Our Wonderful Thanksgiving {Recapping the Day!}

In my post previous to this one, I was in high gear preparing for Thanksgiving Day. I started preparations Wednesday morning - putting decor in place, setting the table, labeling my dishes with sticky notes as to what food goes where {to make things smoother on the "day of", organization is key!}...but in actuality, my preparations for Thanksgiving started back in September {remember this post?} when I first began drafting the menu. I know, I know. Way early. But I was excited for Thanksgiving this year - that we had a beautiful blessing named Ilah at our table, and that as a fairly newly married woman, and now a mother, that I was overseeing Thanksgiving day for our family - in our home. For so many years I had dreamed of being a wife and a mother, looking forward to creating beautiful holidays for my family. And now, there I was. Doing it. God is amazing. He has brought so many of my prayers to fruition.

I had hoped that Thanksgiving day would truly be a wonderful one - that aside from delicious food, that our home would be filled with warmth, love, and laughter...the day was all of that and so much more. It was truly a beautiful day!

Onto the pictures!!....

I knew I wanted a pretty little tablescape but I wasn't really sure what I was going to create. I had no real vision for how I wanted to beautify our table - I just knew that I wanted to. On a whim, this is what I came up with on Wednesday afternoon....

I bought some very inexpensive things "here and there" over the past few months {the glittery pumpkins, the yellow salad plates, the chocolate brown chargers, the table runner, the table cloth, and the flowers} and along with some of the things that we already had {the white dinner plates, the vases, the ribbon to wrap around them, the votives, and the large hurricane candle}, I blended the old with the new. Ultimately, it all created a warm inviting tablescape.

I wrapped the stems of the silverware in chocolate brown satin ribbon and attached a glittery pretty little piece to it, which were the guest favors {a Christmas ornament!}.

The place settings at the head of the table had a pumpkin, and a favor, in a contrasting color.

ONTO THE FOOD!!....

Our Menu:

• Turkey
• Gravy
• Stuffing
• Corn
• Sweet Mashed Potatoes
• Roasted Potatoes
• Green Beans
• Stuffed Zuchinni
• Rolls
• Not pictured: Plantains & Rice

Desserts:

• Banana Bread
• Oatmeal Cranberry Chip Cookies
• Apple Crisp {w/vanilla ice-cream}
• Mini Pecan Pies {w/whipped cream}
• No pumpkin pie? Nope. No one, including me, likes it!

In case you're wondering, everything was made from scratch except the rolls. We love Kings Hawaiian rolls : )

I tell ya, timing is everything when cooking a large meal!! I made all my desserts the night before Thanksgiving and before I went to bed, I drafted the order for which things would go in, and out, of the oven on Thanksgiving morning/afternoon.

This garland matches the wreath on our front door. I just LOVE it. Surprisingly, I found the wreath, and the garland at the same store - one year later!

I was so nervous about cooking that bird! It really is quite a process {from thawing it out to seasoning it, to watching it while it cooks to make sure it's not drying out}; I think the first go around you always question if you are doing everything right. The turkey is THE biggest part of the Thanksgiving meal. If it's ruined...what's the back-up? Frozen chicken pot pies??!! Well, that wouldn't have worked because there aren't any in our freezer! Ha!! Thankfully, my husband took full reign and did his thing on that Turkey!! I just handed him the spices - he did all the rest!!

We had an abundant amount of food....leftovers galore!!

My mini pecan pies!! I lined the dessert platter with embellished scrapbook paper....

Having never made a pecan pie in my life {or any pie for that matter}, I was nervous about making them for the first time on Thanksgiving. They came out even better than I had hoped!! Ahh...they were SO good!!!!

With a dollop of ice-cream, or whipped cream...take your pick!!

I set up a separate area in the kitchen for drinks....

I served sweet tea, water, and we whipped up our new favorite drink...Brazillian lemonade!! It was a HIT!!!


I tied ribbons around each of the glass pitchers to fancy them up a bit....


This little girl chowed down on some turkey and sweet potatoes and loved it!!!....







After dinner, Ilah went for a little walk with her puppy Ruffea to walk off the meal! Ha!!....


We ended the night with a fun game of Taboo! Love that game!


After our guests left for the evening, I got right to cleaning so that the next day I could begin transforming our home into Christmas! In keeping up with the same tradition that I was raised with, Christmas trees go up the day after Thanksgiving! Ilah's was first! My mom stayed over the night of Thanksgiving and helped me decorate Ilah's tree. I loved sharing that moment with my mom. Ilah's tree looks soooo cute {pictures to come!}.

Are any of you doing a recap of your Thanksgiving Day? Let me know...I'd love to visit your blog and see how wonderful your day was too! : )