Back from my Thanksgiving vacation!

This past week, my family and I traveled to a desert area in the Southern California region to celebrate Thanksgiving with a dear friend of mine and her family. I always enjoy spending time at her place; we have much fun with the jokes, laughter, games, and spending time with the kiddos. The area she lives in is one of the most serene areas that I've ever been to. The rustling of the winds are soothing to listen to, especially if you are in dire need of a good night's sleep. Every time I visit her, I come back feeling refreshed physically and mentally.

Of course, when it came to the Thanksgiving meal, I ate as much as I could. Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing...all slathered with gravy...oh it's so delicious! This year, I made my infamous Bûche De Noël log cake for dessert. For those of you who aren't familiar with this cake, it's a French cake literally translated as 'Christmas log.' I made my first one many years ago in my 8th grade French class. They seemed to enjoy it, including my French teacher. It wasn't until many years later I started making them on a consistent basis for the Holiday season. The best recipe I found online is the one on allrecipes. And guess who's cake is on the main photo? Yours truly! In fact, you can see several of my past designs on the site - all using that same recipe.

Another fun thing we did as a group was play 'Gem Rush.' It's a really fun fantasy board game. The basic premise is that you are a dwarf and need to mine for gems while opening new 'rooms.' In order to unlock the next room, you need to pay the gem cost. The game is super fun and easy to understand once you get the hang of it. Unfortunately, the company is no longer printing the board game version; they made a limited run and that was it! However, it's now on Steam to play digitally! We just happened to score a copy on eBay. You might be able to do so too if you are really wanting the hard copy of it.

In case any of you were ever wondering why you never see any of my family photos, I have a personal rule: I don't publicly disclose exact locations, nor do I post family-related photos. A friend of mine told me a horror story that had happened to her many years ago when she had posted a photo of her child. Needless to say, ever since she had told me that story, I immediately made that rule and live by it. Welp! That was my weekend in a nutshell. Family, friends, food, and no online! It was nice being disconnected from the digital world for almost a week. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving as well! #thanksgiving #holidays #holiday #gemrush #cake #buche #buchedenoel #steam