Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, growing up it was full of Vettel-family traditions - a big breakfast, mom cooking all day (lol, poor mom, we appreciate her!) while Jenni and I started Christmas decorations, and a big Thanksgiving dinner. After dinner we would watch The Santa Clause, one of our family's favorite Christmas movies (it's the sarcasm). However the last 7-8 years, my family hasn't spent Thanksgiving together. It started with my sister on a band trip my junior year of college (her junior year of high school). The next year, my dad was in Hawaii for work. The year after that, I was in Italy. The year after that, my mom and I went to NYC with Jenni (dad had to work in Florida). In 2009 I went home, but my dad was in NY for work and celebrated with Jenni (I celebrated with my mom, grandmother, and my mom's best friend Gamin). Last year, Nate and I celebrated in Brooklyn and Jenni came for dessert. This year Jenni was home with mom and dad - but Nate and I stayed in New York. So we've created our own traditions - some great ones at that.

After Nate and I got home from the parade we made a "Jenni recipe" - cranberry brie bites (crescent dough in mini muffin pans stuffed with brie and cranberry jelly. Yes, they are amazing. See the picture above!). We also enjoyed seasonal lattes - I had pumpkin spice and Nate had peppermint mocha - thanks to his mom for the sweet Starbucks gift cards! We started cooking up a storm after that. Last year we had TOO many leftovers, so this year we stuck to one turkey, two casseroles, and baked sweet potatoes and pumpkin bread. The casseroles took the most work - one is another "Jenni recipe" - baked macaroni casserole which is out-of-this-world good (ingredients: pasta, cheese, butter, cream, bread crumbs. It's practically fat-free... NOT!).



Nate and I were BOTH helpful in the kitchen (yes me too, to all you who might be skeptical). I'm actually less helpful day-to-day, but for big cooking events, like parties and holidays, I happen to be a lot more useful! Not sure why this is... lol.





We had an amazing dinner, and it just reminds me to be thankful for the abundance of food on the table, how it's not something I have to worry or stress about having - just about preparing it right. It's crazy, but 1 in 7 billion people went to bed hungry when I went to bed stuffed with turkey, green beans, and macaroni. And there's nothing wrong with enjoying the holidays... it just reminds me to be thankful and not to stress the details - the food was amazing, but more than that, it is such a blessing not to have to worry about where my next meal will come from.



I'm also thankful for my job, which reminds me every day to be thankful for the things that I have. I'm so lucky - at my age 5 out of my 6 grandparents are still alive, my parents are in excellent health, I have a great relationship with my little sister, I have the best friends anyone could ask for, and I have the sweetest love, my boyfriend Nate who I share all these adventures with - and we get to travel around the world, which is an amazing opportunity. I'm really lucky in life and lucky in love, I feel thankful today and try to remind myself to feel thankful EVERY day - that's what Thanksgiving should really remind us to do.