A Friendsgiving Celebration
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This year, I wasn’t able to make it home for Thanksgiving and since I’m still fairly new to Atlanta, I was worried one of my favorite holidays was going to be a total bust. But it turns out I’m not the only young adult who couldn’t spend Thanksgiving with family. I knew I could count on my cutie, Johnny, to feast with me but lucky for me, two of my blogging besties, Danasia of The Urban Realist and Lindsay of That Working Girl, were both going to be in town (and hungry) this year. So I invited them both over, Danasia with her man (David, of Nakota) and friend Eugene in tow.
I spent the whole day cooking, decorating, and preparing for my guests to arrive. I didn’t realize until the last minute how much work it takes to host a small dinner. (I share some tips I learned with Nellie Magazine, coming soon!) Luckily, Budweiser was nice enough to send me a twelve-pack of seasonal brews, tasting glasses, a beautiful slate chalkboard and some lovely linen coasters–half of my work was done already. For everything else, I headed over to my new favorite store: The Dollar Tree. It’s amazing how many things you can get there! (Check Nellie Mag for my under $5 decorating tips too!)
As my guests arrived, we began the afternoon with the Budweiser Project 12 Special Edition Brews. Everyone was surprised that Budweiser made this type of beer; and they were even more surprised by the taste. The crowd favorite was definitely the Vanilla Bouron Cask flavor. It sounds odd, but it tastes oh so yummy!
After I got everyone drunk enough to enjoy my food (just kidding, I’m an effing amazing cook), it was time to serve dinner. I made macaroni and cheese, a broccoli casserole, and mashed potatoes. Danasia brought some meat for the non-vegetarians, as well as some delicious curry green beans, which were incredible!
Overall, we really had a great time and I’m glad we were able to spend the holiday together. I love my family, but I think the old saying is true: Friends are the family you choose.
What did you do for Thanksgiving? Have you ever had a Friendsgiving instead?
All photos by Johnny Cheng Photography
December 3, 2013 @ 10:15 am
I love this!!! So glad you were able to have a good Thanksgiving. You already know how thankful I am for you 😉 and p.s. you look gorg as usual!
December 3, 2013 @ 10:21 am
Aww I LOVE YOU!!!! <3
December 3, 2013 @ 10:34 am
These pictures are beautiful! Looks like it was an awesome time. I had Friendsgiving this year, too – definitely a great way to spend the holiday and give thanks for the amazing people in your life.
December 3, 2013 @ 11:15 am
Exactly! I’m so glad you had a fun time too!
December 3, 2013 @ 10:37 am
on thanksgiving i had a small friends get-together and we chit chatted had lunch and went for a drive.
December 3, 2013 @ 11:15 am
It really is fun to spend the holiday with friends. I’m glad you had a good time too!
December 3, 2013 @ 10:56 am
I’m so happy you had a nice time. I love the pics! Love you!
December 3, 2013 @ 11:14 am
Thanks, but I did miss you!! Love you! xo
December 3, 2013 @ 11:21 am
Glad you had a great Friendsgiving! Happy Holidays to you & the fam!
December 3, 2013 @ 12:02 pm
It sounds like you had a nice time. It was my husbands birthday and he was on call at work. He had to go in and I just cooked some chicken and stuffing. Nothing special.
December 3, 2013 @ 1:34 pm
Yeah, it can be hard to take the time to make holidays special. You could always celebrate on a different day! 🙂
December 3, 2013 @ 12:02 pm
this looks like so much fun!! i love friendsgiving!
December 3, 2013 @ 1:34 pm
It was great! Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
December 3, 2013 @ 12:19 pm
This was an excellent idea, Megan! Leave it to you to make lemonade out of lemons. Since I couldn’t spend Thanksgiving with you or any of the rest of my family, I had a small Friendsgiving too, with the people in my house in Argentina. They all knew it was a holiday for me, and we just shared stories. It was my first year without turkey (or any family). Missed you a lot this year, but love what you did. Sounds very cool and love your new place! Love especially the part about getting the people drunk enough to enjoy your food! Literally laughed out loud on that one! Oh and the “non-vegetarians” comment (new term for me), haha. Take care and I love you <3
December 3, 2013 @ 1:33 pm
Haha, glad you liked the post! And I’m glad you had a good time in Argentina. I know you will make the best of any situation too! Love you and miss you! xoxo
December 3, 2013 @ 12:35 pm
Aww this looks like it was SO much fun! I love the way you decorated the place. I swear you’re gonna end up being a much more fashionable version of Martha Stuart 🙂 Love ya Boo!
December 3, 2013 @ 1:35 pm
Haha! Thanks for the compliment! 😀 Decorating was a lot of fun – and I did it all on a budget! Woohoo! Hopefully you can come next time 🙂
December 3, 2013 @ 2:14 pm
How awesome that you still got to have a thanksgiving. and you photos are so great. Love the table setting shot… that couch is gorgeous and the doggie just makes it the perfect photo.
December 3, 2013 @ 2:42 pm
Thanks for the compliments! It was all the talent of Johnny Cheng Photography! And that’s actually his dog in the photo too 🙂
December 3, 2013 @ 4:04 pm
Everything looks great! I got to go home for Thanksgiving but I also had a mini friendsgiving beforehand, though I didn’t host it. How fun that you got to try beers!
December 3, 2013 @ 6:12 pm
It was fun! That’s nice that you got to do both!
December 3, 2013 @ 7:34 pm
You could not have planned a better gathering. The decorations were just great. crystalbluern at onlineok dot com
December 3, 2013 @ 8:24 pm
Looks Beautiful and lots of fun!!! I love the banner too. I love dollar tree as well.. you can get so much and do so much fun crafts! 🙂
December 3, 2013 @ 8:37 pm
Thanks! The banner was fun to make and only cost $2!!
December 3, 2013 @ 8:44 pm
Great pictures! Looks like you had a lovely Thanksgiving!
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December 3, 2013 @ 9:03 pm
Thank you! We really had a wonderful time!
December 4, 2013 @ 8:31 am
I think this is awesome! It’s no fun, not being able to be with family on Holidays, but it looks like you and your friends made up for it! Actually, sometimes I think I would like this better, because family can be a real pain in the……
December 4, 2013 @ 9:50 am
Haha! Yeah, I was really sad at first, but I decided to make the best of it and have friends over! 🙂
December 4, 2013 @ 8:34 am
I’ve never had a Friendsgiving, but, if I wasn’t able to be with family, it’d be the next best thing. Thanks.
December 4, 2013 @ 9:50 am
It was great! We had a lot of fun and I’m lucky to have those great friends!
December 4, 2013 @ 5:39 pm
I celebrated Thanksgiving with my husband and cat in our new home this year. Since we recently moved from CA to WA, I really didn’t know anybody up here. Plus, my family and friends are either back in CA or in the Midwest (where I grew up).
It looks like you had a fabulous get-together for Thanksgiving! I would love to see some of your recipes. I’m also interested in the curry green bean dish your friend brought. Yummy!
December 4, 2013 @ 5:52 pm
I’m the same way being new to Atlanta! Most of my close friends live in other states, but I have made some new friends here that are really wonderful. I’ll be posting more recipes in the coming months. I’ll have to make these again so I can take some photos! Glad you like them 🙂
December 5, 2013 @ 2:12 pm
Nice post you are beautiful 😉
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December 5, 2013 @ 3:38 pm
You are too sweet!!! 🙂
December 6, 2013 @ 1:56 am
We had a blast!
December 6, 2013 @ 9:27 am
We sure did!! 🙂
December 6, 2013 @ 2:34 am
What an interesting idea on how to enjoy holiday with friends. 🙂
December 6, 2013 @ 9:27 am
It was great fun!
December 8, 2013 @ 2:22 pm
I agree that having a friendsgiving would be fun. I had to travel out of state to be with family and am thinking next year it will be a friendsgiving celebration. It’s great spending time with family but it is also nice to spend time with friends.
December 8, 2013 @ 3:17 pm
Agreed! It was a really great experience to spend the holiday with friends 🙂