December Scavenger Hunt

advent, noun.
a coming or arrival, especially of something infrequent or unusually important.

Don't you love finding the perfect gift? It makes Christmas for me. I can't wait to see that person open that gift on December 25th. It is easy to rush through all of the to-do's of the holiday and forget to notice those things you may love very best about this season of Merry and Bright. Take some time to look for the little gifts this month has for you.

~a canned food drive or a salvation army volunteer ringing their bell with a smile
~a fire in a fireplace
~a cookie plate left for Santa
~a menorah being lit
~friends sharing a laugh
~children writing letters to Santa
~a person bundled up in the cold

Write a story, take a picture, sing a song about what you see.
Post your treasures in the comment box or on your blog (make sure to leave us a link).

Merry Christmas!

Souvenirs from November

Every family has their specialty and my family's, more specifically, my Mama's pies are legendary. She is an award winning pie-maker. It is the crust, it is the apples from upstate New York, it is the unsalted butter and only the highest quality of vanilla. This year we had Pecan, Apple, and Pumpkin pies served with ice cream, fresh whipping cream and Starbuck's Thanksgiving Blend coffee.

This was the first year in our new house and our first time to ever host
Thanksgiving Dinner.
I was determined to be a real grown up and roast a turkey all by myself. I used a rosemary-orange recipe and woke up at 6:00 am to begin the cooking. In my fear of under cooking the giant bird, I (you guessed it) made something more like turkey-jerky. I loved every bite. And I was happy Mom brought a turkey, too.

We had 16 guests for dinner and everyone brought so much food. In addition to the classic turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, and green been casserole, we had corn pudding, macaroni and cheese, blueberry salad, fresh cranberry-orange sauce, and yeasty cinnamon rolls.
Our family has grown so big and it is not often that I get to spend a whole day with both of my parents, my brother and my sister. Now it seems like we were only living together under one roof for a few years. I become especially mindful of the brevity of this time with my little ones and abundantly grateful for the every day opportunity to make new memories.

*Announcing the winner of the November Scavenger Hunt: Korisa Burden @craftykorisa.blogspot.com. Congratulations!!!*

November Challenge: Scavenger Hunt

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to take notice~
take a picture, write a poem or a story, and/or post a thought regarding one or more of these November souvenirs:

1. Baked pies
2. Loved ones preparing food
3. Family and Friends around the Thanksgiving table
4. Holiday card photo shoot
5. Leftovers in the fridge
6. Funniest or most meaningful quote/story from your Thanksgiving weekend
7. Homes turning on Christmas lights

We cannot wait to see what you find. We will be sending a little fall treasure to the reader who discovers our favorite souvenir of the month.

If you have a blog, post it on your blog and leave a link in the comments.
Otherwise, leave your treasures directly in the comment box or email them to us at unwrittentravels@gmail.com.