Geoff & I are hosting our first Thanksgiving with both sets of our parents, family & friends. We have had this planned since the summer with the goal of having our kitchen complete by this date. Well this "minor" goal was not met. Close minus the counter tops and sink, once again "minor" details. I still have faith that Thanksgiving will go off as perfectly as it should and by perfectly I mean with no disasters (aka Geoff is frying a turkey).
As for decorations and this being our first Thanksgiving in our home I kept it simple. Please forgive the Instagram photos. Maybe Santa will bring me a nice, fancy camera. (too bad Santa doesn't read my blog).
I love tablescapes almost as much as mantles but since I don't have a fire place or a mantle this is the next best thing. For this tablescape I picked up a table runner from Ikea for only a few dollars. I also got a full set of the matching napkins but when not in use they make the table too cluttered. I found the two grey pumpkins at Whole Foods for $5 each. I bought them before Halloween so that I could enjoy them for two holidays. The little white pumpkins are from Publix and I believe they were 2 for $3 but also bought prior to Halloween. The candles are Ikea and I believe I paid less than $10 for all of them. A quick tip about decorating with candles is to let them burn for a few moments. By allowing the wick to blacken and the wax to begin to melt, makes the decorations appear to be more authentic even if you do not plan on lighting them when the table is in use. The finishing touch was walnuts. If you follow me on Twitter (PStringandGBean) I mentioned buying these walnuts and spray paint. I thought about it and decided to leave them natural so that they could be enjoyed. They have already been enjoyed.... I had a few friends over Sunday night and the post dinner snack was cracking walnuts at the dinner table. Betcha didn't know that if you hold two walnuts in your hand and squeeze, you can crack one :)
The walnuts made a second appearance in a glass trifle dish that was gifted to us at our bridal shower. The candle in the middle is one of the flameless candles. I found it on clearance at Target for around $4. I still need to buy a battery for it. The block of wood is from my internship and I can not recall what we used it for but I remember it was left over and going to be thrown away and I for some reason loved it and it has moved with me multiple times. The lamp is from Bungalow in Atlanta. Someday I will have an outlet that actually works in that corner to be able to use it.
A third area I made festive was one of the shelves of my book shelf. The frame is a $4 Ikea frame that came with the mat and the "Gather Here with Grateful Hearts" was printed of Pinterest. LOVE. The "R" is from anthropologie and bought for the wedding. The blue pumpkin plates are from williams-sonoma and I will sadly admit that I did not buy them on sale. I bought 8 but am thinking I should buy one more set to make 12. I just may before the day is over. My house doesn't support orange well but blues and greys are my favorite. It isn't often that you can find blue pumpkins. I may need to take advantage. I think I just typed myself into it :)
I decorated a few other areas and will be taking pictures on the big day. I will also share what we decide to cook.
So far on the list:
- Red Rice & Quinoa Salad
- Roasted Granny Smith Apples & Brussels Sprouts
- Cashew Green Bean Casserole
- Tangerine Roasted Carrots
I am also on Wednesday night dinner and Thursday breakfast duty. I asked Geoff what he wanted for a simple breakfast and he said eggs Benedict. Ya that is simple.
I hope everyone has a amazing Thanksgiving filled with family, friends and of course amazing food!
Also be sure to check out 6 Petals new blog that has a super cute wedding idea that I just may have to steal :)
.live creatively well.
-nicole.
My hands hurt from cracking the walnuts :)
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