Happy Thanksgiving! And Happy 49th Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

Happy Thanksgiving! We had a big gathering at Mer, Pete and Kate's house. Baby Jasper's first Thanksgiving!



Jasper and Dad!



Cheryl's famous antipasto spread!



Plus chipotle dip from Dennis, and Bowl of Cheese from Kristin and Moss!



Today also happened to be my parents' 49th wedding anniversary! We surprised them by pulling out some golden "CONGRATS!" balloons. You can see Mer and Pete stringing up the balloons over to the right!



Surprise!



We had a champagne toast. Congratulations!



Cheers!



Family! Kate painted a painting for them.



Carve it up!



I tried a new stuffing recipe this year, Smitten Kitchen's kale and caramelized onion. Featuring delicious sourdough from the Athens Bread Company. It was a success! Delicious! Plus Mer's squash and Kayla's green bean casserole!



Kate had a FaceTime call with her friend.



Mingling!



Look at that spread! Kayla and Derrick brought TWO kinds of mashed potatoes. And Kristin made her homemade chicken and noodles which I cannot get enough of.



Mer and Mom!



Kayla and Vana!



Gabby and Ben!



Happy Thanksgiving!



Mmm!



Kate got a karaoke set for her birthday. We had fun with it!



Mom singing "Cleanup Woman!" Mom's first karaoke!






PIE!!! Key lime by Vana, pumpkin by Cheryl, apple by Mom.



Happy Thanksgiving!

Cooking Club: Dips!

Nancy hosted cooking club tonight, with Emily and Valerie as her co-chefs. The theme was dips! Emily made a variant on the Seelbach cocktail. This one had orange and cinnamon! It was sort of like a lovechild between an Old Fashioned and a Seelbach. Cheers!



This cocktail was on theme because each cocktail had a cinnamon stick DIPPED into it. Cheers!



Nancy made a refreshing, delicious shrimp cocktail! Succulent shrimp and a tangy cocktail sauce.



Valerie made a lemony smoked trout dip that was delightful. She also made those fancy breadsticks! Ooh la la!



Nancy also served up two hot dips! This one had provolone, grapes and walnuts. Mmm, gooey cheese.



And this was a french onion soup dip with bacon and gruyere. Um, yes.



Valerie made this spring vegetable goat cheese dip! It was loaded with asparagus, artichoke hearts, leeks and peas. I loved it!



Emily fried up a fresh batch of papadum...



...to go with this dal and raita dip! I could totally eat this whole bowl as a meal. Mmm, Indian spices.



We made a plate for Kent. A lil' bit of everything! Dip party is freaking genius.



And, for dessert, chocolate fondue made by Emily! She also made marshmallows! And candied orange peels! Plus pretzels and fruit. Mmmmmmm! Plus, fun!



So, we've come to the end of our current team rotation. We did six months with one set of teams (each lady hosting once), and then mixed things up and did six months with a new set of teams. Now we need to figure out how to mix things up again. This is the second cooking club where we've gotten out paper, pens, pencils and erasers to try and figure out the formula for shaking things up and ... gotten totally stumped!! How do you figure this out!? We always get super close and then: "But, wait..." How to make it fair, so everyone gets to be on team with everyone? Etc.?



I asked my math friend Holly, and she helped us understand that there are ten total possible combinations of the six of us. We're going to take this information and stew on it for awhile, while we figure out what the next set of teams will be. Stay tuned!

Happy 11th Birthday, Kate!

Kate turned eleven today! We celebrated with a family party at her house.



She chose french dips for her birthday dinner. They were delicious! Served with roasted acorn squash and a big salad. Mmm, warm and tasty.



Birthday cake!!



Happy birthday to Kate!



Make a wish!






Woo hoo!



Best wishes for an amazing year!



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Happy birthday, Yang!

Today we got together to celebrate Yang's birthday! It's tomorrow, but we wanted to try brunch at Pork and Pickles. Hi, Jasper!



Ben and I shared a ton of food. Corn pancakes with berries!



Soft scramble of preserved lemon, chives and dill creme fraiche, with an arugula and radish salad and crispy potatoes. These eggs were AMAZING. The lemon!! The dill! I think they are the best scrambled eggs of my life.



And finally, shishito peppers on top of creamy polenta, with romesco sauce and a poached egg. Everything was delicious!



Jasper provided entertainment.



Look at how proud he looks!



I love how everyone else is paying attention to what's happening next to me, but Jasper is still hamming it UP for the camera.



After brunch, we headed back to Ben and my place for cake!! Vana made some cakes for Yang. A pink elephant and a silly alligator! So silly!






Yang turned 43, so don't pay any attention to what you see on the candles.



Uncles!






Happy birthday, Yang!!!



Yay, cake!