Thanksgiving Weekend!

Sadly today is the last day of Thanksgiving weekend. But we made the most of it, I think. Enjoying some time at home, just the two of us. We've been on the go so much, it's nice to once in a while relax! Neither of us are that good at doing this - I always feel guilty doing nothing! :)

On Thanksgiving, we cooked our own turkey with all the trimmings.

We "lit" the DVD Yule Log. :) Someday I really want a house with a real fireplace! But this will do for now!





Jacob's the turkey master. He makes it look effortless! But I make a mean mashed potatoes!





And Molly is our official taster.





The next day we went out to go find our Christmas tree!





And because we're without a car, we had to drag it back nearly a mile! Just like the olden days except down the streets of Jersey City instead of through the woods!







It may look like Jacob's carrying it by himself, but I will let you know, I helped a lot!!





We unwrapped it and let it settle for about a day...





And then added decorations and LED Christmas lights!!





Here it is with the lights off. The LED lights photograph kind of strangely though...





And now we're all set for Christmas!!! :)

Marianne

Cowboy stadium

Last weekend Jacob and I headed down to Dallas for a little pre-Thanksgiving football. We stayed the weekend, hanging out with various friends, then on Sunday headed to the brand new Cowboys stadium to watch the 'boys.

The stadium is HUGE. And a lot nicer than the old one. Parking was simple and there was actually a nice little picnic table right near where we parked. If we'd planned to tailgate, it would have been the perfect place to do it.







It was a beautiful day, probably 60 degrees, so I was a little disapointed they had the roof closed. (It's one of those that can partially open or close, depending on the weather. I guess Dallas people aren't as hardcore as New Englanders! Gillette stdium is open even when it's zero degrees and snowing!!





However, there was a nice outdoor area to hang out in before or after the game. In fact, after the game, there was a DJ and people dancing out there!





We got there kind of early and waited for the seats to fill up. The place was huge - but all the seats were taken by the time they begun playing.







The coolest thing was the mammoth screen - 60 yards long!! It was the biggest screen TV I'd ever seen! No need for binoculars, even in the cheap seats!







You could even get close-ups for the cheerleaders, which I bet a lot of guys appreciated...





Though it wasn't the most exciting game ever (there was only 1 touchtown the entire game and it happened in the last two minuts!) the Cowboys did manage to win. And it was cool to see the new stadium! I'm glad we got a chance to go and can't wait to go back again!

Marianne

Goth Engagement Party

It all started when I showed Leanna a picture of a black wedding cake and said "Imagine having a goth wedding!" Of course that seemed a bit much, so Leanna suggested a compromise. A goth engagement party! She and Morgan outdid themselves creating just such an event, which happened on, appropriately enough, Friday the 13th!!

Everyond donned their black best...

And there were goth decorations:












And, of course, there was a black cake with Living Dead Dolls for the bride and groom!









Of course, Morgan and Nick couldn't not have a professional photo shoot while we were there!









We even had Goth Boy in Training.





And lots of chances for goofy photos:

















I personally think these two will be next...




The night ended with an impromptu glow-stick infused rave.











All in all, a wonderful night with wonderful friends!! It couldn't have been more amazing!! Thank you guys!!!





MARIANNE

My first floor display!

Check this out! Berkley was nice enough to send me one of the floor displays for the Blood Coven re-releases. This is what they've sent to all the Borders stores across the country. It's soooo pretty! My first ever floor display. I feel like this is some kind of writing milestone I should celebrate!!!

And yes, Jacob is nice enough to let me display it in the living room! :)

In case you're wondering, I put both versions of the books in there cause I thought it looked nice. Obviously in the real stores they'd only have the new covers.

Anyway, just wanted to share!

MARI

RSVP For: 11/11 Release Party, Chat and Contest with Author Marianne Mancusi

RSVP For: 11/11 Release Party, Chat and Contest with Author Marianne Mancusi

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Moo!!!

As a features producer, I get a lot of variety in my job. From fashion to fitness, celebs to...cows???

Yup, on Tuesday I headed out to Connecticut to do a story about a family dairy farm, part of the Cabot cheese co-op that has been milking cows and producing milk since 1720! In fact, the family still has the deed awarded to them from King George!

We watched them being milked:



And then visited them in their pens. Some were camera shy, while others were very friendly!



This cow below was called Dallas, after the Dallas cowboys!





So then, as we were shooting, we learned a cow was about to calf! We hurried over to watch it happen. So fascinating to watch a birth! I didn't want to post any TOO graphic pics, but I had to post this one of the calf coming out of the birth canal. Cause it was amazing too see!



After the calf was born, his mother started licking him clean.



After we watched the amazing birth, we visited all the other calfs in their nursery.



They were sooo cute!







My photographer Mike and I drove home, snacking on Cabot cheese. It was a lot of fun - but I couldn't wait to wash the manure smell off of me!

And that was my day on the farm!!

Marianne