This weekend I headed up to my parents’ house to celebrate Thanksgiving with the whole family. While driving up I saw all the trees that had changed into vibrant reds, oranges and yellows.
I kept that in mind while decorating the table for dinner, using all the wonderful inspiration just outside the door.
We had a big group of 20 people for dinner, so I wanted to keep the decorations low to the table, so that everyone can see each other.
I used small gourds that my mother had around the house, as well as some velvety leaves that I found in some decorating boxes in the basement. For little tealight holders, I grabbed small champagne glasses that my mom used to serve the kids apple cider in when we were all little. Its nice to be able to use things what you have around the house and save the time of going to the store and the expense.
Coincidentally, a set of leaf shaped bowls that I’d ordered on clearance from Target arrived from the US right before the weekend, so we were able to use them as serving dishes.
And while I was taking these photos of the table, I looked over to see that someone was watching my every move. Do you see him?
We decided to serve the food as a buffet, because its next to impossible to get 20 people to pass everything around, which meant that the table wouldn’t have plates on it. It looked a little bare with just the utensils, so I decided to fold some napkins.
When I mentioned it to my mom, she said it would take me 20 minutes to fold all those napkins. Was it worth it? I turned to her and said ” Time me!”. So she put 15 minutes on the oven timer. How could I resist the challenge? I guess I broke some unspoken napkin folding record, because I did all 20 in 8:40 minutes. I’m starting to think I have compulsive issues…
Now that the decorations were done, it was time to focus on food. And lots of it 🙂
The entire house smelled like turkey, so it was painstaking waiting to carve into it.
The carving is my dad’s forte. Years ago he happened to watch an episode of Martha Stewart with my mom and he was hooked on carving the turkey with an electric knife. Now he does it every time, and it comes out perfect.
We had PLENTY of food to go around for everyone (which meant lots of leftovers for the rest of the weekend!)
This is probably one of my favorite dishes: broccoli and cauliflower with spices and a bit of cheese on it. I know I could probably make it like this all the time, but it just seems to special to have it like this on holidays.
I also tried to make a new vegetarian recipe this year for my sister. Its a nice spinach and cheese puff with plenty of Gruyere cheese. I’ll be posting the recipe in the next few weeks!
Whiskey was happy to stand by the buffet and wait to see if anyone dropped anything. Later on he figured out that the best place to sit was right by my 6 year old cousin who has a habit of dropping things. They sure do learn fast.
Everyone seemed to really enjoy the meal, going back for seconds. I just had to post this picture to show my Great Aunt’s faux fur collar on his shirt. I love this top! And at 90 years old, she can still pull it off!
And whats she smiling about? She’s lost some teeth and she wanted to show me. Just too cute for words, really.
With all of us working and going to school all over the place, catching up over a good meal really brings everyone back together again.
After dinner, wine and plenty of pie, everyone was starting to get ready for bed, including my uncle. Just kidding! Those are his daughter’s sleep pants, but I do have to admit that that colour looks good on him. I think I’ll get him the matching top for Christmas 😉
With all the excitement, Whiskey and Shadow were pretty exhausted too. We put on the fireplace and before I knew it, the two of them were curled up in bed together. Who can blame them after they’d filled themselves up on dropped pieces of turkey!
I hope that everyone had a nice relaxing long weekend! Happy Thanksgiving!
This post is linked up to:
Between Naps on the Porch: Tablescape Thursday
A Stroll Through Life: Tabletop Tuesday
The DIY Show off Fall Festival
That chocolate cream pie is calling my name. Have you posted a recipe for it?
No, I haven’t posted a chocolate pie recipe yet, but I will soon! Thanks for stopping by!