Fashion. Music. Family. Life.
It’s that time of year where my family travels to Las Vegas to spend Thanksgiving with our in-laws. We will be en route as this posts, so here are a few pictures from when the boys and I attended the tree lighting at Fashion Valley last Saturday to kick off this holiday season.
Wishing you all a happy and safe Thanksgiving, cheers!
Dominic digging his holiday hat!
The Thanksgiving holiday has come and gone. We arrived in Vegas last Wednesday and stayed until Sunday. It started with Dominic’s first karate lesson from Grandpa and ended with my hubby and I splitting billiard wins at a British pub. The time in-between was spent laughing and eating with friends and family. Thanksgiving Day itself always consists of football and food, which is lucky for my husband and I because we love both equally. My favorite foods that I look forward to each year are the German dumplings, yams with tons of marshmallows, and most recently: my husband’s deep-fried turkey injected with Creole butter.
My mother-in-law and I decided to brave the midnight sales on Black Friday, rather than waiting until the morning. It was quite crazy at Target and Walmart, so we decided to head out to The Fashion Show Mall, where I discovered Topshop will be opening the first West Coast location in the spring of 2012 (so excited). I somehow managed to purchase some boots in the midst of the mall madness, and then later scored some awesome sunnies from Mango (the style chosen by my husband). After the craziness of Friday morning and afternoon, we settled in for my mother-in-law’s birthday. It’s always the weekend prior to Thanksgiving, so she likes to celebrate it during the holiday because everyone is in town.
On Saturday, I was able to meet up with my best friend, Janice, who was in town for the Janet Jackson concert. After we grabbed a few drinks at the Paris hotel, my hubby and I were able to spend some couple time by heading to one of his favorite pubs called Crown & Anchor. He knew I would enjoy it because it’s a British pub where they serve the national fare like fish & chips and bangers & mash, plus they know how to make a good Shandy (recipe to come). We played a few games of pool, which we surprisingly split (he usually annihilates me). All in all, it was another chaotic, relaxing, and family-fun-filled Thanksgiving. Here’s to next year!
FTC Disclosure: Although this is a sponsored post, the opinions, pictures & content of this post are strictly my own.
I know my most recent post was about my adventures in boy band land, which I posted right in the middle of my Thanksgiving weekend. It was a post from a few months ago that I kept meaning to put up but just never got around to it. Since I didn’t have my regular computer and just my little Nokia Netbook (no photo editor), I thought it was a good time to post it. Now that I have my regular computer, I am posting images from my Thanksgiving weekend in Las Vegas with my in-laws.
The reason I have a picture of an almost skeletal turkey was because it was the first time we ever had a deep-fried turkey. My mother-in-law bought a Butterball Deep Fryer to see if it’s as good as we have heard. My husband injected each side of the 10 pound turkey with creole butter (seasoning). Then he cut a slit into the left and right breast and inserted two tablespoons of butter in each side. Lastly, he seasoned the outside of the turkey with poultry seasoning and pepper. Then he deep-fried it in just under two gallons of Canola oil for only 40 minutes. The result was the most moist turkey I’ve ever had in my life. It’s no wonder it disappeared so quickly!
The yeast rolls my mother-in-law got were also completely amazing. They come frozen and rise in the oven. Even the next day, they were fantastic with a little bit of melted butter. I didn’t get a picture of them, but she also makes the best yams (made with brown sugar, butter and marshmallows).
The final image is of my son in his new little Thanksgiving outfit. Technically, he should only be wearing the San Diego Chargers gear because my team had the better record last season without reaching the Superbowl. The way my husband and I resolve which of our favorite team’s gear Dominic will wear each year is determined by which team has the better record or the team that goes to the Superbowl (this is until he can pick his own favorite team). My mother-in-law didn’t know we have this little “wager”, so she bought him the little Pittsburgh Steelers track-suit. But he looked too cute, so I’ll let this outfit slide this year. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!
It’s a very busy time for friends and family to gather together and celebrate, so my post today will just be about how thankful I am for the many blessings in my life. It’s been a wonderful and eventful year so far, and I need to say thank you to everyone in my life for the encouragement and support they have given me, especially my wonderful husband and beautiful son. I am surrounded by their love every waking moment, which allows me to give it back in abundance.
The only difficult part of this time of year is that I remember my dear father, who I wish was here physically with us to share the holidays. It’s in times like this that my mom misses him dearly, although she knows he is with us in spirit. Like me, I know she thinks about what his reactions to my son and my niece would be as they get older because she is here and able to watch them grow.
So everyone, just take a moment to remember to thank your friends and family for all the love and support they provide. But most of all, thank yourselves for who you are and your contribution to the world we live in.
Have a safe and wonderful holiday. Happy Thanksgiving!
(Photos by Ashlee Espinoza)