Travels... Over the holidays!

We drove 1876 miles over the holidays! Now, we are going to enjoy our little family!

Here are some awesome pictures from our week long trip in Chicago, Rockford, Warrenville (Illinois), Lamar (Mississippi), Memphis (Tennessee) and then home!

Christmas travels

John and I got to see a lot of family for Christmas!

We went to Chicago, Mississippi and Memphis!

It was a lot of driving, but so much fun ❤

Happy birthday Grandma Sederquist!

We went to Rockford, Illinois and celebrated Grandma Sederquists' 99th birthday!

She was born 12-21-1913! She is such an inspiration! ❤☺

New blog

I started writing for a college hoops blog. Check it out!

So far I've written an article every week for the last three weeks. Now, I'm finalizing this weeks piece. :)

Check it out:

www.collegehoopsdaily.com

And follow me on Twitter... @mihawkeye

Turkey day menu

Several people have asked for the recipes from my Thanksgiving, Food Network menu. So, here was our menu :)

Appetizers 

Hummus 
(a combination of 3 different online suggestions, more on that later!)

Mini Manchego Tarts 
Make #11 & #12
Recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes-and-cooking/50-easy-appetizer-recipes/index.html

Stuffed Mushrooms 
Recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes-and-cooking/50-easy-appetizer-recipes/index.html

Main Meal 

Turkey- by Alton Brown
Recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html

Mashed potatoes- Pancetta &Rosemary
Make #1 and #13
Recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/holidays-and-parties/50-mashed-potato-recipes/index.html

Brussels sprouts gratin by T'a fia
Recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/brussels-sprouts-gratin-recipe/index.html

Sausage and Herb Stuffing by Ina Garten
Recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/sausage-and-herb-stuffing-recipe/index.html

Corn Casserole by Paula Deen
Recipe:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/corn-casserole-recipe/index.html

 Here was my plate! With a little bit of each!

The appetizer set up:

The main meal!

Turkey!

We had an apple crumble for dessert that our friends brought over and paired our meal perfectly with Pinot Noir! YUMMY! :)

Prepping for Turkey day

I'm getting ready for our Thanksgiving feast. We are staying home this year. No travel for us as we will be traveling in December.

I am one of those, rare people... Who will not decorate for the next holiday until it is the next holiday. I proudly have all of my fall and Thanksgiving decorations up.

Now onto the food... I am a Food Network junkie... I get the magazines, record shows... You know obsessed. This was NOT always the case. I used to pick up the local grocery store Thanksgiving in a box for $50. But after a little Rachael Ray and Giada watching. I have confidence!

The table is set and the counter is ready for food! I will post what I made later :)

Halloween

It was a great one and we had 33 trick or treaters! We had really cute decorations!

I was a Britney flapper during the day and a "Womanizer" dark haired one at night!

The dogs were a pumpkin and herkenstein :). I was easy on them after vet appointments the day prior!