a homemade thanksgiving

My husband and I decided to host Thanksgiving this year and make everything from scratch.  Now maybe this isn’t a big deal to some but we both come from families that believe in short cuts, usually involving packaged items.  No disrespect to our mama’s of course, when the hubs and I get an idea we give it 150% no matter how much lunacy is involved.  We prepped throughout the week, tested our recipes which involved the hubs eating about 6 buttermilk biscuits in a row, set the table with some sparkle and I even whipped up a batch of homemade cloth napkins for the occasion, overboard?  Maybe. Worth it? Yes!  We were blessed to share the holiday with family and some of our dearest friends.  

Test run of the buttermilk biscuits, hubs decided he would need one fixed with an egg and bacon to determine if they were truly worthy of our Thanksgiving table.

Cranberry sauce above and fried turkey below, we're converts to the fried turkey - it was the best turkey we've had! 

We ended a good night of fellowship and the giving of thanks for all the blessing we have by the fire with dessert and wine.  A perfect ending to our first round of hosting Thanksgiving together.

our nations capital

Washington, DC is amazing. Barnone (to borrow a phrase from my grandma).  I had the good fortune about two weeks ago to meet up with my husband who was in our nation's capital for work, I came up for a weekend of playing tourist.  We must have put ten miles a day on our feet, there is just so much to see and do and of course taste.  The trip was a whirlwind but we did manage to dine at some classic DC eateries, The Old Ebbitt Grill, where we had a late, late night dinner of crab cakes and wine, Filomena for Italian food that felt like it came straight out of grandma's kitchen (if she were Italian).  The place just oozed kitsch, warmth and Italian goodness, it just worked and at the end of the meal they bring you sambuca and amaretto to top off your meal.  In addition to tasty meals we checked out just about every memorial, monument and museum that we could squeeze into a two day visit.  Exhausting but well worth it! 

Vietnam Memorial

Is that you Jump Master Bohannon?

Capital

Lincoln Monument

Cross at Arlington

Arlington

Outside an Arts Building

Northbound Train

The Arlington National Cemetery is one of the most beautifully heartbreaking places I've ever been, I could not help but think of all the sacrifice that has been made by our soldiers, that brought them to this final resting place.  My husband has witnessed fellow Rangers and brothers in arms be put to rest here and has spoke of how awe inspiring it is to see first hand the care, love and honor that is taken with the soldiers.  We were able to watch the changing of the guards while we were there, the precision and timing were impeccable.  I'm ready to go back and explore further, it felt like I had just a small taste of all that the city has to offer. 

PS. More pics are available via my flickr account on the right side bar for viewing.