Thanksgiving Tablescape Inspiration

I am seriously behind this year on my Thanksgiving planning & prep! It is less than 2 weeks and I have no theme, decor or menu planned- oops! Fortunately, Oliver will plan, cook and prep about 99% of the food so I don't have much to do for that portion, but I seriously have to get my butt in gear and start planning the decor!

Here are a few tables that I am inspired by (the original links to the sites are included as to give credit where it is due!) 

Thanksgiving Recap

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend! It has been super busy here, but also so fun! Look out for a weekend recap tomorrow!

Thanksgiving was amazing, we had a wonderful day! All of our preparation totally paid off and we were able to enjoy the day with our guests! We had the table set, and food prepped so we were able to wake up late- 930! :) We then took Clo on a long walk- he was so excited/overwhelmed with his first snow experience! How cute are these two photos?

After that we swung by my parents house for coffee & breakfast. We were back home by 11 where we got the game hens underway and fired up the ovens. I did some last minute cleaning and we were ready when our guests arrived at two!

 

The food amazingly all came out right on time, we only set the fire alarm off once which is pretty impressive for apartment living! To be fair we were also making Yorkshire puddings- if anyone has ever made them without setting off the fire alarm I welcome some advice! While doing my fifth "checklist rundown" we realized we forgot the stuffing- no big deal we skipped it and I don't think anyone noticed as we had plenty of dishes. 

Overall our day was wonderful and we were so grateful to spend time with family and friends. I was a terrible blogger, I took exactly ZERO photos, so thank you to my guests who did. They are not the high resolution photos I usually use, but I like the idea of seeing the day through our guests eyes! We rented chairs because we didn't have enough, they were gorgeous! Thank you, Taylor Rentals it was super easy to pick up the chairs in advance, they were beautiful & totally reasonably priced!

If you saw my Instagram post I made the leaves for place cards, however I had trouble writing the lettering on the leaf itself, so I made tags which I stamped with a mini gold leaves as the background and wrote the names on. I tied them with bakers twine to bring together the rustic decor. Overall I was very happy with them even though it was not what I had originally envisioned. 

I had spare burlap when I was done with the banner and table runner so I made these little bows for the backs of some of the chairs, adding some fresh pine for color & scent.

The second table we used to accommodate all of our guests had a variation on the tablecloth & runner, with fresh flowers, candles and gold dipped pine cones. The arrangement turned out beautiful! I was really happy with the simplicity of it.

 

I used more of the pine & burlap to make a half wreath. This wasn't a planned project I just improvised a little on this one but I was happy with the outcome! It is amazing what you can do with a little burlap & a glue gun! 

 

 This was after the storm, our dining room is actually still set up like this! I will get around to taking it all down soon. We have a Holiday party coming up soon, so I can start to plan the next set of decorations! I can't wait to host again! :) 

What was your Thanksgiving decor like? Do you decorate around a theme? I'd love to hear from you all! xo

Giving Thanks

As I sit here writing this post cozy in my favorite pj's & champs in hand I've been reflecting on what this year has brought us!

Last Thanksgiving we were so fortunate to be with our "Second Parents" - a couple who has known my husband since he was five. From the first time I met them I totally understood why Oliver loved them so much! They are the most generous, kind & loving people, who adopted us while we were in DC for some time. We spent almost all of our holidays with them when we couldn't travel home for whatever reason, and I never felt anything less than part of the family. This year we are missing them hugely, one day I hope that all of our parents both adopted and by birth can all celebrate a holiday together!

There is no doubt there has been much preparation leading to today, I have menu planned, changing several times, purchased & returned countless plates, napkins and decor. Ultimately, the end result is beautiful! The table is set, anything which could be prepped in advance has been and now we sit and relax until the crowds arrive at half past two tomorrow!

So here I reflect on the many things I am thankful for this year.

First and foremost, Oliver, I am so grateful for everything he does for Clo & I. He is a true gentleman & family man and for that I feel blessed beyond measure!

My family, which is ever expanding with a few new arrivals come 2015! :) They have been the most supportive, loving and loyal people in my life! It is impossible to get photos of all of you but I love you all the same!





















Our dog, Clovis, we love you more than is probably normal. You have brought us so much joy, love & a sobering reality of what dog ownership is actually about! The last seven months would have been incredibly boring without your antics!

My friends, this group has changed quite a bit over the last few years, however the end result is an intimate circle of people who have seen me through the roller coaster that is life. I love you all & am eternally grateful for the direction, honesty & laughter you have brought to my life, I am a better person for it!

Lastly, I am thankful for everyone who reads the blog! This has been such a wonderful journey so far & I can not wait to see where the future takes it!

I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving (for those who celebrate!) Oliver merely participates because of the food like any good Englishmen! :) Enjoy the day with family and friends!

Thanksgiving Themes & Family Heirlooms

Sorry for being off the grid for so long! I came off a long stretch of night shifts and haven't been feeling well since. Nothing that some sleep & soup couldn't fix!

As I have mentioned (most certainly more than once) we are hosting Thanksgiving celebrations this year and I am super excited about it! In the two years we have been married we have entertained a fair amount, however this will be the first time in our new place as well as hosting this many people. The easiest part to the planning was the menu, Oliver makes slow roasted game hens with a homemade brine which is pretty much perfection! We are really stepping up our game here, we usually roast two to four hens at any given time but when you're hosting twelve you can easily triple that number, fingers crossed for no top chef like disasters! For sides we are sticking to family staples- maple glazed carrots, roasted potatoes, bacon sauteed brussel sprouts, Yorkshire puddings, and cinnamon butternut squash. It is no secret Oliver is the chef in our house, I however have become quite the sous chef and have been gaining some serious independence taking the lead on cooking a few meals thanks to a great (and super cute) teacher! For a signature cocktail I am sure you can guess, we are doing a champagne cocktail for a little something extra I am adding a gold sugar rim- the taste testing has been amazing :)

When it comes to the sweet endings to a dinner party I'm your gal! I am pretty positive I have a refined palette for desserts merely due to exposure! I look forward to the finale of every meal, and never skimp when we entertain. If you saw my previous post regarding the most amazing Pecan Pie ever, you should definitely consider adding this to your Thanksgiving menu- I promise your guests will be talking about it for a lifetime! Of course the Pecan Pie was an easy choice and no Thanksgiving is complete without the fruit of the season baked into gooey goodness also known as Apple Pie! I am also toying with the idea of some bite sized desserts- caramel apples, pumpkin whoopie pies, or salted caramels. I plan to trial some recipes and share with you all over the next few weeks so keep an eye out for those posts :)





Something I love even more than menu planning is decorating & a good theme! When planning a theme I usually plan it around one piece or idea. For example, our wedding color scheme & style was built on a pair of shoes- royal blue Manolo Blahniks with a vintage style crystal statement piece on the toe. It embodied a classic, vintage style with a flair- precisely what we had envisioned for the day.







So it will come as no surprise when my Thanksgiving vision was based upon a set of silver my Mom had recently given to me. It was a gift to my Grandparents at their 25th wedding anniversary, which they never used and chose to save for their Daughters. My Mother however never used it and gave it to me just recently. This silver is making its debut on our table on November 27th after forty years of being in my family & we could not be more excited! I am planning to use the silver as the accent metal to my gold & creme theme! How gorgeous is this place setting, no doubt the person who gifted it to them had impeccable taste!

In my search for the perfectly balanced tablescape I have been collecting a few pieces over time. I am super excited to share those with you this week so make sure to keep an eye out for that post as well!  I am still deciding between edible & nature themed place cards.

What is your perfect Thanksgiving theme?

Decadance at its finest: Southern Pecan Pie

I have mentioned before that we are hosting Thanksgiving for the first time this year. I am so excited, but being a bit of a perfectionist can prove to be challenging when hosting twelve people. So I have been testing out various recipes in order to perfect some staple dishes for the dinner.

I have made several different Pecan Pies over the last few years, some too moist, too dry and one that had WAY too many pecans- hard to believe, but seriously overloaded. After a few failures I have landed on the recipe with a little tweaking of my own!

This version is the perfect mix of pecan, filling and just a little kick of Bourbon!

Southern Pecan Pie Ingredients:

1 pie crust (Oliver makes the pie crust, but you can buy refrigerated ones as well)

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup melted butter cooled to room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 1/2 cups of pecan halves

2 tablespoons all- purpose flour

2 tablespoons milk (I used 1%)

1 teaspoon of bourbon

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla 

Preheat your oven to 325

 

Whisk eggs until foamy, then add in brown sugar, butter, granulated sugar, chopped pecans, flour, milk, bourbon & vanilla. Pour into pan with pie crust and add pecan halves on top. Bake for 30 minutes at 325 degrees, then reduce temperature 300 degrees and bake for an additional thirty minutes. Turn oven off and let pie stand in oven for two hours to allow pie to settle.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and incorporate it into your next gathering :)