Thanksgiving Weekend Photo Diary [2017]
Happy Monday-after-Thanksgiving! Can you believe that we’re already on the other side of the holiday? A friend and I were likening it to waiting in a very long line for a roller coaster that’s over in less than 2 minutes… so much planning and prepping, and in the blink of an eye, everyone has eaten, all of the food is gone, and clean up begins!
We had another wonderful Thanksgiving holiday at our home, with tons of family, great food, and lots of laughs. We didn’t waste any time once Thanksgiving was over, and kicked our decorating game into high gear on Friday and by Saturday afternoon we had most of the house decorated. We got out for a little date night on Saturday and went to the Penguins game, then had our usual Sunday dinner yesterday.
We’re going to work on getting back into a little bit of a normal routine this week, but first I’m sharing tons of pictures from our weekend! I was admittedly awful at getting some family pictures early in the day before everyone showed up (I loved our pictures from last year and omg, Dominic was SO TINY!), so the ones we have are dark and from late in the day when everyone was frazzled and ready for bed ;-) Oops, lesson learned! Nonetheless, enjoy the pictures and please share some of your favorite eats from the weekend in the comments below!
Thank you for taking us along on your journey to becoming the fantastic photographer that you are!
Loved all our pictures. Your boys are growing up quickly. All the food looked wonderful. We did a fried turkey as well. Merry Christmas.
Love all your photos. I have been looking for stocking holders and love yours. Where did you find them? Â
Hi Cheryl, Thank you! So the first four stocking holders are these basic ones from Target: http://rstyle.me/n/cvd2uhcaugx and on top are just votive holders. I bought them from Target years ago and couldn’t find them on their website anymore. Then the far right one is this stocking holder (also from Target): http://rstyle.me/n/cvd2yfcaugx. Hope that helps!
Absolutely the most beautiful Christmas tree ever – love the photos with the boys too – so cute!
Great pictures – we had both a ham and a turkey and about 17 people total. It was really great food and a great time together and i can’t believe how fast time seems to be flying this year!
what is the vegetable you served? looks yummy!!
Hi Mary, Do you mean the green one? It was a shaved Brussels sprouts salad. I added it at the last minute on a whim, and it was one of the most popular dishes at the table! I will work on getting the recipe posted!
Lovely tree! I made your cranberry sauce recipe and mashed potatoes. Both were big hits. My daughter said they were the best mashed potatoes ever. I have made them before, but this was my first time trying the tips for keeping them warm in the crock pot. Maybe the extra splash of cream added that extra something.
Hi Linda, So thrilled to hear the cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes were a hit. My family would disown me if I didn’t make those mashed potatoes – they’re a big favorite here too! Cream certainly never hurts :)
That plate is picture perfect! Mmmm I can smell it through the screen!
Looks like a fabulous dinner with loved ones, and the Christmas decor is GORGEOUS!!! Can’t wait to put up my tree! (Until my cat decides to sit in the branches…)
Thanks Amy!
We ended up deep-frying our 20 lb turkey right outside of our garage. Â We used the propane deep-fryer. Â Question: Â does deep-frying in the kitchen leave an oil smell throughout the house? Â Also would you share your turkey rub and how long did you leave it on? Â Beautiful Christmas Tree!
Hi Judy, It doesn’t really smell up the house at all, surprisingly! The dry brine rub I used this year I found in the Wall Street Journal (we get it at home, but I found the article here). I’m not sure if you can access it, but it was a combination of kosher salt, dark brown sugar, sweet paprika, crushed red pepper flakes, ground dried apple, and cloves. I put the rub on Tuesday evening and left the turkey in the refrigerator, uncovered, until we cooked it on Thursday.
All you need for Thanksgiving is loving family.
100% agree :)
Is that the Butterball Fryer? I saw it before Thanksgiving and was considering, but didn’t do it! Did you use it indoors? How do you like it? (if it is indeed the Butterball) If not, please share the brand and what you think. I’ve never had deep fried turkey and heard it’s a must. Thanks! Hope you’re feeling well. :)
Hi Betsy, Yes, it is the Butterball! It’s the XL version: http://amzn.to/2yE3qCB. We use it in the kitchen, as it’s an indoor fryer. This was our 6th year doing deep fried turkey and we have no plans to stop, it’s delicious!
Dominic looks so BIG! It is hard to believe he has grown so much. And Joseph is just a little boy now – they grow so fast! As usual, your pictures are beautiful – and that last picture of Dominic in front of the tree is breathtaking!
I know, they’re getting so big so fast, I can’t believe it!
Loved all your photos. Don’t like turkey but your husband did a great job. Looked good enough that I would have tried it. Your tree is beautiful. Now it is time to get ready for Christmas. Looks like you might have a dood start.
Thank you Linda! I’m not a turkey fan either, so I always load up on sides, haha!
Hello Michelle – love the pictures of your Thanksgiving meal and Christmas decorations. For my family dinner, I made your Taffy Apple Salad and Cranberry Sauce recipes. Both were a hit, but especially the Cranberry Sauce. I made it on a whim for my husband, because I have not usually eaten much in the past (you know, the canned varieties). He said, and I agreed, that it is the best we have ever eaten! This recipe for Cranberry Sauce will now be a staple every year for our Thanksgiving dinner. Thank you so much for sharing it and your blog. Love, love it!
I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the cranberry sauce! My husband commented that he has matured so much since he now loves the homemade cranberry sauce but would previously only eat the canned, ha!
Thank you for sharing your Thanksgiving photos with me, enjoyed seeing that you were with your loved ones, your children are handsome and growing fast, as all children do, your dinner looked so delicious, beautiful presentation. Thanks for sharing your photos with me. Belated Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones…Enjoying your recipes you send me…Thank you and God Bless ! ! !Â
Beautiful dinner, beautiful boys, and beautiful tree Michelle! Looks like you had a wonderful weekend-and as a fellow die-hard Pens fan, their win not only made it better, but made up for the atrocious loss we had earlier. I must say my favorite Thanksgiving food was the blueberry-cranberry sauce with Cabernet my Mom made-never have been a big fan of regular cranberry sauce, but this was DEElicious!
Talk to us about that fryer. I was almost tempted to get one this year. My husband the propane gas type. Was the turkey moist & brown when taken out of the fryer? Â How big was it? How long did it take to fry. Â Getting info for next year.
thank you
Hi Sylvia, Sure! I actually wrote a lengthy post about how we deep fry our turkey a few weeks ago, which you can find here: https://www.browneyedbaker.com/how-to-deep-fry-a-turkey/. But to answer your questions, this is the fryer we use (Butterball Indoor XL): http://amzn.to/2yE3qCB. Yes, the turkey is totally moist and super brown (you can see photos in that post). The turkey we did this year was slightly more than 21 lbs. Frying is 3.5 to 4 minutes per pound, and usually takes us around 1 hour 20 minutes/30 minutes (we usually have a turkey right around 20 lbs). I hope that helps!
Never knew you could ride coaster pregnant? Of course I never thought about it!
The last picture of your son in front of the light tree with the lights off. Is absolutely a beautiful moment innocence!😇
I’m pretty sure you can’t ride roller coasters while pregnant, it was just a comparison we made to prepping/consuming Thanksgiving dinner 😉 And thank you! I adore that photo too :)