Here are the details from my Thanksgiving tablescape from last year. (You can read more about it here). Keep in mind our gathering was in the afternoon, so I wanted the mood to be casual.

The long table is actually my dinning room table, a banquet table and a card table all pushed together.

Tablecloths: Paper lined tablecloths from VanityFair (the company that makes napkins).

Table Runner: Wrapping paper roll cut in half, I purchased this wrapping paper at Homegoods. They always have a great selection of wrapping paper especially near the holidays.

Floral Vases-These glass bottles are actually recycled Tejava bottles. (The hubby and I went through a Tejava Ice Tea addiction. I save any glass container bottles or jars because I have all these ideas that I will be hosting tons of dinner parties-I can use the different bottles and jars for new tablescapes). Once the flowers where arranged in the glass bottles, I zigzagged the vases down the middle of the runner so when your eye went down the table you could see the alternating flowers.

Flowers: Yellow Roses, Red Carnations and a type of flower, whose name I do not know, that had shades of red and yellow and orange to tie everything together.

Pumpkins: I used a big pumpkin and a smaller pumpkin and spaced them in the middle of the table. These were from our little family outing to the pumpkin patch.

Table-settings: My everyday black dishes with my small square white dishes placed on top for dessert and clear drinking glasses

Place cards: Butcher paper cut into small rectangles hand written names with black marker

Chairs: I alternated my beige upholstered dinning room chairs with clear and chrome chairs from Ikea.

Casual handwritten butcher paper place cards and a wrapping paper runner

The gallery wall was made from handwritten signs on butcher paper and alternating wrapping paper cut to fit the frames.

The signs were hand written by my niece because I have the penmanship of a doctor, basically chicken- scratch.

The chalk wall: We had a wall painted in chalk paint. I wish I would have cleaned the wall a little better, but by this time I was probably worried about not burning something that I was cooking.

A little message on our tiny chalk wall

The table setting: fresh flowers in glass bottles and pumpkins from our pumpkin patch outing.

Casual handwritten butcher paper place cards and a wrapping paper runner

A little message on our tiny chalk wall

Hand written signs over our gallery wall

The signs were hand written by my niece because I have the penmanship of a doctor, basically chicken- scratch.

Appetizers by my mom

Hubby and I made the two turkeys, cranberry sauce from scratch, sweet potato gratin, roasted green beans with walnuts and cranberries

Sparkling apple drink

No bake pumpkin cheesecakes, pumpkin roll, pecan pie cookies

Last year was our first thanksgiving as new parents. Nothing like having a baby to make you feel all kinds of “we need to make memorable moments” and  emotions of “let’s make our own family tradition.” What is more equivalent to traditions than holidays? …So the hubby and I decided to host the Thanksgiving celebrations at our home for the very first time.

With much excitement, and  no previous experience for Thanksgiving cooking, other than the eating of the food and the yearly making of a casserole to share, we set out to create a  midday feast. You know, something “simple” for the 15 family members we were hosting…

• two herb roasted turkeys
• three home made from scratch side dishes
• three different desserts that were to be thanksgiviny with a twist
•  a festive fall drink
• planned out personally styled, casual, comfortable but stylish decor

All this while while nursing a 7month old teething baby!..And you know, with that Pinterest thing, I hardly felt any pressure at all to whip up a meal straight from Rachel Ray’s kitchen and style a tablescape ready for a 3 page spread in Martha Stewart magazine!  No pressure right? Can you hear the sarcasm?!

I may have been substantially stressed and definitely sleep deprived, considering I went to bed at 5am or some ridiculous time. Even though the results may not have been quite Town & Country ready, we most certainly had a very warm, memorable and tasty thanksgiving-the love and gratitude of our family abounded for each other, and especially for our tiny human.