20 hours of giving thanks

On Thursday morning Kyle and I woke up at 2:50 am.  The things you do to avoid LA traffic…

We had already loaded the car the night before, so all we needed was coffee, diet soda (yes, desperate times call for desperate measures) and water, and we were off!  The beloved I-5 may have been pitch black, but it was also car free. 

I was behind the wheel until 7 am, at which point my tired eyes and nearly-bursting bladder got their way.  Four straight hours with a gallon of liquids (mostly diuretics)…you do the math…

Kyle took over the driving after our pit stop and we arrived at my parents house safe and sound by 8:30 am.  Then I passed out until 11.

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I woke up to this.  Eek!  Time to start helping in the kitchen!

I got to work plating and setting out the appetizers…

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Veggies, crackers, hummus, cheese, dried fruit/nut mixes, wasabi peas

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As Gouda as it gets

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Sabra and the crunch

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Peas & cheese

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Mood lighting for the brie

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Favorite appetizers?  Mine is fairly obvious (hummus).

Other morning prepping included…

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Veggie chopping and roasting

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Cookie sampling 😉

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Table setting.

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And more snacking (caughtcha mom).

After snacking through the afternoon, we took a Jenga break

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Kyle vs. Laura:  Can you feel the concentration?

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Sweet victory dance

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We played with the puppers for a bit, then it was back to work in the kitchen.

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“My best friends are cream, butter, and gravy.  I dig hot places, family meals, and long walk on the beach.”  How about soy milk, vegetable broth, and Earth Balance?

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Still in competitive gaming mode, Laura and I challenged each other to a friendly fierce sister vs. sister mis-en-place contest. 

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We each had a sack of potatoes and a knife.  Are the players ready?

Set.

Go.

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Competition breeds excellence.  And the result was definitely excellence.

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But I’m getting ahead of myself because first there was football.

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We played while the potatoes cooked and my dad carved the turkey.

Throwing around the football is a Thanksgiving tradition and I was finally home to participate this year.  This is one of the main reasons I don’t miss living on the East Coast.  The ability to drive home (even at 2 am!) and spend the holidays with my family is too important to me. 

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Whipping taters and taking names. :P 

Once my involvement in the kitchen came to a close, it was time to enjoy the wine.

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Part of the “for special occasions” line-up…

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Decanting.

Naturally we had some wine with our own grapes too.

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‘99 Quivira

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2008 Murphy-Goode

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We’re a Zin family 🙂

I’ll be back next time with the fooooooooood.

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Comments (0)

  1. susan

    Glad you were able to enjoy the holiday with your family this year!

    That potato chopping comp reminded me that top chef starts next week!

  2. Amanda

    I learned a new phrase: mise-en-place! How fun!

  3. Holly

    i am pretty sure (a) the picture of you ladies playing football in heels is amazing and (b) your family is exactly like mine.

    love youuuuuuuu

  4. kbwood

    if i would have read this a year ago i would have thought yall were NUTS for getting up that early to drive.. BUT now that I have experience LA traffic, i do not blame you AT ALL!!! it is insane!

  5. kait

    It is really special that you got to celebrate this holiday with your fam 🙂 …I might be just a little bit jealous haha

  6. Pingback: Mom’s Thanksgiving recipes « hungry hungry hippie

  7. Laura

    I notice you conveniently left out who WON the potato-chopping contest 🙂 (It had to be said…)

  8. elise

    shut it. your hair DQ’ed you from the photo finish. and you had fewer potatoes.

  9. Adam

    haha. love this!

  10. Lauren

    Looks like such a fun day! I love the sweater you’re wearing! Is that a F21 purchase?

  11. Pure2raw twins

    Looked like a wonderful Thanksgiving!!! Love having “friendly” sister competitions in the kitchen, haha

    ~Michelle

  12. elise

    Yup!

  13. Brown On Rice

    mmm mash potatoes sans the dairy? OMG AH-mazing! I shall share how I nearly died eating the mash up goodness that Sbomb cooked up.