Thanksgiving Recap

My first Thanksgiving cooking the whole meal went surprisingly well. The day started off early. AJ had to work a half day so we were up at 6 and he was gone by 7. I took a little time in the morning to journal. I wanted to ensure that I would get to record what I was thinking and feeling on our first Thanksgiving here and together as a married pair.

I started preparing in the kitchen by 9 as a the parade started. I also called my mom and sister in Connecticut to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving and for a bit of cooking advice! Then at 10, I watched the Friends Thanksgiving marathon on my laptop because I couldn't decide between that and the parade! I'm sure I wasn't the only one with that dilemma.

I made mashed turnips, cranberry sauce, and gravy on the stove top early so I could just reheat it all when it was about time to eat. At 11:30, I put our turkey breast in the oven. I ended up ordering a pre-stuffed breast from Whole Foods so that I wouldn't have to worry about doing my own stuffing. It was tiny, little 3.5 pound breast and perfect for just us! I assumed the turkey would take 1.5-2 hours to cook but when I checked it around 12:30, it looked pretty cooked! So then I started to rush. AJ got home right around that time and I hadn't yet started the brussels sprouts or sweet potato casserole! I had already mashed the sweet potatoes and put them in a baking dish so I quickly put that in the oven with the turkey and started to sauté the sprouts with garlic and turkey bacon. Before it got too dry, I took the turkey out of the oven and covered it with tin foil and a dishtowel to keep it warm while I started reheating everything on the stove. I threw some pecans and marshmallows on the casserole and set the oven to broil. AJ helped put everything into serving dishes, opened the wine, and got the turkey onto a serving dish. But before we could eat, of course, we had to get a few photos of the table.

As we sat down to eat, AJ suggested we listen to Christmas music—which made me so happy because I love Christmas music but AJ usually does not like it until Thanksgiving is all said and done! He knows the way to my heart.

We had a nice midday dinner around 1. We ate and talked, had seconds and drank wine. After eating, we left all the dishes on the table and took a nice walk through the Common. It was a beautiful afternoon, chilly and cloudy but no wind! There were a few other people who had the same idea as us, but the city was very quiet! The Common is already decorated for Christmas and it looked beautiful! We walked down Joy Street to Mount Vernon Street and then home. We cleaned the dishes and put away leftover before taking out the dessert and pouring coffee. I think I stuffed myself the most with dessert! We didn't have pie this year, but we had chocolate chip pumpkin blondie bars and pecan bars. We watched football and then started taking out some Christmas decorations. We were slightly surprised by the fake tree we got. It's maybe 3 feet tall and completely looks like a Charlie Brown tree, which is a bit endearing really. And some how the strand of lights I got for is still not big enough! So we left that to decorate until I get more lights but we did string some white lights over our window and it looks like Christmas!

Today, we woke up to a bit of snow outside and it flurried for part of the morning. Later, I'm going to brave the crowds to do a bit of shopping...but if the lines are long or the stores are super crowded I will turn around and come home! I'm not big into Black Friday crowds.



I hope everyone had a wonderful, enjoyable Thanksgiving. I hope everyone was able to spend time with family and the people they love, that is what this time of year is all about!

What I'm Thankful for This Year

The title of this post is probably a misnomer because these are things I've been thankful for in the past and that I will be thankful for in the future. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I want to share the (many) things I am most thankful for in my life.

My husband, of course. And I'm thankful that we are spending this holiday together as man and wife for the first time! I'm thankful for our relationship and the love he gives me. I'm thankful for the way we work as a team and for the conversations we share on a daily basis.

My family, including my amazingly wonderful mom, my two sisters, my grandparents, my in-laws, my many cousins, and all the friends who are more like family than friends. This year has really shown me how much love my family has for each other and I can't believe how lucky I am to have so many great people in my life.

My education, past, present, and future included. I went to a great public school in Minnesota that taught me so much. The university I went to for undergrad is where I learned to love learning and where I cultivated my interesting in writing, reading, and academics. And now, I am pursing my master's degree and I am really enjoying what I am learning and studying.

This place where I live. Boston is a fun and inspiring place to live. There's so much to do and see. It's a city that really feels like home and I'm happy to be spending my newlywed years here with AJ.

Lastly, I am the most thankful for the fact that the things I just listed are daily blessings and that I am able to be thankful for them all year round. Let's all strive to give thanks every day for our many blessings and for all the moments that make life wonderful.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to you and yours! Enjoy this day with family, friends, and loved ones who make you happy!

Apple Banana Bread for a Chilly Day

Yesterday morning, I was faced with the perfect storm for baking. I had overripe bananas sitting in my fruit bowl, an abundance of apples, and a chilly morning blowing cold wind past my window. It was all I needed to make a warm and comforting loaf of apple banana bread.

I've made this recipe a few times. I made it the day after our wedding as soon as we got back to Boston. I changed the recipe a bit this time but it's still just as good! (The recipe below is different from the one in the photo above.) The bread is tasty, sweet, and pretty healthy too! It calls for whole wheat flour, apple sauce, just a little bit of sugar, and there is no dairy or oil at all!

The smell that it fills the kitchen with is delicious and it's really easy to make. You only need one bowl! This bread is delicious by itself, toasted, or topped with a generous scoop of cream cheese, a pat of butter, or a spread of cranberry apple butter (Trader Joe's has a great one!). Enjoy!

Apple Banana Bread

2 ripe bananas
1 apple, peeled and diced
1/4 C sugar
1 3/4 C whole wheat flour
1/3 C apple sauce
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Optional: chopped nuts, chocolate chips, dried fruit

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl mash bananas with a fork. Add diced apple, sugar, flour, applesauce, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, and anything else you want to add.
Pour into a greased or non-stick 9 inch loaf pan.
Bake for 35-45 minutes.
Cool in pan for 10 minutes and transfer to cooling rack.

Let me know how yours turns out! What are your favorite recipes to bake on chilly days?

Thanksgiving Plans

Can you believe Thanksgiving is one week away? I can't. It came up so fast—everything seems to be happening so fast this year! It'll be Christmas and New Year's before we even know it!

This year, Thanksgiving will be a brand new experience for me. It'll be the first Thanksgiving I experience as a wife, the first Thanksgiving I won't be with my family, and the first Thanksgiving that I will be doing all the cooking myself! I'm not sure if I'll be able to pull it off.

Because of AJ's job, we knew that he wouldn't have much time off around Thanksgiving so we opted to stay here and spend the holiday together and go to Connecticut the following week, when AJ will be able to take more time off so we can spend more time with family.

AJ still has to work on Thanksgiving but only a half day so he should be home by 1. That'll give me enough time to prepare a midday Thanksgiving dinner while watching the Macy's Parade—I love it! It makes me want to watch Miracle on 34th Street, too.

It's just the two of us and I've never cooked a big meal like this so I am trying to keep it as simple as possible so that I don't have to worry too much about something going wrong. Instead of a whole turkey, I'm planning on making just a turkey breast in the crockpot using this recipe. I also want to make a homemade cranberry sauce and I think this recipe looks good and easy. Sweet potatoes are a must but I want to try something different since we tend to eat a lot of sweet potatoes on a weekly basis.  I thought I would do a casserole with the marshmallows, but I found a little recipe for sweet potato puffs you can do on the stove top and that looks really yummy! I'll also do gravy and stuffing but I'm just going to have my mom tell me how to make those. For dessert, I plan to make pumpkin bars and these praline bars. I love pecan pie but I've never made on before and this simple recipe looks just as good!

To make the day a little more special, I brought two sets of our fine china that we were gifted at our wedding. Every time I think about using them, I think about the Thanksgiving episode of friends when Monica finally uses her China but they break all over the floor. Hopefully that won't happen!

What are your plans for Thanksgiving? Any turkey-cooking tips?

Fall To Do List Check-In

A few weeks ago I wrote a to do list for this October. Since the month is almost up (already?!) I thought it was a good time to check-in and see how I'm doing!

1. Go to Salem. Check! I did this one this past Saturday with AJ, my sister, her boyfriend, and some friends. It was as crazy busy and crowded as I thought it'd be but still worth it the chaos! You can read about it here.

2. Go to an apple orchard/pumpkin patch. Check as well! We got this one done on Saturday as well before going to Salem. We headed to North Andover and spent a few hours at Smolak Farms. You can read about it here.

3. Watch Hocus Pocus. Check, thank goodness! I think I've done this one a few times.

4. Go to the Boston Book Festival. Not yet! But that's because it hasn't happened yet. Hopefully I'll be able to go!

5. Eat Halloween Candy. Check! We ate a few pieces while watching Hocus Pocus because it felt right.

6. Go to the Boston Common Pumpkin Festival. Yup! We did that on Sunday. It was the first really cold day of Fall so we only stayed for about an hour but in that time we got free samples from Davids Tea, free coffee from New England Coffee, and we watched cute kids frolicking in their costumes.

7. Make Kettle Corn with Halloween M&Ms. Half check. I made kettle corn twice this week but I'm saving the M&Ms for Halloween!

8. Eat chili and pumpkin cornbread. Check! Just did that one last night! Yum!

9. Watch Halloweentown, Halloweentown II, and Halloweentown High. Not yet because I don't think it's been on yet but I'm keeping my eye on the Disney Channel schedule!

10. Make an apple pie. Not yet! But my mom and grandmother are coming this weekend so I'm planning to make one for them, especially since I have a whole peck of apples waiting on the counter.

11. Watch Stephen King movies. No, not yet. Bummer. We have two dvds from Netflix right now and if I want to get some Stephen King movies before Halloween I either have to watch them fast and send them back or send them back unwatched.

12. Decorate the apartment. Check! I got a big mum plant from Trader Joe's, a few small pumpkins, and a few decorations are sprinkled about the apartment. I didn't buy the window applications because i don't think my neighbors would appreciate them as much as I do.

13. Get Married. CHECK! I checked off the most important item on the list on October 11th.

Saturday at Smolak Farms and Salem

This weekend went by so fast! I can't believe it's already Sunday night. I'm sure the weekend went by so fast because we did a lot of fun stuff! On Friday, my sister, Marina, and her boyfriend, Sharaf, drove up from Connecticut to visit. They got here around 4 while AJ was still at work so Sharaf went to rest and Marina and I sat and chatted for a while. Once AJ got home and Sharaf woke up, we went downstairs to order two pizzas from Upper Crust. While we waited for them to be ready, we walked through the Common and down Boylston Street a ways. Marina and I walked and chatted while the guys walked together behind us and had boy talk.

Once we picked up the pizza, we brought it up to the apartment and ate ALL of it and went through a bit of wine as well. The talking was non stop, my throat hurt by the end of dinner. It was really fun! After dinner, I made kettle corn for everyone and we sat down in the dark to watch Hocus Pocus. AJ and I both fell asleep during it but I'm sure we'll watch it a few more times before Halloween.

On Saturday around noon, we all got into Marina's car and drove up to North Andover where we met with Marina's friend, Katelyn, and her boyfriend, Scott, at a pumpkin patch, apple orchard, petting zoo place called Smolak Farms. It took quite a while to find but it was so much fun! It was packed with families and little kids in cute costumes. We walked around the animals for a while at first and then, out of nowhere, it down poured! Everyone was running for cover and we, smartly, ran inside the bakery where we just had to buy apple cider donuts, hot apple cider, and baking mixes. We hid under some tents, eating the donuts and drinking the cider, until the rain let up and it was a beautiful day again.





We played with the animals a bit more; there were llamas, alpacas, goats, rams, pigs, turkeys, deer, and everything. Then we walked to the pumpkin patch but we didn't buy any pumpkins—we already have some small ones in the apartment and I didn't think we should keep the big ones inside. From there, we walked down to the apple orchard. Apple season was just about over so we couldn't pick them off the tree and bag them ourselves—but that didn't stop Sharaf. We found a few that still looked good on the trees and he picked them down. AJ and I shared an empire apple and it was so sweet and delicious!

We walked around a bit more before stopping to buy apples. They had three big barrels of apples that we could pick from. AJ and I bought the biggest bag and loaded it up with apples. I have big plans of making apple pie, apple cookies, pork chops with apples, and maybe apple pancakes so they will definitely get used quickly!

As we were leaving the farm, we decided to go to Salem since Sharaf had never been. It took a good hour to get there because the traffic was crazy! And once we actually got to Salem, it took us another 30 minutes just to park. It was absolutely packed with people!



We met back up with Scott and Katelyn at Beer Works. I had a pumpkin beer, which I've been wanting to try, and it was ok but the best part was the cinnamon and sugar on the rim. We had to wait at the bar for about 40 minutes for a table but we finally got seated outside so we could people watch as people walked by in weird and crazy costumes. The food was good and we had a really nice time. We did a bit more walking around Salem to see some of the sights and some of the places where Hocus Pocus was filmed before calling it a night and driving back to Boston.

That morning, AJ and I had realized it was our one week anniversary of being married and a few people texted us throughout the day to remind us, too. It was an ideal way to spend our one week anniversary! I love Fall in New England and everything that goes along with it, especially the apples, apple cider donuts, and festive spirit of everyone enjoying the same thing!

Literary Links

It's been quite sometime since I did one of these posts! I hope you enjoy this little collection of literary related posts!

Poe is back in Boston! The city in which he was born but came to hate and Boston kind of reciprocated that feeling. Read this article to understand what brought on these sentiments from one of America's greatest literary figures!

An article about what it means to be a young writer hits rather close to home. Reading this article felt so realistic, I couldn't wait until the end because I felt like it would tell me my future.  

Young female writers seem to be having a moment right now and I hope that moment turns into something much, much more. This article gives some advice as to how we can make sure that's the case.

Because I love Elena Ferrante and it is oh so rare when she actually gives a (written) interview.

Lauren Conrad's Fall reading list. I can't say they all interest me but I've been wanting to read Number 1 for a while now, Number 5 is one of my favorites and a book I think everyone should read, and Number 7 sounds really interesting especially because I love Revolutionary history—especially this time of year! What do you guys think about these choices?

To Do List for October

This is a fun month and every year, when October roles around, I want to squeeze as many fun and festive activities into the month that I can. I'm a little worried about doing that this year, you know with the whole wedding and grad school factoring in, but this is the first year that I'll be spending the whole month of October in Boston and in my favorite state, the one that I think is quintessential New England and the most ideal for Autumn. So here's a list, that will be ever changing for the next few weeks, of what I would like to do this October.

1. Go to Salem. We're about 30 minutes from Salem, by car or ferry, and I doubt you could find a more festive place this time of year. We went around this same time last year and it was crazy packed! Witches and people in freaky costumes crowded the streets and there were so many vendors and delicious smelling food stands, it was wonderful but hectic. I was going to bypass this trip this year because of the craziness, but Marina and her boyfriend might be going and we will definitely join them if they do! I won't pass up a free ride to Salem! Plus, it's always fun finding the places where Hocus Pocus was filmed.

2. Go to an apple orchard/pumpkin patch. Again, I wasn't sure I'd be able to do this this year. It's not the easiest thing to get to an orchard from Boston when you don't have a car, but if Marina visits, I will insist on making a stop in Ipswich or Danvers to pick some pumpkins and apples and enjoy hot apple cider and apple cider donut holes.

3. Watch Hocus Pocus. I've already done this a few times in August and September, and I'm sure I'll do it a few more times this month. I find it necessary. Amok amok amok amok!

4. Go to the Boston Book Festival. It's not really festive for Fall, but it's this month, it's nearby in Copley Square, and maybe there will be free books!

5. Eat Halloween candy. Is it bad that I already bought our Halloween candy? I had a CVS coupon that was expiring soon so I bought it way ahead of time! I already poured it out into a pumpkin dish, too. So far we've been able to hold out.

6. Go to the Boston Common Pumpkin Festival. This one I've never done or even heard of before but in my quest to find festive activities within the city limits, this popped up! It looks like it's mostly for kids, but I'm sure there will be pumpkins and pumpkin flavored baked goods so I'll be there. For those interested, it's in the Common on the 19th from 4:30-6:30.

7. Make Kettle Corn with Halloween M&Ms. AJ and I love putting M&Ms in our popcorn and I thought it'd be fun to make kettle corn for a movie night on Halloween, since apparently I'm too old to trick-or-treat on Beacon Hill. I already bought the M&M's, they have peanut ones that are Fall colored I guess, and others that are supposed to taste like candy corn!

8. Eat chili and pumpkin corn bread. I already bought both so this will definitely happen at some point. I also want to drink a pumpkin beer.

9. Watch Halloweentown, Halloweentown II, and Halloweentown High. This is a given and one of my favorite parts of October! These movies remind me of childhood.

10. Make apple pie. I already did this when AJ's family visited but there's no such thing as too many apple flavored food in the Fall! I should do pumpkin pie too, but my mom always makes apple pie and it's easy for me to follow her recipe.

11. Watch Stephen King movies. I don't  feel like there are really any good, scary, and well-made Halloween movies out there in the world. But there are two Stephen King movies, which are thankfully available on Netflix (not to stream though—boo), that are kind of Halloween-y. Rose Red (which is super long and you have to order two DVDs on Netflix for) and Salem's Lot. The former has a haunted house (and Marnie from Halloweentown) and the former has vampires (the scary kind, not the Twilight kind). I'm insisting, much to AJ's unhappiness, that we watch both this month.

12. Decorate the apartment. This is already mostly done. I have a festive wreaths, two small pumpkins, two small white pumpkins, mums, and a few other decorations I've been given. But I really want to get those sticky decorations you can put on windows so that the people walking down Charles outside can see—although I'm not sure if the building or neighborhood allows that. Also, I need more pumpkin smelling candles.

And one more reason since 13 is a good number for October.

13. Get married. This is the only really important thing on the list and the only thing that I will, without a doubt, be doing this month.

The First Sunday In October

Today, the first Sunday in October, was the epitome of Fall as far as weather goes. It was sunny but chilly and you definitely needed a jacket if you were walking in the sun. AJ and I filled today to the brim!

We started the day off really early, 6:30 am early. We got up and walked down Beacon Street to Mass Ave to go to Crossroads Irish Pub to watch the Manchester United game. We usually do this if there's a weekend game.

After the game, we came back home and AJ watched more soccer while I did lots of homework. At 11:30, we walked across the Longfellow Bridge to Cambridge to go to the Cambridgeside Galleria. I had to make a return and AJ had to pick up an order. We shopped around a bit—I need new jeans but they were all too long! And we smelled lots of yummy smelling and not so yummy smelling candles at Bath & Bodyworks. 

We came back home and changed into warm clothes, our building hasn't switched over to heat yet. I lit a pumpkin candle, made a pot of pumpkin spice coffee, and got back to homework while AJ watched football. I fell asleep on him around 4 and then started making dinner at 5.

I tried a new recipe for dinner, 5 ingredient white chicken chili. I used 4 cups of chicken broth, one can of pinto beans, a little over 1 cup of cooked chicken, 1 1/4 cups of salsa verde, and 2 teaspoons of cumin and I topped it with avocado. I was nervous because AJ doesn't like chili, and I always get nervous when I try recipes for the first time, but we both loved it! AJ cleaned the pot he liked it so much. So I'm glad that was a success. I also made loaded baked sweet potatoes with parsley, bacon bits, and a blend of Mexican cheese. It was a successful dinner.

Now we're watching the Pats game and I'm trying to get more homework done even though my brain doesn't work as well as it gets later into the night.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and I hope tomorrow is as happy a Monday as can be!

October Books

I love to read and I think it's so fun to read books that fit the season, holiday, month, and so on. I chose some books that would be fitting to read for the month of October. 

When I think of Fall I think of New England and when I think of New England, I think of Fall, so naturally my book picks reflect that bias. Fall in New England is beautiful and I always try to take full advantage of it because Autumn is so fleeting. I feel extra blessed this year to be living in Boston this Fall, it is one of the best places to experience a real New England Autumn.

 Reading books and stories that are reminiscent of the season makes me feel even more immersed in the magic of the fresh air, orange leaves, bright pumpkins, crisp apples, and spicy coffee and tea. I chose a few books that will suit all different readers and will definitely get you in the mood of October!

So the first- The Portable Edgar Allen Poe. Poe is a New Englander and therefore he makes the list. Also, a lot of his writing is spooky and perfect for the mood of October. The Raven is always a must read. And, this weekend a new statue of Poe is being revealed 5 minutes from my apartment! I'll be walking by it all the time this Fall. 

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving I try to read every October. It gets you in the spirit and gives you a look back at colonial New York history. There’s also a Johnny Depp movie with the same title that’s worth a (creepy) watch. And the new show on Fox isn’t bad either! It took a really interesting spin on the original story and adds a lot of new layers to it. But of course, nothing beats the book! Also, it’s very short so if you’re crunched for reading for pleasure time, this Sleepy Hollow is a great choice.

Witch Hunt is a Young Adult novel but would be an interesting read for anyone. It’s a  creative perspective on the Salem witch trials that historical biographies don’t give. This is more of an entertaining read because it is fiction but it sticks with the facts and is historically accurate.

Mysteries and Legends of New England is like grown up scary stories for telling around the campfire with s’mores. Like I said, Fall and New England go hand in hand in my mind so spooky legends focused on New England are perfect for October. The stories aren’t really scary, just eerie enough to give you the chills!

October Dreams is a collection of short stories and essays about the month and Halloween, so of course it would a fun anthology to flip through and pick a story every so often throughout the month to keep the spirit alive. Reading them out loud to kids or friends in front of the fire place would put you in the Halloween mood even more!

And the final book, Witch Hunt, is for those who are not as New England centric as me! This nonfiction book focuses on the history of witch hunts throughout Europe even before the witch trials in Salem! People in the United States, myself included, might not have ever learned too much about this part of Europe’s history but it is ver interesting indeed! If you’re already a Salem witch trial buff, don’t care for spooky stories or New England, this is for you!

Happy October!

I can't believe it's already October! But I'm oh so happy it is. This is my favorite month. I love the leaves and the cool weather. I love seeing pumpkins and gourds for sale at markets. I love the feeling of a new season and I love the yummy foods that come into season. Sweet potatoes, butternut squash, apples (Honey Crisp especially), apple cider donuts, and tangerines. It all tastes like Fall and it is my kind of comfort food. I added some pumpkin pie spice to my oatmeal this morning, just in celebration of this new month!

Today, Boston is cloudy and rain will be imminent all day. Yesterday was wet and chilly. The next few days will be the same but I like it. After a heatwave this past weekend, this really feels like Fall!

As you can imagine, AJ and I have been really busy lately. Every weekend there has been something keeping us busy. After we got back from our quick trip to Connecticut, AJ's family came for the weekend. This past weekend, my mom, godmother, cousin, and sister came to visit for the night and it was great! It's always fun having family around and they do so much for us when they're here. Plus, school and work take up just about all my time but I'm really enjoying my classes! I'll post more specifically on school later.

A few other fun things to note, it is now mine and AJ's wedding month! It is extremely crazy how quickly time has gone by since we started planning. It's so soon! And we're very excited and everything is coming together just perfectly.

Also, today is AJ's first day at his new job here in Boston! His start day had to be delayed due to the extremely slow processed of becoming licensed in another state but—the day is here! I just some him off this morning. I am so proud of him and can't believe how much he's done and how far he's come since the day I met him. He's amazing and I hope he really enjoys this job. I can't wait to hear from him and hear all about his day, but I have to leave at 5:30 for class tonight so I might just miss him!

Last month, I completely neglected this blog and—even though this month might be busier than last—I don't want to let that happen this month. My favorite month. I love blogging and I don't want to let this slip away and get lost in school and work. I'm going to work hard and try hard to keep this going and keep it interesting!

Posts on books, food, and school will be coming!