As promised (kind of...) - Brady

I half kept the promises I made in my last post. I did remember to take pictures during our "Turkeyless Day." But I didn't post them early this week, and there aren't that many. A lot of the photos I took ended up blurry. Lucky we participated in Black Friday for maybe the first time ever and got a new, fancy camera. (I still loosen my collar, Steve Martin in Father of the Bride style, when I think about how much it cost.)

Here's what I've got, though. It was, again, a perfect day. Pictures, with captions, below. 

The main table, all set up before the guests arrived.

Five of my favorite ladies, Grandma, Kelly, Mom, Amy, and Cindy, my mother-in-law. 

It was about 60 degrees outside, warm enough to open the screen door to our balcony.

My plate. From the top, clockwise: Grandma's party potatoes, Cindy's corn casserole,  Kevin's sweet potatoes with miso sauce, Kevin's roasted brussels sprouts, Lesley and Paul's jicama and tomato salad with beet ranch dressing, fruit, Cindy's honey buns, Kevin's stuffed onions, and, in the center, Kevin's cauliflower au gratin and Trader Joe's Turkeyless Roast. Best Veggie Thanksgiving yet!

All three of my grandparents.

The dessert table - chocolates from La Porte, pumpkin pie, bourbon chocolate pecan pie, sweet potato pie, cranberry pear ginger crumble, fruit, and bourbon laced whipped cream.

I say this every year, but I love starting the holidays this way! I hope your Thanksgiving was as nice as mine and that your holiday season is off to a great start.

It's the most wonderful time of the year! - Kelly

I know that winter is kind of a drag here in the midwest but I'm not going to lie- it's totally my favorite time of the year.  October is one of my favorite months and it's only a warm up for all the goodness that's about to unfold.  Fall weather... pumpkin pie... changing leaves... millions of excuses to drink and eat a little too much (or maybe a lot too much!) with all my favorite people...

The holidays are the best.

Besides gearing up for the holidays life has been BUSY!  Here's a little peak of all the fun things I've been up to:

 Friendsgiving with my book club ladies

Getting my political fix with some of my Chicago favorites!

Running way too many miles on a cold morning for chocolate with Brady

And I'll leave you with these cute little guys (compliments of my grandparents!).  They are getting my apartment all warmed up for the holiday madness that is about to be unleashed post Thanksgiving... :)

Veggie Thanksgiving is Almost Here! - Brady

Right now, Kevin is at the farmers market about a mile away. After that, he'll drive to our favorite garden shop to pick up firewood, then to the grocery store, then to Lesley and Paul's to get their knife sharpener.

Why?

Because our Annual Vegetarian Thanksgiving celebration is tomorrow! One of my FAVORITE days of the year.

You can read previous years' posts here and here.

Also, I think we need to come up with a better name for this holiday. "Veggie Thanksgiving" or "Tofurkey Thanksgiving," as we sometimes call it, are just kind silly...they don't capture the awesomeness that is our entire families coming to Chicago for the day to eat the out-of-this-world good food Kevin makes. This year, I'm most excited about the roasted sweet potatoes with miso sauce.

Last year I didn't remember to take pictures until after everything had been eaten - I'll try to do better tomorrow and post early next week!