Commas & Carbs: Autumn Goals & Thanksgiving Recap

It's December people. DECEMBER. And I'm clearly pumped about it. I feel like for the entire month I must do, wear, eat, drink, watch, listen to, or think something festive. That festivity will obviously be showing up on the blog as well.

I decided I will be making an official December bucket list of sorts to keep all my festive and holiday inspired goals and wishes in check and to make sure I do them! I shouldn't have any problems though ;) people usually have to calm the Christmas lover in me down.

For real though.

But before I go Christmas crazy I want to recap the last of the fall magic as well: my autumn goals, my Thanksgiving, and some fun Thanksgiving books!

Goals

- Lose more five pounds (minimum) This is funny. I ended up gaining some weight (probably the five pounds I should have lost) so I'm finally getting back on the wagon (kind of) since Thanksgiving, so we'll see what I can do about losing some more.

- ~~Go apple picking~~

Got to do this with my SIL and Sammy's cousin's girlfriend which was such a fun girl's day experience.

- ~~Cook/bake at least 5 "fall" recipes from Pinterest~~

Whether or not they were all from Pinterest I did bake at least 5 different "fall" treats this season:

-halloween funfetti brownies

-mini caramel apples (Pinterest)

-spider web nachos (Pinterest)

-pumpkin pie (twice, with two different recipes from Pinterest)

-pumpkin pie dip (Pinterest)

-Harvest Trail Mix (Pinterest)

- F~~inish wedding prep early~~

From what I can remember I did this all pretty early (for me at least) which made the weekend go much smoother. Ah, that weekend was so good!

- Watch scary movie

Yeah… this didn't happen ;)

- C~~arve pumpkins~~

-One of our favorite traditions so I knew this would happen. Loved my princess castle carving!

- W~~ork hard and be proud~~

I have a hard time crossing this one off because I have a hard time giving myself credit for things. Honestly, I know I could have been even more productive at work and am definitely trying to keep that dedication up. Not hard when you work somewhere you love! I will say I am proud of the work I've done so far though.

- Complete 5k without walking the entire time

Hah! Another hilarious goal of mine. We did, in fact, walk the entire thing.

(In our defense it was poorly, poorly laid out and the entire course was on gravel, which no thank you to running on, and it was blustery and unseasonably cold this day so it was hard to find motivation.)

- ~~Buy Halloween book~~

I bought several for my baby G!

- Finish baby g's quilt

This one makes me really sad because I wanted to give it to her as a Christmas present, but I just didn't have the time to work on it this season with school and work, so it'll probably end up being a 1st birthday gift instead. Fingers crossed...

- Take at least 3 different classes at the gym and use the pool

And yet another hilarious fitness/health goal I made for myself. How in the world I EVER thought I would have enough time during the week (with getting home right before midnight from school) I would have time to go to the gym and follow a class schedule is beyond me, but okay Alex. Nice try. Maybe next month.

I'll be dong another seasonal goals post for winter (in addition to the festive December list) but I also want to write a slightly more broad "52 in 52" list I've been reading so much about! Lots of lists coming up on the blog soon. I know it's so exciting for everyone else to read ;) but it makes my little obsessive list making heart happy.

Thanksgiving books

My job has made me obsessed with children's books even more so than before, and my favorite children's books are holiday books, so I knew I wanted to throw a few in here from some different publishing houses for children & adults.

For the kids…

-The Berenstain Bears Give Thanks by Jan Berenstain

A holiday round-up wouldn't be complete without the classic Berenstain bears!

-Giving Thanks by Katherine Paterson

This is a beautiful compilation of poems and songs from different cultures, written by a Newbery Medal Winner, teaching children about gratitude which is so important to start teaching at a young age.

-Sarah Gives Thanks: How Thanksgiving Became a National Holiday by Mike Allegra

This is the true story of Sarah Josepha Hale who made it her life mission to make Thanksgiving a national holiday all while raising a family and becoming a writer and magazine editor. A cool profile on a lesser known woman who we should all know about.

For the adults…

-Heartburn by Nora Ephron

I'm just about the biggest Nora Ephron fan there is, so I would be remised if I didn't include her novel Heartburn a work of fiction based on her own experience after discovering her husband has cheated on her while she's pregnant with their second child. I'm including it in this Thanksgiving round-up because she includes recipes throughout the piece, so I thought it fit the food theme of the holiday ;) Any way I can fit Nora Ephron in I do.

-Delicious! A Novel by Ruth Reichl

I'm reading this right now actually. For those who don't know, Ruth Reichl was a food editor at Gourmet magazine and is a fabulous novelist. This novel is also centered around food in that the main character leaves her life in California to move to New York to work for a food magazine. While there she finds "letters written during World War II by Lulu Swan, a plucky twelve-year-old, to the legendary chef James Beard" in a secret room in the magazine's library. The letters teach her to face her own fears about her family and about love. I can't wait to keep reading. I find Reichl's voice so cozy and familiar.

Thanksgiving

My Thanksgiving was so lovely this year. Here's a little photo dump of some of the pictures I snapped this weekend.