I always hesitate when asked what my favorite holiday is…because it’s thanksgiving. So then I just sound like a glutton! And let’s be honest, I do REALLY like food; especially thanksgiving food. It is wrapped in sentimental value, and is my favorite food ever.  No, like EVER.  And I am weird about it.

My rules for Thanksgiving are simple.

1. We must be with family (obviously I prefer mine because it’s familiar but the years we’ve spent with Chris’ are also super fun and I have loved it.)
2. There must be Cornbread Dressing, Mashed Potatoes annnnnd Cranberry Sauce (I am weird and I eat those 3 things together and it is AMAZING. Don’t knock it till you try it y’all!)
3. I KNOW this is non traditional, but my sister Juli and I freak if there isn’t a ham AND turkey.
4. Pumpkin Pie.
5. Coffee, talking, game playing and napping.

If those things are all in place then my Thanksgiving has been a success.

Isn’t it funny how we all have things in our lives that just mean so much to us? How smells and meals can bring us to spaces that bring joy?

Traditionally meals bring people together, so what’s not to love about a holiday wrapped around the tradition of giving thanks and spending time with our loved ones?!

The food is great and amazing, but it isn’t my #1 reason for this holiday being my favorite. It is the time spent and the memories made, with no pressure of any expectations (ie Christmas… yes I do love Christmas, but there is a TON of pressure!).

If you’ve been following along on social media you may or may not have noticed a lot of time spent with Kelly from The Anthony Kitchen lately. First, that girl is amazing, her smile and laugh are literally infectious…my face is still hurting from all the laughing I did with her last night! On top of just being one of my favorite humans, she is also an INCREDIBLE cook and has the best food blog EVAH!

This year we started working  together on several new projects, including a gorgeous “Friendsgiving” styled session!  Since this is my favorite holiday, I really wanted to give it its due, since I feel like so many times this sweet holiday gets overlooked!  Y’all are not gonna believe the incredible things our team put together for this table!  Feast your eyes on this inspiration:

Vendor Team:
Food: Kelly with The Anthony Kitchen
Coordinator/Rentals: Kelly with Ashley & Co.
Rentals: Vestige Events (couch, goblets, and candlesticks)
Florals: Post Oak Florist
Photography: ME!

This particular project was so inspiring to me that I randomly said “Kelly, we should make cookbooks. Like I could do photography and design, you could do recipe development content and some food photography (cause she is pretty darn good at making her food look tasty!)” She ecstatically agreed, so…

INTRODUCING: TAK BOOKS

I cannot believe we made the decision to do this, put it together in one week and here we are! This was last minute and because of that the price is a STEAL!! It’s a beautiful digital book filled with heirloom recipes that will help you create the best thanksgiving meal of your life! In fact this year, I am hosting Thanksgiving at our house, and I am making her turkey! I tasted one she made for this shoot and it was LITERALLY the best turkey I have ever put in my mouth. There are tips on making it juicy and succulent in this book too and I had never done any of them!!

BONUS:
We had a lot of people ask us for help with timeline in prepping for thanksgiving and we are working hard TODAY to put together an added bonus page that anyone who purchases the book before it’s added will be sent as soon as it’s ready (cross our fingers by tomorrow!!). This will be filled with how many days out to buy the turkey, when to thaw it, when to make what and refrigerate. Kelly will help you make sure you aren’t running around like a crazy person on Thanksgiving day!! I for one am STOKED about this addition!

So go get yours!
HERE

I hope you love our first edition of TAK Books, and cannot wait to continue to put out quality cookbooks that will leave you excited to gather your people together!