Dana Daily

Sal woke up this morning and decided we needed to go tree shopping. I informed him that it was much too early in the season to buy a tree. He exclaimed that he wanted an artificial tree this year. This has been a sticking point between us the last couple of years; he always wants real, I want fake. This year I resigned myself to having a real tree and didn't even broach the subject so when he said he wanted to buy a fake tree, I was rather shocked. I asked him a couple times why, and finally got out of him that he wanted to decorate this weekend so that he could actually enjoy it. He didn't want to wait 2 or 3 weeks for a real tree. It looks like the North Pole exploded, primarily in our living room, but it's fun to be festive.

This year was epic. I made more sides than I ever have before, but the day went surprisingly well. Everything came together and dinner was enjoyable. We had ordered a farm fresh turkey last year, but I didn't think it tasted any better than the free Shop N Save bird. This year we stuck with the free bird. I basically let my dad handle that project from rinsing to cooking to carving. We had prepped as much as we could the night before, cut all the celery and onion, potatoes, and bread for stuffing. I also made the turnips and carrots the night before so they just needed re-heated in the oven. I made homemade cranberry sauce, which was much tastier than last year. It wasn't so sweet. I also made green bean casserole in the crockpot which was easy enough. I stirred all the ingredients together, and let it cook for a couple hours. When we were ready to eat, I tossed some french fried onions on top and that was that. I only made two cans of corn, and probably should have d...

Our anniversary isn't until November 30th, but we decided to celebrate a little early this year. We went to Cafe du Jour, the restaurant where we had our first date. I love that little place any time of the year, but it's so cozy in the winter. It's also delicious. You may remember we were there in August to celebrate my 40th birthday. Sal's a jeans and t'shirt kind of guy when he's not dressed for work, and he loves it when I suggest he wear a sweater. But seriously, don't he look cute. I rented my outfit from Rent the Runway, and what a debacle that was. I've rented before with no issues, but this time sizing was off, the belt for this pant suit wasn't returned by the previous customer, and I didn't love my back-up option. It ended up working out, but it was not a smooth rental this time. Following dinner we went to Shadyside to the Hillman Center for the Performing Arts. We saw Sole Defined  which was a tap dance troupe. It was quite inte...