Happy Thanksgayving!

Today is one of my favorite days of the entire year, and marks the beginning of the holiday season for our family. And by family I don't just mean myself, D and Ava, but also, the wonderful people who have come to mean as much to me as my actual relations, those who I share my life with by choice, and couldn't possibly imagine my life without.

Yeah, yeah, it's gonna get cheesy up in here.

Each year, as you may recall from this post, this post and this post, me and 9 of my besties (well, sometimes new friends, but usually besties!) start compulsively sending out frantic emails planning our annual Thanksgiving Potluck event, held at a bar downtown (the same every year). It originally began as a home away from home to celebrate Thanksgiving when they were unwelcome at their own homes after having come out (hence the aptly named Thanksgayving), and has blossomed into a joyous occasion where between 300-500 people gather, bring a dish to share, and enjoy one another's company, food, and - of course - boozed-up antics. I mean, it doesn't take place at a bar for nothin'! And no, I'm not hatin'. We all remember a particularly drunken girl's antics back in 2007. Except me. I remember nothing.

If that wasn't awesome enough, we also incorporate local charities into the mix, with admission being both your dish to share AND the donation of an item to benefit either the food bank or the women's shelter. This year, we have 10 food bins, each holding at least 100 lbs of food. That's right. We may take close to 1,000 lbs of food to the Capital Area Food Bank this year, directly before the holiday season. I'm not gonna lie - I'm so proud of this, and can't wait until Ava is old enough to understand what we're doing. We also have started to hold a raffle/silent auction, with proceeds benefiting Equality Texas, a cause dear to all of our hearts! I am so thankful for this opportunity and the people in my life willing to put in the hard work that's required to make this happen! Love you all!

Anyhow, what once was a refuge for friends is now a major, party-of-the-year celebration for friends and family, new and old, and I am so incredibly honored to be hosting for the fourth year in a row. To my previous co-hosts: I adore you. I mean, ADORE you. I can't imagine where I would be without all of you in my life, and am so incredibly excited to not be hauling around an extra 25 pounds of baby this year share Ava with you this year, and introduce her to her extended family.

That wasn't too sappy, now, was it? :)

And what would a Thanksgayving post be without an onslaught of pictures from years past?? I think you'll be able to spot the 2007 ones without too much effort....