I feel like it’s been so long since we’ve chatted on a Friday! Between the holiday last week and our power outage the week before, we have so much to catch up on! But first, some recent photos, of course :)

1. So, the power outage was crazy! We were without power for about 30 hours, which I realize for people who have lived through hurricanes and natural disasters, that it sounds like nothing. But, it’s the longest I’ve ever been without power and with three little kids in a cold house, it wasn’t ideal! Luckily we only had to stay away from home one night, but boy did it make me grateful for what we DO have and that we never even have to think about. There were others who were without power for nearly a week. The amount of trees that were down just to due to ice was astounding. We heard crashing in the woods behind our house multiple times, and when all was said and done, there were trees basically littering the roads.

2. When I got back home and started the dreadful process of getting rid of all the food that had spoiled in our refrigerator, I realized that, even though the power had been back on for about 8 hours, the refrigerator wasn’t cold at all. It took GE service until the day before Thanksgiving at 4pm to get here, but we found out the circuit board blew when the power came back on. The guy had another one on his truck and was able to make the quick switch and we could start loading the fridge back up on Thanksgiving morning. Again, felt so grateful that we have a spare refrigerator in our garage that we were able to use, and that we didn’t need to buy a whole new refrigerator!

3. Which leads me to… how was your Thanksgiving??! I want to hear all about your favorite foods! We had a wonderfully fun day with all of our family. I do have this nagging feeling though… I’m starting to think there needs to be some type of chocolate dessert option on Thanksgiving. Is this blasphemy? What do you serve for dessert? It’s always pumpkin pie (which I don’t like), pecan pie (which I do like), and walnut cookies. For some reason this year I was left totally craving chocolate!

4. Do you remember last year when I told you that a picture I had posted years ago of me with my sister and cousins at the kids’ table on Thanksgiving got found somehow and made into a meme that was all over Facebook? Well… it happened again lol!

5. Fun news! I recorded a podcast with Elaine from Dishing with Delicious, and you can listen to it HERE. I chat a lot about how I started blogging, how it has evolved since I began, and a few “rapid fire” questions at the end with some fun facts about me. I hope you’ll give it a listen!

6. Let’s talk holiday gift guides! I’ve posted a few so far (for foodies, for the home, for him and for her) and have a few more to post through December, but I’m curious – do you like them spread out like this with one or two per week, or would you rather have them all at once before shopping season starts (like leading up to Black Friday)? I’ll make a note for next year :)

7. I’m planning to make some photo books and would love to have some recommendations! I’m currently looking at Shutterfly and Artifact Uprising. Have you used either, both, or another service you loved? Please share!

8. I was surfing through the stations on Sirius in the car one day a couple of weeks ago when “Hey Jealousy” by the Gin Blossoms came on the 90’s station. I forgot how much I LOVED that song back in the day… totally underrated.

9. We are all decorated for Christmas here! The Thanksgiving leftovers were barely cold and I was whisking down the pumpkins on the mantle and throwing up lit garland and our stockings. Speaking of! We have been using a mashup of initial stocking for the last handful of years, but since we needed to add new ones for Isabelle and Judith this year, we sprung for personalized stockings from Pottery Barn Kids and they are GORGEOUS. A splurge, but on the order of “things we’ll keep forever”.

10. TGIF! I hope you have a cozy weekend!