A Week of Festivities

There has been a lot going on these past few days... a birthday, Thanksgiving, a wedding - oh my! Despite being sick (why this week?) and traveling five days in a row, it has been downright special...and a celebratory stretch that will make returning to reality tomorrow mighty difficult. I especially loved spending time with my family and sharing those moments with Patrick...staying up late with my sister, breakfast on the farm, hunting stories & deer meat (mah country roots), watching The Family Stone (one of my favorites) with my parents, sitting by the fire, welcoming a new face to our crew, extra long hugs, a fatherly talk over lunch, and discussing all the many things for which our family is thankful.

Here are a few moments these past few days I wanted to share ::

I was greeted at work the day before my birthday by the most thoughtful arrangement...

a homemade card, homemade "healthy" cake pops, homemade hair ties, 

metallic calligraphy ink, and pumpkin spice tea. 

I mean, really. Does it get any sweeter? 

"Macks" by essie

 (makes for a great holiday color!)

I got a little excited when it was just the 'G' hanging in our neighborhood,

but Google had to go ahead and ruin my excitement. 

So I said goodbye to NYC for a few days...

...and flew through some pretty thick fog. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, you can breathe now." - the flight attendant after we landed

some birthday pamper! gotta love it when your parents' loft is above a cute hair salon.

they even have massage chairs for when they wash your hair!

ya know, just in case getting up at 3:15AM didn't make you sleepy enough :)

Patrick's train pulling in! 

birthday dinner.

just so you know...if you peeked inside my heart, 

these two would take up a rather large space.
coincidentally, they both share the nickname "Mac"
...so basically? they're my Big Macs.

Patrick in his happy place.

our view on Thanksgiving.

most of the gang.

since i can't cook worth a lick, i made 23 place cards as my contribution to the meal.

yup.

a few post wedding snapshots!

(take a second look)

wait.

it's hard to keep up with all my adorable nieces & nephews,

but one of these is not like the other.

one last stop in Virginia before we boarded our train.

...

On Thanksgiving, our family passed around a blessings jar. 

We jotted down notes of things for which we are thankful and put them inside.

This was a quote my mom dropped in :: 

I was a total sob-fest as my stepdad read the cards out loud, by the way. I just can't help it. Looking back on this year...looking around the room that night...I don't know how I deserve what I have, but I feel endlessly and overwhelmingly blessed. It's a good thing one of my nephews wrote "God and football" on his card as I quickly giggled those tears away! :)

Cheers to the beginning of this magical holiday season. 

I'm so glad it's here.

until next time,

g