Thanksgiving: My first Turkey... part deux!

Wow... Thanksgiving is two days away! I promised to document my experience, but I have been so busy, that I hardly even had time to sit down and open up a browser. Extremely exciting though... I did do all of my Thanksgiving shopping last night during Monday Night Football. I am a late night shopper. I can't explain it, but there is just never enough time in a day for me it seems. Of course, it was better for me because I was able to miss all of the hub bub of the holidays crowds. Now, I will tell you that I was extremely nervous. I had planned on purchasing my Thanksgiving feast on Monday evening, but my future mother-in-law informed me that I needed to allow several days for my turkey to defrost if I was purchasing frozen (and of course I was... it was cheaper!). I could not really reroute shopping earlier because I would not be coming back into town until Monday afternoon from Pittsburgh. At least the Target Sales ads treated me well!

The Invitation | I decided to send out an Evite to family members and friends for my first fabulous Thanksgiving feast. Since we decided to do a potluck, it was great because they could RSVP on the invitation and include what they would be bringing so that we would not have doubles. I thought it was festive and informative!

Pillsbury Caramel Apple Pie

The Menu | Well of course the staples. My family has a lot of traditional menu items that we have grown up with through the years that would be hard not to include. My grandmother is bringing her famous beans, my aunt her sweet potato casserole, my other aunt is bringing deviled eggs, and my mother is bringing the French's green bean casserole, pumpkin roll, and biscuits! I have taken on the task of the turkey, traditional stuffing, stuffing balls (always a request!), mashed potatoes, and my turtle pumpkin pie! What is truly exciting is that my younger sister, Melissa has decided that she is going to try her hand at cooking and will be contributing glazed carrots with cranberries, a pumpkin chex mix for snacking, and a caramel apple pie. Needless to say, for twelve people we will have more than enough food!

a Thanksgiving Timeline

While some home cooks have years of experience preparing a Thanksgiving dinner, I however, do not. I already did my grocery shopping and chose my 20lb Turkey for twelve guests. However, because I was a little overwhelmed with all of the days feastivities, I decided to check in with Williams Sonoma to see what kind of advice they could offer! Williams Sonoma compiled this timeline to help you plan and prepare your feast. Their tried-and-true timeline has helped many a Thanksgiving cooks over the years, so here is to hoping that it will guide me.

Thanksgiving: My first Turkey

Stuffing Balls

As I rapidly approach thirty this upcoming year in twenty-eleven, my fiance told me that I needed to "woman" up and learn how to cook a turkey. It is true. I have never made a Thanksgiving turkey. That was always left to the previous generations; my mother and my grandmother. I have always contributed stuffing balls and most recently turtle pumpkin pie. Both made with love, but lets face it, I couldn't do it without kraftrecipes.com. Honestly, they were no fail... and I suggest if you are looking for something that you are sure your family will like, I definitely suggest checking out those recipes. But now since I have been handed over the task of the turkey its time to step up my game a little more than a lot.

DIY: Button Boutonniere

We found this great DIY on Inspired Bride, and Karen from Silverberry Occasions was kind enough to share with them some of the lovely DIY projects she created for the Vintage Sewing shoot featured over a month ago. First up is an absolutely adorable (and super colorful!) button boutonniere that will add a little quirk to any wedding!

caitlins bridal shower

I was so excited when I got my invite to Caitlins SURPRISE bridal shower during her visit from Germany! Turns out it was not so much of a surprise, but it was still an amazing time. Her MOH and Bridesmaids put together a fabulous shower, and it was nice to sit back and relax for once. Especially after the week that Caitlin and I just had during our whirlwind week of wedding planning throughout the Philadelpia region! The shower was so much fun with interactive (not tacky) games that kept the guests entertained and competitive! Job well done Allie, Madison, Hope, Katie, and Emily! How could I forgot the ladies from the Pool Club for helping to host this wonderful occasion and opening up their hearts and their homes! The bridesmaids put together these adorable favors and Caitlins cousin designed, decorated, and baked this beautiful cake, all which stayed within the beach theme that Caitlin and Rodney were using for their August wedding. All of the photos were taken by Geoffrey Horrowitz of Leapfrog Photography as part of the Philadelphia Wedding Project, and as always, we are never disappointed by his artistic abilities! LovelyGirls has had the pleasure of working with Geoffrey on several occasions, including Caitlin + Rodneys engagement session held at Gibraltar Gardens (which we can't wait to feature later), their wedding, and also Mythri and Prakash wedding as well!

favors courtesy of the bridesmaids!

mythri + prakash | 9.10.10

For our first meeting, we met at this great little coffee shop in Rittenhouse Square. We immediately fell in love with Mythris fun, care-free spirit and how Prakash just adored her! She was prepared with all of the necessities... samples of her invite, favors, even one of her sample overlays. With guests flying in from Texas, San Francisco, Switzerland, India, and all across the world (literally), we had to make sure that they had the best day ever. Mythri was very clear with the theme of their day. FUN. With two ceremonies (one in front of a carousel), a parade, and a reception at the Please Touch Museum... you could say that they did just that. Palace at the Ben and Max & Me Catering put together a traditional indian menu for all of the guests to enjoy!