Friendsgiving Blog Video!

Yesterday I shared the super fun collaboration between me and my good friend, Dina, the Dish It Girl.  We had a blast using our passions for decor and food to create a little Friendsgiving dinner.  If you want to see some behind-the-scenes action (and what I sound like in person....eeeeeek), check out the YouTube video below!!

And I know you'll want the recipe for that UH-mazing fig and Cabernet cranberry sauce after watching, so head here to grab it!!

Thanks for teaming up, Dina...and again, Happy Thanksgiving to you all!  I'm so thankful for each one of my readers and friends! Xo!

Thanksgiving Tablescape & Dish It Girl Food!

I love this time of year.  It's all about gathering with loved ones, and celebrating all we have to be thankful for. Unfortunately, the stress of planning a gathering can occasionally get in the way of the enjoyment it should bring us.  So to keep things simple, just remember there are two key components for a successful celebration: 1) good food and 2) fun decor.  The good company you keep is just a given in this equation. ;)

Hubby and I hosted a little "Friendsgiving" dinner this past weekend.  I supplied the decor, and thankfully (for this not-so-skilled cook), my good friend Dina from Dish It Girl, brought the good food along!!

When it comes to dinner parties or hosted holidays, I like to keep things relaxed and casual.  I don't worry about proper place settings...making sure my water glass is properly spaced from my plate, if my silverware is appropriately laid out, etc.  Instead, I focus on creating a table that is practical, comfortable and pretty to look at. :)

In the past, I used traditional colors at my Thanksgiving table, but this year I wanted to continue the colorful and playful theme I already used in the rest of our great room.

Like most projects I complete, I did this tablescape on a budget and even included a few DIYs in the mix.

My runner was a simple strip of fabric I carefully cut, making sure to remove any rogue strings from the edges.  The acorns were a past project that I updated this year to match my color scheme.  

I found the faux pumpkins and pine cones at Michael's.  I updated them with some brightly colored spray paint and acrylic paint.  The wooden candle sticks were a beat up clearance find from Target that I gave new life to with, what else, but more spray paint!  

I found the tea light holders and mason jars (just remove the lids) at Michael's during a 50% off sale, and the coordinating cloth napkins were only a few dollars from Home Goods.

I know it's not a typical Thanksgiving table you'd see every day, but that was my intention.  I really wanted to step outside my comfort zone and try to put a colorful spin on the holiday. :)

You know what else wasn't typical?!?  Dina's food!!  It. Was. So. Good.  She spoiled us with herbed turkey breast, sausage stuffing mushrooms and fig and Cabernet cranberry sauce.

Yes, that's right...fig and Cabernet cranberry sauce.  It was delish!

Head to Dish It Girl right now to get all of her amazing recipes!  Your taste buds will thank you. ;)

*

*

*

*

*

***And HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!  I'm so very thankful for each and every one of you!  Xo!!***

Turkey Day Tablescape

For most {including myself}, Thanksgiving is a distant memory.  The turkey-induced coma is a thing of the past, and many are much more focused on all things merry and bright.  But before I can fully wipe Thanksgiving from my blog-o-sphere, I have to do a little show and tell about my turkey day table.  As I mentioned earlier, this was the first time I was hosting.  I was super nervous that I’d screw something up...so if all else failed, I was hoping to have a pretty table to distract my guests from any food that might be less than desirable. ;)

I had a vision in my head of what I wanted our table to look like, but I was striking out left and right when it came to finding tablecloths and cloth napkins.  For a hot second, I considered ordering something off Etsy...but before I took the plunge, I ventured out to a fabric store that opened up near our house.  I hit the jackpot!  I spent my entire lunch hour strolling through the store one afternoon and found a cute fabric I wanted to use.  I wasn’t sold on an entire tablecloth of it, but I thought a runner and napkins would be perfect.  For my tablecloth, I bought a plain white one at Target for $17.99.  It was too long and too wide, but nothing a little sewing couldn’t fix.

All ready to trim off the excess...

After that was done, my mom and I got to work on the fabric runner and napkins.  We both ended up liking the reverse side of the fabric more than the “right” side of the fabric...so we went with it.  {The underside of the fabric is showing in the bottom of the picture to the right.}

After a ton of sewing, I was ready to put together a bunch of odds and ends to make the “centerpiece” of the table.  I used some things I already had on hand {votives, various hurricanes, candles, lace, jute cord, pumpkins} and supplemented it with some cute stuff from Michael’s {candle sticks, wood slices, more votives, ribbon, pine cones, etc.}.

To dress some of the glassware up, I added lace and jute cord...and the rest of the stuff I just moved around until I was happy with how it looked from all angles.  I have to say, I was pretty pleased with how it turned out.

About 90% of the way through...I realized I didn't have the mason jar glasses on the table. :(  And then a rogue napkin went missing...so just pretend it's there in these last two photos. :)

Anyone else put together a fun Thanksgiving table?

And because I kinda DIY’ed our décor, I’m totally linking up with the ladies of the Dare to DIY (Entertain) Link Party!!  Check out Michelle, Kim, Chelsea and Rachel’s amazing blogs for more details! :)

PS-Obviouslyyyyy, our turkey day table was disassembled, just as quickly as it was assembled, to make way for our Christmas Wonderland.  We started decorating on Friday and Saturday, and I’m hoping we’ll be ready to share everything ASAP!!