Thanksgiving, London Style

After spending our Thanksgiving day touring Hampton Court Palace, we met up with family and took the train to downtown London. We arrived at Waterloo station and took a scenic walk along the river to dinner. This allowed me my first true glimpse of marvelous icons, old and new.

London Eye

We were meeting eight other family members at the American style restaurant, Joe Allen, for Thanksgiving dinner. Obviously, other countries do not typically celebrate our wonderful American holiday of feasting on turkey and pumpkin, but this restaurant was an exception.

Clam chowder, steak, and (not pictured) chocolate cake. All devoured while 

sitting next to the American flag.

A three course menu was offered with three options for each course. One option was typical Thanksgiving food (cornbread, turkey, and pumpkin pie were all offered), while the other two were more main stream. I had clam chowder with corn bread, steak, and a flourless chocolate cake. The corn bread was rather dry, but the rest of my meal was amazing. With our main course came sides of brussel sprouts, potatoes, and what I thought were sweet potato fries. They turned out to be parsnips and were delicious. Not unlike a typical Thanksgiving meal, I came away from the table completely stuffed and content.

I give our relatives major props for thinking to take us to a holiday dinner while being so far away from our families back home. While we weren't necessarily homesick, spending the evening at a big dinner with loved ones helped to create a really special memory for both of us. Maybe next year we will bring our London style menu to the Thanksgiving table with some clam chowder, steak, and a bold American flag hanging in the background!

Gratefulness: The Ultimate Health Boost

This is the time of year we are supposed to be most grateful for the things we have and those around us. Ironically, this is counteracted by an influx of Black Friday sales, Cyber Mondays hub bub, and a season of overspending. I love giving and getting as much, if not more, than everyone else. However, many articles have been surfacing lately about the benefits of being grateful for what you have (here and here). As a person who is often anxious and planning the next five days in their head, I could really benefit from remembering to appreciate the day to day things. Being grateful can be linked to positive health changes, lower blood pressure, less stress, getting sick less often. More importantly, it helps us to slow done every once in a while. 

According to the December issue of Health magazine, the top five things people are thankful for are their families, the freedom of living in America, good health, close friends, and ability to practice religion. Some of those are kind of deep, but here are some small things I currently appreciate:

1. This guy. Thank you for making my day a bit more hilarious.

2. Having today off. I made delicious bacon for breakfast, which I never would have time for on a work day. Also, I had peanut butter with my apple for a snack. A leisure my nut free school does not allow.

3. This baby poop picture. The longer you look the funnier it gets.

4. Finding the most ridiculous things funny. My sense of humor can be quite juvenile, but I love it.

5. Marrying the perfect man in less than nine months. Every day I literally get so excited to finally marry him. 

6. Cute Christmas cards. I love sending holiday cards to my friends. Target has a really cute selection in stores. Throw in a gift card, too!

7. My innate ability to throw bizarre foods together and make it a meal. Something I will be doing for lunch and dinner today in order to finish up our leftovers before heading home for Thanksgiving!

8. My adorable 93 year old grandmother who I will finally get to see tomorrow. She's the best.

9. Christmas music. Yes. I have been busting out the carols already. No shame.

10. This article saying it's okay to drink full calorie wine!

Step two of being grateful? Go out and tell others you appreciate them. Say hello to a stranger. Give people more compliments. They, and you, will feel way better afterwards. Promise.