Thanksgiving Recap and Olly is back!

 Thanksgiving 2015 was one for the books!

Lots of time spent with family, even family from Florida that we too often don't get a chance to see and spend time with.

my sweet girl!

my first cousin, Ronnie, from Florida

Lots of sweets were baked in my kitchen Thursday morning! Lots...

Aunt Nancy

Dad

Aunt Nancy & Cousin Tony

Olly also arrived on Thanksgiving morning. Cadence was smiling from ear to ear!

He left her a note stating that she could give him welcome hugs and then show him his balloon in the parade when it came on TV.

She was happy to oblige :)

Friday morning we found him hiding under a glitter Christmas tree.

Saturday he told us all about the boat parade in Savannah.

love my family!

(and I am wearing a different shirt - I spilled food all over my top so I ran into Victoria's Secret and snagged a loose t-shirt #typicalme)

As usual, the boat parade was amazing. Great lights, people shouting Merry Christmas. It's always a lot of fun! 

We also checked out a gingerbread display.

When we got home and tucked Cadence in bed, she immediately felt warm to me. I knew she had a fever. We checked her temp and sure enough, an even 100 degrees. She wasn't even acting ill and didn't complain the first time during the boat parade. It just goes to show how quickly these things can come on. 

All day yesterday she ran a fever and it has carried on through this morning now with a sore throat, cough and runny nose. My poor girl is just not feeling well at all. Daddy stayed home with her today and I already gave my boss the notice for me tomorrow. Lots of snuggles and soup for her. 

Olly brought her a little treat yesterday morning to make her feel better. A special ornament straight from the North Pole. There's actually a hallmark movie about it and we just love it.

you can see her little watery eyes :(

...and this morning...

It's always tough coming back to work after a long weekend. It's even harder when you have a little one at home sick that you want to be with. Being optimistic though, I'm so very happy that we can now focus on all things Christmas. 

xo

Twas the day before Thanksgiving...

First, let's catch up the past two weeks. I think a lot of posts will be helpful to you, especially if you're still clueless as to what to bring to that family function. In my personal experience everyone loves bite sized goodies, so last week I talked all about mini pies!

Mini Apple Pies (two ways)

Mini Cheesecakes

Mini Pumpkin Pies

Mini Chocolate Cream Pies

I also talked about Thanksgiving breakfast!

If pie isn't your thing, then take a look at my Pinterest boards. I have one dedicated to all things Fall, one that has all sorts of delicious things pinned on it, and, if you're like me and highly anticipating Christmas, then go ahead and click that too!

Follow Miranda | Life in the Lowcountry's board Yum on Pinterest.

Follow Miranda | Life in the Lowcountry's board It's Fall Y'all! on Pinterest.

Follow Miranda | Life in the Lowcountry's board Christmas <3 data-blogger-escaped-a="" data-blogger-escaped-on="" data-blogger-escaped-pinterest.="">

Olly comes back tomorrow. I have such a creative way we're bringing him back too. I can't wait to share all the details with you next week. I'll also be sharing a lot of other ideas for your Elf on the Shelf. Places to hide him/her...creative ways to put a smile on your child's face.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Tarl and I both look forward to when Olly comes and visits with us through December. In my opinion, it's fun for the whole family!

Lastly, I want to wish each and every one of you such a blessed and happy Thanksgiving holiday! Remember to be grateful and thankful for everything the Lord has given you, after all, that's the true meaning of Thanksgiving :)

As always, I will be taking a blogging break to spend time with my family.

See y'all on Monday!

xo

Thanksgiving Morning

One of my favorite things to do on holiday mornings, whether it be Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas or even Halloween (if it lands on a Saturday), is make my family breakfast.

When I have days off and we're not in a rush I love taking the time to make my family a breakfast that is themed around that holiday. 

Here are some great ideas for a great Thanksgiving breakfast. (click the title to take you to the source)

Turkey Cinnamon Rolls

Candy Corn Yogurt & Fruit Parfait

Fruit Filled Cornucopias

Cheesy Crescent Leaves

If you don't want Thanksgiving breakfast to get too complicated and want to stick with the usual grits, bacon, eggs and pancakes just grab a cookie cutter and cookie cut a pancake into something indicative of Thanksgiving and then use your grits, bacon and eggs to decorate :)

If you want some more, great, delicious ideas go check out my Pinterest board where I have all kinds of goodies pinned. A lot of sweet, a lot of savory and a whole lotta yum!

Follow Miranda | Life in the Lowcountry's board Yum on Pinterest.

Leading up to both Thanksgiving and Christmas my eyes are pretty much glued to Food Network. Chopped, just because it's a show that I love. The Barefoot Contessa, because we all know my love for Ina. I also enjoy watching Holiday Baking Championship and anything that has a Thanksgiving or Christmas theme to it. Just yesterday alone there were 3 Thanksgiving themed Chopped episodes. Even Cadence loves Chopped. We try our best to eat at the dinner table but every now and again we'll make a special treat out of it and watch an episode of Chopped while eating dinner. Cadence always looks forward to it.

It seems silly but growing up we never ate at the table like a family. We always sat in the living room, watching T.V., eating our dinner. Not saying it's a bad thing, but I always loved the idea of sitting at the dinner table while eating dinner. At our house growing up our dining room table was only used during holidays. Again, not saying this is a bad thing, it's all about personal preference, and for me, I always loved the idea of sitting around the dinner table, catching up with everyone's day.

When I first met Tarl and he introduced me to his parents, it was over dinner at their home. Without question they all knew who had what job to prepare for the meal. Tarl made the drinking glasses. His sister grabbed the silverware and napkins. Tarls mom made everyone's plate and his dad sat down with the pitcher of sweet tea. Then they sat down, and we all ate dinner. No T.V., just each others company.

I knew then, that I wanted that when I had my family, and here we are :)

So although we enjoy eating at the dinner table, there are a few nights throughout the month, when I make a hearty beef stew or beef and barley soup, we'll fill our bowls, grab a napkin and spoon and watch a good episode of Chopped while cozying up with one another sipping on our soups. It's great!


So tell me, do you have you Thanksgiving traditions for breakfast?

xo

Favorite Week of the Year!

Well, one of them anyways :)

I always always always look forward and love Thanksgiving week. Thanksgiving is a holiday where it's on the same day each year, obviously, Thursday, which means for my family we get around 4 1/2 days off in a row, can't beat that!

I will leave work half a day early on Wednesday and I won't look back until next Monday, what a glorious feeling that is. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my job, but time home with family is always best.

Not to mention the fact that so much family is around during the Thanksgiving holiday. My aunt, her son and grandson are all coming into town today. They are staying clear through Friday morning so we have all week with them. We also have more extended family coming in on the actual day of Thanksgiving. They have a sweet little 4 month old baby who is precious and she does nothing to help out my baby fever :)

We can't forget the cooking and the parade! Or should I see cooking while watching the parade? I start my oven bright and early at 8am. I make us breakfast and then the TV goes on exactly at 9 when the parade starts. That's when all my baking starts. I adore baking Thanksgiving goodies while listening to Al Roker commentate in the background. Did you know Jake Owen will be in the parade this year? Seriously cannot wait! How amazing would it be to be there in person to see the parade?!

Tarl and I have actually discussed this as of recently for a future Thanksgiving. Leaving the Wednesday before the parade, staying for a week and seeing the tree lighting and then go home after the tree lighting in Rockefeller Center. A week in New York? Sign me up!

I love the days off work, I love when I get to see family who lives out of town, I love the food but most importantly I love the time spent with family being grateful for every gift the Good Lord has given us. How blessed we are! I truly can't thank God enough for all the things he's done in our lives.

Another HUGE part of me loving this week is Friday. Sure I love Thursday, but when Friday arrives and Thanksgiving is officially over you know what time of year that is...CHRISTMAS!

This is also the week that Olly arrives! We think he may make his appearance on Thanksgiving morning, this way he can watch himself as a balloon on TV in the parade :)

He came last Thanksgiving and left Cadence a note saying that just this once, she could hold him to show him his very own balloon. Just look at that smile!

This Saturday coming is the Annual Savannah Christmas Boat Parade. It's absolutely gorgeous seeing boats decorated with Christmas lights coast down the water way where we all line up on Riverstreet to watch. We look forward to this each year. We bundle up, watch the parade and get dinner after. It's a great way to kick off the Christmas season.

Here are some pictures of last year. We got caught eating dinner so we said this year we will go to dinner afterwards. We still managed to find parking and watch the tail end of the parade. I will admit though, watching it while driving over the bridge was pretty spectacular.

If you need some Christmas ideas come Friday you can check out my Christmas board on Pinterest. I have tons of goodies pinned, decoration ideas, things to do and even some elf on the shelf ideas just in case you're scratching your head wondering where to hide your families elf.

Follow Miranda | Life in the Lowcountry's board Christmas <3 data-blogger-escaped-a="" data-blogger-escaped-on="" data-blogger-escaped-pinterest.="">

Also, if you still don't know what to make for Thanksgiving to take to your family gathering, take a look at my posts from last week where I talked all about mini pies!

Mini Chocolate Cream Pies

Mini Cheesecakes

Mini Pumpkin Pies

Mini Apple Pies - 2 ways

Next Monday starts off my Christmas blogging throughout the entire month of December. I'll be sharing gift ideas for him, them (family members), the kids and even a little wish list of items I'm hoping to receive. I'll also be sharing more recipes throughout the month of December, as well as things we do as a family to celebrate the birth of Jesus, because let's not forget that's the true meaning of the season!

xo

Five on Friday | Thanksgiving Edition

If you're still at a loss on that Thanksgiving sweet ending, then look no more...I have tons of mini pie recipes that I've shared with you all week long and today I'm finishing up the series with mini chocolate cream pies and mini cheesecakes...yum!

First, let's catch up...

Mini Pumpkin Pie Recipe

Mini Apple Pie (two ways) Recipe

Mini Chocolate Cream Pies

What you'll need:

Mini Cupcake Tins

Mini Cupcake Wrappers

1 8oz package of cream cheese (softened)

1 Instant Chocolate Pudding (follow recipe on box and use the standard size pudding box, not the large size)

1 Container of Whipped Cream

Graham Crackers

6 tbs. butter, melted

1 Chocolate Bar (for garnish)

First, let's make the pie crust. Take 1 1/2 cups of crushed graham crackers (about 15 crackers) and add the melted butter. Using clean hands take some of this mixture and press it into the bottom and up the sides of each little cupcake wrapper. Set in the fridge to cool while you make your cheesecake mixture. 

Tip - if you prefer your crust to be on the sweeter side, add 2 tbs of sugar to the graham cracker mixture. Personally I think it's sweet enough without the sugar but to each their own.

Take your softened cream cheese and mix that with the chocolate pudding until the cream cheese is thoroughly combined and there are no little cream cheese bits. Take half the tub of whipped cream and gently fold it into the mixture. 

Take your chocolate cream mixture and scoop it on top of your graham cracker crush. 

Take the remaining whipped cream and put a dollop on top, or if you want to get really fancy you can pipe it on with a pretty star tip. 

Take your chocolate bar and a cheese grater and gently shave a little bit of the chocolate bar on the whipped cream.

These are my nephews favorite! He always requests my chocolate cream pie, granted chocolate doesn't scream Thanksgiving, but let's face it, a little bit of chocolate never hurt anyone :)

Mini Cheesecakes

What you'll need:

Mini Cupcake Tins

Mini Cupcake Wrappers

2 8oz packages of cream cheese (softened)

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 Container of Whipped Cream

Graham Crackers

6 tbs. butter, melted

raspberries (for garnish)

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Make your graham cracker crusts just like you did with the above chocolate cream pie recipe. If you prefer more cheesecake and less crust then just press the mixture into the bottom of the cupcake wrappers. If you like more crust then press it onto the sides as well, but let's face it, who doesn't want more filling?!

Mix your cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar until they are blended well and then add your eggs one a time. As soon as the second egg is blended in it's time to pour your cheesecake mixture into your cupcake tins. 

Bake for about 20-25 minutes. Each oven varies!

Store the cupcakes in the fridge and once they are completely cool, top with a dollop of whip cream. 

For garnish I love adding one single raspberry to each cheesecake. It's simply beautiful.

Yesterday was such a special day to have off to celebrate Thanksgiving with our sweet girl at school. We ate lunch and she even made us a Thanksgiving card. It was awesome to be able to pick her up from school and help her with homework and then playing after it was done waiting on daddy to get home. I pray that one day I will be able to be a stay at home mom and have days like that all the time.

Can y'all believe Thanksgiving is less than a week away?!

I am so ready to celebrate! xo

Mini Pie Series | Apple Pie Edition - Two Ways

So if you missed yesterday's post where I talked about mini pumpkin pies, you can catch up here.

Today we're talking apple pies, well mini apple pies and they are just as simple as yesterdays recipe.

Things you will need:

Mini Cupcake Tin

Mini Cupcake Wrappers (Optional)

Cooking Spray (only if you're NOT using wrappers)

One Large Can Apple Pie Filling 

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Allspice

Roll Out Pie Dough (I use Pillsbury's)

Small Round Cookie Cutter

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Line your cupcake tins with wrappers. If you choose not to use wrappers than spray your cupcake tins with a cooking spray so the pie dough won't stick.

Some people like to use wrappers as it makes it easier for the pie to come out of the tin, some people (like me) like to just bake them in the tin because it gives it a more rustic, authentic, apple pie look, but again, this part is totally up to you.

Take the can of apple pie filling and cut the apple slices into small chunks. This part will be messy because the apples are coated in a creamy mixture, but it's an important part as large apple slices will not fit into the small cupcake tin.

Once all of your apple slices are cut into small pieces, put them in a saucepan along with your cinnamon and allspice and mix together. I know that the apple pie filling already has those cinnamon flavors, but the allspice and added cinnamon together just make it so much better and gives it a more homemade taste. 

Once those ingredients are mixed let the mixture simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes until it's nice and warm.

In the meantime take your pie dough and roll until it's about 1/2" thick then take your small round cookie cutter and cut into small circles. If you don't have a small round cookie cutter a champagne glass will work as they have small openings at the top that fit perfectly into small cupcake tins.

Take a fork or toothpick and a put a few holes at the bottom of each pie shell and place in the oven for about 5-7 minutes. You want to put holes in the bottom of the pie shells so they won't rise and puff up as this will leave very little room for the apple pie filling.

Once the pie crusts are a light brown add your apple pie mixture and then using leftover pie dough put thin strips over each top of the pie to give it that apple pie lattice look or if you prefer use a cookie cutter into whichever shape you prefer.

Bake them for an additional 5 - 7 minutes or until the pie crust on top is golden brown.

Enjoy!


P.S. If you want to really kick your apple pie up a notch make it a cranberry apple pie! The flavor combination is one of my favorites and it gives the pie such a delicious tartness.

All you need to change from the above is this:

In a separate saucepan add your cranberries along with 3/4 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of cranberry juice. I always use actual cranberry juice and NOT cranberry juice cocktail. Reason being is we're adding sugar and cranberry juice cocktail has a whole lot of sugar...we don't want it to be too sweet!

Stir on medium-high heat until it starts bubbling, then reduce your heat to medium-low and let sit for about 20-25 minutes stirring in between until the cranberries are nice and tender and all of the juice has been absorbed.

Once the cranberries are done, all you do is add them to your apple pie filling and mix then follow the recipe as it is above. :)

I'm off tomorrow to spend Thanksgiving with Cadence at school but on Friday I'll be sharing with you two more mini pie recipes that are probably the simplest yet...then our pie series will be complete!

All About Pies...Mini Pies that is!

Baking is my thing. 

I thoroughly enjoy it. It's very therapeutic and an all around great way to spend time with Cadence because she loves getting her hands a little dirty (or in this case, sugary) too.

With Thanksgiving quickly approaching I've made my list and checked it twice as far as what I'll be baking up for my family come next Thursday.

I'm always in charge of bringing desserts. I'd much rather bake something sweet than cook up something savory. My sister rules mac and cheese and I rule whipped cream cheese, however when it comes to baking for a lot of people, sometimes it's okay to take an easy approach to certain things, in this case...pie!

This year I've decided on miniature pies. In my personal opinion something dainty and cute is always the first to go rather than a large pie cut into slices. Something that a person can grab and eat into one little bite size morsel. With all that being said I wanted to still make something very traditional to Thanksgiving and obviously pie was my first thought. 

Here are some great tips and tricks if you're thinking of making pies, something that tastes homemade without hours and hours of cooking time. This way you can still enjoy your hot cup of coffee and watch the parade. By the way, did you know Jake Owen will be in attendance? Swoon!

First up, mini pumpkin pies!

Pumpkin pie is either a love it or leave it type of pie but let's be honest, it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without it. It's just like cranberry sauce out of the can (which is delicious by the way!), you gotta have it! 

The first thing you'll need for all of your mini pies is some mini cupcake tins. Don't fret if you don't have these. They are incredibly inexpensive at Walmart. You don't have to walk into Williams Sonoma and purchase some lavish mini cupcake tins...the cheap walmart brand will work just fine!

You'll of course need some mini cupcake wrappers and a mini ice cream scoop. If you don't have a mini ice cream scoop a spoon will work fine, it's just going to be a lot easier, and neater looking, with a scoop.

Next on the list is a store bought pumpkin pie. Gasp!

I know, I know...here I am talking about how much I love to bake and I'm out buying store bought pies, but hear me out before you click the "x" in the top right corner...

Buy a delicious pumpkin pie, not the generic brand but one that you find delicious.

In my case it's my local bakery. She bakes fresh pumpkin pies each morning leading up to Thanksgiving. They have the right amount of pumpkin, cinnamon, allspice and all things yummy, plus the price is on point. It would be hard for me to hand make a pie that good for that price, plus it's already cooked!

You'll also need some pie shells. Whether you want to home make them or buy the Pillsbury kind is completely up to you. Pie dough is very simple to make, but to each their own.

Just in case you were wondering, I enjoy the Pillsbury pie shells. They are buttery, flaky and even my me-maw who makes all wonderful things homemade, uses them...that should tell you something.

Line your mini cupcake tins with your cupcake wrappers, Take your pie dough and roll it with a rolling pin until it's as thin as you like. I prefer mine about 1/4" thick or should I say 1/4" thin? 

Cut the pie dough into small circles. Use what you have on hand. If you don't have a small, round cookie cutter use a champagne flute; they have small round openings.

Line your cupcake wrappers with the pie dough and bake for 4-7 minutes or until light brown. Remember that each over varies. 

Once your dough is light brown, take them out, let them cool for about 5 minutes and then take your spoon or ice cream scoop and scoop out your already baked pumpkin pie into each shell. Once each shell is filled, take some leftover pie dough, cookie cut into a leaf shape, acorn shape, pumpkin shape, something that's indicative of Thanksgiving, place on top and then put back in the over until the little piece of pie on top is golden brown. 

Voila...mini pumpkin pies!

To come the rest of the week - mini apple pies and mini cheesecakes, you won't want to miss so stay tuned!

xo

Weekending and Louboutins!

Before I get started with today's post, I want to take a moment and talk about Paris. I cannot begin to fathom the tragedy that took place on Friday night. Let's keep everyone affected by this horrible act of terrorism and violence in your thoughts and prayers!

Friday night my sister-in-law, Yvonne, and I attended Painting with a Twist. It was so much fun and something that I'm going to try to plan on doing at least a few times a year. 

I definitely want to do one with Cadence before Christmas. It would be such a fun mommy/daughter day date to have together. 

Speaking of time together, I am so ready for this Thursday. I took the day off and I'm spending it at Cadence's school to celebrate Thanksgiving! :)

Love love love this time of year!

Although today's post is short and sweet I'll have what I'm making for Thanksgiving (along with some easy tips and tricks!) coming in a post this week, stay tuned!