For some, the Holiday’s are a time filled with laughs, love, family and friends. For others, they mean constant travel, social anxieties, hours in the kitchen and more. Either way, the importance of taking time for yourself amongst the chaos to refresh and reenergize is of the utmost importance. This past Tuesday, Bumble provided me the opportunity to throw a Friendsgiving of my own focused around a healthy meal, beautiful friends and the opportunity to remember what we are all most thankful for.

The night of giving started with creating an atmosphere conducive to good conversation, sharing and high spirits. The guest list of 12 brought people together from all walks of life, literature, law enforcement, advertising, sales, comedy and restaurants. Everyone had a story to tell and a point of view to share. Bumble provided thoughtful decorative touches and Flowers for Dreams was an amazing floral partner. They dressed our table with two fall inspired arrangements and a plethora of fall branches that made the night that much more special.

The menu was plant based with the option to add dairy if one so desired. The hope was to nourish our bodies with clean foods that were both filling and guilt free. I don’t know about you, but at my family’s real Thanksgiving I had far too much of the guilty stuff and a nice healthy gut cleanse was much needed. We started the night with individual boiled artichokes with a smoked paprika, dairy-free butter dipping sauce. Our second course was a mixed green salad topped with radish, cucumber, pomegranate seeds and a hemp caesar dressing. The main course was a curried acorn squash with pomegranate and fresh thyme. Finally, we ended the meal with a guilt free avocado chocolate pudding topped with dehydrated lemon and a dried blueberry, pepita and cayenne candy.

The night ended with a Friendsgiving card game. Everyone went around and answered one of 6 prompted questions provided by Bumble. We were all reminded of how truly lucky we are to have the people and opportunities we have in our lives. Take a stab at the questions yourself:

1. What are you most excited for in 2018?
2. I am super proud of…
3. What are you most thankful for this year?
4. Who inspires you most?
5. I would not be where I am today without…
6. What was your favorite 2017 moment?

I want to thank Bumble first and foremost for being one of the most amazing companies to work with and for always supporting empowered and inspiring individuals. I want to thank Andrew Weber, photographer extraordinaire for capturing the night. Flowers for Dreams for making the night that much more beautiful. If you are in need of a beautiful bouquet this Holiday Season, head to their website, 25% of all of all sales go to a local charity. Finally, I want to thank all of the beautiful people who took the time to relax and refresh with me amongst the crazy of the holiday season!