Well, I hope everybody’s belly is full from a delicious feast & family-filled Thanksgiving. Ours was wonderful: beautiful sunny weather, an outstanding meal, and lots of laughs with my parents, in-laws, and granny-in-law.

I’m getting close to wrapping up my “month of thankfulness,” so I’ll be quick: Day #20: thankful for safe travels; #21, thankful for perfect weather during the holiday; #22, thankful for an abundance of food (both on Thanksgiving and throughout the year); and #23, thankful for the often humorous memories of loved ones who were with us only in spirit this year.

Since I didn’t post a WIAW, I’ve got a lot of eats to share from Wednesday through today. Thank you to Jenn at Peas and Crayons for hosting a special Thanksgiving link-up.

Before a speed-cleaning marathon of a morning, I downed this seasonal pumpkin spice green smoothie (spinach, half a frozen banana, pumpkin, orange juice, chia seeds, cinnamon, & nutmeg) for some energy. It worked…and I finished just in time to freshen up for some sushi for lunch, vino stock-piling, and grocery shopping for the big day.

The in-laws arrived after my gymnastics class (at which we did extra v-ups in anticipation of Thanksgiving dinner!) and we enjoyed a delicious cream of mushroom soup adapted from this recipe. Mark helped me whip up a sinless sticky toffee pecan pudding from Oh She Glows before we called it a night.

Thanksgiving morning, the magic happened. The husband made his comfort-inducing mashed potatoes, and I roasted some brussels sprouts and Fuji/Braeburn apples.

Mark picked up Granny from her hotel and we joined my parents at their house for this lovely feast.

On Mark’s plate, clockwise: mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, sweet potato-stuffed orange, cornbread stuffing, mirliton dressing, green beans, roasted turkey, and brussels sprouts/apples in the center. Quite a meal!

The toffee pudding was a success, as you can tell.

We don’t do Black Friday, so after sleeping in, the in-laws, Mark, and I had some lunch at Mimo’s Cafe (expect a review in the future) and did a little browsing at some antique stores. We then bought our Christmas tree, which has been our tradition for about 4 years.

Sipping some wine from our “pre-Christmas” gift (penguins!), we decorated the tree and gobbled up some leftovers. All in all, a perfect Thanksgiving. 🙂