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Thanksgiving Photos
Welcome back fellow peaches! Are you recovered from your turkey hangover?
We finally finished off the leftovers yesterday and did quite a bit of decorating for Christmas this past weekend. My husband and father-in-law have made it tradition to always get the trees the day after Thanksgiving which is both exciting and hectic. Sometimes I feel like I haven't even digested my apple pie before there's a Christmas tree shoved into my living room, but I'm grateful...I really am.
So before Christmas completely consumes us, I want to share some of our Thanksgiving photos with y'all. We had a wonderful meal with plenty of food. I set the table the night before with my mom and put together these flower arrangements made with roses, carnations and wheat grass. We had fun staying up late working on the pies together and making final preparations.
We also made these last minute name cards out of construction paper glued to wheat grass. I like the simplicity of them.
Here's an overhead shot of the entire table set for nine.
And the extension table set for four. We also had a table for the three older kids off to the side.
Anyone else have this famous couple at Thanksgiving? Love them.
Southern libations and cold Coca-Colas.
My preserved fall leaves were set out as simple side table arrangements.
Nothing like a little brotherly competition when it comes to turkey carving!
And here's a good action shot of me warming sides at the last minute. Isn't that the hardest part about a big meal? You can also just barely see my aunt behind me fixing the mashed potatoes. I think my mom was keeping the children out of the kitchen. My mother-in-law and father-in-law, who prepared one of the turkeys, are looking on in anticipation too.
I hope y'all had a wonderful time with family and friends too. I'm gonna be a pretty busy lady this week between preparing for my son's fifth birthday party and finishing the Christmas decor. I just hope no one drops in at my house anytime soon because there are little projects spread out everywhere! However, I do hope you'll visit me here at the blog a lot this month so I can share these projects with you.
Tell me how you are! Leave me a comment about your Thanksgiving meal or any Christmas traditions you're looking forward to.
Post Holiday Bliss
Today there will be no thoughts of scales, no shopping and no Friday Five post. I may even stay in my pajamas all day and drink large amounts of coffee.
But no worries! Join me back here on Sunday when I'll be revealing a a very fun and festive Sunday Best.
Happy weekending!
Happy Thanksgiving
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| etsy |
Happy Thanksgiving fellow peaches! Are you knee deep in the pumpkin pie yet?
Have I ever told you how grateful I am that you read my sweet little blog and leave me kind comments?
Well I am! Y'all make this blog so much fun for me.
I'm thankful for that and a whole lot more today.
Today I'm thankful for...
Oh how I love these little guys! They make even the littlest things so much fun. We spent some time outside yesterday just jumping around in the leaves and getting dirty in the sandbox.
It's just what I needed to escape my endless to-do list as the holidays approach.
Hope each and every one of you are blessed with the simple pleasures of life this time of year!
Preserving Fall Leaves
Do you remember as a kid preserving leaves in between the pages of your encyclopedias? My sisters and I would stick all kinds of things in those pages only to discover them months or years later!
Well now that I'm older, I'm not quite that patient. I want that instant gratification when it comes to my crafting projects so I was quite happy when I discovered this method for preserving fall leaves. Last week, while the kids and I played outside, I gathered these gorgeous leaves from the yard to use on my Thanksgiving table. I love using plants, flowers and just about anything I can gather from my yard because it's free of charge and nothing captures the beauty of the season like mother nature.
To preserve these leaves, I used the following steps:
1. Gather some pretty leaves that have just fallen. Make sure they are still soft and supple. Avoid leaves that are already dry.
2. Lay about 5 leaves flat, in between two paper towels. Place them on a microwave safe dish and set them inside the microwave.
3. Microwave the leaves at 30 second intervals until they begin to dry out. You will feel the paper towels begin to absorb the moisture from the leaves.
CAUTION: Leaves can catch fire in the microwave so please keep a close eye on this project and only heat in intervals. Do not allow the leaves to become scorched or crisp.
4. Once the leaves have dried, spray them with an acrylic spray on both sides and allow to dry.
These leaves will maintain their color but will still be quite fragile. I plan to use them scattered on the table or possibly as name place cards.
Hope y'all had a lovely weekend!
Pasta Fagioli
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| Photo by YSP |
It was a rainy day here in Georgia yesterday and what better way to hunker down than with a warm bowl of soup. Luke and I spent most of the afternoon playing Legos while the little guy napped which made for a very relaxing day, but the moment I began sauteing the onions, garlic and pancetta for this pasta fagioli, the house came alive with a savory aroma!
To the best of my knowledge, pasta fagioli, in the simplest terms, is an Italian soup made with pasta and beans. I've toyed around with a few recipes and I just really like the earthy flavor of this one. The combination of rosemary, thyme and bay leaf is pure perfection!
Ingredients: Yields 6 servings (Recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentis)
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 large sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 2 tbsp. pancetta, chopped
- 1 whole garlic clove
- 5 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 (14.5-ounce) cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 3/4 cup elbow diatlini
- 3 stalks (about 4 cups) fresh kale, leaves separated from stalks
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Directions:
1. Wrap thyme, rosemary and bay leaf in cheesecloth and secure with kitchen twine.
2. In a large, heavy saucepan or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat.
3. Add onion, pancetta and garlic clove and cook for about 5 minutes.
4. REMOVE garlic clove and discard.
5. Add broth, beans and sachet of herbs. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, then decrease heat to medium and simmer until vegetables are very tender (about 10 minutes.)
6. Discard sachet of herbs and add kale and ditalini pasta and boil until pasta is cooked al dente. (About 10 minutes.)
7. Season the soup with salt and pepper and serve with fresh graded Parmesan.
Shiny & New
Hi fellow peaches! If you're reading this post via a reader, I urge you to click over because my sweet blog has undergone a little makeover. Who doesn't love a good makeover? It's been in the works for a while now and I couldn't be happier with the changes made by this lovely lady. I kept my old peachy logo as it's near and dear to my heart but Kelly added the nav bar and social media icons to streamline the look and hopefully make it easier for y'all to find your way around and connect with me. There are still a few kinks that need to be worked out but it's getting there!
In other "shiny and new" news, I spent Saturday polishing some silver which was long, long overdue. You can see my son staring at the tea set with complete adoration in the photo above.
This large oval tray also got a makeover and is ready to house some Thanksgiving beverages and wines.
Are any of y'all hosting Thanksgiving this year at your house? Are you already in the preparation phase or is it still too far out for you?
