Getaway and Homebound

Hey all! No I didn’t fall of the edge of the earth—just on a mini-vacation! I decided to take vacation 2 days early for Thanksgiving, which I desperately needed. Nothing a little fun in the cities and finally coming home can’t help! =) It was one of those things where Thanksgiving was planned to be at my new apartment, but I just was feeling so overwhelmed with college and life in general that I really wanted to trek home to be with the family for a week. I have a lot of catching up to do with blogs and such, so I will be commenting soon!

I started off my vacation this past Friday by making a pit stop in Minneapolis to see the Macy’s Christmas display which I always see on the news around the holidays, and so this was the perfect opportunity to get there. If you are ever in the area from November 21-December 30th, head downtown to check it out—it’s free and of course there’s Mrs. Claus baked goodies—can you say the cutest gingerbread men ever??

Then I headed up north and spent a whole day with my grandpa and grandma which I haven't done in a long time. If you’re ever in the Hibbing area, definitely put Zimmy’s on your list of restaurants to try out. It’s dedicated to Bob Dylan since that is his old stomping grounds—great food and such a fun musical atmosphere. I ordered a California veggie burger with a side of tomato basil soup. I usually eat soy burgers, so a veggie burger was a nice change—not dry, but instead surprisingly flavorful and juicy! I had a hard time choosing between the veggie or the black bean burger, but I was satisfied with my final decision.

And two of my favorite people in the whole world:

Then I came home to this:

One happy bulldog!

Since I am driving back home this Friday, I won’t be able to hit up the Black Friday sales—so instead I decided to do a pre-Black Friday! I got so many new clothes, boots, and Christmas decorations, I don’t even need Black Friday now! Do you head out early like crazy?!

And since I shopped like crazy, I needed to fuel up at the good ol’ Old Country Buffett. The highlight was my favorite grilled walleye, grilled veggies, mashed potatoes, and tomato basil soup—yum!

And now I am sitting down after a long day of Thanksgiving prep! Wowee—I will sure be ready to eat tomorrow! Here’s the dinner agenda:

• Roasted Turkey Breast with Spiced Cranberry Glaze
• I Can’t Believe It’s Not Sweet Potato Pie
• Cheesy Good Cornbread Muffins
• My Mom’s Famous Stuffing (recipe soon!)
• The best mashed potatoes
• Pumpkin Angel Food Cake w/Cinnamon-Cream Filling (voted over pumpkin cheesecake!!)

Plus more sides and such—all pictures and recipes will be up soon! Can’t wait to see how all of you enjoy your day.

 I hope you all are having a beyond wonderful start to the holiday season & remember all things you are thankful for in your life. Oh and of course…don’t eat too much turkey!! =)