november backlogs: thanksgiving

A while back I mentioned that our dear friends Greg and Allison had hugely surprised us by moving back to Virginia, after we had said our tearful goodbyes to them upon their graduation from law school the previous May. They were a year older than us, so we had been preparing for them to leave us eventually. 

They moved back to Illinois to be with their families...but now they were back! 

We helped them move in and get settled in their new town of Salem. It was a cute little town with a fun main street, and...they kind of hated it. 

Which brings me to the other thing I mentioned: that they are actually currently back in Illinois. They were actually only back in Virginia for 3 months before deciding to move home again. 

I won't get into too many details, but the point is, they missed us and decided to spend our last fall semester closer to us. I can't really blame them!

As Thanksgiving was drawing closer, we decided to spend the holiday together! They didn't have family coming in and neither did we, so we headed out to Salem on Wednesday night. They got a babysitter and we went and saw Catching Fire!
It had come out the week before, and we had all patiently waited to see it together. It was actually really cold and snowy that night (I remember because on the way into the theater, Dusty grabbed a snowball from a car's bumper and pelted it into my hair), and it was so fun to all bundle up into the theater and see the movie! We had seen Hunger Games together when it came out (we even had a party), so it was perfect.
The movie was awesome, by the way, one of my favorite book-to-movie adaptations ever!

We spent the night at their place and in the morning, it was time to celebrate!

Allison was a beast and actually made a full turkey, and it was gorgeous.

We watched Thanksgiving episodes of Friends, naturally, but mostly we ended up kind of centered in the kitchen (because it all smelled so darn good), helping and/or playing with their kids!

Once it was time to eat, we could all hardly control our glee.

Greg did the honors of carving the grand Turkey, and we all settled in for a long afternoon of eating, eating, eating. 

Also, side note: they make super adorable children. 

The menu:

Herb and Butter Turkey (hand gutted by Lady Allison)
Jalapeno Cheddar Stuffing
Grilled Parmesan Red Potatoes
Pecan-crusted Sweet Potatoes
Cranberries
Crescent rolls
Chocolate Pecan Pie

I mean, slap my arse and call me Judy. What a feast!

It was the best.
The holidays are such an intimate time, really, and usually reserved for family.
For me, all jokes aside, if they came back for only 3 months and the only benefit was us being able to spend Thanksgiving together, then...I truly am incredibly thankful for that.

(They had also recently celebrated Aidan's birthday, so his banner was still up!)

Greg and Dusty battled over the wishbone, and after trying 2 or 3 times (it was still too greasy), they finally were able to break it!

Another Schanaker victory!!! 

So so happy for that extra time and those memories! 

Thanks again for your wonderful friendship, you cutie pies. 

the beginning of a beautiful friendship

What a beautiful day. Here I am, at my new resident Starbucks. I am now on a diet, so I only ordered a grande instead of venti today. I find myself very proud. :)
Lynchburg and I are on a first-name basis now, although it may be some time before we're besties. Regardless, I am beginning to see the budding blossoms of a beautiful friendship. Particularly now, when it's cloudy and sweet, as rain droplets trickle off of my favorite green and white umbrellas.
I have now, in this wi-fi zone, applied to five more jobs on Liberty's campus. Let's hope these applications are fruitful.



Day 1 of Lynchburg life went splendidly! We got the keys to our place, and began to move in. It's a two-story townhouse apartment, and in short, it's our little fun house. The entire building slants, laughing at you as you practically tumble across the floor. When you open the front door, you fall right in! We've had fun laughing about our diagonal fridge, our slanted staircase, and our crooked kitchen. All in all, it's ours, and we're in love.

The thrifty shopping has been a great success. I cannot wait to show you the things we bought. Our first day, our stop numero uno was Good Will. Immediately, we saw it. THE COUCH. The one we will nap on, pig out on, watch movies on, play games on, entertain guests on...the list goes on, and on. It's big, ugly, purple, and OH so comfy. It has been steam cleaned, and we shall most likely continue to clean it every day until we're convinced it's ours, with no trace of its previous owners. However, since I am speaking of day 1, there will be no picture yet, seeing as my dad and husband are actually picking it up as we speak. We had them hold it for two days, while we shopped around for other options. But if anyone asks, I will say, we knew it right then -- love at first sight!






Also at Good Will, we picked up these other treasures.



This chabby chic mirror for 5 bucks! One of my favorite things.




Two little tables, for 6.50 each, that we are going to completely fabulify. We also got an old vanity seat frame (or at least that's what we're going to call it and use it for!) for 5 dollars, which we will be making/purchasing a cushion for, a square dining room table (totally diner style!) which is great, sturdy, and surely will delight in holding our delicious things, for 20 dollars! And, last but not least, two most-likely-incomplete board games based on our favorite show, Friends. What a great stop. :)




We then hopped over to Big Lots, where we purchased the PERFECT room divider, a 5 shelf bookcase that will serve as a sectional to our living room and dining area. It was on clearance for 75.




We then grabbed two smaller 3 shelf bookcases, in the "black forest" color. These will be perfect for displaying dishes in the dining room, and for Dusty's school books and binders upstairs with his desk. 20 dollars each!

What a great day. There were even some things we liked, but did NOT get...



We ended our successful Day 1 by travelling to Alta Vista, to fellowship with some friends of ours from when I was young. The O'Callaghans lived in my hometown many years ago, and their son played soccer with my brother. Their daughter was also named Caitlin, and we used to play together, despite her being two years older. My mom and I visited them four years ago when I was planning on attending Liberty for my undergrad. It was wonderful to once again see their beautiful property, but in August, not February! We were able to relax, and enjoyed a wonderful meal and great conversation in their beautiful country home. They have a field full of goats, and will be having more goat babies this year! We are still in the middle of our discussions to take one as a pet in our apartment... :)

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We have been hard at work, and even now, I must return to paint up some tables and rejoin the decorating process!

P.S. I made the first meal in our kitchen today, a delicious sandwich with pesto and pepperjack cheese. I used our toaster oven for the first time ever, and I was extremely excited for such a simple task!

Talk to you soon.

In love,
Cait