What I did on my Thanksgiving Vacation...

I was so happy this year when my calendar worked out to allow 6 days off for Thanksgiving!  

See, there was lots to do since my whole family was coming to Houston this year and on top of that my mom and I decided to throw a shower for my two new nieces! So, a recap of events, part one.

Wednesday- spent the day gathering supplies for the shower. Also got my hair did, which took way longer than expected, but when you're getting your head massaged it would be plain stupid to ask the stylist to hurry up. The thing I remember most about this day is that I decided never again will I go to the grocery store the day before Thanksgiving at 5 pm.  INSANE! Met half the family for Mexican food and came back home to continue working on the list of to do's to get ready for the sip-n-see. 

Thursday- I woke up around 9 and headed to my parents house to see the rest of my family who had come in late Wednesday.  We had an excellent meal including:

Turkey

Ham

Deviled eggs turned into egg salad

broccoli cashew salad

Cranberry sauce or  jelly according to Emmy

dressing

mashed potatoes

gravy

bread pudding

pumpkin pie

pecan pie

cheeseball

curry dip

and probably a few other things I'm forgetting.  Twas all tasty.

MY sweet dad came over after we all ate and helped me install my new chandelier which came just in time for the party.  It took about 3 1/2 hours because we had to remove the old light, hang the new one, and screw in about 200 individual crystals.  However, the end result is FABULOUS! 

My nieces were all dressed in adorable turkey outfits thanks to Jessica, and I had a blast playing with Emmy and holding the babies.  Nothing can warm you like a cuddly baby! Here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving day. 

                                   Ava on the left and Hayden Kate on the right, enjoying Thanksgiving day naps! 

Emmy loved taking pictures of herself with Willow, but was a little scared of Willow 'getting her' Anytime Willow came close she'd run to the nearest grown up and say, 'Hold you!' Code for hold me!!!!!! She was totally OK with 'seeing Willow in the camera' though.  

A few of the attempts at getting a 'good' picture of the Rowe siblings. I know the last one is blurry,but it cracks me up!

That night I stayed up until 4 am cleaning my house, making sure everything was decorated, putting the final touches on my Christmas tree  wrapping presents to place under the tree, and preparing as much food as I could ahead of time. Now I know you're thinking "Fool, it wasn't even Thanksgiving yet, why on earth would you put up your Christmas tree so early???" I agree, and I hate that Thanksgiving gets overlooked by those who hastily whip out Christmas decor after Halloween.  However, this was my first year in the house and I decided it would be a good investment to purchase a fake tree.  So after much shopping, I found a DEAL on a Martha Stewart tree at Macy's and brought home a 7.5 foot pre-lit tree, and of course a few ornaments from Pottery Barn.  I held off as long as I could stand it to see what the final result would look like, and figured since the Sip-n-See was the day after Thanksgiving it would technically be the Christmas season.  So you see I was merely just preparing, plus it helps fill a sort of empty space so it made my room feel cozy when all the family came over for said party.

Part 2 about the sip-n-see to come soon!