Happy Thanksgiving ~ Home and Away

Happy Thanksgiving, dear friends!

This year we are invited to our friends' home for Thanksgiving! I am very excited, if a bit sad my beloved Turkey plates will not be used this year.
[Do they notice? Or do they slumber on, uncaring?].
Last month someone asked me if I keep my bright orange, yellow, and cheddar quilts out all Fall, til Christmas, and the answer is a resounding No. Much as I love those colors I don't like to live with them too long. November 1st, the jackolanterns are put away, as are the brilliant orange quilts and the bright cobalt pitchers.

This year I kept my blue and white color scheme and added grey linen throw pillows; and quilts in faded tones of rose and brown and beige.

I keep my mercury glass pumpkins in the silver only,

and I add mercury glass Mason jars,

 and  a turkey here and there.

Crocks are filled with the last of summer's hydrangeas, now dried to rose, tan, and olive, no longer brilliant sky blue.

Things look a bit spare maybe. Knowing I would not be entertaining for the Big Day, I kept my decorating to a minimum, going for November colors, serene blue, grey, brown.

Just a few pops of autumn leaves peek out,

and a beloved English pitcher filled with bittersweet.

I love bittersweet and hate to discard it when December arrives.

The other pitchers are mostly white ironstone or soft autumn shades, many stained tobacco brown.

Wasting time a bit, I painted my tiny pumpkins with chalk paint. Harder than it sounded--and not at all chalky!?. I am hoping they might be sealed by the paint and last til next year! We'll see.

Mo watches, and waits...poor Mo, no turkey this year

....
My friend and I have been planning the meal. I dug out tablecloths to audition, lent vintage water goblets and my mom's silver gravy ladle. We had fun grocery shopping. Look at these weird Brussels sprouts.

And cute curly butternut squash.

My assignment--my contribution to the dinner Thursday --will be homemade Cape Cod / orange cranberry sauce.

Oh my this is delicious. So sweet. My taste buds swooned, I realized how rarely we eat anything made with real cane sugar. Yum.

And I made creamed onions today; tomorrow I'll make the stuffing. We all prefer our turkey unstuffed, so I bake the stuffing in a big pan: cornbread cubes, seasoning, chestnuts, bacon, apple diced, onion diced, sauteed, cranberries. Fresh sage and thyme. All held together with broth and butter. My house will smell like Thanksgiving even if the day is not celebrated here.

Maybe I'll have pictures to share, we'll see.

Remember my mom's words of wisdom."Put the turkey in the oven, and have a couple beers!" She meant relax and enjoy! So I wish that for each of you and your families too,

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...

PS If you're out and about: garden center, grocery store...now is the last time to stock up on paperwhite narcissus bulbs for January blooms. I had to order mine on Amazon.