scenes from Thanksgiving weekend

We did so much this past weekend! There was the big meal, time spent with family and friends, and even some time at home getting things done and decorating.

I started the morning with a run with (most of) the stroller gang. It was raining but mild, and we braved enough miles to spell the word ‘trot’ around the village. I was participating in the virtual Buffalo Turkey Trot, my first and likely last time, as–God willing–we’ll be holding the 5th (annual??) Turk-EA Trot here.

One upside of NOT being a race director that morning was a more relaxed schedule, both before turkey day and on it. I had been up late the night before prepping my side dishes, so other than a casual run with friends, I didn’t have anything else to do but turn on the oven.

Per my usual, I didn’t take any photos of the meal or table, but I did grab a couple shots of Maelle playing with her cousin, Blake.

I had one goal that day: get a family photo of us in our cute, fall-themed shirts. Ha! One of my new shirts. Andrew insisted on dressing WAY up for dinner (and received the appropriate ribbing from his sister about looking like a British professor), so I insisted he change into the more casual flannel plaid top I’d asked him to wear.

Here’s the best of our first attempts at a cute family photo, taken at my in-laws’ house:

Oh, we will continue to try to take good family photos for the next few years…and we will fail.

Here’s one of the gems from a quick series we tried once we got home, except my hair was crazy and Maelle wasn’t cooperating:

And here is finally something cute:

I got up early (6 am!) Black Friday to catch a sale on Crunchi’s website, but all of us natural-makeup enthusiasts must have broken the internet! The site crashed, Maelle woke up an hour later and I had to be on mom-duty. So pumpkin pancakes and a few ‘silly songs’ videos it was! Thankfully, I was able to log on later that morning and take advantage of the sale, and we headed over to my in-laws’ for lunch.

That night, Andrew and I broke out the Christmas decorations! But first, before I give you a preview, I have to spend just a moment on our fall decor, because it was ON POINT this year:

Andrew (yes, ANDREW) got inspired by a picture in a catalog of a wreath-on-a-mirror-garland-combo and thus our fireplace-room redo began. It started with me painting our accent wall and fireplace bricks a deep navy, I raided Hobby Lobby for garland, and when they didn’t have enough of the one I wanted, we pit-stopped in Elmira on our way to Philadelphia to pick up more to make a matching wreath.

I love decorating for Christmas. Fall is fun, but Christmas is better, and I have 13 (!!!) tubs of decorations to prove it.

We’re still working on the mantle–just bought an additional garland last night so we could really jazz up the room. We’ve been using the same garlands we bought right after we got married (!!!) and they are starting to look a little anemic and shed some of the sparkles. I’m not ready to replace them all yet, but our new one should go a long way to making the mantle really ‘pop.’

We did bring the tree in and get lights on it, but haven’t gotten to decorating it yet. That’s an entire evening itself!

We also brought the teepee back! Andrew said he missed it, and I agreed that the corner didn’t look quite right. This time, I jerry-rigged it so that two of the four poles are in the back corner; it’s smaller and a better use of the space. Maelle has already gone in, too!

On Sunday evenings, we’ve started going to the Nyes’ house for dinner. I run most Sunday afternoons with their son, Adam, and it’s become a bit of a tradition, like a family meal. This time, Maelle got to lick the batter bowl after Mr. Nye whipped up some brownies!

Andrew and I were especially productive this Thanksgiving weekend. Andrew actually took last week off and has been diligently working on wrapping up his fence project, cleaning out the garage for winter and making progress on our indoor shelving DIY project.

Last night, I started phase one of the workout room: remove the desk and set up the new storage unit and tv! (More on both the DIY and workout room later.)

Andrew FINALLY talked me into turning our guest room into a workout space! While I’m sad to lose a permanent bed for guests, I am SO EXCITED to have a space to enjoy working out. We’re even going to get a bike! With COVID keeping gyms shut and having a small child at home, it really makes sense for me to have a more serious ‘workout space’ here.

A really nice, really heavy white desk used to fill that spot, so I wasn’t looking forward to moving it. Andrew and I got it downstairs and it’s sitting on our porch until we can find a spot in our basement for it.

We are having guests in a couple weeks, so the bed is staying until their visit. After that, it goes and I’ll be able to have the entire room for working out. In the meantime, I’ll also use that space to wrap presents.

It’s such a luxury to have dedicated exercise space in your house; I’ve worked out on-and-off downstairs in front of our desk (in order to see the computer) and it wasn’t even enjoyable because I was always afraid I’d kick something, and it was a pain to set-up and tear-down every time.

I have big plans for the room: tall mirrors to reflect light and make it feel like a ‘real’ gym, some soothing wallpaper on an accent wall, rugs or mats, and an exercise bike facing the tv. I can’t wait!

Anyone else have home gyms? Any tips?