Friday Night Photos

Yay for Friday! This week feels a little off because of Thanksgiving, but after how busy the last few days have been, it's nice that we still have a whole weekend ahead :)

I've spent the last three days going back and forth between the kitchen (cooking) and the bathroom (painting). I finally decided on a paint color and I painted the first coat today. It's VERY drastic--but I love it! It's still drying right now so it looks splotchy--if it's dry enough for a photo before I go to bed, I'll add it here.

First, a few pictures of the nieces and nephews...

Brian wanted to do something fun with the kids while Luke is out of school for Thanksgiving, so they took a short trip to the everglades in Florida! He rented a convertible for them (it's not pink and purple with unicorns on it, unfortunately, which was Riley's request) but they were excited to ride in it!

I haven't heard about their trip yet, but Becky sent me this picture. I love that Luke and Riley are so close--I'm sure they posed like this all on their own. The last time I went over to babysit them, when Luke got home from school, Riley ran over to him to give him a hug and ask him how school was. 

This is Hunter! Laura (Jerry's sister) sent me this picture yesterday. Isn't that smile adorable?! (Hunter is the result of when I went with Laura to have her embryo transfer--I got to watch on the ultrasound as they transferred the embryo to her uterus--and it was so cool looking! I was thrilled when the transfer was successful, and now look at him. So sweet.)

This is Shelby, who will be three in a week! I cannot believe how fast she's grown. It's funny how all four of my nieces and nephews have super-blonde hair.

 

Yesterday, we went to my mom and dad's house for dinner. I brought over the vegan stuff that I made: seitan "turkey", mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, stuffing, and cranberry sauce (well, the cranberry sauce was from a can--my favorite, haha). Becky and my mom tried the green bean casserole and said they would never have known that it was vegan (I got the recipe for the condensed cream of mushroom soup from Plant Power Couple). Everything turned out really good! Jerry was thrilled that I made stuffing and that it tasted like the stuffing he's used to. 

I also made not one, but TWO pies! I made a pumpkin pie (that actually turned out really good--I don't have a picture, but I used this recipe). And I just had to try out a pecan pie to see if my dad would like it. As you know, it's tradition for me to make my dad a pecan pie for his birthday and for Father's Day. My recipe has butter and eggs in it, so I tried out a vegan recipe that was actually suggested by a reader. (You can find the recipe here. It's by the same food blogger that posted the pumpkin pie.) It doesn't look great in this photo, but it was AMAZING. And it's made with tofu!! (I use chopped pecans rather than halved, because it's easier to cut--so it's not very pretty, but it's practical.)

The verdict? My dad said it was good, but he likes my other pecan pie better. (I kind of knew he'd say that.) My mom said she was completely "sold" on the vegan pecan pie. I would totally use this recipe again. I was amazed that it stayed together so well--that was what I thought would be impossible. The pie crust that I always make is already vegan, so I was glad to be able to use that--it takes literally three minutes to throw together. (Here is the recipe for my dad's favorite pecan pie)

Becky and I walked over to where my parents had a puzzle set up and we started to look through the pieces. Then we got sucked in and started working on it, and my mom came and joined us. We were able to make some progress on it! It's a tough puzzle. (Also, I learned that my dad doesn't allow himself to look at the box when he does puzzles, because he thinks it's cheating--crazy, right?)

When we got home, we set up the Christmas tree. Jerry is totally in his element from now until Christmas--it's his favorite time of year. Oh, and this is a crazy coincidence: yesterday, while working on my blog post, I was looking for a meme to include in the post while Jerry was scrolling through TV. Right as I found the meme I wanted to use (the one about Home Alone), Jerry started a movie. The second he pressed the button, I asked him (without looking up), "You're watching Home Alone?" and he said yes, thinking that I watched what movie he chose. I literally had ZERO idea that he was putting on Home Alone, or even starting a movie! I only said that because of the meme I was looking at, and I figured he was probably looking for a Christmas movie. We were both kind of stunned and we laughed about it.

We got a new tree-topper this year...

And here is my annual "I Spy" picture... can you find Little Duck?

The second after I took this picture, Duck stumbled out of the tree, doing a back flip and landing on all fours. Half the ornaments came down with him, hahaha. 

Duck was sleeping on my head again. It's SO comforting to have him purr right next to my ear. Seeing the Christmas tree made me think about last year and how Duck ate that yarn and needed surgery. (I knew something was wrong that morning because he was hiding under the Christmas tree and refused to come out for food.) It was horrible! I'm so glad that he's okay and he still likes to sleep on my head.

And Phoebe has been super cuddly lately, too. She looked so sweet asleep on my thighs like this.

Well, it's 9:00 PM and I haven't had dinner yet, so I'm going to go find something to eat. I'm starving! Have a great weekend :)  xo