Leading up to this past weekend, my social media feeds were inundated with all things Fall/Thanksgiving and I was surprised with how okay I felt about being away from home for the holiday. In some cases, even had the opposite effect - seeing all the photos of people bundling up in layers made me thankful for my relocation to warmer temps! Alas, I did not get away unscathed... I was sitting on the bus heading home after work and the image just crept into my head... My brother flying home from San Francisco, my sister driving down from LA, our big family house filled with music and and chatter, everyone milling about the kitchen crowding each other and sneaking little tastes, the smell of pies in the oven... the pies! It was that last little detail that did me in - the realization that I wouldn't wake up early with my dad to make the pies, as is our tradition, laughing and getting frustrated as we try and master that perfect flaky crust.

I tried little tactics to trick myself into shaking it off. Like telling myself, It's summer here! I love summer! And, I go to the beach every day! I'm so lucky! And speaking of beach, that little bikini I don on the reg is hanging there just daring me to eat stuffing, potatoes, pie, etc. But who am I kidding... the food is just an excuse for family, and I'm me, so I would TOTALLY eat that pie, bikini be damned. So! What was there to be done but uncork a bottle of wine and skype the fam :) 

I got off work early on Friday and headed straight to Con's where a few treats were waiting for me...

Spicy olives, my FAVE...

And Conor in the kitchen, busily getting to work on a "Thanksgiving Pizza Surprise"...! Also my fave!! 

("Thanksgiving" because there are sweet potatoes on it... hehe he's so cute)

The pizza was DI-VINE. Spicy chorizo, spicy olives, gooey mozzarella, and a THIN crust.  He had prepared me and told me to come over armed with my dairy pills... And let me tell you, I certainly made the most of them and never strayed too far from this bag...

So in the end, I got to be with the fam (via Skype) AND have a yummy meal! A little homesickness is natural, and as Conor proved, nothing a homemade pizza and a laugh can't cure! (Maybe also his face).

I do admit, though, after seeing snap after snap of epic Thanksgiving spreads, I was desperate for something off the Turkey Day menu. So I decided to bake pumpkin spice cupcakes to honor me and my dad's baking tradition. But after visits to three different grocery stores, I discovered canned pumpkin puree is not a thing down unda. I suppose I could have bought ACTUAL pumpkin and pureed it somehow, but I just made do without and whipped up Spice cupcakes, hehe. Weird consistency and shape, but I threw some frosting on their little tops and they were a hit! 

^^Little story behind this pic... I, of course, didn't take any pics while I was baking and later asked Conor to send me a photo of one of the cupcakes so I could blog it. I asked for a "cute" pic, since I was posting it and this is what I got. Gotta love that styling with the knife!! So adorable :)

We went out for two different birthdays on Friday and Saturday night, both so much fun. Conor has a absolutely great group of friends that think so highly of him; I feel incredibly lucky to have been so warmly welcomed into the fold!

Since we had two big nights out, we treated ourselves to brunch Sunday morning. It was kind of overcast and we debated making brekky at home. But a peek into my (empty) fridge sent us in search of greener pastures. We cruised into Bondi and joined everyone else having their brekky al fresco! 

So many peeps, right?! Even this cutie little guy was trying to get in on the action...

Sipped on yummy (almond milk) cappuccinos while we waited for our eggs and recounted funny stories from the weekend.

xo