Living With Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving

Showing posts with label Thanksgiving. Show all posts

Monday, November 14, 2016

Family Thanksgiving Dinner

November 14, 2016 29 comments Thanksgiving

Setting a beautiful table is a pleasure for me. I especially enjoy selecting which china, silverware, glassware and linens to use. Even ironing a tablecloth has it's rewards. But the best part for me is designing the flower arrangement and the most satisfaction is when I can make it different and use something from my own garden. Another secret challenge is to use what I have without buying anything.

This tablescape was last year's family Thanksgiving table. The china is an english game set that I bought at Brimfield antique show many years ago. Each plates showcases a different bird. The flowers in this centerpiece were simple white hydrangeas with aucuba greenery from my garden. This is the first time I used hydrangeas on my Thanksgiving table. View 2014, Thanksgiving centerpiece here. You can view the subtle differences in 2013 here.

It is nostalgic for me to post a Thanksgiving tablescape because Living With Thanksgiving was born Thanksgiving of 2009. You can see my first post and first tablescape here.

I'm quite sentimental using these little pilgrim salt and pepper shakers. I used these shakers every Thanksgiving while my children were growing up. Now, the grandchildren enjoy them.
This is the only pic where the candles were lit. Do you like candlelight as much as I do? It adds a special ambience.

It helps me to keep a Thanksgiving folder with menu's and recipes used over the years. This folder saves time the following year. The menu varies a little each year with the choice of vegetables and desserts. Everything else stays the same. Do you serve a similar menu each year?

I change the centerpiece each year. Sometimes I use a different container and always vary the flowers in some way. It helps to refer back to the pictures from blogposts to remember centerpieces and how I set the table.

Sophie made cards for all of us.

Turkey and cornbread dressing with gravy Green beans Squash casserole Fresh Cranberry sauce Pumpkin pie
It was a wonderful meal with family. A time to thank God, and reflect on our many many blessings. I am excited to spend Thanksgiving at my daughter's house this year. May Thanksgiving, 2016, be especially meaningful to you and your family.

Psalm 100
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

Living Thankfully,
Bonnie

Metamorphosis Monday Botanic Bleu Show and Share The Scoop Celebrate and Decorate Inspire Me Tuesday Wow Us Wednesday Tablescape Thursday Share Your Style Party Thoughts of Home Foodie Friday Feathered Nest Friday Dishing It & Digging It Calypso in the Country

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Thanksgiving Vignettes

November 10, 2016 18 comments Thanksgiving

Colorful mums, heirloom pumpkins, gourds, and dried corn easily decorate my patio and welcome fall and the Thanksgiving season.

The fall bounty of pumpkins, butternut squash, wheat bundles and dried hydrangeas are easy accents.

The cotton fields are white for harvest right now very near my home. I like to decorate with cotton and have been known to borrow some stems from the fields, however, this cotton is actually faux but it looks so real. Dried corn, a vase of cotton stalks and a stack of pumpkins topped with a gourd nestled in a grape vine wreath came together in a few minutes.

Looking through Carolyn Roehm's fall notebook and smelling the oatmeal cookie candle from Anthropologie gets me in the mood to decorate and reflect on my many blessings.

My white pitcher from Target gets used often for quick arrangements. I loved the deep fall colors in these flowers. If you strip the leaves off and mix the flower preserver that comes with bouquets from the grocery store the arrangement will last longer. A tree slice charger is a great woodsy accent and adds texture.

In this arrangement, using the same pitcher as the picture above, I used yellow astroemeria flowers from the grocery store. They are inexpensive and last at least two weeks. Using a tray full of real fruit and vegetables as accents is a great decorating tool and it reminds you to use them. My daughter-in-law taught me this. When she comes home from grocery shopping she immediately creates attractive vignettes and stores her fresh items at the same time.

This is one of my daughter-in-law's vignettes. It's attractive and easily replenished as you use the veggies. The figs didn't last long! I am so thankful for a wonderful daughter-in-law!

My daughter cleverly carved a pumpkin expressing thankful sentiments. I'm thankful for her and my grandson in the background!

Another vignette from my daughter's house.

I love that our country celebrates Thanksgiving. It is a time to enjoy the blessings of food and family. Thanksgiving is truly a state of mind. What are you thankful for today?