Side Notes & Shenanigans: November 2018- Spirited and Then Some

Ooh, it’s that time of year when technically it’s still fall but Christmas is just around the corner. Which basically means winter is nearby, too. And if the current chilly temps are any indication, I may not be totally off base here.

So grab a blanket, your woolly socks, and a cuppa joe, and let’s dive into the Thanksmas season that is fresh upon us!

WHAT WE’RE EATING:

Currently, K-Hubs and I are face-deep in the two most recent recipes on the blog:

Seriously, it’s just trips to the grocery for whatever we really need, and then the ingredients for those two recipes just somehow manage to fall smack into the cart. And that’s how we do Christmas dining and sipping around here.

But we aren’t only getting our booze on. We’re also face-deep in Hot ’n Spicy Pico De Gallo. Because some nights, once the kids go to bed, you just need an indulgent treat that’s actually quite healthy for you. And this recipe fits that bill.

THANKSGIVING:

Spiriteds, we just celebrated our first real Thanksgiving as a family of four that didn’t require travel or any kind of hosting. Yep, we managed to have our own cozy Thanksgiving, and I have to say it was an absolute blast. This coming from the woman who loves to GO and DO on the regular.

But we managed to eat some pretty delicious recipes, including:

Ya’ll, we managed to get our Thanksgiving on, and even snuck in a walk after lunch. Also, I got exactly ZERO pictures of the entire affair. And I’m okay with that. Phones were off, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was on, and our bellies were full.

THANKSGIVING WEEKEND:

In the spirit of tradition, we picked our tree up from Costco (the one place with trees I’m not allergic to) the day after Thanksgiving and then trekked out to Howell Tree Farm on Saturday to walk around the farm, hang with the animals, and Christmas shop. I’ve been visiting Howell Tree Farm since before I can remember. The farm has since expanded to include a general store in a barn and options for birthday parties.

Howell Tree Farm is also just across the way from Francesca’s House, made famous by the Clint Eastwood movie, The Bridges of Madison County. You can literally see the house from the tree farm, they are that close to each other.

Sadly, Francesca’s House was a victim of arson. So now it’s gated off from the rest of the community. But you can still drive by it, seeing exactly where Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep stood on the porch together. And I literally cannot even with that. I read the book as a tween in one layover at some airport between Tennessee and Iowa.

Romantic, tear-jerking movies with local connections aside, 2018 will be known as the year of the crooked Costco tree. But I will say the store was fantastic about the whole debacle. The tree fell more than once (2.5 times to be exact). And for good measure, it took a few of Mom’s old ornaments with it. 😭

On the third rebuild (including some trimming and rotating and whatever else you do to keep a crooked tree straight), Twinkle shouted, “Mama! It’s pulling the wall! The tree is pulling the wall!”

What on earth could she mean? Oh! The tree was falling into the corner now. Okay, much better than crashing on the floor like the previous two times. But it was also pulling our decorations off the shelves nearby. So that’s bad.

Bye-bye, tree.

Hello, Christmas tree ladder.

No joke.

We returned the regular tree (you can do that at Costco, by the way, or at least you can as of the time of this blog post). And then we decorated our adjustable step ladder (thank you and you’re welcome, Little Giant). Nothing that random craft supplies, organza from our wedding 15.5 years ago (that we were clearly saving for such a moment as this), and packing tape couldn’t fix. We are in LOVE with this new tree, and while it doesn’t give off as much light as a regular tree with more strands, it is a hoot to look at each day. So much so that Twinkle wants to do this every year now.

I do kind of miss our regular tree. But the Christmas tree ladder has a better track record of staying upright than the regular tree did. So, there’s something a little bit practical about Twinkle’s idea to do a Christmas tree ladder next year. Maybe that means I need to buy a little more ribbon, a few more bows, and extra packing tape.

Because nothing is too good for this family. 😂 Or maybe it means we’ll end up with two trees next year, of contrasting varieties!