Holiday Weekend Recap

First of all, I want to extend my congratulations to Rachael L., who is the winner of my A Christmas Carl Novel Study Giveaway! Please check your inbox, Rachael, for your prize!

Bummed that you didn't win? Don't worry because tomorrow starts the CYBER MONDAY & TUESDAY sale over at TPT, and all products in my store will be 28% off! Yep, that's right!. Load up your shopping carts now!!

I feel like Thanksgiving was the PERFECT break this year. We were fortunate to be given a 5-day weekend this year, which I feel is the exact amount of time I needed to gear up for these last 3 weeks before Christmas break begins. And yes... the countdown has begun! Anyone with me on this?

On Wednesday, I was FINALLY able to get into the salon to get my hair did. The other week, one of my sweet 6th graders asked me my age. When I told her to guess, she said, "Definitely in your 30's because you're getting grey hair." I promptly informed her that I've had grey hairs since I was 18... and then I called the salon to make my appointment.

After I was all beautified at the salon, I came home to work on Thanksgiving preparations. I made two yummy recipes to share this year. One was this pumpkin soup, which I blogged about previously, and the other was a yummy treat made up by my cousins's boyfriend. Roasted butternut squash and goat cheese appetizers. How yummy do these look?!

I've already blogged about Thanksgiving, so I'll skip to Friday when Joel and I managed to snag a couple Black Friday Deals, including a new tool chest for him (he's SO freaking excited about it even though I told him he has to wait until Christmas to "open" it). And then we went to the city to spend the night with my friend/cousin Bobbie at her apartment. 

Yesterday, Bobbie's brother and a neighbor took a bus into the city from Michigan, so we met them downtown for a day of Christmas fun. It was a BEAUTIFUL day in the city. Of course, we had to take them to The Bean, Buckingham Fountain, and all over the Magnificent Mile. We did lots of window shopping, visited the huge Christmas tree at Macy's, sipped some Glühwein at the Christkindlmarket, enjoyed a swanky lunch at the Omni Hotel, and saw all the lights and decorations on Michigan Avenue.

We ended the night with home-made nachos and some games back at Bobbie's apartment before finally heading back to the 'burbs and crashing blissfully in our bed. My body aches today (a sure sign that I am not as young as I used to be) after 18,000+ steps, but it was worth it. 

P.E.R.F.E.C.T. Weekend!