This was one holiday that I’ve been looking forward to sharing with Justin for YEARS and it came and went just like that!! I always wondered what Justin’s traditions were when it came to Thanksgiving Day (and weekend)… does he watch the Macy’s Parade on TV? What’s his favorite Thanksgiving food? What does his family do all day?! I learned all of this and more this year!! It was nothing like I imagined it would be but way better than anything I could have imagined at the same time. Marriage seems to have that theme going so far :) To me, this felt like our first married holiday… even though we’ve technically had a few since the wedding. We love holidays! We did get married on a holiday weekend after all! But there’s something about the winter holidays that feels extra special and intimate. I think Thanksgiving is the holiday where the most visiting happens because literally all you do is sit and eat. Haha. That’s what makes it unique to me and I was eager to see what Justin’s family does to keep up their traditions!
It turns out that my first married Thanksgiving was probably my most “adult” Thanksgiving so far because I spent most of the day cooking! Imagine that! :) I was a little too excited to bake mac & cheese, chocolate chip cookies, and buffalo chicken dip to bring to dinner! Justin’s family meets at a family friend’s house for their meal every year so we headed over there around 3 and started the festivities! John and Nancy (our hosts) had rumchata martinis waiting for us when we arrived and that was so fun because my family has never really done cocktails! Then we ate WAY too much buffalo dip and guac before the meal actually started and for that reason I didn’t eat as much as I normally do but that’s probably a good thing. Haha. We had a beautiful tabletop setup, which is also new to me because I’m used to everyone going through a line in my aunt’s cozy little kitchen and grabbing spots on the couches and visiting with the TV specials on in the background. Instead we had jazz music going and a wine glasses in front of us and it was overall so fancy feeling!! I love that it was so different than any Thanksgiving I’ve had but that I still enjoyed it so much.
As much as I missed my sweet family, I wasn’t as sad as I thought I would be and I was thankful for that. It probably helped that one of my sisters was there sharing Thanksgiving with us! That was SO special that Mia could join! While my dad and Alexa were in Indiana at my aunt’s house, Mia was with Justin and me and I love that it worked out that way. We ate so much good food and visited and played Uno and I attempted to get Justin and Jeromy to play Yahtzee with me but that died after about 5 rounds of rolling the dice so I guess ya can’t win them all ;) Am I the only person that is obsessed with board games?! I’ve been carrying them around with me in the trunk of my car… and that’s probably something I shouldn’t admit out loud but hey, if you ever have the urge to play a game of Monopoly, I probably have it on me. LOL.
Some of my highlights from the four day weekend included:
- Having my food complimented (I’m new at this cooking thing so it means a lot when someone enjoys what I prepared!!!)
- Making two batches of my chocolate chip cookie dough recipe that I got from my sweet friend Jordan (who I’m staying with in Missouri this week!)
- Adventuring around DC just because!! We had sushi in Chinatown and paid a visit to the Hope Diamond!
- Seeing TWO movies at the theatre (Fantastic Beasts and Arrival – SO good!)
- Watching the Harry Potter Deathly Hallows films twice… and crying both times Hermoine said “I’ll go with you”
- Camping out at my dad’s house with Mia while she was home visiting! I love being there, especially since my sweet pups are still living there!
All in all, it was such a special weekend together and I’m so excited that we have a few memories that we can maybe turn into traditions! I’d totally keep the HP marathon a thing… as well as way too many homemade chocolate chip cookies ;) I’m so thankful for this sweet husband of mine and the new family I’ve gained through him! I’m excited to someday introduce him to how my family does Thanksgiving, too… or maybe host a dinner of our own someday!! Until then, I’m cherishing these memories!
