The Fam came for Thanksgiving!

Cheyenne and Mama came to Texas the Friday before Thanksgiving and stayed until early Wednesday morning.  We had an absolute blast while they were here!  We were able to get some shopping done, some turkey eaten, and some fabulous girl time!  Henderson worked Monday and Tuesday while they were here, but Saturday we hauled him with us to the Galleria to do a little shopping.  He was not happy, so we rewarded him with a trip to Cabela's!

On Sunday, we celebrated Thanksgiving by taking a walk to the nearby lake, having lots of fun cooking, and enjoying each other's company.

Henderson and Kate watching the ducks.

In the kitchen

While they were here, our new dishwasher was delivered and Henderson installed it!  I'm in love.  It's so quiet, the only way you know it's on is by a light that shines on the floor!

Monday, we went into Dallas and toured the Dallas Arboretum, did a little more shopping, and headed to the Farmer's Market.  Tuesday was a fun day of exploring the smaller areas around our home.

It was so great to have them here to celebrate Thanksgiving.  We have so much to be Thankful for!

Fine China Friday

We have instituted a fun Friday night tradition at the King house: Fine China Friday.  I was looking for a reason to use our beautiful fine china on a more regular basis.  If you've ever met me, you know I have a mild obsession with dishes.  Right now, we own four sets of china.  So, since we don't have family over a lot, we decided to use our nicer things on Friday nights.  This won't necessarily be a weekly thing, but so far we've done it four weeks in a row!  Here's what we've been making:

Our first fine china Friday, I made Pioneer Woman's Spinach and Artichoke Pasta.  I cooked some shrimp to have - we have to have meat at every meal here!  We got to use our Lenox Opal Innocence for the first time, and a couple of the AnnieGlass pieces.  

We made steaks during this Fine China Friday.

The next week, we made Confetti Chicken.  It took up every eye on our stove, but it was worth it!  After this Fine China Friday, we headed to the local drive-in and watched "Argo."  So fun to have a drive-in right up the road!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Since my daily thankful posts didn't go so well, here's what I'm thankful for this year:

My hard-working husband.  The three sweet dogs that are snoring in my ear right now.  Our new home (but being a home-owner is hard, y'all!).  The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  A job that allows me to take off the whole week of Thanksgiving.  My girl-time with Mama and Cheyenne this week.  My grandmothers.  Target and Chick-fil-a Saturdays.  New friendships.  Old friendships.  My love of cooking (wish I could love cleaning a little more).  The men and women who are sacrificing time with their families today to protect us.  National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.  Coca-Cola.  My family's health.  My gigantic up-right freezer which will be more full after this weekend's planned freezer stuffing festivities.  The fact that we have not had to buy a single piece of furniture for our new home, thanks to wonderful family.  DVR.

I hope you have a wonderful day with family and friends.  Henderson and I are cooking up a Thanksgiving feast for the two of us.  Can't wait!

A Month of Giving Thanks - Day 3

Today, I'm thankful for handwritten recipes from family.  I was feeling a little homesick today and decided to make Mawmaw's potato soup.  She gifted me a recipe book full of her handwritten recipes.  It make our house smell like Mississippi!

A Month of Giving Thanks - Day 2

I thought it was only appropriate since Henderson is on a call right now that today I'm thankful for Henderson's job.  He gets to do something he absolutely loves every day.  I'm so proud of all of the hard work he put into the last eight years to get where he is today.  His job brought us to the DFW area and we are loving it!

A Month of Giving Thanks - Day 1

I thought that since November is the month of Thanksgiving, it would be appropriate to spend the month writing down a different item a day I am thankful for.  Sometimes, I feel like I get bogged down in the "negatives" and all it takes is saying "Thanks" for me to realize how blessed I am.  Here goes nothing -

November 1, 2012
I am so thankful for my job.  This week has been long and, at times, frustrating.  But I work with an amazing team.  I'm challenged pretty much daily (no such thing as being bored!)  and since I've transferred to Dallas I've learned more about the oil and gas industry than I ever thought possible.  I'm so thankful that I have the ability and the education to be able to work and help provide for us.  And 5 weeks of vacation don't hurt!

What are you thankful for?