I'm thankful for...

I'm back from a jam-packed fabulous weekend! It was full of my favorites: family, friends, food and fun! How about that. My holiday started on Wednesday afternoon as David and I drove to Ocala. Luckily this year we were able to enjoy both family's Thanksgiving festivities as the Micas were in Gainesville for the big game. It made me so happy. It's quite the transition of planning holidays with significant others after you've had the same traditions for the past 24 years. I told David he would have to work with me on this...and that's one of the many reasons why he is so wonderful. Wednesday in Ocala brought a delicious dinner at Latinos followed by a visit with high school friends at a new downtown establishment.

On Thursday, we watched the parade and the dog show and then made our way to Thanksgiving dinner round 1. We all gathered at Aunt Holly's for one of my most favorite meals of the entire year. Uncle Neil smoked a turkey as usual and I was right with him sampling as he carved the bird. A few observations from Ocala Thanksgiving 2009:

1. As the cousins get older, the food spread gets larger.
2. We officially lost the "kid's table" in the kitchen this year. It seems as though for the past few years it has slowly been taken over by our grandparents who sit there upon first arrival and then never get up! This is not fair and I do not like change :) So...we moved the kid's table into the living room and called it a deal.
3. The casseroles have now taken on a new form... a more simple presentation if you will. What once was squash casserole became sauteed squash and so on. This change is for the best!
4. I missed having sister and family there...such is growing up.
5. I missed having Heather Lane at home and calling me entirely too early Thanksgiving morning to see if I was awake for the parade. Obviously, the answer was always...No.




And then David and I were off to round 2! Slightly stuffed, we arrived in Gainesville to eat with his family and close family friends the VanHises. Throughout the football season I have gotten to know the VanHises fairly well. Uncle John is David's God-father. The two sets of parents met in college and have been forever friends as well as their children. We had a wonderful time and it was so nice to feel welcome at another family's holiday tradition.

A very exciting event also happened on Thanksgiving. Twins Adalynn and Mollie were born late Thursday afternoon!!! Congratulations to Geoff, Kasey and family. What a blessing and yet another reason to be thankful. If you're interested Kasey's showers were featured here and here.

I knew this post would turn into a novel...

Friday morning we were back in Ocala and by Friday afternoon we were back in Gainesville. Are you tired of driving yet!? All of this back and forth was for good reason and we were both thankful we could spend time with each of our families. The first annual Mica vs. VanHise kickball tournament commenced at 3:00pm Friday afternoon. Go Team Mica! We might have lacked in the ability category but we won with our team look and accessories! As it turned out our ploys to distract them did good but not good enough. I even took an unplanned tumble on my run to first base. I ate it face first and still managed to get up and make it to first base safely, grass stains and all, only due to the fact that when I fell the ball {meant to out me} flew over my pancaked sprawled body. It provided a good laugh and a slight distraction in our favor. But I'm still a little sore...

kickball uniforms

game face on

personalized team mica water bottles

team shot take 1

team shot take 2

later that night after a victory dinner (well, we thought we should've won!) the siblings roped off the tailgate for the big game the next day

Saturday= Game day!! We had the best day and tailgated all day long. I got to visit with Libby during half-time and she brought me up to speed on her wedding day plans. Our seats were high for this game but were great because you can see everything develop. It's been a memorable season for the gators and I've enjoyed watching and celebrating every single win with David. To see the thousands of camera flashes around the stadium at the gator's last home game was breathtaking.

me and david

with kristy and maclain

david and friends

with david's sisters...allison and julianne

Meanwhile back in Tallahassee:

marcus, holly, and sk enjoyed the turkey trot thursday morn

sweet sk with her re-re and papa...please notice her adorable green peacoat {that matches aunt sister's} and her pink uggs :)

sally kate on thanksgiving...she wants to see aunt sister! actually, I just wanted everyone to see her adorable shirt made by lane!

sunday brought rest and unpacking back in tallahassee. we made this delicious margherita {pre-oven pic} pizza and I started the Christmas decor...a perfect end to a fabulous weekend!

deck the halls

may your holiday decorating begin and be mary & bright!

give thanks

Every year sister and I dressed the part and sat in our front yard greeting the passerbys.

november 1987

november 1989

So much to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving!

yay...

it's friday!!!!

{me and sally kate at last night's open house in our festive wear}

mid-week fancy

Yesterday was the mid-week mark to a week that seems never ending. How is it that Thanksgiving vacation is one week away but the time is creeping along?! However good news keeps pouring in and keeping my head above the water. Such news as:

The Bruces stopping through Tallahassee en route to Ocala for the Christmas holidays to see moi of course!

And current best news of all...I received an e-mail late last night to announce that my dear friends Libby & Greg will be tying the knot on January 2, 2010...as in January 2, 2010!!!! A little over a month away! I wouldn't miss it for the world and I'm so thrilled. Plus I'll get to see several dear friends who live far away. Another January celebration - I'm all in favor!

Last night I made my first recipe out of the new Junior League of Tallahassee cookbook, A Thyme to Celebrate. It was the gorgonzola stuffed bread to go along with grouper and sauteed kale that David and I made. It was yum-o.

Tonight I'm off to {once again jump into Christmas :)} Miss Mandy's Christmas Open House. I can't wait to see her new holiday decor...which just happens to all be 15% off tonight.

Hope your holiday countdown has begun and that you're desperately trying to hold onto Fall as much as I am. But bet your bottom dollar that on November 26th I'll be whistling a different tune. Perhaps one of fa-la-la-la-la.

soup's on

Despite America's consumer need to completely skip over fall and move straight to Christmas I had a fabulous fall weekend! The Jingle Jubilee was a success and Christmas was in the air...see what I mean! I was guilty for following the holiday crowd {just Friday night} at the Preview Party where I socialized...I mean volunteered.

On Saturday night friends were near and the soup was on! Lane and I hosted a Soup Party for our neighborhood friends plus some. It was so delicious and yummy in every sense of the word...the soup, the decor, the crisp cool air. yum. Lane made Sausage Corn Chowder and I made Chicken Tortilla Soup {the lovingly adapted version of Heather Lane's 2006 recipe!} and all served with boo-koodles of toppings! It was such a fun night.

On Sunday I watched Sally Kate all day and we had the best time. She was so incredibly great that day...full of smiles and laughter. David's sister Allison was home from college and we celebrated her birthday with a delicious lunch + a Cake Shop cake. She is so sweet and we had such a fun afternoon together! SK joined us and was such a doll. She loves a good party just has much as her Aunt Sister.

rian, mc, lane, and sister @ the jingle jubilee

my fabulous co-host and photographer lane in action...the following soup picture credits go to her!

the spread

toppings galore!

festive flowers by moi

perfect pumpkin cupcakes by lane

camp was spending the night out but sk came to the party and played in his playroom.

the hostesses with the mostesses

backyard beer tub...this tub makes its rounds

late night s'mores!

happy birthday allison!

sk @ the mica's

I'll be there with bells on

This weekend is the Junior League of Tallahassee's holiday market, Jingle Jubilee. I'll be there with bells on...well maybe a fur collar instead for my Friday night cocktail ensemble...but I'll be there. You should come too. One condition: You must give me credit when you buy your ticket at the door. Just trying to meet my requirements :)

November is rolling right along and we have successfully endured our first hurricane turned tropical storm Ida. I survived. Yesterday my office graciously observed Veteran's Day. I think Wednesday is a good day to not work. I'm convinced I could stand working only two days in a row from now on.

Sister was also honoring veterans yesterday so we all drove up to Havana to eat at the Mockingbird Cafe together again as a family. Sister and Sally Kate had not been since SK was 4 months old so it was a treat for all who saw her yesterday at her old newborn stopping grounds.
All I can say is she is a doll and she clearly loves me. She's also starting to pull up on furniture. Oh my!

This weekend is going to be busy with the hustle and bustle of pre-holiday festivities and I'm excited to share with you in a couple of days. Until then, below are some pictures from last week's Gator game tailgate...complete with a birthday celebration!

celebrating with orange and blue polka-dotted cake shop cupcakes!

game day food theme: low country boil.
now let me set this straight...I love a good country boil...well, rather just the concept of one...until then. our boil was packed full of creative foods {chicken, muscles, a variety of potatoes} and the flavor was out of this world...just enough spice to give some flavor...now we're talking. here I am with a purple potato.

"if mary was a potato, she would be a purple one"
-DRMjr.

our families

tiny dancer

For all the SK fans out there...

sally kate on her first halloween!

monday, monday

It's been one of those days...where nothing has gone wrong, but nothing has gone right either. I'm coming back from the weekend plus two work days missed due to nasty cold I had last week. I'm still not feeling 100% so playing "catch up" at work today as been quite long and tiresome.

Oh, but I did feel well enough to go to Jacksonville this weekend for the Florida v. Georgia game. Go ahead and laugh now...it was my first Fla v. Ga game! I know - shame on me. Which is why, although I was toting around a box of kleenexes in one hand and a cocktail in the other, I just couldn't miss it. It was quite the experience!

It was a guys weekend for David and his college friends so I was left to fend for lodging on my own. I stayed with some gracious family friends in their beautiful home in Avondale while David was across the river in San Marco. As I drove to-and-fro each morning I relished in the beautiful historic homes and overgrown oak trees along the edge of downtown Jacksonville. Although I received many fabulous recommendations on sights and eats around Avondale I was only able to do a drive by on Sunday morning. And my most coveted drive by was the original Mrs. Howard {homebase of acclaimed interior decorator Phoebe Howard}. Just lovely.

Saturday was game day! And everything you've heard about this infamous game both pre- and -post are true. It was wild. We had the best time though and managed to run into everyone and their brother with one exception. We couldn't get to Meghan's Georgia tailgate and once the game started we both agreed it would be better if we kept or distance :)

Even though it was a party weekend I think I got more sleep than I would have if I had stayed in Tallahassee. I was sad to miss Sally Kate's first Halloween and M & D in town but I'll get over it. It was a great weekend full of fun! This afternoon at work was much better than this morning and so far there have been no glitches with this post. As for the rest of my day...we'll see.

go gators!

the highlight of my day was running into my high school friends! I love them all so much and it was great seeing you! of course it was just like old times...constant picking...they were oh so concerned if I had enough sun screen on, where my big straw hat was, and why I was dressed for the football prom. gee, thanks guys :)

oh, and we sat by tim tebow's family! that's his mom with the black hair pointing and other family members etc. and no need to worry, I was very discrete taking this picture.