rice and Kellie Ann brought over Joe's favorite buffalo chicken dip that he had been craving all week!  After dinner was done we grabbed some wine and headed to the rooftop to carve our pumpkins!  Kellie Ann and Reza decided to do a ghost while Joe and I decided to do Buzz and a GT in honor of homecoming weekend!  We figured that way we had an excuse to light it after Halloween had passed and we could show off our Tech spirit!  We had such a good time carving pumpkins and roasting pumpkin seeds!

Final Product of our Pumpkin!!!

Before we knew it, it was the weekend again and the festivities began.  This was homecoming weekend for Georgia Tech which always means that everyone comes back into town!  On top of that, it was Alumni weekend for the swim team so I knew we had an exciting weekend in store.  Friday, the house was all decorated for fall and ready for all of our visitors!   Courtney was the first to arrive so it was great getting some time with her to catch up and take Rox on a walk since we wouldn't have too much time for her this weekend.  After our walk we got dinner in the oven and cupcakes made so that we were ready for everyone else to arrive.  Joe and I had dinner before getting ready for the evening full of fun.  A couple swimmers were staying at our place for the weekend so we opened some bottles of wine and enjoyed the rooftop on a brisk evening.  Some of Joe's friends came over as well, and Dillon, one of Joe's best friends was in town so he had a great time catching up with him. We then headed out to Ivy for a night of dancing and fun!  We had a lovely NYU BFF reunion at Ivy and it was so good FINALLY getting to see Sarah Anderson even if it was only for a little bit!

NYU BFFs!!!

LOVE these girls :)

Saturday morning came way to quick and we got up  bright and early to head to the pool for the Alumni Meet.  The swim team always has a meet where the Alumni swim the current team and I must say I am quite impressed with the Alumni and their swimming abilities post college!  I sat out this year so that I didn't injure my already hurt ankle any further but it was so good catching up with old friends and being by the pool again.  After the meet we headed to West Egg right by campus where we waited quite some time to seat 16 people, but since the weather was beautiful outside, it wasn't all that bad!  After a long wait we finally sat down and enjoyed an amazing brunch!  Then Courtney and I headed home and took Rox on a walk, took a quick 20 minute nap, and then got ready to head to GT's campus to tailgate!

GT Alumni Meet!

Part of the Table at West Egg

We got to campus and headed to the bridge to see some of the track alumni and then headed to the Swim Team Alumni tailgate.  There we enjoyed catching up with everyone that we hadn't seen in a while and then met up with Joe's parents for a bit.  After eating and catching up with Joe's parents I got to see Sarah Anderson for about 2 minutes before going back to the Alumni Tailgate for a bit.  We then decided to skip the actual game because it was getting to be very cold.  We headed to Big Kahuna where Dillon was was holding a Miami Donor watch party to watch that game and track the GT game as well in a warmer environment!  At halftime we headed home to finish watching the game and get ready to go out for the evening.

Love :)

Best Friend I ever Had :)

Some of my favorite Alum :)

Sun Setting At Tech!

We headed to 5 Paces this time around and met up with a lot of the younger alumni and older current swimmers.  It was so much fun dancing the night away and bar hopping in that area.  Although we got an extra hour at the bars, we were exhausted fairly early into the evening and headed home to enjoy an extra hour of sleep!

Sunday morning we got up and said our goodbyes to everyone that had stayed at our place this weekend and after breakfast went back to bed.  We must have been exhausted because we woke up and it was lunch time.  After relaxing for a bit, Andy and Meredith stopped by so we caught up with them.  We then planned meals for the week and headed to Kroger before eating dinner.  After a long and exciting weekend, it was nice to have a low key Sunday so that we are ready for another week! It was so fun getting to see everyone in town this weekend and I was so sad to see everyone go.  Why can't everyone just live in Atlanta?  Now, an early bed time is much needed to get ready for another week of work!