Thanksgiving Traditions with the Olivers

If you were here yesterday, then you know that I'm following along with Kristen's blog, the MRS and the MOMMA, and her November Blogathon posts this month. Since I'll be posting a Chels Wears post tomorrow, I decided to jump ahead and use tomorrow's prompt for today instead. Today's prompt was to write about your favorite fall recipe and I don't really have one, so I'm skipping it. However, Wednesdays prompt is to write about your fall holiday traditions.

Thanksgiving 2013 with my brother, Eric, at our uncle's house.

For as long as I can remember, we have always had Thanksgiving dinner with my dad's siblings, which I really look forward to every year. My uncle is a great cook and gets everything together for dinner and since building his beautiful log cabin home, has hosted Thanksgiving. We always joke around that I will inherit the log cabin so I always like to think of how I would decorate or host these dinners many, many, many years from now.

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday because of the fall season, football and the food, but I really like getting to spend the time with my family, laughing and playing board games after dinner. Eric and I will be heading back home this year for Thanksgiving and since this is the first year in a long time that I do not have to work on Black Friday, we will be heading out to support some local Pittsburgh record stores for their Black Friday Record Store Day sales. And on Saturday this year I'll be selling my greeting cards at a local "I Made It! Market" in Shadyside. So this year, I'm especially excited for old and new traditions to happen!

What do you do for Thanksgiving?

If I Become A Hipster, Blame My Brother: 2014 Edition

This is what you wear when you wake up at 8am to go buy records.

Little bit chilly while waiting outside of Graham's before it opened!

Inside Graham's - great crowd!

As some of you may or may not know, Saturday was Record Store Day. And although my brother, Eric, and I are currently living near Erie and not the vinyl-loving city of Pittsburgh, we knew we had to still celebrate.

Eric looked up where to find some goods and we took an early morning trip into Erie. This year we were serious, too. We printed out the list of all the exclusive releases, highlighted the ones we wanted and hoped for the best. We went to a family owned place, Graham's Records, first (supporting the local economy is what it's all about, right?), and found a couple things we wanted and then headed to The Exchange in Erie on the way home. Although we both brought home a lot less than last year, it was a good experience for our first time doing Record Store Day outside of Pittsburgh. Graham's had a ton of old stuff that I would love to browse through again soon, like on a day where we're not looking for specific things, and The Exchange had some great new things and surprisingly still had a good bit of Record Store Day exclusives by the time we got there around noon. Although, if you know of any other places around Erie, please let us know! We're always up for exploring music stores and local businesses.

I also realized this weekend that Eric and I have four record players, we each have two. He has an awesome turntable that is in perfect condition from a rummage sale and one from our dad. And I have a cute little green portable one that Eric got for me at that rummage sale and the one I "inherited" from our grandma...aka, the one I stole from our aunt's house during Christmas time because she wasn't using it and said I could take it. Hipsters.

If I become a hipster, blame my brother.

On Saturday, bright and early, I joined my brother, Eric, for Record Store Day. We bopped all around the city to Dave's Music Mine in the South Side, Eide's in The Strip District, and Sound Cat Records in Bloomfield, to get some totally sweet deals on some exclusive music on that lovely old vinyl.

Record Store Day is a nation-wide day to encourage people to get out and support stand-alone record stores and really to promote local business. Eric, who has always been my music guru, recently has been bit by the vinyl loving bug and is using our dad's old record player. But I have just started to become more interested in the possibility of getting a record player, so I tagged along to start my collection. Guess I need a record player now!

While I have been to Dave's before, Eide's and Sound Cat were new to me and I was actually surprised at their large quantities of music on vinyl and CD. Record Store Day is not just for buying vinyl, you know. Here's a look at the goods Eric and I purchased, at got fo freee! Have a great (Music) Monday, everyone!

Brother Instagramed me while I looked for some goods in Sound Cat Records.

Me & Eric with our finds and free stuff! (I'm so happy, I found Amy Winehouse on HOT PINK vinyl.)