thanksgiving vibes

Wherever you are, my hope is that you will have a Thanksgiving surrounded by those you love! As for me and my family, we are headed to Patrick's aunt's house about an hour north of where we live. My family is pretty good with the whole "let's do leftovers together and that's perfect" type of Thanksgiving dinner, so my sisters and I usually spend it elsewhere then come together with our parents a few days after. Besides, what's better than a leftover turkey sandwich with some homemade cranberry sauce?!

I've been on a paleo bender for about a month now, where everything I make at home for me and the hubs is paleo, so I was concerned about heading somewhere else and possibly getting that unmistakable gluten belly ache - and I was looking forward to cooking some yum food from scratch that I had picked up at the farmers market on Sunday. 

But first - here is some fun we had today - this weather has been perfect in Florida! 

So the second Patrick got home after being gone for almost two weeks (yuck), I ran to Publix to grab what was left to buy for the ingredients, a couple bottles of wine, and put on Indie Holidays radio on Pandora when I got back home. Patrick did a great job chopping/entertaining the kids/cleaning up while we put this together - it was a good team effort! 

Here is what we made: 

• Cranberry sauce (this recipe with about a tablespoon of honey + 2 drops doTERRA lemon essential added) 
• Sweet potato casserole. I didn't follow an exact recipe, so here is the jist: boil 4-5 large sweet potatoes after slicing and rough chopping, and once they're soft, drain, and use a hand mixer with a half a stick of kerrygold (or I guess a whole stick since it was half of one of the double sticks) and half a can of organic full fat coconut milk. I added about a teaspoon or so of cinnamon, and about a tablespoon of maple syrup. Once mixed, put them in a casserole dish. For the topping, I melted about 2 tablespoons of butter, and mixed in a tablespoon of cinnamon, a teaspoon of nutmeg, and a drop of clove essential oil with 10 oz of pecans before toasting them for a few minutes in the oven. Tomorrow I'll bake the potatoes that I put in a casserole dish with the pecans on top to heat it all up. 
• This paleo stuffing. I picked at the edges a bit and it's amazing... I can't wait to experience it all its glory tomorrow! I also didn't have rosemary herb, so I used rosemary essential oil (about 3 drops) as a replacement. 
• I'm not sure this will be going with us as well, but the kids and I picked up some brussels sprouts and purple cauliflower at the farmer's market, so I prepped this to bake when we're ready to eat it. 

I also grabbed some organic gluten bake & take free cookies... because Harlee and Declan kept telling me they wanted cookies and it sounded nice and easy.

We were diffusing Holiday Peace + Peppermint to give off the cozy home feel, or Holiday Joy + Siberian Fir would also be a great blend to create that vibe in the house! Essential oils > cinnamon brooms and nasty plug ins (here is why we avoid those things). 

What are you cooking this year, or did you get out of it all together!? Let's hear it! 

If you're looking to grab some Holiday scents that are non-toxic and actually beneficial to that body of yours, my recommendation is to grab a Home Essentials Kit (they're 20% off for the month of November) + a Holiday Joy - check out how to get these into your home at annabordner.com/the-community or reach out to whoever you've been chatting oils with. 

Have a beautiful Thanksgiving!