Tag Archives: Thanksgiving

The big Thanksgiving catchup.

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I’m back…after a brilliant week.  I intentionally tried to avoid the laptop as I was determined not to be sucked in by random Black Friday deals – especially knowing that most brands offer far deeper discounts at other times of the year.  Yes we have been conditioned to go mental on Black Friday but don’t!  You’ll be better off waiting for other big sales – most retailers know we want to spend now but hold out if you can.

The week started with some fun appointments.  Poppy had a layer of pink in her hair – so you can just see it when she has a pony tail.  Less permanent at this age than piercings – and after mine I didn’t want to be too much of a hypocrite when it comes to exploring new looks and self expression.  Lauren at Plum Salon once again looked after us – she is fabulous and I highly recommend her if you are in the Atlanta area.

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It was freezing on Tuesday and it called for some big coat and scarf action.

Unknown1 Zara coat

 

Jeans – coated jeans Dorothy Perkins (25% off everything with Holiday25) // Boots – Dorothy Perkins // Sweater – Boden Westbourne sweater // Scarf – Zara (old) // Coat – Zara

On Wednesday the kids had dental appointments.  Don’t ask me why I scheduled them the day before Thanksgiving.  We had a power cut that morning, due to all the rain and wind we’d had, and I had to go without a shower.  While messaging Fiona and Avril from the waiting room I assured them I didn’t look too skanky with this selfie – no full length photo that day – I’ve enjoyed a break from the mirror:)

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Sweater – Boden Off Duty jumper (last year’s but similar here) // Coat – Mango // Hat – Nordstrom (100% cashmere for less than $30!)

That evening was spent pretending to be a domestic goddess – I chugged a bottle of sparkling while making cranberry sauce, sausage stuffing and then brining the bird.  It was a really fun family night listening to music with the odd random game of chess thrown in.  Chess is our new obsession – I’m still being thrashed by my 5 year old.

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On Thanksgiving Day we had our fabulous friends from Bulgaria over, so we could enjoy an international Thanksgiving.  Neither of us have family here so it was absolutely fantastic to share the day with fun friends.  We talked Communism, music and literature while drinking and eating LOTS.  The best Thanksgiving ever, and I have to say the food was pretty darn good too:)

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The aftermath:

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Yesterday we headed out for a blast of fresh air.  We went to the Georgia Dome to watch the Georgia State Panthers play – a fun day with some tailgating thrown in for good measure.

AllSaints sweatshirt

Shoes – Isabel Marant Bobby sneakers // Jeans – Zara // Sweatshirt – AllSaints (20% off with THANKS) // Hat – Nordstrom // (the jacket below is Next from last year)

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So today it is back to normality – I’m back to running and eating left over turkey:)

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Here’s to my favorite Holiday of the year.  Now to start planning for Xmas – and Maximus the Elf rejoined the clan today so I better be good!

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Countdown to Thanksgiving

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It’s really starting to feel festive here – not necessarily Christmassy – but the preparations for Thanksgiving are well underway.  Thanksgiving is probably my favorite Holiday.  It has all of the magic, food and family time associated with Christmas, but with none of the pressure of gift giving.  The children are off school all week so I’ll be off work too which is lovely.  We’re planning lots of lunches out, and trips to the park and movies.  On Thursday we have great friends coming over to eat and give thanks with us.  They are Bulgarian so have no family here either, and I’m really looking forward to drinking and eating way too much with some other ‘new Americans’.

In the meantime I’ve been far from thankful, a little resentful in fact that I didn’t get my hands on the H&M Isabel Marant fringe boots!!!  I’ve decided my life is not complete without them (see how I can go from deep to shallow SO quickly).  Tonight while nursing a cold in my onesie I am bidding on eBay in order to win myself a pair, at what I consider a reasonable price.  Wish me luck my friends!

Isabel Marant fringe boots

Today consisted of 2 outfits, okay 3 if you count my cashmere onesie that I am sitting here writing in (and the shame – I did go to the bus stop in it after promising it was only for indoors!).  I started the day in jade J.Crew café capris (bought in the sale back in January) but my ankles quickly turned blue.  I do love this coat though from Markses.

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Coat – Marks and Spencer // Trousers – J.Crew Café capris (25% off with code WINTER) // Sweater – Boden Westbourne sweater // Shoes – VInce Nina

Here’s what I ended up in later with puffier eyes as I quickly deteriorated.

Zara floral top

Jeans – Black Gap skinnies // Tank (layered) – H&M // Top – Zara grunge top // Boots – Isabel Marant Dicker

Okay off to demolish a bucket load of clementines and chocolate orange – it’s all Vitamin C no?;)

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The hairdryer is bloody brilliant!

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Yes I used it for the first time yesterday and my goodness talk about hairdryer innovation – I don’t often I promise – but the ghd dried my hair to silky, smooth perfection – with volume – in a matter of minutes.  I used my round brush and honestly I didn’t even feel the need for flat irons.  Which is a good job as they are only working intermittently, much like our oven which, is far more distressing with Thanksgiving around the corner!

Yesterday was a fairly lazy day, after spin class that is!  I headed to Whole Foods to collect my ingredients for Moussaka.  I’ve been talking about making it for literally months and now the air is cooler here it’ll be the perfect post swim meet meal – if it all goes to plan that is – fingers crossed the oven works for me:)

So for running around doing errands – here’s what I wore.

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Trousers – Zara (old) // Sneakers – Golden Goose // Tank – H&M // Sweater – AllSaints serpent jumper (old)

Thanks to all of you that bought off my blog sale – they are now in the mail.

Also stay tuned for some exciting Boden news!

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Note – this is not a sponsored post – I paid for the ghd hairdryer and these are my opinions.

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Santa at the Zoo.

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It’s been a whirlwind couple of days what with the Thanksgiving festivities.  Now the children are getting older I have to say it is getting more and more enjoyable.  It was fun watching Poppy hooked on the Thanksgiving Day parade while I was getting the turkey ready to go in the oven.  We were all very organized and sat down to eat early at 1.30 – at the request of MM so that he could justify eating leftovers later in the day.  In the evening we cracked open the box set of The West Wing – my those first episodes look dated now – but it was thoroughly enjoyable accompanied by a bottle of Barolo.

Yesterday we headed to some friends for their annual post Thanksgiving party that includes BBQ and a fun jam band.  The kids had a blast and let off some steam and I talked and talked all afternoon.

This morning we were up at the crack of dawn for a visit with Santa at the Zoo.  Now I know Santa is a busy guy at this time of year – but come on 8.30am??!  At least we had cookies and hot chocolate to warm us – it is freezing here today!  I’m now enjoying some alone time while everyone else is at the park riding their bikes.  It’s bliss – I’ve got the coffee pot on and Radio 2 playing and I may go and hold the sofa down for a minute or two:)

Poppy was very excited to select her perfect outfit for Santa this morning:

Hugh joining in the fun, somewhat under duress:

The all important lists which were an exercise in patience for Mom:

Hugh explaining to Santa that he is just going to stand next to him – under no circumstances is he sitting on his lap – smart boy:

Me wrapped up for the first winter day in Atlanta – my new Boden Iona coat which I love, over my Boden Must have jumper in blackberry, layered over a Hampton t-shirt (mine is a 2011 version), my Hudson skinnies, Frye Phillip studded harness, and snood/infinity scarf what ever you call them and wrist warmers are from H&M.  The bag is my ever loyal and trusty YSL Roady (couldn’t find a link to mine with the sting ray handle).

Believe it or not I didn’t buy anything on Black Friday – even though I had lots of fabulous offers arrive in my inbox – some of Net-a-Porter’s were very tempting – but I resisted.  Did you get anything?

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It’s Holiday Time!

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Yay my Thanksgiving break starts today!  I will no doubt be doing bits of work from home over the next week but it’s lovely knowing the children will be home and we are schedule free for a week!

Today I have to plan my shopping for Thanksgiving dinner.  There’s only four of us admittedly but we all have different ‘favorites’ that we want with our Turkey, whether it be roasted beetroots and shallots (MM), roasted parsnip (me) or carrots (the kids!).  We always make too much but somehow it all gets used in the following days as turkey butties or turkey curry!  As fairly new Americans we are enjoying creating our own family Thanksgiving traditions and that includes cheesecake for dessert:)  Fortunately we always head out for a long walk on the Friday to work it off.

I was in Target the other day buying craft supplies for Hugh’s Thanksgiving Turkey project (yes – I know – I do not craft – but I am now armed with glitter, pom poms and felt).  I happened to wander through the clothing section as you do.  For a split second I removed the blinders (blinkers – for the UK readers) and spied this beauty.  OK I didn’t just spy it I bought it.

It’s a gorgeous blush pink, fake fur jacket – and looks lovely on.  It certainly looks more than the $49.99 I paid for it – but don’t stand near any naked flames in it.  I have some blush pink jeans and with taupe boots it will work a treat.  Even with regular blue denim skinnies and a white t-shirt it will add that little something different.  They also have it in cream but I love the blush color and it will go with lots in my closet – justification done.

Today I’m wearing comfy clothes for a day of pottering around town and running errands.  I love the H&M knitted dress – the stripes are great colors and it is really quite warm.  I’ve worn it with my Boden brown leggings and Zara burgundy scarf.  Today’s boots are last year’s Steve Madden Carlsen taupe boots.

What are your novel Thanksgiving traditions?

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A week of family fun?

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I’ve no idea how it got to the week before Thanksgiving.  All of a sudden I am panicking about the children being home for a week and needing to organize activities, food, and of course prepare for Thanksgiving Day itself.  Since being in the US Thanksgiving has become our favorite holiday.  You get to eat, drink and be merry without any of the material aspects of Christmas.  We love it.

With a 6 year old and 4 year old I find a week at home for the four of us requires planning in order to avoid the cries of ‘I’m bored’ – and that’s just from me.  For the first time we’ve bought tickets for Cirque du Soleil.  We went for the cheap seats in case the children can’t sit still through the whole show.  I’m really looking forward to it so let’s hope it’s good!  MM and I are planning an itinerary of all sorts of trips and adventures for the week, heading North, South, East and West from Atlanta, and avoiding any kind of retail outlet.  Thanksgiving Day will consist of the usual – watching the Macy’s parade, some football and then a fabulous meal of roast turkey with all the trimmings and some good wine.  No Atlanta half marathon for me this year due to injury, lack of training and laziness – but I’m quite looking forward not having to be up at the crack of dawn.

I mentioned MM and I went to Atlantic Station on Friday – an outdoor mall in midtown.  It has a huge H&M and I nipped in to get the kids some hat and glove sets, which unfortunately they didn’t have.  Not wanting to waste a trip I had a quick peak at the Grey Concept that was just arriving.  To be honest I was disappointed with the choice available – they told me they were expecting more – but I did manage to grab the grey long skirt in my size for $18.  I rarely wear long skirts – I had a Diesel one back in the 90’s that I bought from Harrods – a complete splurge back then – but I lived in it.  This H&M one is great for the price – perfect color, fits well, has good stretch so it’s not restrictive.  It’s a little thin but with grey tights underneath it works well.  Keeping with the grey theme I’m wearing my AllSaints grey Godiva cardigan bought in the sale back in June from the Trafford Center.  The white top is Zara and the scarf is my animal print favorite from H&M.  I have a couple of pairs of boots that would have worked but I opted for comfort and chose the Frye Jenna studded in grey – love these.

How do you keep the family busy when everyone is home?

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The Holiday Blues.

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It happens every year with varying degrees of intensity.  While everyone else is excitedly comparing costumes and planning Thanksgiving road trips I am pining for home.  But is it home anymore?  Let’s put it this way I wish I was in England with friends and family.  But do I still have friends in England?  I’ve been here for 12 years now and a lot has changed.  Lives move on.  What is it that I really miss?  Is it the familiarity and security of where I grew up?  Is it my family that has almost doubled in size since I left?  Would I really move back if the opportunity presented itself or is it just a fleeting moment of seeing it all through rose tinted spectacles?

Every year I go back to the UK for a couple of weeks and I have a fabulous time – then I’m ready to get back here.  So if I went back to England would I miss the US the same way?  Would it be fair to uproot the children?  Could I go back knowing my Husband has zero desire to go back?  What would we do for a living given our business is here?  I ask myself the same questions every year and feel more and more backed into a corner.  It’s the eternal conundrum.  The longer we stay here the more roots we have here, and the more I miss England.  Can I have my cake and eat it please?  I sometimes feel like I’m skating the surface of life, avoiding getting in too deep with friendships or communities – because that would just make moving back even tougher no?  Is it time to accept Atlanta as home and stop dipping my toe in and go skinny dipping exposing all to everyone?  Answers on a postcard please.

On a lighter note we went to Abattoir last night to celebrate MM’s birthday.  It all went well and fun was had up until the main course arrived.  I ordered hanger steak – yum – errr not so much – it was covered in a rich hollandaise sauce.  So in my very British manner what did I do?  I wittered on about it to MM instead of returning it to the Chef, after all I got what I ordered.  Next time I’ll go for the beet salad.

I did have a new outift to wear – the AllSaints Amei dress in petrol is fabulous – so comfy and easy to wear.  It has two ties inside it that you tie behind your neck so you can adjust the length of the drape at the front and wear it tunic length or longer.  It was chilly yesterday so I layered it over an H&M vest/dress in black.  After seeing Doesmybumlook40 in her Dorothy Perkins coated jeggings I discovered they do free shipping to the US and ordered a pair before there was a rush on them.  As she says they are fabulously comfortable and felt really dressy.  I wore the pony hair Nine West Haywire shoe boots, and then topped it all off with the Boden leather jacket from back in the sale and my Zara camo scarf.

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It’s my Friday.

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Thursdays are my Fridays – I’m very lucky to have Friday as ‘my day’.  If the rain steers clear tomorrow I plan on trying to run 8miles for the first time in months.  I have a half coming up in October, which on the calendar looks really close now!  Then it’ll be time for the half at Thanksgiving and before I know it Miami will be looming…can I handle it?  One thing is for sure I am eating like a horse again with all this running.  My resolution is to at least try to eat like a healthy horse.

Have any of you ever responded to a Facebook offer?  I was a little skeptical when I first saw ‘xyz has just redeemed and offer at abc’ appear on my news feed but today for the first time I acted on one and bought a necklace.  I have been looking for a while at the J.Crew bubble necklace but there are some things I just won’t spend $150 on – costume jewelry is one of those things.  I’ve found lots of copy cats on eBay and Etsy.com but still some of them are $30 and above, and seem a bit risky to chance.  Well today I saw an offer at Lovely Lola Boutique and with shipping the necklace is just $14.90 – so I ordered 2!  You have to make a separate order for each necklace but at $14.90 it seemed too good to miss and well worth the risk…I’ll keep you posted when they arrive – though it sounds like it’ll be late September as there are just two girls packing and shipping!  This is not an endorsement as I have no affiliation with them – so fingers crossed that the necklaces are as fab as I hope!

The pink one would have looked great with my outfit today.  I’m wearing my green J.Crew shorts (in the sale at $35), an old H&M top, Zara off white jogging jacket and my Frye Carson button shorts.  Had to dash out of the house this morning to carpool so the photos were taken in the office bathroom!  Sorry!

This morning as I dropped off Hugh, one of the teachers at daycare told me I looked a different person from when I was taking Poppy there 5 years ago…I have to agree I don’t recognize that person anymore either.

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