It took years

I think I finally mastered the art of Black Friday shopping.

homegoods 

There was no way I was going to go out and fight that diehards at midnight last night, so I woke up early this morning and hit up my favorite stores. They were surprisingly calm and weren’t too picked over. The only one that gave me anxiety was Bed, Bath and Beyond, so I grabbed my $8 pack of ornaments and peaced out.

Thanksgiving was everything I’d been dreaming about.

We had a beautiful brunch at my madres, followed by relaxing and sales flier browsing,

sales

and then got ready for lunch/dinner at my aunt and uncle’s. We have Thanksgiving at their house every year, and like I mentioned before, it was the Pilot’s first Thanksgiving with my familia.

Our contribution to the feast:

pumpkin bars

Marbled pumpkin cheesecake bars

and a quinoa, cranberry and goat cheese salad.

 salad

-quinoa

-orange dried cranberries

-pecans

-goat cheese

-juice and zest from an orange, sea salt, garlic, pepper, splash of balsamic, olive oil

-parsley

As always, there was a feast:

feast

golf

golfers

(the girls went for a walk around the neighborhood while the boys played)

cute dogs

dogs

poker

poker

[big winner: the Pilot!]

legendary desserts

desserts

and quality time with the fam. We left with full bellies and happy hearts <3

Early this morning, I grabbed my tea, apple and coupons,

coupons

and got ready to fight some crazy shoppers. Not crazy in the least.. and everyone was in a good mood! I love it.

Time to Christmas-ify our house and get a workout in.

See ya later today!

xoxo

Gina

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29 Comments

  1. Anna @ The Guiltless Life on November 25, 2011 at 12:20 pm

    Sounds like the best way to do it! If you’re not wanting the HUGE huge sales then it sounds like a plan to me. In Canada we don’t have Black Friday but we have Boxing Day sales the day after Christmas, and it’s a similar thing then!

    • Fitnessista on November 25, 2011 at 12:24 pm

      that’s right! when i worked at lulu, i learned about the glory of boxing day 🙂
      xoxo

  2. Marguerite Miller on November 25, 2011 at 12:34 pm

    All that food looks amazing! I had a hard time saying no to some of my favorites yesterday, but my DH was right next to me telling me what I was NOT allowed to have! (My doc;s have me on a RENAL diet!) And a few times I had to yell at him and tell him it was thanksgiving and i would have a spoonful of whatever I wanted!! But since I had only been out of the hospital for a day and a half, I tried to behave! (NO pumpkin pie, only a scant tablespoon of sweet potatoes, NO CHEESE and no nuts!!! No whole grain stuff, no potato chips and dip! But plenty of Turkey!! And there was APPLE pie to be eaten!! (No ice cream or whipped cream!) But I was and am very thankful to be feeling so much better and to be out of the hospital AGAIN!

  3. Kelly @ Laughter, Strength, and Food on November 25, 2011 at 12:41 pm

    Sounds like a pretty good Black Friday shopping experience! I had to work today, so I couldn’t go, but when I do, I take the same approach you do. I have some things in mind that I want, but I’m not going to go crazy at midnight to get them!

    I will be Christmas-ifying my house as well this weekend! 🙂

  4. Lindsay @ Lindsay's List on November 25, 2011 at 12:41 pm

    I’ve never been brave enough (or willing to give up sleep) to do Black Friday! Cyber Monday is more my style. Shopping in pjs!

  5. Erin @ Girl Gone Veggie on November 25, 2011 at 12:50 pm

    So glad you had such a great time black friday shopping! I just finished my shift and am drinking starbucks so i dont fall asleep at 1pm. haha

  6. Marian on November 25, 2011 at 12:51 pm

    Look at you on black Friday! Far more brave than I:)
    Looks like you had a very blessed Thanksgiving indeed<3

  7. Kat on November 25, 2011 at 12:52 pm

    My focus went immediately to the Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake squares. I need desert, immediately.

    Happy thanks-g! Looks like you had a good time.

  8. Jes Suazo on November 25, 2011 at 12:53 pm

    I’m going afternoon Black Friday shopping! Wish me luck, it’s my first year to venture out on Black Friday. Hope your Thanksgiving was amazing! Looks like it was. 🙂

  9. Chelsa on November 25, 2011 at 12:56 pm

    wow those cheesecake bites look so incredible and that dessert table is calling my name!

  10. Ali on November 25, 2011 at 1:16 pm

    That table of food looks EPIC! Amazing that you all could make so much, let alone consume it all! Happy Christmas-ifying! We will be doing that next week! I always wait until it is officially December to decorate.

  11. Ashley @ My Food 'N' Fitness Diaries on November 25, 2011 at 1:25 pm

    Those marbled cheesecake bars look so good!! I’m glad you had a nice Thanksgiving! Looks like a great day. Good luck shopping today! 😉

  12. Angela @ Eat Spin Run Repeat on November 25, 2011 at 1:39 pm

    Happy Black Friday Gina! Looks like you had a lovely Thanksgiving, and those pumpkin swirl bars look delicious. Good luck battling the shoppers!

  13. Marci on November 25, 2011 at 2:03 pm

    In all honesty, Black Friday scares the bejeezes out of me. There is nothing in the world that I want enough to pepper spray someone over. Sheesh!

  14. Jay on November 25, 2011 at 2:21 pm

    So, which dessert was the best (if you ate them)? 🙂

    • Fitnessista on November 25, 2011 at 5:26 pm

      the innards of the pecan pie was my fave.. but i also had a couple pieces of pumpkin 🙂

  15. Dynamics on November 25, 2011 at 2:30 pm

    I never venture out on Black Friday. I hate the crowds and figure I would never get that limited item anyway. But, yesterday Michael’s opened at 4 pm so I swung buy and it was not busy, just a normal looking shopping day. I scored an 80 dollar lamp for 12 bucks!!!! Have fun shopping. Hope you get some awesome deals.

  16. chelsea on November 25, 2011 at 2:42 pm

    How much do you think you saved black Friday shopping :)? I saved $70 total today whoop! I didn’t do THAT much shopping though also.

    • Fitnessista on November 25, 2011 at 5:26 pm

      i have no idea, but i got a ton of stuff for about $130

  17. Sana on November 25, 2011 at 3:08 pm

    Yeah I drove my family around, I did not need anything 😉

  18. Averie @ Love Veggies and Yoga on November 25, 2011 at 3:32 pm

    Glad you were able to get the shopping done without any craziness and that people were in a good mood! That’s awesome! I wanted to do some online shopping but some sites were sold out of the goodies I wanted at the rock bottom prices.

    The Marbled pumpkin cheesecake bars…amazing job. They look so perfect!! Like you bought them from the Cheesecake Factory or something…Impressive work!!

  19. J3nn (Jenn's Menu and Lifestyle Blog) on November 25, 2011 at 4:05 pm

    Everything looks very nice! Especially the desserts 😉

    That 25% off of everything at BB&B is very tempting, but I just can’t tolerate the crowds, lol. It’s just not worth it. I’ll pay full price next week, haha.

  20. Amy@healthyhungryhappy.com on November 25, 2011 at 5:37 pm

    nice job on black friday! i cant handle the craziness although i really do want to shop (mostly for myself haha). looks like u had a great thanksgiving!

  21. Chelsea @ One Healthy Munchkin on November 25, 2011 at 8:41 pm

    I wish we had Black Friday here in Canada. I like nothing better than shopping and good sales. 😀

    I’m glad you had such an amazing Thanksgiving! But how could it not be with a dessert table like that? Yum!

    • Fitnessista on November 25, 2011 at 10:05 pm

      boxing day is pretty big though, right??

  22. Srdjan - Bloom to Fit on November 26, 2011 at 12:30 pm

    A beautiful feast and poker! Can’t get better than that!

  23. Ashley on November 26, 2011 at 11:06 pm

    My family played poker on Thanksgiving too! My grandma took a nap and suddenly woke up saying, “Lets play poker for MONEEEY!”.

    • Fitnessista on November 27, 2011 at 12:08 pm

      that cracked me up. so cute

  24. Hillary [Nutrition Nut on the Run] on November 27, 2011 at 12:08 am

    diggin’ the festive quinoa salad – yummy!

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