Holiday Cheer!

Happy Thanksgiving from Our House to Yours

Today is the day that I spend cleaning and doing the dishes for my Thanksgiving table.  I love this part of the holiday when I can get creative with the tablescape and relax before the cooking frenzy starts tomorrow.  Have you begun cooking?

I have made many of the dishes that could be made ahead including a pierogi lasagna, the dough for my pretzel rolls, cranberry sauce, shrimp bisque and some fun dippers for the bread... aioli and tapenade.

I got up this morning and had a few things to tick off of my list like vacuuming and cleaning the bathrooms.  So what did I do?  Retreated to my sewing room to make a runner and some napkins for my table.  This runner is made from upholstery fabric sample swatches from a furniture store.  I just cut them up, backed them with brown corduroy and top stitched the edges.  I did rolled hems on the fabric for the napkins.  Easy peasy.

You may notice that there are two napkins missing from the left hand side.  I put them in the washing machine to get something off of them.  Not sure what it was.  Maybe sewing machine oil?  No worries...It came out.

I pulled out my husband's grandparents' highball glasses with an R crest on them and their pretty flatware that we inherited. The wine glasses are from the dollar store and the placemats are from Walmart.  The fabric on the table is just that... a large piece of fabric with raw edges.  I love how it looks like burlap and kind of keeps the table from being toooo fancy.  The glasses down the center makes a pretty centerpiece without adding too much STUFF to the table.  As each person takes his or her glasses, there is room for food on the table. The pears are real and will be poached and wrapped in pastry tomorrow.

I decided to add one more thing to the table tonight, so I am updating this late.  Hope it goes out to my followers with this cute idea.  I printed some banners on photo paper, cut them out and hot glued them to lace ribbon and tied them around the napkins for napkin rings.  

My 9-year-old made the acorns from an idea we saw on Pinterest this week.  Doughnut holes, dipped in melted canned chocolate icing and then dipped in jimmies.  A piece of pretzel stuck into the top makes a cute adornment for our dinner plates or around a pie.  

Happy Thanksgiving! Gobble, Gobble!

Free Recipe Cards to Print

Hey there, Sunshine! I've been trying to finish my recipe book that I have been creating, so I made a few more recipe cards tonight.  I may print extras and use one of the recipe books as a gift for a teacher or for a neighbor.  I think they are turning out cutely.  So, here are two more recipe cards.  If you would like to print the book covers (front and back) and the first two free recipe cards, go here and scroll to the bottom of the post!

I thought a pretty recipe book might be a great gift for each family who joins you for Thanksgiving or any special meal.  You can put the recipes in the dollar store photo album and give it to the family so they have them if they liked them.