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happy thanksgiving. i hope you all have something to be thankful for and loved ones to spend the day with. i will be heading to my good friend's home for a feast that for once i didn't have to cook, and then i'll spend the night and we're going to figure out some kind of light black friday event to take part in (probably some shopping with the gift cards i've been saving up). i never come to a dinner empty handed, so i baked a pumpkin swirl cheesecake from scratch:

and then 5 more people were confirmed so i baked an apple pie:

and then i had leftovers so i made an apple crumb pie for myself :D:

it's my first cheesecake so we'll have to see how it turned out. i also am bringing a fresh veggie tray with my own homemade ranch dip (i created the recipe over the summer) to add a bit of lighter fare to the menu.

be safe this holiday and enjoy what you have. as happy as this holiday is supposed to be, be mindful that it might be painful for those who have lost something or someone in the past year, they may find it difficult to chin up right now and may need an extra shoulder to lean on, especially with everyone else being busy with their own families and events.

take care and enjoy the turkey.

as for me, i plan on spending most of the weekend (once i get back and no driving is to be done) drinking and gaming :)

-z