What's Cooking In My House for Thanksgiving

Disclaimer: this post has very little to do with food.

I'm pretty excited to be hosting my first (of many) Thanksgiving dinners in my house. This isn't my first rodeo, and ironically, I made mostly vegan foods in years past, so I'm hoping everything goes smoothly. I have a double oven now which makes cooking/baking so much easier, and I'm looking forward to less oven Tetris, where you try to jam in a dozen things at once on one small space.

Last year I don't even know what I did on Thanksgiving. Cried and drank wine, probably? I'd already put an offer in on my house and my mom had promised me (to try and make me feel better, I think) that  I could host Thanksgiving again in my new house going forward. I just wasn't feeling Thanksgiving last year, so I stayed home and wallowed. I wouldn't recommend that to anyone, honestly. It's extra depressing to be alone on a holiday when you're already depressed. (I don't even want to tell you what I did on Christmas last year...weep womp)

But what a difference a year makes, huh? As everyone told me - time heals all wounds. And as I've told myself repeatedly - nothing bad lasts forever. The past year of my life was trying, to say the least, but I'm happy to report that I've come out on top. I learned who my real friends are. I've gotten some exciting new responsibilities at work. I live in the house of my dreams. I've traveled to some new places and met some amazing people. And I've found a relationship with a man who loves me for who I am. Unconditionally. My life is far from perfect, but I can honestly say I'm in a better place than I've ever been in my 32 years on this planet. Progress not perfection.

So whether you're having the best year of your life or are hoping for brighter tomorrows, remember to be thankful for what you have. And maybe even be thankful for what you don't have. Sometimes things in life don't go as we want them to or as we've planned, but bigger and better things are probably in store for you.