and that's how we do thanksgiving in the south.

the thing is: I wasn't born in the south. I was actually born quite up north (Boston, MA) but I

grew up in Charlottesville, Va (it' doesn't get much more beautiful) and recently

moved to Raleigh, NC.

So I count myself to have that wonderful southern charm. just kidding. just kidding.

But seriously, there is nothing quite like a good ole southern thanksgiving, charm and all.

Football. seriously is there such thing as Thanksgiving without football? I think not.

pie. duh. pumpkin, apple, chocolate fudge, lemon chess. you gotta have it all.

lots and lots of people. 6 is not a party. neither is 9 or 12...you must have at least 15 excited people running around the house...or driving themselves around on a cart that was found under the house. (we had 18 partying, thankful people around here...we've had more than 30 over for thanksgiving before!)

sweet potatoes covered in melted, crispy marshmallows and crunchy pecans must make a presence.

It's like a dessert except it's a vegetable and no one judges if you have oh four or nine helping.

(yes I had quite the food baby)

photo bombs. There were an insane amount of these throughout the day and it was excellent.

In an exasperating kind of way.

Turkey doesn't look quite as picturesque with a little cousin making a goblin face behind it.

posing with oranges...? Wasn't aware that this was a traditional part of a southern thanksgiving

but hey! you go with what you got!

a sweet little personalized note written to a certain younger brother who has hollow legs.

a beautiful table. Even if people will sit down and cause havoc upon your once sensational

table decorations, it was worth that 2 second glance everyone gave, right?

another duh moment: food. lot's and lot's of food.

have I mentioned photo bombs yet?

what about now?

cranberry sauce. sweet and tart, perfect by itself or on top of literally everything.

You'd be surprised how good stuffing topped with cranberry sauce is.

Beautiful, right? We just took raffia and taped leaves on and bam! it looked like Paula Deen had graced our

house with her skills. We were going to clothespin them but the weight of the leaves vs. the weight

of the clothespin just didn't quite equal out. (as in they flipped over and it just didn't look right.)

have I mentioned food yet?

...stuffing...two kinds of sweet potatoes...cranberry sauce...mashed potatoes...turkey...ham rolls...green beans...fruit...etc.

{love that verse.}

mom. son/brother. daughter/sister.

Does this just make me laugh hysterically for 7 minutes?