virtual book club + thanksgiving menu

In honor of my brother's upcoming visit, I've decided to (finally) read his favorite book. He's always been a voracious reader and it's time to get out of my comfort zone.

My parents will be pulling in the driveway around
noon tomorrow, and for the first time ever I am hosting my very first
Thanksgiving. I am breaking out my fancy serving platters, wedding silver,
white napkins, and using our dining buffet for the first time as a serving
station. As my friend Taryn loves to say, Wahooooo!

I am ecstatic and have been pacing around the
house all day in anticipation. This year the meal is a group effort. Our great
friends are smoking the turkey and bringing the appetizers, and we are making
the sides and dessert. I've been contemplating the menu for weeks and here is
the final version!

Rubus Shiraz Barossa (a steal at 13 dollars a
bottle)

...followed by Black Box Cab Sav (the 2nd round
of wine...only rich folks get to drink top notch wine all night and we are po'
folks!) - but BB is smashing good wine at a value!

And of course a big smoked TURKEY! As you can
see, we decided to keep it simple this year with a few really great sides, and
I love that we are scaling down and choosing quality over quantity. My
"bigger and more is better" mentality with all things is taking the
sideline this year, and I am choosing to scale back and focus on spending time
with the people we love.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING...

from my sweet little 6 week old turkey!