Thanksgiving Table

I know its a week late but I figured I would share the tale of our first Thanksgiving, in our new house that is. I must admit that I was super nervous to host, I wanted everything to be perfect and I must say that it was pretty darn close.  We spent the morning cooking and eating. My parents brought up Bodo's from Charlottesville so we had bagels which was a good thing because that Pinterest crock pot breakfast casserole I made was flipping AWFUL! I did a lot of the preparation ahead of time which meant that I actually got to enjoy myself, eating, drinking and chatting with my family and neighbors throughout the beautiful day.

I didn't do a lot of decorating but I was really happy with the way our table turned out especially considering spent less than $30 on the entire thing.


3 yards of burlap, cut in half length wise used as a runner
Pressed leaves (one per guest)
Black sharpie
1 bag of cranberries
1 bag of mixed nuts
4 tangerines
3 glass containers
1 wooden tray

Little B and I take at least one walk a day together every day, rain or shine. Lately he has been turning them into nature walks, picking up sticks, rocks and leaves along the way. It was from this type of walk that I got the idea to have him help decorate the table with some of his favorite finds. Each of the leaves we set out was carefully (or not so carefully) selected along our route. I showed B how to press them between paper and books to help them dry. He picked a leaf for each of our guests on which I wrote their names to be used as place cards.





I decided to do an edible centerpiece this year because I liked the idea of being able to re-purpose all of our Thanksgiving decor. I set the table with a simple cranberry table cloth and made a custom length runner (our table is an odd size so nothing ever fits it right) by purchasing 3.5 feet of burlap and then cutting it down to size. The centerpiece was made by filling 3 old glass vases with cranberries and tangerines, topping them with white candles. I set the vases on one of our wood serving dishes and covered it with mixed nuts, scattering a few extra nuts and leaves across the table. I really liked that all of the items I purchase can be used or eaten again. I had fun stringing some of the cranberries for our tree and over the weekend we cracked the nuts and ate them by the fire (a family tradition) as we decorated our Christmas tree.

As the holiday season continues I have to say how thankful I am for all the blessings in my life. I am, as one of my friends labeled me, a chronic overachiever. Because of this I find I can loose focus on the most important things in life. I am so happy that so far this holiday season I have been able to balance my little bit of crazy with a whole lot of love in my family.