I hosted my first holiday meal here yesterday, and I honestly don't think it could have gone any better. (Except that I forgot to put out the mashed turnips which means that I shorted my guests but now I have a lovely bowl of mashed turnips just waiting for me to indulge. Ah, well. These things happen. =)

And I had my first taste of oyster dressing, made with my boyfriend's old family recipe, and it was delicious. I mean REALLY delicious. This is a recipe I must get someday.

I hope you guys had a great day.

Today is Black Friday, the one day of the year that I know I won't be going anywhere. I have no fun ritual for it, and there is no bargain I want badly enough to fight the crowds for. I think I went shopping on Black Friday once in my whole life, and just scoring a parking place was more of a pain than I could deal with, and so I kick off my Christmas season today in other ways, like eating turnips. (Sorry. I just cracked myself up.)

So, more power to those of you who are supremely intrepid and make this shopping day fun and exciting. I hope you find everything you're looking for, the check-out lines are short, the stores full of fabulous stock and the company you're keeping in excellent, high spirits.

Happy holiday kick-off!