It's November Already!

Can you believe we're already into November?

This year is just flying by!

As I looked at the calendar and saw that we've only got 17 days until Thanksgiving, I had a moment of panic.

My daughter and her family are coming from out of state this year, and I would like to be ahead of the game as far as the food and drink I have on hand. I'm sure you natural planners out there will just laugh and say it's called "menu planning." I'm trying to avoid the last-minute panic run to the store because I forgot something.

So, with a deep breath, a pad of paper, and a pen at hand, I'm now jotting down holiday favorites and other foods I know they like. I have to keep reminding myself there are also breakfasts, lunches, and other dinners besides Thanksgiving to account for...yikes...I may need a bigger sheet of paper.

Thanksgiving is relatively easy as the traditional food dishes are what they want - turkey, stuffing, cranberries, etc.

My daughter also ordered some Thanksgiving tea favorites, too - what a surprise, right? She especially likes Cranberry Orange Black Tea, Aunt Patty's Pumpkin Pie Black Tea, Pumpkin and Spice Chai, and Caramel Walnut Shortbread Rooibos.

The Cranberry Orange Black Tea is a great blend of two favorite flavors - think cranberry orange relish in a cup. This tea is lovely, either hot or cold. So depending on the weather, you can enjoy it either way. I'm also going to brew this tea as the water base for my homemade cranberry sauce to give it additional flavor.

Aunt Patty's Pumpkin Pie Black Tea tastes just like a traditional pumpkin pie. I don't think it's pumpkin overload to enjoy this tea with a nice big slice of pumpkin pie topped with whipped cream. You can also add the whipped cream to your cup of tea to take it up a notch, and don't forget to add a dash of cinnamon or nutmeg.

Pumpkin and Spice Chai is also a good choice with pumpkin pie or pecan pie. It has a more robust flavor because of the chai spices and also easily holds some whipped cream as a topping in your cup...yum! And again, don't forget to add a dash of cinnamon or nutmeg to the whipped cream.

Caramel Walnut Shortbread Rooibos is another great dessert tea. So, if you're too stuffed to eat more pie, the caramel shortbread flavor in this tea is just delightful. It will make your sweet tooth happy with no additional calories. It's naturally caffeine free, so you can drink it later in the evening without worrying about caffeine keeping you awake. Children can also have this caffeine-free tea — and the teas mentioned above if you don't mind them having caffeine.

So now it's back to the rest of my list since I've got Thanksgiving dinner and the teas covered.