back in the game

Has it really been a week since I posted last? And it was some pretty weak posting at that...

Well, I am ready to get back in the game. After an amazing Thanksgiving in Chicago and a little getaway to California, I am back with some lovely holiday goodies to share. We have home tours, gift guides and wrapping ideas, so I hope you will forgive the last two weeks and enjoy all we have in store. Now, before I jump into the holidays ahead, let me back up to the wonderful Thanksgiving we spent in the Windy City...

Our future family photographer took it into her own hands for most of our picture taking, so here is our Chicago trip through the eyes of my 15 year old daughter, Emily...

We got to see the new home of our wonderful Chicago Burches...

We got to catch a basketball game of one talented grandson...

And smooch on the adorable face of another...

We had some very excited (and rowdy) teenagers our first night in town (ok, who are we kidding? They were excited and rowdy the entire trip... Emily is so lucky to have Bridget and Martin - they sure do all have a good time together!)...

The pink earmuffs made their rounds...

We had so much fun shopping in the city...

At the American Girl Store, we decided we should definitely take up the personal shopper offer...

And, I do believe, we found the very best personal shoppers in the store...

We were even lucky enough to catch the Christmas tree lighting...

And we had lots of time to laze about and just be together...

And, of course, plenty of time to enjoy all Chicago has to offer...

Lots of nice hot drinks were enjoyed...

And some cold ones, too...

We had a lovely and simple Thanksgiving feast with the most delicious food (Sara gave a better description of it all for anyone interested)...

My sweet little crafter, Therese, made these adorable little place settings for everyone...

Do we all look excited for pie or what?

At the end of our trip we had an impromptu White Elephant gift exchange that was so much fun!

It was a perfect trip...

We will miss our Chicago Burches at Christmas, but we were so glad to get to see them all for Thanksgiving!