reservations

well, thanksgiving dinner at that tapas restaurant I mentioned didn't quite work out as planned. turns out the restaurant that took our reservations ended up being closed on thanksgiving (totally reminded me of that seinfeld episode- clip below). so where does one go when almost every restaurant in the city is closed? why cracker barrel, of course (well, it was either that or piccadilly). there is nothing more my dad appreciates than a good deal. we got turkey, ham, 3 sides, a drink & a piece of pumpkin pie for $8.99. it was actually delicious & we ended up having the best time. we pretty much giggled our way through the entire meal ("I can't believe we are those people who are eating thanksgiving dinner at cracker barrel!"). god bless that place. 

 {kara & robert, waiting on a table}

 {you better believe my martha-stewart-mother would never fail provide cute place cards on a holiday}

 {a little pre-meal game}

{thanks to our amazing friends the xides for letting us crash at their place & finish their puzzle}

thankful

boy, we all have a lot to be thankful for, don't we? it's so easy in this society to feel sorry for ourselves & obsess over what we don't have instead of what we do. this year I'm feeling extremely grateful for my health, my faith & the love & support of those around me. what are you feeling grateful this season?

this thanksgiving is the first time in family history that we're breaking a big tradition. after losing pop over the summer, we all felt it would be too hard to go back to the lakehouse
this year without him (thanksgiving was his very favorite holiday). so we're doing something crazy. we're headed to atlanta today to stay with my sister & get this... we are skipping thanksgiving dinner altogether. we're going out to eat at a tapas restaurant on thursday! totally crazy, I know. but I suppose thanksgiving isn't so much about what you eat as it is about who you're with. and I'm pretty proud of myself for trying something new. I have a bit of a problem with change (I'm the one who pitches a fit if a certain food gets left off the thanksgiving day menu. like that one time when my mom tried to make the argument that mashed potatoes & sweet potatoes were basically the same thing!! um... no!)

I did, however, manage to get a little baking in - smitten kitchen's salted caramel apple tart. hopefully it travels well. 

happy thanksgiving, friends! 

dive, dip, duck, dodge and.... dive

is it possible that a first time dad-to-be would find any baby gift "cool"? our friend matt is an avid dodgeball player (he's even played again kesha... or is it ke$ha?) & can be found wearing shorts & a hoodie about 99% of the time. so I wanted to give him something a little more fun than the nipple covers that were on the registry. 

we stole this picture of matt from his facebook page & then just traced it onto freeze paper & painted it onto a onesie (I used this tutorial). paired with a soft baby hoodie from american apparel & it makes the perfect "cool dad" gift. 

nyc in film

and in case I haven't bored you enough with photos from my nyc trip, here's a little video I made as well. 

the brooklyn flea

can you believe this crazy frankenstorm that put the upper east coast under water? so terrible! praying for all of those who were affected by the storm. I took some photos of the fabulous brooklyn flea when I was there a few weekends ago, before the destruction. hope all these vendors will be able to get their tents back up soon. here are some fun things my friend kristin & I spotted at the flea: