Thanksgiving 2012

We spent Thanksgiving this year at my parent's house with a mixture of friends and family from all over. My mom spent 4 days cooking and setting tables to prepare for our wonderful feast. 

My brother-in-law, Adam, flew in from NYC to stay with Jake and I for a few days (which was awesome!). Together, Adam and I prepared a range of sides including: roasted chili lime cauliflower, roasted asparagus with toasted pine nuts and lemon zest, sharp cheddar and bacon corn casserole, sausage stuffed mushrooms and cheddar sage biscuits. Also, Adam made a pretty epic pumpkin tiramisu.

All of the food that we prepared was combined with my mom's scratch made mashed potatoes, sweet potato souffle, English peas with pearl onions, two different kinds of stuffing (my favorite was the cornbread sausage stuffing) and cranberry chutney. The main events were smoked turkey, fried turkey and filet mignon.

F o o d   c o m a. 

 We washed everything down with my dad's "Thanksgiving Dinner" cocktail which basically tastes like the holidays in a martini glass. I will see if I can get him to share the recipe here.

My sister and her husband, Mike, are due with their second daughter, Ellie, in early January. Since Mike's family was in town, we decided it would be the perfect time to surprise Britt & Mike with a shower. Our theme was "Thankful for Ellie". My mom ordered an adorable pumpkin shaped carrot cake that read, "Thankful for our little Punkin'" and I made a bunting and a "Thankful Jar" for all of us to fill throughout the day and place in Ellie's nursery.

All-in-all it was a fabulous Thanksgiving filled with dear friends and family and no shortage of food, great conversation or laughter.

Special thanks to the movie, "Brave", for teaching Addie to bend over roughly 55 times throughout the day and yell, "Feast your eyes!" (pictured above). Side note: I think Addie loves Kellie even more than her Rudolph.

Major photo overload, but with good reason -- lot's of beauty to capture.

How did you spend your Thanksgiving?

McCombs Family

Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of photographing the McCombs family. Joshua, Ashley, Lena and Parker make such a sweet family and were patient with me as I navigated my way through my first shoot with two young children.

I'm still busy editing this family session, but thought that I would share some of my favorites from our day together.

An Anniversary Celebration

This weekend, my sister and I (with the help of our husbands) hosted a dinner party in honor of our parent's 30th anniversary. Brittany made an incredible seafood bouillabaisse, together we made a roasted beet salad and some appetizers and I threw in some handmade decorations.

The traditional gift for a 30th anniversary is pearl, so all of us ladies wore pearls. My dad got my mom a gorgeous multi-strand fresh water pearl necklace (seen in photos below).

The best part of the evening was when each of us went around the table and shared our favorite memories involving our parents - there were some real classics. The recurring theme throughout each of our stories was my parents great love for one another and their awesome sense of humor that's kept them laughing through the years.

(toasting glasses from their wedding 30 years ago)

How cute are they?

Thirty Years

Two songs that always make me  think of my parents - I suggest playing while you read:

 

I've heard it said that it's not until we reach our mid twenties that we can fully recognize our parents as real people. Something inside clicks, and we realize that not long ago they too were twenty-five; scraping by, unsure of what the future held, trying to carve out their place in the world.

I've always been grateful for my parents, but there's been a shift in the last few years that's opened my eyes to all that my parents have done for my sister and I. When I look at pictures of my childhood I can still feel the sense of comfort and security that their love for us and for one another provided. Steady, honest, real love. 

My mom's excitement for life and desire to celebrate even the smallest occasions, paired with my dad's passion for travel and adventure made for the best kind of childhood. Beautifully warm holidays and family vacations that were peppered with as much learning and culture as my dad could pack in. From school projects to Sunday night dinners, my parent's desire to "live big" has lit a fire within me to never settle for ordinary.

There are certain images of my parents that stand out from the rest; my mom bent over a sewing machine making our Halloween costumes by hand, the sound of the computer keyboard tapping into the wee hours of the morning while my dad tried to crank out just one more article to bring in extra money for our family. It's the memory of my mom steadily pacing in the hospital waiting room while my dad was in the operating room undergoing surgery to remove his prostate cancer. It's the look of complete adoration on my dad's face when he watches my mom as a grandmother.

I've been asked why I decided to marry at a young age. Clearly, finding the right person had a lot to do with it -- but even more so, it's my parent's model of marriage that has given me so much to look forward to.

From 1979, when wearing a powder blue leisure suit in public was socially acceptable through the 80s and 90s when my mom's hair soared to new heights (literally), one constant has remained -- their love and deep respect for one another.

In their thirty years of love and laughter, silly and not-so-silly arguments, diaper changes and late night feedings, chorus concerts and graduations, hard times and moments of pure joy, from walking Brittany and I to the bus stop to walking us both down the aisle -- they've done it all with such grace.

Here's to the next 30!