everybody that had a good thanksgiving throw your hands in the ayer a ayer, ayer a ayerrr.
i know i sure did. any time i get to eat & drink wine while the calories just don’t count at all is my kinda party. since i saw my family last sunday for our version of thanksgiving, the walker’s opened up their home to me and had me over to their house on thanksgiving day.
{drew, laurie, lee}
{laurie & lance; lee's parents}
we kicked off the celebrations by opening up a bottle of my favorite wine, duplin’s hatteras, while the boys had a few brews with football playing in the background. although lee’s green bay packers didn’t do so hot, he was a good sport about it.
.....for the most part.
now on to the setting. i love the walker house. it’s very homey and could be a showroom for a cracker barrel. country touches, little trinkets, old fashioned clocks and pictures of their families cover the walls. when we got there, mrs walker had already set up the formal dining room complete with fancy dishes and lit candles. there is also a really cool clock that chimes at every hour and half hour. these remind me of the ones my grandmother had in her house.
the boys aren’t big on veggies, so we stuck to basics and just filled up on the good foods of thanksgiving. pshhh ain't nobody got time for gross stuffing! everything from the turkey to potatoes to sides to dessert to wine looked scrumptious. after holding hands for the blessing and everyone speaking to what they were thankful for, it was time to feast.
{turkey}
{fixings}
{broccoli & cheese casserole topped with biscuits}
i don’t think there was much time for things to be said at the dinner table. obviously not in the awkward way, because i could carry on a conversation with a wet paper bag and the walker’s are some talkers as well! we were too busy stuffing our faces. we all laughed as no one could speak because their mouths were full of food. mr hoover was walking around just hoping for someone’s turkey to slip off their plate. luckily for him, he got to celebrate thanksgiving too.
{hoover}
after dinner, we went out to mr walker’s garage where he restores hudson hornets! if you don’t know what that is, it’s the famous racer older car from the movie cars. yes, that’s how i figured it out too so don’t feel bad if you had to google it.
he showed me all over his 2 story garage and it was amazing how detailed he is about these vehicles and the amount of knowledge and work he puts into them. we spent the rest of the night with wine, playing different variations of catchphrase, laughing, wine, telling stories, snuggling up to their wood-burning stove and more wine. the boys got into the whiskey (or some other dark liquor), but i steered clear of that because dark liquor and i aren’t exactly best friends.
{stove}
{toasty!}
it was a wonderful evening with a wonderful family.
friday night we ventured to ri ra’s uptown charlotte. this has got to be one of my favorite places. an irish pub themed place with food to go with it. there’s even a bartender with a real irish accent! the smallest things amuse me. it was great seeing some friends we knew and, for me, meeting some i haven’t before.
{some of the ladies}
{some of the guys}
saturday, we went to see catching fire in imax (100% recommend you to go see and no i won't spoil it for you) and sunday, we lounged around watching football. i started to feel a bit sick so the chill latter part of the thanksgiving holiday was really needed. we pretty much just looked like this....
{franny}
i mean really, who doesn’t love a good ol' pic of francesca every now and then? :)
this year, i’m extremely thankful for my friends & family, the blessings, the memories, the new people i have met, wine, and countless other things i don’t deserve, but very much appreciate and love.
i hope your thanksgiving holiday was as sweet as mine.
xo,
-A
