Second Family Thanksgiving

This past weekend Sean and I hosted a little gathering called Second Family Thanksgiving. We moved around our furniture and thanks to some kind friends who brought extra tables and chairs, we were able to turn our tiny home into what looked like a ramshackle but cozy restaurant for the evening. It was my first time doing a turkey solo, and one certainly feels the weight of getting it right when there's fifteen pounds of main course depending on you. I went with something fairly straightforward and also wrapped some bacon around the bird to give some extra flavor (a trick my sister Lindsey taught me). Success was mine, as was the whole night. We had folks bring a veritable cornucopia of dishes, from the traditional sweet potato casserole and cranberry sauce to mashed parsnips and waldorf salad. It was delicious!

The vintage plates help add that homey feel

One of the best parts was seeing all the people from every corner of our lives crammed into the same room enjoying one another. Despite the fact that most were strangers to each other, it felt like a reunion of old friends. Having a celebration like this was such a phenomenal way to embrace this season. The founders of this occasion in Oxford, the Quays, were of course desperately missed, but it was lovely to see the legacy they'd left with us. Also, a few lovely ladies had collected vintage plates for me back in the spring to use for the wedding, but it ended up being a bust. Fortunately, we still had them stowed away and used them for the event. They added a great down home feel to the whole thing.

So, from Second Family Thanksgiving, I've included some family photos. My sincere apologies for neglecting to take pictures of the beautiful and expansive spread! In all the excitement, I just plum forgot.

Ashley and Mark with their award (a vintage plate, duh) for coming the farthest: all the way from Iowa!

Verily, Thanksgiving is almost upon us! Here's to a week of food, merriment and togetherness. You can view more pictures of our Second Family after the jump!

Sean carves his first Turkey, and does a great job I might add.

Brian and Nick just being helpful guys. We had to put the dessert table in the tiny hall
outside the bathroom.

The house transformed! And folks helping themselves to the delicious food.

Our living room for the night.

Ellen and her oh so delicious pumpkin roll.