A Thankful Long Weekend

Happy Monday, everyone! I know, the Monday after a long holiday weekend is always rough, but just think: With Thanksgiving behind us, it is officially Christmas season!!! *insert happy Snoopy dance*

We’ve already had plenty of holiday cheer in our household, but before I get to that, I’ll share my happy holiday weekend with you.

Eric and I spent Wednesday through Sunday morning in my hometown of Greenville, Ohio. Early Wednesday morning, we packed up our things (including Mr. Pancakes, who is the best little roadtripper ever!) and hit the road.

I hadn’t been back home for more than six hours straight since Christmas! It was so great being home for a long stretch of time, and no matter how old I get, it’s always a great feeling to be back sleeping in my childhood bedroom (now without the wallpaper banner adorned with kittens and flower pots).

Thanksgiving was pretty standard over at my grandma’s house – nearly 20 people were there, and I got to enjoy my favorite food: my grandma’s noodles. Mmmmm… so delicious. Forgive me for not taking any pictures of my meal; I was way too busy scarfing it down.

Later that night, Eric and I went over to the local movie theater to see “The Muppets.” I hadn’t been to that theater probably since junior high school… it’s not exactly the most, eh…. elegant… of cinemas, but the tickets are $5 and it’s a mile from my parents’ house, so it did the trick. The movie was so adorable – one of those films where you just smile ear-to-ear from the opening shot through the closing credits. I used to watch reruns of “The Muppet Show” on Nickelodeon when I was a kid, so it brought back a lot of great memories from the original show! Plus, Jason Segel is just so dang likeable.

 The rest of the weekend was very laid-back: worked out a bit, visited with friends, and because it is now widely distributed in Ohio, drank a few of these:

 And because it’s my favorite seasonal beer, crafted in Ohio, I also downed a couple of these:

 I may or may not have come back to Wisconsin with plenty of each of the above beverages to hoard for a couple of months.

We also took a stroll along Downtown Greenville, visiting all the little shops on the main street during Small Business Saturday. 

We started with an Americano at the Coffee Pot, Greenville’s cutest (and best!) coffee shop....

And we finished at the KitchenAid Experience: Greenville’s store devoted to KitchenAid appliances and cooking/baking products. Greenville has its own stand-alone store because not only is there a KitchenAid factory there, but it’s also the only place where those famous KitchenAid stand mixers are produced! Aside from being the birthplace of Annie Oakley, it’s our little town’s claim to fame.

 In the lower level of the store is a little KitchenAid mixer museum of sorts. They’ve got unique and antique mixers from the very beginning on display, including one used frequently by Julia Child herself!

 While I didn’t buy anything at the KitchenAid Store, I did find a few things to add to my Christmas list.

 On the last evening, we played old VHS tapes (I seriously forgot how annoying it is to have to rewind all the way to the beginning of the tape) of Christmases from the years 1988-1991. It was hilarious to watch them; especially in ’88, when I was way more interested in the tube of Chapstik I’d received than any of my other presents. Gifts also received by myself and my brother on Christmas morning those years? Nintendo, Game Boy, Etch-a-Sketch, My Little Pony, Polly Pocket, American Girl doll accessories, silk shirts, tons of Starting Lineup and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle action figures, Pocket Rocker mini cassettes, a boom box and a pair of red Air Jordans that apparently stretched out my brother’s belief in Santa for a couple more years. Man, the late ‘80s/early ‘90s were either totally rad or completely terrible. Either way, we were really fortunate to score some pretty sweet toys.

While we watched the videos, I helped my mom trim their Christmas tree! I always love decorating the tree and pulling out ornaments from years past. Through the years, my mom has built up a huge collection of ornaments, so it took a while to finish with the tree, but it was a lot of fun doing it – I hadn’t been home to help with their tree in years, so it was great to be able to partake in the tradition once again. And someone else was pretty happy to have the tree up, as well.

Though we were there for four days, trips back home never seem long enough. I get back so rarely that I feel like I need to squeeze so many things in! Thankfully, I’ll be headed back for our Christmas celebration in a month so I’ll get to do it all over again!

How was your Thanksgiving? Do you have a special tradition that’s your favorite every year? Do you travel or are you able to stay home for the holidays?